Chapter 44 "Top of the List" Bookstore
The "Jinbangtiming" bookstore is easy to find. You don't have to look for the sign, but for the salesperson.
Uncle Sun immediately spotted Zheng Tongsheng's son and shouted excitedly, "Brother Zheng, long time no see."
Zheng Dalang, who was dozing off, was startled by the scream. He stood up suddenly, looked in the direction of the sound, patted his chest, breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Sun Shuwen, why are you shouting so loudly? Are you trying to scare me to death?"
I looked inside the store and it was not yet noon, so luckily there were no students inside.
Sun Shan followed Uncle Sun into the bookstore, which was two stories high.
The first layer is filled with books and school supplies needed for reading.
The second floor is said to be a small library for students to read books, but there is a fee. There are charges based on the number of visits, monthly charges, and annual charges. You can choose whichever you like.
Uncle Sun said with a grin, "Here, I bring you some business. My son and nephew are about to go to school. Your father introduced them here, so you have to give them a discount."
Because of Zheng, and the fact that Uncle Sun could talk to people as young as 80 years old and as old as 3 years old, he was naturally familiar with Zheng Dalang.
Sun Bomin walked into the bookstore cautiously, carefully avoiding the old books placed at the door, and smiled at Zheng Dalang.
De Ge'er was lively and when he saw Zheng Dalang, he called out in a crisp voice, "Uncle, where is Brother Hongwen? I didn't see him at the teacher's."
In fact, I was just making small talk. I had known for a long time that Zheng Hongwen had already gone to school.
Sun Shan followed behind and shyly called him uncle.
Zheng Dalang is Dege'er's cousin, so just call him that.
It’s okay to be polite when there are many people.
Zheng Dalang was also hospitable. As the owner of a bookstore, he had seen all kinds of people. Anyone who came to his door was considered a guest, no matter whether they were rich or poor.
What's more, I met an old acquaintance.
He smiled and touched De Ge'er's big head and Sun Shan's small head: "Your brother Hongwen has already gone to school."
Then he turned to Sun Bomin and Sun Sanshu and said, "Are they the two going to school?"
Sun Bomin answered honestly, "Yes, I went to your father's place to register yesterday, and came out today to buy some study supplies. School will start tomorrow."
Uncle Zheng also echoed: "Your father started school earlier this year, so we were in a hurry to buy things."
Zheng Dalang rolled his eyes at Uncle Sun, waved his hand and said, "How can it be early? It's always around this time in previous years. Come, show me the purchase list. Don't worry, you are half a son of Zhengjia Village after all, so I will definitely give you a discount if I can."
Uncle Sun said confidently: "Brother Dalang, we are very confident in your work."
There is no point in worrying, there are only two bookstores in Huangyang County, one is called "Jinbangtiming" and the other is your mortal enemy "Changongzhegui".
If I buy it across the street and you find out, I will never dare to go to Zhengjia Village again.
The pressure from public opinion is huge. If people knew that even my acquaintances didn't help me, I would probably be beaten up by the people in Zhengjia Village.
Sun Shan saw Zheng Dalang preparing items according to the list.
I carefully observed the situation in the bookstore. There were rows and rows of books placed there, but I didn't dare to go up and take them. After all, doing so would be uncultured and I couldn't bring shame to the Sun family.
De Ge'er was similar, he just watched Zheng Dalang matching things quietly, the bookstore was so quiet and solemn.
In particular, there is a portrait of Confucius hanging on the counter of the bookstore, looking at you straightly, which is more serious than the one hanging in Zheng Fuzi’s school.
De Geer was a little scared.
After waiting for a while, Zheng Dalang brought two identical sets of school supplies.
I introduced them to Sun Boming and Uncle Sun one by one. There were no customers in the bookstore and they were just sitting there anyway.
And you must explain it carefully so that your acquaintances don't think you are taking advantage of them.
Zheng Dalang said, "There are four books on the list that need to be purchased. You already have the Three Character Classic, so you don't need to buy it. These are the Hundred Family Names, Thousand Character Classic, and Augmented Collection of Wise Sayings. My father wants you to learn these four books thoroughly this year. Once you have mastered them, you can continue to buy them. You don't need to buy them now."
Sun Bomin has no experience, so he follows whatever Zheng Dalang says. Sun Sanshu has experience, so he still follows whatever Zheng Dalang says.
Anyway, the procedure is the same for all three sons.
Zheng Dalang added: "There are handwritten copies and printed copies. I'll give you the handwritten copy, which is cheaper. Don't worry, we have proofread the handwritten copy repeatedly, so there will be no mistakes. The handwriting is clear and will not affect your reading at all."
Sun Shan couldn't help but ask curiously, "Uncle, how much is the handwritten copy? How much is the printed copy?"
Zheng Dalang glanced at the curious baby Sun Shan, nodded and said, "The handwritten copy is 500 wen, and the printed copy is 1 liang."
When this was said, Sun Bomin was surprised and said, "It's so expensive!"
If you want to buy three books here, even if they are handwritten, they will cost 3 tael, 1 wen. An ordinary farmer in Sunjia Village can only save about 500 taels a year after working very hard.
Zheng Dalang was familiar with such surprises and had long been accustomed to them. He smiled professionally and said, "Studying is very expensive. You can ask Shuwen."
Uncle Sun said with an expression that said, "Big brother, don't make a fuss, this is just the beginning," "Big brother, now you finally understand how hard it is for me. There are three money-eating beasts in my family, and it's a bottomless pit. I'm in a lot of trouble. If I told you, none of you would believe it. Now you finally get a taste of what it's like."
The corner of Zheng Dalang's mouth twitched when he saw Sun Shuwen's weird and sarcastic look.
Shaking his head, he said, "Bomin, don't listen to your third brother. It's not that exaggerated. Just being literate and not taking the imperial examination won't cost that much. Your family can definitely afford it."
I thought to myself that if you were just an old farmer, you definitely wouldn't be able to afford it.
But the Sun family is lucky because they have an aunt who lives in the provincial capital.
When Zheng returned to Zhengjia Village to visit her relatives, the clothes her family wore were made of cotton and thick. In the county town, they were definitely considered good clothes, and even her wife envied them.
The fact that she can own clothes made of such fine material proves that Aunt Sun cares about her mother's family and is willing to spend money.
Studying is not a difficult thing for the Sun family.
Sun Boming didn't know what Zheng Dalang was thinking, and even if he knew, he would just laugh it off. His eldest sister did support the children in their studies, but he couldn't rely on her for everything.
The cost of going to school is more than I thought. I have to work harder to find a job in the county town.
Zheng Dalang also introduced some school supplies, such as brushes, paper, etc. As for the legendary inkstone, Zheng Dalang recommended the cheapest one, and it didn’t need to be too good at the beginning.
All in all, it would cost more than 1 tael.
In other words, today I spent 2 to 3 taels of silver just to buy study materials, plus the registration fee of 1 tael of silver.
Just to start school you need to prepare some money.
No wonder apart from the village chief's family, only Sun Boming's family has children going to school in Sunjia Village.
Sun Bomin paid the money, took the book solemnly, and wrapped it carefully with a piece of cloth.
I chatted with Zheng Dalang for a while, and then it was noon. Students were leaving school and customers came to the store.
Sun Boming and Uncle Sun hurriedly said goodbye as they couldn't hinder others from doing business.