Volume 1 In the Countryside Chapter 11: The flowers have feelings but the water is ruthless
Gathering a bunch of country children who were too young to work, and making them recite poems, the Nine-Nine Songs, and learn elementary cultural knowledge from an early age was originally just Zhang Shou's initial impulse after he discovered that he had to quietly understand this new world first.
He knew that this kind of thing might not necessarily produce any results, and even the effect of enlightening the people might be limited, but in the spirit of doing something is better than doing nothing, he still did it seriously since he had a lot of free time.
But he was able to pick out two young men who were very sensitive to mathematics and writing from the farm children who were watching him teach them to recite poems and the Nine-Nine Song. Among them, Deng Xiaodai had a way to take the civil service examination, and Qi Liang, who had a "family origin of learning", passed the county examination in one try. It was purely a pleasant surprise.
So, since Miss Zhu didn't disturb his class, he didn't take her listening or eavesdropping outside seriously.
After giving Deng Xiaodai instructions, he began to explain plane geometry to the two of them - even though these two people might never have the opportunity to use plane geometry in their entire lives, he has always felt that if mathematical logic is well cultivated, people will benefit from it throughout their lives.
Of course, he had no way of knowing how confused Miss Zhu outside would be.
As expected, Zhu Ying stuck her head out while listening. However, when she found Zhang Shou standing in front of a white wall with his back to her, writing and drawing on the wall with cotton thread dipped in water, Miss Zhu was completely confused. Not only that, Zhang Shou was drawing while dictating the topic, and she didn't understand at all!
Especially when Zhang Shou used cotton thread dipped in water to draw straight lines, tied a brush at the end to draw circles, and made various drawings, the drawings were extremely complicated, and would disappear with the water stains after a while, she felt dizzy and couldn't help but admire the two country farm boys sitting below. You know, Zhang Shou only said it once, how good a memory does he have to remember it?
Soon, she discovered another problem that she had not noticed - Zhang Shou drew with his left hand! Thinking of the poor handwriting in the copybooks on the bookshelf, she finally realized why he, who was so handsome, could not write well.
It is easy to practice left-hand sword and left-hand knife, but writing with the left hand is definitely difficult!
She was distracted for a while, and when she came back to her senses, she saw two young men sitting on small stools, each with a wooden sandbox on their knees, writing and drawing with wooden sticks. She realized that they were copying questions in this way. When she saw the two of them thinking seriously, as if they were solving a problem, she finally couldn't help but coughing softly.
However, although Zhang Shou turned around and looked towards the door, his reaction made her very angry. Instead of coming out to answer her questions, he put his index finger on his lips and gestured to her to keep quiet.
This time, she couldn't bear it anymore. She glared at him hatefully and turned away.
It was like this at dinner last night, and it was like this this morning. Just now, when Zhang Shou asked Deng Xiaodai, who passed the exam to become a minor official, to inquire about the details of the marriage certificate, she used the excuse that she was so scared after hearing about the marriage that she couldn't sleep. Now he even dislikes her for being too noisy!
"It's just a few questions. Just write them down clearly in black and white and hand them out. Why is there any need to be so mysterious...ah!"
The more Zhu Ying thought about it, the angrier she became. She couldn't help but complain out loud. Suddenly, a person jumped out in front of her. She was startled. When she found out it was Ah Liu, she realized that not only had she come back, but she was also caught eavesdropping on Zhang Shou's class at the door. Her pretty face immediately blushed.
Seeing Ah Liu step aside without saying a word, she breathed a sigh of relief. Although she had previously disliked this guy for being taciturn, now it seemed like a good thing. At least she was no longer so embarrassed!
But she had only taken two steps when she heard Ah Liu say something out of context behind her: "Paper and pens are very expensive."
Although Miss Zhu didn't know Ah Liu as well as Zhang Shou did, she suddenly realized that her complaint had been heard by this taciturn servant. As someone who grew up in a wealthy family, she naturally didn't know how much paper and pen cost, but considering the scene she had just seen on her way from the village, she could guess that this price was probably unaffordable for ordinary peasants.
But she was so angry that she couldn't help but say, "Can't Shou buy them some paper and pens?"
As soon as she said it, she regretted it, but it was too late to take it back.
After all, from the few words she had heard before, she knew that Deng Xiaodai, who had passed the examination to become a minor official, had already expressed his gratitude to Zhang Shou profusely. How could he have ever complained that Zhang Shou had not given them paper and pen for free?
"The young master only had 500 coins a month, and he used all of it to buy food and meat to support his family. Otherwise, his family would not let them work less and eat for free. Qi Liang was in debt and almost sold all his land. The young master taught him math and hired people to take care of a few acres of cotton fields for him. He was able to pay off his debts over the past three years."
This time, Ah Liu said more than usual: "Besides, the young master said that it is better to teach a man how to fish than to give him a fish. Help him in an emergency but not in poverty. If you want to save yourself from poverty, you have to rely on yourself."
Zhu Ying was speechless. Especially when she thought about how the fine wolf-hair brushes at home were thrown away casually, and how a basket of paper and writing materials were often thrown away every day, she used to be used to it, but now she couldn't help but feel uncomfortable when she thought about it.
It was the first time for her to get to know the rich and the poor at such a close distance.
She didn't say anything else, but just walked forward silently, and another question came to her mind unconsciously.
Zhang Shou just mentioned that he could memorize the Four Books and Five Classics. Is that true? Who was the old teacher who secretly taught him classics, history and mathematics? How knowledgeable was Zhang Shou? He could teach a student who passed the county exam besides the official!
In the school dormitory temporarily converted from the house left by Qi Liang's father, Zhang Shou, who was watching Deng Xiaodai and Qi Liang racking their brains to solve a geometry problem, folded his hands and wondered why Zhu Ying came back.
To be fair, this gorgeous young lady actually had a good personality, and could even be called sensible, not the most common type of spoiled young lady. Zhu Ying left him with a good first impression, and he also knew that he... or rather, his face, must have left a good first impression on Zhu Ying. However, there was a huge gap between them.
They are not a good match, they are not from the same class! There is definitely something wrong with the so-called engagement!
Therefore, before Miss Zhu's interest in him fades, perhaps someone from Duke Zhao's Mansion will come to pick her up today!
Zhang Shou was daydreaming when he suddenly caught a glimpse of Deng Xiaodai scratching his head and biting the wooden stick in his hand. It was obvious that he couldn't solve the difficult geometry problem that required two auxiliary lines. He smiled and raised the corner of his mouth.
When someone looked up at him as if asking for help, he hooked his index finger and walked out. After leaving the house and waiting for a while, he saw Deng Xiaodai following him out on tiptoe.
"Young sir, could you give me a hint?"
"Haha, you just like to compete with Qi Liang!" Zhang Shou knew what this kid was thinking. He laughed and asked, "Doing exercises is different from writing articles. You need to change your mind. Go out and walk around for a while, and maybe you will be able to do it."
"It's not that easy." Deng Xiaodai made a bitter face, not at all proud of the time when he claimed to have solved the three math problems of the Shuntian government official. Seeing Zhang Shou smiling but not saying anything, he suddenly thought of the news his uncle told him, and after hesitating for a long time, he finally said hesitantly, "Young Master, after thinking about it, I decided to tell you something."
He took a deep breath and then lowered his voice and said, "When my uncle took me to the household room for the first time, I pretended to be very curious about the situation in our village and turned to our fish scale book. Young sir, all the fields around here are registered in the name of a man named Zhu. Could it be that your mother was deceived and entrusted the fields to someone else? This won't do. Without the land deed, you will suffer a great loss!"
If Zhang Shou had felt that this was most likely true when Zhu Gongquan had revealed that the Zhang family was dependent on Duke Zhao for support, and then saw his mother Wu's reaction, then now that Deng Xiaodai had confirmed it, he no longer had any hope of luck.
This was also his fault, because he believed what he had heard from the tenants around him, and did not consider that there could be such an absurd thing as a child son-in-law in the world!
Well, considering that he has been raised by someone for so many years, even if he cannot be a son-in-law, he should at least take proper care of the eldest lady!
