In front of the Zheng family's mulberry garden house, under a huge peach tree, forty or fifty children were sitting around in silence.
Those who were neatly dressed were sitting upright, holding a small wooden board in one hand and a writing brush dipped in water to practice calligraphy; those wearing straw sandals but raggedly dressed were lying almost on all fours, holding small wooden sticks in their hands to write and smear on the sand.
The only thing they have in common is the curiosity on their faces.
In the past, when Zheng Du opened an elementary school, he developed a rule. Every morning at Mao hour, the Zheng family manager would hang the content taught that day under the peach tree for the children who came first to copy and practice. When Chen time came, Zheng Du They came out to teach for an hour and then dispersed.
On the grounds that they did not want to be bound to practice, the children were ordered not to perform the rituals of master and disciple, and they did not answer any questions after the instruction.
After Zheng Pu continued to teach, he also continued the old practice.
I just set up a table under another peach tree and placed the complete version of "The Thousand Character Classic" for others who want to copy it.
This is one of the reasons why he was praised by the county.
Since you don’t wear your broom, you should cherish it.
Many down-and-out scholars were also allowed to copy it and then take it to some remote villages to teach during the off-season. They earned some money to pull a few pieces of cloth for their wives or cut a few kilograms of meat for their children to eat, etc. This was regarded as teaching people and fishing.
Today is no different.
As soon as Chen time arrived, Zheng Pu came out holding Xiao Yan'er's hand.
"Cough! Cough!"
After a few clear coughs, all the children sat upright and prepared to listen to the lecture. Zheng Pugang wanted to sit under the peach tree.
But I felt my sleeves being pulled a few times.
Looking down, I saw little Zheng Yan covering her mouth with her hands, meowing secretly at the side of the peach tree with crooked eyes, and whispered: "Brother Zhong, brother Zhong, look, that weirdo is still here today! Hehe!"
Following his younger sister's gaze, Zheng Pu couldn't help but smile.
That's the weird guy who just appeared in the mulberry garden in the past few days.
He is over 20 years old, eight feet tall and very thin.
The overcoat, which had been washed white and covered with large and small patches, looked like it was hung on a wooden shelf. There were faintly visible bone protrusions on both shoulders. Such a body, if it had a good appearance, could still be classified as Taoist. The fairy wind is different from the ordinary.
However, his appearance is really beyond praise.
His wide forehead and narrow jaw looked like a dustpan standing upside down; his eyebrows were short and messy, like a worn-out broom that had been used for a long time.
He obviously has squinty eyes, buck teeth, and a sparse beard that looks like a dragon's gills, but the bridge of his nose is sunken, and the food on it makes it even more comical.
To put it mildly, his appearance is simple.
To put it bluntly, don't meet him during meals, otherwise you may laugh at him, which may lead to the indecent behavior of spitting on your rice.
His behavior is also very strange.
Logically speaking, a scholar of this age has long been familiar with hundreds of schools of thought, and the only reason for coming to Mulberry Garden is to copy the "Thousand-Character Classic".
Fortunately for him, after copying the calligraphy book, he still mingled among the children for several days, listening to Zheng Pu's lectures calmly and calmly, without any embarrassment of "standing out from the crowd".
He also had no intention of having a polite conversation with Zheng Pu.
Every time he finished listening to the lecture, he left, as if the purpose of coming to Mulberry Garden was to review the old knowledge and learn something new.
However, Zheng Pu ignored him.
Since others enjoy it, let them go.
Immediately, Zheng Pu put away his smile and walked slowly to his seat to prepare for the lecture. He also frowned and glared at little Zheng Yan in feigned anger, indicating that she should not comment on other people's appearance and behavior, as it was a breach of etiquette.
"What I want to talk about today is, 'Destroy Guo through false means, and make alliances with the soil. How can we abide by the covenant and law, and Han will be punished for abuse.'"
"It means that the Jin State borrowed a road from the Yu State to destroy the Guo State, and Jin Wengong convened the princes to make a blood alliance in Jiantu. Xiao He followed the simple laws of the great ancestor, and Han Fei died miserably under the harsh punishment he advocated."
"The Kingdom of Jin is a vassal state of the Zhou Dynasty; destroying Guo by false means means..."
"Jin Wengong was one of the Five Hegemons of the Spring and Autumn Period. His surname was Jin and his given name was Chong'er..."
"Han Fei is a member of the Korean clan. He taught Xunzi and advocated..."
............
An hour passed by.
After finishing the lecture, Zheng Pu picked up the water bag, moistened his throat, and announced that he would go on a study tour tomorrow, and that the elementary school lessons would be taught by others. Well, he hurriedly hurriedly and finally annotated the "Thousand-Character Essay"
Finished; my mother, Mrs. Lu, has also arranged the carriage, horses and entourage for the trip, and we are ready to set off for Chengdu.
When the children heard this, they were a little sad.
They were reluctant to give Zheng Pu's interesting lectures by citing ancient and modern metaphors, but they did not dare to say anything.
On the other hand, that weirdo looked surprised at first when he heard that Zheng Pu was going on a study tour. Then he solemnly arranged his clothes and bowed his hands to Zheng Pu before turning around and leaving.
This move also made Zheng Pu suspicious.
Because the weirdo's salute meant to say goodbye, it also revealed the purpose of his coming to Mulberry Garden: he was not here for the "Thousand-Character Essay", but specifically to observe Zheng Pu!
Could it be that this person is a subordinate of the Prefect's Mansion?
wrong!
At the beginning of spring, I declined the offer from the Prefectural Government on the grounds of "being a filial mother and raising a young sister, as well as my lack of talent and limited learning." Now it is impossible to send someone here again. Moreover, looking at his tattered clothes, he is not in line with an official.
The dignity it should have.
But if he is not a member of the government, what purpose does he have in coming here to observe me?
Well, how about letting the family be in charge and pick a smart person to follow him and find out the details?
But, looking at him like that, he doesn't have any ill intentions toward me, so it doesn't seem right to send someone to follow him?
.........
Just as Zheng Pu was holding his chin, looking thoughtfully at the man's disappearing back, a very gentle word interrupted his thoughts, "Zijin, are you worried about tomorrow's schedule?"
Looking sideways, he saw his cousin Lu Huang, the eldest son of Zheng Pu's second uncle.
When Zheng Du took his concubine Lu as his second wife, the Lu family, who was a merchant, came over with their whole family.
In order to rely on the Zheng family's gentry lineage, the Lu family's caravans would be less troubled by the government and powerful people, and in accordance with the agreement and custom, they formed a hermit house to evade taxes.
The deeper consideration is that he hopes to be assimilated into the Zheng family and become a farming and reading family.
The Han Dynasty has been passed down for four hundred years, making scholars, farmers, industry and commerce deeply rooted.
The Lu family also wanted to get rid of the smell of copper in the merchant's home, so that future generations of nephews could have the opportunity to embark on an official career and become masters.
Nowadays, Zheng Pu's eldest uncle helps manage the Zheng family's land and property, his second uncle leads the caravan that has been renamed the Zheng family to pursue profits, and the rest of his nephews are studying poetry and classics.
For example, my uncle's eldest son Luda, who had already achieved some success in his studies, was taken by Zheng Pu's brother Zheng Yan to Zitong County to serve as a servant.
The reason why Lu Huang stayed at home was to be someone who would replace Zheng Pu in teaching elementary school in the future and build up the reputation of the Lu family.
"without."
Zheng Pu shook his head and grinned at Lu Huang, "It's not far from Chengdu, and my second uncle has arranged accommodation and food along the way, so I have nothing to worry about. But starting from tomorrow, my cousin will give lectures on my behalf. I don't know.
Cousin, is there anything else you need me to explain?"
"Brother Yu, there is something really puzzling about you!"
When Lu Huang heard this, he slapped his forehead, and his voice became a little distressed, "It's the sentence 'Tian writes and connects with paper, Jun Qiao lets him fish'. I remember Zi Jin explained how Meng Tian made writing brushes, Cai Lun made paper, and how in ancient times
There is a man named Ren Gong who is very good at fishing. But I can't remember what 'Jun Qiao' means."
That refers to the transformation of waterwheels by Ma Jun of Wei State...
It hasn't become an allusion yet, so of course it's hard for you to remember it.
Answering silently in his heart, Zheng Pu nodded happily, and without blushing at all, he began to make up, "The meaning of 'Jun Qiao' refers to the legendary beast with four legs and two heads and a human face, named
'Jun', with ingenuity, once helped Dayu control floods..."
After some interruption, Zheng Pu gave up his plan of letting anyone find out the details of that weird scholar.
What he didn't know was that after leaving Zheng's mulberry garden, the man went straight to the Guanghan Prefecture's office, and after noon, followed a few petty officials to Chengdu.
