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墨書 Inktalez
Kid blushed and, after his first sentence, his confidence soared. He stood up proudly and handed the large characters he practiced to several elders, saying, "Hehe, this is my practice work!"
"Not bad, not bad! Our Village has produced another scholar. Qingyan is truly remarkable!" Zhang Wuliang affectionately patted his head and took the large characters to examine them seriously.
Well, he held the paper upside down, but everyone was enjoying it nonetheless.
It's no wonder; in all these years, there hasn't been a literate person in Village, with Zhang Xiu from Grandpa Zhang's family being the first.
However, since they had finally managed to raise a scholar, they surely wouldn't want their child spending time teaching others and delaying his studies.
This time, Liu Qingxi generously let his younger brother be the teacher. Which of the families close to them wouldn't seize this opportunity?
Families like Zhang Sanyou, Zhang Dafuku, and Zhang Deli, among others, were all included.
They were all illiterate and felt lost when they went out. The children were fortunate to have such a good opportunity; how could they not follow Liu Qingxi diligently?
Just for the sake of their children learning to read, they were all wholeheartedly dedicated.
Liu Qingxi was delighted by the joyful scene before him; the serious expressions of the big men were too adorable.
They seemed to envision their own children holding neatly written large characters in front of them, and this image made them burst into laughter.
In the future, they could proudly present their scholar before the Ancestral Spirits. Or when they grew old, they could tell their descendants about their glorious history: "Your Great-Grandfather may not have been literate in his youth, but he taught the children to read. Otherwise, you wouldn't be here today."
At this moment, Liu Qingyan became the center of everyone's admiration and praise, his flushed face resembling a red apple due to excitement.
Liu Qingxi leaned against the door, feeling more satisfied than Zhang Wuliang and the others. A warm feeling filled his heart; it turned out that hard work always pays off. After all, how could there be so many lovely elders who, while not related by blood, felt closer than family?
However, after a moment, why had the excitement not subsided?
“Ahem!” Liu Qingxi cleared his throat twice to remind them, “Village Chief, Uncle Sanyou, weren’t you looking for me about something?”
Zhang Wuliang suddenly snapped back to reality and slapped his forehead a few times. “Right! We got so carried away that we forgot the important matter!”
“Qingxi, what does the sand table look like? If we do this, do we not need to buy writing materials anymore?”
“Village Chief, I originally thought of this method to save everyone some money. However, if in the future you want to send your children to school for serious study, writing materials will still be necessary.”
Unexpectedly, Zhang Wuliang waved his hand dismissively. “Why learn so much? Just being able to recognize a few characters is enough. We don’t have that much money to send them to school!”
With just a few dozen acres of land at home, saving even a little silver each year wouldn’t be enough for school fees. Learning a few characters would help them find work later on.
At this moment, Zhang Wuliang had no intention of sending Er Zhuzi to school; he wouldn’t even have enough money if he sold his entire family for one child’s education—he simply didn’t have that kind of courage.
Zhang Sanyou and the others nodded in agreement. They didn’t have the means and wouldn’t even dare to think about it. Just look at Grandpa Zhang’s family? They were so poor they could barely support Zhang Xiu.
Liu Qingxi had no opinion on this matter; after all, economic foundations determine sensory perceptions, and knowledge bases determine how one raises future generations. It takes immense courage to cultivate someone who cannot even recognize a single character into a scholar.
This is akin to a common phenomenon in modern rural areas: if the parents or elders of a family have a high school education or even higher, they believe that their children must study hard because education is a good path forward.
If the parents have not graduated from school, they often tell their children, "It's up to you. If you study well, you can go to university; if you don't, come back and work to earn money."
This leads to a polarization: those who excel in studies are more likely to become educated individuals, while those who do not study are less likely to pursue education.
This is similar to the polarization between urban and rural areas, where the rich get richer and the poor get poorer.
Returning to the scene, Liu Qingxi continued to explain, "It's simple. Just find a board, attach a few short wooden planks around it on all four sides, fill it with sand so it doesn't show, and you can practice using a branch."
Liu Qingxi picked up a piece of firewood and drew a flat rectangular shape on the ground. It had no top cover, and the edges were about three or four fingers high. The bottom needed to be about half a meter long; otherwise, it would be inconvenient for practice.
As for making it too big? A table isn't that large and wouldn't fit many.
The simple sketch was clear at a glance; even those who had not studied geometry could understand it.
"Not bad! Qingxi, with your drawing, we can see it's just a few boards put together. It's very simple; let's go home and make it!" Zhang Wuliang said decisively without any unnecessary chatter.
The others quickly left as well. Even if their children were older, they would still send them over. After all, in the middle of winter, there wasn't much work to do anyway; learning something was better than nothing. What was there to be embarrassed about?
Zhang Sanyou had already decided to let his son Hammer come over to learn.
Thirteen-year-old Hammer was soon approaching the age for marriage. When he could read alongside Matchmaker's son, wouldn't the girls from Ten Li Eight Villages be eager to marry him?
Educated individuals always give off an aura of being unattainable; even knowing just a few characters can significantly elevate someone's status.
Zhang Wuliang thought the same way; how much effort could it take to make a simple sand table? It would only take a moment.
In no time, Zhang Wuliang had returned home. Ignoring Liu's inquiries, he picked up a hammer and began working busily.
These carpentry tasks were not difficult for him. He wouldn't tackle anything complex, but making a box was quite simple. Before long, he had completed three of them.
Liu, feeling impatient, asked, "Why are you making so many boxes? They’re useless; aren’t you just wasting wood?"
Zhang Wuliang replied without looking up, "What do you know? This isn't just a box; I’m going to have our son practice writing with them. I just visited Qingxi's house, and the girl's method is really effective and saves money."
Sure enough, a smile broke out on Liu's previously worried face. "Is that true? Can he start learning to read?"
She had been waiting for this moment and had almost lost hope, thinking Liu Qingxi was just teasing them. Instead, it turned out to be an unexpected delight.
"Is it not true? Am I lying to you just to spend money?" Zhang Wuliang retorted with a tone that suggested he was joking but serious at the same time. "But really, Qingxi's method is simple yet practical!"
In her good mood, Liu wouldn’t argue back.
Her mind was filled with hopeful images, not realizing that their beautiful dream was about to come true. What they didn’t expect was that following Liu Qingxi’s lead, the idea of simply recognizing a few characters was not the end point.
It was merely the simplest beginning.
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