"At the beginning of human life, human nature is good…"
In the early morning, the schoolhouse was filled with people—boys and girls ranging from four or five to twelve or thirteen years old, all sitting upright, obediently following along with the reading.
The Linxi Town schoolhouse was funded by the county, with additional contributions pooled from the town's families. Once built, every family could send their children for a one-month period of basic education, regardless of gender.
The teachers' fees were paid by the families themselves, while the schoolhouse provided the books, paper, and brushes.
Because the Linxi Town schoolhouse accepted both boys and girls, it was famous throughout the county. Enrollment was full every year, and what was most remarkable was that the number of girls was not a bit fewer than the number of boys.
After all, no matter the era, there were always those who doted on their daughters, but hiring a private tutor was too expensive—few could afford it. Now that a schoolhouse accepting female students had finally appeared, whether out of love for their daughters, family standing, or foresight, anyone who could manage the conditions sent their children over.
Not to mention anything else—knowing a few more characters, recognizing a few more book titles, and being able to do arithmetic was always a good thing.
In their countryside, girls who had attended school were always more sought after when they reached marriageable age.
If they had talent and learned even more, they could later become female teachers themselves, teaching and keeping accounts—this inspiration came from Teacher Zhao of the Linxi Town schoolhouse.
Teacher Zhao was a woman. Her father had been an old juren degree holder, and she had studied reading and writing from a young age. She had no intention of marrying until she met her husband, Teacher Lin—also her father's student, her junior fellow disciple.
Not long after the couple married, Old Scholar Zhao passed away from a cold. The couple depended on each other, studying while earning money. This went on for ten years, until Teacher Zhao, who had struggled to conceive, finally became pregnant.
Seeing their straitened circumstances—Teacher Zhao, thin and frail from frugal living, with an unstable pregnancy, and the family having to borrow money just for miscarriage prevention—Teacher Lin, who had lost hope of passing the imperial examinations, gave up entirely. He decided to find proper work to support the family. Through a friend's recommendation, he came to Linxi Town, a place with which he felt a deep connection, to become a teacher.
There were many people here, many students, and thus many tuition fees—enough to give them a decent life.
At first, Teacher Lin did the teaching, and Teacher Zhao merely assisted, helping out occasionally.
Later, as female students gradually increased, Teacher Zhao's standing rose. Eventually, they even hired help, and Teacher Lin became the one who merely assisted.
After all, in their Si'an County, there were many scholars—male teachers could be found at any time, but an excellent female teacher was truly hard to come by.
"…"
Teacher Lin, who could be replaced at any moment, walked out of his own classroom. Through the open window, he looked at the neat and obedient little girls in the neighboring class, then glanced at the rowdy bunch of brats in his own, and let out a long sigh.
Teacher Lin had studied for over thirty years, held the title of xiucai, and was highly skilled at teaching, commanding considerable authority before his students. But no matter his status, children were children—especially those who could attend the schoolhouse, all from well-off families, little tyrants doted on at home.
Except for those naturally well-behaved, most were no pushovers. They wouldn't change their natures—obedient and proper in front of him, but the moment they turned their backs, they'd start roughhousing again.
Teacher Lin sighed. Then, with a flick of the ruler in his hand, his face darkened, and he turned around.
The classroom fell dead silent.
Not because of Teacher Lin, of course—he hadn't even reached the classroom yet. But someone had entered faster than him—by climbing in through the window.
During class, the only one capable of such a thing was that little tyrant from the Song family.
Teacher Lin didn't know whether to be angry or amused. He walked back to his classroom and saw that it was perfectly quiet. Even those mischievous kids had obediently picked up their books—though there was some pretense involved, they were reading with considerable seriousness.
After all, one tyrant always outranks another. Song Jin, more domineering and unreasonable than any of them, was at that moment sitting at the lectern in the front, listlessly reciting from a book. Had it been anyone else in that lazy posture, Teacher Lin would have marched up and whacked them a couple of times with his ruler. But since it was Song Jin—
Teacher Lin confidently turned and headed to the neighboring classroom, leaving her to "cause trouble" as she pleased.
Song Jin, trusted with such confidence, sprawled over the desk and rattled off a bunch of stuff, then yawned hugely, closed her book, and slapped the table: "Alright, dictation time. Anyone who fails, get out and hang yourselves from the tree."
The students groaned and closed their books, racking their brains to write from memory.
That Aunt Niu, too—if she wanted to punish her own kid, she could just do it at home. Why did she have to throw him out here?
Who could say for sure whether the one being punished was Song Jin sitting up front, or them?
Song Jin felt it was definitely her. If she hadn't been punished, she wouldn't want to play with this bunch of little brats anyway—all dirty and smelly.
"Tsk, hurry up, all of you. Finish early and get out early. You over there—Datou, Stinky Feet, Wry Eye, Home Bully…" Song Jin disdainfully called out the names of those holding everyone back, threatening, "No whispering. You waste one minute of my time, he wastes one minute of my time—add it up and you've wasted a whole shichen of my time. Can you afford to pay that back…"
The students: …
If only they could beat her.
They endured.
**
"Ten times."
"Ten times."
"Twenty times."
…
Song Jin yawned as she corrected the messy notebooks. In her opinion, these little brats might as well just go home—studying like this was a complete waste of money.
She flew through the corrections, and once all thirty students' papers in the classroom were done, she set the papers down, stretched, and yawned: "Go back and copy it out. I'll check tomorrow."
Datou, who had earned himself twenty times, rubbed his reddened head and whined: "You're coming back tomorrow?"
Song Jin raised an eyebrow. "Got a problem?"
Datou: "…Ha, haha, of course not. I'm just concerned about you. Jinjin-jie, how exactly did you offend Auntie Niu? It's been almost a xun now."
Song Jin looked confused. "How many days is a xun?"
Datou shrank his neck. "F-five days?"
Smack. Song Jin slapped the dull head in front of her and said disdainfully: "A xun is ten days. I think you should change your name to Dullhead."
Datou gave an awkward laugh and retreated with his twenty-times punishment for the day. Seeing him leave, the others filed out as well.
The classroom was mostly filled with five- and six-year-old kids just starting their education. They were usually anything but well-behaved, but faced with Song Jin—a little tyrant with no regard for respecting elders or cherishing the young—they were as obedient as baby chicks.
Song Jin leaned back in her chair, propped her hands on the desk, and swung her legs, staring at the handwriting pasted on the crude blackboard at the back of the room. Before long, she couldn't help but yawn again.
School. She really couldn't do it.
But last time she'd swaggered up the mountain, she'd been caught red-handed by her mother on the way back, and she'd been banished to the schoolhouse for reform. Having been off the mountain for five days now, Song Jin was feeling listless and desperately wanted to know what was happening up there.
Sigh.
She really wanted to go up the mountain.
But Niu Tielan had gotten serious this time. She slept right in Song Jin's room at night and had locked the doors and windows, leaving her no chance to escape. All she could do was obediently serve her punishment, wandering around town and causing trouble at the schoolhouse every day. What a boring life.
When Niu Tielan came to find her, she saw her daughter in the classroom, legs swinging, face covered by a book. The sight was truly an eyesore. She took a deep breath.
"Song Jinjin, get your ass out here!"
Song Jin shot up, grabbed the book off her face, and ran out to link arms with Niu Tielan, giggling: "Aiyo, Ma, why did you come over? The sun's so strong outside—why didn't you bring an umbrella or a hat? It's so hot. If you got overheated, I'd be heartbroken."
Niu Tielan said disdainfully: "Cut the sweet talk. Where's that heartbreak when you're making me angry?"
Song Jin: "Okay, okay, no more anger. Ma is the most magnanimous of all."
Niu Tielan sneered: "Stop provoking me and I won't be angry. I sent you here to study—is this how you study?"
Song Jin protested her innocence: "You can't blame me for this, Ma. I may be uneducated, but what am I supposed to do stuck in a classroom with a bunch of four- and five-year-old brats? At least send me to the ten-year-old class."
Niu Tielan gave a cold laugh: "I'd love to, but can you keep up?"
The ten-year-old class was for kids who actually studied seriously and did quite well. Which teacher would dare let a menace like Song Jin in there? Especially when her education level was only at the beginner stage.
Song Jin muttered: "Knowing my beginner characters is already pretty good."
Besides, everything here was in traditional characters, and there wasn't even any punctuation. She'd only studied hard so she could read her miscellaneous books—otherwise, she'd be a genuine illiterate.
Seeing her back down, Niu Tielan poked her forehead in exasperation. Amid Song Jin's fake cries of pain, she got down to business.
"Alright, enough messing around. The town just sent word that a criminal has escaped into Panlong Mountain and they're hunting him down. Everyone's been told to stay alert—especially to report any strangers immediately…"
Song Jin immediately turned serious. So that was what those people had been up to that day. Though it looked like something had gone wrong and someone had slipped through.
Not that it was surprising. The mountain had so many paths, and those outsiders weren't familiar with them—unlike those people, who'd been rooted there for who knows how long. They could easily find some hole or crevice to slip into.
If the man just ran off, that would be one thing. But if he fled toward the nearby villages and towns, there was no telling what danger he might bring.
Niu Tielan glanced at Song Jin's expression after she finished speaking and understood somewhat.
When she'd heard the news, she knew it most likely had something to do with her wild monkey of a daughter who ran around the mountain every day. She just didn't know if it was connected to those people from before.
The thought still made Niu Tielan a bit angry, but also helpless. She knew her own child—you couldn't hold her down. All you could do was occasionally pull the leash and tie her up, then let her go before the rope snapped.
She thought for a moment, then said: "The family tea garden is up on the slope, and it's about time to harvest. If anything happens, we'll take a big loss this year. Go have a look when you get the chance."
Song Jin, who had been wondering how to sneak off, lit up with joy and immediately slapped her chest in assurance: "Don't worry, Ma, I'll go right away. I guarantee our tea garden will be perfectly safe, not a single problem. You just stay home and wait for my good news—I'll be back in a bit."
Niu Tielan snorted lightly: "And how long is this 'bit' of yours?"
Song Jin flashed her white teeth and tugged at her mother's arm, swaying it playfully. "It'll just be a little while, Mother. Why are you so impatient? You can't eat hot tofu in a hurry—just wait. Oh, and by the way, Eyebrows and Ears are both staying home, not going anywhere…"
The mother and daughter strolled leisurely back toward the house.
Once home, Song Jin first gave instructions to the maids and servants, then chattered on with a long string of reminders to Niu Tielan before finally mounting Little Black and galloping off toward the tea garden at the foot of their mountain.
Unexpectedly, just as she neared the place, she was stopped.