The Lucky Farmgirl
Chapter 262 - 251: Public Sentiment

Chapter 262: Chapter 251: Public Sentiment

Such things do happen; some families, to ensure their children survive, will give them all sorts of strange nicknames. There are quite a few boys who are directly called sister or sis as pet names.

Some even dress their boys in skirts and pierce their ears when they are young, raising them just like girls, because people believe girls are easier to raise than boys.

So by giving them girls’ names and dressing them in girls’ clothes, it’s like leaning their fate towards that of a girl’s, making it easier for the child to survive.

The current Emperor even has a well-known nickname, Cat Slave.

Anyway, pet names are chosen as humbly as possible.

Zhou Xi said, "No, not in my family, my little sister’s nickname is Manbao, we don’t do humble nicknames at our house."

He paused, then added, "None of our children have died young; they all survived."

As a result, it’s no longer customary in Qili Village to give children humble names, preferring instead to sort them like Old Zhou’s family does, according to numerical order like second, third, fourth, and so on. By doing this, they think perhaps their descendants will also thrive.

The village chief and a group of elders all believe that the greatest contribution Old Zhou and Ms. Qian made in their lifetime is not that they farmed well, nor that they built a large house with blue bricks and tiles, but that they raised eight children, no, including Zhou Yin, actually nine.

Nine children, and not a single one of them died young. It’s rare even in big cities with abundant medical resources, let alone in the countryside.

Of course, from a superstitious point of view, the villagers unanimously believe it’s because their children have good nicknames. Look at this lineup of Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth; it’s probably not even in the good graces of heaven to take any away.

Wei Zhi had lost two children, a son and a daughter, neither of whom lived past five. He was curious about how the Zhou family raised their children.

So he squatted down on the ridge and started chatting with them.

Zhou Xi told Ms. He to go back first, and was not at all secretive. She talked about how her mother used to take care of them when they were little. Of course, when it comes to raising kids, she didn’t have much say, but Ms. Feng, who had given birth to and raised three children, had plenty of experience.

Wei Zhi listened, and after a while, simply rolled up his sleeves, took Ms. He’s leftover hoe, and began helping them work the field.

Guard: ...

He had never farmed before!

Since he was born, his dad was a count, and before he came of age, he was thrown into the imperial guards; he had held a knife, a sword, a bow, but never a hoe!

But what should he do when his direct superior is farming?

Stand on the ridge and watch?

Feeling anxious, what should he do?

Zhou Xi, seeing that Wei Zhi’s movements were pretty skilled, did not stop him. She even wanted to lend him her straw hat, but he refused.

He asked, "How many children does your family have now?"

Zhou Xi laughed, "Not many, ten."

Wei Zhi: ...That’s not many?

Zhou Xi laughed, "Five and Sixth haven’t married yet, so they still count as children."

Wei Zhi nodded, then asked, "How old are they? Have you started arranging marriages for them?"

"Five is sixteen this year, and we were going to arrange a marriage for him, but then the flood happened. We don’t know what the autumn will be like yet, so we’re putting it off. We’ll wait till next year."

Wei Zhi expressed understanding.

The state does have a tax for older, unmarried individuals. Beyond a certain age, if you’re not married, not only does the woman have to pay taxes, but the man does as well.

After paying for two years, if you’re still not married, then the government will forcibly match you up, cough cough, this is what officials call assigning a wife or husband.

At only sixteen, there are still six years left before he has to pay the tax. People in the countryside do marry early indeed, but there are also many who marry late.

For example, in their social stratum, there are those who marry at fifteen or sixteen, but also plenty who are still single at twenty-three or twenty-four.

Especially for those who are accomplished, not even the emperor can rush them into marriage, let alone their families; they can pretty much decide for themselves.

Wei Zhi was very curious and asked them about the typical betrothal gifts in their area, whether they included dowries and what kind of items are usually part of the dowry, and what customs are associated with fetching the bride.

All these matters relate to the sentiments of the people; now that he had the chance and time, he might as well ask.

The conversation among them moved from childrearing to marriage, from marriage to elder care, and from elder care to the children’s education.

Wei Zhi casually asked how many of their children were getting an education, and that’s when he found out that only one was.

Not just Wei Zhi, even the guard squatting by the vegetable patch, pretending to diligently weed, was surprised enough to lift his head.

He had never heard of a family that allowed a girl to study but not boys.

Zhou Xi, seeing their expressions, immediately explained: "It’s just that my little sister is very smart. Mr. Zhuang from the school likes her a lot and accepted her as a disciple. Otherwise, with our family’s finances, how could we afford to send any child to school?"

Ms. Feng said, "When the little girl returns from her studies, she teaches the family’s children. Not to mention anything else, but my Second Son and Erya have recognized quite a lot of characters. Especially Erya, she can recognize all the characters from the Thousand Character Classic. The little girl said once you recognize all the characters in it, you can start learning from books on your own."

Wei Zhi nodded, "That’s true."

But he was very curious as to how smart this child could be.

"Oh, young sir, why did you pull out all my vegetable seedlings?"

The guard stiffly looked at the "weeds" in his hand and asked, "This, isn’t this just grass?"

Zhou Xi glanced at the seedlings he had pulled out, leaving behind the weeds, and gave him a sympathetic look. He must be pretty clueless to not be able to tell apart vegetable seedlings from weeds.

Wei Zhi cleared his throat and said, "Why don’t you help by fetching water to water the vegetables?"

The guard, like he had received a pardon, immediately got up, grabbed two buckets, and replied.

Zhou Xi couldn’t stop him in time when Wei Zhi just laughed and said, "Let him do it, he’s young and has the strength. Fetching water suits him better."

Zhou Xi: What she actually meant to say was that it would be easier using a shoulder pole.

But the guard was already carrying the buckets back and forth from the river.

After a bout of laborious help, Wei Zhi formed a strong bond with the three women of the Zhou family. Zhou Xi, Ms. Feng, and Ms. Fang all warmly invited him to visit the Zhou Family’s home.

Wei Zhi declined, but he walked back with them, crossing the bridge together because he wanted to pay a visit to Mr. Zhuang.

This was an important matter after all; Zhou Xi and the others couldn’t hold him back any longer, so they could only send him off at the Calligraphy School’s entrance and say goodbye.

Manbao and Bai Shanbao had made their lunch and were obediently accompanying their teacher for the meal in the small courtyard, meanwhile taking the opportunity to have a small stove to cook on.

Mr. Zhuang’s small courtyard was always open, allowing free entry and exit, so when Wei Zhi knocked at the gate and heard no response, he stepped right in.

As he walked towards the middle of the courtyard, he heard voices coming from one of the rooms.

Mr. Zhuang also heard the noise at the gate but thought it was the students being playful and accidentally hitting it because everyone knew that his courtyard didn’t have restrictions: to meet him, one just had to come straight in.

Therefore, he went on admonishing the two bowed children whom he was teaching.

They were on a new lesson today, and he had called upon two children to answer questions. However, both Manbao and Bai Shan’s answers were unsatisfactory, clearly indicating a slack in their studies recently.