Chapter 252 Shanghai Style
After some negotiations, Zhang Xingjiu officially enrolled in the school. While serving as a Chinese teacher at the public school, he also studied French, Latin, sports, art, and most importantly, science with the students who performed better.
English was not taught because most of the Jesuits in the early public schools came from France, so French became one of the earliest subjects in the public schools. Latin, as the official language of the church, was naturally also learned.
It was not until ten years later that public schools began to add English courses. By that time, the influence of Britain had become so great that even in church schools in Shanghai, students had to learn English.
Zhang Xingjiu received the textbooks very quickly. These textbooks were considered exquisite at that time, and the public school spared no expense in order to expand its influence. The first textbook he flipped through was "French Elementary Model". Interestingly, the Chinese characters in this book were arranged horizontally from left to right, which was basically consistent with the habits of later generations.
Zhang Xingjiu is now fluent in English and Japanese. He has never been exposed to French and Latin before, so now is a good time for him to catch up on these two languages. He roughly flipped through the "French Elementary Edition" and picked up the Latin textbook.
I couldn't help laughing when I saw this. The Chinese characters translated from Latin are actually Latin. It makes people feel cold in their crotch. I don't know who translated it, but it's really exciting.
Zhang Xingjiu had a photographic memory and learned foreign languages much faster than most people. After a few classes, he attracted the attention of the teachers. Jiang Yixu was overjoyed when he found out about this. He thought that if the public school could cultivate such an outstanding talent, it would be a great help in expanding the influence of the public school.
After some consideration, he gave Zhang Xingjiu special lessons and arranged two teachers to provide one-on-one tutoring so that he could master French and Latin as soon as possible.
In addition to foreign language classes, Zhang Xingjiu also performed well in other subjects. The music class initially taught organ and singing. When Zhang Xingjiu was in "The Road of Life", he learned guitar with his roommates. He had a certain foundation in music theory and the use of musical instruments, so he could learn naturally very quickly now.
Needless to say, when it comes to sports, his physique is much stronger than the average person. Not only is he better than students of the same age, but even the physical education teacher is no match for him. As long as Zhang Xingjiu is familiar with the rules and practices a few more times, he can beat foreign teachers in tennis, gymnastics and even football.
The physical education teacher even wanted to have him join his football team to participate in competitions between foreign expatriates in Shanghai, but thinking about the status gap between foreigners and Chinese in Shanghai today, he gave up in the end.
When learning scientific knowledge, the teachers were also amazed at Zhang Xingjiu's talent. No matter what the knowledge was, as long as he was taught once, Zhang Xingjiu could remember it firmly in his mind and apply it skillfully.
After all, he is a PhD from a 985 university, has won the Fields Medal, and has been an academician. It is naturally not difficult for him to learn the scientific knowledge of the 19th century now. The most troublesome thing is not to remember this knowledge, but to ignore the errors in this knowledge. It is okay for mathematics, but in physics and chemistry classes, there is indeed a lot of knowledge that the teachers teach that is not consistent with the achievements of later generations.
The daily management of Xuhui Public School is very strict. Students have to get up early in the morning to exercise and then start their day's study. They have to turn on the lights at night to continue studying. The dormitories are generally not opened until five minutes before going to bed. The students here are even harder working than those of Hengshui Middle School.
Zhang Xingjiu also lived such a life at the beginning. Fortunately, the teachers soon realized that he was an absolute genius, and geniuses naturally could not be educated with conventional methods, so he was given a certain degree of autonomy.
At the same time, since he also serves as a Chinese teacher in the public school, the status of a teacher and an ordinary student is naturally different, so gradually, Zhang Xingjiu can leave the public school on weekends and go out to see the world.
A month later, Zhang Xingjiu walked out of the gate of the public school for the first time and waved to call a rickshaw. The driver ran up to him quickly, leveled the rickshaw and asked Zhang Xingjiu to get in, then asked, "Sir, where are you going?"
"I've only been in Shanghai for a short time and haven't had a good look around yet. Please take me to see the lively places first!" Zhang Xingjiu ordered. It was broad daylight now, and he was not afraid that the driver would take him to a dangerous place. Even if something happened, he still had five or six bullets and grenades in his space.
The driver was overjoyed when he heard this. This was a big business. He immediately started to drive the car energetically. "Sir, please sit tight. Let's go to Nanjing Road first. It's very lively there."
"Okay, let's go to Nanjing Road!" Zhang Xingjiu had often visited this road before, but he didn't know what it looked like now.
While the driver was pulling the cart at a fast speed, he introduced Nanjing Road to Zhang Xingjiu. This was the earliest commercial street built after Shanghai was opened as a port. It has now become the commercial center of Shanghai, and all major Chinese and Western businesses have shops here.
When they arrived at Nanjing Road, the driver slowed down. Zhang Xingjiu looked around and saw that both sides of the busy street were lined with two-story buildings with all kinds of signs and billboards hanging in front of them. There were teahouses, restaurants, Chinese and Western groceries. It was a dazzling array of things with everything you could imagine.
The whole street seems much more orderly than the commercial street in Shaoxing. Pedestrians and vehicles are accustomed to walking on the right. There are also patrolmen wearing pointed hats maintaining order on the street. Business in various stores seems to be very good, presenting a kind of abnormal prosperity.
This is no wonder. Goods from the oceans land here, and goods from inland flow south along the Yangtze River to Shanghai. Chinese and foreign businessmen look for trade opportunities here. There are only a few ports for entry and exit in such a huge market, so it is impossible not to be prosperous.
After strolling around Nanjing Road, they bought some food to fill their stomachs. When entering the restaurant, Zhang Xingjiu wanted the driver to follow him, but he refused. Zhang Xingjiu had to give up and asked the waiter to bring him a bowl of noodles. However, the waiter was a little reluctant, as if he felt that the driver was not worthy of his noodles.
After finishing the meal, the driver suggested that Zhang Xingjiu go to Simalu. The name sounded vaguely familiar, so Zhang Xingjiu agreed without thinking too much. When he arrived at the place, he found that the nearby Jiu'anli, Qingheli and Rixinli were all places where prostitutes gathered, and they were engaged in the same industry as those in Qinhuai River in Nanjing and the Eight Great Hutongs in Beijing.
I'm only fourteen years old, is it appropriate for you to bring me here? Zhang Xingjiu was so angry that he couldn't help cursing in his heart, but the driver didn't show any expression. He thought about it and realized that some rich young masters are married at this age now, so it's no big deal to come here to play.
Zhang Xingjiu was not interested, for one thing, he was still young, and secondly, it was not safe. Venereal diseases were very common nowadays. Besides, he did not like the looks of these girls, and few of them were good looking.
He was about to ask the driver to change the place, but suddenly looked up and changed his mind.
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
