Volume 4: Gathering of Sages Chapter 478: Practical Education
After being away from the capital for several months, Zhang Chen and Zhu Er were now walking side by side with Zhang Shou on the wide avenue of Xuanwumen Street in the inner city. Zhang Chen was full of confidence and Zhu Er was looking complacent. But soon, the two of them did the same action at the same time, which was to turn around and look at Ah Liu who was following them slowly.
As for those other guards who followed closely...how could they compare with this strange yet powerful boy Liu?
"Isn't Sixth Brother angry?"
After asking almost the same question at the same time again, Zhang Chen and Zhu Er glared at each other. Zhu Er, who spoke first, mocked: "When you just said that Sixth Brother gave bad advice, you were so confident. Now you are afraid? Hey, when you were showing off that you knew everything, why didn't you restrain yourself? You made Sixth Brother seem ignorant!"
"Stop flattering me calling Sixth Brother, kid. Everyone knows that you say one thing in front of others and another behind their backs?" If Zhang Chen could not kick Zhu Er's butt while on horseback, he would have kicked him right away.
After cursing, he didn't bother to pay attention to Zhu Er, and rode straight to catch up with Zhang Shou, who didn't look back or answer, and said awkwardly, "I just wanted to pick up on what you said, young master, to scare Cao Wu, not to mock Ah Liu. Cao Wu is a smooth talker, a warrior without any backbone. Not to mention compared with Ah Liu, even guards like me and Zhu Er seem to be more strong-willed than him."
Zhang Shou almost laughed out loud at Zhang Chen's adjective. He turned around and said to Ah Liu, "Ah Liu, did you hear that? Zhang Chen said that you and the young men from the Duke of Zhao's and the Duke of Qin's mansions are strong and unyielding!"
"My ears are fine." To prove this, Ah Liu even picked his ears and said calmly, "If Cao Wu knew, he would definitely ask, how much is iron bone worth?"
Zhang Chen was a little embarrassed by what Ah Liu said, while Zhu Er was laughing so hard that he couldn't help laughing. At this time, Zhang Shou smiled and said, "How do you want him to show his integrity in front of you, the eldest son of the Qin State?"
"Point at your nose and scold you? You are not a playboy who harms the people. Show off your outstanding skills and spar with your guards, knock them down, and show off your skills? Who with a brain would do that? As for him not coming when you called him for something, and stiffly saying that I am not a servant of your Zhang family, are you sure you wouldn't be furious at that time?"
Seeing Zhang Chen getting more and more embarrassed, Zhang Shou shrugged his shoulders and said, "The character of iron-willed is suitable for warriors who are indomitable and brave enough to face challenges; it is suitable for those who fight alone and fight to the death even if they are defeated and captured; it is suitable for those true ministers who are willing to offend the powerful and even the incompetent monarchs for the sake of the country and the people; it is suitable for those talented and ambitious people who are willing to die to repay the kindness of their benefactors."
"It's not that there aren't people with backbone among the people of all walks of life, it's just that most of the time they won't show it, so of course you can't see it. Because whenever they need to show the iron backbone hidden under their hunched backs, which they almost forget, it's usually a very dangerous moment."
"Think about Xian Yunhe and the others."
Thinking of the huge disturbance caused by Xian Yunhe and his group of barefoot men in Cangzhou, Zhang Chen was speechless. Then, he heard Ah Liu's voice behind him again: "Also, I'm not angry."
When he saw Zhang Chen and Zhu Er turned around and looked at him again, Liu said calmly, "I just felt that Xiao Huasheng was quite pitiful, so I just gave him some advice. If it doesn't work, forget it."
I just came up with this idea... and it actually collided with Cao Wu's intention to go to Beijing! Even Zhang Chen couldn't help but shed a tear of sympathy for Cao Wu at this moment. Not to mention Zhu Er, he was laughing so hard that he was holding his stomach and yelling "ouch". If he wasn't on horseback, he would have found something to hit twice to express his gloating.
"It would be great if it works, but there's nothing we can do if it doesn't. Ah Liu is always so willful in his actions and words."
Zhang Shou replied, then suddenly coughed, then smiled at Zhang Chen and Zhu Er who had been completely distracted since the beginning and didn't even realize where they were. "We've arrived at the public school. Aren't you very curious about how I suddenly raised a group of literate typesetters? Now, you can go and see how people attend classes!"
After this was said, not only Zhang Chen and Zhu Er, but even Young Master Jiang, who was hanging far behind but had been listening to the conversations in front, also felt a little curious. After thinking it over, he decided to rush over shamelessly, so as not to be stopped outside the gate of the public school. However, to his surprise, he actually entered the gate of the public school smoothly!
Unlike the Imperial College, there isn't even a gatekeeper here, and anyone can come and go as they please.
Compared to the seemingly magnificent but in fact dilapidated buildings in the Imperial College, many of the houses here were built in a hurry, and even when people entered, they could see the scene of large-scale construction. As for the people wandering around in twos and threes, there were quite a few of them, many of whom were half-grown children in ordinary clothes.
However, the people who built the house made almost no noise except when they were working, and the people who were wandering around and looking around also restrained their conversations. Therefore, although this place was not as quiet as the Imperial College, it was not noisy either.
Zhang Shou, who often came and went, led everyone to a classroom, where they saw a young man with a slender figure and handsome face standing in front of him. He was tapping the large black wall in front of him lightly with a pointer, and quickly writing lines of numbers and formulas on it with a white pen.
The half-grown children below were copying down the notes at a rapid speed. Some of those who couldn't keep up showed obvious pain on their faces, but they were still desperately taking notes while scratching their heads.
Watching this scene, Zhang Shou explained in a low voice: "At first, I suggested painting the pinewood boards black and then writing on them with a special plaster pen to teach students arithmetic. But the pinewood boards were still too small, and two or three boards were not enough for a class. Later, Lu Jijiu came up with a good idea and changed it to using a mixture of cooked plaster, lime and pot soot to paint the white walls black."
"In this way, one wall is probably enough for one class, and after writing, students take turns to clear it. It can hold a lot more blackboard . Although it needs to be repainted from time to time, it is better than changing five or six large pine boards in one class."
Zhang Chen and Zhu Er were amazed at the relatively intuitive blackboard teaching method that has been passed down from ancient times to the present day, while Zhang Shou shook his head and said, "But this also has its shortcomings. The pen used for writing on the blackboard is not very easy to use, so it is still being improved. Some teachers also use a sandbox teaching method with students watching."
"In short, this public school emphasizes innovation, and all kinds of conceivable methods can be used. Because the students who take classes here are not those who want to pass the imperial examinations to win fame and then become officials to bring honor to their family. The students who go to school here are not here to squeeze on the single-plank bridge, but rather hope to learn a skill within their ability to support their families and make their families live better."
Zhang Chen and Zhu Er went to Cangzhou. Of course, they would never ask why they didn't cover the wall with white paper and write on it with ink pen as a blackboard. Because poor paper couldn't stand such writing, how much would good paper cost? Not to mention the smooth writing pen and ink. These things were much more expensive than the materials used by Lu Wan, the chief priest of the public school, to paint the walls.
Although Zhang Shou invested all the profits from the Imperial Chef Selection Competition into the public school, he could not afford to spend lavishly. After all, no one, whether from a peasant family or a poor family in the market, could afford the tuition.
Although Young Master Jiang, who was following behind, was not completely unfamiliar with the life of a poor family, he saw that the room was full of children in tattered clothes. The young man who was teaching was dressed simply, but he could obviously show some elegance. When he saw Zhang Shou was about to take people to the next classroom, he could not help but take two quick steps to get closer to him.
"Dr. Zhang, the teacher who teaches this class seems to be quite extraordinary. Such a person should not be an ordinary person, right?"
"Oh, that's Xie Wanquan, the former head of the Ruxing Hall in the Imperial College. You may have heard of him. He was the one who broke off his relationship with his teacher, Yang Yiming, a doctor of the Imperial College, and broke out."
Zhang Shou saw Young Master Jiang was dumbfounded, so he smiled and said, "Although many people in the literati circle have some complaints about him, there are also people who admire him for his integrity and his fearlessness of power. That's why the Earl of Xiangyang betrothed his daughter to him a few days ago. This was a sensation in the capital."
To be exact, she was the youngest daughter of the Xiangyang Earl family, and Zhang Daku's biological sister. Thinking back to when Zhu Ying forgot to mention this on her birthday, and came back to mention it to him the next day as if to show off, he was almost dumbfounded.
Duke Zhao Zhu Jing and Duke Chu Zhang Rui were sworn enemies. According to his imagination, the Earl of Xiangyang was the second brother of the Duke of Chu. Even if the girl from the Earl of Xiangyang really fell in love with Xie Wanquan's "iron-willed man", this matter would get to the ears of the Earl of Xiangyang Zhang Qiong, and this irritable noble would definitely break up the couple and rush to the Duke Zhao's mansion to settle accounts with Zhu Ying.
But the result was exactly the opposite. Zhu Ying's matchmaking actually came true so miraculously!
When he announced the news in public, it was others who were dumbfounded. Zhang Chen was quite familiar with the hot-tempered Xiangyang Earl Zhang Qiong, and he couldn't help but yell, "The Xiangyang Earl who yells all day long? He's willing to marry his daughter to Xie Wanquan? My God, his big son didn't say anything?"
Zhu Erze laughed and said, "What can big guy Zhang say? Even though he's big, he's more scared of his father than a mouse is of a cat. He's not as scared as me when I see my father! His father wants to marry his daughter off, and he dares to stop him?"
He had to stay as far away from Xiangyang Bo Zhang Qiong as possible, otherwise if he was hit by that big palm-leaf fan-like slap, he would have nowhere to complain, because he had experienced the result of crying for his father once when he was a child, and that was definitely a beating from his father! Moreover, Zhang Qiong had never been soft-hearted even to his outstanding elder brother Zhu Tingfang, who later became a martial arts master and no longer suffered losses.
However, his sister Zhu Ying was an exception. Even Duke Zhang Rui of Chu, who would argue with his father and then fight whenever they met, could only smile at Zhu Ying, not to mention Xiangyang Earl Zhang Qiong.
Anyway, he absolutely did not believe that Lu Sanpang's father Lu Wan had the ability to act as a matchmaker, and he even less believed that Xiangyang Earl Zhang Qiong had such a keen eye for choosing a son-in-law. This marriage must have been arranged by his sister!
When Young Master Jiang found out the answer, he could not help but feel envious. However, after following Zhang Shou to visit several classrooms, he found that apart from the very basic Thousand Characters and the elementary addition, subtraction and multiplication, he did not see any typesetters. He gradually became a little confused, but soon he heard a very loud voice.
"You can recognize positive text, but you can't recognize negative text? I have told you so many times that you are not allowed to write positive text when copying. You must write in negative text. This way, these things will be firmly engraved in your mind, and you can think of them first when you are arranging the words. This is called efficiency. Do you understand efficiency?"
"Each word of the negative text will be engraved in your mind. When you write, you will get used to it. In the future, you can even become a letter carver. Compared to working as a porter at the dock, building walls and kangs, or serving as a waiter in a restaurant, letter carving or typesetting is not exposed to wind or rain, and does not require much strength. The starting salary is 2,500 wen a month!"
"A very skilled typesetter or engraver can easily earn 3,500 coins a month! However, once more people master the skill, it will no longer be worth much. You are already ahead of many people by being able to get ahead!"
If it were the Confucian scholars who heard such utilitarian words at this moment, they would most likely fly into a rage and denounce such statements as a blasphemy against the school. However, Young Master Jiang came from a merchant family, and what he advocated was practical rather than unrealistic. Zhang Chen and Zhu Er felt that these words were more convincing than those general principles, so the three of them nodded in unison.
"Do you know who is the professor's teacher?"
Seeing Young Master Jiang, Zhang Chen and Zhu Er all shaking their heads, Zhang Shou laughed and said, "I am an ordinary old man who grows vegetables in my Zhang Garden. However, he has been writing on the sand for many years when he has nothing to do. He carves words and patterns on winter melons and radishes. He is good at both negative and positive writing. He writes good official script. Even though it is not as lively and elegant as those calligraphy masters, it is good enough for printing books."
"It just so happened that Lu Jijiu told me that the old typesetter who taught these people suddenly fell seriously ill and couldn't work, so I recommended him. I was just letting him give it a try, but now it seems that his skills are not limited to carving radishes and winter melons."
Just when Young Master Jiang was shocked that there were so many talented people in Zhang Shou's family, he heard a hearty laugh. Looking back, he saw a middle-aged man in his forties, and then he heard Zhang Shou laughing and calling "Lu Jijiu".
After Lu Wan showed up, she glanced at everyone and said with a smile, "Although these students in the Yinwen class are still a long way from graduation, the book they participated in engraving and typesetting for the first time has been printed today. I wonder how it will sell and whether it can make my fat boy who claims to be the leader of the bookstores in Beijing worry for a while."
