OFTLHFRO C66

Chapter 66: Hiring a Tutor

After seeing the visitors off, Luo Mingchen soaked a large amount of soybeans and then went with Huo Yan to check on the shop.

Seeing that Wen Liuyun could handle so many customers perfectly well, Luo Mingchen felt at ease.

The couple went to the back courtyard to find Huo Xinyue, and from the window they could see Chen Xiuyue teaching her to write.

Though the little one of just over two years couldn’t even hold a brush steady, she was very earnest at learning, her tiny expressions hilariously cute.

When the two of them blocked the light, Chen Xiuyue looked up, smiled, and stood to greet them. “Gentlemen.”

At the sound, Huo Xinyue finally raised her head. Seeing her two daddies, she instantly brightened, clutched a brush, and reached out for a hug.

Luo Mingchen laughed. “Hold on a moment.”

He stepped into the room, picked up Huo Xinyue, and said to Chen Xiuyue, “Sorry to trouble you, Auntie.”

“It’s fine. Yueyue is very good.”

Then, remembering something, Chen Xiuyue quickly corrected herself. “I mean, the young lady is very good.”

Earlier, Huo Xinyue had insisted she wasn’t to be called “young lady,” only “Yueyue,” which was why Chen Xiuyue had been using the nickname. But in front of the two “gentlemen,” she felt it improper to address the child that way.

Helpless, Luo Mingchen said, “We’re not any kind of ‘lords.’ Just use our names normally.”

He had said this before, but Chen Xiuyue was rather set in her ways.

On this, Luo Mingchen could only conclude that the class notions here were deeply ingrained.

Seeing that Luo Mingchen disliked such forms of address, Huo Yan said, “If anything, we ought to be the ones addressing you as ‘Madam.’ Liuyun is a licentiate, a degree-holder. We’re merely commoners doing a bit of small business.”

Chen Xiuyue was taken aback. “This…”

“It makes sense,” said Luo Mingchen. “So there’s no need to use ‘lord’ or ‘young lady’ at all.”

Hearing this, Chen Xiuyue realized they weren’t joking and smiled in agreement. “Alright.”

They took Huo Xinyue home. After all, with Chen Xiuyue in poor health, even the best-behaved child can be a handful; if she were exhausted, Wen Liuyun would be beside himself.

Back home, they made several large pots of tofu. Huo Yuhui and Huo Xiang returned from school and started their homework.

It wasn’t often that Luo Mingchen saw Huo Yuhui still having to do homework after school. He asked, “Is there a lot of homework today?”

Frustrated, Huo Xiang said, “Little Daddy, the teacher told us to play the zither and then write our impressions.”

“Huh?”

“What zither?” asked a bewildered Luo Mingchen.

“The seven-string zither,” said Huo Yuhui.

“Then… do either of you know how?”

Truth be told, Luo Mingchen couldn’t even sing on pitch, never mind play an instrument.

The brothers shook their heads.

So, Luo Mingchen looked to Huo Yan. “What about you?”

“Just a little,” Huo Yan said after a thought. “Not proficient.”

“Is it important to learn the zither? Should we buy two and hire a teacher to tutor you both?”

Though it was his first time time-traveling, Luo Mingchen had heard from a language teacher that the ancients prized rites, music, archery, charioteering, calligraphy, and mathematics. What might be considered hobbies today were essential knowledge for classical scholars—especially rites and music.

Face clouded with worry, Huo Xiang said, “But a zither is very expensive…”

“Don’t worry. We have money.”

He wasn’t just saying that to cheer him up.

They wouldn’t buy the finest instruments yet—two beginner-level ones would do. Once the boys improved, they could upgrade.

Still troubled, Huo Xiang said, “But even if we buy them, we don’t know how to play. Where would we find a teacher? Or should we… invite the teacher here? And I’m really slow. I get scared when I see the teacher.”

“Even if we wanted to invite him, he might not come.”

At this, Luo Mingchen thought of someone. “What if we ask Wen Liuyun—would he agree?”

Wen Liuyun still looked quite young, probably a year or two older than Huo Yan, and he had passed the licentiate exams. He painted well—surely he could play the zither too?

“If the pay is enough, he should agree,” said Huo Yan.

“Then you two write your impressions at home and keep an eye on your sister. We’ll go ask him.”

Since the two of them couldn’t offer much help with the assignment, inviting a tutor was more practical.

The brothers nodded. “Okay.”

They had just reached the door when they ran into Wen Liuyun bringing the day’s copper coins.

“Bosses, here’s today’s money.”

He had only just spoken when Luo Mingchen said, “Perfect timing, we were just looking for you.”

Perplexed, Wen Liuyun asked, “What’s the matter?”

“Do you play the zither?”

Hearing this, Wen Liuyun nodded and said modestly, “I know a little.”

He seemed confident enough that he was probably better than Huo Yan. “Interested in making some extra money?” asked Luo Mingchen.

“Extra money?”

“You teach our two kids zither and painting. I’ll pay you daily. One hour per day—alternate between zither one day and painting the next. No need to go too deep: just enough to read music, play a simple tune, and draw some flowers and plants. Then…”

He looked at Huo Yan. “How much per day?”

“Sixty wen,” Huo Yan said after thinking. “We’ll buy the brushes, ink, paper, inkstones, zither, and pigments.”

At that price, Luo Mingchen was stunned.

Hiring a tutor was that expensive?!

Sixty wen per day—one month would be eighteen hundred wen, nearly two taels of silver.

Given his current fallen circumstances, Wen Liuyun knew this was already quite generous. Naturally, he had no reason to refuse. “I’m honored by your trust. I will teach them well.”

“Great. Should we go buy the zither and paints first?”

Unsure how to shop for them, Luo Mingchen asked, “Do you have time now?”

After these days together, Wen Liuyun had a sense of Luo Mingchen’s temperament—if something could be done now, it would never be put off till tomorrow.

So he nodded. “Alright.”

These things could be bought at the bookshop, and Taohua Town’s largest bookshop was not far from Baiye Academy, conveniently close to where they lived.

After purchasing a whole array of supplies, Huo Yan took Wen Liuyun back.

Meanwhile, Luo Mingchen went to the shop to inform Chen Xiuyue, to ask whether she wanted to come over for dinner or cook for herself.

But when he arrived, he called out several times in the back courtyard and got no response. Frowning, he hurried to the room, and as soon as he entered, he saw Chen Xiuyue collapsed on the floor, clutching her chest, face pale.

“Auntie? Can you hear me?”

As he spoke, he checked the pulse at her neck. Feeling it still moving, he let out a small breath and lifted her onto the bed.

All he’d heard from Wen Liuyun was that she suffered angina and had been worn down by years of hard work. She had seemed fine before—why had it suddenly flared up?

Could it be that watching the child had exhausted her?

Thinking fast, Luo Mingchen took a medical kit from his space, dug out a box of pills from the bottom, and checked her condition. Her heartbeat was growing weaker. She probably wouldn’t last long enough for him to fetch a doctor—it would be better to try this…

A wood-type ability user had said this medicine could bring someone at death’s door back to life. He’d never tried it himself, but this was a case of desperate measures for a desperate situation.

With that, Luo Mingchen placed a pill into Chen Xiuyue’s mouth and gathered a small ball of water to help her swallow it.