Volume 5: Fellow Traveler Chapter 820: Learning Makes People Progress
Last night, Wu Dawei finally had a comfortable bed and a single room, but tonight he suddenly moved to a small courtyard with his new teacher. He was surprised to learn that he would live here for a long time in the future. After all, this was the capital of the Ming Dynasty, larger and more prosperous than Florence, and he was still living in the home of an official.
The so-called servant's room that was allocated to him before was actually in pretty good condition, not to mention the current treatment. Moreover, the teacher who was specially invited to teach him would live with him. In his country, that was the treatment of the eldest son of a real noble family - many sons other than the eldest son did not have such conditions, and were either sent to serve as knights or go to seminary!
Therefore, the blond boy was extremely surprised. What made him even more excited was that the eunuch Liang even brought a few boxes of books, claiming that they were all teaching materials for his lectures. For him, who loved books like his life, this was like a mouse falling into a honey jar, or in other words, like arriving in heaven.
Therefore, even though he was immediately taken to the front of the strict new teacher that night and began the simplest education of Heaven, Earth, the Emperor, Parents and Teachers, he was still full of energy and had no complaints at all.
Zhang Shou, who secretly sent Ah Liu to sit in and observe, learned that the teacher and student were actually taking classes overnight. After accompanying Zhu Ying for a walk to digest the food after dinner and returning to the room first, he took a deep breath and remembered his student days when he had classes during the day, homework at night, and just studied in a different place on weekends. He had no rest all year round.
He could even foresee the painful study time that the blond boy would have in the future, but after hearing what Ah Liu said about the happy and joyful look on his face after following Liang Jiucheng back to the house, he felt that this studious boy would probably be able to hold on for at least a while. As for how long, that would depend on his determination. Anyway, Ah Liu would be watching him.
He had already agreed with Liang Jiucheng that they would spend an hour every afternoon talking about idioms, Tang and Song poetry, some simple historical stories and common sense, and then there would be calligraphy lessons. On the one hand, this was to make it easier for Wu Dawei to accept it slowly, and on the other hand, of course, it was also to take into consideration that the little ones at home could just take the opportunity to attend the lessons.
Therefore, he had to tell Ah Liu: "You don't have to spend every day in the public school, or go and interact with all kinds of people when you have nothing to do. Take some time to come back and do your job as an inspector, and learn something yourself. You must know that learning makes people progress."
Seeing Ah Liu's face suddenly become bitter, just like the worrying look when he used to teach people to read and write, Zhang Shou was suddenly at a loss whether to laugh or cry. Some people are good at literature but not martial arts, and some are good at martial arts but not literature. Ah Liu is undoubtedly the latter. He patted the boy's head helplessly, and suddenly felt that in just a few months, people seemed to have grown taller than him, and he would never be able to catch up in the future. He suddenly felt a little disappointed.
Of course, this emotion came and went quickly, and he immediately said unhappily: "I'm not asking you to take the imperial examination. If you can put a little bit of your understanding from learning martial arts into studying, I don't say you will achieve much, at least..."
Ah Liu, who never talked back to Zhang Shou, couldn't help but muttered, "At least what? If I can't take the imperial examination, why should I study? Isn't it enough to be able to read letters and write a note?"
Zhang Shou was choked and speechless. He wanted to say that there were people in the world who studied for the real purpose of learning, but such people were obviously totally different from Ah Liu. Of course, he could also say that studying is for the purpose of understanding reason and gaining knowledge, but the young man in front of him understood reason very well - his own reason; he also had a lot of knowledge - of course, his own fierce knowledge; so, he could only hold his forehead.
"Okay, okay, I can't argue with you. Anyway, if any of those little guys think they have some knowledge and go against you in the future, you have to deal with it yourself. At that time, if someone tells you that a gentleman should talk instead of fight, then don't fight if you have the guts."
Ah Liu immediately looked annoyed, and it was obvious that he had a headache after having his hands and feet tied. After all, although he could say that he had no fists or feet, he could still use his head and chest to butt. At his level, every part of his body could be used as a weapon, and his teeth could even bite through the hemp rope... But he knew very well that Zhang Shou was doing this for his own good, and some situations were really not suitable for taking action.
He didn't know about others, but the chief steward of the Duke of Zhao's mansion, who was said to be a hereditary servant of the Zhu family, was actually very well-read, and was quite elegant in his dealings with people. He was very well-received when he went out. And the stewards who were to be trained as the chief steward's successors were also highly qualified, versatile, and very capable of handling things.
Therefore, after being silent for a while, the young man suddenly said, "If one day someone in my family is good at studying and dealing with people, it doesn't matter if I let him be the housekeeper."
"Idiot, what nonsense are you talking about!"
Following the sound, Ah Liu felt a strong wind coming from behind, but he did not move, letting the blow hit his head. In a moment, the figure turned in front of him and said, "If the housekeeper really relied on his ability and talent, then there would be no disputes among the wealthy families. For example, the chief housekeeper in my family had been in his family for three generations."
"His ancestors followed my grandfather, and his father followed my father, and they almost lost their lives. But he was chosen by my father as a personal follower after the emperor ascended the throne, and then he rose to the position of chief steward step by step. There are people in the family who are more capable than him, but if you add up seniority, affection, and ability, then of course he is the number one. So, if he doesn't take the position of chief steward, who will?"
"Of course, seniority and relationships can't be used for a lifetime. For example, my father was so strict and even cruel to my eldest brother. Wasn't it because they, a group of nobles, followed Emperor Ruizong and were allowed to inherit the title for three generations without a downgrade? But the next generation will be downgraded? If the strict style is not passed on, and the descendants of the family have a tradition of doing solid work, what will happen if the title is gone in the future?"
At this point, Zhu Ying couldn't help but step forward and knock on Ah Liu's head again, then she put her hands on her hips and said angrily: "So, you are stupid. In terms of seniority, friendship, martial arts, and work, who in the family can compare to you? Just because you are good at studying and have strong other abilities in the future, can you be replaced? Who do you think Ah Shou and I are?"
Even though he had strong defense, Ah Liu still felt a pain in his head from being hit by Zhu Ying. Although he was very happy at this moment, he still didn't say anything. Then, he heard Zhang Shou speak after Zhu Ying.
"When I ask you to study, I don't mean you should memorize the Four Books and Five Classics. The eunuch Liang that Yingying invited is different from those famous scholars outside. He does more than just study, because he is probably not interested in self-cultivation, family management, governance of the country, and peace in the world. He is just following in the footsteps of Taizu, and his lifelong wish is probably to translate Taizu's manuscripts."
Thinking of Chu Kuan, who had also advocated that the inheritance of the torch depended on the eunuch party, Zhang Shou was quite confident when he said this.
However, if Liang Jiucheng's ambition was something else, it was none of his business, because he always felt that the Taizu manuscripts in the Ancient and Modern Collection Library were a pit. At this moment, he used this as an excuse to give Ah Liu a heartfelt advice.
"Whether it's that blond kid or the kids in our family, reading is just about expanding your horizons. What do you think Eunuch Liang will teach you? He just tells you about all the famous people and stories from the past five thousand years. You certainly didn't need to listen when he taught that blond kid to read and write."
This time, although Liu was touched but still a little reluctant, he finally stopped being dejected.
It turned out that they wanted him to sit in on those... Isn't this similar to the history lectures that his young master used to give at Banshan Hall?
Seeing that the boy finally got the message, Zhang Shou couldn't help wanting to hit him on the head as hard as Zhu Ying did. However, he was really worried that he would make Ah Liu, who was already stubborn, into a fool, so he had to drive the boy away in a bad mood. After the boy left, he touched his chin thoughtfully.
"Yingying, my garden was originally quite big. There were only three of us including mom, but now look at how the population is increasing. If it continues like this, it seems like there won't be enough room for us."
Zhu Ying was at a loss for words. Zhang Shou's ability to recruit people was really great - of course, it was different from those dignitaries who liked to recruit talented scholars. There were indeed juren living in Zhang Garden, but except for the three who fell into the water, the other two were non-mainstream, and the rest were all miscellaneous, including astronomy, divination, and various craftsmen.
Therefore, she could not help but rolled her eyes at Zhang Shou: "Yes, yes, the emperor gave you such a big garden almost for free, but I hope that when we have children in the future, we will have no place to live because of your overly righteous habit..."
At this point, she suddenly got tongue-tied, and her cheeks flushed, looking extremely beautiful. Even though they were married, Zhang Shou had previously agreed with her that they were not in a hurry to have a child, so that they could focus on each other's careers. Therefore, as long as the couple was in harmony, they had already planned her daily life... Would Zhang Shou misunderstand what she said now as that she really wanted to have a child?
God knows that because of Concubine Yu's childbirth, she still feels depressed when she thinks about it. She just feels extremely worried and scared... She actually used to like children very much, but now when she thinks of the pain of childbirth, she dare not give birth at all!
Seeing Zhu Ying's face turn red for a while, then suddenly turn from red to white, and then from white to blue, Zhang Shou, who wanted to take the opportunity to tease her, immediately suppressed the original idea. Having personally experienced the matter of Concubine Yu giving birth, how could he not see the reason for Zhu Ying's emotional changes? To be honest, Concubine Yu's birth was considered to be very smooth!
If it were the young people of later generations who were open-minded and had fun, he might have said without hesitation, "Don't worry, we won't have any children." But he knew that many families who once didn't want to have children regretted it in the end.
Therefore, he had no intention of letting Zhu Ying face his feelings right away at this time. Instead, he embraced her first, then lowered his head and gently touched her lips, then moved away for a distance and said with a smile: "Du Fu once said, I wish I had thousands of mansions to shelter all the poor scholars in the world. I will lend my mansions to those poor scholars now."
"In the future, they will surely bring me a thousand-fold return. So, while others like to recruit those potential talents who can rise to the top in the officialdom in the future, I like to discover and train myself. If one or two outstanding people really appear in the future, then I, your husband, will definitely be extremely wealthy, rich enough to rival a country. Even if we have many children and grandchildren, will we still worry about having no place to live?"
Zhu Ying was amused by Zhang Shou's arrogant tone: "You are so rich that you can rival a country. Throughout history, the richest people have all been slaughtered by the emperor. It's because the emperor treats you differently and the prince respects you even more. Otherwise, how can you live such a good life?"
Zhang Shou also laughed: "Madam, you are right! But whether the emperor looks at me differently or the prince respects me, the most important thing is that you, Madam, have no reason to favor a country bumpkin, so I am honored as a wife and a husband as a husband ."
Obviously, she was teasing Zhang Shou, but Zhang Shou teased her instead. Zhu Ying immediately glared at him angrily: "Who asked you to be so good-looking... Who asked you to be different from others! Anyway, the most fortunate thing in my life is that I listened to my grandmother and was instigated by Zhu Gongquan to go to Rongshui Village!"
After the couple imagined their plans to expand their home in the future, they naturally fell asleep hand in hand and spent an infinitely beautiful night. However, the blond teenager Wu Dawei, who was originally full of energy, woke up in the morning with two big dark circles under his eyes.
He has always felt that he loves learning and reading, and has always regretted that he doesn't have a real teacher to teach him, so he was actually very happy to have such a teacher of his own yesterday... but that teacher is really a devil!
Mr. Liang did not spend too much time teaching him the Ming Dynasty's unique etiquette and laws such as Heaven, Earth, the Emperor, Parents and Teachers. Then people did not teach him any common sense from books, but forced him to have a lot of conversations.
You know, although Wu Dawei could communicate with people roughly, those daily expressions were accumulated on the boat and then trained on the way from Guangzhou to Beijing. Daily conversations were not a big problem, but when it came to various specific descriptions, he was completely at a loss. Therefore, after an hour and a half of language training, he just felt like he wanted to die.
So much so that he had all kinds of nightmares all night long!
Even when he finally woke up, it was not natural, but he was woken up by the cold. After waking up, he found that there was a piece of ice-cold soft towel on his face, which was so cold that it chilled his heart.
"Your foundation is too poor. You should be determined to study hard in the future!"
Last night, Liang Jiucheng had already told stories like hanging one's head from a beam and piercing one's thigh with a needle, drilling a hole in the wall to steal light, and reading in the snow. Wu Dawei, who was originally sleepy, shuddered after hearing these words, and all sleepiness disappeared.
Therefore, after being sent by Liang Jiucheng to see Zhang Shou off as a book boy, he did not even have time to eat breakfast, and had to face a half-hour morning reading class. After the morning reading class, there was a quarter of an hour for breakfast, and then a quarter of an hour for walking to digest the food, followed by another two hours of classes, then a quarter of an hour for lunch, a two-quarter hour break, and then another two hours of classes...
In short, even though he was proud of his love of learning, after a whole day of classes, he saw the group of freeloaders dispersed. After finally getting a little relaxation in this hour, he saw Mr. Liang's kind smile again: "The evening class is still the same as yesterday!"
