Chapter 31 Wang Xingan swept away his past resentment
"Three Character Classic, Thousand Character Classic, these are the most basic ones," said Wang Xing'an.
Xiao Yongyan's face was calm. After a little thought, he replied, "No."
Lin Xi was also surprised. Even she, who had not read many ancient Chinese texts, knew these contents. All children who were enlightened would read them from a young age.
How could Xiao Yongyan say that he hadn't read it?
"Husband, you are not talking nonsense, how come you haven't read these?" Lin Xi just felt incredible.
"Indeed not." Xiao Yongyan's face was frank, and it seemed that he was telling the truth.
Wang Xing'an thought he had found Xiao Yongyan's huge weakness and was very excited. "Haha, this is really the funniest thing I have ever heard. How can someone who claims to teach people to read, who hasn't even read the most basic enlightenment books, be qualified to call himself a teacher!"
Facing Wang Xing'an's accusation, Xiao Yongyan asked, "If you haven't read it, are you not qualified to teach?"
"You think you are qualified, but when the time comes, the students you teach don't even know the most basic things. Isn't that ridiculous?" Wang Xing'an said.
There was some commotion among the crowd. They knew nothing about education. Wang Xing'an was the only one in the village who had received education.
Compared to Xiao Yongyan, an outsider whose background is unknown to them, they certainly trust Wang Xing'an more.
Seeing that Xiao Yongyan was unable to respond to the questions raised by Wang Xing'an, they immediately questioned Xiao Yongyan's teaching qualifications.
"Everyone, please listen to me," Wang Xing'an said, "I, Wang Xing'an, am from Taoli Village. You uncles and aunts have watched me grow up. I have been studying in the academy all these years. I can't say anything else, but I have no problem teaching children. If you are at ease, you can consider letting your children study with me. We don't need to build a new place, as our Wang family has the space."
Hearing this, Lin Xi was speechless. It turned out that Wang Xing'an had stirred up so many troubles just to snatch Xiao Yongyan's "job".
"Why don't you say something?" Lin Xi was impatient and pulled the corner of Xiao Yongyan's clothes.
"It's okay, let him talk." Xiao Yongyan was calm and composed, as if he didn't take Wang Xing'an's words seriously at all.
"But if he continues talking..." Lin Xi felt that if Wang Xing'an continued talking, Xiao Yongyan's career would be ruined.
However, the protagonist Xiao Yongyan was not in a hurry at all, and even wanted to hand over the results to others.
In the crowd, Wang Xing'an's words seemed more convincing, and everyone was shaken and turned to the Wang family.
"But if our children go to school and fail to learn, it will be a waste of time," someone asked.
Wang Xing'an said seriously, "Uncle, we can't just think about what to do if we can't study, but also think about the benefits to our family if we can study. Once we pass the exam to become a scholar, the taxes on our family's land can be exempted. Even if we can't become an official, opening a school in the town is also a way out."
Many people in the village did not know that scholars were exempt from taxes, but after hearing what Wang Xing'an said, they finally came to their senses.
No wonder Old Mrs. Wang said she would support Wang Xing'an in going to school no matter what. It turned out that she was considering the long term.
The taxes imposed by the imperial court took up at least half of the family's income. If they could be exempted, an incredible amount of grain could be saved in the future.
In this light, the cost of studying is not that important.
They just treated what Xiao Yongyan said as a joke, but as soon as Wang Xingan opened his mouth, these people immediately became interested.
Lin Xi thought to himself, after all, family members understand each other, and their lack of understanding of the needs of ordinary villagers is the main reason why everyone is not interested.
All of a sudden, everyone around gathered around Wang Xing'an, asking about his studies, leaving Lin Xi and the other person aside.
"Let's go home." Xiao Yongyan put away the paper and pen and prepared to leave.
But how could Lin Xi accept such a failure? She grabbed Xiao Yongyan and said, "Maybe there is still a chance to turn the tables?"
"No more." Xiao Yongyan said this, but there was no trace of loss on his face. Lin Xi couldn't tell what his mood was at the moment.
"You really don't care." Lin Xi asked.
"I don't mind. The town suits me better." Xiao Yongyan said.
Originally, this matter was proposed by Lin Xi. In fact, Xiao Yongyan did not recommend Lin Xi to do this at all, but she insisted again and again, and he could not stop her, so he could only cooperate with her.
The two packed up their things and returned to their home.
Wang Xing'an, who was in the crowd, was extremely happy to see Lin Xi and his wife returning home. He let these two people cause him to be expelled from the academy. Now they could not accomplish what they wanted to do.
After returning home, Lin Xi still couldn't calm down from what had just happened.
"Husband, tell me the truth, have you really never read enlightenment books such as "Three Character Classic" and "Thousand Character Classic"? " Lin Xi felt something was wrong no matter how she thought about it.
Xiao Yongyan smiled faintly, "I really haven't read it. I'm not lying."
"Then what did you read when you were a child?" Lin Xi was puzzled.
Xiao Yongyan narrowed his eyes and fell into memories, "When I was young, the first book my father took me to read was "For Words."
"Wei Yan" written by Xiao Yongyan is one of the most classic works in this place, and its status is probably similar to that of "The Analects of Confucius".
In other words, Xiao Yongyan had never learned any enlightenment reading materials. He started from the most classics.
"Father said that it's all about learning to read. There's no need to read those useless things. 'Wei Yan' is the foundation of all knowledge in the world." Xiao Yongyan's voice became softer and softer, and soon disappeared into silence.
Perhaps because he mentioned the Regent, Xiao Yongyan fell silent after saying this.
Lin Xi didn't ask any more questions, but just remained silent with Xiao Yongyan.
He was once a favored child of heaven, but his family fell into poverty and he was exiled to this remote mountain village. His emotions must have been complicated.
After a long silence, Lin Xi spoke carefully, "So, you are planning to open a school in town?"
"Aren't you going to do your bacon business in town? I, a useless husband, want to take advantage of your madam's fame and open a college, is that not possible?" Xiao Yongyan smiled slightly, and seemed to be in a better mood.
Seeing that he was no longer depressed, Lin Xi breathed a sigh of relief, "Of course, we will go to the town to find a house tomorrow."
But before that, Lin Xi had to go and see how the bacon at home was being smoked.
During this period, Lin Xi discovered that the Shennong system had another function, which was to rate finished foods on a scale from one to ten. The higher the number, the better the quality.
Looking at the yard full of smoked bacon, Lin Xi silently recited to the system, evaluating the grade of the bacon.
[Beep, received the host's request, the level is being assessed, please wait. 】
[This assessment level costs 1 experience point]
【……】
[The current bacon rating is level 8. If the host wants to improve it again, it is recommended that the host add spicy seeds, white thorns and other materials during the smoking process. ]
Having level 8 is good enough. Adding other materials will make the cost of bacon too high, which is beyond the affordability of the people in the town.
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