The first volume of pearl curtains rolls up the western mountain rain at dusk Chapter 6 Because You Are Poor
Li Diudiu said excitedly as he walked: "Master, you don't know, it was not easy to dodge the combination of attacks from that big guy, hehe...he cried."
Taoist Changmei stopped walking, turned around and looked at Li Diu and said seriously: "You should understand why Master did this, but because of your own willfulness, you cut off the road that Master wanted to pave for you."
Li Diudiu subconsciously took a step back, feeling a little panicked. He did try to provoke Gao Shaowei on purpose. He didn't want to enter the Four-Page Academy. He just wanted to depend .
“Master…”
Although the Taoist with long eyebrows was not fierce, he was afraid because he saw disappointment in his master's eyes. He would rather his master scold him or beat him, but this disappointed look made him feel even more uncomfortable and afraid.
"That's all."
Taoist Long Eyebrows sighed, fumbled in his arms, and took out a handful of copper coins: "Let's go have a good meal, there's enough for each of us to have a bowl of stewed meat, after that we have to find a way to make money...Silly child, you don't want to take the straight road, but insist on following me on the narrow path."
"What is stewed pork?"
Li Diudiu asked.
Taoist Long Eyebrows laughed and rubbed Li Diudiu's head: "A delicacy in the world."
The next morning, the master and his disciple, who could not afford to stay in the inn, came out from the firewood pile outside a house's wall. They stood there and shook off the hay on their bodies at the same time.
"Diu'er, come with me to Mr. Zhou's house later. Even though you didn't get into the academy, you still have to thank him. This is courtesy. We are poor but we can't let others say we are impolite."
"Got it, Master."
The two of them turned around at the same time, urinated on the place where they had slept last night, and then shook at the same time.
"Are you hungry?"
The master asked.
Li Diudiu shook his head and smacked his lips. “The braised chicken is delicious. It’s a delicacy and it can also keep you full.”
"Nonsense, it's all meat, how can it not be hungry?"
After the master and the disciple finished peeing, they turned to face each other and tidied their appearance. They took off the hay on their bodies, and then used their fingers as combs to smooth their hair. Although their clothes were dirty, both of them tidied them up carefully.
"It's a pity that I have no money. If I had money, I would have brought some gifts for them, even a bag of snacks would be fine."
Taoist Long Eyebrow raised his hand and tapped Li Diudiu on the head: "Prodigal child."
Li Diudiu chuckled, and suddenly hugged his master's thighs tightly. Taoist Changmei wanted to say a few more words to him, but with the child hugging him like this, he felt so warm in his heart that he couldn't say anything.
Soon the two men arrived outside Zhou Huaili's door. Seeing that it was still early, they sat down across the street, one big and one small, in exactly the same sitting position.
At this moment, the old housekeeper opened the small door and looked out. He saw the master and his apprentice and laughed, "What a coincidence."
Taoist Changmei pulled Li Diudiu up and said, "What a coincidence! We have come here to thank Lord Zhou and to say goodbye."
"Goodbye?"
The old housekeeper asked, "Where are you going?"
Taoist Long Eyebrow said: "I don't have any goal, I'll just live anywhere."
"You can't leave. My master just told me to go look for you. I was wondering where to look for you, and I saw you as soon as I went out. This is my luck and yours."
He stepped forward and pulled the long-browed Taoist: "Hurry up, hurry up, the master is still waiting for you."
The two followed the old housekeeper into the Zhou Mansion. When Zhou Huaili heard that the person had been found, he came out of the house with an excited look on his face.
"I'm so lucky. Not long after I got home yesterday, someone from the Four Pages Academy came to tell me that Li Chi was allowed to enter the academy today. I was really worried that I wouldn't be able to find you. You didn't leave an address when you left."
"ah?"
Li Diudiu and his master looked at each other, and both thought they had heard wrongly.
Zhou Huaili said, "Mr. Gao has decided to accept Li Chi. Why are you guys looking like this? Shouldn't you be happy about this great event?"
"Happy!"
The Taoist with long eyebrows laughed immediately, and the wrinkles on his face more than doubled from laughing. But little Li Diudiu couldn't laugh, and his face became increasingly gloomy.
Seeing his disciple's expression, the Taoist with long eyebrows knew that he was afraid of losing himself, so he squatted down, supported Li Diudiu's shoulders and said, "Don't worry, Master will not leave. I have asked around. The academy will have two days off every ten days. When the time comes, you can go to the Taoist temple to find me. I will be waiting for you there."
"You really won't leave Jizhou?"
"Really? Master, if you lie to me, I will strike you with lightning."
"All right……"
Li Diudiu took a deep breath and said, "Master, have you really been in that Taoist temple all this time?"
"Of course, the master and I are old acquaintances. I only need to say a few words and he will invite me to be his guest of honor."
Taoist Long Eyebrow suddenly picked up Li Diudiu. It was obviously very difficult for him to stand up straight. He held Li Diudiu and poked his face with his beard: "You have grown up. I can't hold you like this anymore. You should do your best and don't embarrass your master."
Li Diudiu suddenly hugged the Taoist Longmei's neck tightly, hugging it as hard as he could.
Four Pages Academy.
Gao Shaowei looked at his granddaughter helplessly, he really had no idea what to do. It was all because of his own behavior. Who could he blame?
He looked at his granddaughter Gao Xining and said seriously, "Although I promised you to let that boy go to the academy, you can't be too blatant to learn martial arts from him. You are my granddaughter, and it's not okay if someone sees you."
Gao Xining was thirteen years old and not yet of marriageable age. She wore a light green dress, just like the tender buds just emerging from the willow branches in early spring. The little girl perfectly inherited her mother's beauty. Unlike her mother, her eyebrows were too heroic. Only in this respect did she look more like her father.
"I know, I know."
The little girl chuckled and said, "That boy's martial arts are really amazing. He was clearly the one hitting the opponent, but every move looked like the opponent was hitting his face. How old is he? How could he have such great martial arts skills?"
"He's eleven, two years younger than you."
Gao Shaowei said: "You must remember that men and women should not be too close to each other. If you want to learn his martial arts, I will arrange for you to watch over him. Also remember that he is not your master, and you can never be his apprentice."
"I know."
The little girl smiled and said, "It's nothing actually. Look, you are my grandfather, he is your disciple, I am his disciple, you are still my grandfather."
Gao Shaowei: “…”
He sighed deeply, "You...when will you be able to change your restless nature? Your mother was totally different from you back then. She came from a scholarly family, gentle and filial. But you inherited all your father's bad habits, not your mother's at all."
The little girl shook her hair and turned away: "I'm going to see if that silly boy has come. By the way..."
She suddenly remembered something and looked back at Gao Shaowei: "Does that silly boy have no money to buy school uniforms?"
Gao Shaowei: "Is this something you should worry about?"
The little girl frowned: "It's dirty, I don't like it."
Gao Shaowei shook his head: "Just give him one."
The little girl hummed: "Don't make it so obvious."
Gao Shaowei: "What else do you want?"
The little girl said, "First, don't let him think that he deserves it. Three sets of courtyard uniforms, spring, winter and summer, cost two taels of silver. For an ordinary family, two taels of silver should be a lot... Second, don't let him think that others can take care of everything. Don't let him develop the habit of asking for things. Third, don't let him think that it is charity."
Gao Shaowei felt like he was about to get overwhelmed. His granddaughter was so clever that she thought so many things in a flash.
"He comes from a poor family, so let him do a part-time job cleaning the classroom."
"Won't he still be looked down upon?"
"It depends on what he thinks."
The little girl walked away, shaking her hair.
Li Diudiu followed Zhou Huaili to the academy for the second time. Except for him, the other three children had already arrived. After all, the academy could notify their families, but not Li Diudiu. If Li Diudiu and his master had not gone to Zhou's house to express their gratitude, he would have lost the opportunity to enter the academy. He wished he had not gone to Zhou Huaili's house. That would have been great.
As Zhou Huaili walked away, he said, "Although I don't know how you impressed Mr. Gao, I hope you can cherish the opportunity. Entering the academy does not mean you can graduate from the academy. If you are not good enough, the academy can also expel you. Think about how hard it was for your master to get you into the academy."
"knew."
Li Diudiu nodded, feeling very sad, as if he was abandoned. His master was his only relative in this world, and they had depended on each other for many years. Now he felt very uncomfortable, especially uncomfortable, not being able to see him every day.
Zhou Huaili couldn't help but feel a little pain in his heart when he saw the distraught look of the child. There are so many sufferings in the world, but among the children in this academy, Li Diudiu is the only one suffering. The students in the academy are all from wealthy families, and Li Diudiu is an outlier. Zhou Huaili could imagine how many difficulties, cold eyes and contempt he would encounter.
"This is the remaining money your master gave me last time after deducting the tuition fee."
Zhou Huaili took out a purse and handed it to Li Diudiu: "There are three taels of silver in total. Two taels of silver will be used to buy academy uniforms, and one tael of silver will be used to buy books. The academy will provide food and accommodation."
"oh……"
Li Diudiu took the purse and stopped.
Zhou Huaili walked a few steps and didn't see Li Diudiu catching up. He turned around and looked: "What's wrong?"
Li Diudiu took a deep breath, then bowed solemnly and seriously: "Thank you, Mr. Zhou, this money is considered as a loan from you, I will return it to you when I make money in the future, how can my master have extra money..."
Zhou Huaili walked back to Li Diudiu and subconsciously raised his hand to touch Li Diudiu's head, but he held back.
"You're on your own. I can see that you're actually a sensible child. If you're sensible, you should understand your master's painstaking efforts."
"I see."
Li Diudiu bowed again and said, "Let's go."
The two men walked outside Gao Shaowei's study, but Gao Shaowei was not there. Instead, there was a young instructor who looked to be about thirty years old. He was very tall and thin, holding a file in his hand, but he did not look like a scholar. His face was stern, and he looked more like a swordsman in the martial arts world.
"My name is Yan Qingzhi, and I am your tutor. You entered the academy relatively late, so I am responsible for teaching you to catch up with the coursework in the large classes. If you can pass my assessment within a month, you will return to the large classes to study with other students. If you cannot pass my assessment, you will leave the academy."
He paused, looked down at the four children, and added, "I am the top teacher in the academy. If I cannot help you catch up with your studies within a month, it is not my fault. It is because you are useless. The academy does not want useless people."
He asked, "Who is Li Chi?"
Li Diudiu leaned forward: "Sir, it's me."
Yan Qingzhi said: "You are responsible for cleaning the classroom."
Li Diudiu frowned: "Only me? Every day? All the time?"
Yan Qingzhi nodded: "You are alone, every day, all the time."
Li Diudiu asked: "Why?"
Yan Qingzhi looked at him with cold eyes: "Because you are poor."
…
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