The next morning, Lin Xiaofei and Gao Ming got up and planned to go to the cafeteria for breakfast. However, when Gao Ming got out of bed, he walked with a limp and looked pained.
"Xiaofei, we went to learn Qingfeng Kick together yesterday, and both of our legs were injured. Today, I'm walking with a limp, but you're perfectly fine. What happened?"
Seeing Lin Xiaofei walking as usual, Gao Ming grinned and said.
"I'm probably healthier than you!"
As he spoke, Lin Xiaofei thought to himself.
Last night, one of his legs was indeed painful when he walked, but today he is fine. He immediately understood what happened. Last night, when everything was quiet, he secretly entered the spatial bead, roasted a wild Ganoderma lucidum and ate it, which replenished his blood and qi and cleared the blood stasis in his foot, so he can walk normally today.
Soon, Lin Xiaofei helped Gao Ming to the canteen, where they each ate three steamed buns and two bowls of porridge.
After eating and drinking his fill, Gao Ming could no longer bear the pain in his legs and decided to buy some medicine to treat it. He borrowed fifty copper coins from Lin Xiaofei and left.
"Gao Ming went to buy medicine, so I'll go to the training ground to practice my Green Peak Leg technique."
Thinking to himself, Lin Xiaofei muttered, "I already mastered the secrets of the Green Peak Leg yesterday. All that's left is to study hard and practice diligently, and hopefully I can become as skilled as Senior Brother Qin as soon as possible."
"By the way, I don't need to rush into practicing the Green Peak Leg technique now; I should learn to read instead."
He felt that he already knew how to practice the Green Peak Leg and didn't need anyone else to teach him. Then he remembered something that happened yesterday. When his senior brother Qin handed him a manual, he realized that he couldn't read the words on it. So he thought that if he encountered a manual again in the future and couldn't read the words, he wouldn't be able to practice the martial arts in the manual, which would be a huge loss.
After thinking for a while, he made a decision: he would go to the academy near the street to see what it was like to read and write.
Stepping out of the back gate of the Qingfeng Gang branch, one sees people coming and going on the street.
Shops on both sides of the street were bustling with customers. Many people were drinking in the restaurants, pedestrians were strolling around, and there were also many martial artists with swords hanging from their waists, as well as some street performers.
Lin Xiaofei wasn't very tall, but dressed in coarse cloth, he looked like a little beggar among the crowd on the street.
After walking through several streets, he entered two academies. There were many students in the academies, mostly children, and all of them were dressed in gorgeous clothes. Lin Xiaofei looked at himself and felt embarrassed by his shabby clothes, so he quickly left the academy.
After leaving the academy, I walked slowly, and before I knew it, I had left the bustling streets and arrived at an ordinary street with fewer people.
Suddenly, Lin Xiaofei's eyes lit up.
Not far away, on the side of a street, an old man sat on a small stool, flipping through a book in his hand. In front of him was a wild ginseng plant, clearly for sale.
Upon seeing the wild ginseng, Lin Xiaofei immediately became interested.
He had been puzzled about how to obtain wild ginseng and other herbs to grow inside the space bead, so that he could consume the herbs to improve his health and increase his blood and qi.
"Old sir, how much for this wild ginseng?"
After glancing at it, Lin Xiaofei stepped forward a few paces and said with a smile.
"This is a wild ginseng that is one year old. It can be used to stew chicken or make soup, and it's great for replenishing blood and energy. Five taels of silver, do you want it?"
The old man glanced at Lin Xiaofei and said with a smile.
"So expensive?"
Upon hearing this, Lin Xiaofei was startled and said...
He touched the two hundred and fifty copper coins in his pocket, which his mother had given him. This amount of money was not enough to buy a single ginseng root, and what surprised him was that a wild ginseng root was so expensive.
Thinking about the barbecued ginseng he had eaten before, that was equivalent to spending a lot of money.
The old man smiled but didn't say anything.
Seeing that the old man ignored him and continued reading on the small stool, Lin Xiaofei hesitated for a moment, then bowed and said, "Sir, if I may ask, what book are you reading? I want to learn to read. I wonder if you could teach me a few characters?"
"Um?"
The old man looked slightly surprised and said with a smile, "I'm reading a medical book. You won't understand it, and I can't teach you to read."
However, it's commendable that you've thought of learning to read at such a young age.
Judging from your clothes, you must be children from a poor family. You can't afford a teacher, so you'll have to study on your own.
“What you say is absolutely right, sir. I really can’t afford a tutor, and my original intention was to learn on my own. Please give me some guidance.”
Lin Xiaofei quickly and sincerely said.
His original plan was to take a stroll around the academy, but he found that studying at the academy was very expensive, and he couldn't afford it at all. However, seeing the old gentleman in front of him reading a book, he had an idea and boldly asked him for advice.
In fact, along the way, he saw many shop signs. When some people on the street were discussing the name of a certain shop, Lin Xiaofei immediately remembered it, which was equivalent to indirectly learning some words.
After all, his memory was quite good, and mastering written language wasn't difficult for him.
Good, that's ambitious. I wish my grandson was as motivated as you.
Here's what I'll do: I have a picture book for learning characters here. It was originally meant for my grandson, but he doesn't like learning characters, so I don't need it.
"If you'd like, I'll sell you this picture book for two hundred copper coins, fifty copper coins cheaper than in the library. How about it?"
The old man said with a smile.
He knew that if one went to an academy to learn to read, there would be a teacher.
However, for children from poor families like Lin Xiaofei, the only way to learn to read is through self-study.
"Thank you, sir."
Lin Xiaofei agreed without hesitation.
If he were to buy a new picture book for literacy, it would cost 250 copper coins. Although Lin Xiaofei felt the book was too expensive, he was willing to save 50 copper coins, since he was currently short of money.
After receiving the picture book for learning to read, Lin Xiaofei quickly flipped through it and took a look.
The first page of the Picture Literacy Encyclopedia has a single character written on it, along with a picture.
For example, on page five of the book, there is a character for "sheep" with a picture of a sheep drawn below it. By comparing the character with the picture, you can immediately understand the meaning; it's very simple.
Lin Xiaofei flipped through the dictionary, his face beaming with joy, as if he had found a priceless treasure.
On his way back, Lin Xiaofei ran into Gao Ming, who was out buying medicine. The two walked together and started chatting.
"Xiaofei, is it worth spending so much money just to buy a literacy book? We are children from a poor family, is it really necessary for us to learn to read?"
Gao Ming voiced his doubts.
"Of course it's worth it, and it's also very necessary."
Lin Xiaofei stopped and looked at Gao Ming seriously, saying, "Gao Ming, let me tell you straight, literacy is very important."
Yesterday, when Senior Brother Qin gave us the Green Peak Leg manual, we didn't even recognize the characters on it. If we could read, we could practice martial arts on our own without needing anyone to teach us.
Also, when we work for the Qingfeng Gang in the future, we will inevitably encounter things like signing documents and putting our fingerprints on them. If we can't read, we might be sold out without even knowing what happened.
I hope you can learn to read as soon as possible.
"Yes, that makes a lot of sense."
Gao Ming nodded as if he understood, and then said, "But I have never been literate, and the people in the village are all illiterate, so I probably won't be able to learn."
Lin Xiaofei grinned and didn't say anything more.
Since Gao Ming said he couldn't learn it, he didn't say anything more.
"With the complete literacy guide, I will learn all the characters as soon as possible, and I will definitely be able to use them in the future."
A hint of anticipation flickered in Lin Xiaofei's eyes as he thought to himself.
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