Jiang Shuyun has been in a good mood these past few days, and her ease radiates from within.
Yi'an's mindset also influenced him, making him try not to be so tense. Jiang's father's words also made him feel relaxed; he didn't need to go back to pay respects to their ancestors, so Yi'an wouldn't have to go through all that trouble.
Otherwise, if I go back home, I'll have to worry about everything, both at home and outside, and I won't get enough rest.
"Master, we've arrived."
Wei Dong parked the carriage, Jiang Shuyun got off, and Li Li carried the book box on his back.
"Li Li, take the book box to the school."
Jiang Shuyun straightened her clothes and walked towards her classroom.
"Brother-in-law, how is my sister's health?"
Mu Ziyi had gone on a study tour with his teacher and only returned yesterday. He heard from his third aunt that his sister was pregnant with twins, and he was quite worried.
"Your sister is in good health. When did you get back? What did you gain from this trip?"
"That's good, that's good. Brother-in-law, when you went abroad to study, were you also shocked? It turns out that there are different customs in places we didn't know about, some places are rich and some are poor."
Mu Ziyi really benefited a lot from this trip.
"Good, it's good that you have feelings about it. Hurry up and put your thoughts into words, so that you don't leave empty-handed."
Jiang Shuyun still had classes, so she didn't say much and told Ziyi to go to her house when he was resting.
The two parted ways, and Jiang Shuyun went into her classroom.
"Master, I heard that those who went out to study have returned. Is that true?"
Zhou Bingwen was very curious. It wasn't that he had never been out before, but traveling with family members and studying at the academy were completely different things.
"Yes, I came back yesterday. Are you curious, or are you looking forward to it?"
When Jiang Shuyun took them to the wheat harvest last time, there were dozens of people, but very few of them truly experienced it.
Jiang Shuyun felt that the ancient class system was deeply ingrained in people's minds and was difficult to change.
Sometimes he wondered whether it was better to have those with official titles and titles pay attention to people's livelihoods and the common people, which would be a thankless task, or to put more effort into enabling more children from poor families to receive education and learn a skill.
Arriving in ancient times and taking up the teaching profession again, Jiang Shuyun felt somewhat lost.
His own decades-long educational philosophy clashed with ancient educational philosophies, and he sometimes struggled to adapt to this class consciousness.
"I'm very curious. I want to know where they went, what they saw, which great scholars they met, and whether they suffered any hardships?"
Zhou Bingwen has many problems, but his background and experience make him dare to express himself.
"Master, traveling and studying abroad will allow you to see different things, won't it?"
Ma Wenbo rarely speaks; he usually studies diligently by himself or goes to the academy's study to copy books in exchange for a certain amount of money.
"This also varies from person to person. Different people will have different views on the same thing."
When you go on your study tours, your teacher will take you to different places, some rich and fertile, others barren and desolate. What you gain depends on how much you can perceive with your eyes and your heart.
Throughout history, have corrupt officials ever known that what they are doing is wrong? They know it, but what they see is not the disaster that their corruption brings to ordinary people, nor do they see the punishment that follows when their crimes are exposed.
At that moment, all they saw was real money and insatiable greed.
"Master, can we apply to go on a study tour?"
Zhou Bingwen wanted to travel and study abroad, to explore different routes.
"I can't make that decision myself; I need to ask the headmaster, who's in charge of it. But if any of you are interested, you can go ask him together."
Jiang Shuyun doesn't have that right; he's equivalent to a subject teacher in a modern school, not a homeroom teacher.
"Alright, let's begin the lesson now."
During this lesson, Jiang Shuyun didn't talk about anything unrelated to the topic; it was all about the Four Books.
When the time was up, he picked up his book and left.
"Is the Master disappointed?"
"Why?"
Some people don't understand what Zhou Bingwen said, but the Master spoke very well.
"Yes, the Master taught a whole class of the Four Books, and they were all the key points for the imperial examinations."
"Zhou Bingwen, do you want to hear Master Jiang talk about people's livelihood? To be honest, we're not really interested in people's livelihood or the common people."
We study from dawn till dusk so that we can pass the imperial examinations, become officials, and bring honor to our ancestors.
"You think you can achieve top honors in the imperial examinations if you don't care about people's livelihoods and the common people? Even if you do achieve top honors, if you have no goals and drift aimlessly into officialdom, will you really bring glory to your ancestors? Achieving top honors is just a new beginning, not the end!"
Ma Wenbo rarely spoke so much, then he got up, took his things, and left.
"Brother Bingwen, what's wrong with Brother Wenbo?"
"Nothing much, I'm leaving now."
Zhou Bingwen also got up and left. He wanted to ask Ma Wenbo if he was interested in studying abroad, and they could go ask the headmaster together.
Inside the school, the remaining students stopped discussing and silently packed their belongings.
Everyone understood what Ma Wenbo said; it's just that some people pretended not to.
They didn't understand why the scholar, who had passed the imperial examination with flying colors, would give up an official position.
In their view, wasn't the purpose of taking the imperial examinations to become an official? Wasn't rising from a minor official to a high-ranking one and entering the cabinet the dream of every scholar?
As for what it takes to reach the top, and what they are willing to give up, they haven't considered that.
Back in her dormitory, Jiang Shuyun drank a cup of tea to calm herself down.
He was getting a little anxious. These scholars, although they were older, had almost no social experience.
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