Chapter 533 Guidance

Bai Er froze, and Mr. Zhuang introduced him with a smile, "This is my third disciple, Bai Cheng."

Lan Cheng then realized something was wrong. He looked back and forth at the three children and said hesitantly, "Their ages..."

Although the three of them looked very young and seemed to be of similar age, Manbao was the shortest, Bai Shanbao was the second shortest, and the tallest Bai Erlang was actually the third disciple...

Mr. Zhuang laughed heartily upon hearing this and said cheerfully, "It's arranged according to the time of entry. The three children have also discussed it."

Lan Cheng had to admire Manbao even more for being able to gain the upper hand over two boys older than her. At their current age, they either won by fighting or relying on their brains.

Lan Cheng looked at his follower and asked him to bring up the gift.

When he received the visiting card, he knew that Mr. Zhuang would bring three disciples with him, so he prepared three gifts for the meeting.

I just don't know which girl it is.

But they are all students, so who cares who they are? The four treasures of the study given to them can all be used.

The three of them happily accepted the gifts, and Lan Cheng then talked about the provincial school examination.

"The world has been peaceful these past few years. Aside from occasional border clashes, people everywhere have lived and worked in peace and contentment, leading to a flourishing literary scene." Lan Cheng said, "Many talented individuals have emerged in the past two years, so the provincial academy exams are more difficult than in previous years."

After all, there are only so many places in school. With more people studying and more talented people, the competition is naturally fierce.

Mr. Zhuang nodded in understanding.

"With your ability as the second disciple, you might be able to compete. It's okay if you don't pass this year. You can try again next year."

Mr. Zhuang understood, and he also felt that Bai Shan could try for it, but whether he could get in depended on luck. Obviously, there were many talented students taking the exam this year.

Of course, Lan Cheng didn't just give this advice. He also made a list of books for Bai Shan and said, "You can read more of these books in the near future."

There are fifteen books in total.

Bai Erlang was shocked.

When gentlemen talk about reading, they don’t just mean reading it once, but remembering it and maybe even memorizing it.

Bai Shan respectfully took the list of books and agreed.

Manbao took a closer look and immediately understood. "You've read three books. Do you remember those three?"

"I didn't memorize it. I just read it once."

That's just an extracurricular book, who would memorize it?

Bai Erlang also came over to look. He had never read any of the books, and he had even never heard of some of the titles. He asked, "Did you bring these books?"

"No," Bai Shanbao said, "There isn't a single copy, so I have to go to the bookstore to buy one."

Manbao said, "I don't know if the bookstore in Yizhou City is big or if it has many books."

Bai Shanbao: "It will always be bigger than Luojiang County, and there will always be more than Luojiang County."

When Lan Cheng saw the three little ones gathered together and whispering, he smiled and simply invited Mr. Zhuang to go out for a walk and talk.

After the three of them finished their whispers, they realized that the two gentlemen had walked away and they only had time to see their backs.

The three of them subconsciously took two steps forward, but then stopped when they remembered they didn't want to disturb the adults' conversation.

Manbao touched his head and asked, "Why is it that Mr. and Mr. Lan are classmates, but there is such a big age gap between them?"

"I don't know," Bai Erlang rolled his eyes and said, "Could it be that the master is not that smart?"

Bai Shanbao shook his head, "Sir, you started studying late, didn't you?"

The three of them speculated that Mr. Zhuang and Lan Cheng, who had left together, were also talking about things in the past. "Since we parted in Mianzhou that year, it's been more than ten years since we last met, right?"

"Yes, twelve or thirteen years."

"Mr. Huang also passed away two years ago. Before he passed away, he mentioned you."

Mr. Zhuang paused, a look of sadness on his face. "Mr. Huang has passed away?"

"Yes," Lan Cheng paused and said, "The master said he felt very sorry for you."

Mr. Zhuang was silent for a moment, then shook his head and said, "I have never blamed you, sir."

Lan Cheng sighed and said, "Qingming Festival is approaching. Do you want to go with me to pay your respects?"

"Of course, you can ask me out then."

"Okay," Lan Cheng didn't want to continue such a sad topic, so he changed the subject and said, "As for your three disciples, if Bai Shanruo goes to study at the provincial academy, what will happen to the other two?"

"They will study with me," Mr. Zhuang said with a smile. "The provincial academy is certainly good, but some things are difficult for teachers there to teach. So if Bai Shan can pass the exam, I will stay here. I will teach him during his spare time, and take care of the other two students the rest of the time."

Mr. Lan had just tested Bai Cheng. Bai Cheng's knowledge was indeed far inferior to Bai Shan and Zhou Man, but his foundation was also very solid. With such knowledge, if he continued to study for another three or four years, he could try to take the entrance exam for the provincial school.

Lan Cheng also attended the provincial school. When he was in school, his family still had a teacher. In addition to teaching other children in the family, the teacher also taught him some things that were not taught in the provincial school.

It's like their family's staff.

He knew that this was the kind of job his classmates were doing now, but, "Is it okay for that little lady to just follow you like this?"

Mr. Zhuang smiled and said, "Her brother came with us."

Lan Cheng finally smiled and said thoughtfully, "I've never heard of a Zhou family in Luojiang County."

"The Zhou family is not a wealthy family, but just an ordinary farming family."

Lan Cheng didn't believe it. "Can a farmer's family send a young lady to study?"

Mr. Zhuang didn't explain much, but simply said, "His mother is wise, and his family is harmonious."

Lan Cheng smiled nonchalantly and said, "I have a granddaughter who is only a few years younger than them. If your female disciple is free, why not send her over to play with my granddaughter?"

Mr. Zhuang shook his head and laughed, "Then I guess there's some waiting. She's very busy."

Lan Cheng didn't believe it until he visited their courtyard a few times and realized that this girl was really busy.

They had lunch at Lan's house that day and went to look for a bookstore together in the afternoon.

Mr. Zhuang also wanted to visit a bookstore. He had lived in Yizhou for many years and was familiar with the old bookstores in the city. However, he had no idea about the new bookstores that had opened in recent years.

But they have been here for a long time and are not in a hurry.

Mr. Zhuang took them to a large bookstore he remembered, then left the three of them behind and went looking for books to read on his own.

This is a two-story bookstore with rows of bookshelves arranged very neatly. The rows against the walls are even filled with bamboo slips.

Manbao was so amazed by what he saw that he ran towards the bamboo slips, took one down and looked at it, and asked, "Is this an ancient book?"

Mr. Zhuang happened to be walking by, took a look and said, "It was made to deceive children like you. There's no need for you to read the bamboo slips now. You should read the paper books first."

Then it floated away.

Having said that, the three of them still couldn't let go of the bamboo slips, because Bai Shanbao and the others found that the content on them was indeed something they had never seen in other books.

But Bai Erlang thought that there were not many words engraved on a scroll of bamboo slips, and reading a scroll of bamboo slips was much faster than reading a book. Most importantly, they were all one book, which sounded nice.

Good night

I finally finished my birthday today, and will start updating tomorrow.

(End of this chapter)