Chapter 167 Mutual introduction
Sun Shan and Hong Jian returned to the dormitory together. As they walked and talked, Hong Jian introduced, "There are seven people in our dormitory. Two of us are in Class A, I and the other two are in Class B, and the remaining one is in Class C, which means he is in the same class as you."
There were no students in the introductory classes in the dormitory. Mr. Hong only provided dormitories for students who were planning to take the imperial examinations.
Hong Jian looked at Sun Shan's small stature and said with a smile, "You are the youngest in the dormitory right now."
Sun Shan also knew that he was the youngest. From a quick glance just now, he saw that his senior brothers were all taller and stronger than him, and Hong Jian was considered to be relatively thin among them.
He took out the cooled dried radish and steamed cake and said to Hong Jian, "Brother Jian, let's eat together."
Hong Jian shook his head: "You eat by yourself, I have food to eat."
Sun Shan looked at Hong Jian's lunch box. It was very simple, with sweet potato rice, lettuce with some minced meat, and an egg soup. It was light and refreshing, like a healthy meal. Could this be the legendary 5-cent canteen meal?
Sun Shan picked up a piece of dried radish and a piece of steamed cake and gave them to Hong Jian. He looked up and said, "Eat. I can't finish them. My father and mother bought too much."
Hong Jian said thank you, knowing that Sun Shan was not lying and indeed bought a lot of cakes.
The two of them ate and chatted, mainly Sun Shan asking questions and Hong Jian answering.
For example, what time does the school have classes, what does the school teach, and can you leave the dormitory after class?
After a conversation, Sun Shan finally understood the rules of Hong's School.
After finishing his meal, Hong Jian washed the lunch box and took it to the kitchen.
After returning, she said to Sun Shan, "After each meal, you must take your lunch box back to the kitchen. Aunt Zhang will prepare the food for you before dinner. We can just go and get it."
Sun Shan said he understood: "Thank you for your teachings, Senior Brother."
Afterwards, Hong Jian took Sun Shan to take a bath.
A middle-aged woman who was about the same age as Su, but looked younger than Su, was boiling water.
After seeing Sun Shan and Hong Jian, he said enthusiastically: "Brother Jian, come and get some hot water for a bath? Wait a moment, it will be ready soon."
He glanced at Sun Shan again and said cheerfully, "The Sun family's brother's son is called Shanzi, right?"
Sun Shan hummed, "Hello, Aunt Zhang. Sorry to bother you."
Aunt Zhang still smiled and said, "It's not a bother. This is what I should do. Thank you for the cakes you brought from the provincial government. They are delicious. I have never eaten cakes that are so delicious. They are worthy of being bought from the provincial government."
Sun Shan said shyly: "As long as you like it."
Aunt Zhang said to Hong Jian again: "Brother Jian, you have to take care of Shanzi. He just arrived and doesn't know anything."
Hong Jian quickly agreed: "Aunt, I will."
There were two bathrooms in the shower room, and soon the hot water was ready. Sun Shan and Hong Jian scooped water, and Aunt Zhang quickly said, "Come, I'll help you."
Hong Jian, a thirteen-year-old boy, definitely doesn't need it. Aunt Zhang is fetching water for Sun Shan.
Sun Shan hastily refused, but unfortunately he couldn't win over Aunt Zhang, so he said embarrassedly, "Aunt Zhang, thank you for your help."
It seems that the box of pastries was given at the right time. This is how human relationships are created.
After taking a bath, go to the well to wash clothes.
Sun Shan hadn't washed clothes for a long time. He took some soap beans and rubbed them casually to wash them. Anyway, he didn't go anywhere and didn't need to do dirty work, so the clothes wouldn't get dirty.
The same goes for Hong Jian, quickly rinse it with water and quickly hang it to dry, the emphasis is on speed.
As night fell, it was already dark. Sun Shan and Hong Jian returned to the dormitory and lit an oil lamp.
At this time, many senior brothers came in from outside.
He said cheerfully: "Ah Jian, Ah Shan."
The door of the dormitory was open and the brothers walked in.
Sun Shan and Hong Jian greeted them one by one.
A senior introduced himself: "Ashan, my name is Ou Hanjun, and I'm in Class C with you."
Sun Shan cupped his hands and said, "Brother Ou, I hope you will give me more advice in the future."
Ou Hanjun chuckled: "Ashan, I dare not give you instructions, we learn from each other."
Afterwards, the brothers introduced themselves one by one.
Senior Brother Li Sheng from Class A said with a smile, "Ashan, you are the youngest in the dormitory, so if you need help, please speak up."
Sun Shan said gratefully, "Thank you, Senior Brother Li. If I need your help, I will be very helpful."
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone burst into laughter.
Sun Shan took some candies from the large bag of snacks that Su had sorted out and said seriously, "Brother, I'm new here, please have some candies, thank you."
The brothers were not polite either. They each took one, put it in their mouths, and played around.
Uncle Hong knocked on the gong and shouted, "It's time to go to bed. We have to go to school tomorrow."
After hearing this, the students scattered like birds and beasts. They knew they had to listen to the dormitory supervisor, otherwise he would complain to Mr. Hong.
After Sun Shan went to the toilet, he immediately lay down on his bed, covered himself with a warm quilt, and said good night to Brother Hong Jian.
But my mind kept thinking about the conversation we had just had.
From a few words, we can see that the students living in the dormitory are all from remote towns and villages. They are too far away from home and have to live in the dormitory.
Ou Hanjun, who was in the same Class C as him, lived in the town next to Mingyang Town, which was even farther away than Sunjia Village. It took at least a day's walk to get to the county town. His family should be well off. He wore cotton clothes and cotton shoes that were 1% new. He was strong and healthy, and he looked like he had enough to eat.
The family backgrounds of other students should be similar. If they don’t come from poor families, they should be either small landlords or rich peasants.
I remember that when Mr. Hong was interviewing students, the first thing he did was to inform them of the minimum cost of taking the imperial examination. It seemed that if he could at least afford to send his children to study, he could do so.
Sun Shan shook his head and stopped thinking about it. It was none of his business what other people’s family background was like, so he continued to endorse the book.
According to the plan, I recite a book for a while before going to bed until I fall asleep.
In a daze, Sun Shan felt someone pushing him.
Hong Jian called out in a low voice: "Ashan, get up, it's time to go to school. If you don't get up, you'll be late."
Sun Shan rubbed his eyes and was stunned for a long time. Finally, he figured out where he was. He asked with a dizzy head, "Brother Jian, what time is it?"
Hong Jian picked up the basin and responded, "One quarter past the hour of Mao."
Sun Shan got up. It was 5:15 a.m., and he still had 6 minutes before school started at 45 a.m.
Sun Shan hurriedly took the basin to wash up, then went to the kitchen to get breakfast.
Today I had a bowl of sweet potato porridge and two fried dough sticks.
After breakfast, at almost 6 o'clock, Hong Jian hurriedly led Sun Shan through the side door of the dormitory leading to the school, and unexpectedly met Hong Xiucai.
The two men stood still and saluted.
Mr. Hong nodded, indicating that Hong Jian should go first and Sun Shan should stay.
Sun Shan stood there blankly, waiting for Hong Xiucai's instructions.
Hong Xiucai stroked his half-white beard and asked gently, "You stayed in the dormitory last night. Are you used to it?"
Sun Shan replied crisply: "Teacher, it's a habit."
Hong Xiucai nodded and continued, "If you encounter something you don't understand, you should ask for help, okay?"
Sun Shan immediately replied: "Teacher, I understand."
Mr. Hong waved his hand, indicating that Sun Shan could leave.
Sun Shan bent down and nodded, turned around and walked quickly to the classroom. Fortunately, he saw Ou Hanjun disappear in the classroom, otherwise he really wouldn't know which one was Class C.
Sun Shan was flattered by Mr. Hong's concern. He never thought that Mr. Hong cared so much about his students. He was truly an admirable teacher.