As the sun rose from the east, a rooster crowed, heralding the beginning of a new day in the farm.
Every family woke up from their sleep. The women started to boil water and cook, while the men carried water or tidied up farm tools, preparing to start the day's work after eating.
This was a village under the jurisdiction of Liancheng in Jin Country. There were about three to four hundred people in the village, all of whom had one surname and belonged to one clan. Therefore, this village was named Mo's Village after their surname.
On the east side of the village, there were several houses scattered around. Among them, a brick house with a single-door courtyard was very conspicuous among these mud houses. It was conspicuous because the materials used to build it were obviously much better than those of the other houses. The roof tiles were thick, and the bricks on the walls were neat. At first glance, one could tell it wasn't built with the local method. The courtyard walls were also not made of random branches or rattan like those of the other mud houses. Instead, they were made of fine bamboo strips. However, it was more dilapidated than the other houses. The roof tiles were broken and no one cleaned them up. The courtyard walls were broken, and the vegetable fields in the courtyard were messy.
At that moment, the door of the small courtyard was opened. A little girl with a yellow complexion and a pigtail walked out. She was about six or seven years old. She was very thin, had a sickly complexion, and her clothes were old. However, her whole body was neat and tidy. Her hair was combed neatly, and her clothes were also very clean.
She pulled up the chicken coop and drove the chickens out. Then she walked to the kitchen in the side room, opened the door, and washed her face with cold water. After washing her face and rinsing her mouth, she rolled up her sleeves and measured a handful of rice. She scooped some water from the water jar and washed it. Then she moved a small stool to the stove, stood on the stool, and put the rice into the big pot to start the fire.
Liancheng was located in the south of Jin Country. It had a mild climate and was very suitable for growing rice, so people used rice stalks to start the fire. Fortunately, this was the case. Otherwise, how could a girl of her age chop firewood?
Before long, the main room's door opened, and a pale woman walked into the kitchen.
The little girl who was cooking the fire immediately jumped up. "Mother, why did you get up? Go rest for a while. Dinner will be ready soon. "
The woman smiled and stroked the little girl's head. "Tiange, Mother will do these things. You can go play."
"No," the little girl insisted and pulled her mother into the room. "Mother, you can't stand the wind. I can do these things."
"This is just a small matter …"
"I'll do the small things. Mother, do you want to faint and make me worry?"
The woman was speechless.
The little girl said, "Mother, you should rest well. When you get better, I won't have to do this anymore."
The naivety in Mo Tiange's words made the woman smile, but her smile was also mixed with bitterness. Her tone softened. "Alright, Mother will get better as soon as possible. I won't let Tiange suffer anymore in the future."
Red light shone from the east, and the porridge began to emit the fragrance of rice. The little girl sat on a small stool and carefully scooped two bowls. She also scooped some pickled vegetables from a jar in the corner of the room and brought them to the main room one by one.
Bland porridge, pickles, and no other dishes. One was a patient, and the other was a child. No wonder there was no redness on their faces. The woman looked at her daughter with a pained expression. The little girl did not see it and continued to eat her porridge.
After breakfast, the woman tidied up her daughter again before taking down the cloth bag hanging on the wall. She hung it on her daughter's shoulder and said, "When you go to school, listen to the teacher and study hard."
"Okay, I'm going to school."
The sun gradually rose. The little girl stepped on the dew and went to the ancestral hall in the west of the village. From time to time, boys ran and played on the road.
Upon seeing her walking on the road, a boy about ten years old secretly followed her. All of a sudden, he dashed forward, grabbed her braid and pulled it. He burst into laughter and said, "Mo Tiange, your braid is really ugly. You better shave your head." Right after he said that, he once again ran away like a wisp of smoke.
Mo Tiange, who had her braid pulled, glared at him. "Give me back my hair rope!"
The child made a funny face. "Give it back to you? Why should I give it back to you? If you have the ability, come and take it from me! "
How could a child bear this provocation? Mo Tiange swung her braid and chased after the boy.
"Haha, you're so stupid. I'm here!" The boy was very flexible and strong. How could her thin and weak body compare to him? Every time he turned around, he would throw her off, which made her furious.
Soon, Mo Tiange was out of breath from chasing him. At that moment, a girl's voice came from behind. "Brother, what are you doing?"
Hearing this voice, the two of them stopped.
A girl about seven or eight years old ran towards them. When she saw Mo Tiange's messy braid, she immediately glared at her brother. "Brother, don't bully Tiange! Give it back!"
The boy, who was fierce a moment ago, suddenly showed a bitter expression. "I was just teasing her."
The girl raised her eyebrows and glared at her brother. "You're still talking! If you don't give it back, I'll go home and tell father that you bullied my little sister. "
The boy's expression became even more bitter. "What kind of little sister is she? She doesn't live with us. "
"Our grandfather, Tiange also calls him grandfather. Why can't she be his little sister? If you say one more word, I'll go home and tell father! "
"Fine, fine, I'll give it back to you." The boy stuffed the hair rope in his hand and hurriedly walked away.
After he left, Mo Tiange whispered, "Tianqiao, thank you."
Mo Tianqiao smiled. "No need to thank me. It's his fault. Here, I'll give it back to you! "
Mo Tiange took the hair rope and tied her braid carelessly.
"Let me do it." Mo Tianqiao saw that she tied it carelessly, so she simply untied her braid and redid it. She was half a head taller than Mo Tiange, so Mo Tiange didn't need to squat down to braid her hair.
After she finished braiding her hair, Mo Tianqiao carefully took out a paper package from her pocket and opened it. "Tiange, come and eat some pancakes."
Mo Tiange took the package from her. It was a sweet potato pancake. She said in a low voice, "Thank you."
She usually didn't have any pastries or candies to eat. Her mother had always been sick. Although she didn't go hungry, she didn't have much food left. She only got some candies when her grandfather bought them during the New Year or other festivals.
Tianqiao and her older brother, Tianjun, were her uncle's children. Tianqiao treated her very well and always shared her snacks with her.
"Let's eat together."
"En."
The two of them ate and walked towards the ancestral hall together.
The Mo family's school was located in the ancestral hall in the west of the village. An old scholar in the village was the teacher of the school and taught the children in the village. Since it was the family school, all the children in the Mo family's village didn't need to pay school fees. However, the villagers had been working in the fields for generations. Most of them only hoped that their children would be able to read a few characters and be able to count and calculate. After the children came to study in the morning, they went to help with the family's work in the afternoon. Only a few children who were entrusted with high hopes stayed until the afternoon.
When the two of them entered the ancestral hall, the room was already full of children. The youngest was six or seven years old, while the oldest was thirteen or fourteen years old. All of them were boys; only the two of them were girls.
The common people believed that a woman's virtue was to have no talent. The Mo family's school was also like that. Very few of the daughters in the Mo family's village went to school. Most of them helped with the household chores as soon as they could. Only well-off families would send their daughters to school to learn a few characters.
Mo Tianqiao was one of them. She was the direct descendant of the Mo family's patriarch. Because she was the eldest granddaughter and had the same mother as the eldest grandson, her family thought highly of her. Not only did they give her the same name as her brother, but they also sent her to school.
Mo Tianqiao and Mo Tiange were the only two people in their generation who were named according to seniority.
However, Mo Tiange's situation was different.
Mo Tiange's mother was originally the fourth daughter of the patriarch's family. Now, people called her the Fourth Lady. She wasn't the daughter of the patriarch's wife. Instead, the patriarch gave birth to her when he was young. Because of that, the family treated her very coldly. Moreover, she was sick in the womb and suffered from minor illnesses all year round, so she was treated coldly.
Ten years ago, a scholar came to the village and lived there. He saw her several times and for some reason, he asked the patriarch to marry her. Although the patriarch didn't like this daughter, he was afraid the scholar had bad intentions, so he asked the scholar to marry into the family and stay in the village. Unexpectedly, the scholar didn't object. Soon, the two of them got married and lived in the village.
Unfortunately, in the third year, the scholar had to go on a long journey and never came back.
Because her father never came back, she was the only child. Mo Tiange not only had the surname Mo, but her name also followed her seniority. She had always been raised as a boy.
While the classroom was in a mess, a cough came from inside the classroom. The children in the classroom immediately quieted down. A dignified old master with half of his hair and beard walked out.
Seeing that all the students were sitting obediently and no one was making noise, the old master nodded with satisfaction. He took a book from the table and said, "Have you memorized the first paragraph of yesterday's' Rules for Disciples'?"
The classroom became even quieter. These children only wanted to learn how to read. How could they study seriously? It would be good if they could learn half of the ten words they were taught.
The old master frowned and called out, "Mo Tianjun, you recite it."
Mo Tianjun hastily stood up, but his face was wrinkled. He didn't have the arrogance and complacency he had when he bullied Mo Tiange a moment ago.
He began to recite while stammering, "When your parents call, you must not delay. When your parents order, you must not be lazy. When your parents teach, you must … must listen respectfully. When your parents blame, you must obey. "
The old master nodded. "That's right. Continue."
"Warm in winter, cool in summer. Calm in the morning, calm in the evening. When … when you go out, you must, must … "At this point, he scratched his ears and cheeks for a while, but he couldn't recite it no matter how hard he tried.
He secretly raised his head to look at the old master's face, but when he saw the old master's solemn expression, he hastily lowered his head again.
"Hmph!" The old master snorted and said, "What did you do last night? Why did you recite so little? "
Mo Tianjun hummed and didn't dare to answer.
"Hand."
Hearing this, Mo Tianjun's face was as bitter as a gall bladder, but he didn't dare to disobey the old master. He could only step forward and carefully stretch out his left hand.
The old master's skinny hand held the ruler and patted Mo Tianjun's palm. Mo Tianjun was startled, but he simply spread out his hand and turned his head away.
He raised the ruler high and heavily hit Mo Tianjun's palm. All the children in the classroom didn't dare to make a sound, afraid that they would be the next one.
After five hits, Mo Tianjun's palm was already red. The old master put away the ruler and said, "Next, Mo Tianwei."
"Yes." Another child stood up and began to recite. "When your parents call, you must not delay. When your parents order, you must not be lazy. When your parents teach, you must obey respectfully. When your parents are responsible, you must obey … "
The child stumbled and finally finished reciting. The old master finally relaxed his brows. "Go back and memorize it. Next."
Feeling Tianqiao moving around, Mo Tiange asked in a low voice, "Tianqiao, what's wrong?"
Mo Tianqiao's face was bitter and she also replied in a low voice, "I'm also not familiar with it. I don't know if I can recite it later."
"Hurry up and memorize it now. It's not too late."
"You're right." Mo Tianqiao quickly opened the book and recited in her heart.
"Mo Tiange."
Mo Tiange hurriedly stood up. "Yes, Old Master."
She thought for a moment and began to recite, "When your parents call, you must not delay. When your parents order, you must not be lazy. When your parents teach, you must obey respectfully. When your parents are responsible, you must obey respectfully. When winter is warm, summer is cold. When morning is clear, dusk is calm. When you go out, you must report. When you live, you must not change … "
"After mourning for three years, you often weep with sorrow. When you live, you must eat and drink. When you mourn, you must be sincere. When you serve the dead, you must serve the living. "
A slight smile appeared on the old master's face. "Good, you've memorized it well. Today, you can start reading 'When you live, you must be younger'."
"Yes, Old Master."
She breathed a sigh of relief and opened the book to read the next paragraph.
Although the children of the Mo family didn't care whether they studied well or badly, the old master had the temperament of a scholar and was very strict with his studies. It wasn't easy to get his praise.
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