The four people who packed their bags said goodbye to Mr. Zhu and his wife Zhu Bai, and thanked their senior brother Wang Ruqin and others for taking care of them these days. They left Yongjinmen in the county and returned to Bailu Village the way they came.
go.
By the time we returned to Bailu Village, it was already afternoon.
Patriarch Bai Jiaxuan, Lu Zilin, and Bai Youde had received the letter a long time ago and were waiting at the entrance to the village. There were also music groups built by the villagers playing music and music around them.
"This is the return of our county's chief criminal!"
The patriarch Bai Jiaxuan had a smile on his face, hung the red silk on Bai Gui's body, raised his chin, looked at the villagers from the neighboring village who came after hearing the news, and shouted in a loud voice: "Our Bailu Village is a village of benevolence and righteousness.
There is such a little champion!"
Soon, the people from neighboring villages gathered around looked at him with envy.
Some village chiefs immediately taught the young students in the village to study hard and bring glory to our village.
Hearing this compliment, Bai Gui's face turned red, but no one noticed that he, the chief criminal of the county, was not as valuable as before. Although he still had many benefits, he was not worthy of the praise of the patriarch Bai Jiaxuan.
The word "xiaozhuangyuan".
But he didn't refute it. The more people there were in the village, the more people in the neighboring villages dared not look down on them. When fighting for water to irrigate the fields, the villagers had the confidence to take more points, and whoever wanted to marry could have the confidence to ask for less.
Some betrothal gifts...
The benefits are many!
Otherwise, why would so many villagers support him?
The wind band followed all the way.
Return to the village.
Bai Gui and several classmates did not rush home. Instead, they went to the ancestral hall to pay their respects to their mentor Xu Xiucai.
The building on the east side has bedrooms separated by earth.
Xu Xiucai is reading poetry and books.
"gentlemen……"
Bai Gui first knelt at the door of the dormitory and kowtowed heavily to Xu Xiucai.
When several other people saw this, they immediately knelt down and addressed themselves as sir.
Unlike Bai Gui, although the remaining three respect Xu Xiucai, they are from a wealthy background, so how can they be so grateful to Xu Xiucai. However, Confucianism values courtesy, and they cannot see Bai Gui kneel down, so they just stand...
…
Following closely behind, the villagers waiting outside the ancestral hall saw this scene and praised her one after another, "Guiwazi is a good boy who knows filial piety and kindness."
"These dolls in our village are all good dolls. Our ancestors are happy to know about them!"
"..."
The villagers discussed.
Xu Xiucai's hands trembled while he was studying the book. He took a deep breath and stood up from the chair with his back straight. He left the book with his hands and knew the news of the return of several people.
But he didn't expect that when he sent four people to take the county exam, only four of them would have more experience. But what he didn't expect was that Bai Gui, who had just entered school for half a year, passed the county exam.
First, it made him feel as if he was in a dream.
He walked out slowly, with a serious look on his face.
"The fact that you passed the exam is beyond my teacher's expectation. However, there is no limit to learning, and you still need to study hard day and night. Don't waste your talents!"
Xu Xiucai came out. He did not let others get up first, but solemnly said these words to Bai Gui.
When white pheasants descend, auspiciousness arises.
This is the blessing given to Bai Gui by God.
But if you don't hesitate to be blessed, this good fortune will turn into a reminder.
“Students take note!”
Bai Gui was just stunned for a moment before he understood something and felt a little sad in his heart. This was because Xu Xiucai knew that it was difficult for him to teach Bai Gui anymore at his current level, so he gave his farewell words as his final teaching.
He choked up and immediately paused.
"You can be kind to your neighbors, take good luck for yourself, and work for the benefit of your people. It shows that you have a benevolent heart. I hope you can keep your heart in mind at this time..." Mr. Xu sighed softly and said.
Cultivating oneself, governing the country, and bringing peace to the world are the highest pursuits of Confucianism.
“Students take note!”
Bai Gui paused again.
"Okay, you get up! You guys get up too."
Xu Xiucai looked at the four disciples with a smile. It was also a benefit for him that all four disciples had joined the group this time and were eligible to take the imperial examination.
At least if Meng Tong enters school in the future, he will be his first choice.
"Thank you sir."
Zhou Yuan and others didn't like it. Xu Xiucai gave Bai Gui two words of advice, but he didn't say anything to them.
"Your parents must be waiting impatiently, so let's go first."
Xu Xiucai waved his hand and drove several people away.
They said goodbye and returned home with their parents.
When he first reached the east end of the village, Bai Gui was stunned. What he saw was a spacious green brick courtyard with two entrances. The ground was flat, not even a weed, and was all compacted with loess.
"Last month, you were the leader of the crime. The patriarch led the men in our village to help build a house for our family. The bricks and tiles were all put together by the patriarch and the villagers. The patriarch also said, what about the leader of the crime in our village?
Being able to live in this poor house..."
Bai Youde grinned and smiled happily.
The kids are on their way.
Even the conditions at home have improved, and the villagers are rushing to build houses for their families.
Bai Gui turned around and took a closer look at Bai Youde. Although the white long-sleeved satin shirt was not fashionable nowadays, it was not something that ordinary farmers could afford. One piece would cost one, two or five taels of silver, and it was made of silver.
He also wears a brand new melon cap, and the hookah holder tied to his belt is also made of jade.
Made a fortune!
Although I didn’t win the title of Scholar, everything has changed!
"You don't know, hey, after you left, Hei Wa was a coward and couldn't go to school anymore. He wandered around the village all day long. His father couldn't hold his head up in front of others and lost his status!"
Bai Youde said casually.
What he heard most was when people in the village were chatting, Bai Gui and Lu Zhaoqian were compared. They were both sons of long-term workers who went to school, but after they came out, the difference was so big.
This time and again, he heard it, and it became his own conversation material.
Bai Gui didn't interrupt, as long as he didn't mention this in front of others. Bai Youde was honest, so it was impossible for him to say this in front of others.
He returned to the house.
The bed had already been made for him, with a cotton quilt newly made the year before last and clean foreign cloth sheets.
"Brother Zhang Fenghui personally expresses his gratitude."
Bai Gui, who was sitting on the bench, was lost in thought while looking at the letter on the table. This was the letter that Mr. Zhu gave him and Zhou Yuan and others respectively. The Western teachers he found were also different.
.
The school has adopted Western teaching methods, that is, a class teaching system, which is very different from the private school teaching in the countryside at this time.
Although I teach Spanish, in order to make rapid progress, I need to find another Spanish teacher.
On that day, Mr. Zhu asked them what Spanish they wanted to learn. There were English, Italian, German, and Japanese. In the translation subject of the prefectural examination, they could choose any Spanish translation.
He chose Japanese.
He already knew English and could communicate well with others, so the only country that had the most dealings with the Qing government was the Japanese. Learn from the foreigners and learn skills to control the foreigners, and Japanese is the second thing to learn.
In addition, most of today’s foreign books are translated from Japanese.
Therefore, Mr. Zhu wrote such a letter to him and asked him to pass it on to Zhang Fenghui, who was a copywriter in Xi'an Fuyamen, as his teacher. Zhang Fenghui was a Japanese student who graduated from Zhenwu School in Japan. He had just returned to China and it was the same year that Mr. Zhu took the exam.
