| In which an introductory...: |
However, at the end of the Yuan Dynasty a really remarkable man was born. His name was Wang Mian, and he lived in a village in Zhuji County in Zhejiang. When he was seven his father died, but his mother took in sewing so that he could study at the village school. Soon three years had passed and Wang Mian was ten. His mother called him to her and said, 「Son, it's not that I want to stand in your way. But since your father died and left me a widow, I have had nothing coming in. Times are hard, and fuel and rice are expensive. Our old clothes and our few sticks of furniture have been pawned or sold. We have nothing to live on but what I make by my sewing. How can I pay for your schooling? There's nothing for it but to set you to work looking after our neighbour's buffalo. You'll be making a little money every month, and you'll get your meals there too. You start tomorrow.」
「Yes, mother,」 said Wang Mian. 「I find sitting in school boring anyway. I'd rather look after buffaloes. If I want to study, I can take a few books along to read.」 So that very night the matter was decided. |
