Baozi Xishi's Struggle

Yucheng responded with a smile, took the bowl and went to the kitchen.

Mrs. Li felt both distressed and amused, and could not help but scold, "Where have you been? You are so thirsty, drinking water so gulply, like a farmer who just came back from the fields."

Shen Yu said jokingly in a coquettish tone: "Mom, my daughter is thirsty because she talked too much. You still laugh at her and don't feel sorry for her at all."

Li couldn't help but ask curiously, "Why don't you go to the street in front of the market to see where people in the shops go to have lunch? What else do you have to say?"

At this time, Yucheng brought another bowl of herbal tea. Shen Yu took the bowl and drank half of it happily. Only then did he feel less thirsty.

She put the bowl on the table and then briefly explained what happened when she went to the store today and asked about ordering food.

Yucheng was still young and looked confused, but Li understood and clapped her hands happily, saying excitedly: "This is a good thing. We get up early to set up a stall in the market. Although the sales are good, we can only sell this batch in the morning. After a certain time, we have to close the stall. If we can sell another batch at noon, the money will be doubled."

The more Li spoke, the more excited she became, as if a large amount of money was right in front of her and she would be able to get it soon. Her face lit up and her voice became louder.

After hearing what Li said, Yutao asked happily, "In this way, will there be more customers buying our buns?"

After listening to the explanation from his mother and second sister, Yucheng realized that he could earn more money and began to smile happily.

Shen Yu smiled and nodded to Yu Tao, then said with some concern: "We have to get up at three o'clock every day to set up the stall. It's a bit tiring to close the stall in the morning and then continue working at home. I don't know if my mother and my younger brothers and sisters can handle it."

Li waved her hand disapprovingly and said, "What's the big deal? Is this work more tiring than carrying water to the fields every day when I was in the village? These past two days, I have been full of energy when I think about the money I can earn from setting up the stall."

Looking at Yu Tao and Yu Cheng, he added, "You are still young and growing up, so you can't work so hard. After you finish preparing lunch, you should have a good sleep."

That afternoon, Shen Yu pondered at home for half a day and finally figured out a way to order lunch.

She told Yucheng where the shop selling the four treasures of the study was on the street, and asked him to go buy some rough-edged paper for accounting, as well as brushes, inkstones and ink sticks, and also to ask if there were any hard, fine charcoal pencils for sale.

Yucheng agreed and went, and Li couldn't help feeling a little regretful.

When Shen Qingyuan was alive, these pens, ink, paper and inkstone were used every day. When moving this time, I felt that the ones he left behind were useless, so I didn't bring them with me.

If she brought them here, she wouldn't have to spend money to buy them. She knew the prices of pens, ink, paper and inkstone; they were not cheap.

Yucheng was quick on his feet and came back in a short while.

The price of the four treasures of the study was shockingly high at that time. A four-foot rough-edged paper cost fifty coins. A total of five pieces of paper plus two fine brushes, a most common inkstone and two ink sticks cost five hundred coins. Coincidentally, this shop also sold hard charcoal pens specially used for drawing lines. The price was not expensive, fifteen coins each. Yucheng bought two.

Fortunately, a piece of paper is large enough, and by cutting the paper and stapling it together with string, it is enough to make an account book.

Several people were watching Shen Yu cutting paper and stapling books, using scissors, needles and awls, but he couldn't make the holes properly.

After looking at it for a while, Li couldn't bear it any more, so he snatched it away, and quickly poked holes in it with a needle and awl, and then sewed it up with thick thread.

Shen Yu watched Li sew the booklet. Afraid that Li would question her handiwork, she flattered Li and said, "Mother is really good. She finished it in just a few strokes."

Li did not doubt it and said proudly: "Mother makes shoes for you guys all day long, so of course she is stronger than you. This is almost the same as sewing shoe soles."

Shen Yu smiled and nodded, took the booklet that Li had sewn, and tried the charcoal pencil.

The charcoal pencils at that time were relatively primitive and rough. The tip of the pencil was thin enough, but it was very short and could not be used to write many words. Craftsmen used it to draw lines on stones.

Shen Yu held the charcoal pencil in her hand and tried to write a few words. Although it was a bit rough, it felt good. At least she could write well without having to hold the charcoal pencil like a brush with a soft tip. She always didn't know how to start writing when she held it.

Li saw it and couldn't help but wonder, "You can write like this? Your father didn't hold the pen like this when he wrote. Yuzhi, you didn't hold the pen like this when you painted flowers before."

Shen Yu smiled awkwardly and said, "Mom, you know I can't read. I just kept some accounts. When I was in the restaurant, whenever vegetables were delivered and needed to be recorded, the accountant would take charcoal shorthand like this, writing quickly and well without using ink. I followed him and wrote some simple names of vegetables and kept some accounts. It's okay as long as I can understand it myself."

Li looked as if she had suddenly realized something, and sighed again, "Your father has taught so many students. I once wanted him to teach you two sisters how to read and write, but he refused. He always said things like 'a woman's virtue lies in her lack of talent', saying that if a girl could read, her heart would be restless, and it was better for her not to be able to read. Once she got married, her duty was to take care of her husband and children. Now look, if he wants to keep accounts or write price tags, he has to ask others to help him. It's better for him to learn to read and write."

Seeing Yucheng looking at him eagerly, he became even more frustrated: "When Yucheng was a child, your father taught him very hard, but unfortunately he only knew two or three words when he fell ill. He couldn't take care of him afterwards. I'm afraid he has forgotten the few words he knew."

Yu Cheng's face immediately turned red. He wanted to say something, but he moved his lips and stammered, but in the end, he said nothing.

While Li was talking, Shen Yu had already written down the names of the three kinds of bun fillings, and drew circles, triangles and squares on the back.

She pointed to the names and explained, "I don't know how to write, so I can only copy the price tag written by Mr. Yang and use different shapes to replace the fillings of each bun.

"We will steam more buns tomorrow. Today, I will send six buns to each of the shops I have contacted that want to order. If they like it, they can make an order. They can draw a symbol for the flavor they want and write down the number they want."

Then, he pointed to the ten traditional Chinese characters written on the account book and said to Yu Tao and Yu Cheng, "I have learned to write the numbers from one to ten from the accountant. These ten numbers are essential for accounting. I will teach you how to write the numbers from one to ten in a moment, and then you will be able to understand the account book."

Li listened and looked at the symbol. She thought it was simple and clear, so she asked Yutao and Yucheng, "Did you understand what the elder sister said?"

Yu Tao and Yu Cheng both nodded, and Shen Yu continued, "Mom, when our business is in order and we are no longer so busy doing things every day, we should find out where there is a school and let Yu Cheng go to school. It is too late for him to start school now at his age."

After hearing this, Yu Cheng's face lit up with excitement, his eyes sparkled, and he kept asking, "Sister, can I really go to school?"

Shen Yu nodded and said solemnly: "Of course, you are already nine years old. Next year, you will be ten years old. Children of your age have already started school for two or three years."

Yu Tao beside him nodded as a matter of course, and said to Yu Cheng with a smile: "You are the only boy in our family, and studying is what you should do."

Shen Yu then said to Yu Tao next to him, "I have worked in the restaurant for a while, and I know that it is not only men who can read and write."

"Look, you and I are illiterate, and we can't even keep a complete account, let alone marrying into a husband's family. Can we just remember every account of the family, the old and the young, the firewood, the rice, the oil, the salt, the silver and the money?"

She tapped the account book on the table with her pen and continued, "If my husband's family is a wealthy family, and they hire a bookkeeper to take charge, it would be fine if the bookkeeper is a good one. But if he deliberately makes false accounts, you and I, who are illiterate, would be blind and would not know when we are deceived."

"So, even as a woman, you should be able to read and write so that you can understand things, manage household affairs, and do things in an orderly manner."

Perhaps Yutao had been influenced by Shen Qingyuan's moralizing that "a woman's virtue lies in her lack of talent" for too long. After listening to Shen Yu's conversation, she was at a loss for a moment and stood there blankly without responding.