After school at noon, the three Ma brothers chased and fought each other all the way. They rarely stopped to walk peacefully. Especially Ma Xiaomai and Ma Xiaodou. When the class bell rang, the brothers were as droopy as eggplants hit by frost, but when the bell rang, they immediately became lively, like tigers released from a cage, and there was no peace for a moment.
During the morning's ten-day exam, Master Mo required everyone to recite a large sutra and write 200 characters. Dabao performed the best in the class, reciting the sutra in one breath, confidently and without pause. When the 200 characters were handed in, Master Mo nodded repeatedly. His paper was clean and every word was neat. He immediately circled it and announced that Dabao had been promoted to the "Renzi" class.
Both the official school and the private academy at the Yanchao court used a graphic system: excellent students received a circle, average students received a triangle, and poor students received a cross. Of the fifty or so students in the "He" character class, only four received a circle and were promoted to the "Ren" character class. Dabao was one of them, as was Lu Huaian and Sanniang's eldest son, Lu Junyi. Ma Xiaomi and Ding Quan received a triangle, while Ma Xiaodou received a cross. At the bottom of the class were Ma Xiaomai and Ding Gui, both of whom, like Ma Xiaodou, received a large cross.
Ma Xiaomai dozed off in class every day, yet he still managed to beat Ding Gui to second-to-last place. He wrote two more large characters than Ding Gui, and his handwriting was also more neat. Perhaps this was due to his martial arts training, as even though he was second-to-last, Master Mo praised his calligraphy in public, saying he held the pen steady and moved it flexibly, demonstrating a perfect understanding of the concept of "finger firm, palm empty."
This guy made Ma Xiaomai so happy that he suddenly asked Dabao about his study experience: "How do you manage to recite so fluently? There are so many words that I can't remember them at all. I forget the previous part after reading the last part. How can you do that?"
Dabao, dressed in a cotton gown, with one hand naturally across his chest and the other behind his back, looked calm and composed: "It's actually not difficult. Just understand the meaning of each sentence and read it several times and you won't forget it."
"Then please explain it to me after dinner. I don't understand the meaning of many of the things you said." Ma Xiaomai's enthusiasm for learning was unprecedentedly high.
"Yeah." Dabao nodded maturely.
Ding Sheng wasn't very happy. He thought he'd tried very hard, but he only got a triangle, the same as Ma Xiaomi. He felt a little unhappy, kicking the gravel under his feet as he walked.
"Brother Sheng, be happy. You will definitely be able to do it next time. My brother Dabao and I are waiting for you in the human-shaped class. Don't be discouraged. You can do it." Lu Junyi comforted him.
"I won't be discouraged. I was just nervous today. You guys wait for me in the "人" class. I will definitely be able to get into the "人" class next time. Believe me, I can do it."
Lu Huaian was seeing an old client off, thinking that his eldest son was about to finish school. He turned his head to the right and saw Lu Junyi talking to Ding Sheng. He shouted, "Dajun, come here. Dad has something to say."
After he shouted, he glared at Ding Sheng.
"Don't talk to Ding Sheng from now on. That guy is just like his father, not a good guy. He's full of evil. Remember what Dad said, you hear me?"
He pulled Lu Junyi into the shop and gave him some instructions.
"Did you have a disagreement with his father?" After hearing what his father said, Lu Junyi concluded that they had a disagreement.
"Anyway, remember what Dad said. Stay away from him and his son."
Lu Junyi agreed and went upstairs to see his mother and Qijin. When he entered the room, he found Sanniang had been crying, with tear marks on her face. He glanced outside, walked over and asked in a low voice, "Mom, what's going on?"
Sanniang forced a smile. "It's okay. I just had a few words with your father. Go help him cook. Don't ask any questions, okay?"
"Yeah." Lu Junyi looked at Qijin and turned to go to the kitchen.
Ding Sheng was also whispering to his father, Ding Pingshun, "Dad, did you and Uncle Lu have an argument? He seemed unhappy when he saw me and even glared at me."
"Why bother with him? He's unhappy, but I'm happy. Don't bother with him. Don't be nice to him in the future. And his son Dajun, ignore him too. Don't try to please someone who doesn't like you, okay?"
"You have to tell me what's going on so I can understand."
Ding Pingshun turned his head and saw that there was no one else in the kitchen. Ma Xiaomai was pestering Dabao to ask about homework, while Ma Xiaomi and Ma Xiaodou were pestering Blind Liu to tell stories. He then told Ding Sheng about what had happened before.
After hearing this, Ding Sheng complained to him, "Dad, why did you say that? If this gets to Dabao's parents, it's bound to cause trouble. Dabao's mother and Dajun's mother have a good relationship, and they might have an opinion of you, Dad."
"What nonsense!" Ding Pingshun frowned and raised his hand to poke him on the forehead. "No matter how good your relationship with her is, can it be better than your relationship with your mother? Why don't you think before you speak, kid? What have you learned? Isn't it the ten-day exam today? How did you do? Did you get promoted?"
Ding Sheng made a bitter face and shook his head.
"Where's Dabao? And the kid next door, how did they do in the exam? Did they get promoted?"
"Hey, Dad, stop asking. Go and cook." Ding Sheng turned and left with an unhappy look on his face.
You little bastard, you're still not happy. You've wasted my money on this useless thing!
Ding Pingshun spat at his back, knowing that he had probably failed the exam, and couldn't help cursing him in his heart.
After a while, the meal was ready. He set the table and called Blind Liu and Dabao over. As they walked, Ma Xiaomai kept asking Dabao, "Gou Rixin, Riri Xin, and You Rixin again. What does this mean? What does it have to do with us?"
Blind Liu tapped him on the head and chuckled, "Kid, remember this. Simply put, it means that you've decided to study hard today, which is great. But not just today, but tomorrow and the day after tomorrow as well. Every day you must do better than you did yesterday, be more studious and motivated, and improve your knowledge day by day. That's the meaning. Remember this."
"Oh, then I'll remember it. It's easy to remember." Ma Xiaomai scratched his head and smiled.
Liu the Blind was Ding Youtian's teacher. Ding Pingshun didn't dare say anything to his face, but he was secretly grumbling, "What a damn old blind man! He can only read a few books and thinks he's a teacher. He's talking nonsense with these people, isn't he afraid of corrupting the kids?" No wonder Ding Youtian failed the Tongsheng exam for three consecutive years. It must be this old blind man who taught him how to be a bad boy.
"Sheng'er." After dinner, Ding Pingshun specifically reminded Ding Sheng while washing dishes in the kitchen, "Don't take what your master Liu said to heart. Listen to the teacher in the school. He's just a storyteller and fortune teller. What does he know? Don't listen to him, understand?"
Ding Sheng seemed to understand what Master Mo explained in the school, but he felt that he understood what Blind Liu said all of a sudden. In any case, because of the meaning of Blind Liu's words, he remembered these words.
"Let's go, let's go to school!" Ma Xiaomai shouted outside, and then ran next door to call Lu Junyi, "Dajun, come down quickly, it's time to go!"
Ma Xiaomai is the oldest among the group, followed by Ding Sheng. Ma Xiaomai still acts like an older brother.
On the way to school, Ding Sheng deliberately did not speak to Lu Junyi first. As he expected, Lu Junyi did not speak to him and did not even look at him.
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