Chapter 41: There is Room For the Poor Daughter
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Chapter 41: Trouble
"Miss, come quickly, the two pots of red plums you and the old lady bought have sprouted flower buds!"
Early in the morning, Wang Man'er’s cheerful voice reached Daohua’s ears.
Daohua curled up in the warm bed, wriggling a little, then continued to sleep.
"Miss, it's time to get up. After breakfast, you have to go to class. If you're late, Teacher Qin will give you a hard time again." Seeing Daohua not moving, Wang Man'er walked to the bedside and began nagging.
After serving the young lady for some time, Wang Man'er knew that Daohua had trouble getting up in the morning. Every time, she would delay as much as possible, and if Wang Man'er didn't keep an eye on her, Daohua could easily stay in bed until noon.
"Don’t worry, the matter from yesterday’s dinner will be passed on to Teacher Qin. If she wants to continue teaching at the Yan family, she’d better be sensible," Daohua said, lying in bed with her eyes half-closed.
Yesterday, her fourth brother had openly suggested changing teachers in front of everyone. At the time, the three heads of the Yan family—her grandmother, father, and mother—had not made any clear objections. If Teacher Qin had any brains, she would understand that now is not the time to stir up trouble.
"Even so, you still need to get up. The old madam wakes up early, and she might already be waiting for you to have breakfast," Wang Man'er said.
Upon hearing this, Daohua moved around a little before sitting up sleepily.
Seeing her usually mature eldest miss in this state, Wang Man'er couldn't help but laugh. "Miss, let me help you dress."
Daohua waved her hand. "I’ll dress myself. You go prepare the wash water."
As soon as she got out of bed, the cold air in the room hit her, making Daohua shiver. She quickly put on the clothes that were beside the bed.
The Yan family wasn't very wealthy, and though there was some charcoal for heating in the winter, it wasn’t abundant. There was also some help from Madam Li, but the charcoal couldn't be kept burning all night. The only place with enough charcoal was the old lady’s courtyard.
After dressing, Wang Man'er came in with a basin of warm water. "Miss, the wash water is ready. You can freshen up."
"Mm."
Daohua walked over and quickly tidied herself up. As she sat at the dressing table, she saw Wang Man'er excitedly bringing over the two pots of red plums. "Miss, look, the flower buds on these two red plums are so nice!"
Daohua nodded absently.
How could they not be nice? Since the red plums were bought, she had secretly placed them in the black soil in her space for half an hour before going to bed every night. The black soil in her space was rich and nourishing, so as long as the red plums hadn't completely withered, they should bloom.
"Eh, Miss, did you turn over the soil in these red plum pots?" Wang Man'er, keen-eyed, noticed that the soil seemed to have been disturbed.
Daohua remained calm. "I was just letting the red plums get some air."
Wang Man'er looked puzzled. Was there really such a thing as giving soil air?
Daohua didn’t want to explain further, so she quickly said, "Alright, hurry up and help me comb my hair."
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This novel is translated by the Eternal Novel Hits translators. Please read it at https://eternalnovelhits.blogspot.com
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She could dress herself, but when it came to her hair, she still needed help.
After that, Daohua went with Madam Li to the Songhe Courtyard to greet the old lady. After having breakfast there, they went directly to class.
Sure enough, after yesterday’s events, Teacher Qin was much more subdued. In the afternoon, when it was time for embroidery lessons, she glanced at the needle marks on Daohua's fingers, frowned, and told her not to touch the needle.
Daohua smiled and said, "Teacher, I’ve only been learning embroidery for a short time. If I don't work hard, I might not even be able to make a small pouch in the future. Don’t worry, I won’t do too much. I’ll just move my fingers a little in class."
"If you don't use the needle, does that mean you’ll just sit idle in class?" Teacher Qin said sternly. "Do as you wish." After that, she ignored Daohua and began inspecting the embroidery work of the others, occasionally offering some corrections.
Daohua couldn’t help but laugh silently.
Sometimes, she really thought Teacher Qin wasn’t all that sharp.
Was her blatant disregard for her because she assumed the Yan family would hesitate to dismiss her because of Madam Lin? Or did she think the Yan family couldn’t find another female teacher in Lin Yi County to replace her?
A few days passed.
One afternoon, when Teacher Qin had something to attend to and the embroidery class was canceled, Daohua went to the Songhe Courtyard to keep the old lady company.
During this time, Daohua had been learning martial arts with Wang Man’er. Well, to be more accurate, she was learning fist and foot techniques.
What Wang Man’er knew couldn’t really be called martial arts—it was more like a set of movements that were a little more flexible than the average person’s.
However, Daohua couldn’t call it just showy moves, because she noticed that there was a hint of Tai Chi in Wang Man’er’s movements.
"My father says that women are naturally weaker than men and don’t need to learn overly forceful martial arts. The best thing for a woman is to learn martial arts that use softness to overcome strength," Wang Man'er explained.
Daohua found that reasonable, so she began practicing seriously. After she had learned all the moves, she simplified them and created her own version of "Tai Chi."
In the old lady’s courtyard.
Daohua stood in front, the old lady behind her, the two of them slowly moving through the forms.
Even Aunt Sun stood beside them, happily following along.
Wang Man’er was on the side, occasionally offering corrections for improper movements.
By the time evening came, Yan Zhigao had returned from the county office with Yan Wenxiu and the other grandchildren to pay their respects. Only then did the two stop their practice, reluctant to end.
Seeing the old lady sweating lightly and looking more refreshed, Yan Zhigao’s mood improved a little. "Mother, what are you doing?"
The old lady took the handkerchief from Aunt Sun and wiped her forehead, smiling. "I’m learning boxing with Daohua. I must say, after moving around a bit, I feel much lighter."
Yan Zhigao was momentarily stunned, then looked at his eldest daughter, who also had a flushed face. "You really let your grandmother do boxing? You need to be careful. Your grandmother is getting older. If she strains herself, it could be dangerous."
Daohua smiled. "Father, don’t worry. The boxing I’m teaching grandmother is very simple—just some light exercises to get the limbs moving."
Seeing that the old lady really looked quite lively, Yan Zhigao didn’t say anything more.
Soon, Madam Li ordered the food to be served.
At the dinner table, Yan Zhigao kept frowning, and the old lady noticed, asking with concern, "Zhigao, is something troubling you?"
Yan Zhigao thought for a moment before answering. "After entering the twelfth month, there have been several heavy snowfalls. I’m worried that the newly settled refugees might not be able to hold on."
Upon hearing this, the table fell silent.
The old lady thought for a while before asking, "Are the refugees lacking food or unable to withstand the cold?"
Yan Zhigao sighed. "It’s mainly that they don’t have enough food."
Daohua asked, "Father, doesn’t the county office have granaries? Can’t they open the granaries and release some grain?"
Yan Zhigao shook his head. "Opening the granaries requires approval from the court. Besides, we already opened the granary once when the refugees were first settled. Now, there’s hardly any grain left in the granary."
Daohua thought for a moment and asked, "Doesn't Lin Yi County have many wealthy families? Couldn’t they be asked to donate some?"
Yan Zhigao looked up at his eldest daughter, a little surprised that she knew about this, and explained, "Normally, when the county faces difficulties, wealthy families will donate some. But they already donated once before. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have been able to settle so many refugees."
(End of Chapter)
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