SLH | Chapter 22

Teaching Jinning to Read

The Ruan family’s small courtyard was filled with laughter.

Ruan Youjin’s three-year-old son, Ruan Wenping, was the little darling of the family. Despite his young age, he had a sweet tongue, constantly calling out “grandma” and “uncle,” leaving Ruan Xiulian and Song Tingzhu beaming with pride.

Liu Hu wasn’t as lucky. He was a tall, imposing man, and when he didn’t smile, he looked a bit intimidating. However, little Ru Yi, after getting familiar, would let her second cousin uncle hold her.

“Uncle, take.” The little girl pointed at the cabinet, her body leaning towards it.

Li Chunhua laughed, “She wants you to get her some candy. This little girl is so clever. She knows that Huzi is the tallest in the group and can reach it without a stool.”

Song Tingzhu said, “Ru Yi is smart. In a few years, she can start learning to read.”

“Brother Zhu, you must be joking. Ru Yi is a girl. The academy in town doesn’t even accept young boys, let alone girls,” Wu Erniu said while wiping little Wenping’s face, smudged like a kitten. “In the village, you don’t see families where girls or young boys know how to read. When looking for a husband in the future, this isn’t considered important. It’s better to practice needlework while they’re still young and their minds are sharp.”

“It’s not about passing exams, just being able to read contracts and manage accounts is enough.”

“Oh, does our Ru Yi plan to open a shop and check account books in the future?” Ruan Youyin’s wife, Tang Dongxue, teased as she brought in tea.

Little Ru Yi didn’t understand her mother’s words, but she loved to join in the conversation. Hearing this, she raised her head and said crisply, “Check account books!”

“Check account books? Look at you eating. The clothes you changed into this morning are unrecognizable after just a few hours.”

Tang Dongxue picked up her daughter, “Mom will take you back to the room to change into something clean.”

No one in the Ruan family took Song Tingzhu’s words seriously. The countryside was not like the prefectural city. There were few men who could afford to study, and it was even rarer to find literate girls or young boys in the surrounding ten miles.

After a few jokes, the family moved on to other topics.

But Song Tingzhu didn’t plan to end the conversation. He said, “In a few days, I plan to teach Xiaomei and Xia Ge’er to read and write. I was thinking of having Jinning and Wenping come over to learn together. Ru Yi is too young; she can start in a few years.”

As soon as he said this, not only the Ruan family but even Ruan Xiulian looked shocked.

The most excited was Ruan Jinning himself. The young boy stood up, both surprised and delighted, “Brother-in-law, you really want to teach me to read?”

Song Tingzhu nodded, meeting the astonished gazes of the elders, and explained his plan to start a business.

“My husband and I plan to do some business. At home, it’s just my brother and husband, and we don’t have enough hands. In the future, when the business expands, we’ll need the help of the two uncles. And for this business, one needs to be literate. I’ll teach Jinning, and then Jinning can teach the two uncles. If there’s anything wrong, when cousin Mingchuan comes back on break, he can help correct it.”

Li Chunhua saw his serious demeanor and said earnestly, “Brother Zhu, have you thought this through? Business isn’t easy. Just selling some food in town is fine, but to do big business requires careful consideration. I’ve seen many who ended up losing everything, with families torn apart.”

“Don’t worry, Grandma. We won’t start until we’re fully prepared.”

“Brother Zhu, it sounds like you and Huzi already have a plan.” The old master Ruan, who hadn’t spoken, finally chimed in.

Seeing Song Tingzhu nod, the old man said, “It’s good for young people to have ambition. Whatever you and Huzi want to do, go ahead and do it. Just remember, don’t follow those scoundrels and borrow money from gambling dens or pawnshops.”

“I’ll remember that.”

Tang Dongxue finished changing her daughter’s clothes and went back to the kitchen to help out.

She shared what she heard in the main room with her sister-in-law Yang Sanmei, who was holding a spatula with a look of shock.

“Brother Zhu really wants to teach my Wenping to read?”

“Absolutely true. Even the old master agreed.”

Yang Sanmei was overjoyed. It was already difficult enough to support cousin Mingchuan’s studies, and she never imagined her own son could also study. Now, being able to read and write without paying was like a pie falling from the sky!

Yang Sanmei was so happy that she wielded the spatula with vigor, unable to exhaust her energy.

Tang Dongxue was also pleased, chopping vegetables as she said, “Brother Zhu said that when Ru Yi is older, he’ll teach her to read too.”

“I think the grandparents worry too much. Brother Zhu is from the prefectural city and has seen the world. The Song family runs such a big business, and Brother Zhu grew up learning from them. What can’t he do?”

“Just don’t say that in front of the grandparents. The Song family wasn’t good to him. Brother Zhu suffered a lot there, and his illness probably came from their torment.”

“Ah, every family has its own troubles.” Yang Sanmei sighed.

Seeing there wasn’t much firewood in the kitchen, Tang Dongxue put down her work and said, “We’re low on firewood. I’ll go get some more.”

As she left the kitchen, she noticed two sneaky figures outside and frowned, going over to close the courtyard gate.

Half an hour later, the whole family sat in the main room, happily enjoying lunch. Meanwhile, the news of the Ruan family planning to do business spread like wildfire throughout Xiahe Village.

“Did you hear? The Ruan family is going to do big business! They’re even sending kids to the academy, not just boys, but young boys and girls too!”

“Not only that, Ruan Daniu and Ruan Erniu are going to study in town too. I heard they’ve already bought the books!”

“Oh my, has the Ruan family gone mad?”

“Well, they have a good son-in-law. The Liu family found a great match for their son. The son-in-law is a noble young master from the prefectural city. His family’s dowry is enough to support us country folks for generations!”

“The Ruan family is really going to prosper!”

“Indeed! I need to tell my husband. We should maintain good relations with the Ruan family. If they succeed in business, even their leftovers will be enough for us to live well for years!”

The rumors grew more exaggerated, and in the following days, so many people came to the Ruan house to curry favor that they nearly wore out the threshold.

The Liu family knew nothing of this. After returning from Xiahe Village, they continued with their daily lives. But ever since Ruan Xiulian learned of her son’s and son-in-law’s business plans, she felt uneasy.

Liu Dasheng had tried his hand at business when he was young. It started well, but being a countryman with no backing or money, his business was soon sabotaged by dirty tricks. Not only did he lose money, but he also ended up with a broken leg.

Liu Dasheng didn’t want his family to worry, so he hid the truth, claiming he slipped on the road. Ruan Xiulian only found out the real story later.

Feeling anxious, Ruan Xiulian couldn’t sleep well for several nights. After dinner one evening, she gathered the family to discuss the matter openly.

Author’s Note:
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Saving up for the V chapters, so updates might be a bit sparse for now~