Chapter 900: What Went Wrong? (Thanks to the book friend "Si Jiang" for the reward)
Bai Shan trembled as he held out his hand. Mr. Zhuang was equally displeased with him. "You've always been a promising young man, and you've been studying at the prefectural academy for a year. I thought you were more sensible than your senior sisters and junior brothers. I thought you could give the capital a try in two years. But now it seems I overestimated you. So, you'll be punished with six more strokes."
Mr. Zhuang hit Bai Shan even harder. When he reached Bai Erlang, he was already out of energy. He simply waved to Daji at the door and called him in. "Come here, hit him 25 times."
Bai Erlang swallowed and asked quietly, "Sir, why did I also have five more strokes?"
Mr. Zhuang glared at him and said, "Because you are the oldest, you have grown in years but not in wisdom. These five extra blows are a lesson for you."
Daji glanced at the palms of his young master and Miss Man, secretly measured the strength, and tried to hit them with similar force.
Bai Erlang howled and shouted, "Sir, sir, Daji is very strong, and it's not fair for me to hit him twenty-five times."
Mr. Zhuang: “Hit!”
Mr. Zhuang looked at the three men with a ruthless expression as they were beaten. Their hands were red and swollen. Then he sat down at the desk and asked, "Tell me, do you know why you were punished?"
Manbao lowered his head and said, "We shouldn't have broken our promise and not returned after five days."
Bai Shan: "We shouldn't hide in the county town and not come back because we're afraid of being punished, causing our husband and family to worry all the time. That's cowardice."
Bai Jilang whispered, "You shouldn't run out just because you don't want to do your homework."
Mr. Zhuang slammed his hand on the table and asked, "What else?"
Bai Erlang looked at Bai Shan with a confused look on his face. Bai Shan exchanged a glance with Man Bao, then lowered his head and said, "A son of a wealthy family should not stand under a dangerous wall. We should not put ourselves in danger and hide it from our elders."
Mr. Zhuang then looked at them gravely, and after a while he said, "You understand everything, but you refuse to tell me. What are you afraid of?"
The three of them lowered their heads together.
"Afraid of being punished, you let the mistake stand there, unchecked, letting it grow bigger and bigger?" Mr. Zhuang slammed the table and said, "Do you know that someone in your family will worry? Do you know that when people get older, excessive worry can cause them to lose sleep and become sick? Where's your filial piety? Where's the honesty your teacher taught you?"
The three of them lowered their heads in shame.
Mr. Zhuang took a deep breath and asked, "Which page of the textbook have you read in the past half month?"
Bai Erlang shifted his butt uneasily, and Manbao also became timid. He glanced at Bai Shan cautiously, and Bai Shan swallowed and said, "Sir, we haven't read for the past half month."
"Very good. From today on, you will stand in the yard and recite your lessons. When you have memorized the rest of the textbook, you can go into the house for class."
The three of them opened their mouths wide.
This punishment did not sound too severe, but they soon realized how painful it was. They could walk around in the yard, but they could not sit down, squat, or have any other improper postures.
I could only recite while standing or walking with the book in my hand. It started at noon, and I had half an hour to eat at noon. There was no lunch break, and then I continued until dark.
After only two days, Manbao and Baishan wanted to cry, and Bai Erlang had already cried. They never thought that reading while standing could be so painful.
Especially Bai Erlang, when he read books in the past, he would preview the text first and mark the words he didn't know. After the teacher taught him the meaning, he would read it and then recite it.
It is much easier to memorize after understanding the meaning, but the teacher has not taught the later textbooks yet. He found the textbooks difficult to understand and felt sleepy after reading them twice.
His head was dizzy, his hands and feet were tired, and when the damp spring wind blew again, he felt sleepy, tired and crying. Before it got dark, he started sobbing while holding a book.
Bai Shan and Man Bao looked at him sympathetically and also felt their hands and feet trembling, but they secretly glanced at the gentleman who was sitting by the window in the study reading a book, and did not dare to squat, let alone sit down.
The two could only whisper to comfort Bai Erlang, "How about I explain the meaning to you? I've learned it before."
Bai Shanze said, "I'll teach you how to recite it the fastest later."
As they talked, the two of them secretly glanced at the gentleman. Seeing that the gentleman didn't even look at them, they knew that he agreed.
They both breathed a sigh of relief and took Bai Erlang's textbook to go through the article. They taught him one by one and they could also check each other's omissions and fill in the gaps.
Bai Erlang wiped his tears while memorizing, but he still felt very painful, "But I just can't remember it. I think I need to sit down and memorize it."
Bai Shan and Man Bao gestured for him to go see the teacher, and then said, "Go ahead, we'll be there to cheer you up."
If Bai Erlang had the courage, he would not be Bai Erlang. He lowered his head and did not dare to go.
The two of them hummed and asked, "Are you still listening?"
What could Bai Erlang do? He could only listen, otherwise it would be even more difficult for him to memorize the text himself. He knew that although Manbao and Baishan's books were thicker than his, they were smart and had good memories. In two days, they had memorized three texts, while he hadn't memorized even one completely. If he memorized it, he would forget it after a nap.
The teacher is going to check it with all his might, who knows which text he will pick?
Bai Erlang wiped away his tears and listened to the two people explaining to him. He held the book and took a fine pen to carefully make some notes on it, and then continued to recite it haltingly.
It was not until it got dark and Mr. Zhuang felt that carrying the child any further would hurt his eyes that he waved goodbye and told them to go home.
Bai Erlang immediately walked out with trembling legs, not even going to the main courtyard. He went straight back to his room, threw himself on the bed and cried sadly. Tomorrow is still another day, the day after tomorrow is still another day, and there are still many, many days in the future...
Manbao and Baishan also walked out with trembling legs. Baishan's home was nearby, so he asked Manbao, "How about I ask Daji to drive the carriage to take you home?"
Manbao: "...It's just such a short distance. I walked back while you were harnessing the carriage."
"You've been standing for five hours. Aren't you tired?"
Manbao was too tired to discuss this topic with him. After thinking for a moment, he said, "I'll write you a prescription for a foot bath. It might help. Remember to copy a copy and have someone send it to Bai Er later. I'm too lazy to leave."
Manbao flipped through his book, but didn't see any paper, so he simply said, "Forget it, I'll read the prescription and you can just remember it in your head. I'm really too tired to move."
Manbao read out a list of medicine names and dosages, and after confirming that Bai Shan had written them down, he waved goodbye and left.
Zhou Silang was just about to come over to pick her up. Seeing her walking slowly towards home, he walked up to her, half-knelt down and said, "Come on up. Fourth Brother will carry you back."
Manbao threw himself on his back and said, "Fourth brother, you are so kind."
"I carried you on my back a lot before, so why didn't you think of me then?" Zhou Silang glanced at her hand and asked, "Does it still hurt?"
"It hurts."
Zhou Silang said, "Mr. Zhuang is too cruel. Why did he hit me so hard? Are you still being punished to stand today?"
See you tomorrow
(End of this chapter)
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