Chapter 111
Teachers often use Thousand Character Classic to teach young children how to read. They first teach them Chinese characters and then teach them to practice writing from the simplest to the most advanced.
The two boys have been in school for about three months. In the beginning, Luo Yan's schoolwork was not heavy. The young boy's attention was already scattered, and if he didn't cry during his early years, he was already a sensible child. If he could learn something during this period, it would be great.
Luo Yan was trying to feel the children's temperaments first. Seeing that they were sensible and eager to learn, after they had learned the Thousand Character Classic, he did not linger for long and started teaching them how to write.
Every day I was bored, shaking my head as I followed the teacher to read poems, lyrics and articles. The pen prepared at home was not used for several months.
Ruijin's small brush was still safely placed in the bookcase, and today it can finally see the light of day.
However, little Li's brush was taken out to show the world every now and then. He had never learned to write, but the hairs on the tip of the brush had already split or become unusable. People who didn't know might think that this little guy loved to learn so much that he even broke his brush.
In fact, the teacher was reading an article in the classroom with his hands behind his back. He tilted his neck and followed the teacher obediently, but his hand was dishonestly touching the soft tip of the brush.
Or he would pluck the hairs one by one and blow them onto Ruijin's head who was sitting in front of him. In any case, it was impossible for him to keep his hands still and not make any small movements.
The elder brother in front of him seemed to have taken some growth-promoting soup, as if his father had prepared a separate meal for him. Although they lived and ate together, his elder brother grew very fast. He sat with his back straight in class, so he only had to lower his head slightly and his elder brother would completely block his view, which made it easier for him to do tricks.
But he was not stupid. The teacher's eyes were like an eagle in the sky, clearly circling in the air from a long distance, but would fly straight over if there was anything wrong on the ground. The chickens in the yard would be caught if they were not well taken care of, and if he was seen by the teacher, his head would hit the pages of the book.
So he didn't dare to do anything too openly behind his brother's back, for fear that the teacher would say one day: "Little Li, you are much shorter than your brother, you should move to sit in front of your brother."
Looking at his brother in front of him who wanted to bury himself in the pages of a book as if he had never read a book in his previous life, and his little brother Xing who was soft and blinking his eyes and listening to the class attentively beside him, he still paid some attention to studying while having fun.
It was not because of the environment, but because everyone was working too hard, fearing that they would lag behind and be noticed by the teacher and father. Then they would lose not only the opportunity to play, but also their favorite iced yogurt, big watermelon, and frosted jade bees...
For this reason, if the teacher arranges for him to learn and recognize ten characters in the Thousand Character Classic today, he will definitely not recognize only eight characters when the teacher checks his learning results the next day.
With his "super high" determination to study, the rewards were very obvious. He achieved an outstanding ranking and won the third place in the private school!
Then why could he only get third place even though he had completed the homework assigned by the teacher on time and in the right quantity?
Because Xiao Xing, who ranked second, started learning early, he could already recite the Thousand Character Classic with ease.
Then why is it that his elder brother who started learning at the same time as him is better than Xiaoxing who started learning earlier and can win the first place? It is definitely not because he is partial, but it is because his elder brother is too studious.
The teacher asked him to memorize ten words today, and he could remember thirty words in class. After going home, he stopped playing with him and could remember twenty words by burying himself in the study. If he didn't bother him, he could remember a few more.
There are only a few words in the Thousand Character Classic. How could he withstand his brother's torture? In a few days, he had memorized the Thousand Character Classic, which read "The sky and the earth are dark yellow, the universe is vast and boundless. The sun and the moon wax and wane, the stars are lined up..." He also learned "Three Character Classic" and "Hundred Family Names" with auxiliary knowledge.
Others may not know, not even their closest father, that he is just a simple smart kid, but his brother is a child prodigy.
His brother could recite the poems and short poems taught by the teacher during the day after reading them three times. When he returned home, he was confused and couldn't recognize the words taught during the day. He didn't need to ask his father, but could just ask his brother directly.
Even though his brother was so smart, he had been hiding his strength and only showed everyone that he could complete the tasks assigned by the teacher. Xiao Li felt that his brother just couldn't bear to make him look like a waste, so he had a plan in mind but didn't say it out loud. He was really moved.
Since his brother is so good, he will definitely keep the secret for his brother and not tell anyone that he has a child prodigy brother.
The boring process of learning to read was over, and he finally began to write. However, the little pen that he had rubbed to the point of patina was so kind in his hand when he was learning to read, but when it was time to play its original role, it became arrogant. He couldn't control it no matter what he did, so the words he wrote on the first day...
"The little chicken claw is crawling pretty well. After a while, he will be able to write like Xiao Xingge."
Zhang Fangyuan commented as follows while holding the handwriting he had learned from class.
"My hands are sore from writing." Little Li pouted, refusing to accept the sad result: "It's better to learn to read."
Zhang Fangyuan pinched the kid's face. The kid was growing taller and taller. His chubby face was not as soft and round as before. The flesh had grown firmer. "Who said that he wanted to start writing earlier?"
Little Carp groaned, not wanting to admit his previous mistake: "I want to eat sour chicken feet."
"But it's so late, I don't know if there are any chicken feet in the market. Ask Gan Cao to go and check." Zhang Fangyuan asked, "Where's your brother?"
"My brother thought his handwriting was not good enough today, so he went to the study to practice calligraphy."
Zhang Fangyuan held the child in his arms, glanced in the direction of the study, and frowned slightly: "Your brother was a little more lively in the village, but after entering the private school in the city, he became even less willing to go out. You should talk to your brother more when you have nothing to do, don't let him get bored."
"My brother won't do that. He doesn't talk when he comes home. He studies loudly in the private school and even talks to Xiao Xing."
Zhang Fangyuan nodded: "Then I guess he's a little tired from studying. I'll ask your little dad to make him a cup of honey and orange juice."
"I want to drink too!"
Zhang Fangyuan kissed the child and said, "Okay, one big cup for each of us."
The years are gentle and peaceful, spring goes and autumn comes, winter comes and summer goes, and the child in my arms grows up day by day. Year after year, just between waking up in the morning and going to bed at night, three or four years slip away.
"Boss Song sent me a letter today, saying that the cloth shops in Siyang bought less goods this year, and other traders took advantage of the situation and came in, so he will not come to Siyang anymore."
Zhang Fangyuan was sitting in front of a bronze mirror in the inner room, trimming the stubble on his mouth. Although older men like to grow a beard to appear dignified and steady, it is true that it makes him look old.
He was always shaving, and Xu He laughed at him, saying that the child was already half a man's height, so what was he doing making such a fuss.
Xu He looked as young and handsome as before. He thought to himself, how could he not look good? He suffered a lot in his early years and didn't recover well. But after he got married and his life became better, he gradually recovered. Although he couldn't be said to be rich and luxurious in recent years, he had no worries about food and clothing and lived a life of luxury.
He is younger than herself, but still as handsome as a flower.
"Can you read letters?"
Zhang Fangyuan stopped shaving his hand at the corner of his mouth when he heard this.
"I have learned a lot from my two children while they were studying over the years. I may not be able to recite poems or compose couplets better than them, but at least I can read a letter." Even if there are words I don't know, I can ask the two teachers for help.
Zhang Fangyuan praised: "You are really studious."
"Talk about something important."
Xu He put the letter on the table.
Zhang Fangyuan took a quick glance and continued shaving in front of the bronze mirror. "Song Yong has long revealed that he doesn't want to come to Siyang to do business anymore. He has been running around for the first half of his life. In recent years, he has been consolidating the business of the shop in Suzhou City. I think it must have been settled. So he naturally doesn't want to run around anymore."
"If he doesn't come, what will happen to the silk in our village?"
In recent years, people have been raising more and more silkworms, and they all rely on this business to make a living. Their families have also made a lot of money. What if the business suddenly stops?
Zhang Fangyuan said, "I had already made plans when I learned that Song Yongyou would not come to Siyang to do business. In recent years, our village's silk has been good and the poultry has been strong, so we simply organized a caravan to go to the south of the Yangtze River."
"My eldest and second cousins have more than ten years of experience in shipping goods. Let them lead the team, and select those with good hands and feet from the martial arts school to assist. We will only open the route from Siyang to Suzhou, which is safe."
Xu He breathed a sigh of relief. Zhang Fangyuan had become the clan leader. In recent years, in addition to being in charge of weddings, funerals and sacrifices, he had also been arranging tasks for the adult and strong men in the clan, and his position in the clan had become increasingly stable.
In recent years, Zhang Xiaoxuan and Zhang Xiaotian have been still shipping goods with the help of Zhang Fangyuan. The goods have also changed from scattered small items to poultry, preserved eggs, salted duck eggs, etc. They are heading towards Suzhou. They are indeed rich in experience in trading.
If they could add silk to their goods and open up a special trade route, then the two older cousins would have achieved something.
"That's good. Zhuang Qi has managed the business well over the years. The Ji'an martial arts school is doing a booming business. The shop in Xinpan, east of the city, has also been almost cleaned up and will open in two days. When things stabilize over there, the two martial arts schools can also send people to move goods."
Zhang Fangyuan responded: "That's how it was arranged."
"Okay, forget about your beard. Didn't you say you were going to the east of the city to meet a guest today?"
"I packed it up specially because I was going to meet a guest."
Zhang Fangyuan seldom paid much attention to dressing himself up. He mostly wore whatever his husband arranged for him to wear. The first time he thought about his clothes and accessories was before he married Xu He. He thought of asking his young master to dress himself up, so Xu He was a little surprised to see him take out the brocade clothes today.
"Distinguished guest?"
"He is not our guest, he is just a companion." Zhang Fangyuan also took Xu He's clothes and said, "I heard that he is a salt merchant in Jiangnan, very wealthy. If we can get in touch with him, our business will be smooth and beneficial. Even if we can't get in touch with him, we can have dinner together and have a way to communicate in the future."
"Since he is such a wealthy businessman and he is not a merchant from our city, I am afraid it would be inappropriate for me to go."
Zhang Fangyuan said, "It's still early. Didn't you say you wanted to go to the bookstore to order two good inks for Rui Jin and Rui Li? I might as well go with you."
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