Zhou Xiaozhou had begun practicing his handwriting.
On the first day, Zhou Qingzhu taught him how to hold a writing brush.
On the second day, she taught him how to sit properly.
By the third day, Xiaozhou had finally managed to write a somewhat recognizable character: “Zhou.”
He stared at the character on the paper and let out a long sigh.
Being a person is hard work.
In his previous life, he’d written so much at work that his hand often ached. Now that he’d been reborn, he still had to start all over again, even learning how to hold a brush.
To make matters worse, a little child’s hands weren’t strong enough. They got tired after only a short while.
Zhou Qingzhu stood beside him, trying hard not to laugh.
“Take a break first.”
Zhou Xiaozhou shook his head.
“One more.”
“Your hand is already red.”
“Just one!”
Unable to talk him out of it, Qingzhu let him try again.
But as soon as the brush touched the paper, the character—which had been fairly neat before—came out crooked.
Zhou Xiaozhou: “…”
Zhou Qingzhu finally couldn’t hold back and burst out laughing.
“I’m not laughing at you, little brother.”
She explained between giggles.
“It’s just that you always want to learn everything, but this writing brush refuses to listen to you.”
Xiaozhou set down the brush with a pout.
“It’s too long!”
“You’ll get used to it when you’re a little older.”
Qingzhu gently rubbed his fingers.
“Just practice a little every day. There’s no need to rush.”
Zhou Xiaozhou obediently nodded.
Qingzhu took out an old book and continued teaching him characters.
She didn’t know very many herself, and as they went along, there were some characters she couldn’t explain either.
Xiaozhou didn’t rush her.
“Second Sister, let’s learn together.”
Qingzhu lowered her head.
She actually loved reading.
There had once been an elderly man in the village who knew how to read. Every now and then, he would teach the children a few characters, and she had secretly listened in.
Later, the old man moved away, leaving her to puzzle over the old books by herself.
Now that her younger brother was willing to learn alongside her, Qingzhu was so happy that she couldn’t resist reciting a few characters even while sewing clothes.
Madam Liu noticed all this, and a thought gradually took shape in her mind.
If the family ever had a little more money to spare, perhaps they could ask a Teacher to give Qingzhu some guidance, too.
That evening, Zhou Shoushan returned from town.
He had helped load and unload goods at a grain shop and earned three hundred wen.
Madam Liu took the money pouch. When she felt the raw, broken skin on her husband’s palm, her brows immediately drew together.
“How did your hand get like this?”
“It’s just a small injury. It’ll heal in a couple of days.”
Zhou Shoushan smiled.
Madam Liu said nothing. She turned and went to fetch some ointment.
Zhou Xiaozhou came running over.
When he saw the skin torn on his father’s palm, his smile vanished.
“Father, does it hurt?”
“Not at all.”
Zhou Shoushan rubbed his head.
“I’ll be happy as long as you practice your characters well.”
Xiaozhou lowered his head and looked at his father’s hand.
After a moment, he suddenly reached out with his little hands and gently cupped Zhou Shoushan’s.
“Father, I’ll study hard from now on.”
Zhou Shoushan was taken aback.
“Good.”
“I won’t waste the money you earn.”
The child spoke with complete seriousness.
Zhou Shoushan felt a sudden sting in his nose.
He picked up his son and smiled.
“You silly boy. Just don’t work yourself to exhaustion studying.”
“I’m supporting your education because I hope it’ll give you more paths to choose from in the future.”
“Even if you don’t end up passing the exams, you’re still my son.”
Zhou Xiaozhou wrapped his arms around his father’s neck.
“Then I’ll still study hard.”
Inside the house, Qinghe was counting the copper coins they’d saved over the past few days.
With the wages their father had just earned, the family had finally scraped together enough for half a year’s shuxiu.
But that also meant they had almost nothing left over.
Madam Liu looked at the money pouch and spoke softly.
“Let’s go see the Teacher tomorrow.”
Zhou Shoushan nodded.
“All right.”
At dawn the next morning, Qinghe got up to help her younger brother get dressed.
She smoothed his collar and tightened the cloth ties on his little shoes.
Zhou Xiaozhou stood obediently in place.
“Eldest Sister, I’m ready!”
“Just a moment.”
Qinghe took a small cloth pouch from inside her clothes.
It was newly sewn, with a tiny bamboo leaf embroidered on it.
“Here. This is for you.”
Xiaozhou took it.
“What is it?”
“A book bag.”
Qinghe smiled.
“When you have books of your own, you can keep them in here.”
Zhou Xiaozhou ran his fingers over the little bamboo leaf, unable to put it down.
“It’s so pretty!”
Qinghe blushed at his praise.
“It’s just made from ordinary cloth.”
“Ordinary cloth can be pretty, too.”
Xiaozhou said earnestly.
“Because Eldest Sister made it!”
Zhou Qinghe’s eyes grew warm.
She crouched down and helped her younger brother hang the pouch over his shoulder.
“Go on.”
“Listen carefully to the Teacher.”
Zhou Xiaozhou nodded.
But when he reached the doorway, he suddenly ran back.
He threw his arms around his sister.
“Eldest Sister, when I learn lots and lots of characters, I’ll teach all of you!”
Qinghe smiled and agreed.
“All right. I’ll be waiting.”
Outside the courtyard, Zhou Shoushan had already slung his travel bundle over his shoulder.
Father and son set off.
Zhou Xiaozhou looked back once.
His mother stood in the courtyard, with his three sisters huddled together beside her, waving at him.
Suddenly, the little cloth pouch on his shoulder felt incredibly heavy.
There weren’t any books inside yet.
But it carried his whole family’s hopes for him.
The first time Zhou Xiaozhou officially entered Qingxi Academy was on a clear, sunny morning.
The osmanthus flowers in the courtyard had already fallen.
The stone steps had been swept spotless, and the sound of children reading aloud drifted from inside the classroom.
Holding his son’s hand, Zhou Shoushan stood at the academy entrance, feeling strangely nervous.
“Xiaozhou, remember to bow when you see the Teacher.”
“I will.”
“Don’t talk out of turn during lessons.”
“I know.”
“If you get tired…”
“Father!”
Zhou Xiaozhou tilted his head up.
“You’ve already told me that so many times!”
Zhou Shoushan froze for a moment, then laughed.
“Your father does talk too much.”
He crouched down and straightened his son’s collar.
“Go on.”
Teacher Shen was reading in his study.
When he saw the father and son enter, he set down the book in his hands.
“Have you made up your mind?”
Zhou Shoushan nodded.
“Teacher, we have.”
He took out the money he had prepared and respectfully placed it on the table.
“This is half a year’s shuxiu. Please accept it, Teacher.”
Teacher Shen glanced at the money, then turned his gaze to Zhou Xiaozhou.
“Xiaozhou, now that you’ve come to the academy, you can’t do whatever you please as you might at home.”
“I understand.”
“Studying is hard work. You won’t get anywhere just by reading for a few days.”
“I understand.”
Teacher Shen smiled.
“Then are you willing to give it a try?”
Zhou Xiaozhou stood up straight.
“I am!”
Teacher Shen nodded.
“Let’s begin with a one-month trial. If you can keep up with the beginner lessons, you may stay and continue studying.”
Zhou Shoushan hurriedly thanked him.
Teacher Shen took out an elementary reading book and handed it to Xiaozhou.
“For today, we’ll focus on recognizing characters. There’s no need to rush into writing.”
Xiaozhou accepted it with both hands.
The book was thin.
The pages weren’t particularly fine, either.
Yet as he held it, he felt it was more precious than anything else.
Zhou Shoushan escorted his son to the front courtyard.
Most of the students at the academy were six or seven years old, and even the youngest was five.
As soon as Zhou Xiaozhou stepped inside, he attracted a great deal of attention.
“Why is someone so little here?”
“Did he come to the wrong place?”
“He’s so tiny!”
Several children gathered together and whispered among themselves.
Zhou Xiaozhou wasn’t shy at all.
He smiled at everyone.
“Hello!”
A boy sitting in the front row couldn’t help asking:
“How old are you?”
“Four and a half.”
“You’re already coming to school at that age?”
The boy’s eyes widened.
“When I was five, I was still playing with mud at home!”
Zhou Xiaozhou blinked.
“I play with mud, too.”
“Then why did you come here to study?”
“Because I want to learn.”
The boy scratched his head.
“What’s so fun about studying?”
Zhou Xiaozhou thought for a moment.
“Once I learn the characters, I can read books by myself. I can even write letters to my sisters.”
The boy was taken aback.
“You have sisters?”
“Three!”
Zhou Xiaozhou held up three fingers, his face full of pride.
“My Eldest Sister knows how to keep accounts, my Second Sister can read, and my Third Sister is really good at climbing trees!”
The children around him burst out laughing.
The atmosphere, which had been a little stiff at first, gradually became more lively.
When Teacher Shen walked in, he happened to hear those last few sentences.
He tapped the desk.
“Everyone, take your seats.”
The children immediately fell silent.
Xiaozhou was assigned a seat in the front row, beside the window.
The chair was taller than the one at home.
It took him some effort to climb up and sit securely.
Teacher Shen glanced at him.
“Xiaozhou, if the chair is uncomfortable, let me know.”
“Teacher, I can sit just fine!”
No sooner had he said that than his feet dangled in midair and swung back and forth twice.
Several children below him couldn’t help laughing.
He felt a little embarrassed himself.
Teacher Shen didn’t make fun of him. Instead, he simply asked Uncle Chen, the gatekeeper, to bring over a low stool so Xiaozhou could rest his feet on it.
“All right. Let’s begin.”
Zhou Xiaozhou studied especially hard that morning.
Thanks to his memories of his previous life, he had little trouble understanding certain concepts.
But when he actually began reading the elementary texts of this era, he realized that recognizing characters and understanding written passages were two entirely different things.
He wasn’t familiar with the way many characters were written.
Some sentences looked simple, but their meanings weren’t quite the same as what he had originally assumed.
Whenever Teacher Shen explained something, he listened carefully.
If he came across something he didn’t understand, he made a note of it and waited until the Teacher had finished before asking.
At midday, the other children went outside to play, but he remained at his desk, flipping through his book.
The boy who had asked his age earlier came over.
“Aren’t you going out to play?”
Zhou Xiaozhou looked up.
“I want to read a little longer.”
The boy glanced at the page.
“Do you know all these characters?”
“Not all of them.”
“Then why are you still reading?”
“If I look at them a few more times, maybe I’ll remember them.”
The boy thought that made sense.
After a moment’s thought, he simply sat down beside him.
“My name is Gu Xiaoman.”
“My name is Zhou Xiaozhou.”
“Let’s play together from now on.”
“Okay!”
Gu Xiaoman suddenly remembered something and pulled a small piece of candy from inside his clothes.
“Here. Have this.”
Zhou Xiaozhou’s eyes lit up.
“Thank you!”
He took the candy but didn’t eat it right away.
Gu Xiaoman found that strange.
“Why aren’t you eating it?”
“I want to save half for my Third Sister.”
“Does your sister like candy, too?”
“She does.”
Xiaozhou nodded.
“She likes sweet things best.”
Gu Xiaoman thought for a moment, then simply took out another piece.
“Then you can have this one, too.”
Zhou Xiaozhou hurriedly shook his head.
“No, you should eat it yourself.”
Gu Xiaoman grinned.
“It’s fine. My mother packed lots of candy for me.”
The two children went back and forth, each insisting the other take it. In the end, they each ate a piece.