Chapter 68
Seeing his wife coming back from his sister-in-law's room and sighing all the time, Dong Shan also became worried. These two didn't know what they were talking about.
"You..."
He was about to open his mouth when Wang Chunhua blocked his words: "Don't ask. You don't understand girls' affairs."
Well, he didn't need to ask anymore.
Wang Chunhua turned her back and sighed again: "You said our sister is such a good girl, how could she run into these messy things?"
"I..."
"Forget it, don't talk anymore, just listening makes me angry." Wang Chunhua was irritated in her heart right now, and could only take it out on Dong Shan. She gave him two punches and drove him out: "Seeing you is annoying too. Don't stand here and be an eyesore, go out, go out."
Dong Shan...
Who did he provoke? Alas, he silently got up, just about to go out, but was called back by Wang Chunhua again.
"Was your sister buying a pen today?"
In order to avoid being disliked again, Dong Shan was concise: "Yes."
Wang Chunhua took out the money bag from under her pillow and said, "You guys spent so much money on your sister's meal today. She just bought Xiao Lei a pen again. Do you remember how much it cost? We should pay her back."
Usually Xiao Lei's pens were bought at Mr. Jin's place, usually only a few dozen wen. Wang Chunhua instinctively took out some copper coins from her money bag.
Dong Shan sat on the edge of the bed and stuffed the copper coins back into her bag: "Take it back. She only bought two pens, the bigger one was more than two liang, and the smaller one was more than one liang. What's the use of your copper coins?"
"What? More than two liang. Is the bookstore in the county seat robbing money?"
Dong Shan looked at his wife with a shocked expression on her face, expressionlessly. When he heard the price reported by the bookstore owner, he had the same thought as her, but seeing Li Mingwei and Liu Yizhu were very calm, he didn't dare to show it on the spot.
Wang Chunhua complained: "Our sister was so cheated, and you just watched with your eyes wide open. Couldn't you stop her?"
Dong Shan was speechless. What did this have to do with him? He explained, "That bookstore was taken to us by Scholar Liu. He and the bookstore owner were acquaintances. He didn't say it was expensive either."
"Scholar Liu wouldn't cheat our sister, would he?"
A scene emerged in Wang Chunhua's mind - Liu Yizhu colluded with the bookstore owner to pull their sister in like a pig to the slaughter, then stabbed her, and ate her up cleanly.
"It shouldn't be like that."
Dong Shan still trusted Liu Yizhu's character a little more. Not very familiar, but still a child who had watched him grow up. He shouldn't do such a thing.
"Then this money..."
More than one or two liang, Wang Chunhua was still a little reluctant to take out, she looked at Dong Shan awkwardly, with a trace of shyness on her face.
Seeing her clutching the money bag tightly, Dong Shan knew she was reluctant to take it out. He waved his hand: "Forget it. Just remember it first. We'll talk about it again when we have more money."
They had just taught Dong Lei for a while and paid back the two liangs they borrowed from Li Mingwei a few days ago. They didn't have much cash left either.
Money is really not meant to be spent. Li Mingwei was also counting money. She had spent a total of five or six liangs today. The gifts for the children were all small things, not too expensive. The main thing was those two pens and that meal.
A live chicken only cost a few dozen wen. Their restaurant would cost seven to eight hundred wen for one meal. Fortunately, the two dishes she ordered were not expensive, otherwise this meal would cost no less than two or two silver without the hundred and dozens.
She tidied up the gifts and lay back on the bed: "After sending out all these things, hurry back to make money."
Otherwise, Mr. Jin would really beat her.
She had been away for more than ten days this time. The children of Xinghua Village had been looking forward to her return, and they almost thought she wouldn't come back. So when they received the news, they all went to the Wang family to confirm.
Li Mingwei stood at the door of the Wang family and knocked on the door to signal them to quiet down: "Auntie has taught you for so long. I want to see how much you've learned. Gather at the village entrance tomorrow morning and I'll test you guys. Those who do well will have gifts. You'd better read more books when you go back today."
"Good!"
The children, who were a little nervous when they heard about the exam, became active when they learned there were still gifts. They went home to review one after another.
Xiao Gang looked for Li Mingwei with a sullen face, wanting to get the questions in advance. He was the oldest among the children, and had a small stove to open every day. If he didn't get first place, it would be too embarrassing.
Li Mingwei looked at him sideways: "You've got some nerve asking me that."
"Auntie." Xiao Gang pleaded: "Even if you don't tell me the questions, at least give me a scope. I'll go read it right away."
"Don't even think about it!"
With just one book, how could she give him a scope? She called Wang Chunhua over and asked her to take Xiao Gang away to review, so as not to get in her way.
She warned: "Don't try to cheat. If I find out, you won't get any gifts at all."
Xiao Gang looked at the pile of things in the yard and pouted away.
Following Li Mingwei's requirements, Mrs. Wang cut the paper into small strips and showed them to her: "Is this big enough?"
"Okay, cut some more. I'm going to need them tomorrow."
Li Mingwei, on the other hand, ranked the gifts according to price, with the most expensive gift being the first prize, the second most expensive being the second prize, and so on, so as not to disappoint everyone's efforts over this period.
Xiao Gang sneaked back and peered at the door for a while, but still couldn't guess what his auntie would test. He could only go back honestly to read the book. Time was tight and the task heavy, he couldn't delay any longer.
Li Mingwei put the cut strips of paper into a basket, prepared pens and ink, and went to the village entrance early to wait.
The children quickly came over one after another. She counted them, and when everyone was there she started. As usual she picked up that familiar wooden stick and asked:
"Where is this place?"
The children answered sporadically: "The village entrance!"
"Grassland!"
None were the answers she wanted. Li Mingwei shook her head: "No, this is Xinghua Village. Does anyone know how Xinghua Village is written?"
"Me! I know!"
"I know too!"
Li Mingwei pointed to the first child who raised his hand and let him come out, handing him the wooden stick in her hand: "Come on, show Auntie how to write it."
Although the child's handwriting was a little crooked, the strokes and characters were correct. Li Mingwei let the other children applaud for him, wrote down the three characters for Xinghua Village with a writing brush on the paper strip, and handed it to him.
"Keep this with you. If you write it right, you'll get a slip of paper. The one with the most slips of paper at the end will be the first place, and the first place will get the best gift. You guys must actively raise your hands when you know how to write."
The children were instantly excited and scrambled to answer the next question.
Li Mingwei took them from the village entrance to the hillside, and from the hillside to the farmland, without even sparing the vegetable garden at the village chief’s house.
When they returned to the village entrance, Wang Chunhua had already brought people to carry over tables and set out the gifts nicely.
Li Mingwei recorded the number of slips of paper they each had, and distributed the gifts to them according to the order sorted last night.
"Thank you, auntie!"
"You're welcome. Remember to continue reading when you go back. It's easy to forget if you don't review for too long."
"We will!"
Seeing a group of happy children, she couldn't bring herself to say the farewell words she had prepared. She quietly retreated outside the lively crowd and quietly looked around the village. Perhaps this was the last time she would set foot here in this life.