CHAPTER 43: CHAPTER 43: BECOMING A DISCIPLE

Upon hearing about a storybook, Zhao Zhitong’s interest was immediately piqued. Blinking her eyes, she asked, "Why wait until we’ve grown up? Let’s look at it now."

Qiao Muchen thought it was a reasonable request. Besides, he had never seen those books himself. So, the usually serious boy readily agreed, "Alright, come on, I’ll take you."

Soon, when Mother Qiao came in with tea and snacks, she saw the two little ones on the floor, rummaging through books.

Both children were extremely careful, as if afraid they might damage the books. Thus, Mother Qiao didn’t disturb them. After placing the tea and snacks down, she left.

"Found it! This is the one," Qiao Muchen said, pointing to a book on an upper bookshelf.

Zhao Zhitong tilted her small head up, pointing to one of the string-bound books. "Is that the one?"

"Yes, that’s the one," Qiao Muchen confirmed. "My mom and I threaded the string for this book together."

Standing before the bookshelf, Zhao Zhitong stretched out her little arm, measuring the distance. She was still about half a head short of reaching it. "Whoa, it’s so high up."

"Yes, it is," Qiao Muchen mused, then suggested, "I’ll lift you, and you can grab it."

Zhao Zhitong eyed Qiao Muchen, who was small and not even as tall as she was, with some doubt. "No, I don’t want you to lift me! What if we fall?"

Qiao Muchen insisted indignantly, "I’ve gotten much stronger!"

Zhao Zhitong didn’t believe him and wouldn’t let Qiao Muchen lift her.

In the end, after arguing for a while, they went to the outer room, dragged a chair over, and finally managed to get the book down.

Once Qiao Muchen had the book, he immediately handed it to Zhao Zhitong. They both leaned over the chair and began to flip through it.

It was an entirely handwritten book. The characters, strong and distinct, were impressively penned.

"Wow, your dad’s handwriting is beautiful!" Zhao Zhitong exclaimed. "It’s as good as the Teacher’s!"

Qiao Muchen said proudly, "If we practice diligently, we’ll definitely be able to write well too."

The two little ones nodded solemnly, then eagerly began to read the book.

This was a storybook Qiao Muchen’s father had written specifically for his young son. Therefore, the entire book was in simple, easy-to-understand vernacular. Although there were some characters neither of them recognized, they could generally guess the meaning after some discussion.

The first story told of a County Magistrate from the Liuzhou County Government Office. He helped an elderly woman from a village under his jurisdiction to clear her name after she was wrongly accused of murdering her husband.

The story’s shining image of the County Magistrate, fearlessly standing up to powerful bullies and fighting against villains, filled the two children with immense admiration.

Both children were completely engrossed in the storybook, reading with great enjoyment and absorption.

It wasn’t until Sun Mei came to pick up Zhao Zhitong that they realized how much time had flown by.

Because the two little ones had been leaning over the chair to read, their legs had gone numb from kneeling. They had to sit on the floor for a good while before they recovered.

Qiao Muchen placed the book back on the bookshelf. They agreed to read it together again after school the next day, then ran out of the study hand in hand, beaming with joy.

Seeing the young girl run out so cheerfully, Sun Mei knew she had enjoyed herself.

After handing the tofu for Mother Qiao to Grandma Qian, Sun Mei took Zhao Zhitong’s hand, bid farewell, and headed home.

The two children were evidently reluctant for their time together to end. As they were about to leave, Qiao Muchen was still whispering into Zhao Zhitong’s ear.

Sun Mei tousled Zhao Zhitong’s hair and said with a laugh, "Alright, Tongtong, we should be heading back now. Say goodbye to Auntie and Brother."

After Zhao Zhitong bid farewell to Mother Qiao, she made sure to remind Qiao Muchen not to secretly read the storybook alone. Only then did she take Sun Mei’s hand and head home.

Zhao Zhitong was truly in high spirits, bouncing happily all the way, until, nearing home, they encountered her younger cousin, Zhao Yu. He was carrying a bamboo basket on his back, returning from the mountain with freshly dug bamboo shoots.

He was even thinner than the last time she had seen him. His clothes were riddled with holes, his face was grimy, and the light in his once-clear eyes had vanished, making him resemble a little beggar by the roadside.

Upon seeing Sun Mei and Zhao Zhitong, he mumbled a greeting, then lowered his head and hurried away.

Sun Mei was somewhat taken aback. Ever since her argument with the Zhu Clan, she had rarely involved herself in their family’s affairs. Moreover, being busy with making tofu at home, she had even less energy to spare for them. Seeing the boy again, she was shocked at his current state.

Perhaps because she was a mother herself, she couldn’t bear to see a child suffer. Truthfully, seeing the boy like this left a bitter taste in her mouth.But there was nothing she could do. With a sigh, she led Zhao Zhitong home.

When they returned home, they saw Zhao Dong sitting in the courtyard, weaving bamboo. Zhao Zhitong’s apprenticeship ceremony to become a formal student was the next day, and he was weaving her a luggage box.

The novel sight immediately made Zhao Zhitong forget the unease she’d felt from seeing her little cousin. She trotted over, crouched beside Zhao Dong, and watched curiously. "Dad, what are you making? Are we going to sell bamboo baskets again?"

"We’re not selling them anymore." Zhao Dong replied with a smile, his hands never pausing. "Dad’s making a luggage box for you."

"What’s a luggage box?"

Zhao Dong patiently explained, "It’s for holding your Four Treasures of the Study when you go to school."

Zhao Zhitong’s eyes lit up. "Oh, so it’s like a school bag!"

Zhao Dong chuckled. "You could put it that way. An ancient kind of school bag."

「The next day」

As her apprenticeship ceremony was the next day, Zhao Zhitong was a bit overly excited. After dinner, she lay in bed but just couldn’t fall asleep. One moment, she would ask if her new clothes had been ironed and laid out; the next, if her books were in the luggage box; and then, what she needed to do after the ceremony. She fussed about until very late before finally drifting off.

As soon as the sky began to brighten, the little one climbed out of bed. She stood on her bed and shouted out the window for Sun Mei to come help her dress.

"Mom, I want my hair in a two-bun hairstyle today!"

The two-bun hairstyle involved parting the hair into two equal sections, then symmetrically coiling them into two large buns on either side of the head. A small lock of hair was drawn out from each bun to hang down naturally. This was a common hairstyle for children and unmarried young women of that era.

Usually, the little one, eager to run out and play, would just have her hair tied in a simple topknot. Today, however, she was actually making a request.

Sun Mei couldn’t help but chuckle. "Why are you being so particular about your appearance today?"

Zhao Zhitong, her little face solemn, stated primly, "Before meeting the Teacher, one must ensure one’s attire is neat and tidy to show respect."

Sun Mei nodded in approval. "Tongtong is so sensible! Now that you’re dressed, come down and wash your face."

Dressed in her new clothes and shoes, Zhao Zhitong perched on the edge of the bed, hesitant to put her feet down. She didn’t want to get the soles of her new shoes dirty.

Her Eldest Aunt had made the shoes. As cotton was still only cultivated in remote regions, they were made of hemp cloth. However, the soles were thickly padded, making them quite comfortable to wear.

Only when Sun Mei called her from outside did she reluctantly hop off the bed and tiptoe out carefully.

Meanwhile, Zhao Dong had also taken a fairly new set of clothes from the cabinet and changed. After washing up, he went to get the Six Etiquettes.

Once Sun Mei finished styling Zhao Zhitong’s hair, she brought out a bowl of freshly cooked egg drop soup for her to drink.

Zhao Dong, after instructing Second Brother Sun Youli on who would be coming to pick up the tofu later, took Zhao Zhitong and headed towards the school.