After transmigrating into the body of a widow, I became the richest man in the capital.

Chapter 428 Drawing a pie

When Su Xiaoxiao mentioned studying, she saw the helplessness on Zhao's face. She lowered her head and murmured softly, "How I wish I could, but where can I find the means?"

Zhao was not lying at all. She knew that if she sent her son to study at the private school in town, she would be following the same old path as Su Bingcheng, living in the private school and having to pay a considerable amount of money for the teacher and lodging every month.

How could the Zhao family possibly afford such a sum of money?

Seeing that Zhao was interested, Su Xiaoxiao continued, "How about this, let me see if Mr. Li, who teaches Su Ping'an, is willing, I'll see if I can persuade him to open a private school."

Then, Little Stone and some other children in the village will be able to study right at their doorstep.

Upon hearing this, Zhao was overjoyed.

"Really? You mean Mr. Li, the old scholar in the village? If we could persuade him to start a private school, that would be wonderful."

Zhao had also heard of him, and of course she knew the name of this Mr. Li.

If Mr. Li had agreed to help their child, wouldn't Xiao Shitou have had a chance to go to school? He wouldn't be like his own fate, unable to become an official or any important person in the future.
Zhao then began to fantasize. In fact, in ancient times, very few people studied; many did not have the opportunity to enter a school. At that time, scholars were highly respected.

Many people believed that as long as they studied, they could achieve great success in the future. However, in ancient times, the population was smaller, and generally speaking, the chances of someone who excelled in their studies and became a high-ranking official were very high. Generally, just being able to read a few words was enough to differentiate oneself from ordinary people around them.

But if you put it in today's context, it's different. Now there are so many people that any exam is like a thousand soldiers crossing a single-plank bridge. The key is that there are too many people; if you can't compete with others, you'll end up as cannon fodder, just running alongside them.

They call this "exam paper," but it's really just a way to fool these people. Studying and taking exams generate a considerable amount of money, supporting the institutions that specialize in exam preparation, and creating a new generation of people who live off their parents without any remorse, and who don't even admit they're living off their parents.

They believe that they haven't asked their parents for a house or a car, nor have they asked for money to buy property in big cities. They've only eaten a few meals at home and received some pocket money for exams, so they don't consider themselves to be sponging off their parents. Of course, this amount of money is insignificant to their family.

Regardless of the circumstances, using exams as an excuse to take time off work to study is essentially just relying on one's parents.

In today's society, even breathing air costs money. If a grown person takes the exam for several years and still can't pass, doesn't that require money? If they really had that ability, people who work hard every day could still pass the exam.

It's not that these people aren't focused on their studies at all, but instead pretend to be very hardworking every day, putting on a show of studying diligently. They'll only become restless and impatient, never succeed, and will remain a freeloader for life without ever repenting.

Whether it's competitive or not, it's just that there are too many people. Everyone wants to stand out, so there aren't enough opportunities for you.

As the old saying goes, if you want to rise above others, you have to endure hardship.

But the suffering isn't something you can fake by pretending to work hard all day and trying to impress yourself. Getting cervical or lumbar spondylosis is proof that you've endured hardship.

Even if you study like the ancients, hanging your head from the rafters and pricking your thigh with an awl until your thighs are full of holes, if you still can't learn, there's only one result: you won't pass the exam, and you'll never pass. But back in Little Stone's time, it was quite easy to get ahead. As long as you could read and write, you were considered an intellectual.

Zhao's feelings now are similar to those of the old lady Wang when she fantasized about her son Su Bingcheng studying hard and becoming a high-ranking official.

People all have this feeling of placing their hopes on the future, but whether one ultimately becomes a dragon or a worm depends on many factors, all aspects of which are far too complex.

However, it was still a good opportunity, so Su Xiaoxiao said to Zhao Shi, "Sister-in-law, leave this matter to me. I will go and persuade Mr. Li to complete his apprenticeship."

Actually, this matter is somewhat difficult. Mr. Li went into seclusion because he didn't want to get involved in worldly affairs anymore. It's already a great honor for him to come out and teach Su Ping'an.

Now, we want to trouble Mr. Li to set up a private school in Baihua Village to teach, which is indeed a great difficulty for Mr. Li.

However, Su Xiaoxiao wouldn't do anything about it. She just felt that someone would still bring it up here. If it was too troublesome to deal with, she wouldn't say anything about it.

Su Xiaoxiao felt that in her recent interactions with Mr. Li, she discovered that the reason Mr. Li chose to withdraw from the world was nothing more than his dissatisfaction with the current court.

That's why he chose to retreat to the mountains and forests, to be a carefree person who doesn't care about worldly affairs.

Through her several encounters with Mr. Li, Su Xiaoxiao gradually discovered that Mr. Li was quite approachable and very kind.

The last time we ate hotpot together, he would spontaneously recite poetry when he was having a good time. When talking to Su Ping'an about the ancient cultural giants he admired, he would even gesticulate wildly, his eyebrows dancing and his spittle flying everywhere.

In fact, Mr. Li is a man of strong emotions. Su Xiaoxiao thought that if she reasoned with him and appealed to his emotions, Mr. Li would probably soften his stance.

If the village's private school is established, Su Xiaoxiao will have made her own contribution to the village's cultural development.

That's what she was thinking at the moment; Su had already made her own decision about this matter.

When Zhao saw that Su Xiaoxiao was completely thinking of her, she was actually quite moved.

At this moment, she handed the ginseng box she had just received from Su Xiaoxiao back to Su Xiaoxiao's hands, saying, "Xiaoxiao, I've thought it through. I don't need to replenish my qi. You can keep this ginseng for yourself!"

Su Xiaoxiao smiled and said, "Sister-in-law, you are older than me and need to nourish yourself even more. I've already given you this ginseng, how could I possibly take it back? You should keep it!"

After saying that, Su Xiaoxiao continued to stuff the ginseng box into Zhao's arms, and Zhao finally accepted it without any hesitation.

Through this incident, she began to reflect on herself, wondering if she had been too harsh on Su Xiaoxiao before. Reflecting on her past actions, Zhao felt a pang of conscience. This was a rare moment of remorse for Zhao, truly a rare occurrence.