Chapter 532 The story of Mencius' mother moving three times
Manager He was a businessman, so he naturally only cared about business matters. It was the first time he learned that Cheng Zhao, the top scholar in the provincial examination in Yuncheng who even the governor couldn't help but praise, was actually the nephew of a man from Sui'an.
Becoming the top scholar in the provincial examination is an immense honor, and adding the honor of becoming the top scholar in the metropolitan examination makes it an achievement that countless scholars dream of.
He still remembered that when the eldest son of the He family first place in the provincial examination, the entire He family was shocked and held a banquet for three days and three nights. Later, the eldest son achieved a good result of fifth place in the metropolitan examination, and the He family held another banquet... The eldest son ranked fifth in the metropolitan examination and has now become a third-rank official in the court. Cheng Zhao ranked first in the metropolitan examination. Judging from this, he will probably be able to gain a foothold in the court soon.
A simple village woman is nothing to fear, but a newly appointed top scholar is someone to be wary of.
The He family is adept at attracting talent and would never offend a future high-ranking official for the sake of business.
There are so many profitable businesses in the market, but there can only be one person who comes in first place in the imperial examination...
Manager He pondered the situation for a long time, and quickly analyzed the pros and cons. He did not leave in a hurry, but after the villagers dispersed, he walked quickly towards Cheng Wanwan: "Sui'an people, I was a bit abrupt in my words just now. Please don't hold it against me, a mere merchant. I apologize to you here."
Cheng Wanwan took a step back: "Manager He, you flatter me. I'm just a village woman. Even if I wanted to argue, what could I possibly do?"
After she finished speaking, she turned around, stepped up the stairs, and walked into the courtyard.
Manager He wanted to follow, but Cheng Jia stopped him with a raised hand: "If you don't leave now, I'll have no choice but to throw you out of Dahe Village."
"Don't be violent." Manager He dared not take another step forward. "I'll walk by myself, I'll leave now."
He turned and walked toward his carriage, sighing involuntarily. He had intended to secure the business without much effort, but it seemed he had offended the people of Sui'an.
If the He family fails to win over Cheng Zhao in the future, they will definitely blame him for creating trouble.
Well then, in a few days he will bring generous gifts to apologize. The people of Sui'an should let it go because of the generous gifts.
He was about to get into the carriage when he looked up and saw two children walking towards the courtyard.
A boy of about ten years old and a girl of six or seven years old were talking excitedly.
“Brother Jingsi, your cousin is really amazing. My dad said that as long as he doesn’t make any mistakes, Cousin Cheng will definitely become the top scholar this year. You’re going to have a top scholar cousin.”
"Of course!" Zhao Sidan proudly raised his head. "I want to be the top scholar in the imperial examinations and earn an official title for my mother."
As he said this, he couldn't help but wave his hand, as if he were giving orders.
He held a stack of papers in his hand; these were the drawing papers he and Yu Jiao had used this morning to practice drawing figures.
Yu Jiao drew her imagined grandmother. Her father was driven out of the Yu family, so she never met her living grandmother after she was born.
Zhao Sidan's drawing depicted his master and third brother. His master and third brother had been gone for four or five months, and he missed them so much that he couldn't help but draw them on paper. Perhaps because he missed them so much, the drawing was quite lifelike, and the teacher praised him for a long time.
He tossed his hand, and the sheets of paper in his hand scattered everywhere.
Manager He, who was not far from the door, had not paid attention to the two children at first, but when he saw the drawing paper on the ground, his expression suddenly changed.
He strode over, picked up the drawing paper from the ground, and was increasingly shocked as he looked at it.
He pressed Zhao Sidan's shoulder and pointed at the portrait on the right: "Where is the person on this painting..."
"What are you doing!" Cheng Jia suddenly rushed over, grabbed Manager He's wrist, snatched the drawing paper, and said sternly, "You dare to cause trouble at the gate of Anren's residence? Who gave you the guts!"
The veins on Manager He's wrist were pinched, causing him so much pain he almost fainted. He explained, "I... I was just asking who the person in this drawing is; they look somewhat familiar..."
Zhao Sidan's eyes narrowed.
Although his mother never revealed his master's identity, he wasn't stupid and more or less guessed that his master wasn't his mother's cousin at all.
The master's identity is a secret, and this person has seen the master before; he could be a relative or friend of the master, or he could be an enemy.
Judging from Cheng Jia's attitude towards this person, it's easy to see that he's not a good person.
Zhao Sidan raised his face, revealing an innocent expression: "I saw this person in a book who looked very heroic, so I copied his drawing. Do you think my drawing is good, uncle?"
"Beautiful, beautiful..."
Manager He quickly broke free, climbed into his carriage, and left.
Cheng Jia turned to Cheng Ding and instructed him, "Go to the village entrance and tell them that this person is not allowed to enter the village again."
Cheng Ding nodded and left immediately.
Zhao Sidan hurriedly entered the courtyard, placed the drawing paper in front of Cheng Wanwan, and then recounted what had just happened.
"Sidan, you did a great job." Cheng Wanwan looked up with satisfaction and said, "Cheng Jia, have the village head inform everyone that if anyone comes looking for Master He with his portrait, the villagers should all say the same thing: they've never seen him."
As for the neighboring village, not many people have seen He Xiao. Even if they have, it's only been a fleeting glimpse, and they might not be able to recognize him just by looking at his portrait.
As long as the people of Dahe Village insist that they do not know this person, and there is indeed no such person in Dahe Village, then the He family will have no way to deal with him.
Cheng Zhao's becoming the top scholar in the imperial examination became the biggest news in Ping'an County.
For several days in a row, Cheng Wanwan's doorstep was worn down by visitors coming to congratulate her.
The Dahe Academy also gained popularity. Originally, only people from a few nearby counties and towns sent their children to study there. Now, people from more distant counties and towns are also coming to inquire about the school. In particular, those scholars who are about to take the imperial examinations are eager to register, fearing that they will miss out on a place if they arrive late.
The village head was extremely worried: "Auntie Dashan, this can't go on... We built this school extra big because we were worried there wouldn't be enough students, but suddenly so many students have enrolled, and the classrooms are overflowing. If Cheng Zhao becomes the top scholar, it will be even worse; the school will probably be bursting at the seams. Is there any good way to control this?"
Cheng Wanwan was also helpless.
In ancient times, Mencius' mother moved three times to find the right environment for her son's education; in modern times, there are school district properties—all for the sake of children's education.
But the school is already very large, even larger than the largest nearby Nanfu Academy. Further expansion is not feasible. The students who come here are all here for Master Yu. How can Master Yu teach so many people? He would probably be exhausted.
Then we'll have to resort to modern methods.
"Issue a notice stating that only the following categories of people are eligible to study in Dahe Village: first, local residents of Dahe Village; second, children of workers or business people in Dahe Village; and third, people who own residences, shops, or farmland in Dahe Village," Cheng Wanwan said methodically. "Furthermore, those who achieve excellent results in the prefectural examination may be specially admitted."
The village head's eyes lit up: "Brilliant, absolutely brilliant! This way, the shops in the market built in Dahe Village can be rented for high prices... and some unwanted wasteland on the edge can also be sold... This is a great idea, a great idea! I'll have Tiezhu draft the announcement right away."
Cheng Wanwan sighed. If she hadn't been forced to, she wouldn't have brought up the concept of school district housing in this era.
It is hoped that Dahe Village can attract some literary scholars in the future; only with qualified teachers can we discuss expansion...
However, with the increasing number of students, it's time to put the library on the agenda.
Just as Cheng Wanwan was about to go to Master Yu to discuss this matter, Granny Qi walked in: "Madam, Old Madam Cheng and Old Master Cheng have brought the whole Cheng family here."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
