Chapter 78 Sun Banxian Dies
The next day at the school, Master Zheng first conducted a random check. Sun Shan and Yang Qingbei passed the test easily as usual. De Geer was good for only three days, and then he returned to his old ways. He did not even have any problems reciting the text. As expected, he was spanked by the master.
When I was eating lunch at noon, I held the chopsticks with trembling hands. Later, I couldn't pick up any food, so I started to eat rice.
Sun Shan said seriously, "Brother De, you were doing well the last two days, but today you can't recite it anymore. Did you get carried away and only care about playing and forget to study?"
Yang Qingbei nodded and agreed: "Ade, don't hold us back. The teacher said that the three of us are the smartest and most serious students he has had in all these years. If you do this, you will implicate me and Ashan."
After hearing this, De Geer felt like vomiting blood. He said unconvincedly, "I just relaxed for a while. Humph, I will definitely be able to recite it tomorrow."
Sun Shan and Yang Qingbei shook their heads and didn't want to talk to De Ge'er.
The senior brothers next to me were chatting about the county's examination for students of higher learning.
One of the brothers said, "Oh, have you heard that in Huangyang County, not a single person passed the exam to become a Tongsheng?"
Sun Shan pricked up his ears and asked curiously, "Brother, are you telling the truth? There is not even one?"
However, it was expected that Huangyang County is not only an economically impoverished county, but also an educationally impoverished county. It is normal that no one was admitted to Tsinghua University or Peking University.
The senior brother continued, "Of course it's true. I have a relative who runs a shop in the county town. I heard that the scholar in the county was so angry that his face turned red."
Dingnan, the village chief's eldest grandson, asked curiously, "Why are you so angry? Is it because none of your students passed the exam to become a Tongsheng? Are you angry at your students?"
The senior brother shook his head and said, "I wasn't angry at the students, I was angry at the county magistrate. I heard that the county magistrate was furious and scolded the county teacher and the county school instructor."
Everyone became interested when they heard the Master and the Instructor being scolded.
Ding Guang from Uncle Sun's family said, "It's normal to scold him. I heard that our county hasn't produced a student for many years."
The senior brother who knew the inside story nodded and said, "It has been many years. The previous county magistrate was in office and it never happened. Our county magistrate wanted to create a miracle, but in the end, no one passed the exam."
Most students study in private schools. Once they pass the examination to become a tongsheng, they can go to the county school for further studies to prepare for the examination to become a scholar.
In order to achieve good results, the magistrate of Huangyang County directly recruited students to study in the county school.
Ideals are full, but reality is skinny. Except for a few wealthy families, all the students who went to the county school chose to go to private schools. Because the tuition fees of the county school were high and the people of Huangyang County were poor, there were not so many students going to the county school.
Another point is that the teachers in the county school are also scholars. The only advantage over private schools is that the county school is larger and has more book collections.
I don’t know whether the rich kids who went to the county school did so because their families were rich and they wanted to be spoiled and not work hard, or whether the teaching staff of the county school was about the same as the strength of the two scholars.
Huangyang County has never produced a student.
The magistrate of Huangyang County actually wanted to lower the tuition fees of the county school and enroll more students, but his financial situation did not allow it. How could a remote and poor mountain county have the funds?
All the expenses of the government office depended on funding from higher authorities, which was far from enough, so they later found another way to make money by using corvée to reclaim wasteland and cultivate the land.
The senior brother continued, "In this year's Tongsheng exam, no one from our county passed. The county magistrate was so angry that he arrested the county school teacher and the two scholars in the county town and scolded them."
When he said this, the senior brother smiled secretly with his lips pursed.
De Geer looked around and asked in a low voice: "Why didn't they catch our teacher and scold him?"
As soon as he said this, his elder brother Ding Guang slapped him in the face and whispered angrily: "Teacher, you dare to talk about it? Are you looking for death?"
Fortunately, there are few people here, and everyone knows each other. Besides, the Sun family is the big boss, so most people don’t dare to report to the teacher.
De Ge'er touched his head in grievance and said unconvincedly: "I am just curious, how can I talk about the Master? Don't talk nonsense."
The senior brother who knew the inside information quickly tried to smooth things over and said, "I heard that they only looked for masters at the scholar level, and probably didn't look for others."
We can’t let the two brothers shout too loudly. If that happens, not only will Dege’er be beaten with a stick, I’m afraid everyone present will not escape being beaten with a stick.
Dingqing from Uncle Sun's family quickly changed the subject and said, "The math exam is coming up in a few days. Are you ready?"
When it comes to this, the students panic again. One of the senior students said, "Oh, don't talk about this. I don't understand a lot of things. I don't know if the teacher's questions are difficult or not. If I fail the test, I will be beaten again."
From these words, we can tell that this senior brother must have been beaten often.
Ding Guang smiled and said, "Hey, I can solve many problems. If you don't understand something, you can ask me."
Everyone hit his little chest lightly and said, "You are the only one who can do this. I don't understand anything, but you dare to understand it all." They started laughing and making a noise again.
It was not until the sound of bang bang bang that everyone returned to the classroom.
Master Zheng came to help Sun Shan and the other two to review what they had learned in the morning, then assigned them homework, and then they went to the small pond to practice calligraphy.
The small pond in Zheng's School was designed very cleverly. Water was drawn from a small stream outside into the pond, and then a small ditch was dug to lead water out of the yard, thus keeping the water flowing.
Students can practice calligraphy and clean their pens here without getting a pool of ink.
Since every student needs to practice calligraphy here, including the senior and middle classes, the time is just staggered.
Zheng's School stipulated that everyone's school supplies, including small slates, must be taken home to avoid being stolen or damaged, which might cause disputes.
Master Zheng didn't want to cause trouble, so he simply asked the students to work harder and bring all the things back home.
I lowered my head and raised it again, and the bang-bang-bang sound of the hall was heard again.
Sun Shan and his companions told Duke Zheng about their meeting, and were led back by Su.
As soon as I stepped into the village entrance, I heard the sound of gongs, "Dong~Dong~Dong~".
Sun Shan's heart tightened. This kind of sound was usually heard during the New Year's lion and big-headed dog dances. If it was heard for no reason, someone in the village must have died.
De Ge'er also understood and asked in panic, "Aunt, who died?"
Su didn't know either. How come there was nothing there when she first came out to pick up the child, but there was something there when she came back?
The three of them walked into the village entrance, walked to the village path, caught a man and asked: "Uncle, what happened, who went there?"
The eldest uncle of the Sun family said, "It's Sun Banxian."
Sun Shan was stunned. He had seen Sun Banxian strolling out yesterday. He was a five-guarantee household in the village and made a living by fortune-telling and feng shui. He heard from the villagers that he had a good income and he paid money every time he served in the army.
Sun Shan still clearly remembers the first time he met Sun Banxian. The little boy’s eyes were blurry and he couldn’t see clearly, but he could hear the voice clearly and he even named himself Sun Shan.
Now, only six years have passed, and Sun Banxian is gone?
Sun Shan asked Su: "Mother, how old is Grandpa Sun this year?"
Su said sadly: "I just turned 50. I'm only 51 this year."