In late June, the sun was poisonous, the days were long, and it was so hot that dragonflies dared to fly against the shade of the trees, as if they were afraid of being sunburned and their wings damaged. If there is endless chirping in front of and behind the village, it is a kind of proof of the hot weather.

In the afternoon, the sun shines overhead, the hottest time of the day. At this time, the people in the village have put down their work, some sleep alone in the shade of the green, some squat by the river to wipe their bodies to cool down, and some three or two people gather in one place, sitting on the stone slab under the eaves, taking a nap, drinking herbal tea and talking.

Shenjia Village is a Zhuangzi surrounded by canals and ponds, surrounded by green trees, and the southeast wind blows from the side of Dongting Lake, blowing across the water, blowing the willow trees at the water's edge, as if there is a sound. It's a pity that in such a dry and hot weather, it adds a kind of loneliness and tiredness in the afternoon.

On the shore of the pond is a large temple that was converted into a scripture hall, and it is said that it was a three-holy temple in the earliest days.

In this era, there is no summer vacation, and students are listlessly studying their homework.

A high wall has recently been erected at the back of the school, and the second-floor windows inside face a threshing floor, and in the center of the square is a tall and towering old holly tree, about a hundred years old.

On the side near the school, there is a bench. On the bench sat a twelve or thirteen-year-old boy with his knees arched and his arms propped up to support his chin.

There was a cow tied to him, and the cow stood still with its head down, its eyelids drooping, and it was taking a nap like an old farmer, but the cow's stomach kept pouring out the fodder and chewing soundly.

Mr. Qianzhai decided that two female students would attend classes with male disciples, and although they did not cause criticism in Shenjia Village, they were reprimanded by Shen Jiamo for deviant.

Of course, when the two female students are in class, they will be separated from the male students by light yarn.

However, this has already stimulated the male students to be extremely excited, and their enthusiasm for learning is high, and at the same time, Mr. Qianzhai announced that he will no longer accept disciples in principle.

Among them, Young Master Yao was the most excited, because most of his classmates were limited to their family or background, and they could only observe from a distance, although he didn't seem to realize this yet.

He often wondered, isn't there anyone among the more than 20 classmates who wants to be close to his junior sisters?

The answer seems to be self-evident, and it seems that you have to start first.

Soon he inquired about the background of the two junior sisters, Mr.'s beloved daughter is named Chunfang, who is only fourteen years old this year, with a sweet appearance, and a temperament like Yanyu Jiangnan, gentle and gentle.

Another new little sister seems to be fourteen or fifteen years old this year, and that appearance is just like her name, beautiful as a fairy, and her temperament is elegant, but precisely because she is so good-looking, her talent is also amazingly outstanding, so that the boys dare not have any covetousness, because they can't help but be ashamed of themselves.

Whenever the husband was in the school, the two of them read and wrote in the suite on the side of the classroom. When the husband is not in the school, the two of them usually go home.

The two girls' homes are at the back of the school, so they go in and out of the back door, although there are many male classmates, but there are few opportunities for contact.

Young Master Yao has been in a dilemma for the past two days, is it Senior Sister Wang who pursues sweetness and likability, or Senior Sister Wu, who is both talented and beautiful? Coupled with his father's expectations for him, he should have eliminated distractions and worked hard, but he was often upset about it.

Soon, like his rookie classmates, he asked himself if he was worthy of the 'high-level' Senior Sister Wu, so he was more inclined to the 'approachable' Senior Sister Wang.

As the saying goes, the building near the water gets the moon first, and lives in the same school, Young Master Yao calculates the time every day and meets the junior sisters unexpectedly, either crazy posing, or reciting poetry with his hands behind his back.

It's a pity that although the two junior sisters are young, their demeanor is very dignified, even if they meet each other, the second daughter doesn't dodge, but she doesn't look at him even a glance, but at the same time straightens her expressions, and passes by casually.

"Why don't you even look at me?"

Young Master Yao, who was fascinated by his self-confidence, was very puzzled, and soon he found that it seemed that he was the only one in the entire school who wore silk, no wonder one day Mr. said: "Those who read books should be clothed in big cloth and crowned with big silk."

So he quickly took out a blue cloth coat and put it on, and changed the square scarf on his head, but the effect didn't seem to be good.

"Could it be that the two junior sisters think I'm flashy?" Young Master Yao pondered, "Then I will be more respectful in the future, just like Shen Kan, and no longer probe their brains." ”

After many days like this, Young Master Yao suddenly became honest, but he would never be completely honest in his heart, as long as he had the opportunity, he couldn't help but peek at the two shadows on the other side of the light veil.

Shen Kan is under a lot of pressure, needless to say that Wang Pu's foundation is already above him, Wu Song is also a very talented child, not to mention his sister Four Books and Five Classics, etc., it is simply backwards, even Mr. is amazed, and several times said that Zixian's qualifications are still above Wang Pu and Wu Song.

Even the uncertain Young Master Yao did not give it in vain, plus his hidden cousin Shen Xiangdao, and a classmate who studied diligently, Shen Kan knew that if he couldn't even rush out of the school, then he didn't have to go to the imperial examination.

Mr. Qianzhai did not ask them to recite the Four Books and the Five Classics for a few of their particularly smart disciples, but only carefully explained the meaning of the scriptures and books to them every day, and talked about current affairs, and ordered everyone to learn to write an article every two days, and poetry and songs were commonplace.

However, his queen Chunfang read the "Daughter's Sutra" and "The Four Books of Women" in her early years, and recently finished reading "The Biography of the Daughters" and "The Book of Rites", and now she is reading the "Book of Songs".

"The Four Books of Women" refers to the "Female Commandments" compiled by the Eastern Han Dynasty historian Ban Zhao for his daughter, which mainly talks about feudal moral education such as three obedience and four virtues.

The "Internal Training" compiled by Empress Xu of the Yongle Emperor collected the teachings of the ancient sages on the feudal character of women.

The "Analects of Women" written by Song Ruoxin, a female scholar of the Tang Dynasty, imitated the "Analects" and expounded the feudal women's way in the form of questions and answers with each other. and the "Female Filial Piety Sutra" written by Zheng in the Tang Dynasty.

From the crisp sound of reading every day, the big guy knows that Senior Sister Wang is learning the "Book of Songs" without guessing.

The sound of reading in the window suddenly stopped, and then the door opened, and several of the youngest students rushed out to play.

When they saw the child sitting outside, they smiled and said, "Cow baby! You're eavesdropping again, you don't have the money to study and listen eavesdropping, shameless! Shameless!"

"I didn't." Niu Wazi's face suddenly turned red.

In this way, they scolded each other, which quickly alarmed the rest of the classroom.

"Who's arguing?" Wang Chunfang stood up.

Wu Zixian also looked up, first swept her younger brother, and then turned around on the face of Shen Kan, who was bored reading, before looking out the window.

The students outside relied on the crowd and gradually scolded Niu Wazi so much that he couldn't raise his head, and then Mr. Qianzhai walked out and shouted, "What are you doing?"

When the students saw Mr. come out, they dispersed with a bang, and they saw the cow baby holding the cow rope and leaving step by step.

Mr. Qianzhai said to him: "Niu Wazi, come here, I have something to ask you."

Niu Wazi then turned around and looked at Mr. aggrievedly.

Wang Qianzhai stepped forward, took his hand, looked into his eyes, and said, "You don't leave the cow and don't let it go, and come to the outside of the school all day to enjoy the cool, I ask you if you are lazy?"

Niu Wazi said angrily: "The cow is put away, the work is done, I am never lazy!"

"Yes!" Mr. Qianzhai smiled, "It seems that you really came here to eavesdrop on the reading." I ask you, do you know what the benefits of reading are?"

Niu Wazi said: "When I was a child, I studied in the Mongolian Pavilion, and when I got older, my father said that it would cost a lot of money to study for a year, and no one took care of the cattle in the family, so I had to be handed over to others to watch, and I had to post one or two silver every year, so I was not allowed to study." Sir, I know that I am good at studying, and I will go to school to be an official and a big lord in the future, but I am now watching cattle all day long, and I am just a farmer when I am old. ”

When Mr. Qianzhai heard this, he couldn't help laughing: "You are a teenager, and you want to be a big man?" You say, what's the benefit of being a big man?"

"Sir, don't think I don't understand." Niu Wazi snorted and raised his head, "If you have a lawsuit, you have to invite the eldest master, you have to invite the eldest lord to buy land and sell land, and you have to invite the eldest lord if you have a red and white celebration, the eldest lord goes out to sit in a sedan chair, eats and drinks to be the chief, wears socks and shoes in summer, goes out to hold a paper fan, can marry a child, someone serves you, and is respected wherever you go." ”

Shen Kan in the classroom suddenly blushed, it seemed that he had unconsciously left behind his ambition to enrich the country and strengthen the people and change the tragic history, and the motivation for reading was exactly the same as Niu Wazi's words.