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nChapter 4 – Planting Seeds

nMo Qian Xue’s reaction to his explanation left Ning Shaoqing feeling very dissatisfied.

nDidn’t he just try to explain himself?**

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nWhat was this woman’s problem in the end? She was always angry; couldn’t she try being gentle when speaking at least?

nHe never would’ve expected that, just because of what he said today, he would suffer many ‘kicks’ in the future, and will regret his words for many more years to come.

nNing Shaoqing laid down once again next to his wife who monopolized the entire quilt to herself; because he was too embarrassed to pull it back, he could only lie on the cold mattress, humiliated and embarrassed.

nAfter a while the man began to shiver; unexpectedly, the woman beside him sat up and spread the quilt evenly between them.

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nAfter seeing her merciful act to blanket him, he dared not move, fearing that a slight disturbance would cause the quilt to disappear.

nWhen Mo Qian Xue saw that he didn’t make trouble, she breathed a sigh of relief.

nIf he was frozen, she would be left alone.

nAfter a long day Mo Qian Xue was really tired. Naturally she was able to fall asleep within a few minutes.

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nNing Shaoqing smelled the sweet fragrance emanating from the girl beside him as he listened to her deep, gentle breaths. He could not sleep.

nHe was just like any other man; although he had never broken his chastity, he was still aware of the matters between men and women. His body began to feel hot and abnormal, but he dared not move. In the stillness of the night, Ning Shaoqing had to bear his burden silently, enduring hard for a while before he was finally able to fall asleep.

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nOn the morning of the second day, Mo Qian Xue helped her husband wash his face, and then prepared breakfast before heading out to Fang Fangzi’s house next door.

nShe wanted to find Sister Fang so she could borrow some seeds; although it was late autumn, there was still time to plant cabbages.

nIt was a pity that their backyard was merely half an acre.

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nThey didn’t have many vegetables in store, but she knew that they couldn’t always rely on their students’ parents to provide them with vegetables, or even dry food for that matter.

nA burly man was cutting firewood at the neighbor’s courtyard. Having noticed a movement, the woodcutter turned to see Mo Qian Xue entering their yard. He blushed as he smiled at her shyly.

nFang Fangzi was straightforward in personality; she gestured to introduce the man to Mo Qian Xue, “This is my husband by the way. Since the weather had turned cold, he had been cutting up some firewood for the winter. Younger sister’s body isn’t very suited for the chore, so I will have him send some over to you.”

n“Well it seems that I have troubled this son and Sister Fang once again. Thank you brother!” Mo Qian Xue did not put up a false front and had sincerely thanked the well-meaning pair, while Fang Fanzi welcomed Lady Ning into their home.

nSuch a show of love, she will surely remember it in her heart and will someday repay.

nAfter they exchanged greetings, Mo Qian Xue took a good look at their abode; Fang Fangzi’s residence was a typical courtyard where every corner was tidy and clean. She was indeed a diligent woman who could raise a family.

n“Sister Ning, you are currently in poor health. My niece can be of help to you if you don’t mind.” Fang Fangzi welcomed Lady Ning into her house and seated her on a chair before serving her a cup of tea.

nAt the entrance of the room, a little girl with pigtails had peaked behind the door and looked at her in secret. The girl was quite lovely.

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n“Come here…..” Mo Qian Xue put down her teacup and waved at the little girl.

nHearing her invitation, the girl released the doorknob, shyly smiled, and bit her fingers as she stumbled towards Fang Fangzi.

nLady Fang, who was holding a teapot at that time, suddenly shook from the collision and had spilled a bit of water. She pretended to be angry and scolded her niece, “This girl is being unruly.”

n“She’s cute! Fang Fangzi, is she the girl named ‘Ya-ya’ that you told me about?”

n“Ya-ya, address her as Shiniang.”** Lady Fang placed the teapot down and went to the next room, yelling “Shuan Zi, come out and meet your teacher!”

nMo Qian Xue looked at the little girl affectionately. She got up, hugged the little girl, and asked “Tell me, how old are you this year?”

n“Ya-ya is four years old…..”

nAt this time, a nine-year-old boy emerged next door with a book in his hands.

nHe bowed politely upon seeing Mo Qian Xue.

n“Zhang Deshuan greets Shiniang.”

nThe boy’s decent etiquette surprised her; at a young age he was neither anxious nor impatient, but was rather courteous.

nWith good training, the little boy will surely have a promising future.

n“After receiving personal instruction from Ning Xiansheng, the book has never left the boy’s side and hasn’t been returned. Please forgive him.” Fang Fangzi looked at her son with satisfaction and pride; her eyes didn’t show a hint of remorse.

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n“Sister Fang, you don’t have to apologize to me. I can see that Shuan Zi’s future will be promising as long as he receives good instruction.

nSister Fang was elated upon hearing Mo Qian Xue’s words.

nHowever, Shuan Zi’s face displayed embarrassment instead of pride.

n“Shuan Zi, what’s wrong? Is there anything this Shiniang can help you with?”

nIn the past, Mo Qian Xue was a small business owner before becoming a respected general manager. To achieve such a feat, her ability to judge people’s thoughts based on their expressions had gradually improved.

nAfter hearing Lady Ning’s question, Shuan Zi opened his book and replied, “Xiansheng had taught me the Three Character Text(三字經) previously. I was preparing to learn about the Thousand Character Classic (千字文) but before we could start, Ning Xiansheng fell ill. I ended up studying the book myself at home for a long time, but I found that there were many words I didn’t know. However, if Shiniang can…..”

nFang Fangzi blushed, remembering that Mo Qian Xue’s origins were unknown. Fearing that Lady Ning might be offended, she hurriedly scolded, “Shuan Zi you mustn’t be rude!”

nIn this time and space, not all men were literate, not to mention women.

nMo Qian Xue came to the boy’s side with a careless smile. “There’s no harm in it! My dear sister, even though I don’t have much talent in speaking, I do know a few characters.”

nAlthough she was born in the countryside, her father was a local teacher and scholar. When she was a child, he had taught her to use the brush every day. What she practiced daily were the Three Character Text, the Thousand Word Classic, the Analects of Confucius and the like.

n“Tian di xuan huang (天地玄黃) Yan zai hu ye (宇宙洪荒). Ri yue ying ze (日月盈昃), chen su lie zhang (辰宿列張).”

nMo Qian Xue spoke these words as her finger pointed at each character, and explained it to him.

n“This means……well, the meaning of this sentence is, ‘The sky was black, and the earth was pale. The universe was formed in a chaotic mess’….”

nAs Mo Qian Xue continued to interpret each column of characters, the studious Shuan Zi was pleasantly surprised, while Fang Fangzi was shocked to bits. To her, a woman who could read at least two characters was already someone as unreachable as the sky. So how can she describe the scene before her?

nIn addition to warmth, her eyes had become more respectful.

nIn this manner, Mo Qian Xue began to comment on more than a dozen passages while Shuan Zi listened carefully, taking notes from time to time.

nFang Fangzi happily gazed at the scene before her; she wished that she could send all of her family’s valuables to Mo Qian Xue to express her gratitude. She couldn’t understand all the things that Lady Ning discussed with her son, but she could clearly see the joyful expression of her son as he listened. It was a blessing. She only hoped that Sister Ning could continue to instruct her son whenever she had free time.

nAfter explaining a few more characters, Mo Qian Xue finished teaching.

nThese were enough for the boy to digest for some time. It wouldn’t be helpful to give too much information in one sitting.

nAfter their lesson, Shuan Zi closed the book, raised his head, and looked at Mo Qian Xue with admiration and anticipation. He left promptly after offering ceremony to his teacher.

nHe still needed to review the things they had just discussed.

nAfter Shuan Zi had left the room, Mo Qian Xue and Fang Fangzi continued to gossip for a while.

n“Sister Fang, you may be aware that the vegetables in my half-acre field is quite pitiful. Today I came to look for you to see if I could borrow some cabbage seeds; I was planning to plant them late in the season before the cold sets in. That way my family may be able to stock up on our food storage for winter.”

n“Oh, I do have a few extra seeds for you to take.” Sister Fang immediately stood up.

nJust when she had wondered how to express her gratitude towards Mo Qian Xue, an opportunity had presented itself. Sister Fang could see that Lady Ning’s knowledge was not below that of Ning Xiansheng’s, meaning that her son could also come to her for guidance in the future.

nRemembering the Lady’s need for cabbage seeds, she went ahead to fetch some more.

n“It would be best if Sister Ning could plant them earlier; in a few days winter will be arriving and by then, it would be difficult for the cabbages to sprout.”

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nMo Qian Xue held a pickaxe. Looking around at the weed-infested field, she couldn’t help but let out a sigh.

nThinking back, although she wasn’t luxuriously rich in modern times, she was still blessed with many houses and factories. She drove a sports car, posed for pictures, and lived the high life. But now she held a pickaxe and had become a genuine peasant woman!

nAs Mo Qian Xue continued to scrape and shovel around the dry backyard, Ning Shaoqing, who listened to the muffled sounds through the wall, gave a long sigh of relief.

nHe would not admit that although she was rude, although she made him speechless at times, and although she was willful and grabbed his quilt at night…

n….he was actually afraid that she would leave his side.

nThe more gentle a girl was, the harder it is to tell if she was truly sincere.

nAt this time, he suddenly felt that having a real wife wasn’t so bad.

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