Chapter 26 The Master Arrived

  When Aunt Xü returned home with her brother, carrying big and small bags, the sky was almost dark. Aunt Xü didn't have time to take care of anything else, so she went to Er Niu's house and told him that her brother had arrived, asking if he wanted to go over and take a look. Er Niu originally didn't plan on going, but thinking that his master had come, it was only right for him to go and greet him, so he followed Aunt Xü over.

  Xu Shu's younger brother, Xu Tianzheng, is only eighteen years old. He has been reading and writing since he was a child, and at home, he has always been spoiled by his parents. This is the first time he has come out to make money on his own, so it's inevitable that he's a bit excited.

  Xu Tian sat in the house for a while, then heard his sister's voice, and hurried out to greet her. Er Niu had also met Xu Tian before, and when he saw him, he actually called out "Mr. Xu".

  Xu Tianzheng was busy waving his hand and said, "Second Brother Niu, from now on, just call me Tianzheng, no need for those empty formalities."

  Xu Aunt also laughed and said, "Yes, Second Bull Brother, why be so polite? You're not unfamiliar with him, just follow us and call him Tianzheng."

  The two cows smiled and thought they might have exaggerated a bit, as before they were always called Tianzheng. Their faces turned red, and then continued to say "Tianzheng, it's like this, my family has several children, big and small, these years you also know that my family has been through a lot of difficulties, now it's better, I plan to let the kids read some books, not hoping they all have to take the imperial exam, at least they should recognize some characters. The oldest child in our house is ten years old, the youngest is five years old, there are several children, and also two little girls."

  The two men picked up the tea on the table and took a sip, then continued to say "The girls are not very old, the oldest is only seven years old, they occasionally come to listen in, mainly hoping that you will focus on several boys. As for our family situation, Aunt Xu should have also told you, roughly it's like this, do you think it's feasible?"

  Xu Tianzheng learned about the situation from his elder sister's mouth yesterday, and also told Er Niu: "Er Niu brother, I am just a scholar, I don't dare to say anything else, but after studying hard for over a decade, teaching a few kids should still be easy. Since you are not disappointed in my lack of talent and are willing to entrust the children to me, I will naturally do my best to teach them well."

  The two cows were very satisfied with Xu Tianzheng and agreed to go over after breakfast the next day. The second cow waited at home with the children for him.

  The two cows returned home and told the children at home that the teacher would come to teach them lessons tomorrow, so they should get up early and wait for the teacher at home. They also asked Huang Shi and Lin He to go to Zhou Shi's house and talk about Xiaoshan reading books. Zhou Shi was moved when she heard that Xiaoshan could read books with Dabao and others, and she couldn't speak, only saying that she would let Xiaoshan come over early tomorrow morning.

  Back home, everyone went to bed early, preparing for Mr.'s arrival.

  The next morning, the whole Lin family stood at the door waiting for Mr. Xu's arrival. After about a quarter of an hour, Mrs. Xu brought Xu Tianzheng over. Lin He looked Xu Tianzheng up and down, he was not tall, with very fair skin, and looked quite refined. He wore a half-new water-ink colored robe, with a felt hat on his head, dressed like a scholar.

  Standing in the courtyard, he didn't glance sideways, but simply looked at the few children beside him who he was about to teach. Er Niu had each of them pay their respects to Mr., and then had Mr. lead them to the study.

  Lin He also had some understanding of ancient teaching, but she was not interested in these things. However, to cover up, she would occasionally go and listen a few times, otherwise, if she said she recognized characters and could read books, it would be embarrassing when her family asked about it.

  This is also the reason why Lin He insisted on asking Mr. to come back in a hurry, now she has to think of some excuse to deal with her family whenever she comes up with an idea, after reading books for a few months, whatever good ideas she comes up with can be said to have been learned from books. No matter what good ideas or money-making things she comes up with, everyone will not treat her as a strange creature.

  Xu Tianzheng was like all the other masters, teaching them to recite the Three Character Classic on the first day and explaining its meaning. Lin He looked at Xiaojun and Xiaoshan, who were actually more diligent than his siblings, probably because they knew this was a hard-won opportunity for them, so they didn't dare give up such a good chance.

  Lin He looked at San Ya, who seemed to have no interest in anything, pouting and staring at the book in front of her with a slightly impatient expression. Lin He couldn't help but smile as she gazed at San Ya, who was making funny faces at her while also looking at Lin He. When Lin He ignored her, San Ya lowered her head and leaned on the table, lost in thought.

  Dabao also worked hard to listen to the teacher's lectures, and Lin He believed that Dabao had some difficulties learning too. He might not be a bookworm by nature, but Lin He thought that even if Dabao didn't like reading, she would still have to force him to read.

  After all, he is different from San Ya. In ancient times, women were supposed to be virtuous if they had no talent. Moreover, San Ya was still young. Later on, when she grew up a bit, her family would teach her for a few years, and it would be enough if she could recognize some characters. However, if a man couldn't recognize characters, he wouldn't be able to do anything.

  Suddenly Lin He thought of a very important question, she had been feeling a bit uneasy all day while eavesdropping, and now suddenly realized what the problem was - it was their family's name.

  In the past, it was okay for Dabao and Er'niang to call her that way, but now Master also calls her like this, which feels a bit awkward. Taking advantage of the rest time, San'niao told Xutianzheng about this matter and asked him to help them come up with a formal name. In the evening, they will discuss it with their parents again, and from then on, everyone in the family will use her formal name.

  Lin He thought for a moment, she was originally surnamed Lin anyway, and coming here still used her original name, so she would be called Lin He. She liked the character "He" very much. In ancient times, people had high praise for lotus flowers: "The leaves of the lotus are infinite green, reflecting the sun's red glow"; "A small lotus bud just reveals its tip, and a dragonfly lands on it"; and "Rising from the mud without being stained, washing in clear water without being seductive" - Lin He liked this name very much.

  Sanpi Lin He also helped her think of a good name for Lin Chen, which is also a very beautiful name. A girl should have a nice-sounding name.

  Lin He told Mr. Xu her name and San Pa's name, Xu Tianzheng thought Lin He was a very talented person, and also thought the two names were not bad. The teacher also gave several boys some names: Rong Tao, Rong Xuan, Rong Jun. Lin He felt that although Mr. Xu had studied for over ten years, he still had a lot of knowledge in his belly, and these casually given names all sounded fresh and new to her ears.

  The master just mentioned a few names and said to let them discuss with their parents at night. The name of this boy seems not to be changed casually. Lin He didn't know about this saying, but he also had to wait until tonight to see what his parents would say before confirming it.

  On the first day of school, everyone's freshness hadn't passed yet, and they all thought going to school was a fun thing, full of expectations for future schooling. Only Lin He felt that today's greatest gain was that she wouldn't have to listen to others calling her "yellow hair" anymore, but she forgot that she herself was now a little yellow-haired girl.

  In the evening, Lin He and San Piao recited their names to Er Niu and Huang Shi. Er Niu also agreed and scratched his head with a smile, saying "The master's name is still good-sounding. From now on, we won't call each other by our nicknames, but by our formal names. The two girls will be called He'er and Chen'er. However, the names of the boys, Da Bao and Xiao Bao, Small Mountain, cannot be changed as they have already been recorded in the family genealogy.

  Dabao listened and smiled, saying "Then I won't change it, being called Dabao is pretty good too, after all these years I'm used to it."

  Lin He didn't say anything when she saw Da Bao's name, thinking that as long as they liked their own names, it was fine.