Chapter 336: Closed School
Editor: Atlas Studios
Bowen was very protective of his Teacher and said, “Father, Teacher is not that kind of person. He might have been held up by something. He even fell seriously ill previously.”
Mu Yangling also added, “Father, Teacher Liu has a good character. There might be some misunderstanding. Coincidentally, I’m free today. I’ll bring Bowen to visit Teacher Liu later.”
“Then I’ll go too.” Since Mu Shi was not at home all year round, he felt that it should take the chance to meet his son’s teacher. He could ask him to take care of Bowen.
Mu Yangling looked at Mu Shi, who was like a mountain, and felt that if he came along and asked about this, Teacher Liu’s family would probably think they were seeking trouble. Hence, Mu Yangling tried her best to dissuade him. “Father, Bosi and Kejia want to go to the market to play. Bring them to play first. Bowen and I are just going to greet them. It won’t be convenient for our entire family to show up if we bring Bosi and Kejia along.”
As she spoke, she gave Xiuhong a look. Xiuhong hurriedly grabbed Xiulan’s arm and looked up with a smile. “Uncle, my sister and I want to buy some embroidery threads and satin. Come with us and buy some fabric for Aunt and Cousins to make clothes.”
It was indeed not safe to leave the twins to the two young ladies, Xiuhong and Xiulan. On the other hand, it wouldn’t be good if they all went. So Mu Shi could only nod after hesitating for a moment. “Alright, we’ll choose fabrics in the shop and wait for you.”
Mu Yangling agreed with a smile and bought two catties of pastries with Bowen before going to the Liu Residence.
When Madam Liu saw Mu Yangling and Mu Bowen, she was slightly stunned. Then, she warmly invited them in. “Why are you here? It’s almost the New Year…”
“We wanted to see if Teacher Liu has recovered.” Mu Yangling handed the pastry to Madam Liu and asked, “Is Teacher not at home?”
“He’s gone to the bookstore to read, but he should be back soon since it’s almost lunchtime. Have a seat. I’ll go into the kitchen and make you something to eat.”
Mu Yangling quickly pulled her back. “Mistress, you’re welcome. We’re just here to check on Teacher Liu’s illness.” As she spoke, she smiled in embarrassment. “My father called us over this time. He just returned and accompanied us to buy New Year goods today. Upon hearing from us that Teacher had fallen sick, he asked us to hurry over and visit him again. He has to take care of my younger siblings and couldn’t come over. Please don’t mind it.”
Madam Liu understood that Mu Shi didn’t come because he was afraid of causing trouble for them. After all, it was indeed difficult for her to attend to so many of them. Madam Liu patted her hand warmly and said, “Silly child, you should have called your father over and let Teacher have a drink with him. Previously it was all thanks to the money you sent over that my husband’s illness could be cured. Otherwise, I don’t know what would have happened.”
After saying that, she turned to Bowen and said, “Bowen, quickly bring your father and younger siblings over. I’ll make lunch for you.”
Mu Yangling quickly pulled her back. “I wouldn’t dare. Mistress, please don’t busy yourself. Otherwise, we’ll have to turn around and leave.”
Seeing that Mu Yangling was serious, Madam Liu hesitated for a moment and said, “Alright, sit down. I’ll pour tea for you.”
Mu Yangling let her go. When she returned and sat down again, Mu Yangling deliberated and asked, “Mistress, next year is the year of the village examination. I heard that Teacher Liu has good literary talent. Will he be participating next year?”
Madam Liu forced a smile and shook her head. “I would like that, but our crop harvest has been poor for the past two years. We’ve been relying on his teaching salary to support our family, so if he won’t be participating next year. In the future, perhaps.”
Surprised, Mu Yangling replied with a smile, “I thought that Teacher Liu would participate in the exam like Teacher Qin. Just now, we met Bowen’s classmate’s parents in the market. He’s Teacher Qin’s student and told us that the academy won’t open next year. I was originally worried that Bowen wouldn’t be used to a new teacher. Since Teacher Liu will continue to teach next year, I guess there’s no need to worry.”
Madam Liu’s body stiffened slightly and she asked, “Teacher Qin said that the academy won’t open next year?”
Mu Yangling nodded.
Madam Liu was in a daze. Bowen saw that her eyes were a little red and was secretly worried. Mu Yangling took the opportunity to express her intention to leave with Bowen.
When Madam Liu suddenly heard this news, she couldn’t accept it for a moment. It wasn’t good for her to keep Mu Yangling and Bowen, so she sent them out.
After walking for a long time, Bowen said with a frown, “What Teacher Qin did wasn’t right.”
Mu Yangling said, “Teacher Qin and Teacher Liu are schoolmates and good friends. Besides, the two of them have been running the academy together for so many years. It might not be Teacher Qin who did it.”
“Then who is it?” Bowen asked angrily. Teacher Liu was Bowen’s mentor and had always doted on and taken care of him. Hence, he was very dissatisfied with the schemes that Teacher Liu had encountered.
“Who knows?” Mu Yangling was more open-minded. “Anyway, no matter who it is, Teacher Liu will definitely suffer a loss. I wonder how many students he can retain in the end. If he can’t retain them, I wonder if he can still open the academy next year.”
This was also an old rule here. Most students had to find an academy before the new year and pay a certain amount of deposit. Next spring, the parents would directly bring the students over and pay the remaining tuition.
This was because many academies first confirmed the students before arranging the classrooms and tables and chairs inside.
Students fought to enter good academies, so half of the students would change academies not long after the Winter Solstice.
As for people like Bowen who didn’t want to switch to a different teacher, he just had to wait until the beginning of spring to hand in the tuition fees. There was no need to specially reserve his spot in winter.
Once the news of Teacher Qin “not opening the academy” was released, who knew how many students Teacher Liu could retain.
Obviously, Madam Liu had also thought of this problem, so she was very anxious to go out and look for Teacher Liu. However, she did not expect to bump into Teacher Liu the moment she went out.
Seeing that his wife’s face had turned pale from anxiety, Teacher Liu asked, “What’s wrong with you?”
Madam Liu quickly pulled him back and told him about Mu Yangling’s arrival and everything she had said. She asked, “Has he discussed this with you?”
Teacher Liu’s expression also darkened slightly. He nodded and said, “We’ve discussed it. He’s going to participate in the exam next year. Since I’m not going, he agreed that he would hand the academy over to me while I find another classmate to help.”
“Then, then why did others say that the academy won’t be open? Could those students have gone to other academies?”
“Don’t be anxious. I’ll go and ask later.” Teacher Liu felt that Teacher Qin would not deliberately cheat him. After all, they had been classmates for more than ten years and had run the academy together for so many years. The two families had always been on good terms.
Teacher Liu didn’t even eat lunch and went out directly. After he left, Madam Liu remembered that her husband didn’t eat lunch and became vexed again.
Indeed, Teacher Qin did not know about this. Upon hearing this, he said in astonishment, “I didn’t inform them that the academy will be closed. I just plan to gather the students together and tell them that I can’t teach them next year, but the academy will find a good teacher. Most importantly, I haven’t gathered the students yet.”
Therefore, how did they know that he would be participating in the exam and that the academy wouldn’t be opened?
Teacher Qin and Teacher Liu looked at each other. Teacher Qin stood up and said, “Let’s go. I’ll go to the student’s house with you to take a look.”