The old boy's name is Guo Baichuan, the word is eastward, he is called a southeast mountain man, and his family lives in the southeast corner of Guojiazhuang. Since private schools are private, the government does not provide teaching land, so the elderly children set aside a room in their homes as classrooms.

As soon as Xu Jin entered the courtyard of Lao Tongsheng's house, he saw a woman drying clothes, about forty or fifty years old, and the Jingchai cloth skirt was very simple, which was Lao Tongsheng's wife Wang.

"Master!" Xu Jin learned from the ancients to be polite, respecting the teacher, and he really couldn't do it.

Wang nodded and looked at Xu Jin, and said with a smile: "I heard that Brother Jin was not lightly ill the month before, and now it seems that he is getting better." ”

"The child is much better, Master Xie cares!" Xu Jin said respectfully, fortunately he inherited the memory of a nerd, or he could stump people if he didn't call it anything.

"Well, let's go inside...... Oh, wait a minute! ”

Xu Jin was about to walk, but the Wang family stopped him again, and said lightly: "Brother Jin, tomorrow will be the first day of the new year, Shu Yu remember to hand it in." ”

Xu Jin was a little surprised, it turned out that he was urging the tuition to be paid, and nodded: "The child can save it!" ”

Don't look at the old boy to open a private school, but life is not easy, a family of five or six people live in three tiled houses, and one has to be used as a classroom.

Moreover, there are not many peasant families who are willing to send their children to study and write, because it costs money and wastes labor, and the large families who can afford to spend money do not look down on children, preferring to spend more money to hire a show to teach at home, or simply send their children to a famous academy.

Therefore, there are not many students recruited by the old children, and there are only about a dozen people, and they are barely enough to make ends meet. Because of this, Xu Jin was not disgusted by Wang's behavior of urging tuition fees, but he was a little embarrassed, although he only needed ten yuan a month, but he really couldn't get it out at the moment.

A few days ago, Xu Jin had gone to the town to find a broker (intermediary) and was ready to sell his family's paddy field, but no buyer had taken over so far.

Xu Jin came to the outside of the classroom, there was a sound of books inside, and Guo Fuzi, who had a serious expression, was pacing between the desks with a ring ruler in his hand.

"Master!" Xu Jin shouted, and Guo Fuzi noticed Xu Jin, who had been standing at the door for a while, and nodded slightly to signal to come in.

Xu Jinxing went to his seat and sat down, took out the "Zhou Yi" in the Five Classics and began to read, Guo Fuzi couldn't help frowning when he saw this, but he didn't say anything.

There were about fifteen or sixteen students in the classroom, and the age difference was very large, ranging from a three- or four-year-old child with a snot to a fourteen or fifteen-year-old boy like Xu Jin.

Due to the large age difference, and the time of entering school is not uniform, so the teaching content is also different, such as the little fart children who have just entered the school, generally teach literacy books such as "Three Character Classics" and "Hundred Family Names", while the older ones learn "Thousand Character Text" and "Arithmetic", etc., like Xu Jin, etc., the progress has reached the "Book of Songs" and "Analects".

So, more than a dozen students shook their heads, you read yours, I read mine, the content is different, and it does not interfere with each other.

After reading in the morning, take a break and start the first lesson. The noisy children immediately sat back in their respective positions, and with a light cough, Guo Fuzi walked in with a ring ruler.

Guo Fuzi is about fifty years old, with a thin and long face, a long beard on his chin, and at first glance he is an old-fashioned man who does not smile, and his nerdy personality should be somewhat influenced by him.

Guo Fuzi put down the ring ruler on the podium, his eyes wandered around and fell on Xu Jin, and said with a serious expression: "Learning is like sailing against the current, if you don't advance, you will retreat; The heart is like a horse running on the plains, easy to put and difficult to collect. The way to study is to keep working hard and not slackening in the slightest. Xu Jin, although you have been sick for several months, your knowledge cannot be wasted, and if you recite the "Analects" again, if there is any mistake or omission, the old man will be severely punished! ”

Instantly, everyone's eyes in the classroom focused on Xu Jin, and those teenagers who visited Xu Jin even showed a look of schadenfreude.

The teaching progress of these teenagers visited Xu Jin, but they just learned the "Analects", and just now Xu Jin actually took out "Zhou Yi" to read, isn't this pretending to be [forced], you must know that "Zhou Yi" is the first of the group classics, and it is the most obscure.

The master has always hated the exaggerated behavior of being ambitious and not knowing how to pretend to understand, Xu Jin, this kid, actually openly read "Zhou Yi" in front of the master, which is simply asking for hardship.

Xu Jin also noticed the unkindness in Guo Fuzi's eyes, and he was very depressed in his heart, saying that he didn't mean to pretend at all, but the nerd except for "Zhou Yi", the other four books and four classics have been memorized very well, so he is focusing on reading "Zhou Yi" these days.

"Yes, Master!" Xu Jin stood up and saluted, then closed the book and recited the Analects aloud.

Zi said: Learning is learning, isn't it also talking? It's a pleasure to have friends from afar......"

Several teenagers of the same age pricked up their ears and waited to catch Xu Jin's mistakes, you must know that the master's rule is to hit the ring ruler if he reads a wrong place, and once an unlucky guy was beaten twenty-eight times, and it took several days for the palm to swell. However, these people were soon disappointed, and Xu Jin read down the "Analects" in one go, and it turned out that there was no word for word.

Guo Fuzi couldn't help but look a little softened, and asked: "Zeng Zi said: I am three times a day, and I am not loyal to others?" Making friends and not believing them? Passing on but not getting used to it? What is the explanation of this sentence? ”

Xu Jin organized his language and replied: "The sage of the sect (Mencius) said that he reflected on himself many times a day, such as: Is he doing his best to do things for others? Are you honest and trustworthy in your dealings with friends? Has the knowledge imparted by the master been reviewed? ”

Guo Fuzi's eyes couldn't help but light up, although Xu Jin's explanation was a bit vernacular, it was undoubtedly in place, and it was easy to understand.

"Well, yes, sit down!" Guo Fuzi stroked his beard and said lightly.

"Xie Fuzi!" Xu Jin sat down calmly.

Guo Fuzi couldn't help but glance at Xu Jin more, he knew this disciple very well, although he studied hard, but he was introverted, and he couldn't even speak.

All the young people cast complicated eyes, the master was stern, and rarely praised the disciples, just now he actually said that Xu Jin answered well.

Xu Jin took advantage of the favor of the master who had just brushed up, and after a class, he stepped forward to stop Guo Fuzi and said: "Master, students are reading "The Mean" recently, and there is a sentence in it: If the Tao is not good, I know it, those who know it will pass, and the fool will not be able to do it. What is the solution? ”

"The Mean" is one of the four books, mainly discussing the Confucian nature of cultivation, teaching the way of life is the compulsory content of the imperial examination, of course, if it is only to test the children's examination, it is not necessary to read through the four books and five classics, knowing the four books is enough to deal with, of course, the remaining five classics can not be ignorant.

Guo Fuzi glanced at Xu Jin thoughtfully, and said lightly: "Come with the old man!" ”

Xu Jin followed Guo Baichuan to the rest room next door, the latter took a sip of tea, and did not immediately answer Xu Jin's previous question, but said lightly: "You recite "University" again!" ”

Xu Jin recited the "University" in the four books according to his words, and he also did not miss a word.

Guo Fuzi asked again: "Are you familiar with "The Mean"? ”

"Except for the "Zhou Yi" in the Five Classics, the disciples are all familiar with it!" Xu Jin's words were not shocking, and he was endless.

Guo Fuzi almost squirted out a mouthful of tea, and said with a calm face: "Really? Let's recite "The Mean" again! ”

Xu Jin memorized "The Mean" without any pressure, and then Guo Fuzi was not calm, and deliberately extracted a few sentences from the four books, but Xu Jin answered them all, and he also had unique insights and was quite brilliant.

It is no wonder that Xu Jin is the soul of modern people in his body, and his thoughts are naturally different from those of the ancients.

"Wizard!" Guo Fuzi was so excited that his beard trembled a little, he really didn't expect that he, a disciple with three sticks, couldn't beat a sullen fart, it turned out to be a genius, could it be that he used to pretend to be a pig and eat a tiger?

Guo Fuzi stroked his beard for a while, and suddenly asked, "Xu Jin, your filial piety period is over, right?" ”

Xu Jin nodded and replied, "It's full!" ”

Since the Han and Tang dynasties, filial piety for the ancestors has been customized, especially in the Ming Dynasty, the rules of filial piety are more complicated, and there can be no entertainment during the filial piety period, no intercourse, no participation in the imperial examination, and those who are officials must also be forced to dismiss and go home to wait for the examination.

Under normal circumstances, children have to keep filial piety for their parents for three years, Xu Jin lost his father at the age of 10, and lost his mother at the age of 11.

Guo Fuzi said happily: "Okay, then the teacher will teach you the art of making from today, and you will sign up for the county exam next year and give it a try!" ”

The so-called art is to write eight-strand essays, which is the highlight of the imperial examination, whether you can pass the exam, eight-strand essays are the key, and other poems, strategies and the like are secondary.

Xu Jin was overjoyed, in fact, the main purpose of his coming to school today was to learn to write Bagu Wen, and hurriedly said: "Master Xie!" ”

Guo Fuzi smiled: "Work hard, get some experience next year, and strive to be admitted to the show within three years!" ”

Xu Jin is only fourteen years old this year, if he can be admitted to Xiucai within three years, he will only be seventeen years old at that time, and Xiucai will be sixteen or seventeen years old, which is barely a prodigy in the Ming Dynasty.

Of course, there are really a lot of prodigies in the Ming Dynasty, such as Li Dongyang, a bachelor in this dynasty, who was sent to school at the age of eight, and was directly promoted at the age of fifteen, so the seventeen-year-old Zhongxiu talent is not particularly demonic.

Guo Baichuan himself has never been admitted to Xiucai in his life, if he can cultivate a prodigy, it is definitely something worth boasting about, and it can be regarded as a regret for himself in an alternative way, so it is no wonder that he is so excited.

Guo Baichuan hopes that Xu Jin can be admitted to Xiucai within three years, but he doesn't know that Xu Jin's own goal is to be admitted to Xiucai next year, of course, Xu Jin will not say it in front of his master, so as not to fall into the impression of arrogance, so he said respectfully: "Xie Fuzi encourages, students can save it!" ”

"The children can be taught!" Guo Baichuan stroked his beard and said with satisfaction: "You go back to prepare for class, the old man will sort out the articles of the county examination over the years, and you can take them back to study carefully after school." ”

Some of the moves were in the middle of the favor, Xu Jin was naturally overjoyed, and bowed and withdrew.