Chapter 194 Please teach me
"Liu Jinbao, Liu Jinhua, Lu Liang, Lu Daniu"
When they heard the butler calling out their names, Jinbao and Jinhua hurried forward and followed the large group into the academy.
There were twenty people in total, standing according to gender and height.
Jinhua was shocked to find that the girl was alone.
So, before she could react, the teacher called her first and asked her to go forward.
Jinhua was suddenly startled. Fortunately, she did not forget what she had just learned. She bowed first and then made a brief self-introduction.
"Hello, three teachers. My name is Liu Jinhua. I am from Liujia Village. I am seven years old this year."
The teacher, who was about to ask her age and name, was a little surprised, but he quickly calmed down and looked very serious.
He asked, "Have you read a book?"
Jinhua: "I've read the Hundred Family Surnames." Actually, she wanted to say that she had only read a little bit, but Third Aunt said that the more she spoke, the more mistakes she would make. The teacher didn't ask in such detail, so there was no need to explain.
The three teachers looked over with great interest and asked her to show it to them.
So Jinhua recited the long list of surnames that she had just memorized, a total of fifty-five surnames, five more than when she was just imitating!
Jinhua was a little proud, but she didn't get the compliments she expected. The teacher who had asked her a question earlier frowned slightly when he saw her stop, "Anything else?"
Jinhua swallowed and said, "No, no."
"Can you write it?"
Jinhua shook her head.
"Can you draw?"
Jinhua still shook her head.
"Okay, you can go out." The gentleman waved his hand, picked up the pen, and drew a cross behind the name Liu Jinhua.
The desk was very high. Jinhua stood on tiptoe to see what the teacher had written. She only caught a glimpse of a little red cinnabar, and the teacher glanced at her. She was so scared that she quickly ran away.
"So fast?" Liu Zhong's heart skipped a beat.
It's been less than half an incense stick since she entered, and she's already finished the exam?
Liu Zhong asked her what was going on inside and whether the teacher had said anything.
Jinhua felt like she had survived a calamity, her mind was blank and she couldn't put it into words.
"It's okay." Qin Yao lowered her head and smiled at the twins who suddenly became nervous, "Don't be nervous, believe in yourself."
The twins nodded and stared at the school gate intently.
Soon, the children came out one by one, dejected, because they could not answer any of the questions the teacher asked. They were not as good as Liu Jinhua, who at least could say a few words to the teacher.
After a while, Jinbao also came out. Maybe because he was at the end of the queue, he was not that nervous. He quickly explained the questioning process of the teachers inside to give the twins a reference.
Qin Yao had previously guessed that the pens, ink, paper and inkstone in the academy were used for examinations, but that was not entirely the case.
Those pens, inks, paper and inkstones were for children who could write and draw to demonstrate, and the assessment was simpler than she had imagined.
But Jinbao, who performed even worse than Jinhua, said that he saw the Master put a hook under his name.
Qin Yao's heart skipped a beat.
Looking around and counting carefully, including Jinhua and Si Niang, there are only three girls in total.
No way?
Qin Yao had a bad guess in her mind - don't the teachers want to accept female students?
But before Qin Yao could adjust her strategy, the second round of assessment came, and another girl was among them.
Si Niang clenched her fists and encouraged herself, "Brave Si Niang, charge forward bravely!"
Sanlang followed suit, "Brave Sanlang, charge forward boldly."
The two looked back at their families, then strode in with the team.
The first one to come out was the other girl.
When the little girl came out and saw her parents, she burst into tears and said that the teacher was very fierce. She was afraid and could not answer anything.
Her parents sighed with regret and took her aside. They would not leave until the final result was seen, even though their daughter had little hope.
Qin Yao probably figured out some pattern. Since there were fewer girls, she might start with the assessment of girls first.
Then the second one should be her fourth mother.
"Liu Pingling from Liujia Village greets the three masters!"
Si Niang walked forward steadily. Although she was small in stature, she behaved very properly and spoke in a confident and generous manner, without showing any fear at all.
After saying this, she raised her head, revealing a pair of sparkling eyes, filled with a hint of naivety and curiosity.
The little girl was very beautiful and well-dressed. She did not wear double buns, but a single round bun, which she wrapped in a square piece of cloth in the middle of her head. She had light bangs on her forehead. At first glance, she looked like a little Taoist child in a painting.
Her scarf was light pink, with two pink hairbands hanging down behind her, so that people would not mistake her for a boy.
When such a lovely little girl, with a pair of big black eyes, looked at them, the three teachers' hearts softened for a moment.
Master Cheng coughed lightly and asked the question with a stern face that he had asked dozens of times before.
"Have you ever read a book?"
"Can you write?"
"Can you paint?"
Si Niang paused for a moment, making sure the teacher had finished asking questions, and then she answered earnestly with her hands behind her back:
"Teacher, I have read the Book of Songs and the Analects, and I can write, but my handwriting is not yet perfect, and the same goes for painting. My parents said that my hands are still tender and I can't lift a pen to paint, so I have only learned a little bit of skills, and I am afraid that you will laugh at me."
As he said this, he grinned at Master Cheng rather embarrassedly.
When the two teachers on the left and right heard these words, they looked over curiously. They had examined so many children before, but this was the first one who spoke so interestingly, which was really eye-opening.
When I looked at her again, she was smiling like a cat, with a cunning look in her eyes, and I couldn't take my eyes away.
Mr. Ding, the oldest person on Master Cheng's left, who had just scared a little girl out of tears, suddenly wanted to test her, so he asked:
"Little guy, do you know what the next sentence of 'Learning without thinking is useless' is?"
Si Niang hummed and replied, "Thinking without learning is dangerous."
The three of them were delighted that a promising prospect had finally arrived.
Another teacher came to join in the fun and asked her, "Maybe you can recite a poem from the Book of Songs?"
Si Niang thought for a moment and said, "Sir, let me recite you a song called "Papaya", which is my favorite song."
"If you throw me a papaya, I will give you a jade pendant in return. It is not a reward, but a token of our everlasting friendship."
"If you throw me a peach, I will repay you with a jade. It is not a repayment, but a token of our everlasting friendship."
The child's voice is as clear as a lark, and the melodious tune makes people feel happy.
The master narrowed his eyes for a moment and then asked, "Do you understand the meaning of this?"
Si Niang nodded, "My friend gave me papaya, peach and other fruits, and I gave him beautiful jade and stones in return. It's not because he gave me something that I have to give back, but because I cherish the friendship between me and my friend."
"The friendship here can be friendship, or it can be the friendship between a man and a woman who love each other."
"From this poem, we can also see that giving back is much greater than receiving, which indirectly expresses that cherishing and understanding the friendship of others is the noblest sentiment."
After answering, Si Niang bowed again and said, "Please teach me, Master."
Looking up, the three teachers looked at each other in amazement, as if they had heard such an analysis model for the first time.
(End of this chapter)