Chapter 7: Learning to Read

Yang Wenbin greeted, “Aunt Zhang.”
“Mother, you chat with Aunt Zhang, I’ll go back inside to read first.” After speaking, Yang Wenbin turned and left.

Watching Yang Wenbin’s departing figure, Widow Zhang couldn’t help but praise him.
“Oh, Aunt Yang, I truly envy you for having such a promising son. Unlike me, I only have a loser.”

Hearing Widow Zhang’s compliment of her son, Sun smiled from ear to ear.
“Aunt Zhang, don’t say that. Your girl is quite pretty. In a couple of years, if she marries well, won’t you be enjoying a better life too?”

Widow Zhang felt proud hearing Sun’s words; her daughter was indeed somewhat attractive.
“Aunt Yang, have you heard? The new scholar Ni’s cousin in the village...”
“I’ve heard. My Bin even ran into her outside, and that darn girl really upset him.”
“Hmph, Aunt Yang, let me tell you, that girl is not a good one.”

Widow Zhang then exaggerated the story of how Jiang Lihua had tripped her that day.

After Widow Zhang finished, Sun glanced at her. “You let that girl treat you like that and just let it go?”
“Well, after I got up, the girl disappeared without a trace.”
“You don’t know, since she came to the village, that girl’s been handing out snacks everywhere to win people over. Without evidence, no one would believe me even if I spoke up.”
“That’s why I came to you, Aunt Yang, to ask for advice on how to deal with that girl.”
“I’ve never met her, so I can’t think of anything right now.”

After chatting about family matters for a while longer, Widow Zhang left.

Sun sat there alone, her face grave, lost in thought.

After Jiang Lihua returned home, she saw Ni Wenyu in their courtyard.
“What are you doing here?”
“I... I made some food. Want to eat together?”

Jiang Lihua didn’t notice Ni Wenyu’s slightly flushed cheeks and casually agreed, “Sure, let’s go. I’m too lazy to cook for one.”

Hearing her answer, Ni Wenyu’s eyes sparkled with a hint of a smile as he followed behind her.

After dinner, Jiang Lihua shared her plan. She knew she had to stay vigilant. Although the general store was convenient now, relying solely on the space wasn’t a solution.
What if the space disappeared one day? So she wanted to start some business while she still could.

“So, Lihua, what kind of business do you want to start?”
“I want to make some snacks. First, I need to go to town, find some buyers, then start.”
“Alright, I’ll go with you tomorrow.”

“No need, I can go by myself.”
“I also need to submit the book I copied last time tomorrow.”
“Okay then.”

“Lihua, you don’t have to work so hard. I can support you by copying books.”
“We’re not really related; how could I let you support me? I can take care of myself.”

Hearing this, Ni Wenyu grew anxious. “How can you say we’re not related? You’re my cousin.”
“Hahaha, you know well enough we’re not real. Also, copying books requires buying candles. Oil lamps are too dim and bad for the eyes.”

Jiang Lihua saw through the boy’s intentions but wasn’t ready to respond.
Though only ten years old, her soul was nearly thirty.
Besides, they were both still young; Ni Wenyu was only thirteen, hardly understanding matters of love.

“Lizi, so you’re at Brother Ni’s house?”
Huang Yingrong’s voice sounded.

“What’s up? Are you looking for me?”
“Just came to play. I went to your place but didn’t find you, so I came here to check.”
“Oh, I’m talking with my cousin now. You should go back; I’ll come play with you another day.”

Jiang Lihua truly had no interest in Huang Yingrong, who liked to take advantage and, despite being only twelve, had such heavy thoughts.

“What are you two talking about? Can I listen?”
“No.” Jiang Lihua refused outright.

Huang Yingrong then tugged on Ni Wenyu’s sleeve, pouting, “Brother Ni, can I stay?”
Ni Wenyu subtly stepped back, his face cold. “Miss Huang, it’s getting late. Please go home first.”
“Hmph, you won’t play with me.”

Huang Yingrong stomped and huffed before running off like a sulking child.

Ni Wenyu wanted to spend more time with Jiang Lihua and asked, “Lihua, shall I teach you to read? You’ll need to recognize characters if you want to do business.”
“Okay.” Jiang Lihua readily agreed. She just wanted to learn a little, preparing to recognize characters later so she wouldn’t slip up.

Ni Wenyu took out the Hundred Family Surnames and taught her character by character.
The characters here were similar to traditional Chinese characters in the 21st century, so it wasn’t hard for Jiang Lihua. Only writing with a brush was a bit challenging.

Xuan paper was extremely expensive and beyond the reach of common families, which explained why it was rare for villagers to produce a scholar in ancient times.

Ni Wenyu used coarse hemp paper to write with Jiang Lihua; this paper was cheap and commonly used by the poor.

An hour passed, and Jiang Lihua had used up quite a bit of paper.

Her arm ached, and she put down the brush. “I’m done. It’s enough if I can recognize characters. Writing beautifully doesn’t matter.”

Ni Wenyu chuckled at her childish tantrum, finding her more adorable than her usual mature self.

“What are you laughing at? Hmph, I just don’t like writing with a brush. I write very nicely with other pens.”
“All right, all right, Lihua is the best.” Ni Wenyu said, patting her head.

Jiang Lihua blushed suspiciously as she saw him coax her like a child.

She shook off his hand on her head. “Tomorrow I’ll write for you. Hmph, I want you to see how beautiful my writing is.”

It wasn’t arrogance. As they say, “Handwriting reflects the person.” She had practiced her penmanship seriously in the modern world to leave a good impression, so her penmanship was presentable.

“All right, let’s go. I’ll walk you home to rest, and I’ll come get you in the morning to go to town together.”

Ni Wenyu admitted he liked Jiang Lihua’s feisty nature.

Jiang Lihua gave a mischievous smile. “Hehe, we’ll stop somewhere first before going back.”

She pulled Ni Wenyu toward the Yang family’s direction.

Unbeknownst to them, someone was hiding in the shadows, watching their every move.

“Lihua, why did you bring me to the Yang’s?”
“Hehe, you’ll find out soon.”

Jiang Lihua took him into a hidden spot and pulled a small square box from her pocket, pressing a button.

Suddenly, the faint cries of a little girl echoed, sometimes louder, sometimes softer.

“I died so miserably~ I died so miserably~~”
“It’s so cold in the mountains, I wish someone would come keep me company~”

Ni Wenyu was stunned.
“Lihua, what is this? How did you do it?”
“What, are you scared?”

“I don’t do bad things, and I’m not afraid of ghosts knocking at midnight. Naturally, I’m not scared.”

Ni Wenyu answered with a righteous look.

The person hiding in the shadows heard the cries and was so frightened they turned and fled quickly.