Chapter 204: Chicken Baby
"Stop, stop, stop. I don't want to hear these flowery words." Sang Yu hurriedly stopped him. It was not like she hadn't recited "On Teachers" before. Didn't she need him to recite it again?
She thought about it seriously. After all, she was looking for a teacher for Sang Xingjia, so the most important thing was to consider his own needs and preferences.
So he said directly: "Brother, I won't hide it from you. Although Qingxi Village is a bit remote, it is full of civil servants who were demoted here."
"I'm thinking of hiring someone from the upper village as your teacher. What do you think the emphasis should be on, knowledge or something else?"
"...I think character is more important." Sang Xingjia held it in for a long time and finally said only this sentence.
"Character? How do you tell?" Sang Yu was a little stunned for a moment. If it came to knowledge or behavior, it would be easy to figure out. You could always find out by asking carefully.
But it is not easy for ordinary people to know a person's character and behavior.
As the saying goes, "people's hearts are hidden in their belly." Everything a person shows on the outside can be fake, and it is not uncommon to see people who say one thing to your face and another behind your back.
Seeing her embarrassment, Sang Xingjia said directly: "Little sister, I don't think I need to hire a teacher specifically."
"How can that be?" Sang Yu was still counting on him to get promoted and become her backer. How could she make progress in her studies without hiring a teacher?
Other students were studying diligently, inviting great scholars to give lectures, and asking famous people for advice. In contrast, Sang Xingjia didn't even read a book every day. How could he improve himself without asking a teacher for advice?
Speaking of books, you can't really blame Sang Yu for being reluctant to spend money to buy him one.
In those days, movable type printing had not yet been invented, and books were still the most valuable treasure of every family and were not easily loaned out.
Most of the books that can be bought on the market are handwritten books such as "Three Character Classic" and "Thousand Character Classic" for young children's enlightenment.
Any book that has anything to do with the teachings of great Confucian scholars is a secret that is not passed down from generation to generation. Without a teacher or a disciple, you can forget about even taking a look at it.
This was also the reason why Sang Yu wanted to find a teacher for him.
"Brother, don't think the imperial examination is too easy. As the saying goes, 'If you don't advance, you will retreat.' While you've been stagnant, others have been working hard. Although I believe in your ability, you still have to pay attention to the basics of learning."
Sang Yu's earnest persuasion was somewhat like the "chicken-pushing" parents of later generations.
Unable to persuade her, Sang Xingjia, fearing that she would waste money, could only nod and agree.
However, he also made his own request: "...Then I'll go find it myself. If I meet someone, I can talk to them. It's more reliable than asking others."
Sang Yongjing may not have a clear idea of what the civil servants in the court are like, but Sang Xingjia knows it clearly.
This dynasty values civil officials over military officials. The civil service group has always had the habit of suppressing military generals and supporting new civil officials to take office. Forming cliques for personal gain is even more common practice.
If a student at that time wanted to stay in the capital and become an official, the first thing he had to study was not knowledge, but "paying respects".
This was no secret in the school he attended. Some people even openly stated that they had worshipped a certain civil servant as their "uncle" and that they would have a smooth career in the future.
If not for this, he would not have been confused before and felt that what he had learned in his life was of little use.
Even though he had more or less figured things out after Sang Yu's guidance, he still didn't have much hope of becoming an official in the court.
But since Sang Yu took the initiative to bring it up, he still has to try his best.
Without saying too much, if they can pass the imperial examination and become a juren, at least no one will dare to bully their family in the future, whether in Qingxi Village or in Lingnan City.
The two chatted casually. Sang Yu leaned half on Sang Xingjia's shoulder, looked up at the stars hanging in the dark night sky, and fell asleep in a daze.
When she woke up again, she was awakened by the crowing of a rooster. It was already the next morning.
She pushed the door open and walked out of the room, only to see Sang Yongjing holding a bowl of porridge, drinking it from the edge of the bowl while walking back and forth in the yard, observing the new sprouts in the vegetable patch.
"Dad, why are you up so early?"
"Didn't you say yesterday that you wanted to go into the mountains? I thought it would be safer if we went early while the wolves were still asleep."
Sang Yongjing had a good idea. Wolves are mostly nocturnal and must sleep during the day. If they go at a different time, they won't encounter the wolf pack.
“…Alright.”
Sang Yu was really powerless to correct his wrong perception. He told him not to think that wolves only hunt at night just because the green light in their eyes is more obvious in the dark.
The daytime, when there is plenty of sunshine and good visibility, is the wolves' favorite time to hunt.
Moreover, animals have different living habits from humans. They generally do not sleep for a full night, but sleep in scattered periods to rest and replenish their energy.
It was too troublesome to explain, and she would have to find new excuses as to why she knew all this, so she just admitted it.
After breakfast, the family of three set off in the morning light under Xie Qiujin's worried gaze.
This time, Sang Yu brought the knife from the kitchen, as well as the hoe and shovel from home.
If it is really a pack of wolves, a long-handled weapon is more reliable than a sharp blade when encountering it head-on.
When entering the mountains, Sang Yu was much more alert than before.
Not only did he prevent others from making any noise, he also tried to keep a low profile to reduce his presence, and observed various traces on the ground along the way.
After a night of activities by various nocturnal animals, the land in the forest was covered with all kinds of messy traces. Sang Yu could even see the small footprints left by the hedgehog.
However, so far, she has not found any footprints of medium or large mammals, which is a blessing in disguise.
After walking all the way to the edge of the swamp in fear, Sang Yu breathed a sigh of relief.
Regardless of whether it was wolves that killed the deer, at least she was sure of one thing - the wolves did not come.
She was just about to turn around and tell the father and son the good news, but when she turned around, she saw that they were holding shovels and hoes tightly in their hands, looking around like frightened birds.
"Dad, big brother, don't be so nervous. I checked the road and there were no signs of wolves. Maybe the deer was just frightened and ran away, and finally died here due to exhaustion."
She tried to say a few words to comfort him, but to little avail, and both of them remained very nervous.
"Forget it, Dad, please point out to me where the deer's body is."
I don’t know how much of the deer’s body is left after last night.
If she hadn't promised Zhao Hu in advance that she would go there to slaughter the pigs last night, she would have had to run back and forth quickly that afternoon to check on the situation.
Sang Yongjing pointed to the front left: "Over there, a little further ahead from where we caught wild ducks before."
From a distance, Sang Yu saw a large black area on the water surface. It looked like something extremely black was spreading in the water, which was very scary.
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