Chapter 281 What is the ideal of a scholar?
Seeing that he seemed unable to convince the other party, Sang Yu gritted his teeth and prepared to bring out those four shocking words.
When the time comes, I will put it on Sang Xingjia. I don’t believe that Chai Yuanwei will not be tempted.
The four sentences of Hengqu were already on the tip of his tongue, and just when he was about to say them, Chai Yuanwei finally moved.
He hesitated for a long moment before speaking, "...Bring him here tomorrow. But let me make it clear first: if he doesn't suit my taste, I will never accept him as my disciple."
I knew that he had already agreed, but he was just too embarrassed to say it directly because he had refused many times before.
Sang Yu chuckled for a moment, then quickly regained her composure and nodded in agreement: "Okay, everything is up to you."
Before leaving, Sang Yu called Que'er who was standing in the distance: "Sister Que'er, I have one more thing to trouble you with..."
"Okay, I'll go there later." Que'er agreed immediately.
I always feel bad about drinking someone else's milk tea twice for nothing, but since there is something I can do to help, I naturally feel obliged to do so.
"Thank you very much."
After saying goodbye to the two of them, Sang Yu walked slowly towards home. Although there were some twists and turns in the process, it went smoothly overall.
Big brother wants to fool her, right? She wants to see tomorrow when Master Chai agrees to accept him as a disciple after inspection. Will he respect his teacher or turn against him?
Thinking of this, the smile on Sang Yu's face became even brighter.
When we got home, it was not late. Normally, the family would have started having dinner.
However, as soon as Sang Yu entered the yard, he saw the whole family busy with their own things. The two little guys were writing today's homework on the small blackboard with chalk.
"Why don't you eat first? What if I come back late?" Sang Yu couldn't help asking.
Even though she had the Four Sentences of Hengqu as her trump card, she had no idea how long it would take to convince Master Chai, so she asked them to start eating before leaving home.
Seeing her come back, Xie Qiujin hurriedly asked Sang Xingjia to put some food in the pot, and answered her question by the way: "I'm not hungry after eating the candied haws, so I'll eat it later and wait for you."
No matter when they were poor and hungry or well-fed and well-fed, their family would sit together and eat dinner almost every day. There was no rigid rule of not talking while eating or sleeping.
Gradually, a habit was formed. Whenever there was one person missing during dinner at home, I felt something was wrong, and the food didn't taste as good.
Sang Yu nodded and let the matter go. She urged the two children to wash their hands and said, "Wash your hands and eat. After we finish eating, we can continue to tell the story of Journey to the West."
When we were halfway through the meal, the sparrow came.
She called Sang Xingjia out and whispered something to him. When he came back, he, who had been dejected, suddenly held his head high and puffed out his chest.
Sang Yu saw the obvious joy on his face, which he couldn't hide, and the corners of his mouth curled up slightly behind his bowl.
By now, the Sang family had long been accustomed to her telling only two episodes of "Journey to the West" every day. Knowing that begging was useless, they would disperse after she finished telling the story, prepare to wash up and go to bed.
Sang Yongjing and Sang Xingjia, who were responsible for copying the storybooks, and Xie Qiujin, who sewed the pages neatly every day, remained where they were and did not move.
Seeing that Sang Yu did not return to the room, the three of them were stunned.
Xie Qiujin thought she was tired, so she hurried forward to ask, "Yu'er, are you exhausted? Mommy will carry you home."
Hearing this, Sang Yu burst out laughing: "Mom, I'm not tired, I just have something to talk to big brother about."
"Oh, then you guys chat. Mom and Dad should go back to their rooms first. You guys should also get some rest."
Xie Qiujin immediately understood what she meant and pulled Sang Yongjing, who had just folded the papers neatly and was about to put them aside, away.
She also took the stack next to Sang Xingjia and went back to her room to light the lamp and continue sewing.
Sang Yongjing, who was completely clueless, was still trying to struggle to stay, mumbling: "Let them talk, why should we leave, wuwuwu..."
Sang Yu couldn't hear what was said afterwards. It was obvious that Xie Qiujin covered his mouth and forced him to shut up.
Sang Xingjia, who was called to stay, felt a little nervous, guessing that his younger sister was probably going to ask him about meeting the teacher tomorrow.
If it was before dinner, he might not have had any confidence, but after hearing the good news brought by Que'er, he is now very confident.
He was just thinking about what he would say if Sang Yu asked, when he heard her suddenly ask, "Brother, what do you think the ideal of a scholar is?"
The topic was so abrupt that Sang Xingjia didn't even react for a moment. After a few breaths of silence, he replied, "You seem to have asked me this before. It's nothing more than self-cultivation, family harmony, governance of the country, and peace in the world."
At that time, Sang Xingjia was in a state of deep confusion, feeling that the saying, "A scholar is good for nothing," was indeed true. He had studied for over a decade, but at the critical moment, it was completely useless.
If it weren't for Sang Yu's careful guidance, he would definitely not be in this state now.
"Yes, I asked you this before. Recently, I suddenly remembered four sentences I came across in a book. Every time I think of them, they are always so enlightening. I wonder if you'd be interested in hearing them?"
Sang Yu called Sang Xingjia to chat with him alone, not only because of the meeting with Master Chai tomorrow, but more importantly, she hoped that he could cheer up.
Everything seems to be normal for Sang Xingjia now, but what is he doing?
Chopping wood, carrying water, and selling goods on the street.
It’s not that labor is bad, but that he has a lot of knowledge but chooses to discard it. He has studied hard for decades, but now he is doing something that anyone in the countryside can do.
If he really hated officialdom, Sang Yu wouldn't force him. Finding a job as an accountant or bookkeeper, toiling away all his life, perhaps ordinary, but still a life.
But from the ambitions inadvertently revealed between the lines of his writing, and the beautiful articles that he wrote repeatedly but then tore up, Sang Yu could see that he was unwilling to give up.
She would definitely not care if others lived such a twisted life, but after all, he was her brother.
He clearly has the ability and conditions to realize his ideals and ambitions, but he is unwilling to study and take exams. He is unwilling to live a mediocre life and he is not willing to accept this.
Did she really think that she was relying on Sang Xingjia to take the imperial examination and become a high-ranking official so that he could be her backer in the future?
Do you really think being a civil servant is that easy? Reputation, integrity, and conduct are enough to punish a civil servant.
If he could really pass the exam and become an official, she would be the first one to draw a clear line between them. As long as Sang Xingjia didn't say it herself, she would never take advantage of his sister's status to do anything evil.
She always used to think that it would be great if her family could produce a high-ranking official, and in fact, she also had a bit of Forrest Gump's spirit.
Otherwise, you can't expect to use the dozens of taels of silver that your family has worked hard to save to bribe officials. I'm afraid they won't even look at this little bit of money, as their greed is insatiable.
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