Chapter 926: Leaving the County to Visit Hong Xiucai
Sun Shan was drinking tea alone. After a while, he heard hurried footsteps behind him.
Sun Shan knew who it was without even looking.
He quickly stood up and saw Hong Xiucai, who was in good health, with a ruddy face and full of energy, coming towards him.
Sun Shan stepped forward, bowed and said hello: "Master, I am back."
Hong Xiucai was slightly excited. He stroked his half-white beard and said three "good"s in a row: "Good, good, good. It's good to be back."
The two men sat down next to each other, and Sun Shan said without any politeness, "Master, I eat here at noon and in the evening. I haven't had the delicious soup cooked by Master's wife for a long time. I missed it every day when I was in the capital. Now that I'm back, I want to drink it even more."
Mr. Hong was delighted. He didn't expect that Sun Shan would make a request in his first sentence.
He said unhappily, "You are trying to take advantage of me again, humph."
Sun Shan jumped up and said, "Master, what you said is unreasonable. Master's wife always asks me to come to her house for soup. As the saying goes, when Master's wife calls, you should respond without delay. When Master's wife orders, you should act without laziness."
Hong Xiucai waved his hand and said helplessly: "Okay, let Uncle Hong talk to your master's wife, and I guarantee you will get some delicious soup."
Sun Shan smiled knowingly: "Thank you, Master."
Mr. Hong doesn't want to talk about food with foodies, because he is not a foodie.
He took Sun Shan to the study and asked him about his trip to Beijing for the imperial examination.
He was really curious. Now that the person involved was back, Mr. Hong had to let Sun Shan satisfy his curiosity.
Sun Shan met Mr. Hong's gossipy eyes and sighed helplessly.
It's really boring to tell stories over and over again.
Mr. Hong listened to Sun's account of the entire process, especially how Sun Shan managed to be the last one on the list without any danger.
He stroked his beard, with an indescribable feeling: "You are so lucky."
Sun Shan thought so too. He nodded and said, "Master, I am indeed lucky. If the emperor had not increased the number of admissions, I would have failed. Fortunately, I met a good opportunity. Now, I have passed the imperial examination and become a Jinshi."
Scholar Hong smiled and said cheerfully, "From the college examination, the provincial examination, the metropolitan examination, to the palace examination, you always managed to be the last one on the list. I think this luck is unprecedented. Haha, Ah Shan, maybe in the future, even if you are successful again, it will be this luck that people will talk about with great relish. You are the first among the four top scorers."
After a pause, he shook his head and said, "There are many strange things in the world. I never thought that there would be a strange person like you, Ashan, by my side."
Sun Shan glanced at Mr. Hong and felt that what he said made a lot of sense.
Sun Shan suspected that he was the "failed Sun Shan" of Daqian. Perhaps every failed student in the future would repeat his name.
Of course, Sun Shan did not want to become famous for this. He hoped that his achievements in benefiting the people would go down in history.
Of course, these are matters for future generations, and we should still live in the present.
Sun Shan said happily, "Master, you are lucky to know a wonderful person like me. Maybe I will be well-known to future generations, and you will be mentioned in some historical allusions. Hahaha, Master, you will also be remembered in history like me."
Li Bai's "It's not as good as the love Wang Lun gave me", Su Shi's "I still miss the people" and Du Fu's "Five dou of Jiao Sui is the best".
Let the unknown become famous along with the famous.
Perhaps Sun Shan's name will go down in history, and future generations will also remember him as a small teacher in Huangyang County.
When Mr. Hong heard Sun Shan speak so arrogantly, he was speechless.
He really knows how to climb up the pole, without any modesty at all.
Sun Shan pulled out a stack of tabloids and pointed them to Scholar Hong. "Master, take a look. This is a tabloid from the capital. The Hong School is mentioned in it. The people in the capital also know that there is a Hong School in Huangyang County thousands of miles away, and there is a teacher named Hong there."
Hong Xiucai was stunned, and looked at the place where Sun Shan pointed, and asked anxiously: "What is going on? Explain it to me in detail."
So Sun Shan started bragging again, talking about how popular he was in the capital, and how he received endless gifts and read endless love letters every day.
She said very proudly: "The girls in the capital are always chasing me. I am so scared that I hide in my room and dare not come out. Alas, the people in the capital are completely different from the people in Huangyang County. They are too unrestrained."
When Mr. Hong looked carefully, he really saw the words "Hong's Private School" and his hands couldn't help but tremble.
He suppressed his inner excitement and said, "It really is about my school. I never thought that my school would be mentioned in the tabloid and known by everyone."
Sun Shan said proudly, "Master, you have to thank me very much. If it weren't for me, the people in the capital wouldn't know about your school."
This is the truth, but it just doesn't sound good.
Hong Xiucai shook his head helplessly: "You, after your trip to the capital, have become even more flamboyant."
Sun Shan immediately climbed up the stick and echoed, "Master, it's a rare opportunity for me to pass the imperial examination. If I don't show off now, when will I do it? Master, this is my most glorious moment. If I miss this opportunity, I may never have another chance in the future."
Just like when you were admitted to a 985,211 or university, it was the peak moment of your life, but after that, there was nothing else. You returned to calm and became an unknown person.
Scholar Hong disagreed with this and shook his head repeatedly, saying, "Passing the imperial examination is just the beginning. I believe you will fly higher and farther in the future. Ah Shan, I believe you will be a good official who works for the welfare of the people, a good official who will be remembered for eternity and loved by the people. Ah Shan, I have high hopes for you."
Hong Xiucai had such an intuition that Sun Shan had a bright future and would definitely achieve something great in the future.
Mr. Hong believed in Sun Shan with such mysterious confidence.
Sun Shan looked at Mr. Hong with tears in his eyes and said with emotion, "Master, I appreciate your kind words."
The master and the disciple were drinking tea and chatting, and Sun Shan took out a Duan inkstone and gave it to Hong Xiucai.
Hong Xiucai held it tightly, loving it without mercy.
Looking at Sun Shan, he said proudly: "Ashan, this Duan inkstone is very much in my heart. I will keep it as a family heirloom and pass it on to anyone who is good at studying."
Sun Shan thought about Hong Xiucai's son, grandson, and great-grandson.
At present, my son and grandson are "useless", so I can only start with my great-grandson.
The first person I thought of was Jianzi, but I didn’t know if he could fulfill Master Hong’s wish.
Sun Shan laughed and said, "Master, you should keep my writing brush and ink as a family heirloom. When I become successful in the future, my things will surely be more valuable than this Duan inkstone."
Hong Xiucai's hand holding the Duan inkstone trembled, and his head split open.
I wanted to jump up and hit him with a ruler.
To be able to say such arrogant words, one must be more patient.
However, considering that Sun Shan was already a Jinshi and an official, Hong Xiucai had to give him face.
But I also agree with what Sun Shan said in my heart. I must preserve Sun Shan’s writings well. Maybe they will be worth a lot of money in the future.
Hong Xiucai thought about it and decided not only to preserve Sun Shan’s writings, but also to bury them with him.
This was probably the student he was most proud of in his life. It was an honor for Hong Xiucai to be buried with his writing. This precious "homework" of "The Analects of Confucius with Annotations by Zheng Xuan" copied by 12-year-old Bu Tianshou in the Tang Dynasty was found in the coffin of Bu Tianshou's teacher.