Zhou Hu was talking to Yang Heshu and lost track of time as they talked. When the old Zhou family arrived, he remembered that he had forgotten about business and hadn't had time to take a look at the situation in his family's land.
Yang Heshu also saw Lao Zhoutou leading a group of people over. Man Bao waved and called his parents from afar, so he had no idea who they were.
Yang Heshu looked over and found that there were so many people in the Manbao family.
However, Manbao asked, "Dad, where are the second brother, the third brother, and the fourth brother?"
"They have gone to plow another piece of land. It will be faster this way. Why are you here? Have you had lunch? Your sister-in-law doesn't know if she has left anything for you."
Man Baogang and Bai Shanbao Bai Erlang ate a lot of snacks, but they didn't feel hungry, so they said, "I'm not hungry."
Lao Zhoutou looked at Yang Heshu curiously and talked to him.
Zhou Dalang and others have already filed into the fields and started working. He and Zhou Hu pull the plow, while Wu Lang holds the plow. He has now learned how to hold the plow, and when old Zhou doesn't want to hold the plow, he basically leaves it to him.
Of course, he now has to take turns pulling the plow with Zhou Dalang and Zhou Hu.
Yang Heshu asked: "Isn't it easier for two people to pull the plow?"
"No, if you pull it alone, you won't have a few good pieces of meat on your shoulders at the end of the day. You will still have a lot of meat in the future, but you don't dare to work too hard. Sir, you also teach?"
Yang Heshu said with a smile: "I also teach."
Old Zhoutou had a natural affinity for the teacher and said with a smile: "Teaching is great. Those who can teach are all people with great abilities."
Yang Heshu smiled and asked, "Are there many people studying in my father-in-law's family?"
"Many," Lao Zhoutou said proudly, pointing to the grandson and granddaughter in the field, "here, even the youngest grandson is studying."
Yang Heshu opened his mouth wide and looked at Man Bao in surprise. How could such a family be so poor?
As if he has never seen poor people?
Man Bao opened her mouth to speak, but Yang Heshu smiled and asked before her, "Who is the gentleman? I wonder if the school is far away and how much is the annual training?"
"Ah?" Lao Zhoutou reacted, his old face smiled like a chrysanthemum, and he said cheerfully: "No money, no money, my daughter taught me."
Manbao, who was pointed at by Lao Zhoutou, puffed up his chest and looked at Yang Heshu proudly.
Lao Zhoutou said with some regret: "I am the only daughter in our family who is smarter. She learns things very quickly. Her brothers and her nephews and nieces are not as good as her. It takes a long time to learn two words. Well
There is no money to study with them, it just takes up some time.”
Yang Heshu obviously didn't expect that, and asked in surprise, "Books, pens, ink, paper and inkstones always cost money. It's pretty good that my husband is willing to spend money on them."
Along the way, not to mention those from ordinary and poor families, even wealthy farmers did not dare to send their children to school easily.
He asked them what they thought, and they all said that it was difficult to study and read. If the family had enough money, they would send their children to study. If they studied for a year or two and the family couldn't support it, they would take them back and they would not learn a few words.
Or maybe I forgot, isn’t this a waste of money?
You know, for ordinary people, the cost of books, pens, ink, paper and inkstones is also very high. In two years, they can already read a lot of words. Basically, they can read some of the simplest books intermittently. But if
If you can't keep buying books and practicing calligraphy, you will almost forget about it after a while.
You must know that young people learn things faster, but they also forget things faster.
Yang Heshu counted the heads of the children in Lao Zhou's family and nodded secretly. To buy so many books, pens, inks, paper and inkstones, it seemed that Lao Zhou's family would spend a lot of money.
But by the same token, their family is definitely not very poor.
Who would have thought that as soon as the thought crossed his mind, Lao Zhou burst out laughing and said cheerfully: "Sir, it looks like he has never experienced hardship. There are already books at home, so what books do you want to buy?"
Lao Zhoutou pulled his daughter to his side and praised Yang Heshu: "My daughter's husband is a good man. Every time he has to learn a new textbook, he will give her a copy. Manbao has learned it and goes home to practice calligraphy.
I copied one or two more books, and the ones that were not copied well were shown to the children at home. The ones that were copied well could be returned to the teacher. Next time there are students in the school who don’t want to spend high prices to buy books from the bookstore, then spend some money.
Get a copy from sir for the pen, ink and paper fee."
Yang Heshu opened his mouth wide.
"I don't expect them to become teachers or anything like that in the future. In fact, I think it's enough for people in the countryside to learn how to farm, do some calculations, and write their own names. In the future, they can calculate the taxes they have to pay by themselves, and there is no need to go to find them."
Li Zheng is helping me. I can just sign my name without drawing a circle." This is really what Lao Zhoutou really thinks, "But my wife and daughter both say that studying is good. Since it is good, let's study. Anyway, they
When I go out to play at home, I might as well squat in the yard with a stick and learn to write."
Yang Heshu: "...So there is no pen, ink, paper and inkstone?"
"Oh, that thing is very valuable. My daughter and her brothers went out to sell candy and made a lot of money. The money was basically spent on pens, ink, paper and inkstones. Occasionally, the family had to provide some for her. One box of ink was enough to buy several
It’s a lot of meat.”
Man Bao judged, "It's only three catties."
"Three kilograms is not much. It is enough to eat three times."
Yang Heshu now understood that it didn't cost much to co-write the books for so many people in the old Zhou family. Basically, he only had to pay for Manbao's pen, ink, paper and inkstones.
He touched his chin thoughtfully and glanced at the people of the old Zhou family one by one. Only then did he realize that except for Man Bao who was wearing half-old cotton and linen clothes, the clothes on the other people of the old Zhou family were all.
After applying a lot of patches, he also saw that the creaky hole called Wu Lang had a torn piece that had not been sewn back.
It's like Man Bao said, their family is very poor.
However, when Yang Heshu looked at Man Bao and the group of children who were fertilizing and sowing seeds in the field, he finally felt that something was wrong.
He smiled and asked Lao Zhoutou, "I think other families send their boys to study. Why is it the opposite for my father-in-law's family?"
Lao Zhoutou said without thinking: "That husband doesn't like the other children in my family. He just likes Man Bao. And my grandchildren are not as smart as my daughter. My daughter is very good at endorsing books. Read
You can memorize it after reading it three or four times. Those boys spent most of the day reading with their hands behind their backs. As soon as they closed the book, they couldn't remember the first sentence. They went to study with their husbands and couldn't teach others when they came back.
.”
Yang Heshu nodded, glanced at the proud Man Bao again, and couldn't help but smile knowingly. He was really the first, oh, no, the second smartest person within a hundred miles, right?
He asked Manbao curiously, "You said you used to be the smartest person within a hundred miles. Who told you this?"