Chapter 297: Ancient Parents Also Needed to Choose Schools
There are two small houses in the farm. Gu Xixi kept one for herself, and the other one, which was originally used to store sundries, was cleared out for useless things and replaced with a small double-door cabinet, a wooden bed, and a small round table with three legs.
It became the home of Mrs. Wu and her daughters.
The furniture were all old items that the original owner didn't want anymore. The cabinet doors were falling off, the wooden bed was loose and shaky, and the round table had a broken leg. All of them were repaired by Madam Wu herself.
Gu Xixi pushed the door open and saw that the house was spotlessly clean.
The goose yellow coarse checkered sheets on the bed were originally a very ordinary and simple style.
But there are large light pink lotus flowers embroidered on it with great ingenuity. The combination of goose yellow and light pink not only brightens up this simple little house, but also adds to the warmth of home.
Two little girls were writing on the table, with candies in their mouths. Their cheeks were puffy and they looked as cute as little squirrels. They wrote every stroke very seriously.
Gu Xixi also sat down at the table. There were several piles of wood chips on the table, all of which were words written by the two children a few days ago.
Considering that Mrs. Wu had no spare money to buy paper, thin wood chips were used instead of paper, and water boiled with dried black lettuce was used instead of ink.
This method was once used by the children in Huachidu Village.
However, nowadays more students in village schools are using real pens, ink, paper and inkstone.
Gu Xixi looked at Xiulan and Xiuhe and thought, I hope they will get better and better in the future.
A few days passed, and the weather was getting warmer but still cold.
Mrs. Qin visited Gu Xixi's home, carrying the freshly steamed date paste bean curd she had made.
Gou Wa also came, but he didn't come to play with stones. Instead, he brought his newly bought book.
In the past, all children in the village school had no textbooks.
The only way is to rely on the teacher to narrate and read aloud, teaching the children to recite over and over again.
Just because books are too expensive.
Thinking back to the time, Gu Xixi didn’t have much money. When she sent Mu Nanzhao to be a teacher, she was still struggling to buy books.
Gou Wa and Shi Tou sat on a small stool and discussed important matters face to face.
Gou Wa said seriously, "School is about to start, we have to review and prepare for the exam."
"Otherwise, when the new teacher comes and randomly checks our homework, if we can't recite it, it will bring shame to the entire Huachidu Village!"
Shitou nodded seriously, "Well, what you said makes sense."
"Master Liu said that he would invite a very good teacher who is better at teaching students than he is."
"He must have told that gentleman about us, so we must not show our weakness!"
Mrs. Qin and Gu Xixi were laughing as they listened in.
Mrs. Qin whispered, "Listen, it's the face of the entire Huachidu Village."
"It seems that all of us are counting on these little guys."
Gu Xixi smiled and said, "They are willing to learn and make progress. No matter what the reason is, it is always a good thing."
Mrs. Qin hesitated for a moment and said, "Speaking of progress,"
"My old Qin has recently made friends with people from the pharmacy and several drug dealers."
"During the dinner, I heard them say that if they wanted their children to take the imperial examination, keeping them in a village school would be like being a frog in a well, and there would be no hope."
"In places like ours, after children have started to learn, they are at least sent to the county school in Qingtian County. For those whose families are better off, they are sent to the academy in the capital."
Mrs. Qin and her husband have now saved some money by selling medicinal herbs.
She cared more about her son's studies than before, and even spent money to buy books for Gou Wa.
It can be seen that the couple still has high hopes for Gou Wa's future.
Gu Xixi asked, "Are you planning to send Gou Wa to the county school?"
"I heard that the county school can provide accommodation for students for a monthly fee, including food and lodging."
Mrs. Qin said, "I have also asked around. We can barely afford to support him if we tighten our belts."
"After two years, when the Pinellia fruit is ready, life will be more comfortable, but..."
She moved her butt along with the stool and leaned closer to say, "Old Qin heard from someone that the new teacher in our Qingtian County School is not as good as before since the previous headmaster retired."
"Last year's students didn't get this many."
Mrs. Qin said this and stretched out a hand.
Gu Xixi thought that this admission rate was a bit low.
She remembered that Jiang Mingyuan had been studying in the provincial capital.
Mrs. Qin said worriedly, "We can't go to a far place now, let alone the academy in the capital."
"I am hesitant. If going to the county school is no different from staying in the village, why should we go through all this trouble?"
Gu Xixi thought about it and suggested, "If the county school is really like this, why not wait and see how the new teacher in the village school does."
"After all, the past..."
Gu Xixi cleared her throat before continuing, "Mr. Chen, Mr. Liu, and Mr. He, they all teach very well."
"I think the teacher that Mr. Liu personally found shouldn't be much worse than these three."
Mrs. Qin nodded and said, "I'll listen to you and wait a little longer."
She laughed again and said, "Actually, I haven't been educated yet, so I don't know how to teach well or poorly."
"I can only hear people say which teacher has taught the most students and which has passed the imperial examinations."
Gu Xixi was at a loss for words.
The choice of school is entirely based on the rate of admission to higher education, and this was also the case for ancient parents.
But she couldn't explain to Mrs. Qin how hidden talents there were in this small village school since its founding.
The first Mr. Chen was a genius who won three top honors in the imperial examinations. He is also the current Regent Mu Nanzhao.
The second Mr. Liu was a top student who had passed the imperial examination and was about to become an official.
Mr. He, the eldest daughter of the He family, who had worked with Mr. Liu, was also well-read and had an excellent calligraphy. However, due to her status as a woman, she was unable to become an official.
Gu Xixi smiled at Sister-in-law Qin and said, "Sister-in-law, have some tea, have some tea."
In the afternoon, Gu Xixi received a letter from the capital.
Because of the long journey, the letter first arrived at the Treasure Pavilion in Qingtian County, and then was forwarded to Huachidu Village by Mrs. Meng.
When Gu Xixi saw the handwriting on the envelope, she smiled knowingly, went back to her room, sat down at the table, and then carefully opened it.
This is a reply letter from He Jinglan.
Gu Xixi had earlier written to inform that she would make a trip to the capital at a date after the spring, and explained in detail the purpose of the trip.
He Jinglan was very happy. On the one hand, she expressed her sadness at the separation and looked forward to reuniting with Gu Xixi in Beijing as soon as possible.
Secondly, she said that since Boss Gu was coming, she had to prepare for opening a shop together in advance, so that Boss Gu would have enough time to hang the plaque and cut the ribbon for the shop.
Thirdly, she talked about Meng Chengping's recent situation in Beijing, described in detail how she had met Meng Chengping several times, and said that she should let nature take its course for the time being.
Fourth, and last.
He Jinglan wrote: "Just take these sentences as a joke. The Chen Fang you know originally wanted to go back to Huachidu Village, but failed to do so several times."
"Xixi, my brother said that someone is afraid that if time passes too long, there will be no place for him in Huachidu Village, especially in Gu Xixi's home."
"Xixi, I'm looking forward to your coming to the capital and telling me in person what happened recently. Is it what my brother guessed?"
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