Chapter 11: Goose, Goose, Goose

Qingshui Town.

It was about seven or eight li from Hexi Village.

The sky was nearing dusk.

Cheng An lay on his father’s broad shoulders, eyes half-open in a daze.

“Have we arrived?”

“Yao Liu’er, you’re awake?”

Liu’s wife hurried over, eyes bright with joy as she scanned her son. Anxiously, she asked, “How are you? Does it still hurt? Don’t be afraid, I’m taking you to the clinic right away.”

“I’m fine, mother.”

With no one else around, Cheng An dropped the act.

He smiled as he jumped down from his father’s back, blinking. “I was just pretending. Grandma’s so old, she can’t really hurt me.”

The couple exchanged glances, stunned for a long moment before reacting.

“You little rascal…”

Cheng Dashan frowned instinctively.

Before he could speak, Liu interrupted, “What? What do you want to say? Cheng Dashan, from today on, I’m not the same Liu Cuiyun I used to be. If anyone dares to bully my son, I’ll fight them to the end!”

“You just spoil him.”

Cheng Dashan said gruffly, “I know your temper and my elder sister-in-law went overboard today, but… a kid this young already lying—what’s going to happen in the future?”

Especially with Cheng An’s performance at the village gate today, it was truly masterful.

Just a few words turned Old Han and Qin Dongzhi into the targets of scorn.

The whole village must be in an uproar by now!

If it were unintentional, it would be one thing.

But such cunning…

He was only eight years old!

If this continued, he’d either be a genius or a menace.

“I didn’t mean to, Father!” Cheng An pouted, protesting with a hint of grievance. “I just couldn’t stand Grandma and Aunt bullying others. They were clearly at fault—why should we just endure it?”

Taking a step back to see the bigger picture? Nonsense!

In the Cheng family, if you took a step back, they’d bully you to death!

Especially those who won’t listen to reason—you have to teach them a lesson, hurt them enough so they remember.

“Our boy’s right!”

Liu seemed like a lost soul spotting a ray of light, her spirit lifted. “If you want to hold your head high at home, you’ve got to make them afraid!”

“Then do we still go to the clinic?”

Cheng Dashan asked helplessly.

He had a feeling…

The Cheng family was about to see a change!

Liu Cuiyun examined her son carefully and said, “No need. Since we’re here… let’s go to Baima Academy and take a look.”

Baima Academy was the only private school in Qingshui Town.

Such schools on the frontier were mainly for elementary education, mostly enrolling children around seven, eight, or nine years old.

Cheng Xiaoyuan from the elder uncle’s family studied there.

Before, when the family was poor and his parents were tightly controlled by Old Han, even if he wanted to study, he would likely be stopped.

But after these recent confrontations…

Old Han’s influence was rapidly waning.

Especially since the awakening of my mother, Cheng An felt she was still holding back, probably waiting for the right moment to challenge Old Han.

…

A simple yet grand courtyard.

The steps at the entrance were clean and even.

The gravel ground was meticulously leveled, not a single weed in sight.

“This is truly the place of scholars, so impressive!”

Liu instinctively straightened her clothes.

She knocked gently on the door.

“Who’s there?”

An eight or nine-year-old girl appeared.

Bright eyes and pearly teeth, her demeanor lively.

She wore a long brocade dress with floral patterns and a pair of pale red fur-lined boots, her appearance and attire exuding a refined air.

Liu felt a bit awkward.

“Um…”

“Eh?”

Cheng Dashan was suddenly surprised.

“Isn’t this the eldest daughter of Gu Yuanwai’s family?”

“Looks like her, but not quite…”

Cheng An studied the girl and shook his head.

Though this girl resembled the Gu family’s eldest daughter they had seen before, her aura was different—more lively and less composed.

“That’s my older sister,” the girl said, a little impatient, pouting. “School’s already out today. If you don’t have anything urgent, come back tomorrow.”

“We’re from Hexi Village.”

Liu smiled awkwardly and quickly explained, “The child wants to study here, so we came to ask how much the tuition is.”

Tuition, or “shu xiu,” was the fee for schooling.

It was also a form of respect and courtesy towards the teacher.

These days, tuition wasn’t limited to silver coins; if the teacher agreed, grain, cloth, or mountain goods from home would do.

“Just him?”

The girl blinked at Cheng An with a condescending gaze. “Can he read?”

“I’ve learned a bit.”

Cheng An replied calmly.

The girl frowned slightly at his indifferent tone and said deliberately, “Is that so? Then write a few characters for me to see. If you do well, I’ll let you in.”

“Are you the teacher?”

“No!”

“Then why talk nonsense? I’m here to study, not to perform.”

“You…”

The girl bit her lip in frustration.

“Yao Liu’er!”

Liu lightly tapped her son’s shoulder, feigning displeasure. “How can you talk to Miss Gu like that? Didn’t I teach you to be polite?”

In the feudal system,

Social status meant everything!

Even though this girl looked so young, her status made the Cheng family of three dare not disrespect her in the slightest and even try to flatter her.

Cheng An grumbled, “Mother, she’s not the teacher.”

“Pfft!”

“I think you’re just scared, aren’t you?”

The girl smiled provocatively. “If you’re scared, then leave quickly. If the teacher comes later and you pretend not to know anything, you’ll be exposed!”

“All right…”

Cheng An glanced at his mother and sighed, “What do you want me to write?”

“Anything!”

“If you can write five characters correctly, I’ll admit you’re impressive!”

The girl’s eyes were filled with disdain.

Cheng An ignored her, picked up a stick from the ground, and wrote several characters in the sand:

“Goose, goose, goose, bending its neck to sing to the sky.”

“You… you really can write?”

The girl stared at the ground in surprise.

Cheng An casually tossed the stick aside and clapped his hands. “Not good enough? Let these three ‘goose’ characters be a gift for you since it’s our first meeting…”

“Which book is this poem from? I’ve never seen it before.”

If you knew, you’d be a ghost!

Cheng An looked up at the lintel but said nothing.

The girl gave him a sulky glance and snorted, “Just wait.”

Soon after,

A middle-aged man appeared.

“Brother-in-law, look, it’s him.”

The man wore a simple cloth robe but looked refined.

His eyes fell on the half-verse of poetry on the ground, and he paused.

“You wrote this?”

“Yes.”

This poem was written by Luo Bingwang when he was nine, fitting Cheng An’s age perfectly.

So he copied it without guilt!

The middle-aged man’s eyes glowed.

It was the look of a mentor who had found a prodigy, warm and passionate.

“This poem is obviously incomplete. What about the second half?”

“…”

Cheng An fell silent, pretending to think.

“No rush.”

The man smiled warmly. “If you can compose the latter half, I might make an exception and accept you. As for tuition fees, pay whatever you can.”

“I…”

Cheng An hesitated, scratching his head.

He bit his finger, looking adorably awkward.

Liu was especially excited.

From the man’s surprised yet pleased expression, it was clear her son was outstanding!

Her voice trembled slightly. “Don’t be afraid, Yao Liu’er. Just say it, even if it’s not good, it’s okay. Don’t worry, I will definitely support your studies!”

“Goose, goose, goose, bending its neck to sing to the sky…”

Cheng An took a few steps on the spot.

Pretending to rack his brains, he suddenly looked up.

“White feathers float on green water, red palms push clear waves!”

“Good!”

Clap!

The man instinctively clapped his hands.

When he looked at Cheng An again, his gaze burned even brighter.

“What’s your name? Where do you live?”

“To answer the teacher…”

Cheng An bowed respectfully. “My name is Cheng An, and I live in Hexi Village.”