Peasant Girl Bookseller

Chapter 88 Another student accepted

The next day, Mai Xiang got up early in the morning, told Mai Huang a few words, and came to the Temple of the Reclining Buddha with a basket on her arm. After walking around several times, she didn't see Tong Liwen, and even the Jiugongge on the ground disappeared. Thinking about going to Changning Town to talk to him, Nanny Li accompanied Grid to find him.

A Muxin came to make a wish, and Mai Xiang accompanied her to make a wish, the two had a conversation, Mai Xiang sent her to the carriage, and returned to the grove, but Tong Liwen was still not found.

Mai Xiang thought for a while, and came up with a chicken and rabbit in the same cage question on the ground, which was slightly modified from the classic question given by Hong Rong, "Chickens and rabbits have 120 legs in total. 180, how many are chickens and rabbits?"

Mai Xiang wrote the title, but this time she didn't write a message. She believed that if Tong Liwen saw it, she should know that she was back.

Mai Xiang finished writing the topic and was about to leave when she saw a person standing in front of her.

"It's you." The two said at the same time.

The other party was the boy who rescued Mai Xiang that time. Mai Xiang took another look at him. He was still wearing a cotton gown with no extra accessories on his body. There was indeed something inappropriate about her body, but Mai Xiang couldn't find a more suitable word.

"Thank you for what happened last time." Mai Xiang first smiled and thanked you.

"Thank you, no need, you know how to do math?" The other party didn't seem very enthusiastic.

"meeting."

"What about the abacus?"

"I will too." Mai Xiang hesitated a little.

"Great, can you teach me how to abacus, every afternoon at Shen Shi, on the stone table in the backyard of the Reclining Buddha Hall, I will pay you."

"This?" Mai Xiang looked at the other party, with a little eagerness and impatience in her eyes, but Mai Xiang could see that the eagerness was not for herself.

"Why me? There is no one out there who is a gentleman?" Mai Xiang really didn't understand why the other party wanted to learn arithmetic from him so eagerly.

"First, I don't want my family to know that I am learning this. Second, I want to learn to do some business by myself so that I can support myself in the future."

When Mai Xiang heard this, she felt that the other party must have something to hide, because Mai Xiang could not see enthusiasm and sunshine in his eyes, but only sadness.

"Okay, I promise you, but I also have one condition." Mai Xiang almost nodded somehow, not knowing whether she was moved by the other party's sadness or by the other party's kindness last time.

"Tell me." The other party's eyes became a little warmer.

"I don't want others to know that I am teaching you, that is to say, I don't want others to know that I know these things."

"No problem, it's just what I want. By the way, since you agreed to be my master, my name is Huai Ci, Huai of Missing, Ci, Ci of Charity, how about you?"

"My name is Mai Xiang."

"Mai Xiang, tomorrow at a quarter of noon I will come with my abacus." After finishing speaking, the other party squatted down to study the question left by Mai Xiang, and began to gesture with a branch.

Mai Xiang saw him start calculations, but he didn't know how to deal with this calculation relationship, but started from 10, counting numbers one by one, and the other party of multiplication obviously couldn't, and superimposed numbers one by one.

"Well, let me teach you the nine-nine table first, and you can memorize it when you go back." Mai Xiang also squatted down.

"Ninety-nine table?"

Mai Xiang couldn't explain it either, so after thinking about it, she had to use a branch to start gesticulating on the ground with him, what multiplication is, and recited the table of formulas while talking.

Huai Ci's comprehension ability is relatively fast, it took about an hour to understand what addition, subtraction, multiplication and division are. As for the ninety-nine table, Mai Xiang promised to send it to him the next day.

"Well, I only have this little silver on me right now, and I will definitely give you the rest in the future." Huaici took out two pieces of silver from his sleeve, and Mai Xiang estimated that there was also a tael of silver.

"It's okay, you owe it first, and then give me the same when you are free. I'm not in trouble right now."

Mai Xiang remembered that the other party gave her more than two taels of silver last time, seeing him like this, she felt that his quality was a bit commendable.

"Okay, I owe you first." Huaici hesitated for a moment, then agreed.

The two made an appointment for the next meeting, and Mai Xiang walked back with the basket on her shoulders, thinking about the identity of this person as she walked.

Say he is a farmer, but the other party is still wearing a long gown, and his hands are not those of working in the fields. You can say he is a scholar. Mai Xiang doesn't seem to be very knowledgeable. You can say he is a rich man, but he doesn't count. , rich people wear yarn clothes this season, say poor people, the clothes are quite new and there are no patches.

"Oh, what do I want him to do? Isn't he just accepting a student? What's the big deal, just treat him as a favor, and besides, I'm only ten years old with my body, and I'm not that amazing. Except for those who want to buy themselves to be maids, who would be interested in themselves?
In this era, more attention is paid to the right family, and more emphasis on male superiority and female inferiority. What Mai Xiang can do now is to improve her economic strength, expand her personal connections, and thereby improve her social status. Only in this way can she have hope in her marriage in the future. Gain a relative right to speak in major matters.
"Sister, what are you thinking, you didn't hear me calling so?"

Mai Xiang looked back and saw that it was Mai Huang and Mai Qing who were chasing from behind. They each carried a basket of grass, and their faces were flushed with sunburn. Wipe off the sweat.

"I'll come out to cut grass after the sun goes down, and my eldest sister won't sell grass anymore." Mai Xiang felt that she couldn't get much money from selling grass. She kicked her own basket, so Mai Xiang didn't plan to do this business.

"Sister, didn't you just come back now? By the way, after you left just now, someone sent us two sheep and two rabbits, so these sheep and rabbits also need to eat grass." Mai Huang said.

"Sheep and rabbit?" Mai Xiang saw Gege just now, but Gege didn't mention sending sheep and rabbits to her home?
"Do you know who sent it?"

"Father said it seems like the person who came to pick you up yesterday." Mai Qing said, she was very happy because she heard what the second aunt and the third aunt said that a sheep is worth more than one tael of silver, and the two rabbits are pure white, So cute.

Thinking of this, Mai Qing stretched Mai Xiang's clothes again, and said, "Sister, can we not sell these sheep and rabbits? I promise to mow grass for them every day."

"Okay, let's go home first." Mai Xiang was thinking about raising more small animals when building a house in the future. Anyway, Ye Dafu is familiar with the habits of animals, and with him around, he will definitely be able to raise them.

"Oh, that's great, let's go home soon." Mai Huang was also happy when she heard that. She was not afraid of suffering, but she was afraid of not having enough to eat, so she was also happy to see that Mai Xiang agreed to raise sheep and rabbits. There is progress.

The three sisters Mai Xiang entered the yard, and saw Mrs. Liu smilingly sending Mrs. Shi out. It turned out that Mrs. Shi came to present the woman's eight-character Geng post today, which shows that the woman is willing to marry this kind of marriage.

And Mrs. Liu is obviously quite satisfied with this marriage, otherwise she wouldn't be so eager.

Of course, Mai Xiang didn't know that there were other factors in Liu's eagerness, and she couldn't do these housework anymore.

Mai Xiang entered the house, and before she had time to look at the two sheep and the rabbit, she was overwhelmed by Mrs. Zhao's loud voice from inside the house.

"Second brother and sister, what are you talking about? Our mother wants to spend ten taels of silver to marry the fifth brother? Is this impossible?" Zhao exclaimed.

"Why isn't it true? If you don't believe me, ask the third sibling, what we two heard with our own ears is still false?" Qian's voice.

"That's right, sister-in-law, go and tell mother, mother can't take the three of us seriously." Sun's voice.

"Why did I go?"

"Sister-in-law, didn't you go alone, the three of us went together?" Qian said.

"But my elder sister said that when the family is separated, they will live their own lives. How much money the mother wants to spend to find a wife for the fifth brother is the mother's business. It has nothing to do with us. Isn't it inappropriate for us to find the mother like this?" Mrs. Zhao hesitated, and she remembered Mai Xiang's instructions these few times.

"Sister-in-law, that's not what I said. Look at you, when we got married, our father and mother didn't spend three taels of silver together, and the second sister-in-law also spent three taels of silver. I am not much different from the second sister-in-law. We Three plus one is only ten taels of silver. But just now, my mother told the matchmaker to pass on the message that according to our mother, she would also give the woman a silver hairpin and a pair of silver bracelets, which would cost two or three taels of silver, right? And the clothes are also made of silk, plus the dowry for the woman, it’s no more than ten taels of silver? The expenses of this one daughter-in-law cost the three of us, why? You are the eldest sister-in-law, the eldest daughter-in-law in the family , who will take the lead if you don't take the lead in this matter?" Mrs. Sun said slowly.

"What is it? I want to hear, who wants to be the leader, and what is it?" Liu and Mai Xiang entered the yard together, and they naturally heard what the daughters-in-law said.

"Mother, it's none of my business. It was the second and third younger siblings. I went to you and said that it would cost ten taels of silver for you to marry the fifth younger brother. The three of us only have ten taels of silver. Mother, this is Not true?" Mrs. Zhao quickly confessed to Mrs. Qian and Mrs. Sun.

"Mother, tell me, why? The three of us are so worthless?" Seeing that the confession was made, Qian simply asked.

Mrs. Liu glanced at Mrs. Sun, but Mrs. Sun did not dodge, met Liu's gaze, and said, "Mother, this matter should be discussed properly. When we got married, we gave less dowry. This separation Now, we are the most disadvantaged. Everyone else has two houses, but we only have one, and I have another in my stomach. After this child is born, I can’t live without a place to live. Mother, I don’t ask for it. Gao, mother, please build us an extra room, right next to our house, add a side room."

After Mrs. Sun finished speaking, Mrs. Zhao and Mrs. Qian were stunned and stared at Mrs. Sun. Why did she only mention her own request?

(End of this chapter)