The large banyan tree in the center of the village was thick and tall, and the wind brought waves of coolness, with children gathered under its shade to play.
Shan Wazi, squatting on the ground and playing with stones, looked up at the red marks left by the bamboo mat on Zhan Feiyu's face and burst into laughter, "Little Yu, you slept until the sun was high in the sky."
Zhan Feiyu stuffed the last bite of steamed bun into her mouth, her fair and tender cheeks bulging, making her look both cute and delicate with her big, dark, round eyes.
Wu Cuicui eyed Zhan Feiyu askance, raising her slender eyebrows in disgust, and mocked in a sharp, high-pitched voice, "You're really lazy, you can't find anyone like you in ten miles around."
A seven-year-old girl, not big but not small, could help the family feed chickens, pull out weeds in the vegetable patch, and more diligently sweep the floor, pick vegetables, and look after younger siblings. She could even cook and stir-fry dishes standing on a small stool.
"Wu Cuicui, what are you saying?" Shan Wazi suddenly stood up, his dark and sturdy little body blocking Zhan Feiyu, and retorted indignantly, "Did Little Yu drink your water? Or eat your rice?"
Er Niu glared even more fiercely, wild and rough like a calf, and cursed back ferociously, "Wu Cuicui, you're like a dog chasing a mouse, meddling in other people's business! You're jealous that Little Yu is prettier and smarter than you!"
"You're all blind!" a sharp scolding voice rang out. Wu Cuicui's eyes turned red with anger, hands on her hips, one finger pointing at Zhan Feiyu, she yelled, "She's lazy and fat, where is she pretty?"
Compared to Zhan Feiyu, who was short and had baby fat, Wu Cuicui, though also seven years old, was tall and slender, with a delicate and beautiful face. Her black hair was braided into pigtails, tied with a big red hair tie, and she had a half-bloomed magnolia flower pinned to it.
"Wu Cuicui, ugly monster!"
"Wu Cuicui, scold-happy!"
"Haha, the scold-happy one is crying..."
Er Niu and Shan Wazi, mischievous and naughty, let out victorious laughter. A group of boisterous children lacked aesthetic sense; in their eyes, Zhan Feiyu was one of them, and no one could bully her.
Protected by her friends, Zhan Feiyu smiled and clearly stated her purpose, "Er Niu, I'm here to tell you that I won't be playing for the next ten days. My eldest cousin is going to teach me, Erlang, and Sanlang to read."
"Little Yu, why are you going to study?" Er Niu's head was as big as a ball of hemp. Compared to reading and writing, he'd rather follow his father to work in the fields.
Shan Wazi also asked, "Little Yu, Little Yu, my mother said she'll send me to a private school in September. We'll go together then."
Zhan Feiyu didn't hide anything and quickly and concisely explained the competition, ensuring that Shan Wazi and the others could accurately recount the events when they returned.
Shan Wazi's eyes lit up, and he patted his chest, making a confident prediction, "Little Yu, you'll definitely win!"
The group of friends nodded their heads like pecking chicks. Little Yu was the smartest child in the village; if she claimed second, no one would dare claim first!
Wu Cuicui glared enviously at Zhan Feiyu, who was surrounded by her friends, her eyes turning red with anger.
The Wu family only had three daughters, and Wu Cuicui was the youngest. She was doted on by her family, and coupled with her beautiful face, her father Wu had sent Wu Cuicui to a private school last year.
Father Wu was a butcher with a meat stall in the county. Having studied for a few years, he was considered knowledgeable and planned to have Wu Cuicui learn to read and write, so she could find a good husband in the county later.
Which family with shops in the county didn't have wives who could read and write, not only doing business but also keeping accounts? Yet, Wu Cuicui returned crying after only a month, refusing to go to the private school no matter what.
"I'm going back to study. When I win, I'll buy lotus root candy for you all, three pieces each," Zhan Feiyu waved goodbye to her friends and headed home.
Taking small steps, looking at the bumpy dirt road under her feet, Zhan Feiyu let out a long sigh. An adult-like seriousness and gravity appeared on her fair and chubby little face. It wasn't her being petty, but she had to guard against it.
Letting her participate in the competition was just her second uncle's scheme to silence her parents and make the eldest branch willingly support the second branch's studies. If she won in the end, her second uncle would definitely not give up, and the family would only send Erlang or Sanlang to the private school.
Therefore, Zhan Feiyu had to make the competition a widely discussed event. Then, considering the Zhan family's reputation, the Zhan family would have to grudgingly accept it.
Whether it was Zhan Feiyu's "idol" effect or the children's craving for lotus root candy, by evening, every household knew about the competition between the three children of the old Zhan family.
Under the large banyan tree, aunts and young wives cooling themselves fanned away mosquitoes with their palm fans, chattering about the matter.
"Second Sister-in-law, reading and writing are matters for boys. Are you really planning to send Little Yu to a private school in your old Zhan family?"
Xiao Yao Shi concealed the shrewdness in her eyes, raised her eyebrows, and smiled kindly, "It's all due to poverty. My second husband said that girls in the county are all pampered and can read and write. Eldest Brother and Sister-in-law only have Little Yu as their child, and Mother and Father also say they need to treat everyone equally."
"Second Brother Zhan pulls carts and delivers goods in the county, his perspective is indeed different." The young wife flattered with a few words, her face full of fawning smiles, "Erlang is smart, and this younger brother Sanlang must not be bad either."
"Sanlang can't compare to his brother; he only knows how to eat all day," Xiao Yao Shi shook her head humbly, but a hint of smugness showed in her eyes.
Her husband was much smarter than men who only knew how to dig in the fields. Especially after becoming sworn brothers with Captain Ma, villagers came to their man for advice on anything that happened.
Originally, the Zhan family's competition was only talked about by children like Er Niu, but last night Xiao Yao Shi, who was cooling herself, also admitted it. The men of the village naturally knew about it too, but they didn't take it seriously. After all, this competition was only between Zhan family's Erlang and Sanlang, and Zhan Feiyu was just a placeholder.
Shangsi County, Inn.
"Seventh Master." A black figure appeared silently in the guest room and reported in a low voice to Yin Wuyan, who was sitting by the window, "That little girl is the daughter of the Zhan family's eldest branch in Jinlin Village, she is seven years old this year..."
Yin Wuyan's dim gaze fell on the book scroll in his hand. In the dim candlelight, his pale face was illuminated to be exceptionally cold.
The young man couldn't help but laugh when he thought of the investigation, "I thought that fat girl was only five years old, but I didn't expect she's already seven. She only grows fat, not tall."
Farm children, not having enough to eat and wear, were generally thin and small and withered. Although Zhan Feiyu was short, she was fat.
The young man thought of her chubby face, paired with a pair of round, dark, big eyes, a three-head-and-short-legs figure. No matter how you looked at it, she didn't look like she was stunted by hunger; it was likely all the fat grew on her face.
"Seventh Master, you don't know how calculating this girl is." The young man smacked his lips and recounted all of Zhan Feiyu's little schemes, saying loudly and laughing, "Now the whole village knows about the Zhan family's competition. This fat girl wants to use public opinion to force the Zhan family to agree to let her study if she wins."
Just as the young man thought his Seventh Master wouldn't pay attention to him, a hoarse voice sneered, "Drawing water with a bamboo basket."
The young man froze, staring dumbfoundedly at the indifferent Yin Wuyan. After Seventh Master's voice changed, he wouldn't speak more than a few words a month. Because of that fat girl, Seventh Master had opened his mouth both last night and tonight.
Could it be that Seventh Master also liked listening to gossip? The young man excitedly moved a few steps closer to the window and said excitedly, "Seventh Master, that fat girl is only seven years old, and it's quite clever for her to think of this method. But how does she know the wickedness of human hearts? Compared to money and profit, reputation, humanity, and kinship are nothing."