‘It’s a waste of money for him to study like this! Why not save money to buy land, marry a wife, and study, so that everyone can study? ’

‘The land is thin and pines and cypresses are planted, and the poor family is studying. read

МThere is a future, but I am already a teenager. Studying at this age is unbearable, unbearable! Pity! ’

‘…’

Behind the scenes, there could be faint chatter from the diners at Wangji Restaurant.

He seemed to still be able to see some scholars dropping their book bags and shaking their heads.

laugh?

ridicule?

"Maybe I'm too sensitive!"

Bai Gui, who was walking on the street, glanced at the rags he was wearing with a self-deprecating look.

Pedestrians coming and going in the town,

Deliberately avoid.

Maybe it's not avoidance, maybe it's because of his inferiority complex, so it seems that people around him are flattering others, despising the poor and loving the rich.

In the past, he had seen some news on the Internet about poor people from poor families having low self-esteem. He also made comments and angrily criticized these poor people for not knowing what it means to be poor. As long as the heart is strong, low self-esteem is empty talk.

But now...

Go to hell, money is the courage in the chest, but there is no courage in the heart without money.

"Let's take it step by step. We all know the basics. If you show off your wealth rashly, even if you buy a few more liters of white flour or an extra cotton jacket, other neighbors may think you have stolen it!"

Bai Gui warned himself in a low voice.

There was not much movement in the countryside during the late Qing Dynasty, let alone the late Qing Dynasty. Even in modern times, if any house in the village added something, it would be immediately publicized everywhere by the aunties at the head of the village.

Not to mention now!

If you don’t even have a few coppers at home, how can you buy property?

"in addition……"

Bai Gui narrowed his eyes.

When he was at Wangji Restaurant, he deliberately observed the reactions of the diners. When he took out the white-feathered chicken, many of the diners clearly showed excitement, but did not make a sound.

He acquiesced to Shopkeeper Wang's low-price purchase.

oppression! Exploitation!

This time it shows vividly!

"That's why...you have to study!"

It's not like Bai Gui has never thought about it. In the late Qing Dynasty, he started a business, performed miracles, and convinced the villagers. But why did you do it, because you were the son of a tenant farmer?

Emperor Shun Li Zicheng was also a post official at the post station.

Zhu Yuanzhang?

He is the real Dragon Emperor! This one has been around for ages.

Three hundred and sixty lines, and he will be the number one scholar!

But since the establishment of the imperial examination system, studying has always been a shortcut to getting ahead. Throughout the ages, there has been nothing better than this.

Disciples of saints are the greatest confidence!

It is possible to break into other industries, but it is also difficult to break into. He still remembered the movie "Farewell My Concubine" he had watched in his previous life. Xiao Laizi said: "How many beatings do you have to get before you become a good actor?"

soon.

Sishun Grain Store.

"Fill one bucket of rice (one bucket equals ten liters), five liters of polished rice for bundles, and five liters of brown rice for your own consumption."

Bai Gui said to the shop workers.

Polished rice costs fifteen cents per liter, which is two cents more expensive than the rabbit meat he sells, and he is reluctant to part with it.

Brown rice costs nine cents per liter, and its quality is undoubtedly worse than polished rice. Mixed with the new rice that was just harvested this year, the old rice has a stale air and is dull.

"Okay!"

The shop clerk quickly filled two cloth bags with rice and asked casually: "The bundles for Mr. Xiu don't need to be so expensive. There are many people filling rice from the front store. Most of them want old rice. Some What people even want is corn grits, which can save twenty or thirty cents, and only wealthy families can get new and polished rice."

Corn is often called corn in the north.

Grain grits, grains ground from corn.

The yield of corn per acre is larger than that of wheat, so it is generally cheaper. The rice dumplings sold in Sishun store cost seven cents per liter.

When Bai Gui heard this, he smiled and said nothing.

The teacher can tell the difference at a glance between using polished rice as a bundle and using brown rice as a bundle. Maybe it would be fine if they were teachers from poor families, but if those who are rich want to save even this little money... then they are asking for blessings.

Modern teaching is based on a class teaching system. One class is taught uniformly without distinction.

As for teaching in private schools, classes are mixed together, with some learning first and some learning later. Those with good qualifications learn quickly and the teacher teaches quickly.

As soon as this difference came out, the teacher also murmured in his heart.

"Sir, the total is 120 Wen. The other two grain bags cost four Wen, totaling 124 Wen."

said the shop assistant.

"I lent you the grain bag as a credit. I'll pay you back in a few days. I live in Bailu Village. We are all fellow villagers, so we can't defraud you of the grain bag."

"Do you know the Wangji Food Shop at the west end of the street? The shopkeeper is Uncle E. I'm here today to sell mountain products and buy rice on the way."

Bai Gui took out a handful of coins from his arms, counted 120 coins, and handed them to the shop assistant.

He didn't give the remaining four cents.

Although four cents was nothing to him, there were not many people who had the luxury to go to the grain store to buy grain and buy grain bags these days, so he was afraid of arousing suspicion.

Even in later generations, rural areas did not buy grain bags specifically to carry grain, but instead used fertilizer bags.

Grain bags are made of hemp, also called sacks.

Although sacks are cheaper than silk cloth, there is no such thing as giving them away for free.

"Okay, okay."

The shop clerk took out the loan account book. Obviously this was not the first time he had encountered this. There were very few people in this village who cheated. Even if they cheated, they would not cheat people with grain bags. The money earned from the left and right rice was more than the sack. It didn’t matter even if he couldn’t get the money back, he wrote on it: “On November 3rd of the Wushen year, Bai Gui, a villager in Bailu, and the nephew of Wang Ji, the shop owner, borrowed two grain bags for a total of four cents. , the loan period is five days.”

"Poke your thumb on the red mud and press your fingerprint."

he reminded.

Bai Gui followed the shop clerk's instructions, first stamped his thumb on the ink pad, and then put his thumb fingerprint on the account book.

He did not volunteer to show his skills to the shop assistant, he could write his own name.

The illiteracy rate in the late Qing Dynasty was astonishing!

According to the articles he read in his previous life, it was originally recorded in the county annals of a certain county that there were more than 300 private schools during the Ming Dynasty. By the Qing Dynasty, there were only more than 100 private schools, and more than 200 private schools disappeared. During the Kangxi and Qianlong years, the population exploded again. period.

Not knowing a single Chinese character is quite normal.

It doesn’t have to be special!

Zishui County is named after Zishui. The water from the Qinling Mountains flows along the valley to Xi'an. In the Tang Dynasty, Zishui was a river with eight rivers around Chang'an. Although the current is far less powerful than in ancient times, it is one of the best in Zishui County. of big rivers. (Zishui is actually Bahe, which is the ancient name of Bahe. In order to promote his martial arts, Duke Mu of Qin changed Zishui to Bahe.)

The water surface is wide, and because it is living water, winter has just approached and the surface of the water has not frozen yet.

Bailu Town and Bailu Village are both close to Zishui.

It's just that Bailu Village is located upstream of Zishui, on a mountain, and the village is built leaning on the hillside.

The distance between the two places is about ten miles.

Thanks to Bai Gui's usual wild monkey-like character and habit of wandering, he has good muscles and bones. He can walk for more than ten miles without blushing or out of breath while carrying a bucket of rice on his back.

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