Farmhouse Green Plum

Chapter 111 Painting Cake

"Today, everyone is saying that everything is inferior except for studying. If I am really a good student and pass the examination, our family can be exempted from corvée and taxes on 80 acres of land. Since we don't have 80 acres of land, it is equivalent to being exempted from all taxes!

If you take a step further and pass the imperial examination, it will be even more amazing. You can directly become an official. This is called changing your family background!"

Li was surprised: "Who told you this?"

"Sister Xiao Cui, she heard it from her brother." Song Ying pushed all of this onto Zhao Xiao Cui without hesitation. There was nothing she could do about it, as her brother had been studying the longest.

"If I can make further progress and pass the imperial examination, it will be even more different. I may even be able to earn you an imperial decree, and you will be an official's wife in the future!"

At this time, Song Ying didn't care about the imperial edict and could only ask for a title for his mother, no matter how tempting it was.

With all these big promises, how could Li not be tempted? However, he was still a little hesitant: "Can your little brother be good at studying?"

Song Ying did not answer directly, for she was worried that Song Yuan was not a good student at all and that Li would cause trouble for her in the future.

She said, "My little brother is still young after all, and it's not good for him to walk on the mountain road alone. If he goes to school, I will accept it every day and make sure he doesn't skip school."

Li was even more excited. She naturally would not think that her grandson was stupid. She thought that Song Tianshu was not doing well in his studies because he was skipping school and not studying hard.

Daily pick-up and drop-off can ensure that Song Yuan does not skip school. At least, he can recognize more words than Song Tian.

What my granddaughter said was right: early discovery and early planning. If my grandson can read and write and goes to the county as an apprentice, he will have more opportunities than ordinary apprentices.

Observing her expression, Song Ying continued to push forward and gave another strong prescription: "Didn't the Inspector of Education say today that he went to the community school on the orders of the Emperor to encourage the people to read more?"

Li frowned: "Did the inspector say that?"

Song Ying nodded vigorously: "The inspector spoke in a very literary way, I didn't understand, but Sister Xiao Cui asked his brother, and that's what he meant!"

Li couldn't read a single word, so he certainly didn't understand. Song Ying didn't feel guilty at all for misinterpreting Wu Tixue's words.

She did not give Li more time to think, and continued to paint a beautiful future: "The inspector came to the community school to encourage our village to read more. As soon as he left, I went to the school to study. If the inspector knew about it, he would definitely be happy.

If I pass the imperial examination or become an official in the future, I will be a living political achievement for the Inspector.

The inspector must hope that I can become a higher-ranking official so that more people will know about his achievements and then promote me!"

Li couldn't keep up with her train of thought. "Speak slowly, let me think about it."

Song Yuan was so excited listening to this that he felt as if he could become a high-ranking official tomorrow, just like the Inspector of Education today, with gongs ringing and gongs clearing the way when he went out, and a large crowd following him.

He clenched his fist and said, "Grandma, let's pay the tuition at Mr. He's house now!"

His anxious look sobered Li up a little and made her realize that her blood was boiling because of what her granddaughter said.

She looked at Song Ying suspiciously: "You've been quite talkative lately."

Song Ying didn't even blink, "I heard it from Sister Xiao Cui."

Li stood up and said, "Go and take out all the duck eggs in the house and sell them in the county tomorrow."

Song Ying: ...

No, just tell me whether you agree or not.

She walked into the house somewhat disappointed, but Song Yuan hugged Li's arm and said, "Grandma, I want to study, please let me go."

Li raised him up: "Come with me to the Zhao family and ask how much the tuition is now."

Song Yuan was stunned for a moment, then cheered, "Grandma is the best!"

Song Ying was startled, turned around and rushed over, standing in front of Li: "Grandma, I'll go. It's so dark, what if you fall?"

So many things had just been pushed onto Zhao Ziliang, and now that Li was gone, Song Ying could guess what their conversation had been about.

Zhao Xiaocui and his sister or Aunt Meihua and her husband: Grandma Li | Aunt Li, it’s so late, why are you here? Come in and sit down!

Li: I won’t sit down. I just want to ask, is the tuition fee in the school still one hundred yuan?

Aunt Meihua: It’s a hundred dollars. What’s the matter? Are you going to send your Yuanwa to school?

Li: Yes, your Ziliang is right...

Zhao Ziliang: When did I ever say these words?

Okay, it's revealed.

Song Ying tried to make his expression more sincere, "I run fast, I go there and come back quickly, you are tired all day, and you haven't rested much."

Li looked at the pitch-black outside, thought for a moment and agreed: "Okay, go quickly and come back soon. By the way, find your second uncle and his son and ask them to go back quickly. It's embarrassing to beat the kids and run around the village."

"Okay!" Song Ying responded, and without going back to the house to get a torch, he ran directly to Zhao's house based on his memory.

"Sister! Wait for me! I want to go too!"

Song Yuan was so anxious that he wanted to chase after her, but Li grabbed him and said, "It's dark outside, why are you running? If you fall into the field, you will suffer the consequences!"

Seeing Song Ying dive into the darkness and disappear, and himself being caught by Li again, Song Yuan stamped his feet in regret.

Why didn’t you hurry up just now?

Although Song Ying already knew that the tuition fee was still one hundred yuan, she still ran to the Zhao family to inquire. She had already told a lot of lies just now, so she would not lie if she could avoid it.

One less lie means less risk of being exposed.

Well, you have to lie at the right time.

Soon they arrived at Zhao's house. The door was open. Zhao Xiaocui and Zhao Ziliang were standing at the door, looking out into the darkness.

Seeing her, Zhao Xiaocui was surprised at first: "Song Ying, why are you here?"

Then he asked excitedly, "What did Song Tian do again? Why did your second uncle chase him and beat him?"

Song Ying said vaguely, "He practiced calligraphy in the school without telling his family. When he was studying, he would ask his family for money to buy straw paper from time to time."

Zhao Ziliang was surprised: "Doesn't everyone know about this? How come your family only found out about it now?"

Mr. Wang also came from a poor family and understood the difficulties faced by students very well. Before teaching them to read, he would ask the students to prepare stone slabs and bamboo tubes for scooping water in advance.

Song Ying shrugged: "He is the only one in the family who has gone to school. He kept it a secret, so how would we know?"

Zhao Xiaocui clicked her tongue and said, "He really deserves to be beaten."

Song Ying agreed with him, but did not respond. Instead, he quickly got down to business: "I came here to ask Brother Ziliang, is the tuition fee still one hundred yuan?"

"Yes," Zhao Ziliang nodded, and looked suspiciously in the direction where Uncle Song's scolding came from, "Does your family want Song Tian to continue studying?"

"No, it's my little brother."

Zhao Xiaocui was shocked: "Little Vegetable Garden is not even six years old yet, isn't this too early?"

"He will be six next month, which is not too early. Song Tian also started school at the age of six."

Zhao Xiaocui and her brother thought about it and were no longer surprised, because the children of the Song family all started school early.