The Beautiful Brother of the Orion’s Family (Wearing Book) - 201

 

| TBBOTOF | 201

Tang Xu had slaughtered over a hundred ducks, with himself taking out thirty and collecting quite a bit of duck blood in the process.

"Brother, here's the cleaver. I'll sit on the small stool," Xu Ze said.

Tang Xu waved his hand dismissively. "No need to continue slaughtering. Help me pull off the duck feathers. Xiao Xi, take the blood over there. Let Ze’er prepare the potato starch."

Wang Cuicui was taking care of Xiao Bao and Er Bao. When she saw Wei Xi and Tang Yang present, she knew they would assist Tang Xu.

Tang Xu turned to Wei Xi and asked, "Aren't you two supposed to be preparing for the Child Scholar Examination?"

"Yes," Wei Xi nodded. "Old Wen says we both have a good chance of passing. Brother-in-law, if we pass, does that mean we can't study at home anymore?"

Tang Xu was momentarily taken aback, looking at him curiously.

Wei Xi pouted, "I don’t want to go to the town’s school."

"Why not?" Tang Xu was puzzled. 

Given their intelligence and aptitude for learning, he thought formal schooling would benefit them and potentially lead to greater achievements. 

But now, neither of them seemed particularly ambitious. 

He glanced at Tang Yang, who seemed absorbed in pulling out duck feathers, clearly enjoying the task. "What about you, Tang Yang? What’s your take on this?"

Tang Yang shrugged, placing a bunch of duck feathers into a nearby bamboo basket. "I don’t want to go either. If we went to the town’s school, we wouldn’t be able to come home every day."

Wei Xi nodded in agreement. "Exactly."

Tang Xu shook his head with a smile, stretching his aching back as he stood up. He turned to Wei Xi and Tang Yang and asked, "If you went to the county’s school, you’d get to see Dad and Ah Li too. Would that make you more willing to go?"

Both of them shook their heads, indicating they were still not interested.

Tang Xu sighed. "Alright then. We’ll discuss it further when Ah Dong returns."

He considered that their village might benefit from having a local school, but he was unsure if anyone in the area was teaching students. It was possible he hadn't paid much attention to this aspect, so he decided to find out from reliable sources.

But who was reliable?

As Tang Xu went through his list of acquaintances, he realized that despite living here for almost five years, he only knew the Tang family and the Wei family well. 

He felt a bit of failure for not having more connections.

He turned to Tang Yang and asked, "Do any of your old friends still come by to visit or play with you?"

Tang Yang nodded. “We often make plans to hang out, but now they’re starting to go to school. Their families hope they’ll follow in my older brother’s footsteps and find a good match after passing the exams.”

News of Tang Rui being removed from the family register had spread throughout the village. 

While the villagers still admired Tang Rui’s potential and criticized the Tang family for severing ties with him, they knew the family had made their decision. 

Despite some villagers’ gossip about potential regret if Tang Rui were to succeed, the Tang family had firmly cut off relations. 

This year, Tang Rui’s household had sent New Year’s gifts, but Tang Erhu had returned them, clearly stating they were no longer family and didn’t need to engage in such formalities.

The servant who delivered the gifts left in a huff, grumbling about Tang Erhu's stubbornness and predicting that he would come to regret his decision.

When Tang Xu heard that Tang Yang’s old friends were starting school, he immediately asked, “Where are they going to school?”

“To the village school,” Tang Yang replied. “My older brother used to go there too. After he passed the Child Scholar Exam, Mom said he was too smart for the village school and sent him to the county school instead.”

Tang Yang spoke about Liu Xiangxiang and Tang Rui with a sense of detachment, and it was clear that he no longer held strong feelings towards them.

 He also didn’t mention their mother, indicating a shift in his focus and emotions.

Tang Xu’s eyes widened in surprise. “There’s a village school?”

Tang Yang and Wei Xi looked at each other, both nodding. “Yes.”

“I didn’t know there was a village school.” Tang Xu threw a plucked duck into a wooden barrel and picked up another, continuing to pluck feathers. “Did they say what’s taught there?”

Tang Yang looked at Tang Xu with a mix of fear and confusion.

Tang Xu noticed his reaction and asked, “What’s wrong?”

“When we used to play together, they never talked much about school. It seemed like they didn’t study much either; it was mostly their families pushing them to learn,” Tang Yang said, scratching his head and inadvertently adding more feathers to the pile.

Tang Xu sighed and asked, “Do you know where the village school is located?”

“Yes, it’s in Shanghe Village, not too far from here,” Tang Yang replied, guessing from his older brother’s expression. “Brother, are you thinking of sending Xiao Xi and me to the village school?”

Tang Xu nodded slowly. 

It was a possibility, but he wanted to investigate further. Sending the children to a school without knowing its quality would be a waste of time if it turned out to be ineffective. 

It might be better to bring in a scholar or a teacher if the village school didn’t meet expectations.

Tang Xu turned to Wei Xi and asked, “If I sent you both to the village school, would you be willing?”

Wei Xi and Tang Yang exchanged a look and nodded eagerly. They were keen on the idea, especially since attending the village school meant they could return home every day.

“Alright, I’ll look into it tomorrow.”

That evening, while having the duck blood soup with vermicelli, Old Wen brought up a surprising topic.

“Are you planning to have them aim to be top honors?”

Everyone at the table paused, looking up at Old Wen in curiosity.

Old Wen sipped the steaming soup, savoring its rich flavor, and then ate a piece of the tender duck blood.

“I actually know someone who would be quite suitable for this. He’s not very young anymore, though,” Old Wen said after a slurp of the soup and a bite of the noodles.

“He recently sent me a letter saying he plans to find a place to retire. I told him this area is quite nice, and if he’s interested, he could come and have a look.”

Tang Xu, keen to get more details, picked up a duck leg and placed it in Old Wen’s bowl, flashing a flattering smile. “Old Wen, is this friend of yours quite distinguished?”

Old Wen raised an eyebrow. “We’ve known each other for many years. He’s younger than me. A few years ago, he ran into some trouble and retired due to health issues. Now he’s looking for a peaceful place to spend his time.”

Understanding the implication, Tang Xu realized that this friend might be a significant figure in the field of education!

“Old Wen,” he said with his hands clasped in a respectful gesture towards Wen, “you know our family’s conditions. I can’t guarantee anything else, but I promise we’re really good at raising people. I guarantee he’ll gain ten pounds in a year!”

Old Xu, who was drinking soup at the time, choked and started coughing.

Tang Xu quickly patted his back and handed him a cloth to wipe his mouth.

Old Xu glared at him, and after wiping his mouth, said, “Not only can you raise people, but even those you raise in your backyard are raised well.”

Tang Xu nodded and patted his chest, “That’s right, I’m really good at raising people.”

Old Wen smiled and nodded, “Alright, I’ll write him a letter. If he can come, I’ll ask him to give them a lecture.”

Tang Xu rubbed his hands together, beaming with joy.

The next day, Tang Xu made a special trip to the village school. After all, he didn’t know yet if the teacher would come, so he prepared in advance.

The village school was in Shanghe Village. Although Tang Xu had lived there for a while, he had never wandered around the area much because the village was too large with many branching paths. 

He mostly just walked along the main village roads.

He didn’t go to the village school alone but took Tang Xu and Wei Xi with him.

The three of them set out after breakfast, strolling along. Tang Yang carried a backpack and walked ahead. 

After a while, he ran to the roadside and began examining the grass, looking at the tender shoots emerging from the ground. 

He turned to Tang Xu and shouted, “Brother, can we go up the mountain to dig wild vegetables now?”

“Sure, if you want to dig, you can do it later,” Tang Xu said, nodding towards the backpack he was carrying. “Take the stuff in there to Grandma and Grandpa. When the backpack is empty, it can hold a lot more.”

“But why are you still taking fabric to Grandma and Grandpa? Didn’t we give them some during the New Year?” Tang Yang asked in confusion. 

He remembered that every time his brother sent things to the house, there was always fabric, and Grandma had said several times that there was too much and she couldn’t use it all.

Tang Xu chuckled, “No one has too much fabric. In the past, when our family’s clothes wore out, we’d patch them with more patches. Later, when we earned money, the patches became fewer, and there was less work to do. Now, who in our family has patches on their clothes?”

Tang Yang shook his head, none of them had patched clothes. Their clothes were all almost new, and they frequently received newly made clothes for each season.

“Who doesn’t like to wear new clothes? It’s just a matter of not wanting to waste. If I sent over finished clothes, the lady of the house would probably really scold me. Sending fabric makes her happy; she can make clothes or use it for something else she needs.”

“You’re right, Brother. I’m always so happy when I get new clothes and wear them. I’ll show you later,” Tang Yang said, rubbing his face and grinning at him.

Wei Xi shook his head slightly, “I’m not as excited about receiving new clothes now. Before, I only got new clothes during the New Year, and I couldn’t even dream of a new cotton jacket. But now,” he smiled at Tang Xu, “just before this year’s New Year, I got a new cotton jacket and a scholar’s robe.”

Tang Xu raised an eyebrow.

Wei Xi moved closer, his smile gentle, “Brother-in-law, it’s really nice to have you around.”

Tang Xu pinched his face lightly, “You guys think I make so many clothes for you just for fun? It’s because you two are growing too fast.”

There was no exaggeration in what he said. Tang Yang, who was only ten years old, had already grown to about 1.75 meters tall.

As for Wei Xi, despite being sick when he was younger, he had grown steadily over the years and was now almost 1.80 meters tall.

With such rapid growth, they naturally needed to change clothes frequently. Fortunately, the family’s financial situation was good now. 

Whenever they noticed someone's sleeves were short, they quickly made new clothes. In the past, if they had new clothes, they might not even have had enough to eat.

The two boys were quite touched by Tang Xu's response and were momentarily stunned. Then they burst into hearty laughter.

People working in the fields, hearing the laughter, saw that Tang Xu was leading the two boys along the village road. 

From a distance, they raised their hands to greet him.

“Xu Ge'er! Wait a moment!”

Tang Xu turned his head in response to the voice and looked at the person on the ridge, realizing it was Li San.

It had been a while since they last met, and Li San seemed to have lost some weight, but he was as cheerful as ever.

As they approached, Li San grinned and asked, “Where are you three heading?”

“I’m taking these two to the village school and then stopping by home to check on Grandma and Grandpa,” Tang Xu replied with a smile.

Li San stepped closer, fidgeting with his hands, and asked nervously, “By the way, did Dongzi go out?”

Tang Xu nodded, “Yes, why? Do you need to see him about something?”

“Yes, there’s something I need to discuss with him,” Li San said, his expression showing some embarrassment.

Tang Xu thought for a moment and could roughly guess what the matter might be.

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