Training the Heavens

Chapter 243 Classmates

After the Chinese New Year, it was time for Zhang Fuqing to go back. In the original history, Ah Zhang was very reluctant to leave and cried anxiously. Runtu also hid in the kitchen and refused to come out. In the end, he was dragged away by Zhang Fuqing.

This time, they weren't so sad, because Sanwei Bookstore was about to start school. They would see each other again after staying for two days. Ah Zhang came to the door and smiled as he saw them off. "A Tu, when you come back in a few days, remember to bring me some shells."

"I won't forget. I will definitely pick the best-looking one for you." Zhang Xingjiu waved his hand and left Zhou's house with a small bag on his back.

It was nearly sixty miles from Zhoujia to Dupu Village, and Zhang Fuqing was reluctant to spend the money on a boat. So, they set out in the morning and arrived home in the afternoon. As soon as they got home, Zhang Fuqing joyfully told him about Zhang Xingjiu's admission to Sanwei Bookstore. "Thanks to the master's help, Ah Tu can now learn to read and write. If he can become a clerk in the city in the future, that would be a great honor."

For poor people like him, they would never dare to think that their children could pass the imperial examination and become officials, because they felt that they were not destined to do so. Being an official was something only the children of wealthy families could do, and being able to become a clerk was already a great achievement.

After resting for a while and filling his stomach, Zhang Xingjiu went to the beach to find shells for Ah Zhang. Zhang Fuqing did not stop him. Children from poor families are easy to raise. Zhang Xingjiu has been running around on the beach since he was a child, and nothing has ever happened to him.

After staying at home for two days, Zhang Fuqing brought the newly woven bamboo utensils to Zhang Xingjiu to go into the city. When they arrived at the door of Sanwei Bookstore, he did not dare to go in. He just gave the bamboo utensils to Zhang Xingjiu and asked him to give them to Shou Jingwu. He hurried home while it was still early.

"Are you back?" Shou Jingwu nodded calmly when he saw him, and asked him to follow Shou Pengfei to clean the study. He just reminded him not to send these bamboo utensils next time, because he knew it was not easy for Zhang Fuqing to make these things.

Zhang Xingjiu followed Shou Pengfei into the study, picked up the broom and started working. After cleaning the study, he helped sweep the yard and filled the water tank with water, but he didn't dare to enter Shou Jingwu's room.

Because Shou Jingwu had some eccentricities in his personality, he didn't like others cleaning the house without his permission. According to Shou Pengfei, his mother once rashly helped Shou Jingwu wash the mosquito net, and Shou Jingwu took it down and stepped on it to make it dirty before hanging it up again.

After finishing his work, Zhang Xingjiu washed his hands and went to the study to study and practice calligraphy seriously. Shou Jingwu watched him from outside the door and nodded slightly.

We had dinner at Mr. Shou's house, which was agreed in advance. The other students were day students, but he was a resident student who earned money for meals by working part-time. In fact, he didn't need to do any other work, and the teacher's wife and Shou Pengfei were enough to do these odd jobs.

Shou Jingwu asked him to work mainly because he saw that his family was poor and wanted to help him.

The next morning, Ah Zhang was the first to arrive at the academy. As soon as they met, he asked Zhang Xingjiu for the shells. When he got them, his eyes were full of brilliance. "It's so beautiful, Ah Tu. Next time you go home, can you take me with you?"

"As long as your family agrees, I will take you there." Zhang Xingjiu agreed readily, but sighed in his heart.

Because the Zhou family was about to get into trouble. This autumn, his grandfather Zhou Fuqing was arrested and imprisoned for bribing the chief examiner of the Zhejiang Provincial Examination. His family sold some ancestral land and pawned gold and silver jewelry to save Zhou Fuqing's life, and fell into hardship because of this.

Not long after that, Zhou Fengyi became seriously ill because he drank all day to drown his sorrows in alcohol because he failed to pass the imperial examination. Ah Zhang had to worry about family matters all day long, so how could he have the time to go to the beach?

Soon, classmates also arrived one after another. Zhang introduced them to Zhang Xingjiu one by one, "This is 'Little Head Ghost' Wu Shushen, who loves to play pranks. His family runs a tin foil shop. This is Zhou Zhangshou, Zhou Shouheng, Zhou Lanxing, and Zhou Meiqing, all of whom are my family members. This is Zhang Xiangyao, who has the same surname as you, and Wang Fulin, whose families are all in business." Shou Jingwu was very famous in Shaoxing City. His Sanwei Bookstore was considered a key school in the city. Those who could get in were from middle-class families, and Zhang Xingjiu was the only exception.

Fortunately, these children are still young. Even though they are a bit naughty, they are not as sophisticated as adults. Zhang Xingjiu only used a few small tricks to make them accept him.

When it was time for class, Shou Jingwu led them to pay their respects. Since there was no tablet of Confucius, they paid their respects to the plaque and the deer. The first time was to pay their respects to Confucius, and the second time was to pay their respects to the teacher. During the second time, Mr. Shou kindly responded to the greeting.

Then the other students followed Shou Jingwu to class, while Zhang Xingjiu followed Shou Pengfei to the next room, where Shou Pengfei set up a classroom to teach two children from middle-class families. Zhang Xingjiu had just started school, so it was just right for him to follow them to class.

Shou Pengfei first let Zhang Xingjiu read by himself while he went to teach the two children to write. After teaching, he came back to ask about Zhang Xingjiu's progress and taught him the next content of "Three Character Classic" and "Youxue Qionglin" and how to write according to the progress.

As he was writing, he saw Ah Zhang sticking his head out from the door, and gesturing to Zhang Xingjiu with paper armor put on his nails. He didn't dare to make a sound, but just used his lips to gesture "come out", inviting Zhang Xingjiu to go out and play.

"Wait a minute," Zhang Xingjiu also answered with lip language. He didn't dare to skip class on the first day of school. If Mr. Shou got angry and kicked him out, everything would be over.

Ah Zhang felt a little bored, but he didn't continue to pester him. He made a face and left. Shou Pengfei looked at him and nodded slightly, and his impression of Zhang Xingjiu improved a little.

Nowadays, there are breaks between classes. After Zhang Xingjiu finished his task, Shou Pengfei let him go out and play for a while.

There was also a garden behind Sanwei Book House. Ah Zhang was playing with Wu Shushen and the others picking plum blossoms. When he saw him come out, he immediately ignored the plum blossoms and ran over excitedly, "Ah Tu, play war with us!"

After saying that, he handed over the paper armor and taught Zhang Xingjiu how to play with it. The three of them soon had a lot of fun. It was not until Shou Pengfei came over to call for help that they reluctantly let Zhang Xingjiu leave.

In this way, Zhang Xingjiu slowly began to integrate into the new life. He helped with cleaning every morning and evening, practiced calligraphy in the morning, recited in the afternoon, and learned simple couplets in the evening, such as "Heaven and earth, rain and wind; continent and sky, mountain flowers and sea trees, scorching sun and blue sky".

During the break, he played with A Zhang and the others. Zhang Xingjiu brought out some small games from later generations, such as clapping cards, and these little masters were bewitched by them. Before he knew it, he became the king of the children in Sanwei Book House.

After dinner in the evening, Zhang Xingjiu returned to his room. He did not rush to sleep, but recited his homework from the day in a low voice.

And all this fell into Shou Jingwu's eyes.

(End of this chapter)