After a while, he finally answered.
“Because studying will give me the ability to make something of myself in the future.”
The elderly teacher asked gently, “And once you have that ability, what do you want to do?”
“First, I’ll make sure my Father and Mother don’t have to work so hard.”
Xiaozhou spoke earnestly.
“Then I’ll make sure my sisters can buy whatever they want.”
The elderly teacher gazed at the child.
A moment later, he stroked his beard and smiled.
“Quite an ambitious goal.”
Zhou Shoushan felt a lump in his throat.
He had originally wanted nothing more than for his son to grow up safely.
He had never expected that such a young child would already be thinking about his family.
The elderly teacher asked for his name and where he lived, then briefly explained a few things.
“The child is still very young. If he truly wants to study here, there’s no harm in waiting until he’s a little older.”
Zhou Shoushan hurriedly thanked him.
Just as father and son were preparing to leave, the elderly teacher called after them.
“My surname is Shen.”
“If you have time, you can bring the child back for another visit.”
Zhou Shoushan quickly bowed.
“Thank you, Teacher Shen.”
Even after walking quite a distance away, he still felt a little dazed.
Zhou Xiaozhou was lying across his father’s shoulder. He reached out and tugged at his collar.
“Father.”
“Hmm?”
“Teacher said I can come again.”
Zhou Shoushan smiled.
“That’s right.”
“Does that mean I can study here someday, too?”
Zhou Shoushan slowed his steps.
He looked at his son and remained silent for a long while before finally speaking.
“Xiaozhou, studying costs quite a lot of silver.”
“Father knows you’re clever, and Father wants you to study, too.”
“But you’ve seen what life is like in our family right now.”
He didn’t finish what he wanted to say.
But Zhou Xiaozhou understood.
He pressed his face against his father’s shoulder and whispered,
“Father, I understand.”
“I can wait.”
Zhou Shoushan suddenly felt a sting in his nose.
The more sensible his child became, the more it pained him as a father.
When they returned to the chestnut stall, Zhou Qinghe saw them coming and immediately asked,
“Why did you take so long?”
Zhou Xiaozhou lifted his little head.
“Eldest Sister, I went to see a school just now!”
Qinghe was taken aback.
Then she smiled and asked,
“Was it fun?”
“It was!”
Xiaozhou’s eyes sparkled.
“There were lots of books inside, and lots of big brothers!”
Qinghe smiled and patted his head.
“Does our Xiaozhou want to become a little scholar someday?”
Xiaozhou nodded vigorously.
“I do.”
Qinghe looked at their father.
Zhou Shoushan sighed.
“Qinghe, do you think our family can afford to support another student?”
Qinghe froze slightly.
She lowered her head and looked at the chestnuts still left on the stall.
After a long pause, she spoke softly.
“Father, the money we earn just from selling chestnuts isn’t enough.”
“But if Xiaozhou really likes studying…”
She raised her head.
“Shouldn’t we at least find out how much it would cost?”
Zhou Shoushan hadn’t wanted to ask about the shuxiu (tuition fee) so soon.
His son was only four and a half. What if the teacher refused to accept him? It would only get the child’s hopes up for nothing.
But Qinghe was right.
They needed to find out first.
After packing up the stall that afternoon, he took the two children to the school.
Teacher Shen was in the courtyard, sorting through some books.
Hearing someone approach, he looked up. When he saw Zhou Xiaozhou, he couldn’t help smiling.
“The little fellow is back again?”
Xiaozhou gave him a proper greeting.
“Greetings, Teacher Shen.”
He hadn’t quite mastered the proper bow. He cupped his little hands together and bent his round body forward, nearly losing his balance.
Qinghe quickly reached out to steady him.
Teacher Shen burst out laughing.
“At least he remembers the proper greeting.”
Zhou Shoushan was somewhat ill at ease.
“Teacher, I’m sorry to trouble you. We came today because we wanted to ask about our child’s schooling.”
Teacher Shen glanced at Zhou Qinghe.
“Is this the child’s older sister?”
“Yes, my Eldest Sister!”
Zhou Xiaozhou answered before anyone else could.
“My Eldest Sister is really amazing! She can keep accounts, and she knows how to sell chestnuts!”
Qinghe blushed.
“Xiaozhou, don’t talk nonsense.”
“I’m telling the truth!”
Teacher Shen smiled and invited them to sit down.
Rather than immediately discussing the tuition fee, he took out an elementary reading book and opened it near the beginning.
“Xiaozhou, take a look at these characters. Do you recognize any of them?”
Zhou Xiaozhou examined them one by one.
Some of the characters were written differently from the forms he had known in his previous life, but he could still recognize most of them.
He read out the ones he knew.
Whenever he came across an unfamiliar character, he honestly shook his head.
Teacher Shen then asked him to explain the meaning of one of the sentences.
Xiaozhou thought for a moment before explaining it in his own words.
He didn’t quote any classics or use scholarly expressions, but his explanation was clear and reasonable.
After listening, Teacher Shen nodded.
“You don’t know that many characters yet, but your comprehension is quite good.”
He brought over some paper and a writing brush.
“Can you write your own name?”
Zhou Xiaozhou picked up the brush.
The handle was rather long.
His little hands were short, and it took him quite some time to get a proper grip.
When the brush touched the paper, the ink immediately spread into a blot.
Zhou Xiaozhou: “…”
Oh, no.
In his previous life, he had been accustomed to writing with hard-tipped pens. Now he couldn’t even handle a simple writing brush properly.
After considerable effort, he finally managed to write one crooked, wobbly character: “周. (Zhou)”
Qinghe watched from the side, wanting to laugh but not having the heart to do so.
Teacher Shen, however, was very patient.
“It’s all right.”
He took the brush and demonstrated again.
“Recognizing characters is one thing. Writing them is another. If you want to write well, you’ll have to put in a lot of hard work.”
Zhou Xiaozhou nodded firmly.
“I’ll practice!”
Seeing how serious the little fellow was, Teacher Shen developed a measure of admiration for him.
He had taught for many years and encountered plenty of clever children.
Intelligence itself wasn’t anything unusual.
What was rare was a child willing to admit what he didn’t know.
“You’re still very young. You won’t be able to sit for very long each day, and holding a writing brush will be tiring for you, too.”
Teacher Shen put down the brush.
“If you really come here to study, I’m afraid you’ll have to work harder than the other children.”
Zhou Xiaozhou thought for a moment.
“Teacher, if I get sleepy, can I take a little nap?”
Qinghe nearly burst out laughing.
Zhou Shoushan’s face turned red.
“Xiaozhou!”
Who would have thought that Teacher Shen wouldn’t get angry at all? Instead, he laughed even harder.
“You certainly know how to bargain.”
He patted Xiaozhou’s head.
“Of course, a child your age should rest when he’s sleepy. But you still have to finish your assigned lessons.”
“Then I can do it!”
Xiaozhou answered loudly.
Teacher Shen stroked his beard.
“This child really does have a bit of natural talent.”
Zhou Shoushan’s heart leaped with joy.
“Teacher, do you mean…”
“I’m willing to teach him.”
Teacher Shen changed the subject.
“But he’s simply too young. I can’t have him follow the same pace as the older children. Even if he enrolls, we’ll have to let him try things out for a while first.”
Zhou Shoushan nodded repeatedly.
“Of course. That’s only right.”
Listening nearby, Qinghe felt her heart pounding.
Her little brother really had a chance to study!
She couldn’t help reaching out and taking Zhou Xiaozhou’s little hand.
Teacher Shen then asked a few more questions about their family circumstances.
When he heard that Zhou Shoushan was an ordinary farmer and that the family had three daughters as well, he fell silent for a moment.
“Studying is a long-term commitment. It’s not something you should decide on a whim.”
“Go home and discuss it carefully. If you’ve made up your minds, bring the child back.”
Zhou Shoushan stood up and thanked him.
Before they left, Teacher Shen even gave Xiaozhou several sheets of old paper that had writing practice on them.
“Take these home and have a look first.”
Zhou Xiaozhou accepted them with both hands.
“Thank you, Teacher!”
After leaving the school, Qinghe was so happy that she hardly knew what to say.
She picked Xiaozhou up and spun around half a turn.
“Our Xiaozhou is so capable!”
The spinning made Zhou Xiaozhou dizzy. He quickly wrapped his arms around his sister.
“Eldest Sister, put me down!”
Only then did Qinghe set him down.
She bent over and straightened her little brother’s clothes.
“When we get home, Eldest Sister will find you a flat piece of wood. We’ll start practicing your writing.”
“Okay!”
Zhou Shoushan watched the siblings, a smile spreading across his face as well.
But once his smile faded, he remembered something.
“Teacher still hasn’t told us how much the shuxiu will cost.”
Qinghe froze.
That’s right.
They had been so caught up in their excitement that they’d completely forgotten the most important thing.
Zhou Xiaozhou thought for a moment, then tugged at his father’s hand.
“Father, we can go back and ask!”
Zhou Shoushan looked toward the school.
The sound of students reciting their lessons could still be heard inside.
He gritted his teeth.
“All right.”
“Since the teacher is willing to teach you, we should ask about everything we need to know.”
He didn’t want his son getting his hopes up for nothing.
Teacher Shen wasn’t surprised when Zhou Shoushan returned.
“Is there something else you’d like to ask?”
Zhou Shoushan looked a little embarrassed.
“Teacher, we were so happy just now that we forgot to ask about the shuxiu.”
Teacher Shen smiled.
“That is indeed an important matter.”
He set down his book and carefully explained the school’s rules.
For young beginners, the annual shuxiu was two taels of silver.
Students had to provide their own paper, ink, writing brushes, and inkstones.
In addition, they were expected to prepare some gifts for the teacher during the spring and autumn festivals.
For families in particularly difficult financial circumstances, the tuition could also be paid in several installments.
Zhou Shoushan felt his heart sink as he listened.
Two taels of silver.
All the spare money their family had managed to save up so far didn’t even amount to that much.
And that wasn’t even counting the paper, ink, writing brushes, and inkstones.
Zhou Qinghe quietly did the calculations beside him, and the excitement on her face gradually faded.
Zhou Xiaozhou understood perfectly well.
Studying was much more expensive than selling chestnuts.
He tugged at his father’s sleeve.
“Father, how about I wait until I’m a little older?”
Zhou Shoushan lowered his head.
His child clearly wanted to study so badly, yet he was already thinking about saving the family money.
Zhou Shoushan felt both heartache and tenderness toward him.
“Let’s go home and discuss it first.”
Teacher Shen could see their predicament.
“The child is still young. If you truly decide to send him here, I can accept half a year’s shuxiu first.”
Zhou Shoushan froze.
“Teacher…”
“You can prepare the rest gradually.”
Teacher Shen spoke calmly.
“But I must make one thing clear. Studying isn’t something that can be accomplished through talent alone. If the child comes here and can’t endure the hardship after just a few days, I won’t indulge him simply because he’s young.”
Zhou Shoushan quickly bowed.
“Please rest assured, Teacher.”
The three of them took their leave.
All along the way, Qinghe remained unusually quiet.