The east is generally white with fish belly, and a roosters cry starts a day of farm life.

  Every household woke up from their dreams, the women started boiling water and cooking, the men either fetched water or tidied up farm tools, preparing to start a day of hard work after eating.

  This is a village under the jurisdiction of Liancheng, Jin State. The whole village has only three or four hundred people, and there is only one surname, belonging to one family. Therefore, this village is named after their surname, called Mojia Village.

  In the east of the village, there are several houses scattered around. Among them, a single-door courtyard house made of bricks stands out from the other earth houses. Its noticeable because its materials are obviously much better than the others. The roof tiles are thick and sturdy, the walls are neatly arranged, and its clear that they werent made by local people using traditional methods. The courtyard wall isnt just a few random branches and vines like the other earth houses, but is instead carefully woven from bamboo strips. However, this house is also more dilapidated than the others. The roof tiles are broken and no one has cleaned them up, the courtyard wall is cracked in one place, and the vegetable garden inside is messy.

  At this time, the door of the small courtyard opened, and a little girl with a small braid and a yellowish complexion walked out. She was about six or seven years old, very thin and short, with a pale face, wearing old clothes, but her whole body was clean and tidy, her hair was combed neatly, and her clothes were also very clean.

  She first pulled out the chicken coop, chased out the chickens, then walked to the kitchen in the outhouse, opened the door and washed her face with cold water. After washing her face and rinsing her mouth, she rolled up her sleeves, measured a scoop of rice, scooped water from the water tank to rinse it clean, moved a small stool to the edge of the stove, stood on the stool and poured the rice into the large pot, starting to cook the fire.

  Lian Cheng is located in the south of Jin State, with a mild climate, very suitable for growing rice, so all fires are made from rice stalks. Fortunately, otherwise, at this age, girls would not be able to chop firewood.

  Before long, a noise came from the door of the main room, and a pale-faced woman walked into the kitchen.

  The little girl who was cooking hastily jumped up: "Mother, how did you get up? Go back to rest for a while, the meal will be ready soon."

  The woman smiled and patted her head: "Tiangē, mother will take care of these things, you go play."

  "No," the little girl insisted, pulling her into the house. "Mother, you cant catch a cold, I can do these things."

  "Its just a small matter..."

  "Its better if I handle small matters, Mother, dont you want to faint and worry me again?"

  The woman was speechless at this remark.

  The little girl said: "Mother, you just rest well, when youre better, I wont do these things anymore."

  The gentle tone of her words made the woman smile, but it was mixed with a bitter taste. Her voice softened: "Alright, Ill get better soon and wont let Tiangong suffer anymore."

  The east was lit up with a red glow, and the porridge also emitted a fragrance of rice. The little girl carefully scooped two bowls on a small stool, and then fetched some pickled vegetables from the jar in the corner of the house, carrying them one by one to the main room.

  The plain porridge and pickled vegetables, without any extra dishes, one was a patient, the other was a child, no wonder both of their faces were pale. The woman looked at her daughter with a pained expression, but the little girl didnt notice, just lowering her head to drink the porridge.

  After breakfast, the woman tidied up her daughter again and took down a bundle of cloth hanging on the wall, slung it over her shoulder, and instructed: "When you go to school, listen to your teachers words and study hard."

  "Yes, Im going to school."

  The sun rises slowly, and the little girl steps on the dew all the way to the ancestral hall in the west of the village. From time to time, there are boys running and laughing on the road.

  As she walked on the road, a boy of about ten years old secretly followed behind her, suddenly pounced forward, grabbed her braid and pulled it hard, laughing loudly: "Mo Tian Ge, your braid is really ugly, youd better shave your head." After that, he ran away quickly.

  The stranger Tian Ge, whose braid had been pulled, glared at him fiercely: "Return my hair tie!"

  That kid made a face and said: "Return it to you? Why should I return it to you? If you have the ability, come and grab it!"

  The little kid couldnt take this provocation. Meng Tian Ge flicked her braid and chased after the boy.

  "Haha, really stupid, Im over here!" The boy was very agile and sturdy, where could her thin and weak body compare? Every time he dodged, he would shake her off, making her so angry that she was fuming.

  Before long, Mo Tian Ge was panting and chasing after her. Just then, a girls voice came from far behind: "Brother, what are you doing?"

  At the sound of this voice, both of them stopped.

  A 7 or 8-year-old girl ran over, saw the messy braids of Tian Ge, and immediately glared at him: "Brother, dont bully Tian Ge, return her things!"

  The boy who was just being fierce suddenly looked sullen: "I was just teasing her."

  The girl raised her eyebrows and glared at her brother: "Youre still talking! If you dont return it to me, Ill go home and tell Dad that you bullied your sister."

  The boys face turned even more bitter: "What kind of sister is she? She doesnt even live with us."

  "Our grandfathers surname is also Tian Ge, why isnt it sister? You say that again and Ill go back and tell dad right now!"

  "Alright, alright, Ill give it to you." The boy hastily stuffed the hair tie into his hand and quickly walked away.

  As he walked away, Tian Ge said in a low voice: "Tian Qiao, thank you."

  "Dont thank me, its his fault. Here, this is yours!"

  Mo Tian Ge took over the hair tie and randomly tied a ponytail.

  "Let me do it." Mo Tian glanced at her careless braid and simply untied it to re-braid. She was half a head taller than Mo Tian, so she didnt need to crouch down to easily finish the braid.

  After braiding her hair, Mo Tianqiao carefully took out a paper package from his pocket and opened it: "Tiangeng, come and eat some buns."

  Mo Tian Ge took over the thing she handed him, it was a piece of pumpkin cake. She said softly: "Thank you."

  She usually doesnt eat pastries and sweets, her mother has been ill all the time, although she is still hungry, there is no surplus food, only during the New Years festival, grandfather bought some sweets at home, and she would get a few.

  Tian Qiao and her brother Tian Jun are Big Brothers children. Tian Qiao is very good to him, always sharing her own snacks with him to eat.

  "Lets eat together."

  "Uh-huh."

  Two people ate on the way and walked together towards the ancestral hall.

  The Mo familys clan school was located in the west of the village temple, and an old scholar from the village was the teacher who taught the children of the clan to read. As it was a clan school, all children from the Mo family village could attend without paying tuition fees. However, the villagers had been farming for generations and mostly just hoped that their children would be able to recognize a few big characters in the future, and being able to count and calculate was enough. The children came to read books in the morning and went to help with household chores in the afternoon, only a few children who were entrusted with high hopes stayed until the afternoon.

  Two people entered the temple, and the house was already filled with children. The younger ones were six or seven years old, while the older ones were thirteen or fourteen years old. They were all boys, except for the two girls.

  People believe that a woman with no talent is virtuous, and the Mo familys learning is also like this. The daughters of the Mo family village rarely attend school, they all help with household chores from dawn till dusk, only families with good social status send their daughters to learn a few characters.

  Mò Tiān Qiǎo is just like that. She is the direct granddaughter of the Mò familys elder, and as the eldest daughter, she shares the same mother with the eldest son, so her family also holds her in high esteem, not only did they give her a name alongside her brothers, but also sent her to school together.

  She and Tiān Gē are the only two people in this generation who took their names from the generational name.

  But Mo Tian Ges situation was different.

  Mo Tian Ges mother, originally the fourth daughter of the tribal chiefs family, is now known as Fourth Daughter. She was not born to the tribal chiefs wife but was born out of wedlock when the tribal chief was young, so the whole family treated her very coldly. Moreover, she had been ill since birth and often fell ill, which made people even more indifferent to her.

  Ten years ago, a scholar came to the village and stayed here. After seeing her several times, he surprisingly asked the clan leader for her hand in marriage. The clan leader didnt particularly like this daughter of his, but was also afraid that others might have ulterior motives, so he told the scholar to move in with them and stay in the village. To everyones surprise, the scholar agreed. Before long, the two became husband and wife and settled down in the village.

  Unfortunately, in the third year, this books life was about to take a long journey, but it never returned.

  Because her father never came back, she was the only blood relative. Tian Ge not only had a surname Miao, but also a name that followed the generation order, and was raised as a boy all along.

  When the classroom was in an uproar, a cough came from the inner room, and all the children in the house immediately quieted down. A white-haired old man with a stern face walked out of the inner room.

  Seeing the students all sitting quietly, not making a sound, Lao Fuzi nodded in satisfaction, took a book from the desk and said: "Have you all memorized the first section of Di Zi Gui from yesterday?"

  The classroom became even quieter. These children were only learning to recognize characters, where would they seriously read books? Its already good if half of the ten words taught were remembered.

  The old man frowned and said, "Mo Tianjun, come and recite."

  Mo Tian Jun hastily stood up, his face scrunched up, completely unlike the arrogant and pleased expression he had when bullying Mo Tian Ge earlier.

  "When parents call, do not delay. When parents order, do not be lazy. When parents teach, must... must listen respectfully. When parents scold, must accept obediently."

  The old man nodded: "Thats right, continue."

  "In winter, be warm; in summer, be cool. In the morning, be diligent; at dusk, be calm. When going out... must inform, when returning, must report..." He thought hard, scratching his ears and cheeks, but just couldnt recite it.

  Sneaking a glance at her husbands face, she saw that his expression was stern, and quickly lowered her head again.

  "Hmph!" The husband coldly snorted and said, "Where did you go last night? Why are you carrying so little?"

  Mo Tian Jun mumbled something and didnt dare respond.

  Hand.

  Upon hearing this, Mo Tianjuns face turned bitter, but he didnt dare disobey the master. He could only walk forward and carefully stretch out his left hand.

  The withered hand of Fuzi grasped the ruler and slapped his palm, Ah Tianjun was startled, and he straightforwardly flattened his hand, turning his head away without looking.

  The ruler was raised high and came down with a loud "slap" on his palm, the whole classroom of children didnt dare to make a sound, afraid that they would be next.

  After five hits, Mo Tianjuns palm was already red. Fuzi put away the ruler: "Next, Mo Tianwei."

  "When parents call, dont delay. When parents order, dont be lazy. When parents teach, listen respectfully. When parents scold, accept it obediently..."

  The child stumbled and stuttered, but finally recited the whole thing. The master finally relaxed his eyebrows: "Go back and memorize it again, next one."

  Tian Qiao felt a sudden movement and Tian Ge asked in a low voice, "Tian Qiao, whats wrong?"

  Mò Tiān Qiǎo Kǔ le liǎn, yě dī shēng huí dào: "Wǒ yě bèi bù shú ne, bù zhī dào děng xià néng bù néng bèi quán."

  Translation:

  Mo Tians face turned red, and he replied in a low voice: "Im not familiar with it either, I dont know if I can recite the whole thing later."

  "Hurry up and memorize it now, theres still time."

  "Its said." Mo Tian quickly flipped through the pages of the book and silently recited in his heart.

  "Song of the Stranger Sky."

  "Yes, Master."

  When the parents call, respond at once without delay. When they give orders, carry them out without hesitation. When they teach you something, listen carefully and respectfully. When they correct you, accept it with obedience. In winter keep warm; in summer keep cool. In the morning be diligent; at night be calm. When going out inform them; when returning greet them. Have a regular place for daily activities; have no change in your work...

  "Mourn for three years, always sorrowful. Change residence, abstain from wine and meat. Complete mourning rituals, offer sacrifices with sincerity. Treat the deceased as if they were still alive."

  The masters face showed a faint smile: "Good, youve memorized it well. Today, you can start reading Chu Ru Tie."

  "Yes, Master."

  She let out a sigh of relief, turned the page and read on.

  Although these young masters do not care about learning well or badly, the old master is a thorough bookworm and is very strict with his studies. Its not easy to get his approval.