Chapter 56: Chapter 34: Yang Family Catches a Ride to the Market

In the afternoon, Juhua prepared the usual three sets of offal. After blanching them, adding seasonings, and stir-frying them, she placed them in a pot with pickled vegetables to simmer slowly over a low fire.

Just then, Mother Yang walked into the courtyard carrying a shoulder pole with two baskets of napa cabbage and yellow-heart cabbage. She said to Juhua, “We’ll sun-dry the cabbage tomorrow. We need to hurry up and pickle it, or with the way we’re selling it every day, we won’t have enough pickled vegetables.”

Juhua said to her, “Mother, could you go cut some more napa cabbage? I want to make spicy cabbage. That kind doesn’t need to be sun-dried!”

Mother Yang asked doubtfully, “What’s spicy cabbage? How come I’ve never heard of it?”

Juhua smiled and said, “It’s something I came up with. Eating the same old pickled vegetables all the time gets so boring! Let’s try a different method. We might just whip up something delicious!”

Mother Yang now had great faith in the new dishes Juhua came up with from time to time. She smiled. “Alright, let’s give it a try! It’s just a bit of seasoning and cabbage. We’ll make a small batch first, and if the flavor’s right, we can make more!”

Juhua agreed. She hadn’t planned on making a large batch anyway, since she was missing many of the ingredients. At the very least, she couldn’t get her hands on any apples or pears. She did have white radishes, though, so she could only make a spicier version of the spicy cabbage.

So, she said to Mother Yang, “Mother, pickling it this way uses a lot of chili powder, chili paste, garlic, and ginger. We also need to add some sugar. I’m afraid it will be more expensive than our usual pickled vegetables.”

Mother Yang said confidently, “Don’t worry about that. As long as it’s delicious, it’ll be fine!”

So, the two of them went and cut some more napa cabbage to have on hand.

When Qingmu returned from the village school and heard they had actually made two hundred cents today, he was stunned. A *dan* of white rice only cost one tael and two maces of silver this year, yet his mother had earned so much in a single day. This was far more profitable than farming.

His feelings were complicated. His little sister was so clever, managing to turn a one-cent business into such a smooth success. ’Does she even need me to support her? It’s more likely I’ll be the one depending on her!’

In any case, Qingmu still doted on his little sister. He remembered his promise to teach her how to read, but with one thing after another happening recently, he hadn’t been able to follow through.

He went to the riverbank to get some sand, then asked Zheng Changhe to weave a square bamboo tray. He filled the tray with the sand so they could practice writing on it with a stick. This would also save paper!

From then on, whenever he had a spare moment, he would teach Juhua how to read and write.

To his utter astonishment, no matter how much he taught her, Juhua could always remember it quickly. She would also ask incredibly detailed questions about related characters and their explanations, making him feel that his own knowledge was insufficient.

Little did he know, Juhua was just as baffled. ’How can my brother’s textbooks contain the *Analects* and the *Zhuangzi*? What on earth is going on?’

But Juhua was incredibly busy every day and had no time to investigate the matter. Qingmu had also just started at the school, so asking him wouldn’t yield any answers. She could only set the issue aside for now. ’I’m sure I’ll figure it out one day,’ she thought.

’Honestly, even if I can’t figure it out, it doesn’t really matter. What could I do even if I knew? I still have to raise pigs and feed chickens. It’s not like I can go take the exam to become a Champion Scholar, can I?’

Qingmu clearly felt the pressure. To handle Juhua’s questions, he had no choice but to study more diligently at school and consult Mr. Zhou more often. As a result, his academic progress far surpassed that of the other students in the village, earning him Mr. Zhou’s sincere praise.

All the students at the school were from Qingnan Village. Seeing how dedicated Qingmu was, the others were naturally unwilling to be left behind.

The first to follow suit was Zhang Huai, who also began to study with all his might. Little Shitou, being close to Qingmu, naturally joined in and studied hard as well—he wanted to do well so he could teach his Big Sister Juhua. The others were also motivated, and the academic atmosphere in the entire school became better than ever before!

Mr. Zhou was so delighted he stroked his beard, his eyes crinkling with joy. He said to Village Head Li Gengtian, “I’ve taught in other places before, but I have never seen children as eager to learn as the ones in your village. Alas, I’ve lived a mediocre life and accomplished nothing. If I can produce a few decent disciples in my later years, I can die without regrets!”

After speaking, he gazed wistfully into the distance. To the west, the Little Qing Mountain range rose and fell like a long, prostrate dragon, coiling into the horizon. Beyond Little Qing Mountain lay his former glory and his past, but all of that was now a bygone affair.

Li Gengtian was naturally pleased. He said to Mr. Zhou, “It’s all thanks to your excellent teaching, sir. If our village could produce a Scholar, we would truly have to thank you profusely!”

Mr. Zhou just smiled faintly and said nothing.

’A Scholar? What a joke! If I were to teach with all my heart and only produce a mere Scholar, it would be an insult to my name!’

******

On the third day, as Mother Yang was heading out to sell her wares, she ran into Old Cheng and his ox-cart right at the village entrance.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep