Chapter 26

Chapter 26

It was snowing heavily outside the window, and a charcoal fire was lit in Master Zhao's study.

Mr. Zhao was reviewing his lessons in preparation for the coming year.

Madam Zhao did the sewing and made two more pairs of shoes for Ji Yuan, who then went to the county to learn how to wear them.

The three grandchildren were also reading. When they got tired after a while, they went to find their mother and grandmother who were in the next room.

As soon as winter came, they would light charcoal fires. Mr. Zhao's mother was in poor health, so the family was never short of charcoal for her.

After a while, Mrs. Zhao and her daughter-in-law went to make lunch, and Ji Yuan also got up to stretch his muscles.

Nearly half of the half-person-high paper had been used, and his handwriting had improved.

During this period, his third uncle and aunt came to see him, but he sent them away with the excuse that he had to study. They didn't dare to say anything. After all, the entire Anji Village was keeping an eye on Ji Yuan. If he was really beaten or scolded, the village chief would not forgive them.

Ji Yuan looked at them coldly. In the past, when little Ji Yuan was bullied, most people didn't see it. But now that he has just been admitted to a county school, these people's attitude has changed.

After lunch, Ji Yuan went to Uncle An's house as usual to take care of the two cows. Although he didn't have to eat at his house, he still had to say hello.

It just so happened that he was also going to look for An Dahai.

An Xiaohe has not been seen recently. He was kept in the room by Mrs. An Er to study, and he was not allowed to go out except to eat.

An Dahai sighed: "He is miserable too. Third Auntie told him to pass the entrance exam to the county school next year."

“But I also heard that the county school might not enroll so many people next year, making it even harder to pass the exam.”

An Dahai knew that he was not cut out for studying. He had neither any interest in it nor anyone forcing him to do so.

Nowadays, being able to understand contracts and keep accounts is already better than many people.

Ji Yuan couldn't say anything, as everyone could see how difficult it was to study.

Except for the era.

Ji Yuan had only studied for less than a year, but he was already in the top 20 out of more than 600 people. Not everyone has this kind of talent.

"When are you going to the county? Let my dad take you there then."

Ji Yuan said: "On the 16th day of the first lunar month, I made an appointment with Li Ting. Village Chief An asked Uncle An Wu to take us there."

Li Ting from Baoli Village, who is fifteen years old this year, has also been admitted to the county school. After receiving the news, he asked someone to bring a letter to him. When he learned that Ji Yuan had also passed the exam, he naturally made an appointment to go to school together.

When Ji Yuan came, he also asked Dahai to visit Xiao Huang more often.

Although he has now persuaded Xiao Huang to behave himself and his uncle and aunt can now feed him, cows are stubborn and mistakes are bound to happen.

Besides, those two are lazy and might not be able to raise the baby well.

"Don't worry, in the spring, cows will be rented everywhere. It's about making money lying down. I'll take care of whatever they say." Dahai said directly, "I'll help you keep an eye on it, too."

As he was speaking, An Xiaohe, who had just come out for some fresh air, saw the two of them and subconsciously turned around and left.

An Xiaohe's relationship with Ji Yuan had eased a little before, but now it has returned to normal.

Good grades are something that really makes people jealous.

Ji Yuan was helpless. Although they were competitors, they were competing with more than 600 other people. His quota had nothing to do with others.

He got this through his own efforts.

"Let's go and see Xiao Huang. I want to talk to him a few words." Ji Yuan said.

When he traveled to this world, the first thing he saw was Xiao Huang. If it weren't for it, he probably wouldn't have been able to survive the late spring cold snap last year.

It was also because of Xiao Huang that he was able to get a meal at Uncle An's house. Xiao Huang was kind to him.

But when he went to his third uncle's house, his third uncle and aunt looked at him coldly, but they didn't dare to say anything.

After all, if Ji Yuan deliberately played tricks on Xiao Huang and prevented them from feeding the cows, that would be the end of them.

Their son Ji Li also needed money to work as an apprentice in the county town, and they also hoped that the scalpers could earn more money.

The two pretended not to see anything and hid in the house.

An Dahai deliberately said: "Ji Yuan! When you go back to the county school, don't forget us!"

Ji Yuan looked inside and went to talk to Xiao Huang.

It is said that cows have feelings, and Xiao Huang really felt Ji Yuan’s farewell.

During this period, fewer people came from Jiyuan.

"In half a month, I will leave Anji Village. By then, you must eat well and grow into a big and strong bull." Ji Yuan patted Xiao Huang, "Don't be picky about food."

After talking for a long time, Ji Yuan finally left.

He would come to see it before going to the county town.

As we were talking, the twelfth lunar month passed.

On the night of New Year's Eve, Ji Yuan set off firecrackers at Master Zhao's house, had a New Year's Eve dinner, and spent the rest of the time practicing calligraphy?

Master Zhao had more than twenty books at home. During this period, the master asked him to copy them one by one and then study them carefully when he returned to the county school.

Scholars love books like their lives, and paper is easily damaged, so allowing students to flip through and copy books is a sign of Master Zhao's trust in him.

After more than twenty days of hard work, I finally copied all the books.

It was just copied quickly, and Ji Yuan hasn’t understood it yet.

On the fifteenth night of the first lunar month, Ji Yuan said goodbye to Xiao Huang and packed up his things.

"Take some thick clothes first, and then come back to get thinner ones when the weather gets warmer. I've made your bedding thicker so you won't catch a cold at night. Also, take two pairs of shoes with you so you can change them." Madam Zhao said as she counted the things again.

He also exchanged the small bamboo basket from before the Christian era for a book box, which he bought when the peddlers came from the streets.

Although it is the cheapest book box, it is absolutely sufficient to store pens, ink, paper and inkstone.

He only took a part of the paper with him and left the rest to Master Zhao, who could come back when he arrived in Zhengrong County.

He also had one tael and six cents on him, which he put away carefully.

This is the money for his studies.

Although it's not much, you have to be extra careful.

The expenses in the village were not high. Not only could you get free meals, you could occasionally borrow Xiao Huang to ask for money from your uncle and aunt, and you could also go digging for wild vegetables and Chinese medicinal herbs.

When I went to the county town, all these were gone.

There is a feeling of living off one's savings.

Moreover, the county school was free of tuition, but only a portion of the tuition and miscellaneous courses were waived. Ji Yuan estimated that students still had to pay on weekdays.

Everything will have to wait until we go to the county school.

The next morning, Li Ting was already waiting outside the door. The first thing he said when he saw Ji Yuan was, "Ji Yuan, have you grown taller since the New Year?"

Ji Yuan was surprised and asked, “Really?”

I'm one year older and I'm definitely going to grow taller!

He was 1.85 meters tall in his previous life, so he didn’t want to be a shorty in this life.

After saying goodbye to Master Zhao, Ji Yuan and Li Ting went to the village entrance to find Uncle An Wu. Uncle An Wu was waiting there early, ready to send the two students to the county school. Maybe there would be two more scholars riding in his car!

Ji Yuan watched from afar and waved to Master Zhao.

Mr. Zhao has been very busy recently.

It’s similar to what Ji Yuan guessed.

When he was admitted to the county school in December last year, the county school gave out so many things, which was seen by the whole village.

Just after the Chinese New Year, some villagers came to Master Zhao with gifts, asking him to accept them as his students.

It has never stopped since the sixth day of the New Year.

So Master Zhao couldn't send too much.

Ji Yuan estimated that there were at least twenty to thirty students in Master Zhao's private school this year, and there could be more.

This is great, and the life of the Master's family can be improved a lot.

It is said that there are thousands of bushels of grain in books, and this is indeed true.

But I can't say this in front of Master Zhao, otherwise people will say that I don't have the character of a scholar.

Li Ting didn't notice Ji Yuan's distraction and continued excitedly, "I can finally move out of the house and have more freedom in the county school."

Ji Yuan looked at him and knew that Li Ting's mother died early and his stepmother disliked him, so he wanted to come out.

But my reasons are similar.

Life will definitely be more joyful without my uncle and aunt.

But what he was thinking about at this moment was what Master Zhao had told him.

Last night, Master Zhao asked him that question again.

"Why do you study?"

Before Ji Yuan could answer, Master Zhao said, "Do you know the difference between studying in a private school, studying in an academy, and studying in a county school?"

These involve too many things, so Ji Yuan naturally doesn’t know about them.

"Private schools are also called private schools. The academy was originally a place to store books, and later it became a private school."

"Since it is a private school, what to teach is determined by the private school teacher or the academy principal."

"Either you specialize in literature, or you can be both literary and moral."

"Only the government schools are different. County schools, prefectural schools, and the like, all study for only one purpose."

"The imperial examination."

"The provincial examination, the imperial examination, and even the palace examination are all for this purpose."

Master Zhao sighed and continued, "Although what I learn here is old-fashioned, it is also the foundation of learning. Going to the county school from here may be very different."

"If you want to be an official, you must study hard when you go to the county school."

"Be diligent in this way, and be diligent in the world."

"I believe you, there will be a conclusion."

"No matter what, it remains true to its character."

After Master Zhao finished speaking, he let him rest, but Ji Yuan pondered for a long time.

It turns out that there are so many schools in the world, and each one has a different purpose.

Private schools can teach whatever they want.

Mr. Zhao's private school truly teaches the way of sages, and scholars must aspire to become sages.

But this is elementary education, so ordinary people can’t see it, and it’s not very profound.

But Master Zhao, who was over fifty years old, did not slack off. He still read books in the early morning and evening every day, probably to seek the teachings of sages.

However, the county school he was about to go to was different. The county school taught imperial examinations and exam preparation.

Come to think of it, the county school was run by the imperial court, so its purpose was naturally to recruit talents for the imperial court to use.

If we compare Master Zhao with Master Huang, who has already passed the imperial examination, I think we can see the difference.

If Mr. Zhao had passed the imperial examination and become a juren, he would have continued to study hard and then take the imperial examination for a jinshi.

Master Huang simply asked for a small official position and hurriedly took up the office.

The two of them are probably gentlemen who are harmonious but different.

What he said in front of his uncle and aunt that he wanted to take the examinations to become a scholar, a juren, a jinshi, and also to become an official, was all remembered by Master Zhao.

Although Master Zhao felt it was a pity, he did not stop him and instead paved a smooth path for him.

The bamboo and stone poem sent to the county school might be a kind of road paving.

No wonder the teacher asked him why he was studying.

No wonder the Master insisted that he complete the bamboo and rock.

When the new era first began, reading was just an instinct.

The more than ten years of study in my previous life have engraved in my bones the message that children should study.

For him, learning to read and write is as easy as drinking water and eating.

Now, he seems to have seen the light after the clouds have cleared.

Read, read the books of sages.

It's good to be devoted to this path.

It's good to be busy with the world.

Whether it is seeking the learning of sages or seeking the world with the teachings of sages.

He seemed to have seen his way.

He has no special talents and is young, but it is not a bad idea for him to find a way out in his studies.

Is the purpose of the county school to conduct imperial examinations?

Then take the test.

□□Are children still afraid of exams?

Although I came to this road by accident, now that I have started, I must walk well.

Ji Yuan opened the Four Books distributed by the county school, including the "Mencius", which had a total of more than 30,000 words, and he still needed to continue reviewing.

Unfortunately, the Four Books are available, but the Five Classics are not.

The Four Books are difficult to memorize, but with a total of about 56,000 words, it is enough to make one feel miserable. Even the "Era" cannot be said to be well-known.

But compared with the five classics that came later, it is nothing.

The five books "Book of Songs", "Book of Rites", "Book of Changes", "Spring and Autumn Annals" and "Book of History" have a total of 380,000 words.

Even if you study it carefully and ponder it carefully, most people will never be able to learn it all in their entire lifetime.

Just like when you play games.

There are more than a hundred heroes in total, which doesn’t sound like a lot?

But there are more than a hundred heroes, each with three or four skills, and how to match them with common skills, use combos, calculate skill damage, and how to fight with other heroes.

Forget about understanding the skills of more than a hundred heroes, being able to specialize in four or five of them is already very impressive.

The same is true of the knowledge here.

Three hundred and eighty thousand words, every sentence is a famous saying of sages.

Memorize each sentence, understand it clearly, then find other people's comments on it and recite it again to understand it yourself.

For example, the basic subject "University".

Hundreds of scholars have had different opinions on this statement.

Among them, the must-read interpretations include those by Zhu Xi, Qiu Zi, etc.

Zhu Xi wrote "The Great Learning" on the Great Learning, and his understanding of the Great Learning tends to be "inner sagehood".

Qiu Zi wrote "A Supplement to the Great Learning", in which he understood it as "external kingship".

There is no right or wrong in knowledge, just different understandings.

As a student, you must read them carefully and even memorize them. At least you must understand the meaning of both so that you can write a corresponding article.

If this is the case for a university, the rest of it will be even more terrifying.

In the books copied by Ji Yuan, there are different versions of the interpretation of a sentence, and Master Zhao’s book is only a small part of the ones on the market.

Just think about it, and you will know that learning has no end.

Ji Yuan calmed down, a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.

Now that you have decided to go on, you must carefully read the book at hand.

Li Ting, who was still excited next to him, shut up silently.

What's wrong with Ji Yuan? He's reading a book now?!

Doesn't he feel bored and tired?

If he knew the word "juan", he would definitely use it on Ji Yuan.

Li Ting gradually fell silent and simply took out his book.

Memorize it, who doesn’t know how to memorize it?

Uncle An Wu, who was driving the carriage in front, and the villagers who were going to the county town together couldn't help but open their eyes wide.

No wonder he was able to get into the county school!

Look at this diligence.

Why don't my kid learn it too?

Maybe I can go to the county school!

Children who have been to school are well-behaved.

Ji Yuan didn't know yet that he was studying silently and was actually helping Master Zhao recruit students.

After more than an hour, Ji Yuan rubbed his eyes.

County school, here we are.

As soon as Ji Yuan got off the car, he heard someone say behind him: "You are the child prodigy Ji Yuan? The Ji Yuan who wrote about bamboo and rocks?!"