Except for the Shangshu class every other day which was in the afternoon, Hua Zhi scheduled all her classes in the morning. She divided her time into two parts: one was being a teacher and the other was handling household affairs, without delaying either.
The first class on the formal day was the Analects of Confucius for the small class. Hua Zhi did not dress up as a teacher, but wore a plain outfit with her long hair tied up lightly. She did not wear any jewelry. She could not sit cross-legged on the ground like the men, so she knelt with her legs folded.
The nine little rascals looked at their sister who was walking onto the stage with their eyes wide open... Well, sir, wait for her to speak. Brother Berlin said that anyone who disobeys will be punished.
Hua Zhi smiled as soon as she took one look. In this age when people get married at the age of sixteen or seventeen, most children are precocious.
The ancestor of the Hua family set hundreds of family rules for the sake of their descendants. One of them was that children had to leave their mothers after the age of two. Brothers of similar ages lived together, with four people living in one yard. The servants were all boys, and maids were not allowed to get close to them without permission. Children raised in this way naturally had less feminine air, and no one could instill in them things that they were not supposed to understand at their age. Although they were still precocious, they didn't have that many tricks.
It is also because of this that among the Hua family's children, even the illegitimate sons, few have a bad reputation, and her fourth uncle is already an exception.
Thinking of her fourth uncle, Hua Zhi's expression dimmed a little. Putting aside all the trivial things, she opened the book and also opened the lessons she had prepared.
She has never been a teacher, but after so many years as a teacher, she has learned a lot from her students, so preparing lessons is not a problem for her.
"We have been on hiatus for a while. We are not in a hurry to learn new knowledge. Let's review what we have learned before..."
Hua Zhi's voice was soothing and she always had a faint smile on her face. She quickly won the hearts of these children who had left their mother early. Every time she asked a question, they blinked their eyes and expressed strongly "click me, click me" with their eyes. They were still young and had not formed the concept that women could not be teachers. Without Hua Bailin's threat, they quickly accepted this female teacher.
Mr. Mu, who had been listening outside the door for a while, realized that the eldest daughter of the Hua family would either not make a move or it would be amazing once she made one. If it were him, he would not be able to explain the Analects of Confucius, which has been passed down for many years, in such a profound and easy-to-understand way.
Every year, talented men and women are evaluated in the capital, and he had also read their poems out of curiosity. There were good works, but most of them did not live up to their reputations. The poems were far-fetched and forced to express sorrow. It would be better to read books thoroughly like the young lady, because that is the real talent.
It didn't take much effort to win over the children in the older class. The Book of Shangshu is about history, and she had been telling these stories to Berlin for several years. When she had nothing else to tell, she made up her own stories. With this foundation, she made the obscure Book of Shangshu more interesting. Mr. Mu went to eavesdrop a few times and flipped through the book after returning, but he could not tell that it contained such rich and interesting content.
There were students who wanted to challenge the argument, but they were so engrossed in the lecture that they couldn't figure out where to find fault. When the class was over and Hua Zhi had left, they remembered what they were supposed to do. In the end, they could only pat their heads and go back to get scolded.
The old lady specially asked Madam Su to inquire about Mr. Mu. Mr. Mu only said that he was worthy of being taught by the old grandfather himself, and he benefited a lot. Out of curiosity, the old lady asked Madam Su to help her go to the clan school to listen. When she left, she felt a little lighter. She was worried that the eldest girl was showing off because she couldn't find a teacher, but now it seems that she was being modest. From the children's reactions, it can be seen that this female teacher did not cause any dissatisfaction. Even if there was, it was resolved by Zhier invisibly.
Zhier has the confidence in her heart, which is why she is so confident. That's great, the old lady thought. If the Hua family had more people like Zhier, she would really feel at ease.
Pausing for a moment, the old lady asked with great interest, "I remember that the second and third girls are both famous for their talent. How do you think they compare to the eldest girl?"
Nanny Su was not optimistic in her heart, but she could not say it clearly, so she just said vaguely: "To be called a talented woman, it is not bad."
The old lady had unprecedented trust in the girl from the Hua family at this moment, and she did not hear that she was not sincere. She smiled so much that the wrinkles in the corners of her eyes became more obvious: "Talk to Zhi'er later and let the second and third girls try it out. They don't have to be teachers, but it would be good for them to help Zhi'er out when she is busy."
Nanny Su didn't expect the old lady to come up with this idea, so she tried to bring her thoughts back, "It's not good to change the master all the time. I see that the young masters like the young lady very much, and changing someone may not have the same effect."
"It's in your own home anyway, so there's no harm in giving it a try." The old lady looked up at the sky and said in a light voice, "We know that Zhi'er has made many arrangements during this period. She is focusing on the long-term future rather than the immediate interests, but other people don't know. They just think that I am partial to the eldest wife and Zhi'er, the eldest granddaughter. In this case, we must give them a chance to come forward. If they seize it, it is naturally their ability. If they are not capable enough, then they can blame the heavens, the earth, or themselves, but they can't blame me or Zhi'er."
“You are considering it.”
"I have to think about it more. Zhi'er only has the big picture in her eyes. She only thinks about the big things. She doesn't care about these small things. I have to think more about her. Maybe I can get more help."
"Yes, I am looking forward to it too."
A few days later than expected, Xu Jie finally returned.
Xu Jie was much thinner than when he left, but he was full of energy. He bowed down in front of the young lady with vigor and vitality, "My humble servant has met you, young lady."
"Hurry up." Hua Zhixu helped him up. From his expression, she knew that this trip must have been fruitful. "Did everything go smoothly?"
Although Xu Jie was excited, he did not forget his identity. He lowered his eyebrows and was respectful. "I followed your instructions and went to the Jiangnan area. Just as you said, there are too many citrus fruits there and the price is very low. I am a stranger and cannot be trusted by the locals. So I first paid a generous visit to the dock, and then paid half of the deposit to a famous shipping company there to rent a large ship. With the ship as a guarantee, the locals trusted me and used the remaining money to buy some of the bulk goods. Those who had large gardens only paid the deposit and asked them to come to Beijing with the ship. After the goods were unloaded, they would go back with the ship."
"You didn't hire an escort?"
"No, there are more than 20 crew members on the ship, and it's not a valuable cargo, so the water ghosts won't take it seriously."
Hua Zhi nodded slightly, estimating the size of the ship. Shipping via the canal is different from shipping via sea. The water flow in the canal is not fast and the danger is low. For a ship of the same size, the crew is far less than that by sea. But even so, there are more than 20 crew members. This is probably the largest ship that can sail on the canal.
"How much silver is still missing?"
"Two hundred and eighty taels short."
"Including the remaining ship's fare?"
"Yes, this is the account book, please have a look, young lady."
Nian Qiu took the account book, looked at it, and nodded to the lady.
This amount of money was less than she expected. Hua Zhi stood up and said, "Wait for a moment. I'll go to the port with you."
"yes."
PS: These two chapters involve ancient masterpieces, and the writing is a bit difficult. Well, thank you girls for your support, muah.