Chapter 15: Become a Disciple (Part 2)
Reading is difficult. There are very few literate people in this world. One reason is that they have no money, two is that they have no opportunities, and three is that they are not smart enough.
Before, there was no school in several villages, and children had to go to the county town to study. However, they could barely get enough food and clothing, and even the wealthier families could not afford to support their children.
It was Mr. Bai who moved to Qili Village with his family. His two sons needed to study, so he went to the county town to hire Mr. Zhuang.
Although Mr. Zhuang did not pass the imperial examination, he was admitted to the provincial school and had good character and morals. If the remuneration was just average, how could he be willing to teach in the small mountain village of Qili Village?
Mr. Bai was reluctant to pay Mr. Zhuang a reward that would tempt him, so he finally came up with an idea. The Bai family would pay for Mr. Zhuang to set up a school, and they would pay the majority of Mr. Zhuang's tuition. They would also recruit eligible children from the neighborhood, and have each child pay a tuition. The money would accumulate over time and the reward would be generous.
This school was built by Mr. Bai, but it belongs to Mr. Zhuang. The students' tuition fees have always been paid by Mr. Zhuang, so naturally he has the final say on what students to accept.
But whether out of courtesy or because of his cooperative relationship with Mr. Bai, he had to ask Mr. Bai whether Manbao could enter the school.
However, Mr. Zhuang felt that there was no need to rush this matter, because Manbao was still young, and it would be okay for him to learn some basics slowly from him now.
When she is older after the Chinese New Year, she can go to school.
It is already rare that the Zhou family is willing to let Manbao go out to study.
When Mr. Zhuang first came, he recruited students from several nearby villages. The adults there also knew the benefits of studying. They looked up and advised their children and nephews to work hard to earn money and go to school if they had the chance. But when they looked down and saw the longing in the girls' eyes, they advised and scolded them, "Girls, why are you joining in the fun? Go home quickly. Do you think you can watch this academic work?"
Manbao was eavesdropping outside the window, which caused a great uproar in Qili Village at first. The child was young and knew nothing.
But Mr. Zhuang knew that an elder from the Qili Village had found Mr. Bai and asked him to dismiss Xiao Qianshi from her post, so as to prevent Manbao from eavesdropping on classes and corrupting the morals of the village.
He was the one who stopped it.
First, Xiao Qian was indeed diligent and not nosy; second, he liked Manbao very much at that time.
So, "Everyone has the desire to learn, so why should we kill it?"
Then more and more children ran to the windows to eavesdrop. At the most, the two windows were full of people, all boys.
This is a very immoral behavior in the scholar community, but the words were spoken by Mr. Zhuang, so he naturally cannot treat the person differently.
Because of this incident, several students dropped out of school immediately. Their parents came to collect tuition fees, but then turned around and sent their children to the window to study secretly.
Mr. Zhuang was furious at the time, but he could only keep his anger to himself and pretend that he didn't see the person outside the window.
But not everyone is like Manbao.
At that time, Manbao was just over one year old. She had just learned to speak and could not walk steadily. She did not know enough about the outside world and was not playful. She could sit on the doorstep and play quietly by herself all day. When she was happy, she would recite a few sentences with the children in the classroom. When she was unhappy, she would poke ants for a long time.
But the youngest child peeking out of the window was seven years old and the oldest was ten years old, which was the age when they were the most restless and the most playful.
In less than five days, they had almost run away on their own. The parents of the students who dropped out of school found that not only did their children not learn anything, but they also almost forgot all the words they had learned before.
I was so angry that I had no choice but to send the child back.
From then on, there were very few boys coming to eavesdrop, but one or two girls began to lie cautiously outside the window.
But before Mr. Zhuang could react, the girls' parents started to get angry first.
They would first pull the girl away, then beat and scold her, "Do you think you can listen to me when I say you study? I think you are too careless. You have time to cut grass for pigs, weed the fields, and collect firewood in the mountains. How can you not care about work? How can you get married in the future..."
In fact, some of the ideas here are also what Mr. Zhuang once had.
For example: It is more important for boys to study than for girls, and he also values boys more.
But I don’t know if it’s because he’s old and Mr. Zhuang thinks more; or if it’s because people tend to develop a rebellious mentality when they encounter something they don’t like.
Anyway, without him realizing it, he changed a lot of his ideas.
Especially Manbao is growing bigger and bigger day by day, and is becoming more and more intelligent.
She memorized more books while lying on the window than the students who studied in the school, and she recognized as many words from his manuscripts as the students who studied in the school.
She was also filial. She knew to listen to his lessons, call him "sir", and clean the yard and tidy up the desk for him...
He was sick, and serious students would run out as soon as they heard they could have a holiday, but she knew to walk around the yard to pour him a cup of hot water, and even took his clothes back to her sisters-in-law to wash...
She would also pester her mother to bring him an extra egg.
He knew that the Zhou family loved their youngest daughter, but he was not sure whether they would be willing for her to study.
Therefore, in order to increase this possibility and allow this event to develop in a positive way, he would not ask for tuition, or even ask the Zhou family to buy writing brushes, ink, paper, and inkstone for Manbao.
He was pleasantly surprised by the level of importance the Zhou family attached to the matter.
Because they not only brought a piece of bacon, but also a set of clothes and a pair of shoes.
Mr. Zhuang couldn't help but laugh. It seemed that the Zhou family really valued this little disciple. He accepted him with a smile.
Old Zhou was relieved when he saw this, and immediately asked Manbao to kneel down and kowtow to Mr. Zhuang and offer him tea.
Mr. Zhuang took the tea and took a sip, then gave Manbao a set of writing brushes, inkstones, and some chopped green onions that he had picked from the backyard.
Mr. Zhuang was very happy to have such a smart and clever disciple.
Old Zhou and his two sons were also very happy. After hearing what Mr. Zhuang said, Manbao didn't need to buy any books for the time being. He could just copy whatever he needed himself when the time came.
The three of them glanced at what Manbao was holding in his arms, thinking that now they had the pen, ink and inkstone, and they could just buy some paper for the child and everything would be done.
Although there was an additional expense at home, it was much less than they had expected, so the three of them were of course very happy.
Manbao was also very happy. Everyone is happy to receive a gift, especially since it was given by Mr. Zhuang, whom she liked.
Everyone was happy.
Old Zhou wanted to invite Mr. Zhuang to his home for dinner to celebrate Manbao's apprenticeship.
Mr. Zhuang shook his head and refused, saying, "I have classes today, I'll come and bother you another day."
Old Zhou then remembered that Mr. Zhuang still had classes, and immediately became a little restless.
As he was talking, he heard the sound of children chasing and playing outside, and Mr. Zhuang knew that the children had arrived.
