In the eleventh year of Tongzhi, the third day of the third month of March.

This day is the Shangbian Festival, although the north is still cold and cold, but the sun has become warmer day by day, the catkins on the branches have begun to fall down, some noses are sensitive, sneezing all the way on the street, elm money is fat and tender, at this time blanch it with water, add some sesame oil, add some salt, mix it is fragrant, or omelette, stir-fried, are good seasonal dishes, so many children carry elm money, with newspapers to sell together.

In the wind and sand catkins flying, there is a tall and thin man walked out of his house, wearing a hairy deerskin shoulder, playing with a snuff box in his hand, his demeanor is graceful, and he has a disdainful and cynical smile at anything, and the discerning person knows at a glance that it is a grandfather under it, only to see him pacing in all directions, walking under the overpass, looking at all kinds of stalls from time to time, he is very interested in the bookstall bookshop, often looking at a book and stopping for a long time, there is a child who sells elm money, seeing this man looking at the book, Cowering behind the man, he cautiously looked at the book in the man's hand.

The book in his hand is also common, it is the "Thousand Character Text" engraved by the official during the Qianlong period, the child is silently reciting the words on it in his mouth, and unconsciously read it out loud, the man heard it and turned his head, skimming this child who leaned on himself, the boy was also conscious, and hurriedly hit a thousand, licking his face and laughing, "Uncle, don't be angry, the little one looked at this book and was fascinated." ”

The man put down the book arrogantly, "What, you are also literate?" ”

"Yes, yes," replied the boy with a smile, "I used to sell newspapers, and my first neighbor in the house, my aunt from the palace, knew how to read. So after teaching for a few years, it's not blind to the eye," the boy was proud, "these days, I have sold all the newspapers to my younger brother at home, and I will sell them for a while." This thousand-character book in the uncle's hand. It's really good. ”

The man smiled slightly, "It's rare for you, do you have a Xianfeng Dictionary?" ”

"That dictionary is very expensive," said the boy with a smile, "how can we poor families afford it?" ”

The man suddenly thought of something, "That Sijiu City has already set up an official primary school, do you know about this?" ”

"Of course you know."

"Then why are you still here?" The man asked.

"Don't you know, uncle," the boy shouted as the roadside man sold elm money. said disapprenously, "Those of us who live a poor life, where do we have spare money to go to school?" It costs a lot of money," the boy actually knew the word "bundle," the boy quickly wrapped a bag of elm money with old newspapers and gave it to passers-by, and collected a few pennies, "Now these days are very peaceful, and you can make some money to live." If you want to study, you can't. ”

The boy continued. "But fortunately," his tone was full of pride, "although I am old and the family does not have enough money, my younger brother and parents gritted their teeth. I'm already going to let him go to school, and I've been making up tuition for the past few days, and I've sold the elm money, and it's estimated that it's all together. ”

"You're a good brother," the man laughed. "It's a good thing that there is a scholar in the family."

"Yes," the boy saw that there was no business at this time, so he concentrated on talking with this man, "Don't hide it from the uncle, the little one sells newspapers every day, and I have read a lot of news in this newspaper, and I also know that when the Ministry of Education was established, what did it say, 'Education is the foundation of the country', it is probably this sentence, now as long as you go to school and study, whether you go to work in a factory, or go to various yamen on errands, it is convenient, if one day you can be selected by the prime minister's yamen and send a foreign errand, it is really glorious!" ”

The man smiled, "Foreign errands are not so easy to send, if you don't go to the Tongwen Museum to learn foreign languages for a few years, you can be sent there." ”

The owner of the bookstore held his hands and watched the two of them talk with a smile, but he didn't speak, "If you enter the Tongwen Pavilion, it will be even more of an ancestor to accumulate virtue." The newsboy said happily, "Long Live Lord used to study in the Tongwen Pavilion, if he can enter the Tongwen Pavilion, wouldn't he become a classmate of the Long Live Lord, and Long Live Lord can still treat his classmates badly?" ”

The man turned his face to the owner of the bookstore and smiled, "You said that this kid, although he is small, this truth is not wrong. ”

"Naturally, that's right," the owner of the bookstore responded: "After graduating from Tongwenguan in a few years, he either became a promoter of the factory, or entered the trade yamen, customs, and other places, and some even entered the prime minister's yamen, or sent foreign envoys, I heard that there was a Tongwenguan who only graduated, but he was in his early twenties, just because of what kind of German he learned, and a new Prussian state was established in the West, and there was no official in the court who was proficient in German. became the ambassador to Prussia under the Prime Minister's Yamen, wearing a red top of the fourth grade, representing the Tianwei of our Qing Dynasty in the West, I really envy the dead! ”

"Now it's no longer called Prussia," said the man, "it's called Germany, and the ambassador is also his own effort, a few years ago, when the foreign affairs were just rising, how many people disliked that the Tongwenguan was a place to deal with foreigners, and all those who entered the Tongwenguan were not recognized by the old folks, and the same was true of the German ambassador, the clan almost expelled him from his genealogy, but fortunately he was dedicated to learning and studied this German carefully, so he waited for this opportunity." ”

"When I heard that this ambassador went home to worship his ancestors, the middle door of the ancestral hall was wide open to welcome this senior member of the fourth grade, and those people's faces felt ridiculous when they thought about it." The boss said to the boy again: "Look carefully, the uncle in front of you is an errand boy in the Ministry of Education, your brother can go to school, you should kowtow to the uncle!" ”

The boy was taken aback, hurriedly put down the basket in his hand, knelt down and knocked his head three times sincerely, "Uncle Marquis Wandai!" In this way, the old mother, the Buddha, and the god grandfather will bless your old man, and the little one will set up an immortal tablet for the uncle when he goes back! ”

"Far away," the man laughed, "you old dog," the man pointed to the owner of the bookstore, "his mouth is so broken," and although the words were complaining, his tone was also leisurely, "I am just in the Ministry of Education in front of the pen, and it is my credit there." ”

"Others don't know, can I still not know the origin of the fifth master?" The bookstore owner raised his eyebrows proudly, "Fifth master, don't be modest." (To be continued......)

PS: A new volume, a new journey, thank you all for your support.