Chapter 125: How Can You Be a General Without Education
Wen Yao nearly burst into laughter—the Xie family actually had the audacity to call Qiu Rongrong worldly?
Wen Yao smiled faintly and turned to look at her. Suddenly, she said, “Sister, have you ever heard the phrase ‘eating soft rice like it’s hard’?”
Qiu Rongrong was stunned. “What does that mean?”
Wen Yao grinned mysteriously. “It’s exactly what it sounds like. Weren’t you going to show me around the estate? Let’s go.” With that, she took Qiu Rongrong’s arm and strolled out with her.
Along the way, Qiu Rongrong seemed a bit absent-minded. Wen Yao noticed her reaction but said nothing. She happily finished touring the estate, then asked Qiao Yan to take her home.
Back home, Wen Yao tossed the contract into Wen Xiuyi’s hands.
“It’s done.”
Wen Xiuyi flipped through the document and happily patted his daughter on the shoulder. “Not bad, Chef Wen. Looks like our whole family will be relying on you from now on.”
Wen Yao waved it off with a mock swagger. “Pfft, no big deal. From now on, whatever we want, we buy. Chef Wen picks up the bill.”
Wen Xiuyi was so amused he chuckled and poked her forehead. “Look at you showing off. Put that contract away properly.”
Wen Yao stored the contract into her space and immediately started brainstorming dishes. Due to the limited ingredients currently available, she could only work with what they had. If she really wanted to break the mold, she’d have to grow some of the ingredients from the space.
Halfway through writing the menu, Wen Yao suddenly thought of something. She dove into the space and brought out a large bag, which she shoved into Wen Xiuyi’s hands.
“Dad, don’t forget these. We need to grow them too.”
Wen Xiuyi opened the bag to find it full of peanuts.
Immediately, his mind filled with images of boiled peanuts, spicy peanuts, tiger-skin peanuts, five-spice peanuts, and braised peanuts.
He swallowed a mouthful of drool and leaned over. “Sweetheart, let Dad have a handful to pair with some wine?”
Without even looking up, Wen Yao handed him a bag of spicy peanuts.
“Just this bag. Eat in secret. Don’t let Grandpa and the others see you, or it’ll be hard to explain.”
Wen Xiuyi happily took it and promised not to get caught. Then he snuck off with the peanuts, planning to find a place to stash them and later figure out where to plant some.
That evening, Wen Jun returned. The whole family sat down to eat together, and during dinner, Old Madam Luo made an important announcement.
“Your grandfather and I have talked it over. Aside from Xiao Jun and Wen Nong, the rest of you kids are all going to school. This will still require help from Da Tou’s godfather. Eldest, find a time to bring a gift and speak with Manager Qiu, ask him to help figure out which academy suits the children best and how the tuition is charged.”
As soon as she finished speaking, everyone at the table had different expressions.
Wen Jun wasn’t surprised—he’d expected it.
Da Tou looked calm—he’d long anticipated it.
Wen Nong looked thrilled, practically clapping with joy.
Wen Jin was excited, trying his best to hide it.
Only Wen Fa…
“Nana, I’m not going. I want to join the army. I want to be a great—”
Smack! Wen Fa took a chopstick to the head. Lady Li hadn’t even put her utensils down before she started scolding: “Be a general? With your useless self? Look at the real generals—do any of them look like you? Can you carry anything? Can you even lift? You know martial arts? You think becoming a general is that easy?
This is a golden opportunity and you don’t even cherish it. Are you trying to piss off me and your father?”
Old Madam Luo also frowned in disapproval at Wen Fa. The family had finally made the tough decision to send the kids to school, and this brat didn’t even appreciate it.
Seeing the once-happy atmosphere turn awkward, Wen Xiuyi set down his chopsticks to smooth things over.
“Fa, wanting to serve your country, to be a general—that’s a good thing. A person should have goals and dreams to strive for. Your uncle supports you,” Wen Xiuyi said gently.
The unexpected support made Wen Fa forget his grievance. His face lit up with excitement.
Lady Li and Old Madam Luo looked at Wen Xiuyi in disbelief, both surprised he would say something like that.
Wen Xiuyi gave them a calming glance before continuing, “But do you think defending the nation, charging into battle, is so simple? Let me ask you—if you can’t read, how can you be a general? Say you earn some merit and are promoted, what if an imperial edict or official document comes your way and you can’t read a single word—how are you going to lead?
And being a general is no joke. Have you heard of the Thirty-Six Stratagems? The Art of War by Sun Tzu? Any of the classic military texts? You haven’t read a single one. If someone told you to lead troops, you wouldn’t even know which direction the enemy was in.”
Wen Fa froze. “I…” He didn’t know—he’d never even heard of those things.
Wen Xiuyi sat up straight and looked him in the eye, not missing the frustration on the boy’s face. “So, do you still think studying is useless?”
“I…” Wen Fa couldn’t think of a single comeback.
Lady Li and Old Madam Luo both breathed a sigh of relief. They had thought Wen Xiuyi had changed his mind, but it turned out he was just setting Wen Fa straight.
Old Madam Luo motioned for Lady Li not to speak and then added, “Your uncle is right. Even if you want to be a general, you have to study first. Even if you don’t like it, after a few years you’ll at least be able to understand what you’re reading and hearing. By then you’ll be older and more capable of making your own decisions. It won’t be too late to choose your path then.”
Just the thought of those boring texts gave Wen Fa a headache, but what his uncle said made so much sense. His face scrunched up like a wrinkled melon.
“Come on, let’s go together. At least we’ll have company,” Wen Jin said softly to him.
Wen Fa looked at him and, in the end, didn’t say anything else.
Wen Xiuyi acted quickly. The very next day after the family meeting, he went to find Manager Qiu. Before he left, Old Madam Luo pulled him aside and asked him to quietly inquire whether the academy accepted girls. She hadn’t mentioned it at dinner because if the girls couldn’t go, she didn’t want them feeling disappointed.
Wen Xiuyi was moved by his mother’s thoughtfulness. As soon as he met with Manager Qiu, he brought it up.
“There’s no need to ask,” Manager Qiu replied. “The headmaster of Qingfeng Academy and I were once classmates. If your family’s kids want to attend, I’ll speak to him. But… when it comes to girls, that might be a bit tricky.”
After saying this, seeing the worry in Wen Xiuyi’s furrowed brows, he explained further, “There’s an old saying—‘a woman’s virtue lies in lack of talent.’ So under normal circumstances, academies don’t accept female students. Also, boys and girls aren’t supposed to share a classroom past the age of seven, so it would be considered inappropriate. Families with better means usually just hire a private tutor to teach their daughters at home.”
Wen Xiuyi had already considered this issue before coming, so he wasn’t too bothered. Wen Yao didn’t need to be taught—her education level was already high. As for the other two girls, Wen Yao could teach them herself, and that might even be better than having a random instructor from a local academy.
With that thought, Wen Xiuyi was reassured.
“Alright then. I’ll leave the boys to you, Manager Qiu. As for the girls, I’ll teach them myself at home.”
