Chapter 6 This kid has something
Everyone filed into the pavilion.
There were already two middle-aged men standing in front of the hall. One of them had no beard, was dressed in a blue shirt, and stood straight with a thin body.
The other one had two carefully groomed moustaches on his lips and was dressed in silk, looking like a wealthy man.
Seeing them come in, the man with the mustache spoke first: "Find a seat each."
Everyone found a desk, and Zheng Fa also found an empty seat in the corner and knelt in front of the desk.
Zheng Fa always felt that the most stressful moment of the exam was before the test papers were distributed.
For example, now, the water pavilion is so quiet that only the sound of heavy breathing can be heard.
"I am the housekeeper under Madam, my last name is Wu, and this one is the teacher of the Seventh Young Master, Mr. Shen." He pointed at the middle-aged man in green shirt beside him and said: "Today's chief examiner is Mr. Shen."
Mr. Shen nodded slightly, with no expression on his face. He didn't say anything else, and said directly: "Today we are selecting a book boy for the Seventh Young Master. Your family backgrounds are very different."
He glanced at the short shirt on Zheng Fa, and then glanced at the young men in silk clothes.
“The knowledge is also uneven.”
His gaze lingered for a while on the silk scarves on the heads of the three students.
"Therefore, for the sake of fairness, I will not test you on other subjects today." He pointed to the table in front of Zheng Fa and the others and said, "On this table is a Taoist book, The Scripture of Purity and Tranquility. I will lead you in reciting some of the chapters, and then you will need to write down the chapters and sentences you can remember."
After saying this, he didn't care how the teenagers reacted, and without taking the book in his hand, he started reciting.
The young men hurriedly opened the "Classic of Purity and Tranquility" in front of them, and recited along with Mr. Shen, trying to keep up with his speaking speed.
"The Great Dao is invisible, giving birth to the heaven and earth; the Great Dao is ruthless, moving the sun and the moon; the Great Dao is nameless, nourishing all things; I do not know its name, so I call it Dao. The Dao has clarity and turbidity, movement and stillness; the sky is clear and the earth is turbid, the sky moves and the earth is still. Men are clear and women are turbid, men move and women are still. It descends from the root to the end, and gives birth to all things. The clear is the source of the turbid, and the movement is the basis of the still. If a person can always be clear and still, all heaven and earth will return to him..."
After reading four chapters, he suddenly stopped and said:
"Okay, hand in the book in your hand and start memorizing."
Not only did it start so suddenly, but it ended so unexpectedly.
Many young men sighed, but seeing his unhappy expression, they did not dare to say anything. They just obediently placed the scriptures that they had not finished memorizing in front of him.
…
The pavilion became quiet again, with only the sound of grinding ink and the rustling of paper rubbing against each other.
Mr. Shen and Butler Wu stood side by side in the hall, looking at the dozen young men working at the desks in front of them. Their lips moved slightly, but the sound of their conversation could only be heard by each other. It was obvious that they both had extraordinary martial arts skills.
"Mr. Shen has a bad temper." Butler Wu said.
These seventeen or eighteen-year-old kids could see the other party's impatience.
"Find a mere book boy..."
"What can we do? After all, the Seventh Young Master is the apple of Madam's eye, and he will be the future head of our Zhao family. How can we not be cautious with the people around him? Sir, you know that all those servants were driven away by Madam."
"It's obviously him who is naughty!"
Speaking of this, Mr. Shen's expression became even uglier.
Butler Wu didn't dare to respond, and just changed the subject: "This "Classic of Purity and Tranquility" is unpopular. We haven't read it. These little guys usually read Confucian classics and have never been exposed to Taoist scriptures. They will suffer now."
"Humph! Since your wife wants to find a good one, I will find her a good one!"
Butler Wu smiled slightly, knowing that the other party was just complaining.
As a young master, it is normal for him to feel that these children are being underutilized when being tested. "This book is a great choice. None of these children have read it. Who can say that we are unfair in today's test?"
But Mr. Shen shook his head slightly: "It's fair to say, but I think the ones who can stand out are those who have some background."
"What do you mean?"
"You've been educated, how could you not know that? Eating meat is more nourishing than eating vegetables, and eating well means better memory. Moreover, reading can make you wise, and most people who have been to school are smarter than those who have not."
Butler Wu also understood that what Mr. Shen said was right.
"The three students in this field all have their own backgrounds. One is the child of the second housekeeper, one is from the seventh young master's wet nurse's family, and the other is also the grandson of the shopkeeper. According to you, sir, these are the three?"
Mr. Shen nodded.
"But I think there is a boy who is interesting." Mr. Shen was startled and looked towards the corner following his gaze.
In the corner, Zheng Fa was slowly grinding ink.
"This kid?" Mr. Shen frowned and said, "Looking at his attire, he's probably the worst among this group of people. How could you think he has a chance?"
Steward Wu laughed and said, "Compared with you in knowledge, I am ashamed of myself. But when it comes to judging people, I do have a pretty good eye."
He raised his chin slightly and pointed at Zheng Fa: "This kid, others were timid when they came in, but he was the only one who was a little nervous, but within two or three breaths, he seemed to have adapted to this environment."
"Sir, you just finished reciting. The three students all looked sad, except for him, who didn't look troubled."
"I'm afraid he has something in his stomach."
Mr. Shen looked at Zheng Fa carefully for a few times, and felt that under the influence of Butler Wu's words, he really saw some calmness on the boy's face.
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More importantly, he knew that Steward Wu was not bragging. He was able to gain the lady's trust and be in charge of almost all the major and minor matters in the main house and backyard. His ability to judge people should not be underestimated.
…
Zheng Fa finally ground the ink.
He was indeed not that nervous. In the five years in modern times, he had taken at least a hundred exams, big and small.
Regardless of whether you do well in the exam or not, your mentality for the exam room has been trained.
He was confident that he was more experienced in this area than other teenagers.
What's more, the test method this time is extremely favorable to him - "The Classic of Purity and Tranquility" is certainly not easy to memorize, but when you first start to learn English, it is like a heavenly book.
No matter how difficult it is, can it be harder than challenging high school math at the kindergarten level?
Sure enough, although he could not understand some of the words and sentences, after listening and watching Mr. Shen's lecture, he took note of most of it.
He just felt a little uncomfortable with having to grind the ink before writing.
While others had already started writing, he was still struggling with the inkstone.
After finally getting some ink, Zheng Fa picked up the brush and then thought of an embarrassing question -
He doesn't know how to use a brush! No matter which world he is in, he has never learned calligraphy.
Zheng Fa could only make do with the posture of holding a water pen.
Then he realized:
He doesn't know the language of this world.
It cannot be said that he knows nothing at all, after all, he did go to elementary school for one year, but generally speaking, he doesn't know much.
The characters in this world are magically similar to modern ones, and more like the writing style in modern ancient books.
When he was reading "The Classic of Purity and Tranquility", he did not realize this problem, just like many modern people find it smooth to read traditional Chinese characters, he really could understand it.
But when I picked up the pen, I felt a little desperate.
After completing compulsory education, do I have to be illiterate again? "During the exam, I would rather make mistakes than write them all in. Don't hand me a blank paper!" Old Chen's earnest teachings were still ringing in his ears. Zheng Fa gritted his teeth and started to write from memory in simplified Chinese.
In front of the hall, Mr. Shen looked at Zheng Fa writing crooked, erroneous and typos on the paper, and couldn't help but look at Butler Wu with a smile.
Butler Wu stroked his mustache and said, "I'm mistaken. Where does this kid get his confidence from?"
(End of this chapter)