met free Chapter 176 Teaching
Chapter 176 Teaching
Chapter 176
Chun Xing said as she swiftly brewed tea for Luo Shuiyao: "Sister Yu Xiu came to see me and said she wanted to see you. I came to look for you before, but you weren't there. I just heard Manager Liu say you were back, so I hurried over to look for you."
"Miss, are you free to go visit Sister Yu Xiu right now?"
Luo Shuiyao reached out to take the tea from Chun Xing and took a sip. The tea was no longer scalding, only slightly warm. However, she was not the kind of spoiled young lady, so she didn't care. After hearing Chun Xing's words, she nodded gently: "Then let's go over and take a look now."
Arriving at Yu Xiu's room, Chun Xing knocked lightly on the door, and soon, Yu Xiu opened the door.
Luo Shuiyao's gaze fell on Yu Xiu, examining her closely, her eyes filled with concern. She was in high spirits, her former lethargy gone. A faint blush graced her face, revealing a vibrant glow. Seeing this, Luo Shuiyao was deeply relieved.
Yu Xiu had recovered considerably in the past few days and was no longer bedridden. She warmly ushered Luo Shuiyao into the room, shuffling gracefully to the table and personally brewing a cup of fragrant tea for her. Then, with a faintly apologetic "I apologize," she turned and walked to the desk, carefully collecting the spread of rice paper.
Luo Shuiyao glanced casually and saw that the rice paper was densely covered with words. However, she didn't want to ask any more questions, so she quickly withdrew her gaze, lowered her eyes slightly, and watched the tea leaves in the cup slowly unfold, like a green fairy dancing in the water.
Yu Xiu gathered the papers on the table and set them aside before sitting down across from Luo Shuiyao. "Those were just some notes I wrote when I was bored these past few days, just to practice calligraphy. Some of them are from my father's teaching notes. After all the ups and downs he went through, I lost the original notes, so I thought I'd copy them down again, maybe they'd come in handy later."
Luo Shuiyao nodded, and without asking any more questions, she changed the subject: "Just now Chun Xing said you had something to talk to me about?"
Yu Xiu sat up straight, her expression becoming serious. "I wasn't seriously injured to begin with, and I've been feeling much better these past few days. It's just that if I'm stuck in this room all the time, my mind will start to wander. Besides practicing calligraphy, there's nothing else to do. Seeing that everyone in this village has work to do, I thought, why don't you find me a job too?"
Hearing what she said, Luo Shuiyao looked at her carefully and confirmed that her condition was indeed much better. But after all, she had just recovered from a serious illness, and many tasks could not be done by her. But if she was idle, what else could she do? Luo Shuiyao thought about it, turned her eyes to the stack of rice paper on the table, and suddenly her eyes lit up. She said, "I heard that you mentioned that your father was a teacher. I wonder how many words you know and whether you can take on the responsibility of teaching?"
Yu Xiu nodded bewilderedly. "My father is a teacher, and I learned to read from him since I was young. I wouldn't call myself an encyclopedic scholar, but I've already mastered the Three Character Classic and the Thousand Character Classic. Miss, what did you mean by whether you're capable of teaching? I'm a little confused."
It wasn't that Yu Xiu's comprehension was poor; even though she understood Luo Shuiyao's meaning, she felt bewildered. After all, there was no precedent for women teaching in this dynasty. While the current dynasty was much more open-minded than the previous, women were still disadvantaged. Many pedantic people believed that women were unlucky, and therefore, women had never been appointed to teaching positions. Even though Yu Xiu understood, she didn't dare to think about it that way.
Luo Shuiyao could tell she understood, though she was a little incredulous. She nodded and said with absolute certainty, "It's exactly what you're thinking."
"Really? Can I teach too?" Yu Xiu sat up, covered her lips with a handkerchief, and asked again with an expression of disbelief on her face.
Luo Shuiyao smiled and nodded, "Of course you can. I just took a look and saw that your handwriting is beautiful. You have been reading poetry and books with your father since you were young, so I think your knowledge must be not bad. Now that you don't want to be idle and want to find some work, then teaching is a very suitable job for you."
Yu Xiu looked embarrassed and said softly, "But I'm a woman."
"So what if you're a woman? Are you any less knowledgeable than those men?"
"How is that possible! My father once said that although I am a girl, my knowledge and understanding are far superior to those of his disciples."
At this point, Yu Xiu paused for a moment, slowly looking out the window, tears glistening in her eyes. "But because I was born a woman, I couldn't take the imperial examinations, couldn't become an official, and even if I had talent, it would be in vain. I'd be trapped in the inner chambers, pinning my hopes for the rest of my life on men."
Picking up a handkerchief and gently wiping away the tears that were streaming down her cheeks, Yu Xiu continued, "Ever since I was little, watching my father teach, I've imagined that I, too, would teach and educate people. But this will never be possible for me. There has never been a precedent for women to be teachers in all dynasties, so how could I possibly do it? Even though I'm filled with resentment, what can I do?"
Hearing her words, Luo Shuiyao felt sad.
Women, born with a disparity in physical strength compared to men, are inherently less robust, and the world has always been one where the strong dominate the weak. Outmatched by their fists, they are forced into submission. Everyone claims women are incapable of this or that, but these are merely shackles imposed by the strong on the weak. Later, to advance production, a great man advocated for gender equality, declaring that women could do what men could do. In just a few decades, women overcame prejudices. Countless women have achieved greatness in every field, from building airplanes and rockets to driving trains and engineering. They never considered women inferior to men. If women of later generations could surpass those men, how could women of past generations be any less so?
She suppressed her turbulent thoughts for a moment, her gaze fixed on the intelligent, innocent, and suffering girl before her, and her voice softened. "You can change. Since you're so dedicated to teaching and educating people, I'll give you this opportunity. Do you want to prove for yourself that you're no less capable than others? Do you want to write a different life for yourself?"
"Yes, I dream about it!" Yu Xiu wiped away her tears and nodded vigorously in response.
Yes, she is no worse than those men, and now that she has such a good opportunity, why not give it a try? "
"Okay, go to bed early today and pack up your belongings. Tomorrow you'll join the malt sugar delivery team. I'll go back to my room and write a letter and send someone to give it to you. When the time comes, you can give the letter to Fang Yueniang, the head of the group. She'll take care of everything for you."
Yu Xiu bowed slightly and said, "Thank you very much, young lady, for your kindness."