Chapter 59 Mo Xin
Yangzhou, a warm and comfortable home.
As the weather warms up, Shang Yuji personally visited Nuan'anju and conducted a unique large-scale literacy graduation exam for the residents.
The exam was simple. The refugees had never been exposed to literacy before and were mostly starting from scratch. It was already good if they could barely write anything.
The exam is fair to everyone, regardless of age. Anyone who has learned to read at Nuan An Ju must take the exam.
Therefore, the house has a wide range of people, from the elderly to young children.
In the examination room, Shang Yuji sat quietly without uttering a word, yet she exerted immense pressure on the candidates inside.
Shang Yuji, sitting on the podium, remarked that sitting on the stage, one could indeed see the subtle actions of the people below the stage very clearly.
With her personally overseeing the process, there was naturally no cheating behavior such as whispering in the examination room.
The candidates' faces were all scrunched up like bitter gourds, scratching their heads and fidgeting frantically, so when one of them stood out, it made them stand out.
Shang Yuji looked closely and realized it was the little girl who had given them the bracelets.
The girl noticed Shang Yuji's gaze, smiled shyly at her, and quickly lowered her head to continue writing.
The child couldn't hide her expression. When she noticed that Master Shang was still wearing the bracelet they had given her on his left wrist, she felt as happy as if she had eaten a sweet cake.
The professor did not find their gifts simple and cherished them.
After the exam, she wanted to share her joy with her friends!
Time was up, so they stopped writing and put away their papers. Just as they were putting away their papers, Shang Yuji saw the girl's name: Mo Xin.
Mo Xin greeted her and then lined up to leave the examination room.
Since the students were there to choose those with good handwriting, Shang Yuji planned to grade the papers herself. However, after looking at just two papers, she hesitated about whether to return the responsibility of grading to the teacher.
Some characters had their strokes stuck together, forming a black blob; others had characters with many strokes that were large, and characters with few strokes that were small, creating a contrast that resembled leaping musical notes and undulating waves on a scroll. Looking at it for too long made her eyes dizzy, as if the characters on the scroll were dancing before her eyes.
Out of a desire to stop torturing herself, Shang Yuji handed over the work of grading papers.
The teacher, familiar with the students' handwriting, quickly picked out the students' mistakes from the messy papers, while Shang Yuji stood aside, scanning the students' papers.
After several rounds of selection, I finally found two papers with neat pages and clear handwriting.
Although some strokes are shaky, it is sufficient overall.
It's just a preliminary test; there's no need for elaborate strokes. Neatness and uniformity are enough.
She pointed to the names on the scroll: "Master, what are the temperaments of these two students?"
The teacher took a look and praised him, saying, "Tian Yi is taciturn and not good with words, but he is earnest, hardworking, studious and humble. Whenever he has free time, he takes a twig and traces the characters he has practiced on the snow, his hands turning red from the cold. But in order to save ink, he still insists on writing. I have tried to dissuade him several times, but I can't keep an eye on him and he goes out again."
"Zhao Er is an upright man, but he is really stubborn and inflexible. When someone tells him to be lazy, he righteously persuades them to study hard and learn to read. In Nuan'anju, several people were persuaded by him and actually studied hard. He is eager to learn and loves to read. When he encounters a word he doesn't know, he will write it down and ask me about it after class. Then he will continue to read with the words he has learned. He has mastered a book by this method."
The master nodded with satisfaction and recommended these two outstanding students to Shang Yuji.
Although he didn't know what Miss Shang's intentions were, Miss Shang was a well-known philanthropist in Yangzhou City, recognized by the Yang family. In addition, after what he had seen and heard in the past few days, the teacher was even more convinced that Miss Shang was a good person.
They took in refugees, provided them with clothes, food, and firewood, and collected a little labor for odd jobs in their dwellings. In the Master's view, sweeping snow, weaving clothes, and making fires were truly good jobs.
It's much better than being naked and freezing to death in some corner during the dead of winter.
Moreover, Miss Shang is already a kind and benevolent person, so it's truly a blessing to be able to work for her.
With high wages and good benefits, even his wife at home urged him to hold onto this good job as a tutor, as many people outside the Nuan'anju community were eyeing it!
Out of concern for the future prospects of outstanding students, the Master carefully explained to Shang Yuji the strengths and weaknesses of each of them.
Speaking of shortcomings, it's not that we want Miss Shang to be dissatisfied with them, but rather to point out their weaknesses. Firstly, this will allow Miss Shang to better consider where to place them. Secondly, if they ever offend Miss Shang because of their temperament, we hope she can be lenient.
Upon hearing this, Shang Yuji felt even more strongly that writing relief characters on clay movable type was indeed a suitable task for the two of them.
Shang Yuji spoke up and asked the teacher for two people, adding, "Tell them to rest assured that they can still come to class to study when they have free time while writing the positive characters for the clay figures. They don't need to worry about missing their studies."
She thought for a moment and added, "The wages will be just as good as the wages, and we'll also be provided with paper and pens for the two of us."
Shang Yuji thought to herself: If I can handle both material and spiritual aspects, won't these two students obediently fall into my hands?
The teacher quickly bowed and thanked the two students on their behalf.
Perhaps it was because he was in high spirits after such a happy occasion, but after the young lady left the house, he resumed grading the exam papers of the students from Nuan'anju, which were incomplete and patched up here and there, and he had a lot more energy.
Shang Yuji then decided to go out and select tools for making clay movable type brushes.
Before even leaving Nuan'an Residence, I met someone I never expected: Xiang Fei.
Before him stood Mo Xin, whom he had met a few times before. Mo Xin had greeted him when he handed in his paper.
Xiang Fei was burly and imposing, towering like a mountain in front of Jiang Xi, let alone now that it was a young girl.
The distance was quite far, and Shang Yuji couldn't hear what the two were talking about. She could only see that Xiang Fei's aura was becoming increasingly heavy, making it hard for people to breathe.
Out of concern for Mo Xin, Shang Yuji walked towards the eaves where the two were.
Before he could get close, the tall Xiang Fei squatted down, trying to look Mo Xin in the eye. Unfortunately, even when he squatted down, the intimidation he created was still there. His shadow alone was enough to envelop Mo Xin.
Xiang Fei and Mo Xin glared at each other fiercely, neither giving an inch, and the situation became unpredictable after she intervened.
"Lord Shang!" Mo Xin raised her hand high and shouted with a smile.
Xiang Fei slowly turned his head, and unexpectedly, Shang Yuji saw a plea for help in his eyes.
Shang Yuji: ?
Things didn't seem to go as she had imagined.
After learning more, Shang Yuji realized that Xiang Fei wanted to take Mo Xin as his apprentice, but Mo Xin refused. However, he couldn't bear to lose Mo Xin, such a promising student who wanted to learn the sword.
After several visits, they returned defeated each time.
Referee Shang declared a halftime break and spoke amicably with both players. Xiang, who wished to remain anonymous, had tears in his eyes.
"I only want to take on one apprentice. Why is it that my master, who said the same thing, was able to accept me, but I can't accept her?"
How did your master convince you?
"My master said I have extraordinary bones and am a good candidate for sword training. In such a vast world, it is fate that we met. And then we became master and disciple. Isn't that a predestined relationship?"
Xiang Fei covered his face, and Shang Yuji remained silent.
In an instant, she suddenly realized that they had also been caught in the crossfire.
When Senior Yi wanted to take Jiang Xi as his disciple, he seemed to have said the same thing.
...Is it rare that all the masters in this martial arts world use the same set of rhetoric when accepting disciples?
The referee offered a few words of comfort, then told him to calm down for a while before she went to ask Mo Xin what she thought.
Little Mo blinked her big, bright eyes and explained, "Master Shang, the teacher said that it's very chaotic outside. Don't talk to strange people, and definitely don't go with them."
It felt as if an arrow had pierced her body. Shang Yuji, wounded, thought back to when they had spoken to Elder Yi…
They weren't even as perceptive as Miss Mo.
No, that's not right!
Senior Yi is not an odd person!
After convincing herself, Shang Yuji patted Mo Xin's shoulder lightly, trying to cover up her mistake: "You're right."
Mo Xin glanced at Xiang Fei, who was squatting to the side like moss after the rain, then looked at Lord Shang, who was speaking earnestly, and asked softly, "Does Lord Shang know him?"
"Hmm... he's Hai Tian's senior."
"Is he Lord Jiang's senior brother?"
Shang Yuji nodded. Mo Xin placed her hands in front of her, fidgeting with her fingers. She looked up at Lord Shang and asked, "Then, then I agree to become his apprentice. Will I be able to see you two in the future?"
Although Xiang Fei would randomly appear at the mansion these days, Shang Yuji could not guarantee that they would meet again in the future.
Xiang Fengyun and Xiang Fei, from the Hebei region, traveled a long way to Yangzhou to visit old friends and discuss the martial arts tournament to be held a year later.
Even though he is currently staying in Yangzhou to teach Jiangxi swordsmanship, he will eventually return to Hebei Province.
Furthermore, the world of martial arts is vast, and martial artists love to travel the world, so no one knows when or where their next meeting will be after parting.
As they parted under the willow tree, each offering a willow branch as a farewell gesture, both understood that this parting would be long and arduous, and they would never see each other again.
Xiang Fei, who seemed to be huddled in a corner grieving alone, jumped up upon hearing the key words, took a few steps forward, his eyes gleaming, almost collapsing with excitement:
"As long as you agree, we'll go every year—no, we'll just stay in Yangzhou—no, that's not right, wherever they move, we'll go!"
"?" Shang Yuji was speechless.
No? What's going on here?
How did they get involved?
And wouldn't you like to listen more carefully to what they just said?!
No wonder Mo Xin disagreed; if it were her, she wouldn't have agreed either.
This is stalking! This is tailing! This is illegal!
Shang Yuji frowned, trying to refute his suggestion with a fierce look.
What she met was his face, which he had secretly turned to the side, winking and making faces. Shang Yuji looked at it from all angles and understood the pleading meaning in his eyes.
Finally, Shang Yuji waved to him, shooing Xiang Fei aside, and led Mo Xin into the house. She found a place to sit and asked her to sit down with her.
The window was not closed, and a pair of mournful eyes peeked out from the corner behind it.
Fortunately, Mo Xin had her back to the window and couldn't see the grieving people outside.
Shang Yuji relaxed her expression and chuckled, "Little Mo Xin, learning martial arts is not easy. In the end, many end up with injuries all over their bodies but stagnation; or they run into trouble halfway through due to various accidents."
Too many difficulties and obstacles will block your way, so you must have enough courage to start learning martial arts, enough to be fearless of failure, hardship, and boredom.
Whatever your final choice, don't make it on a whim.
You will encounter many fascinating people and strange and wonderful things in your life; perhaps in the end, we will merely be passersby in your life.
Mo Xin looked at him with deep respect: "Lord Shang...Lord Shang is a very important person, not just a passerby!"
Inside, they were having a pleasant conversation. Hearing this, Xiang Fei, who was outside, slid softly down the window and fell to the ground.
Those wide, lifeless eyes revealed to Shang Yuji a deep sorrow, a sorrow so profound it seemed as if her heart had given up.
Shang Yuji: Shouldn't we be held responsible for his life?
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