Porridge and side dishes [farming]

Chapter 62 Children go to school [6]

"Just being able to stand firm, it's too early to go before one year old, I babble all day long, I don't know what I'm talking about. I heard in my room that girls should be more delicate and take good care of them, but I didn't read it." What's wrong, my wife and children are all around Sanya, so they can't see me."

After Ergua finished speaking, he changed the subject and said again: "Speaking of it, it's better to be fourth uncle. My family is full of ghosts and wolves all day long. I don't know how long I haven't slept well. There are many girls in my family who are pampered again." , I feel sorry for the two copper coins and I will be punished, don't mention it."

Li Ji heard that his words were not right, so he was not in a hurry to continue.Er Gouzi came in with a teapot and poured tea respectively.Er Gouzi doesn't like to join in the fun, so most of the people at home hide in the kitchen and work.Just before the chicken was chopped, Er Gouzi went to the kitchen to chop the chicken after pouring the tea.

Li Ji blew on the tea froth in the tea bowl, and he didn't rush to answer. After waiting for a while, Ergua saw that Li Ji didn't have the intention to continue, and felt a little anxious, so he had to continue by himself.

"My life is worth everything. The eldest son is married and his daughter-in-law is pregnant. He is about to become a grandfather, so I don't want to do anything. It's just that the second child in my family has been smart since he was a child. He can listen to the children's popular nursery rhymes twice. In the past few years, the family was really difficult. Now that Sanya is born, I pay less attention to the second child. I am really afraid that I will feel sorry for my second son, so I just think about it Send him to study in the county, not to mention the test of merit, after learning two characters, it is easier to work as a waiter in the restaurant in the county, it is better than working hard in the village."

Speaking of which, Li Ji understood what Ergua came over.The village really has never produced a scholar, and after more than ten years of studying, there can be one or two. They are all the only sons of the family, holding copper coins out of their teeth and sending them to study.

There is only one scholar left in the village, 47. He is plagued by various diseases and can't live for a few years. Although he has no fame, he is called a scholar. Now whoever has a child will take the time to ask for a word. The village is nice The names basically come from him, which is why there are few crooked names in the village, unlike in other villages, there are three children named Gousheng and two named Goudan.

"Reading is a good thing." Li Ji finally put down the tea bowl that he had been blowing for a long time. Li Ji just wanted to study but had no conditions.

Li Ji is more cautious than others, and he is also smart.Many people said that Li Ji is a talented young man, and it would be a pity not to study.

Li Ji's father also thought about it, but the family is really poor, and if there are two copper coins, they will be given to his father. If the eldest brother has a wife and children, it is not easy for him to pay for the money. Father left, and Li Ji didn't study for a day to learn a single word.

Nowadays, Li Ji is the most money-sufficient, and he has no obsession with going to school, even if he goes to school now, it will be a pity that he didn't have a chance when he was a child, or he might really be able to pass the exam now.

It's no use talking now.But what Ergua said really hit the point.If it was something other than borrowing money, Li Ji would let it go with a laugh. If it was something like educating the children, Li Ji really supported it.

Li Ji finally opened his mouth, and the smile on Ergua's face deepened, and he said: "That's the truth, if the second child doesn't talk much, just study for a year and a half, and after reading a few books, he can gain a foothold in the city. We can also enjoy the blessings of being a scholar, can we also enjoy the benefits? It's just the tuition..."

"Mr. Bai needs to prepare for the apprenticeship ceremony, and the tuition fee is another calculation. You only need money to enter the school." Li Ji calculated, "Tell me how much you are short of."

Ergua stood up excitedly: "You know that the first child was born in the family last year. In addition, the eldest brother got married two years ago, and all the savings in the family have been taken out. There is really no money on hand. The land has just been planted. In fact, there is no other income from the family, and this apprenticeship ceremony is a worry, otherwise I wouldn't have the cheek to come to the door."

Li Ji nodded, waiting for Ergua's next words.

After the previous foundation was laid, Ergua continued: "You have to buy good things worth one penny for this apprenticeship ceremony. The tuition fee is more expensive for the first two months, three pennies per month, and every month for the rest of the year. Two renminbi a month, which will rise little by little later, three renminbi in the second year, three and a half renminbi in the fourth year... Calculated in this way, it will cost one, two or six renminbi in the first year, and more than 2000 in copper plates. I wanted to send him to study, but I couldn't pay for it, so I came here to beg fourth uncle."

It's really nothing to put one, two or six coins here with Li Ji, just kill a few more rabbits, but for an ordinary family, that's really all the income for one or two years.The family still has to eat, so there will always be some expenses, and all the money that is impossible to earn will be used for the children to study. After reading and learning, I don’t know if it will be really useful.

"It's quite a lot." Li Ji nodded.

Having said that, Ergua let go of her heart, and listened to Li Ji's words, it is likely to happen.

"I just wanted to get two taels of silver from you, fourth uncle, and pay it back in the next two or three years when the family can live a tighter life. The second child will be a big boy after a year of schooling, and send him to the city to make a living. Anyway, I have never been ashamed of my children in my life."

These words are so deep and meaningful that anyone who hears them will be moved.Li Ji nodded. It is good for Ergua to have such a heart. People in the village feel that reading is like touching the stars in the sky. They think it is a qualification only for rich people. Do you want to read and write?

"It's a good thing for children to study, and nothing else matters. This matter can't be delayed. I have some spare money at home, but I'm about to buy livestock. It's time to spend money. Er Gouzi can eat meat. I'll take his Money can’t be missing and he’s missing. How about this, I’ll give you five coins first, and you send your second child to school first, and then come and get it if you don’t have enough money. We haven’t had a scholar in our village for many years. Let me lend you a confession, and I have light on my face."

Two taels of silver is a large sum. If it was someone close to the family, Li Ji would have given it all out, but he was really unfamiliar with Ergua, and since he hadn't contacted Ergua for a long time, he just came to borrow money, which made Li Ji feel uncomfortable.

However, since it is for the children to study, the money still needs to be borrowed, but not too much, if there is not enough in the future, it cannot be borrowed all at once.

Li Ji was caught off guard when he said that Ergua, his eyes flickered, and he wanted to speak again, but felt that it was inappropriate, so he nodded embarrassingly, and said a few words of thanks.

Li Ji gave a lot of money, although it was much less than what Ergua proposed, but now it is no problem to send people to school with the money.

Moreover, if Ergua is honest and willing to work, and take advantage of the slack time to find a job outside, it will not be difficult to support his wife and children and provide for his son to study.

Even if it is really difficult in the future, it will be easy to come to Li Ji for money again.

Li Ji counted out the silver, which was two small silver bumps and some copper plates: "These are five coins. You count them. Although it is not much, you should take the child there first. After a while, I will have no money at home." I'm so tight, I'll bring you some more."

Ergua carefully counted the silver and stuffed it into his sleeve, thanked Li Ji repeatedly, and went out to go back.

Ergua's child is not young anymore. In fact, it's really late to go to school, but it's a good thing to have the opportunity to learn how to read.

He came here once, and Li Ji noticed this.No child goes to school because he can't pay the tuition fees. Li Ji is also past the school age. What kind of fame is it? It's good to go to school for one or two years to help him manage the accounts, so that the family's livestock will be expanded and raised in the future, and the price will not be messed up.

Li Ji has no children, but there are some grandchildren left by the eldest brother's family. Li Ji's own nephews and grandchildren have six, and only two are of the right age.If Li Ji had spare money, it would be good to send them to study.

Thinking of this, Li Ji went out of the house to the kitchen to discuss with Er Gouzi.

If Li Ji didn't know a single character, then Er Gouzi didn't know what a character was. Li Ji just asked, and Er Gouzi just nodded.

Although he knew that Er Gouzi would never refuse any of his requests, Li Ji still had to ask.The two are husband and wife regardless of each other, but everything must be known to the other.

With this in mind, he stewed the chicken and let Er Gouzi watch the heat. When it was almost time to put potatoes, he packed up and went out to the village to find his nephew.

The eldest brother left behind a few children, the elder nephew and the second nephew who are closer to Li Ji.Li Jin is his second nephew, the father of Little Tudou. The eldest nephew has not been in good health recently, and he often gives gifts during the holidays, but his wife and children do it for him.

The eldest nephew has three sons. The eldest is married, the second is older, and the third is only nine years old this year. It is just right for him to start school.There was a child at the front of Li Jin's family who didn't have a place to live, and later got a little potato that hurt like an eyeball. It's the [-]th or [-]th of this year, and it's late, but it's okay to go to school.

Li Jin's house was close to Li Ji's, and Li Ji seldom went out, let alone his nephew's house.In fact, it stands to reason that Li Ji's father didn't have time early, and his elder brother also went. Before getting married, he should go to his nephew's house and let his nephew take care of him until he gets married. I was alone when I was a child.

"Fourth Uncle? Why did you think about it?" Erying, who had just finished her work and was washing her hands in the yard, wiped the water on her hands first when she saw it.

"I think of something and come over to discuss it. Where are Little Tudou and Yingzi?" Li Ji walked inside.

Erying opened the door for Li Ji and invited Li Ji in: "I went up the mountain to dig wild vegetables. Didn't my mother-in-law (dandelion) grow out? The two of you wanted to eat this, so I found a broken sickle and a shovel head." , and let them carry baskets up the mountain to dig by themselves.”

Erying poured Li Ji a bowl of boiled water: "I don't even have hot water at home, I'll boil it right away when you wait."

"It's not an outsider, so there's no need to trouble. Why didn't you see Li Jin?" Sitting firmly on the kang, Li Ji saw that there was no one in the room.

"You know the broken fence at my house. It broke after the rain a few days ago. It's under repair. You sit down first, and I'll call someone over."

Erying went out to call Li Jin, and Li Ji began to look around the room.

To be honest, the conditions of the people in the village are not good. It’s still the same sentence, the conditions are about the same. You can see the pattern engraved by the child naughty on it.

When the family gets married and the family is separated, the old man will always give the boss some money, so when Li Jin got married, there was really nothing left. This wardrobe was brought over by Erying’s natal family as a dowry, and it is the most decent piece of furniture in Li Jin’s house.

The eaves of the kang on which he was sitting had fallen off a few pieces, and the kang was full of pits and hollows. The straw mats on the kang were still soft to sit on.

After watching this round, Li Ji felt a little sad.There is no shortage of all kinds of furniture in his house, and they are all made of high-quality wood. The kang is covered with bamboo mats bought in the city. It is cool in summer, and it will not be too hot if you burn more fires in winter. Soft cushions, very comfortable to sit on.

In fact, Li Ji's original family photos are not as good as those of Li Jin's family. It is thanks to Er Gouzi that he lives in a good house.

It's just that Li Jin's family is having a hard time, but Li Ji can't directly help with money.Otherwise, if one has it, it is unreasonable not to give it to the other.Even if people don't come to ask for money, even if they come to borrow money, they can't afford it.

The money is given to others for nothing here, and it is not impossible to not even lend it to others.And if the loan is still not repaid, it is the benevolent's opinion.

Li Ji sat on the edge of the Kang and leaned against the wall thinking about something, Erying had already brought Li Jin over.

"Fourth Uncle." Seeing Li Ji called out, Li Ji smiled and nodded at him.

"You're busy here too, so I'll just say what I have to say. Today, Ergua, the head of the village, went to me to borrow money and said he wanted to support his children's education. When I heard that it was a good thing, I gave him five coins. Wait for him As soon as I left, I thought, it’s a good thing for children to study, but when we were young, we suffered from having no money and couldn’t read a few big characters, so we wandered around the village.”

Li Jin raised his eyebrows when he read the book: "Fourth Uncle, what do you mean..."

"I want to help Little Tudou to study." Li Ji said straight to the point, "Although our Little Tudou is a bit late in studying, it is still in time. And the old lump in your brother's house. Send it to study and read, not to mention the test It’s a good thing to eat the emperor’s food for fame and fame, even if you learn a few more words and help us to settle accounts later. Our old Li’s family can be regarded as prosperous, and there are two scholars, so it’s nice to talk about it.”

Li Jin was still pondering, Erying spoke first: "That's good, if there is a scholar in our family, it's a good thing that there is smoke on the ancestral grave. Jin Zi and I are poor and have no ability to provide for Little Tudou. Fourth uncle, if you have a heart, it is the blessing he cultivated in his previous life."

Li Jin shouted lowly: "What do you know? When you see something good, you rush forward, and you don't even look to see if the little potato is the material."

Erying immediately retorted: "It's not the material you are? Our little potato is just a bit thicker, but how good is his brain when he is mischievous? If you let him calm down and study hard, maybe he can really give us a test When a scholar comes down, he will be the number one scholar in our village, and I can see who in the village dares to say that our son is not good."

"Why don't you just say that you are short-sighted and think about the good in everything. Is naughtiness changed every day or two? I also said that you shouldn't save your dishes and chopsticks for washing. Have you changed it?" Li Jin said.

"Is that the same thing? How can there be a child who didn't scouring when he was young? Amoy is also promising, and others can't make as many tricks as little potatoes." Erying snorted coldly.

"I think your son is spoiled by you." Li Jin said.

The two of you were about to quarrel with each other. Li Ji quickly stopped the conversation between the two of you and said, "Don't quarrel in front of me. If you don't know, you may think that I am here to provoke you two. Actually This matter is neither big nor small. Xiaojin, it is normal for you to be worried, but it is good for us to try, in case a small potato is the material. There is no harm in learning. Let's let him study for a year first. Books, if you learn well, continue to learn, if you can’t learn well, go home and help me, I can’t lose my nephew.”

Erying stabbed Li Jin: "Look at what Uncle Si said, our son is not a crooked melon, no matter how mischievous he is, he is not to the point of killing people and setting fire to him. Maybe he will learn it after he goes to school. Even if I go to school and go back to the village to recognize a few words, it’s a gold allowance, saving me from going out and listening to others talking about my own children who are too embarrassed to open their mouths, making it seem like everyone else’s family is good and only our family is a bad one.”

After hearing what the two said, Li Jin also hesitated.What the two of them said made sense, that is, Li Jin was afraid of wasting Li Ji's money, so if the money was spent and Little Tudou screwed up, it would be a disappointment to Li Ji's good intentions.

Li Ji is not short of money, and lives a prosperous and extravagant life, but that is also his family's.In the past when Li Ji was not easy, I didn't see how the family helped him. Now that he is living a good life, we can't take him as a fool, can we?

"Fourth Uncle, if you take a fancy to Little Tudou, it will be Little Tudou's blessing. If you pay for it, then Little Tudou will serve you as a grandfather regardless of whether you have completed your studies or not. But I have more to say. In a word, this little potato is really spoiled by the two of us, it's really hard to say what will happen after school."

"It's a good thing for you to think so." Li Ji nodded and smiled, "It doesn't matter what you learn, even if you grow up to be a little potato, you will have no regrets. How many people want to study without that condition, when he was a child It will be a good thing for the future to be able to enter the school and recognize a gentleman."

Li Jixian left them five qian and asked them to find a teacher in the county. In fact, there is only one school in the whole county, which was opened by a scholar in his 40s.

Turning around, Li Ji went to the eldest nephew's house again, said the same thing again, and took out another five renminbi. At the end of the day, he escaped for one or two five renminbi, and still had nothing in his hand.

But Li Ji was in a very good mood.If two scholars were really confessed, even if Li Ji lived with a man for the rest of his life and never married a woman or had children, he would be able to give an explanation to the ancestors of the old Li family when he went underground.

Li Ji didn't think it was a sin for him to like a man, but it was really intolerable in the world.Li Ji has the courage to face it, but it doesn't mean he doesn't care at all.

When he got home, he could smell the stewed chicken from afar before he entered the yard. Li Ji sniffed hard, and now he would not go to study if he was asked to. Living a good life with Er Gouzi at home is better than anything else.

The most important thing now is to earn more money. If you earn more money, you will not be afraid of old age. When you get old, you two will support each other and hire two trustworthy long-term workers to serve you in your old age. This life is not in vain.

The more he thought about it, the more beautiful it became. Li Ji went into the yard humming an out-of-tune song, and Er Gouzi's meals were ready.It was getting dark outside, so I quickly finished my meal while it was dawn.

"Tomorrow you go up the mountain and I will take care of the house, and the day after tomorrow I will go to the city to sell leather and you will take care of the house. The work in the left and right fields is done, and now the animals in the family have less work and less work."

Now that the males and females of the rabbits have been divided, they plan to breed in large numbers to make more money. The eggs are now reluctant to eat, so I will find a hen to put them on after saving a litter. There will be more hens that hatch eggs, and fewer eggs will be laid. During the Chinese New Year, twenty eggs could be harvested a day, but now there are only five or six a day, and in three to five days there will be enough eggs, and there will be one less hen capable of laying eggs.

It is reasonable to say that eggs are the most valuable at this time, because there were few livestock raised in the drought last year, and few families can eat meat this year, and there are no livestock that lay eggs.

But Li Ji was in a hurry to hatch the eggs, so he could only let them go for a while until the chicks hatched, and then they could resume laying eggs.

Li Ji's recent headache is this chicken boy.Do you want to sell chicken cubs?Regardless of whether it is in the village, the township, or even the county, there are many people who do not have chickens, and even more people want to raise chickens.

Selling chicks or eggs that can hatch will definitely sell well, because no one will rush to grab them, and they can still be sold at a good price.But if it is sold, every household raises chickens and starts to lay eggs after more than half a year, then the meat and eggs of the family will not be easy to sell.

Last year's rabbit meat was so good, the main reason is that they didn't have any chicken or eggs to eat. If there is no shortage this year, if they buy breeding eggs or chicks, I'm afraid they will suppress their desire for meat during the few months of raising them. Waiting for my own growth.

Li Ji's idea is indeed selfish, but if he wants to make money, he has to think more about himself.

Last year, someone came to buy rabbits, but Li Ji didn't sell them. All he sold were killed rabbits, and he didn't even bring the rabbit skins.

A complete rabbit skin is valuable, and the one with less miscellaneous hair is more valuable. The value of rabbit skin is now more valuable than rabbit meat.

Li Ji put some cowpea fried meat with lettuce, then put a piece of potato full of chicken juice, and put a little rice, wrapped it up and stuffed it into his mouth, chewing a mouthful of food, delicious and satisfying coexistence.

Er Gouzi saw how delicious he was, so he followed suit. As a result, the two puffed up their cheeks like two big squirrels, and they both thought each other was very funny when they looked at each other.

Who cares, the chick hasn't hatched yet, so it won't be too late to wait for the chick to hatch.

Taotao and Songsong have been running into the mountains recently, and they are getting wilder and wilder.Li Ji always felt that they would leave completely one day, although he had been mentally prepared for this since the day he raised them, but seeing it now, he felt really uncomfortable.

The author has something to say: Create a branch line for Little Tudou~ I don’t like bear children, but naughty children do have wider thoughts than ordinary people. For example, sometimes acting like a monster is definitely a way that adults can’t think of. This kind of thinking is actually applicable in the right place is very useful

Everyone loves your refills~~