"Didn't you say that Qingshan Village lacked a gentleman last time? This time I went to Anchang and happened to meet a good friend from the past. He was willing to come to our Qingshan Village to teach."
"Your friend? Is he from the same hometown?" Ye Luoxin did not expect that the matter of finding her husband would be settled so quickly.
Scholars who have achieved fame are rarely willing to teach in village schools. I'm afraid this one is not even a scholar, right?
"No, no!" County Magistrate Liu replied, "He was my former classmate. He was also the best in our high school entrance examination in the college entrance examination. It's just a pity..."
Speaking of this, Magistrate Liu showed a look of regret on his face.
"What happened next?" Xiao Song listened carefully and couldn't help but ask.
"Later he was targeted and someone wanted him to help cheat during the exam, but he refused.
We didn't think much about it at that time.
Just half a month after the results came out, he was surrounded and beaten by several masked men when he went out.
He, a weak scholar, had no power to fight back, and one of his legs was suddenly broken.
The county magistrate at that time sent people to investigate for half a month, and finally found out that the attackers were bandits from the mountains. Those bandits were motivated by money, so they took action.
But Zhou Zheng later told us that he only took 10 copper coins with him when he went out that day. "
"What happened next?" Xiao Mu frowned when he heard this.
Magistrate Liu continued: “The bandits were wiped out by the imperial court soon after.
Zhou Zheng recuperated for a year and missed the second year's examination.
I wanted to take the exam again three years later, but on the day of the exam, someone reported that he was involved. "
"Really!" Xiao Song was dumbfounded.
"Really!" the county magistrate sighed, "I really found the handwritten paper in the pancakes he brought that day!"
"ah?"
"Although Zhou Zheng kept complaining and claimed that the thing was not his, he was kicked out of the examination room on the spot because of all the witnesses and material evidence. Since then, he has gone from being a high-ranking master to a street rat that everyone wants to beat. .”
In Junzhou, even the schools in the countryside refused to use him to teach. "
"He is so knowledgeable, how could he be involved?" Xiao Song refused to believe it.
"We don't believe it either! Zhou Zheng is an upright man and has never bothered to do such cheating.
Who would have thought that he would end up doing the thing he hated the most. Magistrate Liu said.
"What a tragedy!" Ye Luoxin had to sigh at this ending.
Magistrate Liu sighed and continued: "At that time, he still had his 60-year-old mother. In order to take care of her, he could only stay in his hometown in Junzhou and make a living by copying books and writing letters for others. Three years ago After his mother passed away, he left Junzhou only after his filial piety period expired, but I bumped into him as soon as he arrived in Anchang."
The handsome young man who was seventeen years old at that time has now become a middle-aged man in his late forties after so many years. In addition to being able to twist a few sour poems and write good calligraphy, this talented scholar has no money. Growing things makes it difficult to even make a living.
How deplorable.
"I met him a few days ago, and I just remembered that your village is missing a gentleman. His honorary title has been cancelled. Now that he has no title, I wonder if your village can accept him."
"What's wrong with that!" Ye Luoxin replied without thinking.
"Yes, there's nothing wrong with that." Xiao Song also agreed.
He has always been a straight-tempered person. After hearing about Master Zhou's plight, he not only felt sorry for him, but also felt a little distressed.
What a talent that is!
There has never been a person in their village who is so good at reading, and as a result, his life was ruined by some villains.
Ye Luoxin said, "The conditions in our village are not good. Many children are illiterate. There are only a dozen or so who are actually studying. There are relatively few religious groups. I hope Master Zhou will not dislike them."
Magistrate Liu just said so much, just to arouse their sympathy and let them accept Master Zhou.
In fact, a person like Master Zhou who was able to get the first place among academicians had absolutely genuine talent and learning.
The fraud case of that year has been in the past for too long, and no one can comment on it.
However, Ye Luoxin has experienced nine years of compulsory education and knows that the first place cannot be obtained by plagiarism.
The children in Qingshan Village are lucky to have such a teacher.
"In this case, I will introduce Master Zhou to you."
After the county magistrate finished speaking, he stood up and left. When he came back, there was a middle-aged man wearing plain linen clothes following behind him.
The man was thin and had a dent in the flesh on both cheeks.
He was dressed plainly but neatly. His hair was pulled up with a wooden hairpin and his goatee was neatly trimmed.
Zhou Zheng looked at the three people in front of him calmly. What surprised Ye Luoxin was that his eyes were not depressed by life, but were full of determination and hope.
"Then I'll go with the three of you." He said.
The ox cart took the four people back to Qingshan Village. Instead of going directly back to Xiao's house, they went to Li Zheng's house immediately.
There were three people when they went out, but when they came back, there were four people in the car, which made the villagers who saw it very curious.
They followed the bullock cart to Li Zheng's house.
When Li Zheng heard that this was the new wife that the county magistrate had found for the village, he immediately became happy and said, "That's great, that's great. Mr. Zhou's talent is extraordinary at first sight. The magistrate is indeed true to his word."
When the villagers heard that this was the new gentleman in the village, they all looked at him.
As Li Zheng said, this new master has an extraordinary bearing. Although he is a little thinner, he looks more like an immortal. He is definitely not an ordinary person.
"While it's still dark, I'll take my wife to see where we live."
Li Zheng was afraid of treating Zhou Zheng in a hurry, so he quickly took him to the school and told him about the situation of the students in the village along the way.
"Our village has a small population. There were more than 60 children studying in the school before. These children did not come to class every day. During the busy farming season, they helped with the work at home, so this time Ah, we all pay on a monthly basis.”
Li Zheng said, kicking a stone on the road and leading Master Zhou to continue forward: "Confucius said before that there are more than a dozen children in the village who have some qualifications, so these more than ten children have been following them..."
Li Zheng was about to say something else, but was interrupted by Master Zhou: "I will check their level later so that I can teach them in accordance with their aptitude."
Hearing that Master Zhou was so confident, Li Zheng was completely relieved.
There are no students in the academy now, only a wisp of green smoke floats from Confucius' courtyard. When he walks to the door of the courtyard, a smell of medicine wafts out from the courtyard.
The mute slave was sitting in front of the clay stove cooking medicine. He was surprised to see so many people coming at once.
He stood up and came over to meet him. Li Zheng waved his hand and said to him: "It's okay, it's okay. How is Confucius' health?"
The mute slave made a few gestures to let several people into the room. Confucius was still lying on the bed, and he let out a few weak coughs from time to time.
Li Zheng walked to the bed and carefully straightened the corner of the quilt for the master. Seeing that the master was awake, he quickly asked: "How are you feeling today?"
Kong Fuzi nodded and looked at the other people.
When he looked at Master Zhou, a surprised expression immediately appeared on his face.
Zhou Zheng also had his hands trembling the moment he saw Confucius.
He took a few steps to the bedside, half-knelt in front of the bed and held Confucius' hand.
"Sir, I finally see you!"
Ye Luoxin and Xiao Mu were dumbfounded.
Do these two people know each other?
After a period of strange calm, Confucius, who was lying on the bed, finally said, "Why are you here?"
