Chapter 114 Unique Insights
After checking the handwriting of the two people, Mr. Fan continued his lecture.
Qianhuan was afraid that Mr. Fan would start lecturing for an hour without stopping, so she quickly stood up and said, "Sir, I can only study with you for half an hour every day. Actually, I am here to accompany you in your studies. Mainly, my younger brother Wenjie is studying, and I also have to help with housework to earn money."
"Shan Bo, you are already quite old when you enter school. If you only study for half an hour every day, you will probably be middle-aged by the time you are able to take the imperial examination. I suggest that you spend more time on your studies."
When Qianhuan heard that Mr. Fan still wanted her to take the imperial examination, she was dumbfounded.
How could a girl like her take the imperial examination? Besides, she had never thought of becoming an official. She just wanted to make money and become a rich woman.
She didn't want Mr. Fan to have high expectations of her and cultivate her with all his heart, only to be disappointed when he found out that she was a girl. It would be better for her to show no ambition now and put an end to his thoughts.
She quickly said, "Mr. Fan, I am not interested in a career in government and have no intention of taking the imperial examination."
Upon hearing her disappointing words, Mr. Fan immediately sternly taught her, "Every student studies hard for ten years, hoping to pass the imperial examination and enter the officialdom to serve the court. But you said you don't want to take the imperial examination, so what do you want to do in the future? What is the purpose of your study?"
"Sir, I want to be a big businessman in the future, do business well to make money and support my family. I come to school to learn how to read and write, so that I don't have to go out to do business without knowing a single word, and even being fooled by others when writing a contract."
"Then you know that among the four classes of scholars, farmers, merchants and artisans, merchants are ranked last. Everyone is trying their best to join the scholar class and become a good official who serves the country and the people. Why do you only want to be a businessman who smells of money?"
"Sir, everyone has their own aspirations. In fact, everyone can shine in the field they like. It is not necessary to become an official to be successful."
Qianhuan couldn't help but continue, "And I think people in the world have too many prejudices against businessmen. People only know that businessmen value profit, but they don't know that businessmen can actually contribute to the country and the people."
"Oh, then tell me, what contributions can businessmen make to the country and the people?"
Mr. Fan was really curious about what he could say to defend the businessmen. After all, throughout history, people have always looked down on businessmen, believing that they were a group of unscrupulous businessmen who only knew how to compete with the people for profits, were obsessed with money, and reeked of copper. No one has ever believed that businessmen could make contributions to the country and the people.
"For the country, merchants have to pay a lot of taxes to the court every year, which increases the revenue of the treasury. For the people, from high-ranking officials to ordinary people, everyone's daily food, clothing, housing and transportation are closely related to merchants. If there were no merchants, our streets would not be so prosperous, and our people would not be able to eat delicacies from different places. Everyone enjoys the many conveniences brought to us by merchants, but at the same time they look down on merchants. Sir, this is really unfair."
Qianhuan knew that people of this era were prejudiced against businessmen. She also knew that she would not be able to change everyone's views with just a few words, but she still couldn't help but speak up for the businessmen.
She thought Mr. Fan would be very angry when he heard her remarks, so she closed her eyes and prepared herself to be scolded by him.
Unexpectedly, the expected scolding did not appear. She secretly opened her eyes and found Mr. Fan holding a book in one hand and the other hand behind his back, looking deep in thought.
Mr. Fan did not expect that a 13-year-old child would have such unique insights and that he would speak up for the businessman. The key point is that what he said was truly irrefutable.
Yes, food, clothing, housing, transportation, the prosperity of the streets in each state, and the convenience of people's lives, in fact, none of them can be separated from businessmen.
It seems that he, as a teacher, is too pedantic.
He sighed and said, "Shanbo, maybe you are right. Everyone has their own aspirations, and everyone has the right to choose the path they like. Since your ambition is to become a big businessman, your teacher should not stop you. However, you only study for half an hour every day, so I am afraid you can't learn much."
"Sir, in fact, I can remember the characters you taught me after just one teaching, and I can also write them out by myself. I used to have a cousin who was studying, and when he read the enlightenment books such as "Three Character Classic" and "Thousand Character Classic", I could follow him after he read them only once. Sir, I learn things quickly, so you might as well just teach Wenjie, and I can let Wenjie teach me after I go back."
Mr. Fan asked in surprise: "Do you really learn things so quickly? Just because you saw your cousin read it, you can read it yourself? Then read the Three Character Classic to me."
"Sir, I don't need to look at the book to read, I can recite it by heart." In order to get the teacher to agree to her request, Qianhuan didn't want to hide her incompetence anymore and had to show her real ability.
So Qianhuan began to recite the Three Character Classic, "When a person is born, his nature is good. Natures are close, but habits make them different. If there is no teaching, nature will change..."
Mr. Fan was overjoyed when he heard this. He couldn't help but sigh that this little kid not only had unique ideas and insights, but also had such a strong learning ability. He had never read a book before, but he could recite it just by watching others read it.
It's a pity that he is not interested in the court, otherwise, if he is cultivated carefully, he will surely become a pillar of the country.
He continued to ask: "Then can you write it down?"
Qianhuan picked up the brush and began to write the Three Character Classic according to the book. Mr. Fan stood behind her and watched her actually write it. He stroked his beard and nodded repeatedly, "Well, although the handwriting is ugly, there are indeed no mistakes."
Mr. Fan had originally doubted whether she had been to school for a long time, but her handwriting was so ugly that it was unbearable to look at. It was obvious at a glance that it could only be written by a child who had never been to school.
If any student who has been to school wrote such ugly handwriting, the teacher would probably be so angry that he would die.
If Qianhuan knew what Mr. Fan was thinking, she would probably be furious. She had studied for more than ten years, but was considered illiterate by Mr. Fan just because of her ugly handwriting.
Her handwriting with a fountain pen or a water-based pen is actually very beautiful, but she has never used a brush before.
Mr. Fan said, "Okay, I will agree to your request. Since you can quickly master these simple enlightenment books, I will teach you more profound ones. In the next half hour of lectures, you can study "The Analects" and "Mencius."
Qianhuan was immediately overwhelmed when she heard this. She quickly said, "Sir, my cousin used to recite The Analects and Mencius at home. I listened to them so many times that I learned to read them too."