51. Japanese Teacher

Three days later, early in the morning.

The four people who packed their bags said goodbye to Mr. Zhu and his wife Zhu Bai, and thanked their senior brother Wang Ruqin and others for taking care of them these days. They left Yongjinmen in the county and returned to Bailu Village the way they came. go.

By the time we returned to Bailu Village, it was already afternoon.

The patriarch Bai Jiaxuan, Lu Zilin, and Bai Youde had received the letter a long time ago and were waiting at the entrance to the village. There were also music groups built by the villagers playing music and music around them.

"This is the return of our county's crime lord!"

The patriarch Bai Jiaxuan had a smile on his face, hung the red silk on Bai Gui's body, raised his chin, looked at the villagers from the neighboring village who came after hearing the news, and shouted in a loud voice: "Our Bailu Village is a village of benevolence and righteousness. There’s such a little champion!”

Soon, the people from neighboring villages gathered around looked at him with envy.

Some village chiefs immediately taught the young students in the village to study hard and bring glory to our village.

Bai Gui's face turned red when he heard the compliment, but no one noticed that he, the head of the county case, was not as valuable as before. Although he still had many benefits, he was not worthy of the praise of the patriarch Bai Jiaxuan. The term "little champion".

But he didn't refute it. The more characters there were in the village, the more people in neighboring villages didn't dare to look down on them. When fighting for water to irrigate the fields, the villagers can have the confidence to take more points, and whoever marries a wife can have the confidence to ask for less dowry...

The benefits are many!

Otherwise, why would so many villagers support him?

The wind band followed all the way.

Return to the village.

Bai Gui and several classmates did not rush home. Instead, they went to the ancestral hall to pay their respects to their mentor Xu Xiucai.

The building on the east side has bedrooms separated by earth.

Xu Xiucai is reading poetry and books.

"gentlemen……"

Bai Gui first knelt at the door of the dormitory and kowtowed heavily to Xu Xiucai.

Upon seeing this, several other people immediately knelt down and called him sir.

Unlike Bai Gui, although the remaining three respected Xu Xiucai, they were from wealthy backgrounds, so how could they be so grateful to Xu Xiucai. However, Confucianism values ​​etiquette, and they couldn't see Bai Gui kneeling down, so they just stood...

Following closely behind, the villagers waiting outside the ancestral hall saw this scene and praised him one after another, "Guiwazi is a good boy who knows filial piety and kindness."

"These dolls in our village are all good dolls. Our ancestors are happy to know about them!"

"..."

The villagers discussed.

Xu Xiucai's hands trembled while he was studying the book. He took a deep breath and stood up from the straight-backed chair. He also knew the news about the return of the books and the return of several people.

It's just that he didn't expect that when he sent four people to take the county exam, only four of them would have more experience. But what he didn't expect was that Bai Gui, who had just entered school for half a year, passed the county exam. First, it made him feel like he was in a dream.

He walked out slowly, with a serious look on his face.

"The fact that you passed the exam is beyond my teacher's expectation. However, there is no limit to learning, and you still need to study hard day and night. Don't waste your talents!"

Xu Xiucai walked out. He did not let a few people get up first, but solemnly said these words to Bai Gui.

When white pheasants descend, auspiciousness arises.

This is the blessing given to Bai Gui by God.

But if you don't hesitate to be blessed, this good fortune will turn into a reminder.

"Students take note!"

Bai Gui was just stunned for a moment before he understood something, and felt a little sad in his heart. This was because Xu Xiucai knew that it was difficult for him to teach Bai Gui at his current level, so his parting words were his final teaching.

He choked up and immediately paused.

"You can be kind to your neighbors, take auspiciousness as your own, and work for the benefit of your people. It shows that you have a benevolent heart. I hope you can keep your heart in mind at this time..." Mr. Xu sighed softly and said.

Cultivating oneself, governing the country, and bringing peace to the world are the highest pursuits of Confucianism.

"Students take note!"

Bai Gui paused again.

"Okay, get up! You guys get up too."

Xu Xiucai looked at the four disciples with a smile. It was also a benefit for him that all four disciples had joined the group this time and were eligible to take the imperial examination.

At least if Meng Tong enters school in the future, he will be his first choice.

"Thank you sir."

Zhou Yuan and the others didn't have any taste for it. Xu Xiucai gave Bai Gui two words of advice, but he had no words for them.

"Your parents must be waiting impatiently, so let's go first."

Xu Xiucai waved his hand and drove several people away.

They said goodbye and returned home with their parents.

When he first reached the east end of the village, Bai Gui was stunned. What he saw was a spacious green brick courtyard with two entrances. The ground was flat, not even a weed, and was all compacted with loess.

"Last month, you were convicted of the crime. The patriarch led the men in our village to help our family build a house. The bricks and tiles were all put together by the patriarch and the villagers. The patriarch also said, how about the crime leader of our village? Being able to live in this poor house..."

Bai Youde grinned and smiled happily.

The kids are on their way.

Even the conditions at home have improved, and the villagers are rushing to build houses for their families.

Bai Gui turned around and took a closer look at Bai Youde. Although the white long-sleeved satin shirt was not fashionable nowadays, it was not something that ordinary farmers could afford. One piece would cost one, two or five taels of silver. It was made of silver. He also wears a brand new melon cap, and the hookah holder tied to his belt is also made of jade.

Made a fortune!

Although I didn’t win the prize, everything has changed!

"You don't know, hey, after you left, Heiwa, that coward, didn't go to school anymore, and wandered around the village all day. His father couldn't even hold his head up in front of others, and lost face!"

Bai Youde said casually.

What he heard most was that when the villagers chatted, they compared Bai Gui and Lu Zhaoqian. Both of them were sons of farmhands who went to school, but after they came out, the difference was so big.

This back and forth, he heard it, and it became quite a topic of conversation for him.

Bai Gui didn't interrupt, as long as he didn't mention it in front of others. Bai Youde was honest and would never say it in front of others.

He went back to the house.

The bed had been made for him long ago, with a new cotton quilt from the year before last and clean foreign cloth sheets.

"Brother Zhang Fenghui personally."

Bai Gui, sitting on the bench, was lost in thought as he looked at the letter on the table. This was the letter that Mr. Zhu gave to him and Zhou Yuan and others, and the Western teachers they found were all different.

The school had adopted the Western teaching method, that is, the class teaching system, which was very different from the private school teaching in the countryside at that time.

Although Western languages ​​were taught, in order to advance quickly, they had to choose another Western teacher.

On that day, Mr. Zhu asked them what Western languages ​​they wanted to learn. There were English, Italian, German, and Japanese. In the translation subject of the prefectural examination, they could choose any Western translation.

He chose Japanese.

He already knew English and could communicate with people smoothly, so the only country that he had the most dealings with the Qing court was Japan. Learn from the barbarians to defeat the barbarians, and Japanese is the second language to learn.

In addition, most of the foreign books now are translated from Japanese.

Therefore, Mr. Zhu wrote him such a letter and asked him to pass it to Zhang Fenghui, who was a copyist in the Xi'an Prefecture, as a teacher. Zhang Fenghui was a Japanese student who graduated from the Zhenwu School in Japan and had just returned to China. He was also the same year as Mr. Zhu when he took the exam, and they had a good relationship.

It was most appropriate for him to be the Japanese teacher.