Chapter 445: Beating in front of parents
On the 16th day of the first lunar month, the Lantern Festival lanterns were still hanging on the old tree at the entrance of the village, carrying with them some of the warmth of the festival, but Qiushi Academy had already officially opened.
After having fun for ten days, the children not only did not lose weight, but they even gained a lot of weight.
Each of them was wearing new clothes and looked as cute as the dolls in New Year pictures, which was very festive.
It’s just that the atmosphere in the classroom is more solemn than before the New Year.
In the corner of the blackboard, chalk painted a countdown, each day shorter than the last. The bright red numbers stretched like a string, taut in the hearts of every student. Like a death-defying spell, it urged the children to keep striving forward.
This was the second time that students from Qiushi Academy took part in the county examination after Gu Yuchuan passed the examination for the title of scholar. Everyone was full of energy, feeling both excited and nervous.
In order to allow their children to prepare for the exams with peace of mind, the students' parents do their best to prepare nutritious meals in different ways every day.
In the early morning before dawn, the aroma of rice porridge wafted from Li Chao's kitchen.
Feng squatted in front of the stove, stirring the lean meat porridge in the pot and sprinkling chopped green onions into it, with fine beads of sweat oozing from her forehead.
"Mom, I can eat in the school cafeteria. You don't have to get up so early to cook." Li Chao stood at the kitchen door wearing a cotton jacket. Looking at his mother's busy figure, he felt a little sorry.
Feng stood up and wiped the sweat off her face. "No matter how delicious the food in the cafeteria is, it's not as good as the food at home. We were poor before, so we treated you badly. Now that we're well off, I can still provide you with good meals three times a day."
Li Chao was about to try to persuade her, but was interrupted by Feng. "Hurry up and sit down. The porridge will be ready soon. I've also cooked your favorite tea eggs."
He could only agree silently.
It’s not that the food in the cafeteria is not delicious, but there is always an indescribable warmth in the food cooked by my mother.
He has been eating it since he was a child and has never felt tired of it. Even the simplest rice porridge tastes better than the food outside.
While waiting for breakfast, Li Chao took out "The Analects of Confucius" from his schoolbag, paced back and forth in the yard, and recited it in a low voice.
The early morning air was a little chilly, but it made his mind clearer. The pages of the book were gently turned by the wind, and every word was engraved in his heart.
The county examination was his first step out of Taohua Village, and he must not make any mistakes.
After breakfast, Li Chao rushed to school with his schoolbag on his back.
I met many classmates on the way. They were all walking in a hurry, holding booklets in their hands and muttering to themselves.
When they arrived at the school gate, Teacher Huzi was already standing there, wearing shorts and holding a whistle.
Gu Jiayue has always attached great importance to "quality education" and never wants students to become nerds who only know how to study.
Besides, the environment and mechanism of the imperial examination were much more intense than various modern major examinations.
The shortest time for the exam is one day.
If I couldn't keep up physically, I might get a heat stroke or faint during the exam, and all those years of hard work would be wasted. That's why I had to do my morning physical training every day without fail.
When all forty-one students from the imperial examination classes arrived, Master Huzi blew his whistle. "Everyone, line up and jog around the village. Don't go too fast, and keep your breathing even!"
The students immediately lined up in two rows and jogged along the path at the entrance of the village. The sound of their footsteps was particularly neat in the quiet morning.
After jogging, the children's foreheads were sweaty and their cheeks were red.
But the brazier in the classroom had already been burning brightly, and the warmth from the coals wrapped around the whole body, so there was no need to worry about catching a cold due to the sudden changes in temperature.
Once you enter the classroom, it’s time for morning reading.
As the study committee member of the Imperial Examination Class 1, Gu Huangan organizes everyone to read in the morning every day.
There is no mandatory requirement for the content of morning reading.
Those who want to make up their homework can bend over the table to do the questions, those who want to preview can open the new textbook, even if they just want to read some miscellaneous notes that interest them, no one will care as long as it does not disturb others.
Gu Jiayue often said: Learning should follow your own rhythm, a tight string is easy to break.
"Zhang Doubao, what are you doing?" Gu Huangan tiptoed to the last row and tapped Zhang Doubao's desk lightly with his fingers.
Zhang Doubao, who was lying on the table, suddenly raised his head, his eyes half open and half closed, with eye boogers on his eyelashes, and it was obvious that he had just fallen asleep.
He rubbed his eyes and said in a slurred voice, "I...I'm not sleeping. I'm memorizing my lessons."
But as he spoke, he couldn't even open his eyelids. "It's morning reading time now, so we can't be lazy." Gu Huangan bent down and lowered his voice. "The county exam is in five days. If we slack off now, all our previous efforts will be wasted."
Zhang Doubao slapped his face, trying to wake himself up. "I stayed up too late reading yesterday and accidentally..."
"Hurry up and go to the kitchen to get some cold water to wash your face, otherwise the first class will be taught by Master Gu Yuchuan. You know how powerful he is!" Gu Huangan reminded.
Upon hearing the name "Gu Yuchuan," Zhang Doubao instantly woke up and stood up abruptly. "I'll be there right away!"
In his heart, Gu Yuchuan was even stricter than Jiang Luli who had come to the school before. He was simply a "maniac who kills without blinking an eye."
If you were distracted in class, you'd be punished by copying the "Rules for Disciples." If you got one wrong on your homework, you'd have to write it ten times! The slaps on the palms were heavier than on other teachers.
The main thing is, let him hit you if he wants. Rural kids have thick skin and you can’t get hurt.
But he had to call the parents first and beat the child in front of them.
Tell me, is this something a human can do?
So no one dares to slack off in his class.
At noon, the children who lived close to the school would go home. After all, after eating, they could lie down in the quilt and take a nap, but in the school, they could only sleep on the table.
Not only can I not sleep well, but I also feel pain everywhere when I wake up.
Fish and duck were placed on Li Chao's lunch table.
Feng placed a piece of tender duck meat into Li Chao's bowl. "Eat it quickly! This is a live duck your father bought in town this morning. He's been stewing it all morning."
"Mom, the teacher said that there is no need to make it so well, just cook it the same as usual." Li Chao looked at the meat in the bowl and brought out Gu Jiayue's instructions.
In order to nourish the children's bodies, Gu Jiayue's parents specially contacted the parents because the students had eaten too much greasy food before the exam and had gastrointestinal discomfort.
"The county exam is in two days. How can you have the energy to take it if you don't eat well?" Feng glared at him and put another piece of fish into his bowl. "Are you worried about the lack of money at home? Don't worry, your father has been working in the workshop these past few months and has saved up a lot of money. It will be no problem for you to eat well."
Li Sihai nodded as well. "Just do as your mother says. Just study hard and tell her what you want to eat. Come, try this spicy diced chicken. Your mother specially picked the most tender hen in the house to make it."
The plate of spicy diced chicken was bright red, and the aroma of chili and chicken filled the air. Li Chao couldn't help but take a big bite.
Feng’s cooking skills have always been good. She didn’t have the means to buy meat before, but now that there are enough ingredients, she can make home-cooked dishes even more unique.
He ate bowl after bowl until his stomach was full, and only then did Feng and Li Sihai smile with satisfaction.
"If you like it, I'll make it for you tomorrow." While cleaning up the dishes, Feng asked, "What do you want to eat tomorrow morning?"
"Let's have this spicy chicken. I'll use the remaining broth with noodles tomorrow morning!" Li Chao touched his stomach and said with a smile, "Oh, Mom, please add more chili. The food at the school is not too spicy to accommodate everyone. I want something spicier."
"Okay, Mom will remember this! Go to school quickly and don't be late."
Li Chao, well fed and well-drinking, walked briskly to the school, his schoolbag on his back. The sunlight shone on him, and even his shadow leaped with joy.
But no one expected that the accident would happen just halfway through the morning class.
This class was Gu Yuchuan's "Strategy Theory" class. The only sounds in the classroom were his lecture and the rustling sound of students taking notes.
Suddenly, Li Chao covered his stomach, his face turned pale, and he slowly lay down on the table.
He was afraid of being discovered by Gu Yuchuan, so he bit his lower lip tightly and didn't even dare to make a sound, but cold sweat soon broke out on his forehead.
When the student at the next table noticed that something was wrong with him, Li Chao's hands had already started shaking and his face was as pale as paper.
"Li Chao, what's wrong with you?" the person at the next table asked in a low voice, his voice full of worry.
Although he was also afraid of Gu Yuchuan, he couldn't bear to ignore Li Chao when he saw him in so much pain.
"I... my stomach hurts..." Li Chao said this with all his strength, his voice as thin as a mosquito.
"Master! Li Chao is not feeling well!" The person sitting at the neighboring table mustered up the courage, raised his hand and shouted.
Gu Yuchuan stopped teaching, walked quickly to Li Chao, bent down and touched his forehead with the back of his hand.
It was cold, but Li Chao's face was covered with sweat.
"You guys continue with your homework, Gu Huangan, keep an eye on the discipline."
According to seniority, Gu Huangan is Gu Yuchuan's "little uncle", but in the classroom, rules are more important than seniority, and no one objects when Gu Yuchuan calls him by his name.
Gu Huangan immediately stood up. "Master, don't worry. I will keep an eye on everyone."
Gu Yuchuan bent down and hugged Li Chao in his arms.
Li Chao felt so weak from the pain that he had almost no strength left and could not walk at all.
He ran quickly towards Lin Yi's clinic. Li Chao in his arms was a little uncomfortable from being shaken. In a daze, he only saw the teacher who usually had a cold face, now with a frown on his face and hurried steps as if he was in a hurry.
Li Chao was frightened and panicked, and subconsciously shrank into Gu Yuchuan's arms, but the next second, he suddenly froze.
A warm and wet feeling came from my lower body, surging out uncontrollably like a "mudslide".
Gu Yuchuan's footsteps suddenly stopped, a layer of frost instantly covered his face, and his eyes were as cold as ice, as if he was about to "throw away" the person in his arms in the next second.
Li Chao's face flushed instantly, and he wished he could find a hole to crawl into. His voice was filled with tears. "Master... please put me down. I can walk on my own..."
"Leave?" Gu Yuchuan's voice was filled with disdain, but he didn't really let him go. "I'll let you spill the contents of your pants all the way to the school?"
He had always been a clean person, and at this moment, he felt that his hands were stained with something that shouldn't be stained, which made him feel uncomfortable. But looking at Li Chao's pained and ashamed expression, he knew that the child was sick and out of control, not intentional.
Gu Yuchuan took a deep breath, but was choked by the foul smell in the air and frowned. He could only hold his breath and continued to run to the clinic with Li Chao in his arms.
Lin Yi had just returned from outside. When he opened the courtyard door, he saw Gu Yuchuan running towards him with someone in his arms, his face extremely ugly.
"What's wrong? Is the child feeling unwell?" Lin Yi hurriedly went up to him, his heart tightening.
The county exam will be held in two days. If a child falls ill at this critical moment, it is no small matter.
But Gu Yuchuan had no intention of answering. He carried Li Chao and walked straight to the toilet in the backyard of the clinic, leaving behind only a cold back and a few vague words: "Deal with the...things on him first!"
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