There is no medicine for regret in this world.
Since Qian Dehong has accepted Xu Yan as his student, it is a done deal and he naturally has to be responsible for Xu Yan to the end.
Otherwise, if the news gets out, his students' writing skills will be questionable, and it will be a disgrace to him as a teacher.
So Qian Dehong prepared to give Xu Yan some special training. Regardless of the long-term consequences, he wanted to help him pass the county exam and solve this urgent problem.
Qian Dehong was a Jinshi himself, so his writing skills were naturally not bad. In order to help Xu Yan grasp the essence of the eight-part essay, he put a lot of thought into it, personally writing several articles and explaining them to Xu Yan step by step.
How to solve the problem, how to continue the topic... Qian Dehong will not let go of even the smallest detail.
What made him feel a little relieved was that Xu Yan listened very carefully and occasionally took notes of some key points.
Well, this child is teachable.
After each lecture, Qian Dehong would ask Xu Yan to write a similar one. This was not to predict the topic, but to cultivate Xu Yan's writing skills.
In other words, eight-legged essays emphasize divergence within a certain framework. Xu Yan is certainly very creative, but sometimes being too creative isn't a good thing. Qian Dehong wants to correct Xu Yan's habit of being overly creative in his writing.
However, once a habit is formed, it is not easy to change it. The first few articles Xu Yan wrote still did not satisfy Qian Dehong. But Qian Dehong did not intend to give up. He believed that this was because Xu Yan had not written enough and practiced enough.
Poor Xu Yan was trapped in a sea of questions. Every day he was either writing articles or preparing to write articles. It was really boring.
However, in order to get a good result in the county exam, he will still fully cooperate with Qian Dehong's special training.
Of course, considering that writing articles all the time is a bit boring, Qian Dehong also arranged a relaxing activity for Xu Yan - practicing calligraphy.
The imperial examination tested essays, not calligraphy, so all candidates used regular script.
Xu Yan's regular script was indeed quite poor, and Qian Dehong knew that a month was too short a time to make a drastic change in Xu Yan's handwriting. But he wanted to at least make Xu Yan's writing look neat and clear at first glance.
This is the bottom line requirement.
Calculating this way, Xu Yan would spend at least seven or eight hours a day writing articles and practicing calligraphy. Excluding the time for eating, drinking water, and going to the bathroom, only three hours were left for sleep.
From a leisurely young man from a wealthy family to a hard-working scholar preparing for exams, this change in life is quite big.
But for the sake of the imperial examination, Xu Yan could only grit his teeth and endure it.
The road you choose must be walked even with tears in your eyes!
Of course, life is not just about the immediate, but also about poetry and the distance.
It is impossible to go far away for the time being, but Xu Yan can write poetry.
I used the limited rest time to relax and write some poems, showing off my elegance and getting some praise from Qian Dehong.
Xu Xiaolangjun discovered that whenever he was reciting poems or writing lyrics, his teacher's eyes would reveal a hint of pride. This was something he would never see when he was writing articles!
He even suspected that if he continued like this, he might become hysterical.
Alas, it is true that no one cares about me after ten years of hard study, but I become famous overnight and the whole world knows me.
The ancients never lied to me!
Getting up earlier than the chickens and sleeping later than the dogs is a true reflection of Xu Yan's daily life.
The intensity of the special training given by his mentor was really high. After enduring it for more than ten days, Xu Yan's body gradually couldn't bear it anymore.
The most terrifying thing is that his mentor restricted his diet, saying that he was afraid that he would eat too much and become sleepy, which would affect his study!
Look, look, does this sound like something a teacher would say?
He is only fifteen years old this year and is still growing. To put it more pretentiously, he is still a child!
If he gets killed by hunger, how sad his parents will be!
Under Xu Yan's strong protest and request, Mr. Qian finally compromised and agreed to give Xu Yan an extra midnight snack.
At first Xu Yan thought that his mentor had a change of heart, but he found out that Mr. Qian had to eat a midnight snack every night.
A bowl of fragrant wonton noodles, a plate of golden fried crispy peanuts, and a pot of fine Jinhua rice wine make up Mr. Qian's midnight snack set.
Although Xu Yan was drooling with greed, he could only eat half a bowl of wonton noodles.
Alas, with such discriminatory treatment, who can I turn to for justice?
At this time, Mr. Qian would pick up a peanut and put it in his mouth, chewing it with relish while smiling, "My dear disciple, this is also for your own good. Only when you maintain a sense of hunger and thirst can you have the desire to fight. When you pass the county exam, you will thank me."
Every time he heard this, Xu Yan almost fainted.
He could only comfort himself in his heart, everything was for the imperial examination, for the imperial examination!
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The path to the mountain of books is through diligence, and the boat to the boundless sea of learning is through hard work.
Day after day, night after night.
In a blink of an eye, it was already August 15th.
Xu Yan's heart bleeds as he cannot reunite with his family during the Mid-Autumn Festival.
Fortunately, Qian Dehong had a change of heart and added two mooncakes to Xu Yan's midnight snack.
Xu Yan hadn't eaten snacks for many days, and when he ate the mooncakes with red bean paste filling, he was so moved that tears filled his eyes.
Looking at the bright moon in the sky, Xu Yan couldn't help but recite: "At dusk in the west of the city, I moored my boat. I headed towards the long bridge and saw the full moon. Gradually it rose in the distance, smoke drifting over the grass, and suddenly it fell against the eaves of the high pavilion."
Qian Dehong was eating peanuts when he choked when he heard Xu Yan suddenly recite a poem.
"Cough cough!" After taking several sips of Jinhua rice wine, he finally managed to get the peanut stuck in his throat down. Old Master Qian glared at Xu Yan unhappily.
"My dear disciple, if you want to write a poem, it's fine. But could you please tell me in advance so I can be prepared? Otherwise, who can handle such a sudden surprise?"
"Teacher, isn't the poem written by the student bad?"
Xu Yan asked knowingly.
Qian Dehong rolled his eyes and said, "Slippery tongue! Your poetry is the only thing that's decent."
He paused for a moment, took another sip of rice wine, and said with emotion, "You will be returning to Ningbo tomorrow. I have been very pleased to see you study hard and improve your grades over the past month. But you must not relax after you return to Ningbo. You must practice writing essays every day according to my instructions until the county exam."
Hearing his mentor say this, Xu Yan was quite moved.
Humans are not plants or trees, so who can be heartless?
After spending this month with Mr. Qian day and night, Xu Yan has learned a lot.
"Don't worry, dear teacher. I will definitely focus on my studies. You should also take care of your health and drink less alcohol."
Qian Dehong stroked his beard and smiled, "My dear disciple, you know that I can't live without wine. Ningbo Prefecture's Jinbo wine is famous, but I have never tasted it. When you finish the county exam and have some free time, when you come to Hangzhou again, you must bring me a few more jars to satisfy my craving!"
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