Chapter 15: Becoming a Disciple (Part 2)
Reading is difficult. There are very few literate people in this world. One reason is that they don’t have money, the second is that they don’t have opportunities, and the third is that they are not smart enough.
Before, there was no school in several villages, and children had to go to the county town to study, but they could barely get enough food and clothing. Even wealthy families could not afford to support their children.
It was Mr. Bai who moved to Qili Village with his family. His two sons needed to study, so he went to the county town to hire Mr. Zhuang.
Although Mr. Zhuang did not pass the imperial examination, he was admitted to the provincial school and had good character and morals. If he was only paid an ordinary salary, how could he be willing to teach in the small mountain village of Qili Village?
Mr. Bai was reluctant to offer Mr. Zhuang a reward that would tempt him, so he finally came up with an idea. The Bai family would pay for Mr. Zhuang to set up a school, and their family would pay the majority of Mr. Zhuang's tuition. They would also recruit eligible children from the neighborhood, and each child would also pay a tuition. The money would accumulate over time, and the reward would be generous.
This school was built by Mr. Bai, but it belongs to Mr. Zhuang. The students' tuition has always been paid by Mr. Zhuang, so he has the final say on what students to accept.
But whether out of courtesy or because of his cooperative relationship with Mr. Bai, he had to ask Mr. Bai whether Manbao could enter the school.
However, Mr. Zhuang felt that there was no need to rush this matter, because Manbao was still young and it would be okay for him to learn some basics slowly from him now.
When she is older after the New Year, she can go to school.
It is already a rare occasion that the Zhou family is willing to let Manbao go out to study.
When Mr. Zhuang first arrived, he recruited students from several nearby villages. The adults there, aware of the benefits of education, looked up and urged their sons and nephews to work hard to earn money and go to school if they had the chance. But when they looked down and saw the longing in the girls' eyes, they scolded them, "Girls, why are you joining in the fun? Go home! Do you think you can watch this academic thing?"
Manbao was eavesdropping outside the window, which caused a huge uproar in Qili Village at first. The child was young and knew nothing.
But Mr. Zhuang knew that an elder of the Qili Village had found Mr. Bai and asked him to dismiss Xiao Qianshi from her job to prevent Manbao from eavesdropping on classes and bringing a bad influence to the village.
He was the one who stopped it.
First, Xiao Qian was indeed diligent and not meddling, and second, he liked Manbao very much at that time.
So, "Everyone has a desire to learn, so why stifle it?"
Then more and more children ran to the windows to eavesdrop. At the most, the two windows were full of people, all boys.
This is a very immoral behavior among scholars, but the words were said by Mr. Zhuang, so he naturally cannot treat the person differently.
Because of this incident, several students dropped out of school immediately. Their parents came to collect their tuition and then turned around and sent their children to the window to study secretly.
Mr. Zhuang was furious at the time, but he could only keep his anger to himself and pretend that he didn't see the person outside the window.
But not everyone is like Manbao.
At that time, Manbao was just over one year old. She had just learned to speak and could not walk steadily. She did not know much about the outside world and was not fond of playing. She could sit on the doorstep and play quietly all day long. When she was happy, she would recite a few sentences with the children in the classroom. When she was unhappy, she would take a small stick and poke ants for a long time.
But the youngest child peeking out the window was seven years old and the oldest was ten years old, which was the age when they were most restless and most fond of playing.
In less than five days, they had almost run away on their own. The parents of the students who dropped out of school found that not only did their children not learn anything, but they also almost forgot all the words they had learned before.
I was so angry that I had no choice but to send the child back.
From then on, there were very few boys who came to eavesdrop, but one or two girls began to lie cautiously outside the window.
But before Mr. Zhuang could react, the girls' parents started to get angry first.
They would first drag the girl away, then beat and scold her, "Do you think you can listen to me when I say you're studying? I think you're too careless. You have time to cut grass for pigs, pull weeds in the fields, and collect firewood in the mountains, but you don't care about work at all. How can you get married in the future..."
In fact, some of the ideas here are also what Mr. Zhuang once had.
For example: It is more important for boys to study than girls, and he also values boys more.
But I don’t know if it’s because he’s older that Mr. Zhuang thinks more; or if it’s because people tend to develop a rebellious mentality when they encounter something they don’t like.
Anyway, without him realizing it, he changed a lot of his ideas.
Especially Manbao is growing bigger and bigger day by day, and is becoming more and more intelligent.
She memorized more books while leaning on the window than the students who sat in the school to study, and she recognized as many words from his manuscripts as the students who sat in the school to study.
She was also filial. She knew to attend his classes, call him "sir", and sweep the yard and tidy up his desk for him...
He was sick, and serious students would run out as soon as they heard they could have a holiday, but she knew to wander around the yard, pouring him a cup of hot water, and even took his clothes back to her sisters-in-law to wash...
She would also pester her mother to bring him an extra egg.
He knew that the Zhou family loved their youngest daughter, but he was not sure whether they would be willing to let her study.
Therefore, in order to increase this possibility and allow this incident to develop in a positive way, he would not ask for tuition, and would not even ask the Zhou family to buy pens, ink, paper and inkstone for Manbao.
He was pleasantly surprised by the level of importance the Zhou family attached to it.
Because they not only brought a piece of bacon, but also a set of clothes and a pair of shoes.
Mr. Zhuang couldn't help but laugh. It seemed that the Zhou family really valued this little disciple. He accepted him with a smile.
Old Zhou was relieved when he saw this, and quickly asked Manbao to kneel down and kowtow to Mr. Zhuang and serve him tea.
Mr. Zhuang took the tea and took a sip, then gave Manbao a set of writing brushes, inkstones, and a handful of chopped green onions he had picked from the backyard.
Mr. Zhuang was very happy to have such a smart and clever disciple.
Old Zhou and his two sons were also very happy. After hearing what Mr. Zhuang said, Manbao didn't need to buy any books for the time being. He could just copy whatever he needed himself when the time came.
The three of them glanced at what Manbao was holding in his arms, thinking that now they had the pen, ink, and inkstone, and they could just buy some paper for the child and everything would be done.
Although there was an additional expense at home, it was much less than they had expected, so the three of them were of course very happy.
Manbao was also very happy. Everyone is happy to receive a gift, especially since it was given by Mr. Zhuang, whom she liked.
Everyone was happy.
Old Zhou wanted to invite Mr. Zhuang home for dinner to celebrate Manbao's apprenticeship.
Mr. Zhuang shook his head and refused, saying, "I have classes today. I'll come and bother you another day."
Old Zhou then remembered that Mr. Zhuang still had classes, and he immediately became a little restless.
As he was speaking, he heard the sound of children chasing and playing outside, and Mr. Zhuang knew that the children had arrived.
(End of this chapter)
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