Dongfang Yukun and Cui Zhengyang automatically appeared in Song Qiming's mind.
Whether in terms of looks, talent, or family background, these two were considered the cream of the crop, but his older sister hadn't taken a fancy to them either.
At the thought of his sister getting married, he truly couldn't imagine who would be worthy of her.
He just felt like no one was good enough.
Song Shixue, returning from outside, saw Song Jinzhao. Her eyes lit up as she grabbed her hand and led her out.
"Sister, I'm taking you to see something."
Song Shixue held Song Jinzhao's hand all the way to the riverside.
Pointing to a group of children squatting together on the riverbank not far away, she asked, "Sister, what do you think they are doing?"
Looking up, there were eight children in total. Upon closer inspection, Song Laidi and Song Pandi from the second branch of the family were among them.
The eight of them squatted in a circle, with buckets of clothes placed behind them.
Song Laidi was holding a wooden stick, writing stroke by stroke in the sand.
"This is how you write Song Erhua," she said, looking up at the little girl squatting beside her after she finished writing.
Song Erhua stared at the incomprehensible strokes and characters on the ground, unable to resist touching them a couple of times.
"So this is how my name is written. It looks quite nice. Laidi, can you teach me how to write it?"
A little boy kneeling on the ground, his chest covered in sand, immediately grew anxious.
"No, my name hasn't been written yet. We agreed it was my turn next."
Listening to the noisy chatter of the children, Song Jinzhao had already guessed what they were doing.
Noticing someone approaching, the children turned their heads one after another to look.
Seeing that it was Song Jinzhao and Song Shixue, Song Laidi and Song Pandi quickly stood up to greet them.
"Sister Jinzhao, Sister Shixue."
Several names were written on the sandy ground, some crooked and some straight. One character was replaced by an 'X', and a small, muddy wooden stick lay nearby.
Song Jinzhao pointed to it and asked, "Do you not know how to write this character?"
Song Laidi glanced down and nodded.
"Song Yuchan's name was given by a wandering Taoist priest. Uncle Sanluo never taught us the character 'chan', so I don't know how to write it."
A boy with a small braid raised his hand. "Sister Jinzhao, they say you are a County Princess, a high official. Do you know how to write my name?"
"I do." Song Jinzhao lifted her skirt and squatted down.
She picked up the wooden stick from the ground, smoothed over the sand where the 'X' was drawn, and then wrote the character 'chan'.
Song Laidi looked at the character in the sand and bit her lip.
"This character is so hard to write, it has so many strokes. No wonder Uncle Sanluo didn't teach it."
"Erhua!" A woman's call echoed from the village. Song Erhua, squatting on the ground, nimbly scrambled up, grabbed her bucket, and left.
"My mother is calling me. I have to go back. See you tomorrow."
Thirteen-year-old Song Pandi glanced at the sun, which was almost directly overhead, and said to Song Laidi, "Sister, we should go back too."
Song Laidi dropped the wooden stick, politely picked up her bucket full of clothes, and waved.
"Sister Jinzhao, my sister and I will head home first. We'll come find Song Shixue to play this afternoon."
Seeing them leave, the other children also said their goodbyes and departed one by one.
Song Shixue looked down, gazing at the names written in the sand.
"If only everyone could afford to go to school."
Song Jinzhao looked toward the distant village, her eyes thoughtful.
The cost of education in this era was too high, especially for the poorest people at the bottom of society.
For most, even basic food, clothing, and shelter were luxuries. How could they send their children to school? They didn't have the money, nor did they dare to dream of it.
Upon returning home, Song Jinzhao called Hu Sanluo over and asked him how he had been teaching Song Laidi and the others to read.
Hu Sanluo ran back to the side room and brought a few old books to Song Jinzhao.
"This servant just teaches them to read and write according to the book. I skip the ones I don't know."
"The lines of poetry Miss Laidi recited last time were just memorized by rote. This servant doesn't know what they actually mean either."
Song Jinzhao opened the poetry collection. These were the books she had bought for Qiming and Shixue when they first started their education.
"Why didn't you let them take the books back with them? With three people learning, do they all share them during class?"
Hu Sanluo shook his head. "Miss Qiaoniang uses the old books that Young Master Yongnian no longer needs. These are the ones Miss Laidi and Miss Pandi use."
"At first, they took them back a few times, but later Miss Laidi said to just leave them here and read them when they come over to study every day."
Recalling what Second Aunt Song had said the other day, Song Jinzhao had a guess in her heart.
"Open a school?" Song Qiming's eyes widened, his eyebrows raised high.
Song Jinzhao nodded slightly. "Today, Shixue saw Laidi on the riverbank teaching the village children how to write their own names."
"Children from poor families can't afford an education, and girls have even less of a chance to enter a school. I want to open a school in the village where both boys and girls can study. By teaching the village children to read and write, they will have more options in the future."
Song Qiming looked up in thought. "I support whatever you want to do, Sister. But are we going to open the school in our house? Grandpa doesn't know how to read, and we won't be at home. Who will manage it?"
Song Jinzhao shook her head; she had already figured it out before bringing it up.
"There is an empty room in the renovated village ancestral hall. We can open the school there."
"We will hire the teacher and let the village children attend without paying tuition fees. The village chief will definitely agree, and we can leave the management of the school to him."
Song Qiming asked, "Do you have any requirements for the teacher's qualifications, Sister? It's relatively hard to hire a Xiucai in Xining City. If a Tongsheng is acceptable, it shouldn't be a big problem. I can go ask Teacher Zheng."
Song Jinzhao replied, "A Tongsheng will do. I just want to provide them with an opportunity to learn to read. A Tongsheng's knowledge is enough."
Hearing this, Song Qiming thought for a moment and then nodded.
"I understand what you mean, Sister. Let's go find the village chief then."
At Song Gaoli's house.
A short exclamation erupted inside the house, startling the spring swallows resting on the thatched roof into a hasty flight.
"Jinzhao, say that again. Did you just say you want to open a school?"
Song Mancang stood up abruptly, his eyes wide as he sought confirmation from Song Jinzhao once more.
A clear and affirmative voice rang out in the room, striking the minds of everyone present.
"Yes, I was thinking that since the room in the ancestral hall is sitting empty anyway, we might as well open a school to let the village children learn to read and write. I will hire the teacher, and the children can attend tuition-free. What do you think?"
Song Mancang paced around the room in ecstasy, looking at Song Jinzhao as if she were a lifesaver.
"This is a great deed of charity and virtue. If we can produce a few more promising children like Qiming and Gaoli, our Song family village will surely become famous far and wide."
Meeting Song Jinzhao's eyes with a fervent gaze, he grabbed her arm and said with deep sincerity, "Jinzhao, on behalf of the 136 households in the Song family village, I thank you. I thank you on behalf of all the children in the village."
Song Jinzhao clasped Song Mancang's hand in return, stopping him from kneeling.
"There's no need for this, Village Chief. Qiming and I both came from the Song family village, so of course we want to see the people here do better and better."
"Qiming and I will be departing for the capital in a few days, so we will have to trouble you to take care of the school's affairs."
