The Legend of the Farm Girl

Chapter 36 Yunfeng Enrollment

On the first day of April, the entrance of Tingfeng Academy was crowded with adults and children.

Even though the tuition at Tingfeng Academy was quite high, there were still many families who would sell their houses to send their children to study there. These children had all been educated by teachers, who had praised their talents, so parents sent their children to the best academies to see if their children could have a better future. If they were good students, they would continue to study if they could get tuition waived. If they could not, their families could not afford it. If they had been taught by scholars at Tingfeng Academy, it would be easier for them to find a job no matter where they were sent as apprentices.

Of course, there are also many wealthy families here who send their children here to study.

But no matter what kind of family they are from, they have to accept the assessment of Tingfeng Academy.

Yunfang and her mother brought Yunfeng here early.

Soon, all the children who came to register went in. The door of Tingfeng Academy was open, and the children who went in could be seen lined up in five rows. There were five tables in front, each with a pen and paper, and a man who looked like a teacher was sitting behind the table.

Different from the answer sheet selection format every year, this year's assessment format is something no one has ever seen before.

The children who took the test were given a sign and asked to write their names on it. The children lined up one by one and were asked to write down the answers by the teacher sitting behind the table. Although Yunfang could not hear what questions the teacher asked, it looked that they were not simple. Many children came out dejected.

After these dejected children came out, their families came over to ask them, and they all said dejectedly that they had not passed.

Some children also walked to the back of the table with excitement on their faces and handed their number plates to an old man. The old man wrote down their names on the list, gave the children a piece of paper, and said a few words to them. The children then walked out with excitement on their faces.

When their parents gathered around, the excited children immediately said, "I passed. I can go to school tomorrow morning after paying the tuition. This paper shows what I need to prepare for tomorrow. I have to prepare everything."

Everyone understands that only those who record behind the table will pass.

All the children's families waiting at the door were nervously watching whether their children could hand in the number plates and have their names recorded.

Some are happy, some are sad. Those who passed are overjoyed, while those who failed are depressed and sad.

Soon, Yunfeng came to the table. Although Yunfang and her mother knew that Yunfeng should have no problem with his level, they couldn't help but feel nervous.

Yunfeng quickly wrote the answer on the paper. The teacher picked it up and started to look at it. After a while, he nodded and asked Yunfeng to go to the back to hand in his number plate.

Yunfang and her mother knew that Yunfeng had passed, and they were very happy. When Yunfeng came out, they quickly went to greet him. Yunfeng said happily like all the children who passed, "Mom, sister, I passed. I can come to school tomorrow."

Yunfang also said happily: "My mother and I know everything. Let's go home and prepare. Do you have any paper?"

Yun Feng raised the paper in his hand: "Here, sister, take a look."

Yunfang looked at the paper in her hand and said to her mother, "Mom, there are too many people here, let's go home first!"

They went home together, and Yunfang said to her mother, "Mom, Yunfeng should start studying the Four Books and Five Classics when he goes to school. The academy said that he needs to prepare this book, and also prepare his own copybook. The copybook must be the work of Yan Dajia, as well as the uniforms of the academy. Here is a designated place to buy them. They also told us the time for enrollment tomorrow. We need to arrive at the academy at chenshi every day and leave school at youshi. Tomorrow, we need to bring all the fees we need to pay. Students over the age of twelve can choose to live in the academy, and they need to pay one or two taels of silver per month for accommodation. At noon, they can have meals delivered or order meals in the school. The meal ordering is based on a monthly fee of one or two taels of silver per month. However, if you rank in the top five in the quarterly assessment, you can waive the fee for the next quarter. The paper also says that they have one day off every ten days."

Yun Fangniang was a little surprised. Accommodation cost one tael of silver per month, and food cost another tael of silver per month, which was not cheap.

But on second thought, I don't have time to deliver food to Yunfeng at noon, and the food in the academy will definitely be hotter, so I should just eat it for a month to see if it suits Yunfeng's taste.

Yunfang's mother and daughter discussed it over. Yunfang's mother gave Yunfang two taels of silver and asked Yunfang to buy clothes for Yunfeng College. She took Yunfeng to buy books, and they split into two groups to prepare everything as quickly as possible.

Yunfang arrived at the place to pick up the clothes. She bought two sets. The paper said that students were required to wear them every day. Yunfang found that the clothes were too loose and big, and would definitely be too big for Yunfeng. Fortunately, it was also written on the paper that they could be modified according to the student's body shape.

These two sets actually cost two taels of silver, but there was no other way, I had to buy them even though they were expensive.

Soon Yunfang took the clothes back home and modified them according to Yunfeng's body shape.

It was quickly corrected, and at this time, Yunfeng and his mother also came back.

The two were filled with anger, and Yunfang asked in a low voice: "Mom, what happened?"

Yun Fangniang said angrily, "This bookstore is too unscrupulous. They actually asked me for ten taels of silver for these books. It's also my fault that I didn't prepare in advance. After I came out, someone told me that if these Four Books and Five Classics were sold normally, seven or eight taels of silver would be the highest. They just raised the price because they saw that Tingfeng Academy was recruiting students today."

Yunfang took the book, flipped through it, and said to her mother in a comforting tone, "Fortunately, this book is of very good quality, with clear handwriting. It looks like it can be used for many years. Okay, mother, don't be angry. It's because we didn't inquire about it in advance. Now we have to accept the order when we need it urgently."

Then, Yunfang gave the altered clothes to Yunfeng and said, "Feng'er, go and try them on. I altered them for you. Try to see if they fit you."

Yunfeng quickly picked up the clothes and tried them on. The well-fitting clothes made Yunfeng look elegant and refined. Yunfang and her mother both had tears in their eyes. The child who used to run around naked seemed to have grown up.

After preparing all these, Yunfang and his mother made a school bag for Yunfeng. Yunfang also embroidered Yunfeng's name and a pattern of magpies on plum trees on it.

Yunfeng hadn't seen Yunfang embroidering for a long time. He was surprised to find that his sister's embroidery skills seemed to have improved. The originally ordinary school bag suddenly became high-end with the addition of his sister's embroidery.

After lunch, Yunfang's mother went to the shop, but she hadn't been there for a long time. Yunfang's mother was a little worried, so Yunfang and Yunfeng stayed at home and cleaned up the house.

The next day, Yunfang and her mother sent Yunfeng to Tingfeng Academy. After paying the tuition and this month's food expenses, Yunfeng was assigned to the third class of the Tongshi Ding category. Yunfeng officially began his student career of studying for fame and fortune.

After sending Yunfeng there, Yunfang's mother sent Yunfang to Linglong Embroidery Workshop, while she went to the government office to pay the rent for the next six months.

Yunfeng's schooling, plus six months' rent, almost drained Yunfang's mother's money. Fortunately, the family hasn't had any major expenses recently, and Yunfang's mother felt relieved after paying the rent.

After Yunfang arrived at Linglong Embroidery Workshop, Shopkeeper Ma quickly approached Yunfang and said straight to the point: "Little Yunfang, do you still want to embroider clothes? Yesterday a customer specifically asked you to embroider clothes. Do you want to accept it?"

Yunfang asked in confusion, "Appoint me? Is there anything to this, Shopkeeper Ma?"

Shopkeeper Ma smiled and said, "It means your fame has spread! You have to pay an extra two taels of silver. That is to say, even if a customer wants to embroider a handkerchief, they have to pay two taels of silver before you can embroider it for them. There is nothing to say, it is a good thing."

"Since you, Shopkeeper Ma, have said so, I will accept it."

Shopkeeper Ma replied, "This time it shouldn't be difficult for you. It was sent by a good friend of the last customer. The requirement is that the dress should be different from the last one, but still recognizable as a good friend."

Yun Fang was stunned: "Shopkeeper Ma, isn't this difficult? This customer's request is too abstract. I'm afraid I can't do it!"

Shopkeeper Ma patted Yunfang on the shoulder and said, "I believe you can do it. Don't worry. I'll send the clothes to you first. I'll send them to you before the break."

Yunfang felt more and more like a duck being forced into a cage. She spent the whole afternoon thinking about it but still couldn't figure out where to start.

Fortunately, Yunfang has the best teacher. At noon, Yunfang summoned the system and asked the system to help her think about it. Only after the system felt that it was feasible did Yunfang wake up.

Start working on it. Although it will take a long time, you still need to concentrate.

After work, the shop was closed today. Yunfang's mother brought Yunying to Linglong Embroidery Workshop to pick up Yunfang and took her home. As they walked, she discussed with Yunfang, "I want to send Yunying to school. Your Aunt Wang's Dafu and Erfu are going to be apprentices. I heard that your uncle Wang met a bricklayer at work recently. He is a master craftsman who specializes in building houses for people. This is a good job. You can always have food to eat. Dafu and Erfu have never been to school. It's really good for them to learn such a craft. But there will be no one to help take care of Yunying, so I want to send Yunying to school. I heard that children from rich families start to learn at the age of three. Yunying is four years old now, so she should be able to do it too."

Yunfang knew that Dafu and Erfu from Aunt Wang's family had been helping to look after Yunying recently, but they were both old, so she certainly couldn't stop them from doing so.

I asked her mother, "Mom, have you decided where to send Yunying?"

"Your Aunt Li said that they sent Li Muwen to a school that doesn't charge a lot of money. The teacher of that school is a scholar, and his wife can also write and draw, so she can teach a child. If Yunying is sent there and agrees to let the scholar teach, she will only have to pay 500 wen a month, and there will be lunch there, which is 10 wen a day."

Yunfang asked in surprise: "Are there any female teachers? Are there many children sent there for enlightenment?"

Yun Fang's mother smiled and said, "When I first heard about this, I was as surprised as you. But after thinking about it, I realized that there must be many women as capable as my daughter. Why not let such a woman teach Yun Ying? Women are also more patient and more meticulous!"

Yunfang was a little stunned. It turned out that women could also do jobs that the world believed only men could do.

Yunfang nodded solemnly: "Mother, I will take a leave of absence from work the day after tomorrow. You can talk to Aunt Li tomorrow, and I will send Yunying to the teacher's home with you. If possible, let Yunying study there."

The two returned home, prepared dinner, and waited for Yunfeng to finish school. Yunfang's mother went to pick Yunfeng up. After seeing his mother, Yunfeng said something to a few students, then ran to her mother and said, "Mom, you don't have to pick me up in the future. I found out today that several of my classmates live in the same direction as me, and I have made an appointment with them to get out of school together."

"Okay, okay, Feng'er has really grown up."

The two returned home, washed their hands and ate. After dinner, Yunfang asked Yunfeng, "Feng'er, how is it? Are you adapting to the first day? How are your classmates and teachers?"

Yunfeng replied, "Sister, everything is good. The learning atmosphere is very strong. It is incomparable to what I had with Master Feng. The master is very strict, but I behaved well and the master never punished me."

"What did Feng'er learn today? Tell me about it. I'm quite curious."

When Yunfeng heard his sister's curiosity, he immediately took out the book and showed her what the teacher had talked about today. He tried his best to explain it to Yunfang. This was also a review for Yunfeng, and he always hoped that he could teach his sister everything he learned.

Yunfang listened to Yunfeng's retelling and found that the lectures of the teachers at Tingfeng Academy were really easy to understand and no worse than those of the systematic lectures. It was obvious that the teachers had studied the Four Books and Five Classics for decades, so how could they not be able to explain them well?

Fortunately, the Yun family now had extra money to buy bright enough oil lamps. Yun Feng was able to repeat everything the teacher had said in full under the light. It took him quite a while. The only sounds in the air were Yun Feng's voice and the crackling of the wick.

After this day, Yunfeng would tell Yunfang about the teacher's lessons every time he went home. Sometimes it took a long time, sometimes it took a short time. Yunfang also found that even with systematic tutoring, Yunfang could not catch up with Yunfeng in terms of studying. She could not help but feel lucky that she had chosen Tingfeng Academy to let Yunfeng study. If she had relied on herself to teach Yunfeng, she would definitely not have achieved the current results.

When the day agreed upon to send Yunying arrived, Yunfang first went to Linglong Embroidery Workshop, found the shopkeeper Ma and asked for half a day off, then she and her mother took Yunying to Master Li Muwen's house.

When they arrived at Master Li Muwen's house, Li Muwen, who knew yesterday that Yunfang and her daughter were coming, was already waiting at the door. Seeing Yunfang and her daughter, Li Muwen stepped forward and bowed, saying, "My mother has already agreed with me before. Aunt Qu, sister Yunfang, brother Yunying, please come with me. I have already told Master yesterday."

As soon as they entered the door, they saw the master and his wife waiting in the yard.

The moment Yunfang saw the scholar's wife, she felt that the woman in front of her was as elegant as an orchid, and was someone she could trust to leave Yunying to.

Yunfang chatted with the scholar's wife for a few words and found that she was elegantly spoken and had rich connotations. She immediately discussed with her mother to keep Yunying here.

Yunfang asked, "Mrs. Tong, do we need to prepare anything else?"

The scholar's wife said, "No need, just leave the child here!"

Before coming, I had already discussed with Yunying and told her that he was going to start school and that his sister and mother would come to pick him up in the evening. However, Yunying didn't expect that she would burst into tears the moment she saw Yunfang and her mother step out of the yard.

This made Yunfang and her mother very sad, and they could only stay at the door and observe secretly.

Fortunately, the scholar's wife was a girl that children liked, and Yunying's crying soon stopped. The two of them then left with peace of mind.

In this way, the five members of the Yun family all had their own busy tasks, and their lives were fulfilling and hopeful.