I was a stepmother in ancient times, and I led my whole family to wealth.

Chapter 54 discusses the Three-Character Classic.

Gu Caiwei nodded with her big, bright eyes, and said excitedly, "I know, little aunt. Tell Gou Dan'er that Grandma Sun gave him a piece of oily sesame (dregs)."

He then told me not to tell anyone, but I didn't. However, when he met Xiaohua, he told her.

Xiao Hua then told Grandma Sun's grandson, Da Pang, and Da Pang then cried and told his mother.

Um... that fat old woman, um... then she ran to Grandma Sun's door and cursed her as an old hag..."

Gu Jingye sighed and said, "In the end, Grandma Sun's bowl of oil residue was also lost; it was all taken away by her son and daughter-in-law."

Actually, all those things were secretly taken from her husband's family by Aunt Yezi.

Because of this, Aunt Yezi was beaten half to death by her husband, and Grandma Sun even fell ill from anger.

Dongfang Jin didn't expect these two children to come up with such an example, so she looked at them seriously and asked, "So, do you think Gou Dan'er is bad or good?"

Gu Jingye pondered for a moment and said, "I think it's Xiaohua who's bad."

"Hmm, why isn't it Gou Dan'er?" Dongfang Jin asked curiously.

Gu Jingye looked up and analyzed, "Xiao Hua clearly knows that Da Pang is Grandma Sun's grandson, yet she still tells him. Moreover, Xiao Hua also knows that Da Pang's mother always bullies Grandma Sun."

Dongfang Jin looked at the brother and sister and asked, "Do you know why this is?"

Both children shook their heads in bewilderment.

Dongfang Jin looked at them with a solemn expression: "Grandma Sun gave Gou Dan'er the oil residue because she meant well."

But when Gou Dan'er ate Grandma Sun's meat scraps and Caiwei, Xiao Hua said that was showing off and bragging.

To put it bluntly, it's to annoy you guys, to subtly tell you that Grandma Sun gave him some good food, but not you.

If he were a good person, he wouldn't tell anyone.

But Xiaohua knew all this, so why did she tell Da Pang? Because she was jealous. She was jealous that Grandma Sun gave Gou Dan'er oily sesame seeds but not her.

She held the mindset that if I couldn't have it, then nobody else could either.

So she simply told Da Pang, "You know, Da Pang is Grandma Sun's own grandson. If there are good things for him but Pian Pian gives them to Gou Dan'er, isn't Da Pang angry?"

So, was he feeling somewhat aggrieved? And who could he turn to for comfort?

Gu Jingye said loudly, "He went to find his mother, and that's how the rest of the story happened."

Dongfang Jin clapped her hands: "Yes, case closed. Through this incident, you all know how important trust is between people, understand?"

Gu Caiwei said in a serious tone, "Little sister, I understand!"

Gu Jingye nodded seriously: "Little lady, I understand. What about the part about 'If one is not taught, one's nature will change'?"

"It means that if a person is not properly educated from childhood, he will turn bad when he grows up."

Therefore, a person's living environment is very important, as are the friends around them.

Children are naturally kind-hearted, but if they spend too much time with bad people, they will learn from them.

This relates to the later saying, "Once, Mencius' mother chose her neighbors carefully," which is not in your book.

Little Stone, remember this: you must know how to hide your talents. Today, your mother is teaching you not to show off in public.

Some things are worth showing off, but others are not. It's important to distinguish between good and bad things, and more importantly, to understand your own capabilities.

We can say that we are now at the very bottom of society, and nobody dares to mess with us. So what can we do? We must endure, we must learn to endure.

The two children said in unison, "We understand!"

Dongfang Jin touched the foreheads of the two children with her head and smiled, "What's missing in the book is the story of Mencius' mother, who chose a good neighborhood and cut the threads of her loom when her son didn't study."

Continuing from where we left off, the most important way to prevent children from going astray is to focus wholeheartedly on their education. This is the essence of teaching: dedication is key.

Unbeknownst to Dongfang Jin, on a large tree in the courtyard, Feng was holding several star anise and Sichuan peppercorns, listening attentively as she explained the Three Character Classic to Gu Jingye.

He had learned a little about these things, and he remembered what was missing in the books she mentioned. Moreover, her explanation of human nature was more thorough and easier to understand than that of the teachers.

Ah Xi was also eavesdropping with him; Ah Xi had returned this morning. As soon as he got back, he heard Ah Ping talking about Ah Dong leaving to return to Beijing, and he also mentioned Dongfang Jin to him.

Out of curiosity, he came over without even washing up to see who this woman, Dongfang Jin, was who had caught his young master's eye.

You must know that his young master is a child prodigy in the Eastern Lin Kingdom, how could he possibly let a woman outdo him?

He arrived here, not expecting that someone was spying on him, looking at his clothes and the hidden patterns on them—from the Ningguo Duke's Mansion?

Could this person be looking for the young master? Is this person here for the same reason as him? Just as he was pondering this.

Then they heard the woman explaining the Three Character Classic to the little boy. There were four of them, from east to west and north to south, but they had grown up with the young master since they were little. When the young master read the Three Character Classic, they were also learning it.

They didn't know what was missing, so he didn't care how she knew, but he had to write it down.

The woman's explanation was indeed insightful. However, the story of Mencius' mother choosing a good neighborhood and cutting the threads of her loom when her son did not study is from the Three Character Classic.

Dongfang Jin flipped through the large brochure and continued telling Gu Jingye: "This Meng Mu is the mother of a great Confucian scholar named Mencius. This is also a story about his childhood."

Mencius was a mischievous and playful child. His family originally lived next to a cemetery, where funeral processions were frequent.

As Mencius grew older, his mother once saw him playing a funeral game with a group of friends. "Do you think that's auspicious?"

Gu Jingye shook his head: "It's unlucky."

"Yes, even Mencius' mother disagreed. Children are naturally mischievous and playful. If you scold him now, he might change because he's afraid of adults, but what about in the long run?"

Gu Jingye pondered for a moment: "They'll just start playing games like those funeral processions again."

"Yes, because this won't change the situation. It will lead the child astray in the long run, so Mencius' mother thought of moving."

In order to get Mencius to change this bad habit, the Mencius family moved to the city. Mencius' mother thought that this time Mencius would change his bad habit.

"But this time we've moved to a place near a market. What do people do at the market?" Dongfang Jin asked Gu Jingye.

Gu Jingye thought for a moment: "Selling things."

"Yes, the market was full of people buying and selling things. After a while, Mencius began to imitate the merchants' calls and the haggling of the buyers. Later, he played buying and selling games with a group of new children."

When Mencius' mother saw this, she thought, "This won't do. Among the social classes, merchants are ranked last and are looked down upon the most."

So she decided to move again, and this time, after careful consideration, they moved near a school.

What about this time? After Mencius' mother carefully observed Mencius' condition, ever since they moved near the school.

Mencius was no longer as mischievous as before; he began to be orderly, polite, and even developed a love for reading...

This is the story of Mencius' mother choosing a good neighborhood.

Furthermore, it has a story behind it, the tale of Mencius' mother moving three times to find the right environment for her son. I'll tell you the story in detail later.

The two children listened with great interest, and the two people in the tree also listened, praising Dongfang Jin in their hearts.

This teaching method is different. If all the teachers in the entire Eastern Kingdom taught like her, how could it be considered boring and tedious?