si-mexico Chapter 97 Notes
Chapter 97 Notes
After dinner, Lin Ziping returned to his room and took out the box and notes he had brought back from Pingding Village.
The box was exquisitely crafted, with intricate carvings, but it was locked with a lock. Lin Ziping fiddled with it for a long time but couldn't open it, so he had to turn his attention to the handwritten notes wrapped in kraft paper next to it.
He slowly opened the book, revealing seven notebooks inside. Lin Ziping picked up the top one and casually flipped through it; it seemed to be several diaries. He cleared a corner of the desk, sat down, and began to read carefully, page by page.
On April 20th, my brother went to school, and there was one less person to talk to. I wanted to go with him, but my parents said I was a girl and couldn't go to school. Why couldn't I go? I know more characters than my brother, and my father always praised me for being better than him. When my brother saw me crying so sadly, he told me to write down what I wanted to say to him and show it to him when he came back. So I wrote it down.
On April 30th, my brother came back. He recited the Three Character Classic for Dad, and Dad praised him for being clever. What's so great about that? I can recite it too after hearing my brother do it once! "At birth, people are inherently good; their natures are similar, but their habits differ..." I can even write it! My hands were pricked by the needle so many times; I don't want to learn embroidery anymore. But Mom says that if I don't learn embroidery, I won't find a good family to marry into. My brother hasn't learned embroidery either; what will happen if he can't find a good family in the future?
The third day of the fifth lunar month is today, the Dragon Boat Festival. My brother is off work and came home. We wrapped zongzi (sticky rice dumplings) together. My father didn't go out today, and my mother had a bigger smile on her face than usual. It's so nice to have a family like this. It would be even better if every day was a festival.
On May 23rd, I didn't want to learn embroidery anymore; I pricked my finger with the needle again. When my parents weren't looking, I took the embroidery board to my brother and told him he couldn't embroider and wouldn't find a good family to marry into. My brother didn't say anything; I guess he was scared. He put some medicine on my finger. If he couldn't find a good family to marry into, I'd take him with me to the family I had found.
On May 25th, I didn't do any embroidery and even sneaked out to play with Xiaoru and the others. When I came back, my mother beat me hard. It hurt so much. I miss my father and brother. Why haven't they come back yet?
On the third day of the sixth lunar month, my brother came back. He brought me chestnut cakes and we played the teacher's game together. I used to be the teacher! But what my brother told me was quite interesting. He said that's what a teacher at the academy is like, and I want to go to the academy to listen to the teacher's lectures too. I also told my brother that it hurt too much to prick my fingers with the needle, and I didn't want to do embroidery anymore. I asked him to learn so that he could take me with him when he found a good family. But my brother didn't agree. I decided that when I find a good family, I won't take my brother with me; he can stay home with our parents.
……
October 20th. Dad and brother came back today. Mom not only wore white clothes herself, but also changed me into white clothes and wrapped black gauze around my hands. I don't like wearing white clothes, but since Dad and brother are wearing them, I'll wear them too. There was no meat in today's meal. In the past, when Dad and brother came back, Mom would always cook something delicious. Why didn't she cook anything this time? I really want to eat meat.
On October 21st, my father told me that His Majesty the Emperor had passed away, so we should wear white and mourn together. Who is His Majesty the Emperor? Can he pass away every day so that my father and brother can stay home every day?
……
February 16th. Father said today he's taking us to the capital. Where is the capital? I've never been there before. Ever since my brother went to school, Mother hasn't let me go out. My brother said the capital is very big, with many people and lots of fun things to do, and he wants to go see it. Since my brother wants to go, I'll go too. But Mother doesn't seem very happy. Doesn't she want to go to the capital?
February 26th. Today is Qingming Festival. When are we going to the capital?
On the second day of the third lunar month, my father said yesterday that he wouldn't be going to the capital. Seeing I was unhappy, my brother told me to change into his clothes and go out. I went to school wearing my brother's clothes. The teacher was really good, much better than my brother. There were so many people in the academy! The academy was wonderful. I climbed over the wall to look for Xiaoru, but she didn't recognize me. I wandered around the city several times, thinking that the capital must be the same as the city. When I got home, I ran into my mother. She recognized me and gave my brother and me a good beating. Even so, I was still very happy. It turns out the outside world is vast, the academy is full of people, and the teachers are very kind. When can I go out again?
On November 20th, I changed into my brother's clothes and went out again, but Father found out today. He also discovered that I had written my brother's homework, even though my brother said the teacher couldn't tell the difference. How did Father know? Later, Father called my brother to the study and we talked for a while. I secretly ran to the study window, but Father found me and had Mother take me away. Will my brother get a beating? Will he be scolded? It's all my fault. I wish I hadn't gone out. I will definitely study embroidery hard in the future. Actually, the outside world isn't that great. Embroidery is also very good. I'll sneak over to see my brother later.
On November 21st, my brother said that Father didn't scold him. He told Father that he didn't like embroidery and asked Father and Mother to tell them not to make him embroider anymore. Will Father talk to Mother? Will Mother agree?
The first volume of the journal entries ends abruptly here; the following pages are stuck together and cannot be read.
This notebook is likely a record of a little girl's daily life. She usually stays at home with her mother and looks forward to her father and brother coming home. The words reveal that the little girl is very intelligent despite her young age.
Although the little girl didn't want to embroider, she kept embroidering. This stubbornness of saying one thing but doing another reminded Lin Ziping of his own past when he used to say he didn't want to work but always had perfect attendance. He also remembered how he said he didn't want to go to school but always arrived at school the earliest. He and the little girl were probably similar in this respect, sharing a deep understanding.
Gently closing the journal, Lin Ziping was filled with curiosity and doubt. When did this diary record events? Moreover, the protagonist in the diary seemed unrelated to Dai Qin. Why was this thing in Dai Qin's house, and why was it hidden so well in a dark room? And who was the protagonist of this diary?
He pulled out the last book, which was still a record of daily life. But Lin Ziping still noticed something was off. The handwriting in this last book was very different from the beginning. It started out crooked and messy, but after a few pages it became neat and tidy, and the handwriting at the back of the book became more and more delicate.
Lin Ziping took out the seven notebooks and compared the handwriting one by one. He found that, except for the first notebook and the first part of the last notebook, which had significant differences in handwriting, the other notebooks and the second half of the last notebook seemed to be written by the same person.
Upon seeing this, Lin Ziping's doubts deepened. Why was there such a significant change in the handwriting in the last volume?