Chapter 293 Got It After
returning to his home in Shaoxing, Zhang Fuqing was naturally happy to see his long-lost child. He quickly ordered a table for the whole family to reunite. Zhang Xingjiu then rested at home, accompanying his parents while waiting for Ma Xiangbo's notice.
The next day after returning home, Zhang Xingjiu went to visit Mr. Shou Jingwu. The old man is still in good health and continues to teach students at Sanwei Bookstore. He was very happy to see Zhang Xingjiu back and took the opportunity to ask Zhang Xingjiu about many things in Europe and the United States.
Hearing that countries like Britain, France, Germany and the United States have become so developed, Shou Jingwu was filled with sighs. The great powers are becoming more and more powerful, and the imperial court is so foolish. What will happen in the future?
Then he asked about Zhang Xingjiu's plan, and Zhang Xingjiu answered truthfully, "A few days ago, my father-in-law planned to sell all 3,000 acres of land in his family, and use the money to build a school to teach new knowledge. I also want to follow him and teach Western scientific knowledge to students."
"Foreigners have strong ships and powerful guns. We must learn from them. However, Shou Jingwu stopped talking halfway. He was very conflicted. On the one hand, he felt that he should learn from foreigners' scientific and technological achievements, but if he did so, how much of what he had learned in his life would be useful? Would young people in the future learn these things from him? The tide of the times was so strong that if one could not keep up, one would be left behind. Zhang Xingjiu could not solve Shou Jingwu's problem. He could only wish his teacher good health, so that he might be able to see the time when China would gradually improve.
Shou Pengfei now increasingly does not want to stay in Sanwei Book House. However, every time the imperial examination comes, Shou Jingwu keeps a close eye on him and does not allow him to take part in the examinations. Shou Pengfei can't think of a solution for a while.
After leaving Sanwei Bookstore, Zhang Xingjiu went to visit A Zhang's mother again. From her, he learned about A Zhang's recent situation. In April last year, he entered the Jiangnan Naval Academy and studied under Zhou Shuren.
At the end of the year, he was urged by his uncle to take the county examination. After passing the exam, he did not take the provincial examination on the grounds that his fourth brother was ill, and continued to study in Jiangning. This year, he transferred to the Mining and Railway School attached to the Jiangnan Army Academy to study mining.
This reminded Zhang Xingjiu of something interesting. A Zhang's first work was not actually a literary work, but an academic monograph - "China Mineral Resources". The foundation for him to write this book was probably laid at this time.
Coincidentally, the person who wrote the preface to this book was none other than Zhang Xingjiu's father-in-law Ma Xiangbo.
The circumstances of Xu Xilin and Wang Ziyu did not change much. They were still studying in Shaoxing. However, their ideas had changed a lot. Xu Xilin became more and more radical, while Wang Ziyu became more and more interested in running a newspaper.
After a while, A Zhang finally returned home from Jiangning for the winter vacation. Not only did he come alone, he also brought an acquaintance of Zhang Xingjiu, Qian Junfu, who had asked him questions at Qiushi Academy. Qian Junfu also brought his junior at Qiushi Academy, Li Suizhi. The three of them would go to Japan to study together in the future, and the two of them would also be A Zhang's lifelong friends.
Several friends who had not seen each other for a long time naturally had a lot to talk about. They were all young people and didn't care about anything. They just found a seat at the Xianheng Restaurant near A Zhang's house, ordered a few bowls of rice wine, and had some snacks such as fennel beans, and started chatting happily.
Zhang talked about the reason why he changed schools. "At first, I thought that the reason why foreigners could bully China so recklessly was because they relied on their powerful ships and guns, so I thought about going to the Naval Academy to learn how to drive warships and fight against foreigners!"
"After studying for a while, I realized that building warships is not an easy task. If you want to build advanced warships, you must first smelt high-quality steel. In addition, the Naval Academy was a bit chaotic, so I transferred to the Mining and Railway School attached to the Jiangnan Army Academy to learn mining."
A Zhang's ideas have undergone several major changes. First, he changed from studying the navy to studying mining, and later changed from studying medicine to studying literature. He hoped to use his pen to awaken the Chinese people. No matter which change, it was all for China, without any personal gain.
Qian Junfu met A Zhang when Zhang Xingjiu went to Qiushi Academy to give a speech last time. The two had similar interests and became close friends. Since then, they have been exchanging letters. This time, A Zhang passed by Hangzhou on his way back from winter vacation and stayed at Qian Junfu's house. When Qian Junfu heard that Zhang Xingjiu was back, he came over with A Zhang.
Li Shouzhi happened to be a guest at the Qian family at that time. The Qian family in Jiangnan had a deep connection with the famous Li family in Hangzhou, Zhejiang. Not only had the two families been friends for generations, but they were also relatives. Li Shouzhi also followed Qian Junfu's example and entered the Qiushi Academy to study. He had heard of Zhang Xingjiu's name a long time ago, so naturally he wanted to come along as well.
In the future, the three of them would go to Japan to study together. Li Shouzhi also enrolled in medical school like A Zhang. A Zhang later changed his mind and turned to literature, but Li Shouzhi persisted and became a famous doctor in the Republic of China.
Whenever the children of the Qian family got sick, they would ask Li Shouzhi for treatment. Xuesen was weak when he was young and had two serious illnesses that nearly killed him - one was meningitis and the other was typhoid fever. Later, he recovered under the care of Li Suizhi.
Xue Sen’s acquaintance with Jiang Baili’s daughter Jiang Ying and the creation of a beautiful story were also inseparable from Li Shouzhi’s matchmaking.
His younger brother Li Linsi was also a remarkable person. He went to Germany to study and obtained a master's degree in law from the University of Jena and a doctorate in philosophy from the University of Heidelberg. He later became a famous diplomat.
Several young people gathered together and had a very pleasant chat. They cursed the corruption of the Qing court and felt sorry for the fate of Tan Sitong and other six gentlemen.
In the following days, they got together whenever they were free, until the Spring Festival was approaching, when Qian Junfu and Li Shouzhi reluctantly left and returned to Hangzhou to celebrate the New Year. Before leaving, they repeatedly reminded Zhang Xingjiu that if he was free, he must come to Hangzhou.
After seeing them off, Zhang Xingjiu returned home. Ma Zongwen hurriedly prepared a sobering soup for him. This amount of wine was more than Zhang Xingjiu could handle, but the thoughtfulness was priceless. Zhang Xingjiu took the sobering soup and was about to say something when he saw Ma Zongwen holding his chest and retching.
Zhang Xingjiu had been married several times and had several children. He was very experienced. Seeing her like this, how could he not know what happened? He quickly asked the shop assistant to call a doctor.
The waiter did not dare to neglect it and directly invited He Lianchen, the most famous doctor in Shaoxing City. After He Lianchen took Ma Zongwen's pulse, he immediately smiled and clasped his fists to congratulate him, "Congratulations, Mr. Zhang, your wife is pregnant!"
"Thank you, sir." Zhang Xingjiu quickly ordered someone to pay the medical fees and wedding money.
After seeing He Lianchen off, he immediately hugged Ma Zongwen. He finally had a successor to his business, but he didn't know what talents this child had and how much he could inherit. (End of this chapter)
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