CHAPTER 112: CHAPTER 112: TAKING THE KIDS TO SCHOOL

Mountains surround Fu’an Village on all sides, and some live across the river, with mountains at their back, but few venture to the mountains at the back of the village; after all, it’s too far and requires a detour.

Jiang Hu had a bit of selfishness; lotus roots were so expensive that if possible, he would of course want to plant some first for himself.

As for how the previously empty pond suddenly flourished with lotuses, Jiang Hu wasn’t concerned.

As the saying goes, thousand-year-old grass seeds and ten-thousand-year-old fish eggs, those lotus seeds might have been brought by some birds to the pond and settled for a few years, just germinating and blooming this year.

Early the next morning, Jiang Hu pulled the cart, bringing Jiang Yu, and picked up Liu Hai, heading to the town together.

Regarding Liu Hai, Liu Yang personally sought Master Ding, offering home-raised rabbits and chickens, obtaining permission, and only then could Liu Hai ride the ox cart with Jiang Yu.

At this time, it was just dawn, and Liu Hai, yawning, leaned against the ox cart canopy: "Going to school really isn’t a human task, having to get up so early, I couldn’t sleep well."

Liu Hai was also a young lad, soon to be seven years old, half a year younger than Jiang Yu, but Liu Yang thought, the slow bird should start early; even if this slow bird from his own family didn’t start early, it wouldn’t do to fall behind.

Ignoring his parents’ heartache for his grandson, he sent Liu Hai to town for schooling.

So far, among the boys of their age in Fu’an Village, there were quite a few, but those willing to go to school were only these two.

This was also the only time Jiang Hu ignored others’ opinions and made a very firm decision, and it was one he had already thought of two years ago.

When hearing Liu Hai’s complaint, Jiang Hu just smiled inwardly, didn’t say much, since it wasn’t his child, he couldn’t say too much.

However, Liu Yang, who brought him over, directly slapped Liu Hai’s forehead: "What nonsense are you spouting? Do you know how much silver it costs to send you to school? If you dare to hold me back, watch how I’ll serve you bamboo shoots stir-fry!"

Liu Hai shivered instantly, hurriedly rubbed his butt, as if the bamboo shoots stir-fry had already arrived.

Liu Yang rolled his eyes, too lazy to bother with this silly son, smiling at Jiang Hu: "Brother Jiang, sorry to trouble you."

Jiang Hu shook his head: "No problem, I have to go to town every day anyway, not to mention Master Ding has agreed."

Liu Yang waved his hand: "Hey, you can’t say that, if it weren’t for you, would Master Ding have lent us the ox cart to use?"

Jiang Hu looked at the sky: "It’s getting late, I must go."

Saying this, he raised the ox whip, giving a light flick to signal the Big Water Buffalo to set off, then turned to look at the two children in the ox cart: "It’ll be a while till we reach the town, lean back and rest for a bit, I’ll call you when we arrive."

Don’t think they just got up and left; their mother was up even earlier, got up to make breakfast for them, and they set off after eating.

But children need lots of sleep, and they need to study attentively during the day. If they don’t rest well, they can’t concentrate, so Jiang Hu let them continue to rest on the way.

Jiang Yu nodded, leaning against the canopy, Liu Hai followed suit, leaning on the other side, not forgetting to express his envy: "Uncle Jiang is really nice, unlike my dad, who only knows how to scold and hit me every day."

Jiang Yu didn’t even open his eyes: "Who told you not to study seriously every day? Do you remember what the teacher taught yesterday?"

Liu Hai paused, then sheepishly smiled: "It’s just the first time learning it; there are so many characters I don’t recognize yet. How can I remember so quickly? I’m not as smart as you, learning everything so fast."

Jiang Yu remembered when he was learning to write.

Now that he’s in school, he realized some of the characters his father taught him were actually incorrect.

But those were basics, and because of those basics, he’s now learning things faster than Liu Hai.

Sometimes when Liu Hai came to him, he happened to be learning to recognize characters too and didn’t avoid him. But Liu Hai was playful and never thought about learning, always chasing rabbits or catching chickens.

In fact, Uncle Liu had already beaten Liu Hai countless times before, but the results were minimal.

Jiang Hu, watching the ox cart ahead, listening to the two children’s conversation, turned his head and smiled: "Your parents work hard to earn money, and schooling is not cheap. If you don’t study well, aren’t you wasting all that money?"

Since he always sold vegetables to Tongfu Restaurant, and at a higher price than others, relatively speaking, their family, though small, was earning decently.

But Liu Yang’s family, like others, apart from occasionally receiving unused manure from the fields from him, was just like everyone else in the village.

So when Liu Yang decided to send Liu Hai to school, he was indeed a bit surprised.

After all, they’ve only been established in Fu’an Village for a few years, everyone’s foundation was not stable, and who would be willing to spend so much silver yearly for their child to attend school, losing a laborer at home for no reason?

Liu Hai pouted: "I want to be serious too, but there are so many things I can’t remember."

Jiang Hu said no more, since they weren’t his children, saying too much wouldn’t be good.

The ox cart slowly moved forward, the two young ones leaned against the canopy to catch up on sleep. When they reached the school, Jiang Hu woke them up.

The two children got off the ox cart, thanked Jiang Hu together, and Jiang Hu waved them off before leaving.

It wasn’t early; he had to deliver the goods to the restaurant first and then buy books for Little Snow.

He wasn’t sure if they had any; there was only one bookstore in town, mostly selling stuff for boys attending school.

But to be able to run a bookstore, they must be capable. If they didn’t have it, asking the boss to bring back a copy from somewhere else shouldn’t be a problem.

As for whether the price would be higher, Jiang Hu wasn’t concerned.

In the past two years, others still saw their family as living humbly; since the end of last year, people started building new houses one after another, while their family still lived in a thatched house with no movement.

Even the clothes at home were all coarse cloth, with many patches on his and his second mother’s clothing.

But only Jiang Hu and his second mother knew they had already had the means to build a house for a long time. They just hadn’t taken action; only now, seeing that those still living in thatched houses had converted to new homes, did they start planning.

Jiang Hu delivered the vegetables to Tongfu Restaurant, and Shopkeeper Liu specifically recorded the daily deliveries in a ledger to settle accounts at the end of the month instead of handling tons of copper coins every day.

Before leaving, he especially went to find Master Zhang, inquiring about the lotus roots. Upon learning that Jiang Hu had discovered blooming lotuses in the wild, Master Zhang and Shopkeeper Liu were even happier than Jiang Hu himself.

Master Zhang not only mentioned the season when lotus roots mature but also repeatedly assured Jiang Hu not to rush and that he would ask friends about planting lotus roots for specific cultivation and maintenance details.

Jiang Hu once again sighed in gratitude, truly considering Shopkeeper Liu and Master Zhang as valuable benefactors to their family!