novelraw Chapter 374: The Teacher Feeds the Pigs
Chapter 374: The Teacher Feeds the Pigs
"Lady Tong?"
"Lady Tong, what’s wrong?"
Tong Pandi was crying sadly when she heard someone calling her.
Tong Pandi looked up and saw Mr. Su standing not far away, holding a few beautiful lanterns in his left hand and a small box in his right.
"Mr. Su."
Tong Pandi wiped her eyes and stood up.
"Mr. Su, are you here to see Jingzhe? He’s at home reviewing his lessons."
Gu Jingzhe was going to take the provincial exam in March, and he had been hiding in his room studying for the exam all throughout the first month of the new year.
Tong Pandi thought that since Mr. Su had come, he must be here to see Gu Jingzhe.
Mr. Su asked with concern, "Lady Tong, is someone bullying you?"
Tong Pandi shook her head and explained bashfully, "No, who would dare to bully me at my aunt’s house? It’s just that I thought of some sad things from the past, so... my apologies for making Mr. Su witness this..."
Mr. Su said, "It’s not shameful for people to cry when they think of sad things."
As the first woman in Pingchuan County to initiate a separation, Mr. Su thought Tong Pandi was a woman worthy of admiration.
What he admired even more was that Tong Pandi took her two children with her.
Life was difficult for a separated woman; there were survival challenges and the trouble of gossip. Though surviving with Tong Huaqiong’s support was not a problem for Tong Pandi, gossip was inevitable.
Mr. Su thought that Tong Pandi must have heard some gossip that stirred up sad memories, so he said, "Don’t worry about what people say. You just need to make sure you have no regrets. If anyone talks about you again, spit in their face hard."
Mr. Su’s words made Tong Pandi feel a surge of warmth.
Tong Pandi noticed Mr. Su standing in the wind; even though it was still the first month of the lunar year, he had already switched out his thick cotton-padded coat for a thinner jacket.
So she said with concern, "Mr. Su, why are you dressed so lightly? It’s still snowing these days; you should hurry to my aunt’s house to warm up."
Mr. Su, as if he didn’t feel cold at all, said, "I burned my thick cotton coat yesterday while warming myself by the fire. No worries, feeling a bit cold helps keep my mind clear while reading."
Tong Pandi laughed, thinking that Mr. Su was so knowledgeable yet seemed a bit foolish.
"Mr. Su, reading takes more than a moment. Bring me your worn coat next time, and I’ll help you mend it."
Seeing Tong Pandi smile, Mr. Su felt fortunate he was dressed lightly.
At this moment, Mrs. Cao called for Tong Pandi, and she walked into the pigsty, picking up the pig feed and heading towards the trough.
Mr. Su saw several large buckets of pig feed on the ground.
He set the lanterns and the small box on a clean stone sheltered from the wind, pulled up his robe, and lifted the pig feed to the trough to feed the pigs.
Tong Pandi was startled and quickly tried to stop him, saying, "Mr. Su, you’re a scholar; how can you do manual labor?"
Mr. Su held onto the bucket, refusing to let go, and said, "There’s no distinction of status between teaching and feeding pigs."
As he spoke, he picked up a ladle, scooped a full spoon of pig feed, and poured it into the trough.
Seeing Mr. Su, although clumsy, working with determination, Tong Pandi pursed her lips and smiled.
Mr. Su’s temperament wasn’t that of a dull scholar but rather of an elegant, almost ethereal, middle-aged man.
At this moment, such an ethereal person standing in front of a pigsty was too much of a contrast.
Tong Pandi couldn’t help but laugh again.
Mrs. Cao, who had finished checking on the sow close to giving birth, came out and was so surprised to see Mr. Su feeding the pigs that she couldn’t close her mouth.
"No wonder Jingzhe insists on feeding pigs and doing farm work every time he’s home on break; it’s all because of the teacher leading by example," Mrs. Cao exclaimed.
Mr. Su blushed.
What Mrs. Cao didn’t know was that this was Mr. Su’s first time feeding pigs in his life.
Mr. Su helped Tong Pandi feed all the pigs, and his sleeves were stained with pig feed.
Tong Pandi handed Mr. Su a handkerchief and said, "Teacher, wipe it clean."
Mr. Su, holding the handkerchief, looked at Tong Pandi’s smiling face, and his face reddened again.
"Mom, Aunt Tong." Chun Ni came over, carrying a basket from the pigsty.
"Mom."
"Cousin Auntie."
Chun Ni was accompanied by Man Er, Duo Er, Xiao Long, and Yaozu.
The faces of the children were flushed red from the cold; they had all gone with Chun Ni to cut piggrass.
"Quickly go inside to warm up by the fire," Tong Pandi said, taking Chun Ni’s basket. "Man Er, Xiao Long, you all follow Chun Ni to warm up by the fire."
Chun Ni and the others greeted Mr. Su, rubbed their hands, and went into the room to warm up by the fire.
"Chun Ni cut a lot of grass. I told her that it’s hard to cut grass with the snow not yet melted, not to go to the wheat field, but she still went," Tong Pandi said, shaking the piggrass in the basket, her face showing concern for Chun Ni.
The old sow in the pigsty, close to giving birth, only liked to eat fresh grass these days.
There was very little grass in winter; only the wheat field had it.
The snow was too thick, requiring one to dig through it to find the grass.
Tong Huaqiong had said not to spoil the sow, but Chun Ni still secretly went to the wheat field every day to dig through the snow and cut fresh grass to feed it.
Chun Ni, Man Er, and Duo Er, the three little girls, came out of the heating room, each holding a roasted sweet potato, and handed one to Mr. Su: "Mr. Su, keep your hands warm."
Mr. Su took it in his hands.
After warming his hands for a while, Mr. Su brought over the beautiful lanterns and the wooden box.
Mr. Su picked up a koi lantern and told Man Er, Duo Er, and the others, "Tomorrow is the fifteenth; I saw beautiful lanterns on the street, so I bought a few for you all to play with."
"Choose whichever you like."
The children had been gazing eagerly at the beautiful lanterns in Mr. Su’s hands, and hearing they were for them made them very happy.
Man Er clapped joyfully, letting Duo Er and Chun Ni choose first.
Chun Ni and Duo Er insisted that Man Er, Xiao Long, and Yaozu choose first.
Yaozu unceremoniously went to pick his.
"Yaozu, Duo Er is the youngest sister; let her choose first," Man Er said, holding Yaozu back.
Duo Er looked at Mr. Su, hesitant to pick first.
Mr. Su, with a kind face, said, "Duo Er, Man Er said you’re the youngest; you choose first."
Duo Er walked over and chose the koi in Mr. Su’s hand, saying, "I like the big fish."
Mr. Su handed the koi lantern in his hand to Duo Er.
Duo Er, delighted with her lantern, went to Tong Pandi and said, "Mom, look, it’s such a pretty light."
Tong Pandi, seeing Duo Er’s genuine happiness, felt happy with her.
Ever since Duo Er arrived at Qinghe Bay, though still timid at times, her once shy demeanor was gradually disappearing.
"Quickly thank Mr. Su," Tong Pandi said.
Duo Er gave a slight bow to Mr. Su and said, "Thank you, Mr. Su."
"Sister Chun Ni, it’s your turn to choose," Man Er said after Duo Er made her pick.
Chun Ni waved her hand and said, "I’m the oldest; Man Er, you all go ahead and choose."
Man Er said, "The youngest has chosen; now it’s the oldest’s turn to choose."
Chun Ni repeatedly declined.
Grandma Tong had already given her the opportunity to earn money by working, so she felt she ought to give way to the host’s grandchildren.
Her mother often said that the better Grandma Tong treated them, the more they should adhere to propriety.
The usually silent Xiao Long coldly said, "It’s just a lantern; if they let you choose, then choose, none of that fake humility."
Mr. Su glanced at Xiao Long, who kept a stern little face.
Chun Ni had no choice but to step forward and select a lotus lantern.
"Xiao Long, it’s your turn," Man Er said to Xiao Long.
Xiao Long, with a tense little face, said, "You choose first."
He had seen any kind of lantern before; just these few lanterns, and they were still being pushed back and forth.