Mrs. Zhao's eyes almost turned red after hearing his words. She said distressedly, "Yes, yes, a real man does not worry about not having a wife... ahem, not having money! Then, I think the window paper in your house should be changed, and the shed and the walls should be pasted. My family runs a paper mill, and we have the best white mulberry paper. I'll ask Zhao Kui to send you a few rolls of paper to paste the walls and windows."
Ryan Cui suppressed his laughter and bowed his head to thank her: "Thank you, Grandma Zhao. When Uncle Yuan comes back, I will ask him to send money to your house."
Old Madam Zhao couldn't help patting his arm and said with a smile: "My family has a small paper mill. These papers are all produced in our own mill. The window drawers are also made by the servants. It's not worth your special thanks. Speaking of which, my paper mill has a good business, and it also owes a lot to your doctor!
She raised her hand to her mouth and told Ryan Cui in a low voice: "If your master had not passed the imperial examination and improved the feng shui of this street, and had not mortgaged the house to Mr. Wang as a tutor, how could so many scholars come to buy houses and rent houses here? My family's paper is sold to them at a loss. Otherwise, there are so many paper shops in this city. This old man and my eldest son are not good at business, so how could they build a family business?"
He was just about to find a place to go to school, so he asked casually, "Oh? Are there any scholars living nearby? Are they all Mr. Wang's former disciples, either students or students? Do you two old men know how knowledgeable they are? Can they teach me?"
Grandma Zhao didn't understand, so she could only glare at her husband.
Mr. Zhao took a sip of the water from the cup, and then he put on airs in front of his wife, squinting his eyes and telling a story: "If we talk about the scholars here, we have to start from the year when the doctor passed the imperial examination. Because he passed the imperial examination and moved to the capital, people said that it was because of the good feng shui of his house that he was able to pass the imperial examinations twice and become a high-ranking official in Beijing. Therefore, there are scholars who want to rent the courtyards on our street, and rich families with students at home are willing to pay a high price to buy them. To be honest, if my family didn't have two useless grandsons studying, I would also like to pawn the house if I didn't ask them to borrow some feng shui."
It turns out that school district housing existed in the Ming Dynasty, and it was quite popular. He lives in a Feng Shui treasure land in the center of this school district housing, should he rent out a few rooms to earn some rent?
Or should I make some things for scholars and open a small shop outside the courtyard to make some money?
Now was not the time to think about this, so he put the thought aside for the time being and asked humbly: "To be honest, I plan to take the exam in my hometown, and I need to find a teacher to learn the classics and composition. I wonder which teacher here has good knowledge? I can still afford the tuition at the moment, as long as I learn real knowledge."
Mr. Zhao frowned and said, "After Mr. Wang left, he transferred his students to a Mr. Lin. My second grandson is studying there, but he is not as good as Mr. Wang. Others don't teach students. In the past, there were a few who passed the imperial examinations, but most of them were busy seeking official positions and had no intention of teaching. You studied with a teacher in Beijing, and these local scholars may not be as good as you."
Ryan Cui smiled helplessly: "No. I have been raised by my grandmother since I was a child. Since my grandmother fell ill, I have spent more time taking care of her and less time studying. Now I haven't even read the Five Classics. My uncle, who was a scholar and taught me to read, was selected as an official two years ago..."
Zhao Yuanwai asked in a daze: "His uncle Liu passed the imperial examination? A military imperial examination, right?" After saying that, he suddenly raised his hand and slapped his mouth lightly, frowning and saying: "I was thinking wrongly. Captain Liu's family was transferred to Yulin Guard in the early years. How could he teach you in Beijing... He was the brother of that lady later? It was so difficult for an imperial candidate to be selected as an official. He was able to be elected as a county magistrate because of your father. He didn't teach you to read. He is really not a son!"
The old lady finally understood and said in surprise: "Hey! Why didn't he teach you to read? What a cruel heart! He has a sister who is a concubine and a brother who is not a good person either, but he abuses the son of his first wife like this!"
Mr. Zhao slapped her hand and scolded her: "Look at what you are saying! It's easy to say such words to stir up discord among people!"
Madam Zhao also became anxious: "You were the first to say that! You are the most outspoken person..."
The two started arguing again, Ryan Cui looked at his nose and pretended not to hear. As they were arguing, they suddenly remembered that they were in someone else's house and the victim was sitting next to them. They coughed, lowered their heads and pretended to put on makeup and tidy up their clothes.
Zhao Yuanwai was still more mentally competent. He smoothed his collar and got back to business: "If you really want to find a good teacher, it's best to go to the city. My eldest grandson was lucky enough to get into school two years ago and is now an attached student at the official school in the city. There are many students there and the learning is good. There is also a Guzhu Academy outside the city, which was passed down from the time of the great sages Boyi and Shuqi. It's a place where saints and sages were born!"
The capital city? Ryan Cui hesitated for a moment and shook his head.
They had only thirty taels of silver in total. If they wanted to move to the provincial capital, the annual rent would be more than ten taels. The remaining money was not enough to make a living, let alone study.
Besides, they were thrown here by the original owner's father. The Cui family could not care about his food, clothing, housing, life or death, but they would never let him leave at will. Even if he really went to the capital, as long as the Cui couple said a word, he would have to move back obediently, otherwise it would be unfilial and a serious crime that would ruin his future.
Let's take it step by step. Anyway, there is a teacher here. Let's not talk about the teaching quality. It's enough if he can teach him to write eight-legged essay.
When Mr. Zhao saw that he didn't agree, he knew that his previous statement about the prefecture was too radical. He patted his head and said, "I was overthinking. After all, you are still young, and you may not feel comfortable living in your hometown. How can you just decide to move out? Why don't you first lay a foundation at Mr. Lin's house?"
"Next year is the autumn examination year. The talented scholars are preparing for the autumn examination now. It's hard to find anyone. When those scholars come back after the examination, some will be eager to find a school. Then ask my family to recommend the most solid scholar. It won't cost much for our two families to invite him back!"
Ryan Cui thanked him for his kindness and asked how much it would cost to study with Mr. Lin.
Mr. Zhao also had experience in this area, so he told him how his grandson paid for his tuition, festival gifts, and lecture fees, and also taught him secretly: "Mid-Autumn Festival is coming soon. You should wait until after Mid-Autumn Festival to become my disciple, so as to save two coins of festival gifts. If you are not in a hurry, wait until after the 27th of Confucius' birthday, so as to save even more money."
Ryan Cui nodded repeatedly, memorizing the amount of money and the date on which the gifts should be sent. He was not afraid of going to school late, because before he could start formal school, he had to take time to memorize the books that his original body knew, and then imitate his original body's handwriting. Even if he spent a month on these things, it would not be enough.
As they were talking, the Zhao family's maid came over and brought some newly ordered walnut, pine nut and tangerine cakes for tea, along with a basket of mutton-stuffed willow-leaf dumplings and a plate of fried Sanzi sprinkled with powdered sugar as dessert.
Mr. Zhao had been talking for the whole afternoon and was feeling thirsty and hungry. He took a sip of tea and picked up the chopsticks to let Ryan Cui have some snacks.
Mrs. Zhao didn't talk for a long time. Finally, she caught someone who didn't want to talk about reading, so she told her: "Go home and get a few rolls of wall paper, a stack of window paper, two newly pasted gauze drawers, and a few of our door curtains with grass beads. See if there is enough water in the yard, and then ask Zhao Kui and others to fill it up here..."
Ryan Cui hurriedly stopped him and said, "My Alex Cui and Ethan Peng have already gone shopping. They will buy all these and will not take anything from Master Zhao's house."
Grandma Zhao smiled and said, "They are all our own things, not worth much. You have so many rooms in your house, even if you buy too much, you can still put it away. Just think of it as a precaution." She also ordered, "Bring the pot of jasmine under my window and let Xiao Xie fumigate the house. When you come back, you can cook dinner, and let Aji cook for us."
The maid agreed, went back and brought flowers to place under the window, and brought a male servant to install curtains for his bedroom, pasted a layer of oil paper on the window frame, and hung a gauze drawer from the inside. However, the house was too old, the wall plaster and the paper had fallen off, so the wallpaper was not pasted for the time being, and someone had to come and put a layer of plaster and □□ on it.
Ryan Cui felt a little embarrassed, but he accepted it anyway. He thanked the two elders and said, "I'm going to clean the well these two days, and people are coming in and out. I'm afraid it will disturb the neighbors. I'd like to ask Mr. Zhao and Mrs. Zhao to apologize to the neighbors for me. After we settle down, I'd like to have a drink and invite all the neighbors to come over to show my closeness."
Mr. and Mrs. Zhao were people who loved to be in a lively atmosphere. After a few polite words, they said with a red face: "These are all small matters, and we old couple will take care of them. You moved here alone, and everything in the family depends on you. How can you handle so many things! Why don't you leave the banquet to us? We will definitely help you organize it properly and it won't cost you much money."
Ryan Cui quickly stood up to thank them and solemnly entrusted these matters to them.
The couple had a very satisfying chat and took on the important task of organizing a banquet for Wen Ju. They were anxious to go back and make plans, so they sat for a while and then got up, leaving only a maid to help him prepare dinner.
In the evening, Alex Cui and his son came back and found that the house was very different from when they left: there was a fire in the stove, and half-warm food was in the pot. The boxes, tables and chairs inside and outside the house were polished to a shine, there were green gauze drawers on the windows, and a new pearl curtain hung on the door. It finally looked like a home.
They were both a little worried that Ryan Cui had done something inappropriate at home, so they hurriedly unloaded the car and went in to see him. But they didn't expect to see him closing his eyes and resting, not even reading a book.
Alex Cui nodded with satisfaction and asked, "Master, why is your home so clean? Who sent these screen windows and beaded curtains?"
Ryan Cui first asked them to go to the kitchen to get food, and while eating, he told them about the visit of the old couple from the Zhao family. Ryan Cui put down his chopsticks after listening, and said sadly: "Young master, you did something wrong. You could have just said it about us, but why did you make up something about our family? If the master heard this, he would have people beat you up!"
Ryan Cui smiled and said, "If we don't tell people, they won't be surprised that I, the son of a fifth-rank official in Beijing, only brought two people and drove a small broken car back to my hometown? My family is not poor, only we are poor, so it means that the father and son are at odds. Is it because the master is unkind or the wife is unkind? Or am I driven out of the house because I am naughty and unfilial?"
Seeing Alex Cui was speechless and unable to refute, he smiled and said, "Let me make a bet with you. One day when someone comes to our house to give us the monthly allowance, he will definitely tell us how difficult life is in Beijing and how they can't afford to give us any money. Do you dare to bet?"
Holding the inkstone, he whispered, "I don't know if anyone has come to see me off yet. Who in the back house doesn't flatter the lady..."
Alex Cui knocked him on the back of the head, but he couldn't help but sigh and whispered: "We are upright and have nothing to fear. The neighbors can see what kind of person the young master is and won't gossip about him." When he saw that Ryan Cui didn't even raise his eyelids, he knew that he didn't think there was anything wrong with his fabricated stories about his father.
Alas, the young master's temper has changed a little since he was beaten. Could it be that he has really become estranged from the master?
He didn't dare ask Ryan Cui about this, nor could he tell his son. He could only keep it in his heart and ate his meal in depression.
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