Chapter 284: Can Be Thought, But Not Said

Chapter 284: Chapter 284: Can Be Thought, But Not Said

"Hey, girl. What are you thinking about? I’ve called you a few times now."

Widow Xie waved a hand in front of her face, a little puzzled. "Why are you so curious about Mrs. Meng?"

’I’m not curious about Mrs. Meng,’ Ji Huan thought. ’I’m curious about her son.’

But she could only think that, not say it aloud.

"Her family’s been in the spotlight lately, so I was just curious. By the way, Aunt Xie, how is Old Man Ji doing?"

As expected, Widow Xie’s attention was successfully diverted.

"If you ask me, he had it coming. His most precious son angered him so much he had a fit. It’s a good thing it wasn’t serious..."

After hearing Widow Xie’s description, Ji Huan guessed that this so-called "fit" was probably what would be called a stroke in later eras.

The left side of his face was stiff, the corner of his mouth drooped, his coordination was poor, his legs were weak, and he needed a cane to get around.

These were all classic aftereffects of a stroke.

It was a good thing it wasn’t partial or full paralysis, or he’d really be in for a rough time.

But for someone as proud as Ji Qingshan, his physical ailments were likely the least of his worries. The biggest blow was Ji Liantang failing the exam.

She just wondered how long it would take him to recover from that blow.

A pipe dream like that isn’t so easy to wake from. Once Ji Qingshan’s anger subsided, Ji Liantang would be able to go back to studying for the scholar exam.

That is, if the Ji Family still had any money.

"Wan, I’ve made up my mind. I’m going to send Dacheng to the village school next month, too."

Ji Huan was taken aback for a moment, then she smiled.

Widow Xie coughed, looking a bit sheepish.

"I see a lot of families in the village are sending their children to study... When Liangzi was little, he at least learned a few characters from his older brother. It’s too late for him to go to the village school now, but Dacheng can just barely make it. I’m not expecting him to become a great success like Song Jing. It’s like you said—the most important thing is for him to learn to read and reason. He’ll be less likely to be taken advantage of in the future. Plus, when people ask, he can at least be considered a semi-educated man."

It seems to be a parent’s instinct to hope for their children’s success.

Some parents force this hope onto their children, who become mere tools for fulfilling their parents’ ambitions.

But other parents bury this hope deep in their hearts, simply doing their best to provide the best for their children, giving them an education now so they’ll have choices in the future.

By then, whether they become great successes might not be so important anymore.

"I’m all for it."

On the last day of August, the last of the spices on Nanshan were harvested. The sweet potatoes in the fields were also mature and ready to be dug up.

Once the final batch was sorted, Ji Huan planned to give everyone a few days off.

Hu Liang had also taken leave from the brick kiln and returned early. He came over to Ji Huan’s house with Widow Xie right after breakfast.

She hadn’t seen him in about a month, and she almost didn’t recognize him.

He was much tanner, but he also looked more robust.

"You just got home yesterday, you should be resting. The rest of us can handle this. We’ll be done by dark."

She was paying Widow Xie for her work, but not Hu Liang, and she couldn’t just let him work for free.

Hu Liang waved her off, grabbed a stool, and sat down next to Ji Mingfang.

Widow Xie pulled Ji Huan aside. "Let him be. He’s just like me—born to work. He gets restless with nothing to do. With an extra pair of hands, we’ll finish earlier anyway."

Ji Huan knew that insisting would make her seem formal and distant, so she relented. "All right, then. We’ll finish up early today, but you must have lunch at my house."

Ji Xuelan clapped her hands. "That’s fantastic! Wan’s cooking is out of this world. For a meal like that, I wouldn’t mind working late, let alone finishing early!"

Everyone broke into laughter.

Hu Liang had helped with planting and harvesting the earlier batches of spices, but he had never done the fine-sorting work that came after, so he didn’t know where to begin.

Ji Mingfang, on the other hand, worked without pause, quickly finishing the pile in front of him.

Seeing him move on to the next pile, Hu Liang went over to ask for his advice.

Ji Mingfang had previously asked Ji Huan and knew this part of the process wasn’t a secret, so he didn’t hold back, showing him the ropes as they worked.

The two were close in age, and they quickly fell into conversation.

Hu Liang, of course, was the one taking the initiative.

Ji Mingfang was a little awkward at first. It wasn’t anything against Hu Liang; he just hadn’t socialized much in a long time. Whenever the conversation strayed from work, he mostly fell silent.

Although Hu Liang was a year younger, he had an outgoing personality. That, combined with his prior experience running a market stall, made him far more worldly than Ji Mingfang. It wasn’t hard for him to strike up a good rapport.

Only after spending time with him did Hu Liang realize that Ji Mingfang was nothing like the "weirdo" the village gossiped about. He was actually pretty easy to get along with.

Ji Xuelan, who was nearby, watched her brother gradually become more talkative, her eyes filled with relief and happiness.

They worked until noon, when Ji Huan went into the kitchen to cook. Ji Xuelan followed her, joking that she wanted to steal her secrets.

Since Hu Liang’s return was a rare occasion, the two women prepared a feast and even brought out some wine.

After delivering a meal to the earthen hut, she washed her hands and had just sat down when Hu Dacheng arrived.

He usually showed up first thing in the morning, but they hadn’t seen him all day. He walked in with a long face, not even cheering up at the sight of the delicious spread on the table.

"What’s wrong?" Ji Huan asked, setting out a bowl and chopsticks for him.

"Big Sis Wan!" Hu Dacheng cried, as if he’d found his savior. "Can you talk to my mom? Don’t make me go to school! I don’t want to study. My head hurts when I read, my hand hurts when I write, and the teacher at the village school hits our butts with a stick and smacks our hands..."

Widow Xie moved around the table, raising a hand as if to strike him.

Hu Dacheng dodged like a slippery eel and hid behind Ji Huan.

Widow Xie said to Ji Huan, "Don’t listen to him. The clueless little fool has been throwing a tantrum all morning. You think *I* want to spend that money?!"

Hu Liang grabbed him by the ear and pulled him out to be scolded.

"You little brat, don’t look a gift horse in the mouth. When I was your age, I wanted to study and couldn’t. Plenty of kids your age are crying and begging to go to school, but either their families can’t afford it, or they have so many brothers they have to draw lots to see who gets to go. You should be grateful!"

Hu Dacheng quickly retorted, "Then I’ll give my spot to you! You go, Second Brother! You’re the one who wants to study, right?"

"I’m too old to go back to school now."

Hu Liang had just said it offhandedly; he wasn’t actually hung up about it. He had no particular obsession with studying.

Hearing this, however, Ji Mingfang, who was sitting off to the side, looked downcast.

Ji Huan glanced over at him.

Hu Dacheng was out of options. He turned to Ji Huan again. "Big Sis Wan..."

"Calling me won’t help. The minority must yield to the majority. You’ve got half a month to get your head right. Prepare to embrace your wonderful new life as a student, my boy."

’Even though Hu Dacheng is crying and screaming about it now, he might change his tune after a few days,’ she thought. ’It’s not like the village school only has a strict old teacher. There are plenty of other kids there, too.’

She didn’t say that out loud, though. She just wanted to scare him a little.

After the meal, they worked for nearly another four hours until the pile of spices in the backyard was finally cleared.

All that was left was to dry the spices in batches, a task Ji Huan could handle on her own. Starting tomorrow, Ji Mingfang’s family and the Hu family could focus on their own farm work.

They still felt a bit bad about it.

Ji Huan laughed. "What’s there to feel bad about? It’s not like it’s a paid vacation."

In the evening, Ji Huan bathed herself and Dabao. Then, she took a new book she’d gotten from Boss Fang and went to see the vagrant.

The last piece of the Achilles tendon insole had been removed, and the vagrant was now able to walk flat-footed.