Chapter 239 Runtu
A purple round face was reflected in the water tank. He wore a small felt hat and a shiny silver collar around his neck. He looked about eleven or twelve years old. Looking at this still childish face, Xu Lingjun was speechless. How could he become a child again?
Before he could finish his sigh, there was a sound of hurried footsteps behind him, and an equally childish voice shouted, "A Tu, A Tu! I've been looking for you for a long time. Why are you here? Take me to catch birds!"
Looking back, he saw a child of the same age as him, but the clothes he wore were better. Ah Tu responded immediately, "Ah Zhang, this won't work. It's going to snow heavily. When it snows on our sandy land, I'll clear a space, prop up a big bamboo plate with a short stick, scatter chaff, and when I see birds coming to eat, I'll pull the rope tied to the stick from a distance, and the birds will be covered under the bamboo plate. There will be all kinds of birds: rice chickens, horned chickens, quails, bluebacks..."
Zhang was very disappointed. He looked up at the sky. There was not a single cloud in the sky, and there was no sign of snow. He couldn't help but sigh, "It would be nice if it snowed."
Ah Tu walked up to him, sat directly on the steps and continued, "It's too cold now, you can come to our place in the summer. We'll go to the beach to look for shells during the day. There are red and green ones, as well as those that can be seen by ghosts and those that can be seen by Guanyin. At night, my father and I will take care of the watermelons, you can come too."
"Care of thieves?"
"No, if a person walking by is thirsty and picks a melon to eat, it is not considered stealing here. We have to worry about badgers, hedgehogs, and civets. Under the moon, you can hear the sound of "la la la". The civets are biting the melon. You can then pick up the fork and walk over quietly..."
"What is a civet cat? Does it look like a dog? And is it very fierce? Doesn't it bite people?" Ah Zhang asked curiously.
"Here is a fork. When you see a wildebeest, you can stab it. The animal is very clever. It will run towards you and then slip away from under your crotch. Its fur is as slippery as oil..."
Ah Zhang was so fascinated by what he heard that he also sat down, holding his face with his hands. Although his face was childish, his eyes were very stubborn. Ah Tu could vaguely feel that this face was indeed somewhat similar to the photos he had seen.
"In our sandy land, when the tide is about to come, there are many jumping fish, and they all have two frog-like feet..." As he spoke, he began to review his and Zhang's identities.
A Zhang's academic name was Zhou Zhangshou, and later he became known as Shu Ren. His grandfather Zhou Fuqing passed the imperial examination ten years ago and was selected as a scholar. After his term as a scholar expired, he was sent to be the magistrate of Jinxi County, Jiangxi Province. Later, he donated money to be promoted to the position of Cabinet Secretary in accordance with the rules, and is still working in the capital.
And his current identity is Runtu who appeared in the Chinese textbook. Runtu's father is named Zhang Fuqing. He is a bamboo craftsman. His home is in Dupu Village, which is by the sea and all sandy land. He grows melons, beans, cotton and the like. He farms in the countryside during the busy farming season and comes to the Zhou family to help during festivals. This kind of work is called busy month and does not make much money.
This year Zhang's great-grandmother passed away, and the funeral was held on New Year's Day. It was also the turn to worship the "current year", and they were too busy to handle it, so they called Runtu to help manage the sacrificial utensils.
Runtu and Ah Zhang are of similar age and became friends as soon as they met. Runtu spent the whole day pestering Ah Zhang to tell him interesting stories about the countryside. Today, when Ah Zhang asked him about it, Runtu subconsciously recited the contents of his textbook.
Ah Zhang had been staying in the city, and last year he went to Sanwei Bookstore to study with Mr. Shou Jingwu. He had little free time on weekdays, and had no chance to experience this kind of rural fun, so Runtu's words left a deep impression on him and he longed for it.
After chatting for a while, Ah Zhang was called by his father to go and busy himself. There were many things to do at home now, and he was the eldest grandson, so he had to appear in many occasions. Runtu continued to stay here to manage the sacrificial vessels and think about his own way out.
Based on his memory, he could easily determine that it was the 18th year of the reign of Emperor Guangxu (1892), still in the late Qing Dynasty. It was not easy for a child from an ordinary peasant family to make a name for himself at that time.
He has money in his space, and he has no shortage of gold and silver. However, if a child from a poor family suddenly takes out gold and silver, it will only bring disaster to himself. When the time comes, people will put a hat on him, and he will not be able to bear it, and even his family will be implicated.
So you still have to study! If you have the opportunity to read and learn to read, you can truly break free from the shackles of your background and gain some freedom for yourself.
But Zhang Fuqing's family was ordinary, and Runtu was not allowed to start school when he was young. Now he is twelve years old. According to the standards of that time, he can be used as a half-strong laborer. How could he be allowed to study? What's more, the family has no money to pay him tuition and buy pens, ink, paper and inkstone? Alas, this is much more difficult than Gao Jialin's start. Although the Gao family is poor, they were born in the new society and have the opportunity to go to school. Now in the Tartar Qing Dynasty, how can children from poor families have the right to study? First of all, it is not allowed financially. Secondly, even if Zhang Fuqing gritted his teeth and took out the tuition, those private tutors might not accept him, because Runtu is a little old. He has not started school at the age of twelve. Even if he can recognize a few words, he has no future. His family background is also ordinary. There is not much benefit in rashly accepting him. Why bother yourself?
It's really a headache to think about it, but it's not completely hopeless. Zhang Fuqing is a good bamboo craftsman with excellent skills. His family owns the land, and the weather has been good in recent years. He still has enough savings to support him to study for a year or two.
For Runtu, one or two years is enough. He can use this time to improve his social status. Then he won't have to worry about getting into trouble when he takes out money. As long as he passes this hurdle, it will be easy to do anything he wants in the future.
But how can I find a teacher who is willing to accept me? Runtu first thought of Zhang's teacher Shou Jingwu. Most private school teachers might not be willing to give me this opportunity, but Mr. Shou Jingwu might be able to do so.
Runtu's memory contains information about Mr. Shou. He passed the imperial examination and became a scholar at the age of 20. Later, he was indignant at the arrogance of foreigners and the Qing court's loss of power and humiliation of the country. He expressed his determination by not buying foreign goods and giving up his ambition to become an official. He set up a school in his home, Sanwei Bookstore, to recruit disciples, and established rules, limiting the number of students to no more than 8 per year.
Shou Jingwu was willing to live in poverty and loved his students. A Zhang's father was seriously ill, and the doctor prescribed a prescription that required rice that was more than three years old as a medicine guide. A Zhang searched everywhere but failed, so he told Mr. Shou about this. A few days later, Mr. Shou personally carried the rice on his back and walked to Lu Xun's home to deliver the medicine.
If such a kind-hearted person met a promising person, then even if Runtu was from a poor family, he would definitely be willing to give him a chance, right? And if he spoke up, it would be much easier to convince Zhang Fuqing.
But how can I attract Shou Jingwu's attention? 　There is another chapter
(End of this chapter)
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