The gatekeeper is an old and decrepit gatekeeper, sweeping the floor in front of Minglun Hall. At present, there is only one Lingxing Gate left in the county school and the front of Minglun Hall is still somewhat decent. The yard looks clean and tidy, but Minglun Hall is
The roof has been covered with thatch, and there are even small trees growing lushly.
The doors and windows of Jinde Zhai and Xiuye Zhai are closed, and there has been no sound of students reading for a long time. The "official office" given by the king is in the three halls behind Minglun Hall, which is his office and residence. In the courtyard
The grass is knee deep and foxes are infested.
Wang Ci is from Luoyang, Henan Province. He failed in many examinations and only became a "Sui Gong Sheng" when he was in his forties. The so-called Sui Gong Sheng was also called "Bi Gong Sheng" by the ancients. Among the scholars, they have been doing it for a long time and have been taking exams.
Those who do not take the imperial examination can pay an annual tribute when they reach the age, which is considered to be qualified to be an official. This is also considered the official path of the imperial examination, but it is not as good as Wu Mingjin's "big examination", so he can only become a county magistrate.
, small officials such as teachings and edicts.
In this way, Wang Ci filled up the post of Lingao Jiaoyu, who was an idle official in Lengcao. His salary was extremely meager, and he was not as good as the county magistrate who could take care of his family. He only brought one family member named Wang An with him to take care of his daily life.
Although the utensils in the house looked a little worn out, Wang An kept them clean and tidy after cleaning them every day.
Wang Ci fell down on a bamboo couch and drank a few big gulps of the cold tea prepared on the coffee table. Wang An was not in the room, so he probably went to find extra money somewhere - the salary of the priest was really pitiful, and Lin Ci
Gaoyou is a very small county, and the literary style is not prosperous, and the county school's teachings have no additional income. The life of Wang Ci's master and servant is really miserable.
Wang Ci heard that his servant had found some kind of job recently, and he could earn a little money every month to supplement the family income. He didn't think much about it in the past, but today he suddenly became alert - Wang An couldn't be working for Australians, right?
?
The more he thought about it, the more likely it seemed that the only one who could find work anywhere and anytime in Lingao City was the Kun thief! He thought that Wang An would ask him carefully when he came back later. If he was really working for the Kun thief, or would he?
It's best to tell him not to do it. These people are good at charming people. Don't confuse Wang An too.
Thinking of the Australians, Wang Ci could only sigh. The education of the Australians greatly stimulated him, and Lu Da's rhetorical question left him speechless - can he be worthy of being educated without distinction? Australians are truly educated.
No category.
It's just that Australians are very educated, and they don't teach the Four Books and Five Classics that they are familiar with. Even the way of writing words and sentences is different. If this continues, won't they teach a group of "Australian scholars"?
Wang Ci is not a corrupt scholar. When he first went to Wu Nanhai to ask for help in renovating his school fields, he was interested in their knowledge of how to manage the world and apply it. Unexpectedly, the Australians were so ambitious that they abused common characters and even changed the writing style.
, and even made some "Pinyin words" of his own making! This was simply unbearable for him.
We must find a way to prevent them from continuing to mess around like this!
Wang Ci was thinking about ideas when the janitor from the county school suddenly ran in and shouted:
"Master Wang! Master Wang!"
"What's going on? How unbecoming are you in such a hurry!" Wang Ci waved the sleeves of his patched Confucian shirt with dignity, and picked up the chipped tea cup.
The doorman gasped: "Kun - the Australians are here to pay their respects!"
"Ah!?" Wang Ci shook his hand and the tea spilled onto his clothes.
"Is it Mr. Wu?" Perhaps Mr. Wu, who was in charge of the school field, came to discuss something with him.
"It's not Mr. Wu, it's Mr. Xiong -" Xiong Buyou is responsible for dealing with the county government offices because of his relationship with the Foreign Commercial Committee. Almost all the county government officials and police officers know him.
This Australian Mr. Xiong had never come to his place in the past. Wang Ci felt strange. Why did he come to the county to study for no reason? He couldn't sell land here, and there were no government officials to dispatch. It was so cold that the idle government could not be colder.
.What do Australians like?
Could it be that the conversation he had with Lu Da just now was reported to the thief Kun, and that Mr. Xiong came to look for him? Now Wang Jiaoyu was in a panic. He was a scholar, let alone the other party.
If you bring soldiers here, it's a one-on-one fight. Considering your own physique, you will definitely be the one who suffers. Being beaten doesn't count, so be gentle and clean.
"Just say, Master, um, he's not here."
"Well," Menzi said, "Master Xiong knows that you are--"
"Did you bring anyone with you?"
"I brought two servants." The disciple was very alarmed when he saw Master Xiongyu, and quickly added, "Master Xiong also brought gifts, and he was very polite."
Wang Ci breathed a sigh of relief: I brought a gift just to beat him up. He quickly said: "Please, please."
Xiong Buyou came to the hall generously with his entourage and gifts. He simply bowed and said his name. There was no official title. The ancients also couldn't figure out what titles such as committee members were obtained by the crossing group.
Wang Ci looked at the man in front of him. He was tall and strong, wearing a small double-breasted coat of a thief, with a canvas belt tied around his waist, and a small green cloth bag slung across his waist. He had a machete across his waist. Although he did not know Xiong Buyou, he had known his name for a long time.
.I heard that this man swaggered into the city last year with hundreds of pirate heads and came to the county government office to meet Wu Daling. Since then, I have been hearing that he went to the county government office and was the leader of the gang's external communications.
"Student Wang Ci, I wonder what Chief Xiong has to say here?" Wang Ci said, pretending to be calm.
"Are you the teacher?"
"It's a student." Wang Ci responded carefully.
"I'm so sorry for you, I've ignored you these days, haha," Xiong Buyou looked around with a smile, "I didn't expect your conditions here to be so bad!"
"As the ancients said, living in a humble room..."
"We will talk about the things of the ancients later, let's talk about the things of today first." Xiong Buyou got straight to the point, "I heard that Wang Jiaoyu went on a long trip today?"
"Yes, one of my disciples donated money to the library yesterday. The friendship between teachers and students should always be paid in person." When Wang Ci heard that this was the question, he answered generously.
"I heard that your disciple passed away unfortunately, leaving orphans and widowed parents in a difficult situation?"
Even knowing this, Kun Thief is really well-informed. Wang Ci nodded and sighed: "Exactly, I have a widow and three children left at home, and without the person who established the family, I don't know what will happen in the future. Now.
My classmates and I put together a memorial service, so I'm probably getting by now."
As for what to do in the future, Wang Ci didn't even want to think about it. This family left a small amount of money, and before the head of the family's body was cold, some members of the clan came to take it away. The family of orphans and widowed mothers was definitely at a disadvantage. He was a small child.
The little teacher is a foreigner, so he can't help at all.
"This is a little bit of our thoughts." Xiong Buyou took out a white paper bag from his bag and asked Wang Jiaoyu to pass it on."
Wang Ci was stunned, why did Kun Thief come up with this? Did this scholar and Kun Thief interact on a daily basis? He had never heard of it. What kind of memorial ceremony could be given to such strangers?
"How can this be done?" Wang Ci thought to himself that there was something very wrong with this money and he must not accept it. He just shook his hands randomly, "On the one hand, I am a complete stranger, and on the other hand, it will hinder my reputation -"
"So, Wang Xunyu still thinks we are 'thieves'?"
Only then did Wang Ci realize that he was speaking the truth, and quickly explained: "No, no, the student is saying: You and my student have never known each other, and now they are orphans and widowers. I sent you to pay tribute, I'm afraid, I'm afraid
If you want to discuss things and ruin people's reputation, please think twice."
These words were quite appropriate. Xiong Buyou did not continue to pursue the case, but the paper bag did not take it back. He just said:
"This is not my opinion alone, it represents the entire Australia Group. Since we have lived in Lingao for a long time, this is our hometown. This is to do our best for the scholars in our hometown. There is no need to teach.
Speculation.”
The tone was very tough. Wang Ci originally wanted to walk away and show off his character as a scholar-bureaucrat in the Ming Dynasty, but looking at Xiong Buyou's eager eyes and the machete in his waist, he nodded slightly:
"I will take care of this for her." No matter what, it was a good deed. Besides, he couldn't see how the thieves could take advantage of this orphan and widowed mother.
When Xiong Buyou saw this sour man accepting the offer coquettishly, he felt a sense of contempt. He was originally prepared to be scolded by the teachings, but he didn't expect that the so-called "scholar's character" was nothing more than that.
"This memorial ceremony is a three-hundred-yuan circulating coupon," Xiong Buyou pointed to the paper package, "When Rexiao comes out, we will receive an additional fifty-yuan subsidy every month. Although it is meager, it will probably not be a problem to make ends meet."
Wang Ci was stunned for a moment. There is still a monthly subsidy?! His mind couldn't turn around for a moment and he was stunned.
"Wang Jiaoyu!" Xiong Buyou saw him in a daze and shouted quickly.
"Ah? Oh, yes, yes." Wang Ci's feelings in his heart were very complicated, he was happy and worried at the same time. He was so happy that with such a sum of money, the scholar's family would not be discouraged, and the tribesmen who were eager to see a small income would not be discouraged.
If the Australians intervene, they will not dare to make mistakes. This family has been given a new life. What is worrying is that the thieves' intentions are very obvious. In the past, they showed kindness to the ignorant people in the countryside, and then they won over the people in the county government.
Officials, now, their hands have reached out to the scholars again. Step by step, they are careful and thoughtful, and they are worthy of the sentence "their intentions can be punished".
Wang Ci now felt that he had made a mistake in handing over the school land to the Australians - when he could distribute money and rice to the students in the autumn, wouldn't everyone know that it was the thief's work? Thinking of this, Wang Ci felt filled with regret.
I was so short-sighted that I let the thief put his hand in for some money.
Xiong Buyou's face turned green and red while looking at this edict. Who knows what he was thinking. In fact, Wang Ci also overestimated himself. According to the long-term plan of the executive committee, the work of winning over local intellectuals will always have to be carried out.
Regardless of whether there is such a thing as a school field, no scholar in Lingao can escape.