Chapter 37: Chapter 37
Chapter 37
Ji Chuang sprung up quickly, almost rushing forward to hit Yueqian. However, she didn’t know where Yueqian had obtained a long, round stick. She pulled it out from within her clothing and tapped it lightly on her hand.
This was a police baton, which Yueqian had taken out from another dimension, perfectly concealed within her shirt. As she tapped it against her palm with a thud, Ji Chuang immediately paused.
"Coming to someone else’s house, begging for help, and even causing trouble isn’t enough; you still want to fight in my home? You must not want to leave here alive," Yueqian threatened. She was not a meek woman of this era who would allow others to bully her, nor did she intend to surrender to anyone. If it had to end with a physical fight, she was ready to fight.
"You... enough!!" The elder man’s face trembled with rage. Every word from Yueqian was like a continuous slap to their faces, yet they could not deny the truth.
He pointed at Ji Chuang with a red-faced.
"Get out. Get out now! You talk badly, never know when to shut up, take your children and leave!" The elder man knew it was a time for him to decide. If they allowed Ji Chuang to stay, their requests today would not be fulfilled.
"Father, please, let Ji Chuang go. The children were not involved in this. Don’t rob them of their opportunity." urged the eldest uncle. He too glared at Ji Chuang, knowing that going back home would surely result in punishment for her.
The looks from the men in the house made Ji Chuang tremble. She glanced at Yi Fan, who was particularly serene, and immediately realized her mistake. She was just angry about being scolded, but it wasn’t that she didn’t want her children to learn.
"I will teach just like I used to. I don’t have enough money to train everyone, but the children can still learn the old way. They can learn from practicing. I will only teach the children who are kind to me. Xiao Feng, Xiao Fu, Lan’er, and Lin’er can come. The other two children, I fear, might disrupt the others’ learning. If they go back, Xiao Feng can teach them. I don’t forbid sharing this knowledge with others," Yueqian said.
She was harsh with those who had been harsh with her. Living with Xiao Long and Huan’er, she knew which children were what sort. Xiao Fong and Lu’er, like their mother, had never been kind to Mu Heng and the younger siblings, sometimes even tattling on them.
Only Xiao Feng from Ji Chuang’s house was kind to them. The others were children from Yi Fan’s house, maybe because Yi Fan was lazy and often sent the children to play on their own, but Ji Chuang was different. She liked to share her grievances with the children, but Xiao Feng’s age was quite close to Mu Heng, hence, they were more likely to go hunting and foraging together.
Ultimately, when Mu Heng and his younger siblings were struggling, only four children cared for. The other two stayed with their mother, pampered well. As time passed, they became increasingly self-centered.
At first, hearing Yueqian’s words, the eldest uncle and Aunt Ji Chuang prepared to fight for all the children to learn equally. However, Grandfather Mu spoke up first, fearing that in the end, no one would learn to write at all.
The two children, feeling abandoned, felt the worst. They cried all the way home, saying that Mu Heng’s house had mistreated them and even calling Yueqian a true wicked witch.
"Then we will leave first, and tomorrow we will bring the children here," Grandfather Mu stated. He ignored the disgruntled expressions of his eldest son and his wife, as well as the children’s crying.
All he wanted for his household was for at least one of the Mu descendants to have the opportunity to become a scholar and serve in government. It didn’t matter whether it was his eldest son, his second son, or Mu Heng’s children; as long as they were from the Mu family, he would rest easy. Grandmother Zhu felt the same. Seeing that four of the children in her house had the chance to learn while two did not, she wasn’t overly concerned. In the future, if those two did not know much, they could simply work on the farm at home.
But could the children’s parents be satisfied with this? Their fists clenched in frustration, especially as they saw all the children from the third brother’s family learning. The second brother felt no different; his hopes rested solely on Xiao Feng. This only fueled his anger.
He was most angry at the parents who did not help them, and at his own sharp-tongued wife who did not know when to keep quiet, even the second brother’s wife, who usually shared her temperament, managed to remain silent today.
If only she could tolerate their granddaughter-in-law’s sharp tongue a bit, their children would have the opportunity. Why couldn’t his wife bear it?! Once home..., he would hit her severely!
Once they returned, Mu Heng turned to his own wife.
“If you are uncomfortable, it’s alright. I will teach the children what I know for now.” Mu Heng said. He did not realize that Yueqian’s teaching to the four children was not at all burdensome. As Xiao Long and Huan’er studied, those children both watched and listened, creating no burden at all.
"It’s fine. Those children are lovely and not stubborn at all. I feel no burden." Yueqian touched his arm to ease his worries.
The next day, the children really braved the snow to come and learn. They were brought by the second uncle in a sled, so they didn’t suffer much hardship. When they arrived at Mu Heng’s house, the second uncle returned to his tasks because he had to help grind flour, leaving only the four children at Mu Heng’s home. Yueqian then made them some warm soup to eat.
The children were quite intelligent. They knew that what their parents saw the day before was all a deception. Having eaten only grilled pancakes daily, today, tasting the soup with the flavor of meat in it, they were delighted.
After that, they began their studies, spending the winter with Mu Heng and their sister-in-law.
The peaceful time quickly went by. Maybe because the households of Yi Fan and the second uncle got some help for their children to learn characters. Even though learning was slow—studying one day and forgetting the next—they still had more opportunities to learn. So, it seemed like the second uncle’s family was somewhat nice to them. Sometimes Yi Fan would send them vegetable broth depending on the occasion.
Only Xiao Feng frequently frowned. When asked, he would say that when he returned, he had to teach his two younger siblings to read, but the two didn’t pay much attention, study while playing and ended up learning nothing. When they failed to remember, their mother would scold him for not teaching his younger siblings properly. If it went on like this, his younger siblings wouldn’t pass the examination to become scholars as planned.
Yueqian then brought up the wicked thought.
"If your younger siblings don’t pass, then you just need to pass yourself." Because of this, Mu Feng became more determined to study. Initially, his dream was to follow Mu Heng; even if he wasn’t a scholar himself, he wanted to earn money so his siblings could become scholars. Now, seeing the determination of others, except for his own younger siblings, he thought he should aim to become a scholar himself, as that seemed more attainable.
Towards the end of the winter, it was reported that many in the village were injured or died. Some people hadn’t prepared enough food, forcing them to go up the mountains to forage. But what could be foraged at this time? The high snow had killed nearly all the trees and plants.
Not only were they starving, but some also got injured from falling down the mountain, since climbing on snow is unlike climbing on solid ground, it can collapse at any moment. Sometimes, snow from the treetops would fall on them.
This was the consequence of a winter longer than usual. Some suffered from severe cold, and worse, some lacked firewood for heating.
The hardship of many like this happened every year, and today, it was finally passing.
"Big brother, sister-in-law, the sun is out," Xiao Long was the first to notice. He shouted joyfully.
The sunlight meant that the dense snowstorms were about to pass, and they who had been cooped up indoors could finally go out and play outside.
"Ah, that’s great. In less than ten days, we might be able to till the soil for farming," Mu Heng was also very happy. Although he had been making money by transcribing texts during the winter, his duty was to procure food to fill the kitchen. He didn’t want to burden Yueqian’s provisions any further.
Mu Heng also knew how much of a burden this recent winter would have created for them if not for Yueqian. It was his wonderful wife who had saved their lives.
"Husband, should the kids take a break after this? As for the Mu children, tell them to pause their studies until next winter," Yueqian suggested. Even though Xiao Long and Huan’er were still studying, she didn’t want them to struggle as before.
The two were very diligent, so intent on their studies that they neglected everything else. But as children, their memory had its limits, and they were now facing that barrier. The things they learned initially, some words they would completely forget, which often saddened them.
Yueqian knew that the best learning came from frequent use, not from forcing them to memorize. Just let them practice writing regularly while also making some money. Soon, it would sink into their brains naturally, and they wouldn’t even have to think about it to remember due to familiarity.
"That’s fine then. This year I was planning to build a chicken coop. Let’s have the kids help with that too," Mu Heng said. The two little ones agreed as well.
Originally, their parents had planned to build a chicken coop long ago, but unfortunate events had occurred before it could happen. So, when this idea from the elder brother resurfaced, how could they disagree?
Raising chickens would give them eggs, and if they had excess, they could sell them. Once the chickens were old, they could also eat their meat. It was a win-win.
After finalizing next year’s plans, Mu Heng went to inform the Mu family. They agreed because the growing season required the children’s help as well. This was also the way to save more money and increase the chances of sending them to school as scholars.
The first light of the day excited many; they all ventured out, some to check their own fields, others to plan trips into the forest for foraging.
This buzz brought life back to the once-quiet village.
"A’Mu, Yueqian, is anyone there?" Aunt Liao, who had been out of sight for a long time, appeared at their doorstep. Mu Heng was not there as he had gone to see his own fields, leaving only Yueqian and the younger siblings at home. Thus, Yueqian, being the eldest, came out to greet her.
"Aunt Liao, what brings you here?"
"Of course, there’s a reason. Tomorrow we’re going into the city, and I’ve come to invite you to join us. Would you like to go?"
"To the city? What time will you leave?" Yueqian tilted her head and asked the other party. Her eyes clearly showed her interest in going together.
