After returning from Sister Wen's house, Yingbao ran to find her parents, jumping and skipping all the way.
"Mrs. Wen said that I would be her first disciple and she would teach me individually in the future."
Jiang Sanlang frowned when he heard this: "Surname Wen?"
"Yes, it was Grandpa Wen's fourth son and daughter-in-law who came to our village last time." Yingbao chattered and told her parents the whole story.
"Uncle Wen was in poor health and wanted to recuperate in a beautiful place with clear water and mountains, so he brought his family of four to settle here."
"Mrs. Wen also said that since her daughter also needs to study, why not set up a girls' school here and teach other girls as well."
Chunniang smiled and said, "That's great. My Baoer happens to be studying there, and the teacher is a female teacher. It's perfect for her."
Jiang Sanlang looked serious, pulled his little girl aside, and asked in a low voice: "Bao'er, do you really want to go to school?"
"Yes." Of course Yingbao wanted to go.
She was certain that Sister Wen was Sister Wen Shu from her previous life.
But I don't know why she is here in this life.
Jiang Sanlang frowned and asked carefully, "Did the Wen family ask you about the ancestral secret recipe?"
Yingbao's almond eyes flickered and she shook her head: "No."
"That's good." Jiang Sanlang touched his daughter's head and said, "Remember this in the future. No matter who asks you about any secret recipe or secret medicine, don't reveal a single word."
"I know, Dad. We don't have any secret medicine or anything."
Of course Yingbao understood what her father was worried about, but her soul was that of an adult, so she was only occasionally less defensive towards her parents. How could she be so foolish as to tell others that she had a secret
Jiang Sanlang patted his daughter, feeling a little relieved, and said to his wife, "I will be staying in Nanpo for a while recently, you stay at home and take care of the children."
His daughter got more than twenty saplings from somewhere, and a large bag of seeds, saying that they were foreign cotton bought from a peddler, and asked him to plant them in the field on the south slope.
So Jiang Sanlang was very busy. He was not only busy planting saplings, but also turning the soil to plant cotton, and he also had to take care of the fertile fields at home.
Fortunately, the golden ear mushrooms have not yet produced fungi, otherwise he would not be able to break off eight petals by himself.
"I know." Chunniang was not worried about anything else except that Han from Xicun would take advantage of their unpreparedness to harass her daughter.
"Since she is going to school, she should prepare the necessary gifts and six rituals. Although she is a girl, she should not be short of anything when she pays respect to the teacher any more than a boy."
"I will ask my parents about this and prepare everything that needs to be prepared." Chunniang said as she took the key to open the box, preparing to give some money to her parents-in-law and ask them to prepare the gift for her apprenticeship.
The old couple have a lot of experience and are familiar with etiquette. They know what gifts should be prepared for going to school better than the two of us.
Jiang Sanlang nodded, gave Yingbao a few more instructions, and then carried the shovel to the south slope.
When Jiang Liu heard that her third daughter-in-law wanted to send Yingbao to a girls' school, she slapped her thigh and said, "Sending one is fine, sending two is fine too. Why don't we let both Da Ni and Er Ni go to school?"
Mrs. Jiang had no objection and asked her daughter, "Dani, why don't you go to school with your cousin and study for a few days?"
Dani quickly shook her head: "I won't go." She is already eleven years old this year and will be married in a few years. How can she have the nerve to study with a bunch of little kids who are only a few years old.
"You really don't know what's good for you!" Jiang Liu's face darkened, and she glared at her granddaughter and said, "Why don't you learn to recognize a few words?"
My family is not short of money now, and my granddaughter has learned to read, so she will be looked up to by her in-laws in the future.
Dani hid behind her mother, poked Zhou with her finger, and whispered, "Mom, I won't go to school. If I want to learn to read, I can learn from Yuanbao."
Zhou was helpless and said to her mother-in-law, "Dani is already so old, it won't look good for her to go to school. If she wants to learn to read in the future, she can learn from her brother."
Jiang Liu glared at her eldest daughter-in-law angrily, turned around and asked Erni: "If your eldest sister doesn't go, you should go with Yingbao."
Erni nodded, feeling very happy, but also worried that if she went to school, no one would take care of her little brother Huzi. "Grandma, where is Huzi?"
Jiang Liu suddenly remembered that she had a mischievous grandson. "Then let Hu Zi go too. I wonder if Mr. Wen accepts male disciples."
Because Hu Zi was too young, the clan school teacher refused to accept him, so he just played with Ying Bao, Xiao Jie and Da Wu.
"Let's go ask Mr. Wen later if they accept male disciples."
Chunniang handed two strings of money to her mother-in-law and said, "I don't know if these are enough for the gifts. If not, I'll go back and get more."
Jiang Liu took the money and said, "It won't take that much to prepare the Yingbao, but we have to prepare the tuition as well. These two strings of money will be enough."
The next day, Chunniang sent her two sons to the front yard and asked her sister-in-law to look after them. She carried Liuli in a bamboo basket and took Yingbao to Mr. Wen to become his apprentice.
Jiang Liu also took Erni and Huzi and brought double the amount of tuition to the Wen family.
While Mr. Wen was away, Mrs. Wen, Xiao Zhenniang, was leading a maid to decorate the newly built school.
"Mr. Wen, I'm here to become your disciple!"
Yingbao started calling out from a distance.
Xiao Zhenniang came out of the house and saw that it was the Jiang family who had arrived. She quickly asked the maid to bring stools and asked Jiang Liushi and Chunniang to sit down.
The three of them exchanged a few pleasantries, and Jiang Liu mentioned her grandson Hu Zi. "Hu Zi is almost five years old this year. He usually plays with his sister and cousin. Now that Er Ni Ying Bao has entered the school, it is not a good idea to leave him alone at home. I think it would be better to send him to the school so that he can be a companion to his sisters. I wonder if Mr. Wen accepts male disciples?"
Xiao Zhenniang smiled and said, "Normally, I won't accept him. Although my husband teaches, he is only responsible for enlightening the child. If you want to use this to take the imperial examination, it won't work."
What she meant was that her husband had limited knowledge and was only responsible for teaching the child to read. If the child wanted to take the imperial examination, he would have to find another famous teacher.
Jiang Liu laughed when she heard this. "How old is he? How can he take the imperial examination? Please accept him and teach him a few words."
Xiao Zhenniang smiled and nodded, "Then stay here first, I'll tell my husband later."
"Oh, that's great." Jiang Liu was overjoyed.
Just like that, Yingbao and Erni Huzi entered the Wen family academy to study at the same time.
A few days later, a plaque was hung at the Wen Family Academy with a few large characters written on it: Ai Chang Women's Medical Academy.
Yingbao and Erni Huzi also started school officially the day after the school plaque was hung.
But when I entered the school, I found that there were only my three siblings, sister Wen, and a boy named Wen Hengyin.
This is a bit embarrassing.
I thought the teacher would be ashamed for not having any students, but Yingbao secretly observed them for a while and found that they were calm, as if nothing had happened.
Next, I was in the same classroom with Sister Wen, and was taught individually by Mrs. Wen.
Wen Hengyin and Hu Zi and Erni were in another classroom, where they were taught Thousand Character Classic by Mr. Wen Si.
The five students were divided into two classes, with one teacher teaching each.
It's just outrageous.
Mrs. Wen handed Yingbao a medical classic and then began to lecture.
"My dynasty's medicine is divided into four branches: medical treatment, acupuncture, massage, and incantation."
Mrs. Wen said: "We will mainly study medicine in the future, but we must also learn acupuncture, massage, and incantations..."