Chapter 284: Que'er, Bring the Tea
Time will never slow down or speed up because of someone's thoughts. No matter how scared Sang Yongjing is or how much he doesn't want to face it, Sang Xingjia will eventually finish answering the questions.
Que'er, who was helping to grind the ink, also took on the part-time job of invigilating the exam.
When Sang Xingjia finished writing the last word and placed his pen on the edge of the inkstone, she, who had been silent the whole time, finally asked, "Have you finished writing, Mr. Sang?"
Sang Xingjia first thought about how to write the entire article in his mind before he started copying it.
He no longer needed to look at the wet ink on the paper. He nodded slightly at her and said, "I have finished writing. Please ask Master Chai to review it."
Que'er nodded in agreement and walked towards the study to find her father.
She was not afraid that Sang Xingjia would make revisions after she left. She watched him write the entire article, and the entire text was neat and clean without any corrections or typos.
If he dared to make changes secretly, it would be obvious at a glance. Moreover, such behavior is not what a gentleman should do.
Que'er went to find Chai Yuanwei first. After assigning homework to the children as usual, he went to see Sang Xingjia alone.
Then Que'er went to call Sang Yongjing and Sang Yu.
She told him that Chai Yuanwei had gone ahead. Sang Yongjing walked very fast along the way. If he hadn't been worried about Que'er, he would have run straight over.
Even though they hurried all the way, by the time the three of them returned to the pavilion, it was already a while late.
Chai Yuanwei sat at the table, holding the jute paper Sang Xingjia had finished writing and seemingly reading it. Sang Xingjia stood beside him with his hands hanging down, waiting for his comments.
Seeing this, Sang Yongjing breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, they had made it in time. Regardless of whether the other party accepted a disciple or not, with them present, at least Master Chai wouldn't say anything too harsh.
After reading the entire article, Chai Yuanwei put the jute paper in his hand back on the table and looked at Sang Xingjia expressionlessly.
Knowing that he was about to start judging the quality of the article, the four people present, including Que'er, held their breath and prepared to listen carefully to his words.
Unexpectedly, after looking at Sang Xingjia, Chai Yuanwei did not directly say whether the article was good or bad, but instead asked a question that seemed completely unrelated.
"What do you think of Lingnan City?"
Even though he had anticipated a large number of possible questions, Sang Xingjia was still stunned when he heard this question.
However, he quickly realized what was happening. After a brief moment of thought, he said, "Lingnan City is not doing well. The officials are lax and the courts haven't been open for ages. The officers on the streets are taking bribes and extorting money. The city also allows criminals to form gangs and factions..."
Thanks to his frequent experience of setting up stalls in the city, Sang Xingjia has a full understanding of the lives of the lower-class people in Lingnan City.
From their fragmentary accounts, he slowly pieced together the truth: government inaction, collusion between officials and businessmen, and a system rotten to the core from top to bottom.
As he spoke these sharp and critical remarks, Sang Yongjing's heart was in his throat, fearing that someone would hear his words and report him to the authorities.
However, Sang Yu gradually understood some of Chai Yuanwei's intentions. It seemed that her elder brother had written a good paper. As long as this question touched the sore spot of Master Chai, the matter would be settled.
After hearing what he said, Chai Yuanwei stroked his beard and said, "You're right, but also wrong. I can't blame you. You've only been in Lingnan for a short time, so you haven't seen the summer and autumn tax collection scene yet."
Sang Yu knew that he should inquire about Chai Yuanwei's identity and background in advance. As a man who could be an imperial censor, how could he not know anything about the person he might take as his disciple?
When Que'er went to report the news yesterday, he also went to the lower village and asked several families about the situation of the Sang family under the pretext of visiting the children.
That's why he can say this with such confidence now.
"I have indeed never seen it." Sang Xingjia answered honestly, but he still had doubts about why these things he said were related to not having seen the collection of land taxes.
"Alas - the people are suffering!" Chai Yuanwei sighed, and finally his expressionless look was no longer there, with a bit of compassion on his face.
He himself came from a good family. The Chai family was quite famous in the Huguang area. He studied with famous teachers since he was young, and then passed the imperial examination and became an editor in the Hanlin Academy.
Before coming to Lingnan, his knowledge of the people's suffering and heavy taxes was only from books, and he had never experienced it in reality.
After he witnessed the collection of summer and autumn taxes with his own eyes, he finally understood why almost everyone said that the people were suffering.
He was very satisfied with Sang Xingjia's knowledge and answers, knowing that he had indeed studied seriously and was willing to observe, experience and understand in a down-to-earth manner.
In this case, what reason did he have to refuse to accept a disciple?
"When the summer tax comes next year, I'll take you there and you'll understand."
Chai Yuanwei did not say much about this matter. No matter how many words he used to describe it, it would not be as shocking as seeing it with his own eyes.
"Que'er, bring some tea."
His sudden and abrupt turn of events left several people unable to react.
Sang Yu was the first to grasp the meaning and hurriedly pushed the dazed Sang Xingjia, saying, "Hurry up and thank Master Chai."
In what situation would tea be served? It must be a gift for becoming a disciple. Chai Yuanwei has agreed to accept him as his disciple and teach him carefully.
After she reminded him, Sang Xingjia suddenly realized what was going on. He was immediately delighted and bowed, "Thank you, Master."
"There's no tablet dedicated to Confucius here, so we'll keep it simple. Please offer me a cup of tea to show your respects to me. From now on, we'll be master and disciple. I'll teach you everything I know, without holding back."
Chai Yuanwei looked at him with satisfaction in his eyes. This child was studious and kind. It would be a blessing for him to accept him as his disciple.
Although Chai Yuanwei said to keep everything simple, after the tea was served, Sang Xingjia still knelt down and kowtowed to him three times before serving him the tea.
Chai Yuanwei took it with a smile, and his tense face suddenly blossomed like a flower.
After the ceremony, he helped Sang Xingjia up and said, "If you have any questions in the future, you can come and ask me."
"Yes, thank you, teacher."
Seeing that what he had been thinking about was completed, Sang Yu took Sang Yongjing and prepared to say goodbye, leaving Sang Xingjia to get closer to his teacher.
After leaving the Chai family's house, Sang Yongjing couldn't help but mutter, "This apprenticeship gift should be kept simple. Do you still want to give me those ten pieces of bacon?"
"Of course I have to send you off, otherwise Dad will wonder why I asked you to come out so quickly."
The so-called apprenticeship gift actually not only refers to the ceremony and etiquette of apprenticeship, but also a tradition that has existed since ancient times - ten pieces of bacon as a gift for apprenticeship.
When Sang Yu thought of having Sang Xingjia become Chai Yuanwei's disciple, he began to make preparations.
However, time was too tight and they didn't have time to gather them all. Moreover, she hadn't expected Master Chai to be so kind as to accept her as a disciple right then and there.
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