It must be said that perhaps because families had so many children, parents of this era simply had no such thing as "educational methods."
If you were obedient, everyone got along harmoniously; if you weren't, you got scolded, and if you really pushed them, you got a beating—beaten half to death.
But surprisingly, the children who grew up in this era were basically no different from the children of later generations. Those meant to become successful adults did so without any hindrance, and those not meant for it remained the same kind of useless hoodlums.
Hearing what Wang An said—mainly that he had failed to win a contest of strength against the eldest son—made Wang Dazhu feel a bit lose face. Fortunately, Wang Dazhu eventually calmed down.
Wang Dazhu turned and roared at Wang Yi
"Speak! What exactly is going on between you and that girl? If you dare tell a single lie, I'll skin you alive."
As he spoke that last sentence, Wang Dazhu's expression became fierce and teeth-gritting once more.
Wang Dazhu's manner, which looked as if he were about to eat someone raw, thoroughly terrified Wang Yi.
The main point was that children of this era didn't have things like "rebellion." Those who dared to clash head-on with their parents or resist them were extremely rare.
Because this era believed that "a filial son is produced under the stick," the moment you dared to rebel, the question was simply: when the stick or whip hit your body, did it hurt? Could you still rebel under the stick or whip?
Therefore, rebellion wasn't incurable; it was a matter of whether the parents wanted to cure it, dared to cure it, and could be heartless enough to do so.
Once Wang Dazhu finished roaring, a trembling Wang Yi explained the whole story.
As it turned out, that female classmate of Wang Yi's was the prettiest in the entire grade—at least, according to Wang Yi.
The girl's father had gone missing during a flood, which actually meant he had died. Because they could no longer make ends meet, her mother took her and her younger brother and "walked the path."
"Walking the path" was a local expression meaning to remarry.
Her stepfather was a widower who also had two children, both boys. The eldest was twenty-three and already married; the second was twenty-one and unmarried.
The problem lay with the stepfather's second son. He was very similar to Niu Dazhuang from Kaoshan Village—both were recognized as "village idiots."
Now that this idiot had reached marriageable age, he couldn't find a wife, because no woman wanted to marry a fool.
Consequently, the stepfather and his eldest son wanted her to marry this idiot!
It must be said that this non-blood-related stepfather and non-blood-related older brother had some truly "wonderful" ideas.
To be honest, when Wang Dazhu and Wang An heard this, they both stood there with their mouths agape and eyes wide, entering a state of infinite bewilderment.
What kind of fucking nonsense was this?
Wang Yi continued without pausing.
The girl's mother, while not wanting her own biological daughter to marry this foolish stepson, was unable to stop the stepfather.
After all, the mother had brought her children into the home and was currently in a position of dependence.
Fortunately, Wang Yi's classmate was quite determined and had used the threat of death to win a sliver of opportunity for herself.
That opportunity was: if she could get into the County First Middle School, she could continue her studies; if she failed, she would return home to farm and marry the idiot.
Unfortunately, though she had won the chance, the township middle school had been completed. Since the school was built, it couldn't be without students, so the County First Middle School reduced the number of enrollment slots for Xing'an Township.
As a result, with her grades, she couldn't get into the County First Middle School.
The most tragic part was that if she couldn't get into that school, her entire life would be completely ruined.
After Wang Yi finished speaking, Wang Dazhu went quiet. He blinked repeatedly and looked at Wang An.
Hearing such a thing would likely trigger feelings of "anger," "pity," and a desire to "right the wrong" in anyone.
Mainly because this situation was just too fucking disgusting—disgusting to the core!
It was simply the pinnacle of disgust!
After a while, Wang Dazhu hesitantly said to Wang An
"Is this... something that can be fixed?"
It was clear that Wang Dazhu wanted to help Wang Yi's classmate, but he hesitated only because he didn't want to put Wang An in a difficult position.
After all, regardless of the era, getting this kind of thing done required using connections and calling in favors.
Wang An nodded, not taking the matter too heavily. For people like Zhang Shuya and Wu Dong, this was merely a matter of a single sentence.
However, what Wang An was thinking about was something else: would the stepfather of Wang Yi's classmate keep his word?
For a person like that, one couldn't say what he was doing was "wrong" in his own mind; as a father, it was entirely normal and understandable for him to do whatever unthinkable thing was necessary for his own son.
It was only because they were looking at it from different perspectives that the matter was unacceptable.
Seeing Wang An nod, both Wang Dazhu and Wang Yi looked very happy.
Wang Yi, in particular, was so happy he nearly jumped.
Wang An looked at Wang Yi with a smile, but asked with a meaningful expression
"Are you and that classmate of yours not dating?"
Wang Yi's face turned bright red. He waved his hands and said
"I'm not dating her! I really am not!"
Seeing that Wang Yi didn't seem to be faking, Wang Dazhu still dropped his smile and glared, saying
"If you dare mess around with that useless stuff before you're done with your studies, I'll kill you."
Since Wang Dazhu played the "bad cop," Wang An naturally played the "good cop."
"Alright, after the exams are over, don't forget to tell me your classmate's name. Don't say it now; I won't remember it if you do."
Wang Yi nodded and softly said, "Thank you, Big Brother," before turning and running back into the house.
After Wang Yi returned to the room, Wang Dazhu and Wang An discussed the classmate's situation while planting the Sanhua and Mazhang seeds in the soil. Finally, they buried the ginseng seeds before heading inside for breakfast.
Just after breakfast, Wang Daliang and his wife, Wang Li, Mu Xueli, and Shen Wei arrived one after another.
It must be said that for farmers, farming is always the most important thing.
Of course, for Wang An, farming was no big deal—mainly because farming was something that could never make one rich.
Ignoring the chatter of Wang Dazhu and the others, Wang An fed the golden eagle chick and then rode off toward the old fortress with Mu Xueli and Wang Li.
Halfway there, Wang An told Mu Xueli and Wang Li out of caution
"You two go on ahead. I'm going to go see what those five Japs are up to now."
(End of Chapter)