Chapter 113 Taixue Life
Chapter 113 Taixue Life
When they returned to the Imperial College, it was lunch time. Xiao Xia was too lazy to go out, so he simply followed Cui Lian to the Imperial College cafeteria to eat.
"Brother Cui, I heard from Old Wei that the Imperial College doesn't have enough to eat?"
Cui Lian smiled slightly, "You misunderstood what he meant. What he meant was that the Imperial College cafeteria doesn't have good food. Without good food, you won't have an appetite, and naturally you won't be full. If you don't mind the coarse flour, you can take as many coarse flour buns as you want, but you can't leave any leftovers or take them away. If you take more than you can finish, you will be penalized. Imperial College is already difficult to study, and if you are penalized for eating, it will be a loss."
"Please advise again, for an auditor like me who is not restricted to any courses, where should I start? Where can I find out about the courses?"
"This question is difficult to answer. There are too many courses in the six institutions. And please don't be angry if I say something unpleasant."
Xiao Xia smiled and said, "You tell me, I'm not angry!"
“The auditors of the unlimited courses we know of are not actually here to study, but just to put their names on the list and do other things. Because they can attend classes in various colleges, the colleges have no control over them and no one is in charge.
The person in front of you in the dormitory is called Zhang Qi, a descendant of the famous Zhang family in Hanoi. His biggest hobby is visiting prostitutes. He has been to all the music halls and brothels in Chang'an. He has never read a book. If he didn't bring prostitutes back, no one would care about him. But he brought prostitutes back to the Imperial College dormitory, which angered Cheng Xuezheng, who expelled him. "
Xiao Xia smiled and said, "Although I don't really like studying, I won't skip a class. For example, my handwriting isn't very good, so I want to practice calligraphy. If a famous teacher comes to teach, I will definitely listen."
Cui Lian laughed, "What a coincidence! I'll take you to a place later. Maybe there will be the course you want to attend."
The two walked through the dormitory area and came to the living area, which was located between the school and the dormitory. It covered an area of nearly ten acres and had two buildings, one large and one small. Cui Lian pointed at the two buildings and said, "The large one is the dining hall, and the small one is the hot water room."
"There's also a hot water room?" Xiao Xia was a little surprised.
"There is hot water in winter, but not in summer. There is an old servant who is responsible for boiling water. Don't we all use hot water bottles in winter? Otherwise, it's too cold under the quilt. There is also boiling water for hot wine, hot water for foot bathing, and boiling water for tea. You can buy hot water here. It costs ten cents a pot. You just have to wait a while, or pay a few cents to ask the servant to run errands."
"And there are servants running errands?"
"He's Auntie Song's son who does laundry. He's only eight years old. He'll come when you call him. He runs errands for everyone, buys wine and food for everyone, and even runs errands to buy hot water for you at night. Don't underestimate him, he can easily make fifty or sixty cents a day."
"You mean, there's someone to help me with my laundry?"
"Of course, Aunt Song is responsible for helping students with their laundry. It costs fifty cents to wash winter robes and quilts. She will help you remove and sew the seams. It costs ten cents to wash spring and autumn jackets and pants. Aunt Song's mother-in-law will help you empty the toilet for five cents each time."
"That's convenient. How can I entrust her with that?"
"No need to entrust her. You just put the toilet outside the gate in the morning and put five cents on the lid. She will clean it for you and bring it back. She has never made a mistake."
“Will the money be taken away by someone?”
"How could that be? Imperial College is a place of etiquette, there won't be thieves, so there must always be a few hundred coins in the room."
Soon the two arrived in front of the cafeteria. There was a bulletin board next to the cafeteria door, and many students were looking at it.
Cui Lian pulled Xiao Xia and came to the bulletin board, on which was posted the three-month course schedule of the Imperial College, as well as popular courses from other colleges.
Cui Lian whispered, "See? Tomorrow afternoon, there will be a calligraphy class taught by Xue Daoheng, the secretary of the school. I will definitely go and sit in on it."
"You are a student of the Imperial College, can you also attend the class as an auditor?"
"It depends on the professor. Some professors welcome auditing, so they will ask the teaching assistant to post a notice here, which means that auditing is allowed. In addition, only the Imperial College has a cafeteria, and students from the other five colleges all come here to eat, so everyone doesn't feel so alienated."
Xiao Xia looked at the courses at the Imperial College next door, and his eyes suddenly lit up. There was actually an archery class this afternoon.
"Is there an archery class at the Imperial Academy?"
"Of course, archery is one of the six arts, so how can it be missing? Not only does it teach archery, but it also teaches swordsmanship. Don't we all carry swords? You can learn it. First, it will strengthen your body, and secondly, you can use the sword to protect yourself when you encounter small thieves." "Brother Cui, do you want to take archery lessons?"
Cui Lian nodded. "This is a required course. I will definitely go. If you are interested, I will ask you to go with me this afternoon."
"Thank you so much, Brother Cui."
The two entered the dining hall. It was very large, twice as big as the Xiao family's food shop, and could accommodate hundreds of people dining at the same time. Each person took a bamboo plate and walked along the way. The chef would give each person a bowl of rice, two vegetables and a bowl of soup. If they were not full, they could also get coarse flour steamed buns. Most people would only take three at most, and they would not be able to eat more than that.
Compared to the food and wine in the restaurant last night, the food was indeed very crude, mainly because there was no oil or water, the vegetables were all boiled in water, and the rice was also brown rice.
The main reason is that it is free, and the main purpose is to fill one's stomach. For children from poor families, being able to have enough food to eat is already a great happiness.
My predecessor Xiao Xia lived in Jiangdu for four years, and they had this kind of food, and only two meals a day, morning and evening, with no lunch. Generally, poor families had no concept of lunch, while rich families not only had lunch, but also afternoon tea.
In later life, Xiao Xia only ate a few meals of coarse wheat rice in Jiangdu, and later went to Xiao's food store, where he had three meals a day, with meat.
Xiao Xia and Cui Lian sat down at the long table. Cui Lian pointed to a small cafeteria next door and whispered to Xiao Xia, "That's the professor's cafeteria. They have meat, but you have to pay for it yourself."
“Can students go?”
"Of course, but don't sit there and eat. Buy it and come back."
Xiao Xia immediately went to the next door and spent a hundred coins to bring back two plates of stewed mutton. Many students went to buy meat dishes.
"Eat! It's my treat!" Xiao Xia pushed a plate of mutton to Cui Lian.
Cui Lian was overjoyed, "I'll treat you next time!"
With the meat and oil, lunch tasted much better. Xiao Xia asked for two coarse flour buns and ate them with the mutton. The lunch was quite good.
.........
In the afternoon, Xiao Xia changed into warrior clothes, carried his bow and arrow, and followed Cui Lian to the Imperial Academy's martial arts field. In one corner of the martial arts field was a special archery range. More than a hundred students were there, and each student carried a bow and arrow on his back.
There is only archery class in the afternoon, which lasts for one hour.
Xiao Xia suddenly realized that he had underestimated the students, thinking that they were all weak scholars. However, the fact was just the opposite. Most of the students were agile and strong, and it was obvious that they had practiced martial arts for a long time.
Normally they look refined and gentle in their Confucian robes, but after changing into warrior uniforms, these students become murderous, as if they have become a different person.
This was the Sui Dynasty, which had just ended with war. Hundreds of years of chaos had made the martial arts gene engraved in the bones of most people, and the same was true for scholars.
Moreover, most of the students in the six higher education institutions are from aristocratic families and have backgrounds. Even Xiao Xia is considered a southern aristocratic child in the eyes of everyone.
All the children started studying and practicing martial arts at a young age.
Xiao Xia even suspected that there were students who had broken through the barrier, but it was afternoon now and it was impossible to tell.
Xiao Xia's eyes fell on the professor's nameplate on the table. The professor who taught everyone archery today stunned Xiao Xia.
(End of this chapter)