Chapter 89: Li Yi’s Arrangements

Zhu Yanyi and her mother and grandmother walked out, ignoring Gan Juhua’s thoughts.

Zhu Shun Yao looked slightly surprised. “Didn’t you say you were cooking?”

Xie Xinlian smiled faintly. “Mother said I was clumsy and didn’t want me to waste food, so she sent me out. She is cooking now.”

Zhu Shun Yao knew something was happening inside, but he wouldn’t pry. He loved his wife. Since Xie Xinlian joined the family, she had never sat at the main table for a proper meal. “That’s good. You sit with me later.”

Because there were other guests, they didn’t separate women and children from elders and men. Instead, families sat together.

“Okay,” Xie Xinlian nodded with a smile. “It’s almost ready. We can eat soon.” She had no intention of going back to the kitchen.

Zhu Shun Yao helped Xie Xinlian sit down. Three tables were set. Zhu Shun Yao’s family took half of one table, and Zhu Jinhui’s family of four took the other half. Eight people sat at that table.

“A’ni, will you come to my house on the tenth?” Yao Yayun asked, gnawing on a rib.

Zhu Yanyi held a chicken wing. “I can’t go on the tenth. Grandpa wants me to study at his place. If Grandpa’s house wasn’t hosting guests today, I would be studying with him.”

“What are you studying?” Yao Jinsheng asked curiously.

“The Thousand Character Classic,” Zhu Yanyi said. She knew she shouldn’t say she was reading Zizhi Tongjian. Even though it wasn’t ancient times, a six-year-old studying such a book would seem strange. So, she only mentioned the Thousand Character Classic.

“That’s a lot. It seems A’ni will become a talented woman in the future,” Yao Jinsheng teased lightly.

Zhu Yanyi giggled. “I don’t want to be a talented woman. I just want to learn more.”

“A’ni knows the importance of knowledge at such a young age. You two siblings should learn more too,” Yao Jinsheng scolded his children.

Zhang Qiaolian spoke up directly. “Why do girls need to learn so much? It can’t be eaten as rice.”

“But I heard Second Aunt graduated from high school. Why did you learn so much? You were a girl too, weren’t you?” Zhu Yanli asked.

Eleven-year-old Zhu Yanli usually seemed quiet and honest. Who would expect her to speak up so sharply? Her words were hard to refute. Zhang Qiaolian hadn’t thought about herself. As Zhu Yanli pointed out, she had graduated from high school. If she hadn’t failed the college entrance exam, her family might have supported her through university. Even just a high school diploma was highly respected back then, and some jobs prioritized such graduates. However, Zhang Qiaolian was lazy, so she stayed at home instead of working.

“Girls’ schooling depends on family conditions. I went to school because my family had money. Does your family?” Zhang Qiaolian replied. Some people had good education but poor intelligence.

“Second Aunt, I doubt how you graduated from high school,” Zhu Yanyi said.