There is a saying that goes, birds of a feather flock together.
Now, Chen Xuan has a very deep understanding of this sentence.
The Xu sisters have always been good friends with Wei Yin. In Chen Xuan's opinion, Wei Yin is the best girl, and the Xu sisters, as Wei Yin's friends, are also very good girls. Because Chen Xuan said she wanted to borrow a book, the Xu sisters asked, "Second sister-in-law, what book do you want to borrow?"
Chen Xuan looked at Wei Yin and said to the Xu sisters, "I didn't know how to read before, but I learned a few words from sister Yin, but I can only recognize a limited number of words. Second sister, third sister, any book is fine, you are all educated girls. I just want to read a few books, so that I can read and learn words at the same time."
"In my home, apart from the books we use for school, there are my father's collection of books." Xu Ermei felt a little embarrassed as she spoke. It was because their father devoted his life to books.
When Chen Xuan saw that Xu Ermei was in trouble, she quickly said, "Forget it if it doesn't work out. It's okay."
After she said that, the Xu sisters felt embarrassed. The third sister Xu was always lively and said with a smile, "Second sister, there is no need to worry. Second sister-in-law has just learned to read, and it is not like she is reading some rare books hidden by our father. It's just the same, second sister-in-law, besides the books we need for school, there are only some old books at home. The Four Books and Five Classics, etc., now except for some old schools and old families, no one studies these anymore."
Chen Xuan originally thought that borrowing the book was a dead end, but unexpectedly, there was still a way. Chen Xuan immediately said, "It doesn't matter whether it's old or not. As long as there are words printed on the book, it's fine."
The Xu sisters immediately agreed to lend the book, but Xu Sanmei was still a little curious, "Second sister-in-law, don't you have any books at home?" Although the Wei family is a business family, Chen Xuan is not borrowing any special books. Moreover, the Wei family also has children who study, how can there be no books at all
Chen Xuan felt a little embarrassed by Xu Sanmei's question, so Wei Yin took over and said, "You don't know my family yet. In the past, only my eldest brother and second brother went to school. They studied in a private school for a few years, and later, after they learned some words, they ran a shop with my dad, and the books were given to my eldest sister's in-laws. Now my two nephews are studying, but they are also studying year after year, and the books that are not needed are given to my eldest sister's in-laws. You said that my eldest sister has lived in her parents' home all year round, and she herself can't read, and I don't know why she took these books to her in-laws. So, now my family has the books that my nephews are using in class, but they have to use them for school every day, and they have homework to do when they go home after school, so they don't have time to read their books to us." Wei Yin had something she didn't want to say to the Xu sisters. Even if the second sister-in-law was learning to recognize words from her, it was still done secretly, away from her mother's eyes. Otherwise, if her mother saw it, she would nag.
After Wei Yin said this, the Xu sisters understood.
The first book she lent to Chen Xuan was not the Four Books and Five Classics, but a copy of Thousand Characters. In fact, the new school had only been open for a few years. Xu Ermei said, "This Thousand Characters was our enlightenment book when we were young. Second sister-in-law, read it first. When you are satisfied, I will help you change it to another one."
Thank you very much, Chen Xuan.
Chen Xuan has always been grateful. She could not repay the Xu sisters for lending her books, but whenever the Xu sisters needed to have their clothes altered, Chen Xuan would take care of all the work. Wei Yin was very impressed by Chen Xuan's borrowing books from the Xu family, and said, "Second sister-in-law, you are really resourceful."
Chen Xuan read the book with Wei Yin. Chen Xuan said, "Yin, you know me well. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't be able to read. I don't have much knowledge, but in our countryside, only the very wealthy landlords would send their children to the scholar's school to study. I think studying must be a very good thing. Although I can't say why it is good. But as long as it is a good thing, we should read more."
"Second sister-in-law, what you said makes sense." Although Wei Yin was smart and had a good memory, she had never paid much attention to studying before. With Chen Xuan, Wei Yin began to pay attention to studying.
Chen Xuan also copied the books that Xu sisters borrowed from her into a notebook when Mrs. Wei was not at home. If there were words she did not know, she would ask Wei Yin. If Wei Yin did not know them, Chen Xuan would ask Wei Nian at night. Then, when she knew them, she would tell Wei Yin. If it was a rare word that the Wei brothers and sisters did not know, Chen Xuan would ask the Xu sisters when they came over. Even if Chen Xuan did not understand the meaning of the book, she would memorize it thoroughly and look for opportunities to ask the Xu sisters.
Chen Xuan was very interested in learning to read. By the end of March, she had used up half of Wei Nian's ink bottle. Wei Nian smiled and said, "I'll sign you up for college admissions next year. Maybe you'll be able to get into college."
"Don't laugh at me." Seeing that Wei Nian was not angry that she had used up all the ink, Chen Xuan discussed with Wei Nian, "Brother Nian, can you help me buy a bottle of ink? I don't go out and I don't know where to buy it. Just tell me how much it costs and I will pay you back when I make money." Chen Xuan felt embarrassed when she said this. She hadn't paid back the one dollar and fifty cents due at the end of the year yet, and now she had to borrow money again.
Wei Nian laughed, "It's OK if you couldn't read before, but this time you have to sign a document."
Chen Xuan agreed immediately and said seriously, "Okay! Buy it back and I'll write you a receipt right away!"
Wei Nian smiled and said, "I'm just teasing you."
Wei Nian was joking, but Chen Xuan took it seriously. When Wei Nian bought some ink and went home, she wrote a promissory note to him. Wei Nian said he didn't need it, but Chen Xuan insisted on writing it anyway. A bottle of ink cost one dollar, which was not cheap.
Chen Xuan wrote the IOU, signed her name carefully, handed it to Wei Nian, and said, "Please keep it."
Wei Nian looked at Chen Xuan's handwriting and commented, "It's well written, just like what's printed in a book, square and neat."
Chen Xuan said, "I just learned it from books."
Wei Nian smiled. Ever since Chen Xuan started learning to read, Wei Nian felt that Chen Xuan was full of energy every day. Even now, when she talked to him, she didn't lower her head and twist her fingers when she was not doing well. After giving the IOU to Wei Nian, Chen Xuan put the notebook, pen, and ink in the drawer. After washing up, Chen Xuan closed his eyes and thought about the few new words he learned today before lying down to sleep.
Chen Xuan borrowed books from the Xu family, and she never forgot the favor. In early February, tender buds sprouted from the old toon tree in the yard. The old toon tree was very old, and its shade was so large that it could cover half of the Wei family's yard. The Wei family loved it, and Chen Xuan would get up early and climb the tree to chop the toon buds. The toon buds from this tree were too much for the Wei family to eat. She never forgot to make a portion for the Xu family, and sent them to them in the morning, neatly packed.
Toona sinensis sprouts can be eaten from early February to the end of April. Once the sprouts are available, as long as the Wei family eats them, the Xu family will also get a portion.
This is how friendships are formed.
In addition to the fragrant stick buds, in the beginning of spring, Chen Xuan, with the consent of Mrs. Wei, set up a vegetable plot in the yard of the Wei family. She planned to grow some vegetables so that the family could at least save money on vegetables in the future. Chen Xuan discussed this with Mrs. Wei, who said, "Yes, your sister-in-law doesn't know how to grow vegetables. Vegetables, beans, eggplants, cucumbers, loofahs, and tomatoes are all common vegetables at home." Mrs. Wei was very pleased with this matter, and she even waved her hand and let Chen Xuan go out to the East Vegetable Market.
Chen Xuan went with Li, and Wei Yin also went with her. Li even took Chen Xuan to Wangfujing and showed her her shop. Chen Xuan saw that it was a two-room shop with customers choosing fabrics. The shop assistants were wearing the robes that Chen Xuan had made in the spring. Chen Xuan looked at Wei's shop again and again, and felt that her aunt often said sourly that she had a good life in her hometown. In the eyes of outsiders, her life must be very good.
The three of them looked from afar for a while and then went to the East Market.
This trip really broadened Chen Xuan's horizons. She couldn't help but say in her country dialect, "Oh my god, it's much bigger than the market back home!" This really made Li and Wei Tui laugh.
Chen Xuan was almost dazzled by the sight. There were many things she didn't recognize. She quietly asked Li and Wei Yin, and then she realized that many of the dishes were from the south, and there were also fish from the south. Chen Xuan felt that her eyes had been opened. She also didn't forget what Mrs. Wei had told her, and bought many vegetable seeds. There were also strawberry seeds in the market. Chen Xuan didn't know what strawberries were. Li didn't know, but Wei Yin did. According to Wei Yin, they were extremely expensive fruits, red, very beautiful, and very delicious. When she asked about the strawberry seeds, she said that they cost one dollar and one cent. When Chen Xuan heard the price, she wanted to leave immediately. One dollar could buy three carts of apples, pears, and peaches in the countryside.
Wei Yin wanted to buy it, she brought her own private money with her. Chen Xuan quickly stopped Wei Yin from taking out the money and advised her, "This is too expensive, Ah Yin, you'd better not buy it. What kind of fruit is so expensive?"
The vendor had a side-parted haircut and his hair was slicked back, unlike many vendors in the East Market who had long braids. Chen Xuan knew that the fashionable men now all cut their braids and kept their hair short. The vendor's style was a new-school fashion. It just didn't look good, it was greasy and not refreshing. The vendor was also smart and said quickly, "Hey, ladies, this is a famous fruit seedling called strawberry. It's not a fruit from here, it's a foreign fruit, said to have come from the Russians, it's delicious, and it can't be compared to those apples, pears, and peaches. If I didn't have a relative who brought this fruit plant from outside the Great Wall, you see, there would be a second batch in such a big city like Beijing!"
Seeing that Wei Yin really wanted to buy it, Chen Xuan said, "We have never grown this kind of foreign fruit before, and we don't know if it can survive." She still didn't want Wei Yin to spend money in vain. What if it couldn't survive, it would cost a dollar.
The vendor assured me, "If I can't make a living, I'll set up a stall here all year round. Just come to me and I'll pay you back!"
"You sound nice." After saying this to the vendor, Chen Xuan advised Wei Yin, "Even if you buy it, I've never seen strawberries before, but as for apples and pears, they say peaches take three, apricots take four, and pears take five. Fruit trees don't bear fruit in the same year. If you buy it and it doesn't bear fruit, why are you waiting ten years for it to bear fruit?"
After Chen Xuan said this, Wei Yin really hesitated. If she had to wait ten years for the result, she might as well go to a western restaurant to eat.
But the vendor was really cunning. He could tell Chen Xuan had never seen this before, so he said, "This strawberry can bear fruit that year." The vendor guessed that business was not very good, so he hurriedly said, "Miss, if you buy one penny, I will give you half a penny?"
Wei Yin really wanted to buy it, and her expression was a bit pleading, "Second sister-in-law, let's go home and plant some and give it a try."
Chen Xuan had already glanced at the vendor's stall, weighed the packet of seeds, and said to the vendor with a stern face, "This packet of stuff from you is not worth even a penny. You should give me half a penny and buy it all for one dollar, or we'll leave right away."
"Come on, come on, come on. I've never seen a family like you that knows how to buy things." The vendor immediately put the bag of strawberry seeds in Chen Xuan's basket and said it was best to plant them at night. The sun was strong at noon and it would be difficult for them to survive. Chen Xuan took note of it carefully. She felt very distressed when she thought that such a small bag of seeds cost one dollar. She asked the vendor in detail how to plant them, how to apply fertilizer, and whether they prefer shade or sun. However, the vendor didn't seem to know how to plant them. Chen Meng really felt that buying this thing was a waste of money.
Wei Yin was in a very good mood, while Chen Xuan secretly thought that she would have to take good care of such a precious thing when she got home.
After Li bought the vegetables for the day, everyone went home.
On the way, Chen Xuan said to Wei Yin, "If the old lady knew that this small packet of seeds was so expensive, she would definitely blame you."
Wei Yin was not afraid of what her mother would say. She said, "Just tell me." She begged Chen Xuan, "Second sister-in-law, I don't know how to grow crops at all. You have to help me grow them."
"That's no problem." Chen Xuan said, "You have to be careful with such precious things."
Li asked, "Second sister, what is this strawberry?"
Wei Yin said, "It's a red fruit, this big, with dots on it that are smaller than sesame seeds, and it tastes sweet and sour. Last year, my second brother took me to a western restaurant, and the dessert was decorated with half a strawberry. It looked really good and tasted good."
Li said, "I haven't seen them sold in fruit shops either."
Chen Xuan was in huge debt, so she said, "If we can grow this, we can sell some of it, maybe we can make some money."
Li smiled, "We don't have a fruit shop at home."
Wei Yin also said, "The women in our family don't go out, and the eldest and second brothers are too busy with the shop business to handle it."
Chen Xuan didn't say anything. She owed Wei Nian two dollars and a half. Now that she could grow something valuable, she had to work hard no matter what. Even if there was no market for it in the future, Wei Yin said that it was a very delicious fruit. Besides, it cost a dollar to buy these seedlings.
In order not to waste the money, Chen Xuan had high hopes for this bag of strawberry seeds.
As a result, when I got home, I found out that I seemed to have been cheated!