Chapter 364: Leaving School
Mr. Zhuang pushed open the half-open classroom door, and the students who were still gathered together immediately dispersed and ran back to their seats.
Mr. Zhuang paused at the door before walking up to the podium.
He looked down at the students sitting comfortably behind their desks, and after a long pause he sighed softly, "The exam is tomorrow, and this may be our last. Although it's only a few days away, I hope you will study as diligently as ever."
What this meant was that he had agreed to the students dropping out of school.
In fact, it is impossible to disagree. The tuition is paid once a year, and the new year's tuition must be paid after the New Year. Even if Mr. Zhuang is willing to lower the tuition, the parents of these students will not agree to send their children here again.
Because in addition to tuition, they also have to pay for their children's food.
In the past, that little bit of rice, flour and money seemed nothing to them, but it was different now.
The harvest was poor this year, and no one knows what the situation will be like next year.
The reason why children are still allowed to go to school after the autumn harvest is that they have already paid their annual tuition fees and it would be a waste if they don't come.
But every month the children have to bring a small bag of rice and flour to school, which is a heavy burden on the family.
But I can't not give it to my child. I can't let other children eat while my child goes hungry, right?
Moreover, in the eyes of adults, studying is very laborious and brain-intensive. Not only do students have to eat dry food in school, but they also have to eat dry food for breakfast at home. Otherwise, if they get hungry in school, how can they concentrate on the teacher's lectures?
Therefore, anyone who has children attending school should provide them with at least two dry meals a day.
A dry meal, dissolved into porridge or noodle soup, is at least enough for one person to have three meals a day.
Qili Village and the two or three nearby villages are not very wealthy, and most of those who are willing to send their children to school are rich farmers from wealthy families.
The premise is that Mr. Zhuang's salary is not much, and the family can easily provide three meals a day for a child.
But after this natural disaster, each family had very little food left.
So the students' parents discussed it privately and chose this time to come to Mr. Zhuang and resign from school.
Mr. Zhuang was not a man who was out of touch with the world. He naturally knew their current difficulties, so he tried to keep them and even expressed his willingness to reduce or waive their tuition. However, seeing that they still insisted, he had no choice but to agree to let the students leave.
Although he had decided to let them drop out of school, Mr. Zhuang did not do nothing.
After the exam, he called these students one by one to the small courtyard next door to talk to them privately.
He urged the younger ones to recite the Thousand Character Classic and the Analects of Confucius repeatedly after returning home. He said, "These two books contain great wisdom. You may not understand them now, but as you grow older and read more, you will naturally gain something."
The eight or nine-year-old children looked bewildered. Mr. Zhuang paused and said, "Just remember to recite the Thousand Character Classic and the Analects every day after you return. Words you've already learned will be forgotten if you don't look at them for a long time. If you forget the words you've already learned, wouldn't you be disappointing your parents' expectations? You'll have wasted these two years of study."
Upon hearing this, the eight or nine-year-old child nodded in agreement.
Mr. Zhuang has more to say to teenagers who are already twelve or thirteen years old. These children have been studying with him for four or five years.
Mr. Zhuang was not too sad about their departure, because these children did not want to take the imperial examinations, and after four or five years, there was only so much he could teach them.
What he felt most sorry for were two students who had only been studying for two years or had just enrolled last year.
Every child who came out of the teacher's yard had red eyes, and no one knew what the teacher said to them except the children themselves.
Manbao and Bai Shanbao were both a little uneasy.
Manbao's situation is a bit special. She doesn't know whether her husband will leave. If her husband leaves, how can she continue to study?
Bai Shanbao was also very uneasy. He had to study, but if Mr. Zhuang left, where would he go to study?
The person who is least affected is probably Bai Jilang.
After looking around, he made an agreement with his good friends that they should come to play with him more often in the future.
The friends in Qili Village agreed without hesitation. After all, it was just one village, just a few steps away.
The people from the next village didn't hesitate much. It would only take a few minutes to run. There was nothing to do when they got home anyway, so why not just have fun?
After he had met all the students, Mr. Zhuang said with regret that this year's courses had come to an end and everyone could pack up and go home for the New Year.
The students stood up and solemnly bowed to Mr. Zhuang and said goodbye, then put their things away in silence.
Manbao waited until everyone had left before he and Bai Shanbao ran to the courtyard to find the teacher.
Mr. Zhuang was just about to boil water for tea when he saw two disciples coming over. He waved to them and said, "You've come just in time. Come and help Mr. Zhuang light the fire."
Manbao ran over. She was very familiar with this job. She struck the flint, lit the hay and started a fire.
Bai Shanbao handed her a small firewood and asked Mr. Zhuang, "Sir, are you leaving?"
Mr. Zhuang asked, "Why, you don't want to study anymore?"
"No, I want to study with the teacher."
Mr. Zhuang stroked his beard and smiled, "That's all right, isn't it? Just focus on studying with me."
Manbao and Bai Shanbao both breathed a sigh of relief and became happy again, so they invited him, "Sir, please come to my house for dinner tonight."
Mr. Zhuang patted Manbao's head and said with a smile, "Sir, you're not free tonight. I've already promised Mr. Bai that we'll have dinner together."
Bai Shanbao suddenly realized, "No wonder Bai Er wasn't anxious at all. Did he know about this long ago?"
Mr. Zhuang smiled meaningfully.
Bai Erlang certainly didn't know. The kid didn't have many things on his mind. Maybe no one asked him about it, so he didn't think these things had anything to do with him.
He thought, let it be whatever it is.
He is still a child, why should he worry about these things?
So even when he had to sit down and have dinner with Mr. Zhuang, he was not disturbed at all. He just started eating seriously after his father picked up a piece of food with his chopsticks.
There were only the father and son and Mr. Zhuang at the table. Mr. Bai felt that the table was too dull, so he suggested, "Mr. Zhuang, how about calling Shanbao over as well?"
Of course Mr. Zhuang had no objection.
So the servant went downstairs and brought Bai Shanbao and Manbao over in a short while.
Master Bai laughed when he saw Manbao. "I was thinking about sending someone to your house to invite you, but I didn't expect you to be at Shanbao's house. Now Mr. Zhuang only has three of you as students. It's a good opportunity for us to sit together and discuss how to teach this class."
Bai Shanbao explained, "We are discussing planting more melons and beans in the wasteland at the foot of the mountain after the spring."
Thunder roars loudly. Every time there is thunder, the power goes out. Baby thinks it is better to set a timer first.
(End of this chapter)
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