Chapter 254 Returning Home
Xuhui Public School is a church school. Logically, students do not celebrate the Spring Festival. However, Zhang Xingjiu is not only a student, but also a Chinese teacher at the school. Teachers have to celebrate the festival. Considering that Zhang Xingjiu's learning progress is very fast, Jiang Yixu also gave him a holiday.
Before leaving, Jiang Yixu called Zhang Xingjiu into his office and gave him a New Year bonus. Even if it was a church school, this was inevitable, otherwise why would those scholars and young people come to study here.
"According to your current learning progress, you may be able to study in France in two or three years. This time is just right. French college students also enter university at the age of 18."
"I have discussed your situation with His Excellency the Bishop many times. He is also very interested in you. He has introduced you to French scholars he knows in a letter. Through them, you can go to study in France. Of course, the premise is that you can pass the entrance examination. With your learning ability, this will definitely not be a problem."
"Perhaps, from now on, you can learn about the situation of the University of France in advance. If you have a clear goal, His Eminence the Bishop and I can find suitable scholars to recommend to you."
Zhang Xingjiu felt a little regretful. In today's era, British schools are still better. He would rather go to schools like Oxford and Cambridge. However, Xuhui Public School was founded by French Jesuit missionary Nangro, and most of its subsequent directors were also from France. They would definitely recommend Zhang Xingjiu to study at a French university.
There are really not many choices now. Let's just stay in France. France now has a group of outstanding scholars such as Becquerel, the Curies, and Lippmann. Zhang Xingjiu has not been wronged in the past.
"The student has made up his mind. École Polytechnique, Paris Sciences et Lettres or Sorbonne University are all fine. The student wants to study physics, and the physics majors in these schools seem to be stronger." Zhang Xingjiu expressed his intention.
Having already won the Fields Medal, he decided to win a few Nobel Prizes this time, so Zhang Xingjiu chose physics as his major research direction in the future.
Becquerel taught at the École Polytechnique, the Curies at the Paris Sciences et Lettres University, and Lippmann at the Sorbonne University. These people were all future Nobel Prize winners in physics, and studying with them could also help you gain great fame.
"These are very famous universities in France. Even in France, it is not easy to get into these schools, so you have to work harder." Jiang Yixu kept these schools in mind and planned to discuss with the bishop the next time he met him to see which school would be more appropriate to send Zhang Xingjiu to.
"When students go home, they will not neglect their studies and will try to go to France to study as soon as possible." After chatting for a few more words, Zhang Xingjiu stood up and said goodbye.
I went back to the dormitory to pack my luggage, took the Shanghai specialties I had prepared in advance, went out and called a rickshaw to the pier, took a boat back to Hangzhou, and then changed boats from Hangzhou back to Shaoxing.
When he arrived at his own shop, he saw that Zhang Fuqing had changed a lot. His originally dark skin from being tanned by the sun had become fairer, and his speech and behavior were not as restrained as before. Zhang Xingjiu could not help but sigh that the change in identity and status had indeed had a great impact.
Zhang Fuqing was very happy to see the child come back, and hurriedly asked the waiter to order a table from the restaurant next door. He was not a scholar, so he did not follow the principle of not talking while eating or sleeping. At the dinner table, he asked Zhang Xingjiu about his study abroad experience with concern.
Zhang Xingjiu said that he felt he had gained a lot from studying at a college in Shanghai. Perhaps in a few years he would be able to take part in the provincial examination and see if he could pass the examination and become a juren.
He also gave Zhang Fuqing a heads-up in advance, saying that the provincial examinations in Zhejiang have always been difficult, and with his knowledge it might be difficult for him to pass the imperial examinations within a few years. However, when he was in Shanghai, he heard that the court now attached more and more importance to Western learning, and many court officials had written to the court requesting to send students to study abroad.
It is said that these students will be highly valued once they come back and will be granted the status of Jinshi. If there is such an opportunity in the future, maybe you can give it a try.
Zhang Fuqing didn't understand the ins and outs of this, so he just let Zhang Xingjiu make the decision himself, which just fulfilled Zhang Xingjiu's wish.
After waking up, Zhang Xingjiu visited Shou Jingwu and his son with gifts. He also saw classmates such as A Zhang and Wu Shushen in Sanwei Bookstore. He made an appointment with them to go to a restaurant for dinner and reminiscing after school the next day.
After hearing Zhang Xingjiu's description of the situation in Shanghai, Shou Jingwu and his son were both indignant. The great China actually allowed foreigners to occupy so many concessions. However, the father and son once again disagreed on how to solve this problem. Shou Pengfei still wanted to take the imperial examination, but Shou Jingwu firmly refused.
In the afternoon, Zhang Xingjiu went to Zhang's house again. In addition to the usual gifts, he also brought some medicines for treating liver disease for Zhou Fengyi. Unfortunately, these medicines were probably useless. Zhou Fengyi was depressed all day and was accustomed to alcoholism. If these two problems were not corrected, even if modern medicines were taken from the portable space for him, they would be useless.
After talking for a while, seeing that he looked tired, he said goodbye and went to Baicao Garden with Ah Zhang to catch birds. While playing, there was always a bit of gloom in Ah Zhang's eyes. It seemed that the family changes had indeed had a great impact on him.
Afterwards, he visited acquaintances such as Xu Xilin and Wang Ziyu, and talked with Xu Xilin about his experiences in Shanghai. After listening to him, Xu Xilin also revealed a desire to study abroad, but his family had always asked him to take part in the provincial examination, and he was afraid that he would not be able to go out in the next few years.
When chatting with Wang Ziyu, all he could express was gratitude. Zhang Xingjiu has been basically in Shanghai for the past six months, and Wang Ziyu has been taking care of most of the family matters, allowing Zhang Fuqing to focus on running his business.
Considering that Wang Ziyu was very interested in the printing industry, Zhang Xingjiu brought him some information from Shanghai, and Wang Ziyu was indeed very happy after receiving it.
At the end of December, Zhang Fuqing closed the shop and returned to Dupu Village with his family to celebrate the New Year. In the past, he had to work at Zhou's house every New Year and had little time to rest. Now that his family was well-off, it was natural for him to go home and take care of everything.
In the first two days, Zhang Xingjiu was still somewhat curious about the New Year, but after eating and drinking a few times, he found it boring and closed the door to read seriously. Even relatives who came did not dare to disturb him, so he enjoyed some peace and quiet.
After the Lantern Festival, Zhang Xingjiu packed his luggage, took some savings from the store, and boarded the passenger ship to Shanghai again.
After returning to Xuhui Public School, he continued to teach and study at the same time. Seeing that he did not slack off, Jiang Yixu was very pleased and called Zhang Xingjiu over to praise him.
While Jiang Yixu was happy, Zhang Xingjiu quickly made a request, "I have a small matter that I would like to ask you for help with."
(End of this chapter)
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