Farmhouse Green Plum

Chapter 112 Meeting Again

Song Ying looked at Zhao Ziliang and asked, "What about the six gifts of tribute and sacrifice for Mr. Wang? Will they be given as usual?"

"Of course." After a pause, Zhao Ziliang reminded, "The Dragon Boat Festival will be here in a while. If you are going to school soon, you have to prepare for the festival ceremony."

What this means is that they are advised to return to school after the Dragon Boat Festival.

Song Ying nodded, thanked them, and then followed the voices of his second uncle, Song, and his son to go over and tell them what Li had said.

When she got home, she told Li everything.

Li pondered for a moment and said, "Starting school on the Dragon Boat Festival can save the festival ceremony, but it is not kind. Second son, you go to the He family to pay the tuition tomorrow. I will go to the county to buy the six gifts and then go to the school to become a disciple.

Buy another piece of good cloth and make a set of clothes for Mr. Wang as a ritual for the Dragon Boat Festival."

Although Uncle Song felt sorry for the money, he had no objection. When a teacher teaches students, the results can be very different depending on whether he puts his heart into it or not.

The next day, the whole family went out. After breakfast, Uncle Song went to Wutong Village to find Mr. He, while Mrs. Li and Mrs. Yang took the three children to the county.

I had just sold eggs the day before, so I didn't bring much this time, but there was enough money at home. Uncle Song made a lot of money by catching eels every year, and the family lived a frugal life on weekdays, so they saved a lot.

The main purpose of going into the city today is to buy the six gifts, cloth, and prepare learning supplies for Song Yuan.

There were few eggs and they were sold out quickly. Pork and celery were also easy to sell. The Song family seldom bought dry goods such as longan, lotus seeds and red dates.

However, they had bought it before when preparing for Song Tian, so they had no problem finding the place. It was just that the price was very expensive, which made Li and Yang very sad. They also bought some cloth, and then went to East Street to buy pens, ink, paper and inkstone.

East Street is where the rich live, and the things sold there are more expensive than in other places. Li warned them in advance: "When you get to East Street, be well behaved, don't touch or take anything. If you break something, we can't afford to pay for it."

"I know. You've said it many times. We're not fools and can't remember it." Song Tian was very impatient.

Because Second Uncle Song often came to East Street to sell eels, Song Ying and the other two sometimes needed to come to him and were quite familiar with East Street.

Every time she came, Li would give her some instructions.

As soon as he arrived at the intersection of East Street, Song Ying saw a man in a blue shirt and with a gentle appearance coming out of a bookstore not far away opposite, holding two books in his hands.

Song Ying immediately turned around and squatted down, cold sweat breaking out on his back.

The man was one of the three men drinking in the restaurant that day, and was an accomplice of the bearded man who followed them that day.

That day in the restaurant, she felt that these three men were not easy to deal with, especially the man with the beard and the square face, who exuded a fierce aura.

"What's wrong?" Yang asked as she walked behind her.

Song Ying lowered his head and said in a muffled voice, "I stepped on a stone and hurt my foot."

Li in front was annoyed: "A stone caused such a big commotion. You are really getting more and more squeamish. Your brothers run around barefoot every day and nothing happens to them."

There were stones everywhere in the village, so it was normal to step on them. Song Ying knew that it was difficult to find an excuse, but she couldn't think of any other reason for the moment.

"Sister, did you step on a very sharp stone?" Song Yuan, who was being held by Li, asked with concern.

Song Ying then remembered him and his scalp suddenly went numb. Could he have been seen?

She tilted her head nervously and looked through the gap between where Li and Song Tian were standing. The man in blue seemed to glance at them, but when Song Ying looked over, he was looking away.

Song Ying breathed a sigh of relief and glanced at Song Yuan, only to find that he was walking next to Li on the inside of the street with his face covered.

Now they were facing her, the man in the blue shirt with his back to the opposite street.

Song Ying took a breath, pretended to be in pain, and prepared to stand up, but found that the man was walking towards them.

She was so scared that she squatted back down, her throat dry. Could she really be discovered? It was over, it was over. He was coming. What should she do?

Calm down, there are adults here, he wouldn't dare...

Song Ying's forehead was covered with sweat as his thoughts raced through his mind. Li looked suspicious, "Does it hurt so much? Is it bleeding?"

Song Ying did not answer. She watched the man in blue shirt walking towards her. Her heart was in her throat and she had no time to care about anything else.

The man in green came over, without looking around, walked past them and headed towards the east street entrance.

It turns out that he was leaving East Street.

Song Ying's heart settled down and he began to breathe heavily.

Seeing her like this, Li was a little worried and was about to squat down to check Song Ying's feet: "Why are you still panting?"

Song Ying quickly stood up and said in a pinched voice: "It's okay, it's okay. I can still bear this little pain."

The man in green had not walked far yet and must have heard what Li said. If he was curious and turned his head to look over, and Li squatted down, wouldn't she be exposed to the man's sight?

Song Ying tiptoed a few steps and said, "Let's go buy some paper."

Seeing that she could walk, Li was relieved. She pulled Song Yuan forward and scolded him, "Why are you panting so hard? You look like you're dying. Did you see a ghost?"

Song Ying wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and thought to himself: This is not much different from being hit by a ghost.

Arriving at the paper shop, Li said, "Boss, business is booming."

Of course, she didn't know the paper shop owner, but as a businessman, who doesn't like to hear auspicious words?

Saying nice things can make the other person feel better. If you meet someone who is generous and easy to talk to, it will be easier to bargain later.

The boss put down his pipe, stood up and greeted us enthusiastically: "Are you guys here to buy paper?"

"Yes," Li smiled and pointed at Song Yuan, "My grandson is going to school, so I brought him here to buy some straw paper and large submission paper."

Although I use a slate to practice calligraphy, I still have to buy some straw paper. When writing papers, I always need to make a draft, and I can't make a draft on a slate.

It is also necessary to buy the large submission paper used for the exam.

The boss looked at Song Yuan and was a little surprised: "Oh, you're going to school at such a young age?"

In the county town, there are many children who go to school at the age of six or seven, but in farming families, there are very few.

Such a young child won't learn anything in school, so the farmers are unwilling to waste money.

"Yes, in my family, children all start school at the age of six. He will be six in a while. He has nothing to do anyway, so if he starts school early, the teacher can help discipline him."

The boss certainly couldn't say that it was a waste of money to send the child to school at such a young age. He smiled and praised: "This child is very smart and must be a good student. Auntie, your family may become an official in the future."

Li and Yang smiled brightly, "Thank you for your good words."

The boss took out a bundle of straw paper from a shelf nearby and asked: "How much does this straw paper cost?"

Li thought about it and said, "I'll buy one first, and then I'll buy more when I run out of it."