Chapter 112 Apprenticeship
Chen took out an old purse from her bosom and handed it over while coughing, "Qianhuan, ahem... this is all the money I have left. It will cost a lot of money to buy gifts for you to meet the master today, ahem... although this little money I have is not much, it is at least a token of my appreciation. You can take it with you."
When Qianhuan saw that Chen was going to give her the little remaining silver, she became even more convinced that she had not helped the wrong person.
"Aunt, you gave me all the money. How are you and Wenjie going to live? You should keep the money for yourself. I told you that I will pay for Wenjie's tuition."
"That's what I said, but I really feel bad about it. Just take it. I can do some needlework to earn some money to live on." Chen stuffed the purse into her hand.
"Aunt, it's really not necessary. You can keep this money for you and your brother Wenjie."
"Qianhuan, just listen to what I say and take it. If you don't take it, I won't be at ease."
Seeing Chen's persistence, Qianhuan deliberately said, "Young aunt, you don't have to worry. I am supporting Brother Wenjie's studies now, not without expecting anything in return. I am also looking forward to Brother Wenjie's academic success in the future so that our family can also benefit from it. This money for studying is just a loan from me. When Brother Wenjie succeeds in the future, you can return it to me double."
As she spoke, she looked at Wenjie and asked, "Wenjie, can you return double the money to Sister Qianhuan in the future?"
"Okay, I will study hard, and when I have the ability in the future, I will repay Sister Qianhuan a hundredfold." Wenjie promised seriously while looking up.
Qianhuan then said to Chen with a smile on her face, "Aunt, look, Wenjie has promised to pay me back double in the future, so you don't have to be embarrassed. It's windy outside, and you haven't recovered from your cough yet, so go inside and rest."
When Chen heard Qianhuan say this, she had no choice but to put the purse back into her arms. She thought to herself: Well, my second brother's family has helped my son Wenjie so much. When the child grows up and has a promising future, I will definitely let Wenjie repay their kindness.
Two little men, one tall and one short, held hands and went to the village entrance to ride on a ox cart.
This was the first time that Wenjie went away from home to study, and Chen was a little reluctant to let him go. She stood at the door and looked at them until she could no longer see their figures, then she turned around and went into the house.
Arriving at the county town, Qianhuan went to the shop to buy gifts. She had already inquired clearly that in ancient times, when students entered school or became apprentices, they would give their masters six kinds of gifts: dried meat, celery, lotus seeds, red dates, longan and red beans.
The dried meat expresses gratitude to the teacher; the celery represents diligence and love of learning; the lotus seeds represent painstaking education; the red dates represent the hope of passing high school as soon as possible; the longans symbolize the fulfillment of one’s virtues; and the red beans represent the hope of bringing good luck.
Qianhuan bought ten pounds of lean dried meat and weighed two pounds of other things, spending a total of nearly four taels of silver.
Then the two of them took the gifts to Mr. Fan's house. Uncle Chang opened the door for them and led them into the front yard lobby.
Mr. Fan had been waiting in the lobby for a long time. Qianhuan didn't know the etiquette of becoming a disciple, so when she saw Mr. Fan, she bowed to him and said, "Mr. Fan, I am Liang Shanbo, a student. Today I have brought my cousin Liang Wenjie to become your disciple."
Mr. Fan said, "First, kowtow nine times to the statue of Confucius."
So Qianhuan and Wenjie kowtowed nine times to the statue of Confucius in the middle of the hall. Then Uncle Chang asked them to kowtow three times to Mr. Fan. They each offered Mr. Fan a cup of tea.
After drinking the master's tea, Qianhuan and Wenjie presented the six gifts of compensation.
After receiving the six gifts, Mr. Fan also gave each of them two books in return, namely "Three Character Classic" and "Thousand Character Classic".
Wenjie was very happy after getting the book. He held the book in his hands and looked like he couldn't let it go.
Qianhuan smiled bitterly. She never expected that she, a college student who had studied for more than ten years, would now have to read enlightenment books like "Three Character Classic" and "Thousand Character Classic" with little kids.
Uncle Chang brought a basin of water for the two to wash their hands. Under Uncle Chang's guidance, the two washed their hands front and back once before drying them.
Uncle Chang was still muttering: "Clean your hands and your mind, remove the impurities and retain the essence. I hope that you two will concentrate on your studies in the future and have no distractions."
After washing his hands, Mr. Fan held a brush dipped in cinnabar and dotted a red mole between the eyebrows of each of the students. Because "mole" is homophonic with "wisdom", it means that the students will become wise, clear-headed and able to understand things easily in the future.
Qianhuan had never expected that the ancients had so many complicated rules for becoming a disciple. This was truly an eye-opener for her.
Mr. Fan said, "Next, let me help you write. The first character I will teach you to write today is the character for '人'."
Qianhuan couldn't help but sigh that there are still some similarities in education from ancient times to the present. In modern times, the first lesson for first-grade children when they enter school is to learn words such as "heaven, earth, and man" with their teachers. She didn't expect that it was the same in ancient times.
Wenjie took out the writing brush, ink, paper and inkstone from his cloth bag, and Uncle Chang began to help him grind the ink.
Qianhuan was stunned. She had no intention of listening to the class carefully or writing, so she only bought a set of pens, ink, paper and inkstone for Wenjie.
Mr. Fan asked, "Shanbo, didn't you bring your writing brush, ink, paper, and inkstone?"
Qianhua said awkwardly: "Sir, I only bought one set for my brother and forgot to buy one for myself."
Mr. Fan turned to Uncle Chang and said, "Uncle Chang, go to my room and get a set of writing brushes, inkstones, and paper for Shanbo to use."
"Yes, sir."
When Uncle Chang brought out the brush, ink, paper and inkstone from his room, Mr. Fan said, "Shanbo, you don't have to buy new brushes, ink, paper and inkstone. This set from me is a gift to you. You must study hard and don't let me down."
Qianhuan felt a little guilty holding the things, because she was destined to disappoint Mr. Fan's expectations. She just wanted to make money and become a wealthy woman as soon as possible.
As for studying, if she didn't need a teacher as an excuse for knowing how to read, she would never have thought of becoming a disciple. She was always thinking about how to find an excuse to slip away in the future.
The set of pens, ink, paper and inkstone given by Mr. Fan was obviously many times better than the one she bought for Wenjie. Qianhuan silently apologized to Wenjie in her heart. She, as the elder sister, had to use the high-quality pens, ink, paper and inkstone given by Mr. Fan, while her younger brother could only use the inferior ones.
Mr. Fan then began to guide the two to learn to write the first character in life, “人”.
It was Wenjie's first time writing with a brush, and his handwriting was crooked.
Although Qianhuan is a college student, she has never practiced calligraphy. Her handwriting is just a little better than Wenjie's, but not much better.
When Mr. Fan saw the handwriting of the two children, he immediately felt that the level of these two children was really similar.
Mr. Fan said, "The reason why I am teaching you to write the character '人' as the first character today is to tell you that before you study, you must first learn to be upright and dignified. This stroke may seem simple, but it actually contains profound meanings. I hope you can be as upright as the character '人' and be a person of noble character. Do you understand?"
Qianhuan answered along with Wenjie: "Sir, I understand."
Afterwards, Mr. Fan began to give them introductory classes. In fact, for students without any basic knowledge, the so-called introductory classes start with learning to recognize words. There was no pinyin in ancient times, so the teacher basically taught the students directly by word of mouth.
Qianhuan and Wenjie followed Mr. Fan to read the simplest words, and these were words that she had already learned to recognize and write. It is easy to imagine the torment and pain for a college student to take such a class for young children.
Qianhuan couldn't help but secretly feel fortunate that she had the foresight to let Wenjie come with her to become a disciple. After she ran away, she could still keep Wenjie to study under Mr. Fan.
While she opened her mouth and read the simplest words such as "heaven, earth, and man", she was thinking in her mind how she should tell Mr. Fan in the future.