Chapter 23: The Number One Scholar Is Not Cabbage

Chapter 23: The Number One Scholar Is Not Cabbage

Zhou Erlang smiled and said, "My eldest sister is a good person. She specially brought back some clothes for the sake of Sunjia Village."

I heard from my eldest brother-in-law that he transported 4 large sacks. Apart from other things, this pile of old clothes alone is worth a lot of money. It is better to bring them from the capital. The material must be good and more valuable.

I really envy the people in Sunjia Village.

Sun Xiaogu nodded in agreement and asked De Ge'er and his brothers, "De Ge'er, Yong Ge'er, where are your father and mother?"

Yong Ge'er pointed in the direction of the ancestral hall and said, "He's still over there, chatting with the villagers."

When these words were spoken, everyone laughed.

Aunt Sun came out of the main room and saw everyone laughing. She quickly asked, "What are you laughing at?"

Seeing Sun Shan, he patted his head and asked, "Have you finished watching the fun? Has the village chief distributed the clothes?"

Sun Shan nodded and said, "Yes, we have distributed them all. The villagers thanked our aunt."

Aunt Sun smiled.

Uncle He also came out and said with a smile: "Your aunt will be happy if she can help the villagers."

Sun Shan saw that his uncle was sincere in what he said. He took a proper look at him for the first time. He was not tall and was rather thin, but he had thick eyebrows and big eyes, and looked very energetic.

Maybe this is his temperament. You can tell at first glance that he has a broad mind.

Yes, if she wasn't generous, my aunt wouldn't have dared to subsidize her family these years. In this era, no matter how capable a woman is, she still has to rely on a man.

Huang came out from the main room and said with a smile, "Come in, what are you doing standing in the yard?"

Mrs. Huang was happy today. The eldest daughter, the youngest daughter and the three sons were all here. Everyone gets together once a year or once every two years.

Seeing the clean and fair Zhou Dabao, she touched his face and said affectionately, "Chunjiao, Dabao was sent to primary school this year, right?"

Last year I said I had sent my eldest child to school, but my little girl never mentioned it again afterwards, so I don’t know whether I had sent her there or not.

Sun Chunjiao rolled her eyes at Zhou Erlang, curled her lips and said, "I sent it in the middle of this year. The teacher said it was too late. I should have sent it when he was 5 years old."

Sun Bomin took some wild tea from the main room and asked in surprise, "What? You want to give it to the 5-year-old?"

I glanced at Sun Shan. My son Shanzi is already 5 years old and will be 6 during the Chinese New Year. Is it too late?

Zhou Erlang said awkwardly, "It's not too late. Don't listen to Chunjiao's nonsense. The teacher said that those who want to take the imperial examination should be sent early. If they don't want to take the imperial examination and just want to learn to read, it's not too late to send them at the age of 7."

After hearing this, Sun Boming breathed a sigh of relief. As long as it wasn't too late, he was most afraid that Shanzi would miss the best time to learn to read.

Sun Bomin did go to school, but after his father died, he dropped out early and struggled to find food, and had long forgotten the time when he learned to read. Now he has a rough impression of the characters, but if he really wants to write, he probably can't write them completely.

Sun Chunjiao was not convinced and grumbled, "Why? My Dabao can't take the imperial examination? If he was sent there earlier, he could have won the first place in the imperial examination."

A few days ago, a drama troupe came to the village and took turns performing around the county. One of the plays was about a farmer's son who became the top scholar, married a beautiful and wealthy woman, reached the peak of his life, and returned home in glory.

Sun Chunjiao was jealous and thought that her own Dabao could also become the top scholar, so she thought of sending him to a teacher to learn how to read and write. The teacher said.

The teacher originally asked the couple whether their child was coming to take the imperial examination or to learn to read and write so that it would be easier for them to find a job in the future.

The couple didn't understand either, so they asked the teacher to handle it.

The teacher thought that there were too few people coming here to take the imperial examinations, and seeing that Zhou Dabao was well dressed (at that time Zhou Dabao specially wore new clothes made of the material brought by Aunt Sun from the provincial capital), he thought that their family had the conditions to send him to take the imperial examination.

He told the couple to observe for a period of time. If they had good aptitude, they could take the imperial examination. If not, they could learn some words so that it would be easier for them to find a job in the future.

During the next six months of study, the teacher adhered to the principle of bringing out the strengths of each student and not wasting parents' money.

He thought it was too difficult for Zhou Dabao to take the imperial examination, so he suggested that they give up.

Of course, you can't say that your child is stupid. Doing so will not only hurt the child's parents' feelings, but also give yourself a bad reputation.

The teacher said that it was too late for the couple to send their child to school, and if they sent him to school when he was five years old, there would still be a chance.

But you missed it, I suggest you take the literacy route.

That's why Sun Chunjiao complained that the Zhou family taught their child to learn to read too late. After all, Sun Chunjiao had been clamoring to send Dabao to school, but the Zhou family thought it was a waste of money and thought the child was too young to learn anything, so they waited until he was 7 years old to send him.

Huang saw that her little girl dared to confront her second uncle, so she quickly said, "You think it's easy to pass the imperial examination? Just ask your eldest brother-in-law about the imperial examination."

The He family has no confidence in claiming to be the top scholar, and you, a country boy, are bragging.

Aunt Sun echoed Huang and said, "Mother is right. The He family is powerful enough, especially the direct branch in the capital. The conditions are excellent enough. For so many years, the He family has not produced a top scholar."

After a pause, she patted Sun Xiaomei's hand and said, "I will not be polite today. If you are unhappy, I will say something too. Don't say anything like "top scholar" in public. It's okay if you don't understand, but if you do, I will definitely laugh at you."

Sun Chunjiao is the youngest. Aunt Sun is 10 years older than her. The eldest sister's words are more effective than the mother's. Now when she hears the eldest sister's criticism, she feels aggrieved and sits there without saying a word.

Zhou Erlang saw that the atmosphere was a bit tense, so he interrupted and said, "Sister, you know Chunjiao's personality best. She likes to talk about it at home, but she dare not say it outside."

He winked at his wife, and said, "Look at the time. Your elder sister has finally come back, so you should hurry up and try to please her instead of making her angry."

Uncle He smiled and asked, "Dabao, how are you doing in school? What characters do you know?"

Quickly change the subject, my cousin grew up in the countryside, it's normal that she doesn't know much, she thought the number one scholar was just cabbage, just take it. The He family has never produced a number one scholar in the past hundred years.

Zhou Dabao sat politely under Huang. He felt embarrassed when his mother said he had taken the imperial examination. When his uncle asked him a question, he said shyly, "I haven't finished learning the Thousand Character Classic yet. I only know a few characters."

She is quite steady, totally different from Sun Chunjiao's personality.

When Aunt Sun heard that her nephew could read, she encouraged him and said, "Well done, Dabao. Study hard."

Zhou Erlang echoed: "Sister, you must make him learn to read well, and pay the money."

When Sun Shan heard about the study, he asked with great interest, "Uncle, how much is Cousin Bao's tuition?"

When everyone heard Sun Shan's question, they were stunned. They didn't expect the boy to ask this question.

Sun Chunjiao said without thinking: "I have to pay three taels of silver a year. Books and ink are counted separately. You can buy them at the study or from the teacher. It depends on what you want. Hey, big and small, I spent five taels of silver in half a year."

After taking a sip of tea, he looked at Aunt Sun and said, "Studying is really expensive."

My eldest sister is lucky. She married into the He family and doesn't have to worry about her brothers' tuition money, unlike me, who has to use the money saved over the years to subsidize them.

Sun Chunlan nodded and said, "Studying does cost money, Dabao, you must study hard and learn to read, so that it will be easier for you to find a job in the future."

Dabao nodded to show that he understood.

At this time, Sun Shan's mother, Su, came in from outside and said with a smile, "Mother, elder sister, it's noon, it's time to eat."

Normally, they only eat two meals a day, and do not eat at noon. But since Aunt Sun is a distinguished guest, she naturally eats three meals a day according to the He family's rules.