Chapter 15 Apprenticeship (2)

Reading is difficult. There are too few people in this world who can read and write. One is that they have no money, the other is that they have no opportunity, and the third is that they are not smart enough.

In the past few villages, there was not a single school. Children had to go to the county town to study, but they were barely able to eat and clothe themselves. Even the wealthier family could not afford the children.

It was Master Bai who brought his family to Qili Village. The two sons of his family needed to study, so they went to the county town to hire Mr. Zhuang.

Although Mr. Zhuang didn't pass the jinshi examination, he was also admitted to a government school. He was of good character and morality. If it was just a normal salary, how could he be willing to teach in a small mountain village like Qili Village?

Mr. Bai was very reluctant to come up with the reward that made Mr. Zhuang’s heart move. Finally, he thought of a way, that is, the Bai family would pay Mr. Zhuang to set up a school, give Mr. Zhuang’s bundle repair to their family, and then pay the nearby ones. All the children who are suitable for school are recruited, and each child also pays a bundle of repairs. The money accumulates and the remuneration is generous.

This academy was built by Master Bai, but it belongs to Mr. Zhuang, and Mr. Zhuang has always held the students' bundles, so he has the final say on what students to accept.

But whether it was out of etiquette or because of his cooperative relationship with Master Bai, whether Man Bao could enter the school to study or not had to tell Master Bai.

However, Mr. Zhuang felt that there was no need to rush this matter, because Man Bao was still young, so he could learn some basics with him first.

After the new year, she will be a little older, and then she will enter the school.

And it is very rare for the Zhou family to be willing to put Manbao out to study.

When Mr. Zhuang first arrived, he enrolled students in several nearby villages. Those adults also knew the benefits of studying. They raised their heads to persuade their sons and nephews to work hard to earn money in the future, and to go to school if they had the chance. When they looked down and saw the desire in the eyes of the girls, But it was persuasion, "What are the girls' house doing to join in the fun? Hurry up and go home, can you watch this academic thing?"

Man Bao was lying outside the window eavesdropping. At first, there was an uproar in Qili Village. This child was young and didn't know anything.

But Mr. Zhuang knew that an old man in Qili Village found Master Bai and asked him to get rid of Xiao Qian's post, so that Man Bao would always eavesdrop on lectures and ruin the atmosphere of the village.

It was he who stopped.

First, Mr. Qian was really diligent and didn’t have much to do. Second, he liked Man Bao very much at that time.

So, "Everyone has the desire to learn, so why kill it?"

Then there were more children eavesdropping on the window. At most, the two windows were full of people, all boys.

This is a very immoral behavior in Shilin, but the words are spoken by Mr. Zhuang, and he naturally cannot vary from person to person.

Because of this, several students immediately dropped out of school. Parents came to pick up the repairs, turned around and drove their children to the window to steal school.

Mr. Zhuang was in a hurry at the time, but he could only be angry in his heart, just pretending that he couldn't see the person outside the window.

But not everyone is the same.

At that time, Man Bao was just over a year old. She had just learned to speak, and she was still walking unsteadily. She didn’t know enough about the outside world. The children in the house read a few sentences, and when they are unhappy, they will poke the ants with a stick and play for a long time.

But the youngest child was seven years old and the oldest was ten years old. It was the time when he was the most restless and playful.

In less than five days, they ran almost by themselves. The parents of the students who dropped out did not say anything when they saw that their children were stealing from school, and they almost forgot the words they had learned before.

I was so angry that I had no choice but to send the child back.

Since then, few boys have come to eavesdrop, but one or two girls have begun to lie cautiously outside the window.

But before Mr. Zhuang could react, the parents of those girls were the first to attack.

They will pull the girl away first, then beat and scold, "Can you also listen to reading? I think you have a big heart. If you have time to mow hogweed, go to the field, and pick up firewood on the mountain, you There is no job in my eyes, so how can I get married in the future..."

In fact, there are some ideas here that Mr. Zhuang once thought.

For example: boy reading is more important than girls reading, he also values ​​boys more.

But I don't know if it's because I'm getting older, Mr. Zhuang thinks more, or it's because people are prone to rebellion when they encounter things they don't like.

Anyway, before he knew it, he changed a lot of ideas.

In particular, Man Bao is getting bigger and bigger every day, showing that he is getting smarter every day.

Lying in the window, she memorized more books than the students who read in the school, and she recognized no fewer words from his manuscript than the students in the school.

She is also filial. She knows that after listening to his class, she wants to call him Mr., and she knows that she will clean the yard and clean up the desk for him...

He was ill, and the serious students would run out as soon as they heard that they could have a holiday, but she knew that the yard was walking around pouring a cup of hot water for him, and she also carried his clothes and went back to wash her sister-in-law...

Will pester her mother to bring him an extra egg.

He knew that the Zhou family loved this young girl, but he wasn't sure if they would want her to study.

So in order to increase the possibility and let this incident develop in a healthy way, he won't stop repairing, or even ask the Zhou family to buy pen, ink, paper and inkstone for Manbao.

The Zhou family's level of attention surprised him.

Because they not only brought a piece of bacon, but also a suit and a pair of shoes.

Mr. Zhuang couldn't help laughing. It seemed that the Zhou family really valued this little disciple enough, so he accepted it with a smile.

Old Zhou Tou breathed a sigh of relief when he saw it, and quickly asked Man Bao to kneel down and kowtow to Mr. Zhuang to serve tea.

Mr. Zhuang took a sip of the tea, and gave Man Bao a set of inkstones and inkstones that he had prepared early in the morning. Oh, and a handful of chopped green onions from the backyard.

Mr. Zhuang was very happy to have accepted such a clever disciple.

Old Zhoutou and his two sons were also very happy. Listening to Mr. Zhuang's voice, Man Bao didn't need to buy any books for the time being.

The three of them glanced vaguely at the things that Man Bao was holding in their arms, thinking that they had all the ink and ink, and then they would buy some paper for the child and all the work would be done.

Although there is an extra expense for the family, but this expense is much less than I expected, the three of them are of course very happy.

Man Bao is also very happy, everyone is happy to receive a gift, not to mention it was given by Mr. Zhuang, who she likes.

Everyone was delighted.

The old Zhoutou wanted to invite Mr. Zhuang home for dinner, which could be regarded as a celebration of Man Bao’s apprenticeship.

Mr. Zhuang shook his head and refused, and said, "There are still classes today, so let's come and harass you another day."

Only then did the old Zhoutou remember that Mr. Zhuang still had a class, and he was a little restless.

As he was talking, there were also the sounds of children chasing and making trouble outside, and Mr. Zhuang knew that the children were coming.