Chapter 136: Not ruining the family for the imperial examination

Chapter 136: Not ruining the family for the imperial examination

After lunch, Yang Qingbei practiced calligraphy alone by the pool for the afternoon class, while Sun Shan and De Ge'er were taken to Master Zheng's study for extra lessons.

Mr. Zheng planned to make up for the more than ten days of missed classes every day, and it would be enough in a few days.

Of course, Fuzi’s tutoring is free and no additional fees will be charged.

Master Zheng did not check Sun Shan and De Ge'er's previous lessons. Instead, he said, "I will not check what you have learned this time. I will make up for your lessons first. I will check again in a few days. You two should use these days to review what you have learned before. Do you understand?"

Sun Shan and De Ge'er responded with a "good"

De Ge'er glanced at Sun Shan with relief in his eyes, fortunately the teacher would not conduct random checks for the time being, so he would not be beaten with a stick, hehe.

If Sun Shan ignores the complacent De Ge'er, he will be punished sooner or later.

Because he had learned in advance, Sun Shan completely understood Master Zheng’s explanation after the first time, and he also understood the things he had not understood before.

After half an hour of class, Master Zheng took a sip of water and said, "That's all for today. We'll continue tomorrow. Go out and practice calligraphy."

Sun Shan and De Ge'er responded.

Then he walked out of the study, quickly returned to the classroom, and took out the gift. My classmates had a souvenir, Zheng Bo had one, and Master Zheng must have one.

The two of them came to the study room again with the gifts. Master Zheng asked in confusion, "What do you two want to talk about? Do you have any questions about what you just learned?"

De Geer quickly shook his head and said, "Teacher, we couldn't forget you when we went to the city this time, so we brought you a gift from the city. Do you like it?"

De Geer took out a brush packed in a fine box and handed it to Master Zheng.

Master Zheng opened it and examined the brush carefully. He found that it was of good quality and better than the one he used himself.

He touched De Ge'er's big head and said with satisfaction: "Not bad, the teacher likes it very much. You are thoughtful."

Sun Shan gave a copy of "Declaration" by Zhong Yao, the "founder of regular script", which is a calligraphy work of small regular script.

Sun Shan liked it very much after seeing it, because it was beautiful, simple and profound. So he gave his favorite things to Master Zheng.

I asked my eldest cousin He Shujin to find this. I offered money to him, but he refused to accept it.

Master Zheng's eyes lit up, and he held the copybook with a little excitement. Then he tried his best to suppress his excitement, stroked his beard, and said with satisfaction: "Not bad, the teacher likes it very much, you are thoughtful."

Sun Shan was delighted to see that Master Zheng really liked it, and said with a grin, "As long as the teacher likes it."

De Geer patted his chest and assured, "Teacher, this is all I will give you this time. Next time I go to the capital, I will buy you something good."

Master Zheng nodded his big head and said bluntly, "You just came back from the capital, and you're thinking of going? Don't think I'll let you go just because you give me a gift. Hurry up and make up for the missed lessons these days. You'll be subject to random inspections later."

De Ge'er pursed his lips and looked dejected.

Master Zheng ignored him and ordered, "Sun Dingde, go down first. I want to check Sun Shan's homework now."

He waved his hand and let Degeer leave.

De Ge'er stared at Master Zheng with wide eyes, turned around to look at Sun Shan with sympathy, ran out of the study, and kindly helped Master Zheng close the door.

Master Zheng was very angry when he saw his sneaky actions and really wanted to catch him and give him a beating. But then he saw the brush in an exquisite box and decided to let him go this time.

He turned to Sun Shan and said, "Come, let me see if you have missed any of your studies. I'll ask you questions and you can answer them."

Sun Shan didn't know why Master Zheng suddenly asked him to check, but he quickly responded, "Okay, teacher."

Master Zheng asked questions around what they had learned before, just like in Hejia Village, when Sun Shan asked and Brother Qiang answered.

Mr. Zheng asked very simple questions at the beginning. For example, he asked a question about "Kong Cao Yan Hua" in "Hundred Family Names".

Sun Shan answered the next sentence "Jin Wei Tao Jiang".

Master Zheng kept asking questions, and Sun Shan kept answering them. He would think about some things and then remember them again.

After Master Zheng asked this question, he asked Sun Shan to carry him on his back.

After I finished memorizing, I asked more questions, such as how did the surname "Kong" come from?

Sun Shan replied, "The founding monarch was named Tianyi. Later, the characters Yi and Zi were combined to form the character Kong, which was used as a surname."

Master Zheng picked out a lot of content and asked Sun Shan to explain its meaning.

After I finished asking the questions, the class was almost over.

Sun Shan wiped the sweat from his forehead. Answering questions at a high intensity was a tough job.

He was so thirsty from talking, luckily Master Zheng asked Zheng Bo to bring in a bowl of water.

Learning really needs to be done day after day, and you can't slack off. Sun Shan was very dissatisfied with the quiz. He only answered 95% correctly, and many questions required some thinking before answering. If it were an exam, there would definitely not be enough time for you to answer the questions, and your score would be zero.

However, Master Zheng was very satisfied and said with relief: "Sun Shan, not bad, you have a solid foundation and your answer is almost correct."

Then he changed the subject: "Your father came here today. Firstly, he brought me a gift from the capital. I like it very much. Secondly, he told me that you want to take the imperial examination."

He looked at Sun Shan with sharp eyes.

Sun Shan went up to him, not afraid of the stage, and said seriously: "Yes, Master, I want to take the imperial examination, I want to be a scholar."

As for Juren, we will talk about it after we become Jinshi, and first complete the small goal of becoming a "Xiucai".

Master Zheng stroked his beard and asked, "Why did you take the imperial examination?"

Sun Shan was an honest child, and he told the truth: "Teacher, if I pass the imperial examination, we won't have to pay rent for our land, and I won't have to do labor service. Our family will live a better life. My grandma, father, and mother will be honored, and I will be respected. Teacher, I think I have more conditions to take the imperial examination than other farm boys, and I want to seize the opportunity."

What is "cultivate oneself, regulate the family, govern the country, and bring peace to the world".

What is "establishing a mind for heaven and earth, establishing a destiny for the people, carrying on the lost knowledge of the ancient sages, and creating peace for all generations"?

What is "studying for the rise of Daqian"?

Sun Shan believes that he does not have such big ambitions, and he just wants to work hard for himself and his family in this life.

Sun Shan considered himself a nobody and intended to do just what nobody else did.

Master Zheng stared at Sun Shan for a long time without blinking, then patted Sun Shan on the shoulder and said with a smile, "Well, if you have the conditions, you should use them, and if you have the opportunity, you should seize it. You have relatives in the capital, and it just so happens that these relatives are from a farming family, which is something that farmers like us can't ask for.

If you have the conditions, you should give it a try. Even if you fail the exam in the future, at most you will just be a farmer again, which is not a big loss. "

Then he turned around and said seriously, "Sun Shan, if we can't pass the exam, we should give up. We can't ask our family to sell their land just for the sake of the exam, understand?"

Sun Shan assured him, "Master, I have made a plan. If I have not passed the examination to become a scholar by the age of 23, I will give up the examination and go to the capital to live with my eldest aunt. She will not let my family sell their land to support my studies. I cannot let my family spend all their life savings on my studies."

Master Zheng smiled and said, "Okay, let's do it this way. As for not taking the exam if you haven't passed it by the age of 23, that's an exaggeration. You can learn as long as you live. If there is a chance, you can continue to take the exam even after the age of 23. Do you understand?"

Master Zheng didn't understand why Sun Shan decided not to take the exam after he turned 23, but it didn't matter as long as he didn't squander his family fortune for the sake of the imperial examination.