Chapter 78 Encountered

The next morning.

After delivering the goods, Ye Bajin returned to the village and went straight to the door of Old Ye's house.

Ye Caiping, Ye Daquan, Du and Wei, Ye Xuan, Ye Peng and Zhao Jinshan got in the car together.

"Brother and sister, I'm leaving the two kids to you," said Ye Erquan.

It’s not that he doesn’t care about his son, but that’s all his knowledge, and having Ye Caiping and Ye Daquan in charge is enough.

He was supposed to deliver the goods today, but he also had a lot of work to do at home and couldn't get away.

"Don't worry!"

The oxcart slowly moved away.

Seeing that no one was waiting for the car at the entrance of the village, Ye Bajin drove the ox cart away directly.

But after walking for a while, I saw a mother and daughter standing on the side of the road. They were Hu Xiuxiu and Xiuxiu's mother, and they seemed to be waiting for a bus.

Mrs. Du's face looked a little ugly, and even Ye Xuan's face was tense.

Ye Daquan snorted, turned his head and pretended not to see it.

Ye Bajin couldn't help but be a little surprised. Why wasn't he waiting for the bus at the village entrance?

Ye Bajin hesitated, wondering whether he should ask.

It was obvious that the atmosphere was not right. Thinking of the ugly look on his mother's face when she came home yesterday, he wondered if there was a conflict between the Hu family and Caiping's family.

Forget it, just pretend you didn’t see it and just walk past it!

"Ah, Sister Xiuxiu——" Unexpectedly, Zhao Jinshan let out a loud roar.

Mrs. Du and Ye Daquan almost vomited blood.

Ye Xuan and Ye Peng wanted to hold him down, gag him, and beat him up.

Ye Caiping was also startled, and the corners of her mouth twitched slightly. Where did this conspicuous bag come from!

"Sister Xiuxiu - Aunt Hu, where are you going?" Zhao Jinshan waved his hands.

Xiuxiuniang had already seen them, but she had turned her head away and pretended not to see them.

Now Zhao Jinshan was howling again and again, and it was no longer possible to pretend.

Because it was the village head's wife who suggested the relationship, Xiuxiu's mother began to hate Ye Bajin as well. I was determined not to take Ye Bajin's car, so I walked for a while and wanted to wait for an ox cart from another village to pass by.

"Oh, are you going into the mountains...to go to school?" Xiuxiu's mother said with a wry smile.

"Well, are you waiting for the bus? Why aren't you waiting at the entrance of the village?"

"Haha, I'm going to town to do something. I'm not waiting for a bus, I'm waiting for someone. Let's go!"

"Okay, bye."

Ye Bajin hurriedly flicked the rope, and the cow's pace quickened a bit.

Hu Xiuxiu's face flashed before Ye Caiping's eyes.

She stood there coldly, with an expressionless face and dull eyes.

It was not until the figures of the Hu family mother and daughter became a small black dot that Ye Caiping smiled and said, "Are you familiar with Jinshan and Xiuxiu?"

"Of course, her house is just behind mine." Zhao Jinshan said, "When I have nothing to do, I occasionally teach Xiaosi and his friends how to read. Sister Xiuxiu always sends me some firewood as a thank you gift."

Ye Caiping raised her eyebrows.

Quite sensible.

Hu Xiuxiu is seventeen years old and Zhao Jinshan is fourteen. It’s not a bad idea for a girl to be three years older than him.

But Hu Xiuxiu didn't send any food or anything else, just some firewood, which put an end to other people's wild thoughts.

Ye Caiping didn't ask about Hu Xiuxiu anymore. She changed the subject and asked Zhao Jinshan to talk about the academy.

Soon, we arrived at the small town.

Following Zhao Jinshan's guidance, they arrived at a quiet courtyard with four large characters "Qingfeng Academy" hung on the gate.

On the ox cart, Zhao Jinshan had already introduced Qingfeng Academy.

The master's surname is Qian. He is over sixty years old and has a small fortune.

Mr. Qian and his wife have a son and a daughter.

The daughter had already married, and the youngest son was also a scholar, studying in the county school.

For the sake of his studies, the youngest son and his family live in the county and rarely come back.

Ye Caiping and her group followed Zhao Jinshan into Master Qian's book.

Master Qian was an old man with white hair. He was writing. When he saw the people coming, he looked up and said, "Why are you in the mountains so early? Hey, who are these people?"

"Teacher, I'm here to bring you a new student." Zhao Jinshan jumped over, laughing.

"You naughty boy, stand still!" Master Qian scolded with a smile. This shows how good the relationship between teachers and students is.

"Hello, Master Qian." Ye Caiping stepped forward and said, "I am Ye Caiping from Qinghe Village. Today I am here to send my two nephews to study."

"Oh." Master Qian was a little surprised to see Ye Caiping acting so gracefully.

The other two women and one man looked like the parents of the two children, and they were clenching their hands nervously.

Master Qian looked at Ye Xuan and Ye Peng again, both of them were teenagers around fifteen or sixteen years old.

The two of them couldn't help but straighten their bodies. Ye Xuan said, "Greetings, Master Qian. I am Ye Xuan."

"Student Ye Peng."

Master Qian nodded and said, "You two also failed to get into the county school? Why are you here to study at this time?"

The county school usually enrolls students in the early spring after the New Year. How could it be delayed until the end of October?

"Teacher, I have never taken the county school entrance exam. I am not qualified to take the exam." Ye Xuan said, "I only studied in Kaimeng School for three years. I stopped studying because my family was poor. Now I want to study again and take the imperial examination."

Master Qian was a little dumbfounded: "We... have already started studying classics. You have only studied for three years... What... can you do?"

"When I was a kid, I only memorized the Three Character Classic, Thousand Character Classic, and Hundred Family Names in school, and I also practiced calligraphy."

Master Qian covered his forehead and said, "I think why don't you go back to the Enlightenment School and learn step by step?"

Ye Xuan's expression changed slightly.

Ye Caiping coughed dryly and asked, "Why not hire a tutor and learn a little bit at home?"

The current situation seems to be like this: Ye Xuan is only at the third grade level, but Master Qian is teaching in high school!

"No, Second Brother Xuan also understands The Analects of Confucius, Mencius and The Doctrine of the Mean, and can even write some scriptures!" Zhao Jinshan said anxiously.

Master Qian was startled: "What's going on?"

Ye Xuan said: "Although I haven't been in school these years, I haven't neglected my studies. The books were brought to the mountains, and he would lend me every book to copy. And the notes and annotations in class... I memorized them all. Where I didn't understand, he would explain them to me."

Master Qian was stunned, and threw the book in his hand at Zhao Jinshan's face: "Good boy, you haven't learned it yet, but you act like a teacher to others."

"Wu... Master, I was wrong." Zhao Jinshan slid to his knees with a plop, hugged Master Qian's legs and howled:

"I don't dare to be a teacher...but...Xuan Erge is too pitiful. He obviously likes to study so much...I have no choice but to lend him the book to copy."

"The annotations in the scriptures were all written by you, Master. I didn't dare to teach him anything. If he didn't understand something, I could only explain it based on my own understanding..."

Seeing this, Ye Xuan said anxiously: "Master Qian, don't blame Jinshan. If you don't want to accept me, we will leave immediately. As for copying the annotations from your scriptures..."

"Okay, these annotations are not secrets at all." Master Qian sighed slightly and waved his hand.

Every reader has his or her own understanding of a book, and then marks these annotations on the book. Some scholars or students would sell these books to bookstores and ask them to print and sell them.

The same thing happened with his annotations, which were also sold to bookstores.

Also, each of his students has a copy.

If he cannot pass on what he teaches, who would dare to study with him?

When these students grow up, they may become teachers and pass on this knowledge.

He was not angry that his things were learned, but he was angry that Zhao Jinshan didn't know what was good for him.

I teach others when I haven't learned it myself, and I'm afraid of misleading them.

After all, Zhao Jinshan’s level... is really hard to describe!

Among all the students I have taught, this one is considered to be the worst!