The Daily Life of Farming and Raising Children in Ancient Mountain Residences

Chapter 272: Brilliant Lights

Sang Luo didn’t mind adding a bit more excitement. She raised her hand and pointed to the five people standing on one side of the classroom: Shen Ning, Xu Wenyin, Chen Xiaoya, Shen Yin, and Shi Qiao’er. “These are people many of you might recognize. They are the teachers of the village school.”

Pan Niang, who was small and sitting in the front row, got excited and whispered to her neighbors from the Feng and Zheng families, “My cousin! The one on the far right is my cousin!”

Outside, the onlookers Mrs. Xu and Mrs. Chen were equally pleased, with Mrs. Chen’s smile nearly reaching her ears tonight.

Most people did recognize these children, but there were a few who didn’t, and someone whispered, “Can such young children really teach?”

Immediately, someone retorted, “You might not know, but the one next to Sang Luo is An Ning’s wife, Sang Luo’s sister-in-law. Didn’t you hear her mention it earlier? She’s been teaching since she was little. If she were a boy, she would have passed the county exams like her two brothers.”

“And next to her is Xu’s wife. Her father is the manager of Dongfu Restaurant, and her brothers are all studying at the county school. She’s been reading and writing since she was young. The other children have also been taught by Sang Luo and the students who are now in the county school for several years. They started teaching in the mountains, and during morning exercises, they recited the… what’s it called?”

Mrs. Zhao helped fill in, “The Analects.”

“Yes, yes, the Analects. It sounds very nice, though it’s not very clear. So don’t let their age fool you; they’re quite capable!”

Concubine Fan glanced at Mrs. Zhao. It was dark, and she hadn’t noticed earlier, but now she saw the many patches on the old lady’s clothes.

She also knew about the Analects, which was quite rare.

Inside, when the murmurings subsided, Sang Luo continued, “An Ning and Wenyin are teachers for the basic class, responsible for the day school’s lessons. Xiaoya, Shen Yin, and Qiao’er are teachers for the evening class. Although they are young, whether they can teach you or not, you’ll know after attending a class. And I should mention that even someone as young as them can earn fifteen wen per class from me.”

“What?” Someone outside exclaimed.

Fifteen wen per class?

Two classes a day, one in the morning and one in the evening, that’s thirty wen!

A young child who attends two classes a day earns thirty wen?

Those who hadn’t registered felt quite distressed, especially those who had daughters they wished to send to school but hadn’t because they thought girls didn’t need to learn. Now, they regretted it deeply, feeling weak and powerless.

It wasn’t as if there were tuition fees; education was clearly beneficial. Why were they reluctant at the time?

Yes, the elder had said that daughters would soon be married off, and studying might make them restless. It wasn’t appropriate for them to be out at night.

They could always weave mats, make fans, or repair clothes in the evening.

Sang Luo tapped the desk and said, “Alright, the reason I’m telling you all this is to show you that education is valuable. It’s useful in many ways—whether it’s buying and selling, dealing with land or property, or writing contracts and promissory notes, literacy is essential. Without it, you might end up relying on others and could be taken advantage of during tough times or when borrowing money and grain.”

“Indeed!”

“So, instead of relying on others, it’s better to rely on yourself. Since you have the opportunity to study, cherish it. Follow the rules here. If you cannot adhere to the basic rules, I’ll have to ask you to leave.”

“Alright, I’ve said enough. Let’s begin the first lesson with Teacher Chen Xiaoya.”

After saying this, she stepped aside from the podium, joining Shen Ning and the others at the back of the classroom to observe Chen Xiaoya teaching.

Chen Xiaoya, eleven years old this year, had started learning from Shen Ning at six and had been teaching in the village school since she was ten. Despite her young age, she handled the classroom confidently.

She introduced herself, followed by explaining the rules of the class and the specifics of the evening sessions.

“We will teach literacy in two ways: the first fifteen minutes will focus on learning common words in a fun manner, with two new words each day. The rest of the time will be regular lessons, starting with the Thousand word Classic, and we will have two arithmetic lessons each week.”

“Today’s first word is one that relates to everyone and is found in every home.”

She turned to the chalkboard, which had always seemed puzzling, and drew a simple representation of a rice field.

Starting with the word for “field”.

Concubine Fan, listening attentively, watched as Chen Xiaoya drew a water field and then explained the word “field” with the help of students, who practiced writing it on the board.

The word was easy to write, and the chalk was a novelty. The elders from Daxing Village were supportive, and the younger students outside eagerly tried their hands at writing. The classroom atmosphere became lively.

After teaching the word “field,” Chen Xiaoya drew two seedlings in the field, leading to the word for “seedling”.

Concubine Fan observed the advantages of using the blackboard and chalk as teaching tools and marveled at how a child, barely over ten, could teach so adeptly and knowledgeably. How had Sang Luo trained her?

Turning her head, she saw the elderly woman beside her also peering in eagerly, thoroughly enjoying the lesson. Concubine Fan glanced at the students seated in the classroom, noting the satisfaction and contentment in the old woman’s face.

Feeling curious, Concubine Fan asked quietly, “Auntie, do you have children studying here?”

“Yes, I have two sons who work as helpers at Sang Luo’s home. My granddaughter and grandson have been studying here with An Ning’s wife since last year. Now, my elder and younger daughters-in-law are also working at Sang Luo’s workshop. We have eight slots for students in our family, and all six older grandchildren are attending. Sang Luo is kind, understanding our agricultural hardships, and holding evening classes. The cost of lamp oil is considerable.”

The old woman had counted twelve lamps, nearly straining her eyes.

Concubine Fan, hearing about the eight student slots, looked at Mrs. Zhao and asked, “So, you are the Zhao grandmother that Sang Luo mentioned?”

Mrs. Zhao smiled warmly, “Yes, she is kind-hearted, always looking out for her long-term workers.”

Kind-hearted indeed. She had a naturally kind disposition.

Concubine Fan, smiling, was impressed but puzzled, “I’ve heard that this school doesn’t charge tuition. But surely, books, writing materials, and ink must cost something. How do you afford to educate eight children?”

The court had long established schools, and county and state schools were gradually opening. However, rural schools were slow to start due to tight budgets and high costs for teachers. Moreover, the common people could not afford such expenses and did not prioritize education, leading to only a few attempts at establishing rural schools.

Maintaining a rural school with just one teacher and a few students was too costly.

But how could this elderly woman, who wore patched clothes and whose son worked as a helper, afford to educate so many children?

Concubine Fan was baffled.

Mrs. Zhao, studying Concubine Fan’s attire, which was clearly of better quality than rural clothing, said, “You must come from a wealthy family, perhaps visiting from the city?”

Concubine Fan nodded, “My family is doing well.”

Mrs. Zhao explained, “We, in the countryside, have our own way of education, also taught by Sang Luo. Our family’s education expenses are minimal.”

“‘Poor people have their own way of studying?’” Concubine Fan’s eyes lit up with curiosity. “What do you mean by that? You can’t save on books, ink, or paper, can you?”

None of these items were cheap. Books, especially good ones, were hard to come by. Even a basic primer like the Thousand Word Classic cost eight hundred coins, the cheapest brush was over thirty coins, ink cost over a hundred coins per block, and although paper was a bit cheaper now, the least expensive was still sixty coins per ream.

Ink and paper were consumables.

“We don’t buy books; we make our own bamboo slips. The books the first two children used were copied by An Ning’s wife, and the six younger ones have their siblings help copy them. We don’t need paper and ink for daily use. We write on sand or stone tablets. For sand, we use branches, and for stone tablets, we practice writing with a brush dipped in water. During the hottest months of summer, it dries quickly. So, we just need to buy a brush for the children and later purchase some ink to copy books. With the siblings taking turns, it lasts a long time.”

Even with eight children, spending around two hundred coins on brushes and ink was something Mrs. Zhao was willing to do.

As Mrs. Zhao explained, Concubine Fan’s eyes grew brighter with each detail.

So, it could be done this way!

Seeing her attentiveness, Mrs. Zhao continued enthusiastically, “Sang Luo is good to us, but we also appreciate good things. My old man and the children have been working through the night to make three desks, which you can see in the front row. They’re modeled after the desks in the village school. The other desks are probably from other families. We’re still making more and will prepare ten desks for the school. Everyone is contributing, so Sang Luo won’t need to spend money on desks herself.”

— “Everyone is contributing, so Sang Luo won’t need to spend money on desks herself.”

Concubine Fan was enlightened, her whole demeanor brightened. She smiled and bowed to Mrs. Zhao, saying, “Your words are much appreciated. Thank you.”

Mrs. Zhao was puzzled, “Thank us? For making desks? That’s only right.”

Concubine Fan smiled and turned to her maid, Nanny Zhong, saying, “Let’s go back.”

“Aren’t you going to say goodbye to Sang Luo?”

“No need. She’s busy. Let’s leave first.”

The initial fun stage of the literacy lesson had ended. As they walked a few steps, they could hear the young students reciting aloud in unison:

“Heaven and Earth are profound and yellow; the universe is vast and ancient.”

Concubine Fan stopped, looking back at the small patch of brilliant lights reflected from the classroom window. Her eyes sparkled with light as she told her maid, “Please invite Master He to see me first thing tomorrow morning.”