Mrs. Wang was washing vegetables in the yard. When she heard the sound of reading, she looked up and suddenly couldn't take her eyes off.
The young lady was all smiles as she gently touched Dong Lei’s head. Her tenderness was almost tangible. If not for her clothes, her entire demeanor made her seem like a young miss from a prestigious family. No wonder the girl believed her so easily. No wonder Dong Lei was so engrossed.
Wang Dazhuang walked behind Dong Lei to take a look at what they were reading so attentively. He glanced at Dong Lei’s textbook and felt a little dizzy.
“What are all these dense characters? I can't make out any of them no matter how hard I try.”
Mrs. Wang mocked him, "Oh please, you haven't recognized half a character your whole life. What are you trying to butt in for?"
Dong Lei giggled. He was more capable than his uncle now.
Li Mingwei asked Wang Dazhuang his name. She swiftly wrote a few strokes on the paper and pointed at it, asking Dong Lei, "How do you read these characters?"
Dong Lei scratched his head. "This is ‘Wang’, this is ‘Da’, and the last one...”
His literacy was still limited. The character seemed familiar from books, but he couldn't recognize it on its own. He hemmed and hawed but failed to get it out.
"It's ‘zhuang’, meaning robust and strong. This is your uncle's name."
Wang Dazhuang nodded profusely. "That's right, that's right. It means robust. My name is this ‘zhuang’ character!"
As soon as Mrs. Wang heard this, she stopped washing the veggies. She wiped her hands on herself and rushed over eagerly, "What about my name? How do you write it?"
"Sister-in-law, what's your name?"
"Chunyan, Li Chunyan."
Below Wang Dazhuang's three characters, Li Mingwei wrote down the three characters for Li Chunyan. "Chunyan? Isn't that the same character as little swallow?"
"Well..." Mrs. Wang shook her head. "It's not that Yan. My mom just named me this. Are there other yan characters?"
Li Mingwei nodded and wrote down a few more characters. "All these are read as ‘yan’, just with slightly different meanings."
Mrs. Wang was rather curious now. "There are so many? What do they all mean?"
Li Mingwei patiently explained them one by one, "This yan is swallow the bird, I'm sure uncle and auntie know it."
"We do, we do!"
"This yan, yanli, means gorgeous and beautiful. When flowers bloom beautifully, you can describe them as yanli."
Before she could continue, Mrs. Wang squeezed herself in front of Wang Dazhuang eagerly, "I like this one, I like this one! It means I'm pretty, right?"
Li Mingwei reluctantly nodded, "I guess so. Chunyan, like gorgeous spring flowers, it is indeed beautiful."
"Then I'll take this yan character. It's simpler than the little swallow yan, and prettier too."
Wang Dazhuang side-eyed his own wife with some contempt. She was already middle aged with several kids, what beauty was she still going on about, comparing herself to spring flowers? The only real flower here was Sister Mingwei.
But he only dared to grumble internally.
"Alright."
Li Mingwei smiled and agreed. She took out a new sheet of paper, wrote down both their names, and handed it to them.
The couple examined it again and again. Finally, Wang Dazhuang carefully folded the paper and tucked it into his clothes.
Seeing their actions, Li Mingwei felt rather down. So there really were people nearing thirty who still didn't know how to write their own names, perhaps many more people would never recognize a single character in their lifetime.
Now she was starting to understand why her grandfather placed such importance on founding schools.
If one day, people from all places could receive free education, what a splendid era that would be. Those born smart but unable to realize their potential due to poor family circumstances would no longer be overlooked by the nation. Chu would certainly become abundant in talents, generation after generation.
The road ahead is long, but I shall quest high and low.
"Auntie, can I go with you to visit the school tomorrow?"
"Sure, come get me tomorrow and I'll go with you."
Dong Lei complained a bit, "Mom said it was close so I should come home by myself. But so many others get picked up by their parents every day. Mom hasn't picked me up even once."
"Your sister is too young to be left alone. Auntie will come get you tomorrow, okay?"
"Okay!"
Dong Lei agreed crisply, rather thrilled. Auntie would be the prettiest parent tomorrow. He was going to look so impressive!
Right when school ended the next day, Dong Lei kept expectantly peering out the window. The teacher glared at him several times without him noticing. It was his deskmate who poked him with an elbow to call him back to attention.
He whispered, "What's up?"
His deskmate hinted for him to look at the teacher. He lifted his head to find the teacher staring right at him. He swallowed nervously and lowered his head, pretending to behave.
In fact, Li Mingwei had arrived early. There were still quite a few parents picking up kids. She was unfamiliar with them, so she stood beneath the tree furthest out in the yard, trying her best to keep a low profile.
With only a dozen or so students in this school, there weren't even ten parents here to fetch them. But no matter where she hid, she would still be visible to the group. The women merely pointed and whispered among those they knew, unwilling to strike up conversation with her.
"So that's the wife of the Dong family? The one they took in?"
"Who else could it be? Just look at her! Has to be her."
"No wonder Wu Dong's gang has their eyes on her."
Aunt Cui, who had been cracking melon seeds, frowned at this and asked, "What do you mean Wu Dong's gang is after her? That's hardly a good thing."
Wu Dong was no upright man. Having his lot take interest boded ill.
"You didn't know? My neighbor is matchmaker Chen. Wu Dong had asked her to arrange him with the girl, but Chen turned him down. I overheard him cursing her out as he left."
The women all wore looks of contempt. "What nerve Wu Dong has, thinking matchmaker Chen would arrange any matches for the likes of him. That'd be wrecking her reputation!"
"Not necessarily. The girl's a widow who can't conceive either. Marrying out already would be a feat, let alone being picky."
Aunt Cui spat disdainfully, "Rubbish. If I had her looks and figure, why would I marry the likes of Wu Dong? I could just find a young master in the county city to be a concubine. I'd have wealth and status without needing to settle for scum like him."
"Auntie Cui makes sense. That's the good life, isn't it? Old Xu's daughter married into the county and although her man's a bit older, he treats her well. I heard from her ma that he'd buy her a mansion if she bears him a son."
"Now that's something."
Aunt Cui chatted idly with them for a bit before focusing her attention back on Li Mingwei. She walked over and held out a handful of melon seeds.
"You're Chunhua’s sister-in-law, yes? Want some seeds?"
"Yes." Wang Chunhua was always admonishing her to mind her manners too much. By now, Li Mingwei was used to skipping formalities. She gave a slight nod.
"No need, older sister. You should enjoy them."
As women tend to be, Aunt Cui was delighted to be called young. She grinned widely, "Oh heavens, no need to call me older sister. Just call me Aunt Cui. My husband's surname is Cui."
"Yes, Aunt Cui."
