By the time he finished writing, his fingers were already aching with fatigue.
Zhou Wenli looked over his work and nodded.
“This time, it’s better than before.”
Xiaozhou immediately broke into a smile.
His older cousin then circled two more places that needed improvement.
“Go back and practice these. There’s no need to write too much in one day.”
Zhou Xiaozhou carefully put the paper away, then suddenly remembered something.
“Brother, you haven’t finished revising your essay yet.”
“Hmm?”
“Then hurry and finish it. I won’t bother you anymore!”
He picked up his book bag and toddled toward the door on his short little legs.
When he reached the doorway, he turned around again.
“Thank you, Brother!”
Zhou Wenli smiled and waved.
“Go on.”
After the door closed, he returned to his seat.
Looking at the essay he’d spent three days revising, he suddenly felt a little lighter.
His younger cousin wanting to study and his own ambition to earn an official title weren’t actually in conflict.
Why should he treat a little cousin as a rival just because of a few things his Mother had said?
Just then, Madam Ma came in carrying a cup of hot tea.
“What did Xiaozhou want earlier?”
“He asked me about a few characters.”
Madam Ma’s expression darkened slightly.
“Didn’t I tell you—”
“Mother.”
Zhou Wenli interrupted her.
“I only taught him for a little while. It didn’t interfere with my own essay.”
He paused before adding,
“Xiaozhou is quite clever, and he’s willing to learn. From now on, please don’t keep comparing the two of us.”
Madam Ma was stunned.
“You child! Isn’t everything your mother does for your sake?”
“I know.”
Zhou Wenli’s tone remained gentle.
“But I study because I want to make something of myself.”
“I can’t refuse to teach him even a single character just because Xiaozhou wants to study too.”
Madam Ma opened her mouth but couldn’t find anything to say.
She set down the tea and sighed.
“You’re just too softhearted.”
Zhou Wenli smiled faintly and lowered his head to continue revising his essay.
Meanwhile, Zhou Xiaozhou had already returned to his own room with his book.
Seeing how happy he looked, Zhou Qingzhu couldn’t help asking,
“Did older cousin teach you?”
“Mm-hmm!”
Zhou Xiaozhou took out his paper.
“Second Sister, look! brother said I wrote this character better than before!”
Qingzhu examined it carefully.
“It really does look better.”
Xiaozhou became even more pleased with himself.
“If I practice for a few more days, I’ll be able to write just as well as brother!”
Qingzhu smiled and shook her head.
“How could it be that quick?”
Zhou Xiaozhou thought about it, then smiled too.
“Then I’ll just keep practicing little by little.”
He arranged his book neatly, then patted the spot beside him.
“Second Sister, we haven’t studied today yet.”
Zhou Qingzhu sat down beside him.
Outside the window, the moonlight was beginning to spread across the sky.
The siblings sat close together beneath the lamplight and continued reading their thin little primer.
On the third day after Zhou Wenli returned, Zhou Laogen called both his grandsons into the main room.
Zhou Xiaozhou had just finished breakfast, and a grain of rice was still stuck to the corner of his mouth.
Old Madam Feng wiped it clean with a handkerchief.
“Good boy, your Grandpa is calling you.”
Xiaozhou nodded and ran over on his short little legs.
“Grandpa!”
Zhou Laogen was sitting at the table.
Zhou Wenli had already arrived, with several books laid out in front of him.
“I happen to have some free time today, so I want to see what the two of you have been learning.”
Zhou Xiaozhou blinked.
“Are you going to test us, Grandpa?”
Zhou Laogen laughed.
“What? Are you afraid?”
“I’m not afraid!”
Xiaozhou immediately stood up straight.
Beside him, Zhou Wenli struggled to hold back a laugh.
When Zhou Laogen was young, he had only learned to recognize a few commonly used characters. As for the deeper meanings of the classics and the principles behind scholarly essays, he couldn’t explain those himself.
So he had no intention of giving the boys any difficult questions. He simply asked each of them to talk about what they had been learning recently.
Zhou Wenli spoke first.
He described his lessons at the school, then recited a passage from the classics he had recently studied and explained it clearly.
Although Zhou Laogen couldn’t understand every word, he was thoroughly pleased with what he heard.
“Good! No wonder you’ve been studying for so many years.”
Madam Ma stood by the doorway, her face filled with pride.
When it was Zhou Xiaozhou’s turn, Zhou Laogen deliberately chose an easier question.
“Xiaozhou, how many characters can you recognize now?”
Xiaozhou thought for a moment.
“I recognize most of the ones Teacher has taught us recently.”
“Then let Grandpa test you.”
Zhou Laogen took out an old sheet of paper.
Written on it were four characters: Chun Zhong Qiu Shou (春種秋收).
“Do you recognize them?”
Zhou Xiaozhou took one look.
“I do!”
He read the characters one by one, then explained,
“It means planting crops in spring and harvesting grain in autumn.”
Zhou Laogen nodded.
“Then what happens if you get lazy in spring and refuse to work in the fields?”
Zhou Xiaozhou answered without hesitation.
“Then there won’t be any grain to eat in autumn!”
Everyone burst out laughing.
Zhou Laogen laughed so hard that his beard trembled.
“This little rascal certainly knows how to answer!”
Madam Ma, however, felt rather uncomfortable.
She couldn’t resist saying,
“What does recognizing a few characters amount to? Wenli already knew plenty when he was Xiaozhou’s age.”
Zhou Shoushan frowned slightly when he heard that.
Before he could speak, Zhou Wenli smiled and responded.
“Mother, Xiaozhou has only been attending the xuetang for a dozen days or so. It’s already quite good that he can recognize these characters.”
Madam Ma was taken aback.
Zhou Wenli continued,
“I’ve studied for so many years, while he’s only been learning for a few days. We shouldn’t be comparing the two of us in the first place.”
Zhou Laogen nodded in agreement.
“Wenli is right.”
He looked at both grandsons.
“One of you is older, and the other is younger. Each of you has your own path to follow. If either of you makes something of himself in the future, it’ll be a happy occasion for the entire Zhou family.”
Zhou Xiaozhou immediately nodded.
“Grandpa is right!”
Zhou Laogen smiled and patted his head.
“Then you must study hard from now on too.”
“Mm-hmm!”
After answering, Xiaozhou suddenly remembered something.
“Grandpa, Second Sister can read and write too!”
Zhou Qingzhu was standing by the doorway, helping carry tea. Hearing this, she nearly lost her grip on the tray.
“Xiaozhou!”
She softly tried to remind him to stop.
But Zhou Xiaozhou was already enthusiastically introducing her accomplishments.
“Second Sister has taught me lots of characters! She can do arithmetic too!”
Zhou Laogen turned to look at Qingzhu.
“Do you like learning to read and write too?”
Qingzhu pressed her lips together.
“I do.”
Her voice was very soft.
Zhou Laogen thought for a moment.
“Knowing how to read and write is a good thing. It’ll come in handy when you need to keep accounts in the future.”
Qingzhu was a little surprised.
Her Grandpa hadn’t objected at all.
Zhou Wenli glanced at his younger female cousin.
“If Qingzhu wants to study, I have a few old primers here. She can borrow them and have a look.”
Qingzhu’s eyes lit up.
“Really?”
“Really.”
Zhou Wenli smiled.
“Some of the page corners are worn out, but the characters are still clear.”
“As long as I can read them, that’s enough!”
Qingzhu hurriedly thanked him.
Watching this scene, Madam Ma felt increasingly uncomfortable.
She had been looking forward to her son coming home, hoping the old master would praise him a little more.
But in the blink of an eye, her son had agreed to lend books to the second branch.
Still, seeing Zhou Laogen’s broad smile, she ultimately kept her mouth shut.
After the two children left, Zhou Laogen called Zhou Shoushan back.
“Second Son, has Xiaozhou settled in well at the xuetang?”
“Quite well.”
Zhou Shoushan smiled.
“Teacher says he’s willing to learn. He’s just too young, so he’ll need to take his time practicing his handwriting.”
Zhou Laogen nodded.
“Now that you manage your own money, how are things compared to before?”
Zhou Shoushan answered honestly.
“Qinghe has earned some money selling chestnuts, and I’ve picked up a few jobs over the past several days. At least we have enough to put food on the table for now.”
“That’s good.”
Zhou Laogen fell silent for a moment.
“From now on, when Xiaozhou studies, your father won’t stand by and do nothing if there’s anything I can help with.”
Zhou Shoushan was taken aback.
“Father?”
“Still, we have to look after Wenli’s needs too.”
Zhou Laogen glanced toward the courtyard.
“They’re both my grandsons. I can’t favor one and neglect the other.”
Zhou Shoushan felt a sting in his nose.
“Your son understands.”
Zhou Laogen waved his hand.
“Go on.”
After Zhou Shoushan left, Zhou Laogen sat alone for quite some time.
In the past, he had only hoped that Wenli would earn an official title, believing that this would finally give the Zhou family a chance to rise above their circumstances.
Now, his youngest grandson had also entered the xuetang.
Although Xiaozhou was still young and it was too early to tell what his future might hold, if both boys were willing to work hard, perhaps the Zhou family’s future could truly turn out better than he had ever imagined in his youth.
Meanwhile, Zhou Qingzhu was sitting beneath the window, holding the old books her Older Cousin had lent her.
The pages had already turned yellow, and a few still bore traces of Zhou Wenli’s childhood handwriting practice.
She turned through them page by page, her eyes growing brighter and brighter.
It turned out that beyond the characters her younger brother brought home from the xuetang each day, there was so much more in these books that she had never learned.
Zhou Xiaozhou sat beside her. Seeing how happy his sister was, he smiled too.
“Second Sister, from now on, let’s study together!”
Qingzhu nodded firmly.
“All right!”
This time, she no longer had to wait for her younger brother to bring home a little new knowledge from the xuetang each day.
Zhou Xiaozhou had noticed that his father had been getting thinner lately.
He only realized it during a meal.
That day, Madam Liu had stewed a pot of Chinese cabbage with a few slices of meat added to it.
Zhou Shoushan picked up a slice and casually placed it in his son’s bowl.
“Xiaozhou, eat more. Studying takes a lot of brainpower.”
Zhou Xiaozhou looked at the meat in his bowl but didn’t touch it.
He remembered very clearly.
This was already the third time his father had given him his portion of meat.
“Father, aren’t you going to eat?”
Zhou Shoushan smiled.
“Your Father doesn’t particularly like this.”
Zhou Xiaozhou raised his head and looked at his father seriously.
“That’s not true.”
Zhou Shoushan froze.
“How is your father lying?”
“When Eldest Sister stewed meat last time, you ate so happily!”
Zhou Qinghe couldn’t hold back her laughter.
Madam Liu also covered her mouth with a smile.
Zhou Shoushan looked a little embarrassed.
“You little rascal. You certainly remember everything.”
Zhou Xiaozhou picked up the meat and placed it back in his father’s bowl.
“Father, you eat it.”
“You’re still growing.”
“You need to eat too, Father.”
After saying that, Xiaozhou pushed the bowl a little closer to his father.
“Let’s split it half and half!”
Looking at his son’s earnest expression, Zhou Shoushan felt his heart soften.
He picked up the meat and divided it into two pieces.
“All right. We’ll do as Xiaozhou says.”
Only then was Zhou Xiaozhou satisfied.