Chapter 152 Homework
Magistrate Fu nodded, indicating that he understood, but he still said, "The county government is not well-off. The current food provided to the laborers is based on the old system. I'm afraid it will be difficult to change it."
Manbao frowned, thinking, "How can it be so difficult? It's just about making money, right? Besides, no one eats much."
Manbao opened his mouth to speak, but the county magistrate suddenly asked Bai Shanbao, "What's your name, young master?"
Manbao shut up temporarily. His mother had said that when others are speaking, one should wait until they have finished speaking before speaking again. It is rude to interrupt.
Bai Shanbao puffed out his chest and said, "My name is Bai Shan."
"Bai?" County Magistrate Fu asked with a smile, "Who is Bai Li from Qili Village to you?"
Bai Shanbao was stunned for a moment and said, "That's my uncle."
"Hey, Bai Li has brothers?"
Bai Shanbao said, "My father and uncle are cousins."
County Magistrate Fu nodded, thinking Bai Shanbao was a relative of the Bai family who had come to rely on Bai Li. He smiled and asked him, "You seem quite talented in studying. Does your father also teach?"
Bai Shanbao lowered his hands and replied, "My father was a Jinshi in the first year of the Dazhen reign. In the second year of the Dazhen reign, he was appointed magistrate of Shu County. He later died in office while apprehending bandits."
Bai Shanbao pursed his lips, looking very unhappy. Of course, these words were not his own idea, but were once recited by his grandmother to someone. Bai Shanbao just replaced the son with his father.
This brought back some not-so-good memories.
Manbao sensed his friend's unhappiness, and immediately threw all the labor and food behind his mind, stretched out his little hand and grabbed his.
Bai Shanbao's hand was held by a pair of chubby hands. He glanced to the side and felt much better. His energy was restored and he raised his head to look at County Magistrate Fu.
Magistrate Fu hadn't expected this to be the orphan of a former colleague. At that time, there weren't many officials, so the bureaucratic circle was small. The second year of Dazhen wasn't that far away, so he thought for a moment and remembered, "Is your father Bai Qi?"
Bai Shanbao said in a baby voice, "It's my father!"
County Magistrate Fu couldn't help but sigh and said, "So you're the son of an old friend. Would you be willing to study at the county school? I can give you a letter of recommendation."
Bai Shanbao shook his head and said, "Thank you very much, sir. However, my current knowledge is not enough to go to the county school. I will talk to you when I am older."
County Magistrate Fu nodded and said with satisfaction: "Very good, Lord Bai will have a successor."
Manbao tilted her little head and looked at him curiously. She wanted to say something, but Bai Shanbao shook her hand hard, so she didn't say anything.
Magistrate Fu did not speak to the two children anymore. He asked the bailiff to take them away and then went to see the dam.
He came for an inspection. In the past, he would just take a look around and leave. This time, he came to take a look because he heard that the project was halfway through.
Bai Shanbao walked away holding Manbao's hand. After they had walked very far, they turned back to look at the backs of County Magistrate Fu and the others.
Manbao also looked back and saw that only her fourth brother and Daji were there. Then she said, "He is lying. He doesn't even know your father."
Bai Shan nodded, "I know. If I knew him, I would have visited him when my grandmother moved us here."
"Then why did he lie?"
Bai Shanbao was, after all, a year older than Manbao and had received a different kind of education, so he said, "It's just a courtesy. Besides, Shu County isn't far from here, only slightly further than Mianzhou, so of course he had to say something. But you, don't say everything outside in the future. People outside are different from those in the village."
Manbao was surprised and said, "So outside Luojiang County is Mianzhou. Have you been there?"
Zhou Silang couldn't help but hold his forehead:...this focus.
But Bai Shanbao accepted it well. He quickly put aside his worries and became happy. He said, "I haven't been there, but it's the provincial capital. It must be more prosperous than Luojiang County. We'll go there when we grow up a little bit."
Manbao nodded and said, "I want to eat lots and lots of food and grow up quickly."
Bai Shanbao nodded in agreement, "You still have to learn how to ride a horse, otherwise walking will be too tiring."
"I don't have a horse at home, and horses are so expensive. Can I ride a donkey?"
Bai Shanbao hesitated, "That's fine."
Zhou Silang grabbed one of them by the back of the collar and dragged them towards the Zhou family's stall, saying, "Come on, we don't even have a donkey. You've been wandering around for a long time and you're not hungry yet? Hurry up and eat something and go back. Second Brother shouldn't have brought you here today."
Daji followed silently, allowing Zhou Silang to carry their young master.
It was not until they returned home that Manbao suddenly cried out, "County Magistrate Fu forgot to return the manuscript to us."
Bai Shanbao was also a little annoyed. After all, they had spent a long time writing it, so he sighed for a long time with Manbao, and was still a little depressed until he went to school the next day.
Seeing the two children's heads drooping like eggplants hit by frost, Mr. Zhuang couldn't help but drag them out to question them. As soon as he heard it, he said, "What's the big deal? You wrote the article, and you'll have to revise it later anyway. Just write it again. Revisiting the old will help you learn new things. Even if the content is the same, the article should be different."
Mr. Zhuang simply gave them homework. "Write your story again based on your visit to see the dam construction. No two people are allowed to write together this time. Each of you must write your own."
The two children opened their eyes wide, and their hands felt a little painful at the thought of writing so many words.
Mr. Zhuang said, "You are still young, so I will give you more time. Just give it to me before the winter solstice holiday."
Manbao counted on his fingers how long it was left until the winter solstice. When he found out that it was still a very long time, he immediately became happy and excitedly agreed with Bai Shanbao.
Seeing that the two children had recovered their spirits, Mr. Zhuang took them back to the classroom and said, "Let's go to class."
Although there is still a long time before the winter solstice, Bai Shanbao and Manbao dare not slack off. After all, this article is very long and it took them a whole year to write it.
So as soon as school was over, the two children went back to the Bai family together, and skillfully took out things from the book box in the study to prepare for their homework.
This is a habit the two children have developed over the past year. When they are not going out to play, they basically come to the Bai family's study to do their homework and read.
After all, the Zhou family didn't have a study, not even a desk. She had to do her homework by lying on the dining table, and no one talked to her while she was doing her homework. It was so boring.
Bai Shanbao also liked to have someone accompany him when doing homework. The two of them tacitly took a seat each, and then took out their own pens, ink, paper and inkstone and placed them in place.
After exchanging a glance, Bai Shanbao held down the white paper in front of him and said, "You are not allowed to peek at me."
Manbao, who was about to peek, snorted and turned his head away and said, "I'm not going to peek at yours, and you're not allowed to peek at mine."
The two children looked at each other warily, put a book in the middle to block each other's sight, and then began to think hard about how to write better than him (her).
Bamboo: Why did I add more chapters? I forgot.
(End of this chapter)
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