Then she looked over the entire Wang family, young and old. “Has your family finished all the farm work? If not, let your elder brother help your family for a few days.”
“It’s finished. We only have three mu of land. It was because the work was done that I wanted to go hunting in the mountains…”
“Foolish. Even if you wanted to go into the mountains, you shouldn’t have gone alone.”
“Yes, Mother is right to scold me.”
Ye Manshu checked his wound again. “Your injury will require at least three months of rest.”
Wang Lin frowned worriedly. “Three months? I’m afraid my family won’t even survive one month!”
“Don’t worry. I’ll help your family. Once you recover, you can help me in return.”
“Thank you, Mother. In the future, I’ll definitely help you.”
At this moment, Wang Lin was filled with gratitude.
Ye Manshu smiled. At last, one troublesome matter had been settled. Her eldest daughter’s situation was now handled. If the original owner of this body had continued acting the same way as before, she either would have driven the man to death or completely enraged the Wang family.
When people have nothing, they are prone to extremes. If Wang Lin had died because of this, that boy Wang Nian—after interacting with him over the past two days—was clearly not someone easy to deal with. He was not the type to quietly endure being bullied.
Sure enough, during the short break between lessons, a child rushed in anxiously. “Teacher! Someone’s fighting!”
Ye Manshu hurried over to see what was happening.
It was Wang Nian and Wang Fuhua fighting.
Although both had the surname Wang, they were not from the same branch of the clan; in other words, their ancestors were unrelated. The Wang family from Kaoshan Village and the Wang family from Wang Family Village merely shared the same surname.
Though Wang Nian was three years older, Wang Fuhua was tall and sturdy, making the fight difficult for Wang Nian.
“Stop! What’s going on?”
“He called me a son of a bitch raised by dogs!”
Wang Fuhua tried to pull his robe free but couldn’t. He reached to pry Wang Nian’s hand away.
Wang Nian suddenly bit down hard on his arm.
“Ah!” Wang Fuhua cried out, tears immediately filling his eyes from the pain.
Ye Manshu stepped forward and forcefully separated them. Even then, Wang Nian refused to let go, clutching Wang Fuhua’s clothes fiercely, his eyes looking as if he wanted to tear the other boy apart.
“Let go!” Ye Manshu used more strength before finally separating them.
Wang Nian still looked furious. Wang Fuhua’s arm had a deep bite wound.
Ye Manshu first cleaned Wang Fuhua’s wound and applied ointment before continuing her questioning. She soon learned what had happened.
With tears still falling, Wang Fuhua said, “But he really was raised on dog’s milk! What’s wrong with calling him a dog-born bastard?”
Ye Manshu’s brows rose sharply. Though technically true, anyone could tell the words were meant as an insult.
“Wang Fuhua!” Ye Manshu’s face darkened. “Hold out your hand!”
Wang Fuhua didn’t dare refuse.
Smack!
The ruler struck his palm.
“This strike is for insulting others. Don’t think I couldn’t hear the malice in your words.”
Smack!
“This strike is punishment for starting the fight. Not only did you insult him, you also hit him first.”
Smack!
The third strike landed, turning Wang Fuhua’s hand bright red. Only then did he begin to howl in pain.
“Ahhh!”
Quite a delayed reaction.
“Crying won’t help. This third strike is punishment for reading the teachings of sages while behaving nothing like a scholar! Are you convinced?”
Wang Fuhua was only seven years old. After being beaten so painfully, he was finally frightened.
“I’m convinced! Wuwuwu…”
Ye Manshu ordered him to stand facing the wall in reflection while reciting the Five Elements theory.
“Wood creates fire, fire creates earth… wuwuwu…” he recited while sobbing.
Ye Manshu then called Wang Nian over and coldly said, “Hold out your hand.”
Wang Nian obediently did so.
Ye Manshu raised the ruler.
Smack smack smack.
Three strikes as well.
“Do you know what you did wrong?”
Unlike before, Wang Nian was not stubborn. “Teacher, I shouldn’t have fought!”
“Wrong.” Ye Manshu said seriously, “When someone insults you with obvious malice and even strikes first, fighting back is correct. I’m not punishing you for fighting.”
Wang Nian lifted his head in confusion. “Then why?”
Ye Manshu said, “The first strike is because, deep down, you believe being raised on dog’s milk is shameful, don’t you?”
Wang Nian froze.
For years, many people had mocked him for being raised on dog’s milk. Even if they didn’t directly call him a dog-born bastard, there was always ridicule in their tone, making him deeply resentful of the fact.
If that wasn’t shameful, what was?
He had even secretly resented the dog that once nursed him.
That dog had long since died, yet the discomfort had remained in his heart for years.
One look at his expression told Ye Manshu everything.
Very seriously, she said, “That is one reason I struck you. So what if you were raised on dog’s milk?
“There’s an old story you may not have heard. Once, there was a great official whose parents died when he was very young. The family dog fed him with her milk and kept him alive. After he grew up and achieved success, the first thing he did was build a grand grave for that dog. Every year during festivals, he personally offered sacrifices to it. He said that without the dog, he would have died. Since the dog raised him, calling the dog ‘mother’ and honoring it was only natural.
“He even bought the surrounding land and named it Dog Mother’s Grave. Not only did he worship the dog himself, he also ordered his descendants to continue honoring it forever, treating the dog as family and as an ancestor.
“That is what a human being should do. What’s wrong with a dog? It nourished you with its milk—that is a life-saving kindness. Instead of repaying that kindness, you resent the very dog that raised you, simply because others speak of it with bad intentions?
“A person should always hold gratitude in their heart. ‘Who says a blade of grass can repay the warmth of the spring sun?’ The grace of giving birth and the grace of raising someone are both immense kindnesses. One must never forget such debts. Yet what have you done?”
After hearing her words, Wang Nian lowered his head.
“Teacher, I was wrong.”
“To recognize one’s mistakes and correct them is the greatest virtue. In the future, if someone calls you a dog-born bastard, you should absolutely curse them back—or even fight back—because their words are malicious. But if someone merely jokes that you drank dog’s milk, you can openly admit it with honesty and dignity.”
Wang Nian was already ten years old and more mature from experience, so he truly understood.
“Teacher, I understand now.”
“Good. The second strike was because you disrespected your teacher. I had already stepped in to stop the conflict, and Wang Fuhua had let go, yet you still refused to stop and even bit him. That was contempt toward your teacher’s authority.”
“Yes, Teacher. I know I was wrong.”
“The third strike was because you and Wang Fuhua had no deep hatred between you. It was only a small conflict, yet at the very first confrontation you attacked viciously. I saw the look in your eyes clearly. If no one had stopped you, you would have wanted to kill him, tear him apart. Isn’t that right?”
Wang Nian lowered his head again. “Teacher, I was wrong.”
Being ruthless was not entirely bad—sometimes people needed toughness to survive—but human society was not purely governed by the law of the jungle. If he continued blindly giving in to brutality, sooner or later either other people or the law would punish him.
Seeing that Wang Nian truly understood his mistake, Ye Manshu ordered him to stand by the wall as well—right beside Wang Fuhua.
“You two, hold hands and recite the Five Elements theory together!”
Hold hands?
Everyone was stunned.
The two had just been fighting, yet now they had to hold hands?
But neither dared disobey Ye Manshu. Awkwardly, they held hands, though their recitation became clumsy and stumbling.
Little brats. Let’s see if this doesn’t fix you two.
If she merely punished them this time, they would likely fight again in the future.
Realizing one’s mistakes was one thing, but that alone would not stop them from clashing again over some other issue.
By the time the two boys resumed class while still holding hands, both their palms were sweating.
At the next break, Ye Manshu ordered them to apologize to each other while still holding hands.
Wang Fuhua behaved as meekly as a little white rabbit, his voice barely audible, but he apologized in the end.
Wang Nian’s forehead was covered in sweat. Embarrassed to death, he apologized too, silently vowing never to end up in such a situation again.
This was even more unbearable than fighting.