Ye Qiu said there was a way to make money and he wasn’t just deceiving Daya. Although this dynasty was already quite developed, with even tofu having appeared, there were still other ways to make money. Because the taxes were light, every household had so extra cash and were all willing to spend money for so fun.
Ye Qiu planned to write storybooks to earn money. Although most scholars looked down on this profession, there were no rules forbidding it. Having lived through so many dynasties, nobody had as many stories in their mind as he did, and he could even use so of his own past experiences.
After dinner, Daya hustled Ye Qiu out of the kitchen, took care of washing dishes, cleaning pots, and sweeping the floor by herself. That was not all; seeing that Ye Qiu had finished tidying the yard and feeding the chickens, she went to the back mountain to gather firewood, and fearing that Erya and Little Ya might disturb Ye Qiu at ho, she took them along. Ye Qiu was thankful that the family had the foresight to dig a well when they had money, otherwise the girl would also need to fetch water.
With nobody at ho, Ye Qiu first poured so Space Spirit Spring Water into the well. The three young girls were severely malnourished and, to prevent any lasting consequences, he had to use the Spiritual Spring Water to improve their health. Then, he also gave a bit of it to the chickens and pigs; for the family’s livelihood, they needed to lay more eggs and grow more at. He muttered to the chickens and pigs to himself.
After doing all this, Ye Qiu sat at his desk, arranged his paper and brush, and started writing his first storybook. For his first story, he decided to write about the classic legend of Liang and Zhu from another world – so stories have been passed down through the ages for good reason.
The story of Liang and Zhu is beloved by people because it breaks the cultural constraints of the tis. Since ancient tis, marriage was determined by parental decree and the matchmaker’s word. First, Zhu Yingtai, as a woman, not only disguised herself as a man to enter the academy but also excelled in her studies, sothing unimaginable to people of ancient tis. Second, she and Liang Shanbo broke free from the restraints of love, resonating with the psychology of many won. Third, the mythological elents of the story, as both transform into butterflies, are tragic yet stunning.
Ye Qiu felt no pressure in writing this story, only making minor changes and then smoothing it out according to the style of this dynasty. In half a day’s work, this tragic tale turned into a stack of papers before Ye Qiu.
If this didn’t work, he would only have to cheat using the space, as this was the last bit of paper in the house.
Not long after he finished writing, Daya ca back with Erya and Little Ya, bringing back so wild vegetables and fruits in addition to firewood.
It was early autumn, and there were many fine things in the mountains, but the outer parts had already been foraged to a great extent. While there were good things in the deeper parts of the mountains, nobody dared to go there. Ye Li had died from a wild boar attack because she went deep into the mountains, so what Daya and the others brought back were only so wild fruits that didn’t taste very good and so wild vegetables.
"Co here and take a look," Ye Qiu beckoned them over.
"What is it?" Daya and the others felt sowhat uneasy entering Ye Qiu’s room. Previously, they were admonished by Ye Li not to enter this room. Because it contained ink, brush, paper, and inkstone, Ye Li was afraid they would damage them, and she always cleaned it herself. How could Daya and the others not be nervous?
"Big brother has chosen nas for you, see if you like them?" Ye Qiu showed them the characters he had written.
"Nas?" Daya’s eyes brightened, but she beca even more nervous, looking at the three nas on the paper with excitent and agitation. Were they going to have nas now?
Nowadays, girls are not valued, especially in families that extrely favor boys over girls, being fed a full al is already good enough. Except for families who are thoughtful, girls usually only get their nas when they get married, and the nas are often given carelessly, mostly after flowers or grasses, such as Jucao, Lianhua, and Cuihua in their village.
Before marriage, they are mostly called by terms like ’ya’ for girl, ’jie’ for elder sister, and ’i’ for younger sister. For example, if you called out ’Daya’ in their village, three or four girls might answer. That’s why Ye Qiu thought about giving them all a na.
"Big brother has nad you Xiuya; ’Xiu’ signifies intelligence, cleverness or handsoness, and ’Ya’ represents nobility and decency. Big brother hopes our Daya will be smart, skillful, and noble." Ye Qiu pointed to the characters ’Ye Xiuya’ and seriously explained their anings to Daya.
Seeing this, Daya was extrely excited, her hands shaking as she held the paper, her eyes reddening: "Big brother, are these two characters too good? Am I worthy of them?"
"Of course, you’re worthy." Ye Qiu affird decisively, "My sisters are the world’s greatest won in big brother’s heart."
Then, he took out another piece of paper and said to Erya: "Erya, this is the na big brother has chosen for you. The first character is ’Xiu’, the sa as your elder sister, and the second character I’ve chosen for you is ’Tong’. The character ’Tong’ has ’Dan’ next to it, which stands for red. Therefore, ’Tong’ often describes passion and being full of hope. Big brother hopes that Erya will be clever, skilled, open, and straightforward in the future. Do you like it?"
Erya took the paper with her na written on it and stared at it unblinkingly, as if engraving it into her heart. After a mont, she looked up at Ye Qiu and smiled gently: "Thank you, big brother, Erya really likes it."
Ye Qiu gently touched her head and smiled, then turned to the puzzled Little Ya, saying: "Big brother has nad you Xiuying; the character ’Ying’ has ’He’, which refers to grain, inside it. We hope our Little Ya will never have to worry about food and drink in her life. The character ’Ying’ also ans cleverness. With the na Xiuying, when you grow up bright and smart, you’ll be quite the clever gal."
Little Ya was malnourished before and was a bit slow in developnt. She did not quite understand the significance of naming, but seeing her big brother, elder sister, and second sister all smiling, she also smiled. Though her face was pale, her big bright eyes were particularly adorable.
"Indeed, a clever little thing!" Daya playfully touched Little Ya’s nose and solemnly placed the paper with Little Ya’s na into her wallet, which she carried with her all the ti. Fearing that Little Ya might lose it, she decided to simply replace it with a new wallet, looking as though she intended to cherish these three pieces of paper with their nas for a long ti.
"Daya, you go cook; I’ll go to the village chief’s place to change your nas," Ye Qiu said.
Daya and Erya nodded in agreent. The dinner that day was made with extra enthusiasm.
Girls cannot have their nas written into the family genealogy, but the village chief keeps a record of the household registrations, which need to be handed over yearly to the County Magistrate. Normally, when recording a family, the head of the family is written first followed by his wife Ye Li, his children Ye, and so on. When it ca to writing Daya’s nas, it was simply Daya, Erya, and Little Ya. Ye Qiu’s trip to the village chief was to change their nas; although it might not an much to others, it was very important for them.
The village chief lived at the beginning of the village; he was a Ye Family mber and also a big household in the village. He had a son who was a Governnt Official in the county, which gave him significant prestige. In the previous life, it was he who had referred Daya to work as a maid in a wealthy household and not only collected a commission but also embezzled most of her servitude paynt. However, Ye Qiu could not afford to break ties with him, and still needed to maintain a good relationship.
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