When Xiao Shaofei saw a few lines of seal characters printed vertically on the blue scripture, like a dragon coiling around a snake, he answered truthfully: "Sir, I...no one taught me, so I don't know the characters on it."
Lu Xueru was quite puzzled: "You are illiterate, but you are so interested in reading?"
Xiao Shaofei: "Yes."
Lu Xueru stared at him: "Do you understand the poetry I teach?"
Xiao Shaofei answered casually: "These poems are easy to remember, but I don't understand them very well."
"Is it easy to memorize poems?" Lu Xueru frowned, not expecting that this boy looked so honest but spoke so arrogantly.
"The Book of Songs was revered as a Confucian classic during the Western Han Dynasty. It was first called the Book of Songs and is still in use today. It contains 305 poems written over 500 years from the early Western Zhou Dynasty to the middle of the Spring and Autumn Period. It is also called the Three Hundred Poems. It was not easy for me to recite at first, let alone memorize it. Why do you say that poetry is easy to memorize right from the start?"
After Lu Xueru explained the beginning, chapters and importance of the Book of Songs in Confucianism, he couldn't help but ask, "Can you remember it?"
Xiao Shaofei answered frankly: "I can remember it. If you don't believe it, I will recite it to you."
Lu Xueru was still confused: "There is no joke in front of the teacher, can you really recite it?"
"Well." Xiao Shaofei nodded and said loudly, "I never tell lies."
Lu Xueru asked tentatively: "How many paragraphs can you recite?"
The simple Xiao Shaofei answered straightforwardly: "I can recite them all."
Wow, you really feel bad after eating garlic!
Lu Xueru and Li Wenguang were both surprised by Xiao Shaofei's answer.
Lu Xueru's eyes widened and he stared at him: "What? Can you recite all 305 poems in the Book of Songs?" Lu Xueru's mind seemed to be tickled by something, "People are most afraid of talking in vain. Boy, just recite the Book of Songs to me!"
"Okay!" Xiao Shaofei cleared his throat, clasped his hands behind his back, raised his head slightly, half-squinted his eyes, opened his mouth, and the poems flowed out of his mouth like water from the mountain stream next to the private school:
Guan Ju:
Guan Guan Jujiu, in the river island. My fair lady, a gentleman is so generous...
At first, Lu Xueru, an old scholar, didn't take this tanned boy seriously at all. But after he recited the first paragraph fluently, he was impressed. Some even took out their books to compare and see if he had any clues. Mispronunciation.
Lu Xue was a profound scholar of Confucianism, so he naturally kept the Book of Songs in his heart and listened quietly.
Xiao Shaofei chanted:
There are various water plants flowing left and right. A graceful lady, whom I covet...
Lu Xueru: “Where is the last article?”
Xiao Shaofei swallowed his saliva and continued to read:
"Yin Wu":
He defeated Yin Wu and fought hard against Jingchu... There were pine trees and wooden rafters, so he had time to travel in Yingzhou and sleep in a hole in peace.
Until he recited all 305 chapters of the Book of Songs, Lu Xueru was so shocked that his mouth opened wide.
While listening to his recitation, Li Wenguang compared it with the Book of Songs and exclaimed: "Ah, I missed every word!"
After Li Wenguang finished praising him, he playfully asked Xiao Shaofei a difficult question: "Can you recite the Book of Songs backwards?"
Lu Xueru glared at Li Wenguang: "Can you ask someone to carry it upside down like this?"
Lu Xueru cursed in his heart: "It's so strong to strive for victory! Don't think that if you can do it, others can't."
Li Wenguang stuck out his tongue and then retracted it.
Xiao Shaofei readily agreed: "You want me to carry it upside down? OK!"
Lu Xueru: "Can you really recite it backwards?"
"Of course you can! Listen: there is a hole in the bed, there are couplets in leisure, and there are pine trees in the trees..." So, Xiao Shaofei really recited the "Book of Songs" backwards from behind, and he recited it equally fluently. , which made Lu Xueru like this boy even more and look at him differently.
Li Wenguang was also convinced by him and was happy to have such a smart book friend.
Lu Xueru gently stroked the long beard on his chin with his right hand and stared at the benefactor in front of him. He couldn't help but have many thoughts: among the students he taught, they had to read these scriptures dozens of times before they could memorize them. I had received guidance from experts at the Confucius Institute, and I had practiced a lot, but I had to read a passage several times before I could memorize it. And this kid was able to memorize it so well just by eavesdropping, without any scriptures to read and two unknown teachers to enlighten him.
In the land of Qiu County, the trees are so ordinary; the streams are so ordinary; the rivers are so ordinary; and the living beings coming and going are so ordinary. However, the boy in front of him was a genius, a peerless genius. A wave of enthusiasm hit Lu Xueru's heart, and a mysterious feeling gripped him tightly.
After Lu Xueru thought for a long time, he turned to Xiao Shaofei and said, "Don't stand outside the broken wall anymore. Come in."
Xiao Shaofei nodded: "Thank you, Uncle Lu."
"You can just call me husband when we meet in the future." Lu Xueru tilted his head slightly and said to Li Wenguang who was standing next to him: "He will be your junior brother from now on. Let's take your junior brother into the study to read."
"Okay!" Li Wenguang bowed respectfully towards Lu Xueru and nodded, then turned towards Xiao Shaofei, "Junior brother, let's go, follow me to the study."
Xiao Shaofei followed Li Wenguang towards the north courtyard. After walking for more than ten steps, he suddenly turned around and smiled at Lu Xueru with spring in his mouth.
Lu Xueru felt warm in his heart: This boy looks simple and honest on the outside, and a bit straightforward; but he is actually smart and intelligent on the inside. Her nature and understanding are not inferior to those of her little daughter. It seems that Qiu County is about to produce a pillar of talent, and there will be talents for generations to come!
As the saying goes: Things are unpredictable. The next morning, just as Xiao Shaofei was about to attend Lu Xueru's private school, he saw a government servant in public uniform appearing at the entrance of Taizhen Village from a distance.
The appearance of the government servant naturally attracted the curious eyes of the villagers.
As soon as Wang Shaoxiang saw this yamen servant, he recognized him at a glance. He was the same yamen servant a few years ago.
After Wang Shaoxiang recognized the yamen servant, her heart seemed to be suddenly grabbed by an invisible hand. It was this yamen servant who sent a urging letter that took away her husband's life.
Unexpectedly, today the government official stopped in front of the Lu family's house again...
Wang Shaoxiang subconsciously hugged Xiao Shaofei tightly.
Before the officer could speak, a flattering smile appeared on his face.
He clearly saw Wang Shaoxiang and his son in the courtyard, but he still knocked on the door politely and said, "Is Mr. Zhang's wife here? Please accept the letter from Xihai Yamen."
Xihai Yamen? In that big city two hundred miles away, Wang Shaoxiang didn't even have any relatives eight generations away, let alone any connection with the Yamen.
Wang Shaoxiang hesitated and walked slowly towards the door.
Xiao Shaofei was quick and ran over and invited the government servant who delivered the letter in.
"Madam, please keep it. This is a personal letter from Mr. Pei of Xihai Yamen."
Wang Shaoxiang took the big envelope. She was still confused and asked confusedly: "What Master Pei? Who is Master Pei?"
The yamen servant looked at Wang Shaoduxiang and said suspiciously: "Master Pei is Pei Zhong, the governor of Xihai who has just taken office! Our Qiu County is under his jurisdiction. In the letter to the county master, Mr. Pei said He said that he is a classmate of the same age as your Mr. Zhang, how could you not know Mr. Pei?"
Wang Shaoxiang nodded and said, "He is a close friend of Fei'er's father. Didn't I know..."
"Madam, I don't dare to neglect the errands assigned by the governor. The county master is still waiting for my reply."
Wang Shaoxiang slowly opened the envelope and took out the letter to read.
Pei Zhong, who was originally the governor of Chang'an, was transferred to Xihai. More than a month ago, when he took office and came to Xihai, he naturally asked about Zhang Jinzhao's situation to the magistrate of Qiu County who came to greet him. When he heard that his old friend had passed away and returned to the West six years ago, he felt very regretful. Especially when he learned that Zhang's widow was struggling to survive alone with her son Zhang Shaofei, he was even more sad. Therefore, he wrote a letter asking Wang Shaoxiang to take his son to Xihai and live with his family. He would take on the responsibility of raising future generations for his old friend who was unjustly killed, so that Zhang Shaofei could study, obtain fame in the future, and inherit the long-standing legacy of the Zhang family. Traditional style.
This is pie in the sky, good things fall from the sky.
However, the respected elders in the village all unanimously opposed Zhang Shaofei's mother and son going to the West Sea to seek refuge with the superior governor.
Some said: "We are not close relatives and have never met each other. How dare we entrust our family and life to him?"
Some said, "That's right! You orphans and widowed mothers went to that big provincial city where you were unfamiliar with, and you didn't even know you were being sold!"
…
Wang Shaoxiang's eldest brother and Zhang Shaofei's uncle, Wang Ronggen, strongly objected: "You are not starving to death, why do you want to go out and seek refuge with others?"
Wang Shaoxiang said: "Brother, look at what you said! Pei Zhong is a classmate and good friend of Ah Fei's father. He said in the letter that he treats Zhang Shaofei like his own son, and he is responsible for providing food, clothing and clothing for us. "
"Amei, if you really can't handle it anymore and the family can't get rid of the problem, then move back to your parents' house." Wang Ronggen strongly objected.
Wang Shaoxiang asked: "Brother, can you support Fei'er to go to school?"
"This..." Wang Ronggen choked a few times and couldn't answer for a while.
Wang Shaoxiang pulled Zhang Shaofei over, held him in front of him, and said as if he was solemnly announcing something: "His surname is Zhang, his name is Zhang Shaofei, and he is the son of Zhang Jinzhao. The Zhang family has been a scholarly family for thousands of years. They are all famous families in the past dynasties. If the children and grandchildren of the Zhang family are reduced to being unable to go to school, their ancestors will definitely be uneasy if they know about it. In the future, how can I have the face to see my late husband? I..."
When it came to the end, Wang Shaoxiang was already crying.
Xiao Shaofei originally wanted to tell the story about Lu Xueru allowing him to attend the school, but seeing his mother burst into tears, he had to swallow the words that came to his lips.
When everyone saw this, it was hard to say anything.
However, relocating a family is not a matter of just moving.
Although Pei Zhong said that he would provide all the food, clothing, housing and transportation for Zhang Shaofei and his son in Nanhai. But Wang Shaoxiang still wanted to prepare some money for emergencies.
As for their family, the only thing that can be turned into money is the one-and-a-half acres of thin farmland.
In desperation, no suitable buyer could be found.
