Tian Erfu looked up with a delayed realization.
"Little Brother has to pay ten taels of silver and five catties of meat in tuition every year just to learn these? Could that teacher be a fraud?"
Tian Wenmo stood there in a daze.
Second Sister didn't let him off either.
His mother's words of scolding from back then echoed in his mind:
"If the one going to school wasn't you, but Eldest Girl, or your Eldest Brother or Third Brother, they could have learned these things just as well, maybe even better and faster than you."
Could Mother be telling the truth?
He wasn't the smartest one in the family; it was only because Mother let him study that he could become a scholar.
And whoever Mother gave this opportunity to could surpass him?
No... that can't be.
Tian Wenmo was unwilling to believe this fact and forced himself to save face, saying,
"Heh, what I taught you today are just the simplest characters; it's not surprising you can write them from memory in one go."
"Today, let's stop here for today."
"Tomorrow... tomorrow I'll teach you how to write your own names."
'One, Two, Three, Four' were simple, but 'Zhuang, Fu, Gui, and Jin' were certainly not.
He didn't believe his brothers and sisters were truly gifted enough to learn everything instantly.
Qin Sang didn't know why Little Five looked like he was fleeing in panic. She also went over to look at their handwriting and praised them all generously.
"Er Fu is right. You all must study hard from now on so that the tuition money Mother paid won't go to waste."
"Da Zhuang, San Gui, you two must supervise your wives in learning to read and write. Let's strive so that no one in our family is illiterate."
They all nodded like chickens pecking at rice. Seeing them so eager to learn, Qin Sang felt she probably wouldn't have the troubles of modern-day parents tutoring their children with homework.
Washing up and going to bed, blowing out the oil lamp, the small courtyard gradually grew quiet along with the sound of storytelling.
Qin Sang didn't sleep well that night, constantly worrying that The Shan Shui Brothers would retaliate against her family. Setting a fire was the simplest and most effective way, and not easily detected.
She could only blame this thatched cottage for being too flammable; once again, she longed for a house of blue bricks and big tiles.
Fortunately, Da Huang was on guard, which gave her some peace of mind. However, she wouldn't truly be at ease until those two brothers were driven far away from the village.
Early the next morning, after feeding the livestock, Qin Sang carried her water buckets to gather information. The Village Chief was already supervising the water distribution by the Public Well.
Not much water was coming from the well; even when scooped clean, there was only one vat's worth. The Village Chief was worried, and the villagers were also discussing how the river had already stopped flowing, and this well might dry up tomorrow too.
Qin Sang wanted to help, but she couldn't exactly sneak to the well in the middle of the night to fill it with water. Fortunately, there was still water to drink, so she wasn't in a hurry.
Waiting in line, after a while, Tian Yuanshan and Tian Jinshui also arrived carrying wooden buckets. Before they could get close, they were stopped.
"You two are no longer part of our village. This well water is only for the people of Tianjia Village. You aren't allowed to take any."
The Shan Shui Brothers looked fierce and pushed the person aside.
"The Village Chief said we only have to move away after we've harvested the crops in our fields."
"Our fields haven't been harvested yet, so we're still people of Tianjia Village."
How could the villagers agree? Sharing water with more people meant they would have less to drink. With water so scarce now, it was distributed based on the number of people in each household. These two brothers had many family members; if they got a share, how many cups would each family get?
"Village Chief, they're playing foul."
"Are they going to stay in our village as long as they don't harvest the crops?"
"Then what's the difference between this punishment and no punishment at all?"
The villagers asked the Village Chief for justice, and the Village Chief was also in a difficult position. He hadn't expected these two brothers to be so shameless.
For anyone else, being removed from the genealogy and driven out of the village would be a world-ending punishment, but to these two brothers, it was as insignificant as a light drizzle.
To take back his words from yesterday now would be a huge blow to his authority as Village Chief.
The Shan Shui Brothers, seeing the Village Chief about to speak, hurriedly said,
"Eldest Uncle, you've already removed us from the genealogy. Isn't that harsh enough?"
"You are my own Eldest Uncle."
The Village Chief was caught in a dilemma.
"Their fields will only take a few days, maybe..."
The villagers refused to agree.
"Village Chief, you can't be soft-hearted anymore. Do they look like they're going to harvest the crops?"
"Who isn't taking advantage of the cool weather to hurry and work in the fields? What about them?"
"Village Chief, the more you give in, the more they'll stay in the village and refuse to leave. If you ask me, we shouldn't give them anything. Make them harvest the crops quickly and get the hell out."
Tian Jinshui said like a ruffian,
"What? Don't like the look of me? Want me to get lost? I won't."
Tian Yuanshan snorted coldly.
"The more you want us brothers to leave the village, the more we won't go. As long as the fields aren't harvested, we won't leave."
Qin Sang pursed her lips; so these two brothers were planning this all along.
The villagers were infuriated by the brothers' shamelessness.
"Damn it! You two brothers won't harvest, right? Fine! Everyone, let's go. We'll harvest their fields for them and make them get lost."
This outrageous suggestion actually received a positive response from many people. Qin Sang thought to herself that these two brothers usually acted like scoundrels, and now they had sparked public outrage.
However, she was happy to watch the excitement and followed the crowd to the fields to see the aftermath. The Shan Shui Brothers grew anxious.
They just wanted to stay for a while, hoping they might find a way to stay permanently, but they hadn't expected the villagers to hate them so much that they would even help harvest the grain just to drive them away.
"Stop! Stop right there!"
"Those are my family's fields! Stealing grain is against the law!"
The two brothers ran to stop them but were pushed aside.
"Who's trying to steal your grain? We're being kind and helping your family with the work."
"Tian Yuanshan, don't worry. We promise not to take even half a grain from your family."
"The sooner we finish harvesting for your family, the sooner you can get lost. Not leaving? We can even spend some time and effort helping you move."
Qin Sang quietly gave a thumbs-up. That's how it should be done.
The two brothers grew desperate.
"Everyone, please don't. We're all fellow villagers. Can't you give us a break? We'll only stay for two more days and will definitely leave once we find a place to settle."
Not a single person in the village believed the brothers' words.
"Where was that energy you had when you were demanding water just now?"
"Now you know we're fellow villagers?"
"You used to steal other people's chickens and even scattered a handful of feathers in my yard."
"You caused my husband to get into a fight with another family and stay in bed for over ten days. A scourge like you should have been gone long ago."
"That's right. That year, I had just caught a big fish by the river when your brother 'slipped' and knocked me down."
"The fish got away, my clothes got wet, and I almost drowned. Not only did Tian Jinshui not apologize, but he even insisted it was my fault he fell."
"They even peeked at Widow Xia bathing. When I caught them climbing the wall, they insisted I was the one peeking and that they had caught me. Widow Xia's life is already so miserable, yet you still bullied her. You aren't even human."
The villagers recounted the past misdeeds of The Shan Shui Brothers one by one, each filled with righteous indignation. Qin Sang also had memories of these messy affairs, and now seeing them all brought out at once, she thoroughly enjoyed the gossip.
The distance from the village to the edge of the fields wasn't far, taking about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea. Along the way, The Shan Shui Brothers stumbled two or three times, but they couldn't stop the villagers' pace to harvest the grain.
The sun rose, and the heat began to shimmer as the villagers started entering the fields one by one.
Tian Yuanshan and Tian Jinshui wailed and cried. Seeing they really couldn't stop them, they plopped down and knelt, bowing repeatedly to the villagers.
"We won't take any water! Stop it!"
"Yes, we don't want the water anymore. Please, give us a way out!"