The old woman raised her head and saw Mo Yan, smiling, âYanâer, are you going to school and listening to the teacher?â
To school? She could even go to school? Why hadnât her sister mentioned that?
Then, a taller old woman walked out from the northern room and glared at Mo Yan, âListening to the teacher? Donât you mean eavesdropping on the lessons? How could she go to school?â
So she didnât actually go to school. That was expected; after all, there was no way Mrs. Liang would ever foot the bill to send her to school. [1]
The old woman living in the northern room had a large and long face. She always looked ill-tempered and her words were scathing, so she looked more like the old woman Mo Ling was talking about.
The old woman living in the southern room couldnât compare to the one living in the north when it came to her clothing or how she carried herself. However, she was very kind and always had a smile on her face. She was Mo Yanâs second grandma. [2]
Mo Yanâs second grandma hadnât given birth, so when Mo Yanâs grandpa was still alive, he made the decision to give his second son Mo Zhelin to her to raise. He was Mo Yanâs second uncle. Mo Zhelin inherited his second grandpaâs business, and now ran a small clothing business in Yi City.
He had thought of bringing Mo Yanâs second grandma to Yi City with him, but she refused. After all, he wasnât her biological son.
Second uncle would periodically send money to her, but she wouldnât bear to use it and kept living frugally.
The old woman living in the northern house resented her for âstealingâ her son, so she would constantly make trouble for her. Mo Yanâs second grandma thought she was in the wrong as well, so she did nothing about it.
Mo Yan smiled towards her second grandma and said, âSecond grandma, Iâm going now.â
Second grandma waved at Mo Yan while chuckling, âGoodbye! Iâll take you to the pond to make clay birds in the afternoon, the kind you can blow in and make a sound.â
The old woman glared at second grandma viciously, âA girl, playing with clay? What are you trying to teach her?â
She ignored the old woman and returned to her room.
Mo Yan left and followed the main road to Chenzhong Village.
She didnât know where the school was, but she hoped she could find it by slowly searching along the main road. On the way, someone called her name, and she nodded and smiled. Mo Yan didnât know what they were called, so decided to just do that to be safe. Thankfully, they were busy working and didnât notice her.
Soon, she saw a youth with a backpack walking hurriedly. He was probably going to the school, so Mo Yan followed him.
She didnât walk far before seeing two buildings with azure roofs, which didnât look like all the buildings sheâd seen so far. The youth with the backpack walked over there, so that was probably the school.
Just outside the two houses was a large acacia tree, and the leaves covered up half the sky. The flowers on the tree were blossoming, and they could be smelled from far away.
There was a well-dressed young man standing outside. The youth with the backpack bowed to him when he approached, calling him âMr. Tianâ. So he was the teacher? He looked so young!
Mo Yan nodded at Mr. Tian from afar, and he returned the gesture.
When all the students had arrived, Mr. Tian started teaching. Mo Yan secretly listened from the window.
Mr. Tian said, âToday, weâll be talking about the importance of agriculture.â
Mo Yan knew everything he was talking about already, so her mind started to wander.
Mr. Tian asked, âAll of you here are the sons of farmers, and none of you are wealthy. Can you tell me, whatâs the reason youâve paid the tuition to go study here?â
Two students raised their hands to answer, and he asked a student called Cao Zhang to answer.
A fair-looking thirteen or fourteen-year-old stood up to say, âOut of the four castes, the farmers are the second highest caste. This showed that all kings had historically put agriculture in high regard. The reason weâre studying here is twofold; firstly, we want to help our country, and secondly, we want to be educated so farmers can get the respect they deserve.â [3]
Because it was in the middle of summer, the schoolâs windows were fairly transparent, so Mo Yan could see Cao Zhangâs face. He was around the same age as Mo Feng, but he had a dignified and elegant temperament, and looked more like what she thought a scholar should be like.
Mr. Tian nodded his head, âCao Zhangâs correct. However, the important part of education is to both possess knowledge and wisdom. If you know all the knowledge in the world, but donât have a lick of common sense, itâs impossible for you to repay the country.â
Mo Yan scanned the classroom, but couldnât see Mo Feng. She didnât know if he had been listening, or if he understood what the teacher was talking about.
It was break time. The students went outside for a walk, to have a chat or go to the toilet. Mo Feng also exited the classroom, saw Mo Yan and turned his cheek.
Another person called Mo Yan again, and she smiled and nodded her head again. The youth called Cao Zhang walked out last. He didnât call Mo Yanâs name, and just nodded at her. Mo Yan nodded back.
Everyone here was male except for Mo Yan. As the only female there, Mo Yan was a bit uncomfortable staying there, so she quickly left.
On the road home, she saw a horse dragging a cart filled with wheat passing through. They had no livestock or carts, so all the harvested wheat mustâve been transported by her mother and sister.
When she thought of her sister, who wasnât much taller than her, and her mother, who had a persistent cough, had to do that much heavy labour, Mo Yan couldnât help but feel guilty about the half-bowl of porridge she had every meal.
Right now, the most important thing is to earn money. If possible, sheâd like to buy an animal like an ox, and if they had even more money, extra land. As farmers, they could only live good lives with enough land.
It was useless even if she went to the school every day; after all, it wouldnât change anything if she knew a few more words. Additionally, Mo Yan was probably the most knowledgeable person in the village right now, so there was no need for her to go.
When she arrived back home, neither Mo Ling nor Mrs. Liang was at home, so she started cooking lunch by copying what they cooked for the previous two meals. Then, as her home was currently empty, she decided to search the house and learn more about her new family.
Mo Yan opened Mrs. Liangâs wardrobe. Inside were a few sets of everyday wear, but they had been cleaned thoroughly and folded neatly.
In the corner of the wardrobe was a small wooden box, and inside it was a contract for the two acres of land they had. There was also a document, claiming that Mrs. Liang and to give Mo Zhenianâs mother Mrs. Ho at least two thousand taels, 50 kg of wheat and 50kg of other foodstuffs every year. [4]
There was also a small cloth bag inside. Inside was a pair of silver bracelets, a silver pendant and some silver bells. There were a total of twelve silver bells, and each of them had a different animal of the zodiac engraved on it. Mo Yan didnât know what they were used for.
Mo Yan weighed the bag in her hand and guessed it was about a quarter of a kilogram. She didnât know how much that was here, and whether or not itâd be enough to buy an ox.
These were probably the most valuable items in their entire home. There was no way Mo Yanâs dad gave these to her mum to sell, so this was likely Mrs. Liangâs dowry.
While eating lunch, Mo Yan asked Mo Ling, âSis, would you dare to handle an ox?â
Mo Ling nodded and replied, âOf course, but thereâs no way we could afford oneâ¦â
âHow much does one cost?â
âWell, someone in the village just sold an ox for a kilogram of silver. That price would be costlier for a horse and cheaper for a donkey.â
Mo Yan fell silent. The difference between a kilogram of silver and a quarter of a kilogram was just too vast. Not to mention that silver was probably her mumâs dowry, so there was no way sheâd be willing to sell it.
After lunch, Mo Yanâs second grandma took her to the pond to make the clay birds she was talking about this morning. Mo Yan didnât have much interest in that, but decided to follow her anyway.
Post-edit notes: Mo Yanâs second grandma seems to be a very nice lady.
[1] Iâm pretty sure girls couldnât go to school in Ancient China, period.
[2] There are two of them now?!
[3] Keep an eye on this guy, he might be important in the future. Or maybe not.
[4] If only the author said the old womanâs name was âMrs. Hoâ earlierâ¦