"The purpose of life is to give..."
"Okay, okay! Let's stop here. It's very good!" Mo Xiaohu looked at him with appreciation.
However, because he was wearing sunglasses, Xiao Letian couldn't see his true face.
I just felt that he was looking at me, and my heart couldn't help but tighten.
"Let me ask you two simple questions. What is forty-four plus thirty-seven?"
"Eighty-one" Xiao Letian blurted out without hesitation.
Mo Xiaohu was stunned, and then asked: "What about ninety-four plus eighty-three?"
"One hundred and seventy-seven." Xiao Letian blurted out again.
Mo Xiaohu gradually became serious.
There is no mathematical environment in Dajing, but ordinary people can do the math when buying vegetables.
But singling him out to do number crunching always seems difficult.
Some people even have trouble understanding addition and subtraction within ten.
It was really unexpected that the boy in front of me could calculate so quickly and accurately.
"What is one thousand three hundred and fifty-six minus two hundred and eighty-one plus six hundred and thirty-nine?"
"One thousand and seven hundred and fourteen." Xiao Letian answered quickly again.
This guy is obviously talented. Either he has been trained, otherwise he wouldn't be able to grow so fast. In any case, he is a good prospect.
Mo Xiaohu slapped the table excitedly: "Okay! Come on, write your name and address here!"
Xiao Letian was delighted and quickly pulled out a piece of white paper and left a message.
"Tomorrow at 7 o'clock... at 7 o'clock, remember to go to the Mid-Levels Newspaper Office to take the second exam! Let's go."
Mo Xiaohu took the paper from Xiao Letian's hand and wrote a big character "甲" above his name.
Xiao Letian saw this and felt ecstatic.
He kept saying, "Thank you, interviewer. Thank you, interviewer!"
After saying that, he turned and left, with a briskness in his steps.
Xiao Letian rushed home, feeling this rare joy all the way.
But when I got home, the joy disappeared immediately.
When I walked into my shabby house, I saw a person inside who shouldn't be there at this time.
An old man with a hunched back was bending over the stove, cleaning something.
When I heard the door being pushed open, I immediately turned around to check.
"Le Tian? Why did you come back so early today? Didn't you say you were going to study with your classmates?"
Xiao Letian looked at the other person's wrinkled and weather-beaten face, and his heart was overwhelmed by a huge sense of shame.
He nervously called out "Dad", then said guiltily: "The master had something to do today, so I went home early."
Xiao Kang looked at his son's strange expression, said "oh" and didn't ask any more questions, then lowered his head and continued to clean up.
Xiao Letian asked awkwardly: "Dad, why did you come back so early today?"
"I was fired by my employer, and I will look for another job tomorrow. Have you eaten? You came just in time, let's eat together."
Xiao Kang opened the lid of the pot, and steam immediately gushed out. After it dissipated, a few stewed sweet potatoes were revealed.
After picking it out with chopsticks, he took two sets of bowls and chopsticks and brought them to the shabby, stained dining table beside him.
Then he took a small bowl of pickles from the stove.
After everything was laid out, he said, "Eat, and then continue reading. Don't waste time."
The father and son sat down, lowered their heads and began to eat in silence, no one spoke.
In this slightly dark and dilapidated house, the atmosphere is even more silent.
Halfway through the meal, Xiao Kang spoke up: "An interesting thing happened in the city today. I heard that a university was established in the eastern suburbs. It caused a lot of buzz. I heard people were discussing it on my way home."
Xiao Letian showed a hint of spirit on his face, and asked quickly: "Dad, what do you think of Dongjiao University?"
"Heh... I heard people say that it trains craftsmen, which is really ridiculous. Making such a fuss is really disrespectful." Xiao Kang showed a bit of contempt on his face: "Can you enter the court after entering Dongjiao University? How dare you call it a university?"
Xiao Letian couldn't hide the disappointment in his heart. He pursed his lips and lowered his head to eat.
This trace of emotion was keenly captured by Xiao Kang, who frowned and asked, "What did you learn in today's class?"
"Nothing...nothing. The teacher was unwell early in the morning, so I studied on my own with my classmates." Xiao Letian stammered.
"What did you learn?" Xiao Kang's tone became heavier. He stopped his hand movements and stared at Xiao Letian.
"That's what I taught you since you were a kid! Tell the truth!"
Xiao Letian was scared, goose bumps appeared all over his body, and he said tremblingly: "I...I went to see the interview at Dongjiao University."
"brute!!!"
As soon as Xiao Letian finished speaking, Xiao Kang suddenly jumped up and kicked Xiao Letian to the ground.
Caught off guard, Xiao Letian was kicked into the corner and curled up into a ball skillfully.
Red bloodshot gradually appeared in Xiao Kang's eyes. He panted and said, "I work outside to support your studies... You actually want to be a craftsman! Are you worthy of your mother? Are you worthy of me?!"
Xiao Letian stammered, looking at his old father with his heart full of shame.
Xiao Kang's face was filled with sorrow.
His wife died early, leaving behind only this one son.
He is also a scholar!
In order to raise his child, he gave up taking the imperial examination and all his future!
He became an old farmer who was humble and worked like a slave for others in exchange for a little pitiful wages.
His only dignity was the worn-out Confucian robe he wore all day, symbolizing his identity as a scholar. But he didn't care at all even if others laughed at him.
Because he also has a son...who has been very smart since he was young.
As long as you cultivate carefully, you will surely stand out one day, like a carp leaping over the dragon gate and entering the emperor's hall.
My dear, there is more to this chapter. Please click on the next page to continue reading. It’s even more exciting later!
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