Chapter 181: Wang Tiandong (Part )

“Goodbye!”

“treasure.”

At the entrance of Shihe Village, Lu Nanxing and Wang Tiandong stood opposite each other, one with a fist clasped and the other bowed.

Then they turned around, one running west and the other east.

With dozens of taels of silver obtained after so much trouble in his arms, Wang Tiandong’s heart was filled with excitement and longing for a bright future.

But he had learned his lesson and was afraid of being targeted by thieves again, so he didn’t dare show any sign on his face.

Fortunately, he had walked this road from Shihe Village to Xiangfu County many times and there were no setbacks along the way.

When Wang Tiandong entered the city in the morning, he went straight to Mr. Wang’s house without any pause.

Although he was just a private school teacher, he was famous throughout the county and had taught a student who became a Jinshi. Although Mr. Wang’s home was not as good as those of the gentry, it was also a large house with two entrances and two exits and a garden.

In addition to two concubines, there were more than a dozen servants, which made them a wealthy family in Xiangfu County.

When the servants at the gate heard that Wang Tiandong came to study and brought enough gifts to thank his teachers, they let him in, but did not allow him to go inside, so he could only wait in the gatehouse.

This wait lasted for several hours, from morning till night. Not to mention food, Wang Tiandong didn’t even have water to drink. But in order to be able to enter the Wang family private school, he kept licking his dry lips and forced himself to endure it.

It was almost time for Xu time before someone came and took Wang Tiandong in.

After turning a few corners in the corridor, we finally arrived at a small hall. In the middle of the hall, a short and fat man who looked to be in his fifties and was dressed in luxurious clothes was leaning on a throne.

Two young women were standing next to him, one pounding her legs and the other rubbing her shoulders.

Mr. Wang picked out a piece of meat from between his teeth, chewed it and swallowed it, then he looked down at Wang Tiandong.

“You want to study in my private school.”

“Yes, sir, the student’s name is Wang Tian…”

“Don’t worry, sir.”

Mr. Wang waved his hand to interrupt Wang Tiandong and asked a question straight to the point.

“Have you brought the fifty taels as a thank-you gift to your teacher?”

“Bring it.”

Wang Tiandong nodded. He naturally knew the rules.

“it is good.”

Mr. Wang sat up slightly and then stretched out his hand.

Wang Tiandong stood there but did not move.

“Since you’ve brought it, why don’t you take it out quickly!”

“This……”

Wang Tiandong was a little hesitant. Should he accept the thank-you gift to his teacher now?

After all, they had just met, and Mr. Wang did not ask him any questions, and did not even know his name.

Seeing that Wang Tiandong had no intention of paying, Mr. Wang’s face immediately darkened.

“If you can’t bear to leave, then go. Not everyone wants my private school!”

“How could it be! I dare not!”

Wang Tiandong hurriedly denied it. All the doubts in his heart were instantly dispelled by the scolding. He hurriedly took out the fifty taels of silver that had been packed long ago from his arms.

He took two steps forward and handed it to Mr. Wang respectfully.

Mr. Wang opened the cloth bag and checked it, then a smile appeared on his face.

“gentlemen.”

Wang Tiandong stood there, feeling quite nervous, and mustered up the courage to ask a question.

“Can I come to the private school to study?”

“Tomorrow morning, report to the academy.”

Mr. Wang said this and then waved his hand impatiently.

The servant standing at the door understood and came in to take Wang Tiandong out.

Wang Tiandong was confused and followed the servant away.

It was not until he walked out of the Wang family’s gate and stood alone on the dark street that Wang Tiandong’s confused mind suddenly became clear when he was blown by the cold wind.

Is this done?

The heavy silver in his arms was gone, and now he was left with nothing, only a word from Mr. Wang, and not even a written receipt.

Will he go to school like this tomorrow?
A chill arose from the bottom of his heart, and Wang Tiandong shivered involuntarily. He turned around and wanted to go back to ask more questions.

But when he saw the closed door of the Wang family, his legs felt like they were filled with lead and he could not take a single step. His heart seemed to sink to the bottom of the river.

Wanting to ask more clearly, but fearing to upset Mr. Wang, Wang Tiandong finally did not dare to knock on the door and left with heavy steps.

When he reached the street, he stopped again.

He had very little silver left in his pocket and he also had to use it for his studies, so how could he afford to stay in an inn?

Where will he sleep tonight?

Even if there were some abandoned houses in the city, they had already been occupied by beggars. If Wang Tiandong broke in, not only would he not be able to spend the night, he would probably be beaten up, or even have all his money robbed.

At this moment, Wang Tiandong suddenly missed Lu Nanxing. Although he was just a warrior, he was very useful at this time.

“Oh~!”

Wang Tiandong sighed deeply. He had no choice but to curl up under a gatehouse in a sheltered area and spend the night in a daze.

It wasn’t until the door opened that he woke up and quickly got up and ran away.

Walking on the street, Wang Tiandong, who had not eaten for a day and a night, couldn’t help swallowing his saliva when he saw the food sold by vendors on both sides of the road.

Finally, he spent two cents to buy a cake, went to the tea stall to ask for half a bowl of cold water, and wolfed it down.

It’s the time when I’m growing up, so one piece of cake is not enough, but at least I don’t feel too hungry.

Wang Tiandong took a deep breath, raised his head, and headed towards Wang Family School.

Fortunately, nothing unexpected happened.

Just after the hour of Chen, Mr. Wang came over and, without pretending not to know him, swallowed up the fifty taels of silver from Wang Tiandong.

There was no etiquette of becoming a disciple, and he didn’t even introduce himself to others. He just pointed to an empty seat at the back of the classroom, asked Wang Tiandong to sit down, and began to talk about today’s lessons.

Sitting in Wang’s school, watching the teacher lecturing and the students around him, Wang Tiandong couldn’t help but feel excited. For the whole morning, he couldn’t hear anything that Mr. Wang said.

For Wang Tiandong, who has always been eager to learn, this is simply unbelievable. At the same time, he feels ashamed and regretful that he had wasted an entire morning.

At noon, Mr. Wang takes a nap and does not teach.

Students can also take a short break in the classroom, eat something, drink some tea, etc.

At that time, there were more than 20 students in Wang’s private school, most of whom were children from wealthy families in the county.

When Mr. Wang went out, servants from each household came in one after another and brought out various foods.

Looking at these meat and pastries, Wang Tiandong couldn’t help swallowing his saliva. Fortunately, he had eaten a piece of bread in the morning, so he was not too hungry and could hold back.

Without looking at the delicious food, Wang Tiandong took a deep breath, adjusted his mood, walked towards a group of students gathered together, bowed and said.

“My name is Wang Tiandong. I am new to the school. I hope you will forgive me if I am not considerate enough.”

“Wang Tiandong?”

A tall and fat man who was gnawing on a chicken leg looked at Wang Tiandong and said with a smile.

“Asparagus cochinchinensis is cold in nature, sweet in taste, slightly bitter, and has the effects of nourishing yin, clearing away heat, moistening the lungs and nourishing the kidneys. It is correct.” “Brother, you are knowledgeable and admirable.”

This was not profound knowledge, but in order to improve the relationship between classmates, Wang Tiandong still praised it with a smile on his face.

The tall and fat man nodded slightly and asked again with a smile.

“Why did your father give you a medicine name? Was it because you were sickly when you were young?”

“it’s not true.”

Wang Tiandong smiled and told the truth.

“To be honest, I was born in a village where people make a living by collecting herbs. The villagers all named their children after herbs.”

“… Turns out he’s a herb-collecting kid.”

The tall and fat man who had been approachable just now suddenly became expressionless when he heard Wang Tiandong’s background, and then snorted coldly.

“A poor boy is worthy of studying with us.”

“That’s right! I don’t know what Mr. Wang was thinking. He accepted all kinds of people.”

“Mr. Wang is a man who wants to benefit the world, but we are ordinary people. We need to be aware of our status and cannot make friends with just anyone.”

“That’s right, get out of here!”

Immediately afterwards, the others also started scolding Wang Tiandong, as if they were driving away a stray dog ​​on the street.

Wang Tiandong was instantly furious. He did not pay a penny less than these people. He also paid fifty taels as a thank-you gift to his teacher. Why did these people think they were superior to him!
Although he was angry, the other party outnumbered them and what Wang Tiandong could do? He could only swallow his anger and return to his seat.

Since they looked down on me, there was no need for me to curry favor with them. Wang Tiandong thought to himself that as long as he studied hard and passed the imperial examinations in the future, these people would kneel before him and lick the mud at his feet!

In the afternoon, Wang Tiandong listened carefully to Mr. Wang’s lecture, not daring to miss anything.

But since we are talking about books, there must be books.

Although Wang Tiandong had bought some books at the bookstall before, they were not complete. So he had to spend money to buy some more books, which made Wang Tiandong, who was already short of money, very painful.

In addition to buying books, food and accommodation are actually the biggest problems. Wang’s private school does not have dormitories, let alone provide meals, so students need to solve these problems by themselves.

As for the fifty taels of silver paid before, it was just a simple thank-you gift to the teacher.

Just after the hour of Wei, the school was dismissed and Mr. Wang locked the door, and all students were not allowed to stay.

Wang Tiandong walked on the street, looking at all kinds of pedestrians, and felt quite emotional for a moment. Before he could figure out what he was feeling emotional about, hunger brought him back to the world again.

He was so hungry that he gritted his teeth, took out two cents and bought a cake.

While eating, Wang Tiandong was thinking about how to solve the next food problem.

Even if he only ate two cakes a day, it would cost four cents. Although it was not much, he was now fully engaged in studying and had no time to go into the mountains to collect herbs, which cut off his source of income.

“Oh~!”

After thinking for a long time without any clue, Wang Tiandong sighed again and then quickly walked out of the city.

Food, clothing, shelter and transportation. For Wang Tiandong now, clothing is enough to cover the body, and two legs are enough for transportation. In addition to food, there is also the issue of housing.
Wang Tiandong had already decided in the afternoon to move back to Shihe Village!

Shihe Village is twenty miles away from Xiangfu County, and the one-way trip takes almost an hour, but it is better than sleeping on the streets.

After all, as the weather gets colder, you might freeze to death if you sleep on the street.

Moreover, night is when all kinds of thieves roam around, and as a weak scholar, he is extremely unsafe.

Time flies. More than ten days have passed in a blink of an eye, and Wang Tiandong’s life in school has gradually returned to normal.

Lectures start at Chenshi and classes end at Shenshi, with three hours in between.

Shihe Village is twenty miles away from Xiangfu County. Wang Tiandong goes back home after school, and sometimes it is not dark when he gets home.

As for the morning, he set out before dawn and could arrive at the school before Mr. Wang.

Although he no longer had time to go into the mountains to collect herbs, Wang Tiandong was quick-witted and quickly found other sources of income.

Since he had to go to the city every day, he might as well help the villagers bring the herbs to the city to sell, or bring back some other things, which could help the villagers save a day, and he only asked for two cents as a reward.

Two cents was enough for him to buy a cake.

A villager would give two cents at a time, and when added up, it was barely enough for him to live on.

In addition, if he went to the city early, he would help Dr. Tea set up his stall and the like, and Dr. Tea would give him two cents.

In this way, although it is hard, at least you won’t starve to death.

But it was impossible to save up another fifty taels of silver.

After a few days of study, Wang Tiandong realized that the fifty taels of silver as a thank-you gift to his teacher was not a one-time payment, but an annual payment!

Yes, since it is a thank-you gift to teachers, shouldn’t it be done every year?

He had no way to get another fifty taels of silver, which meant that he could only study in the Wang family’s private school for one year.

There was no other way, Wang Tiandong could only secretly make up his mind to improve as much as possible within this year and reach the level of passing the imperial examination!
After that, Wang Tiandong stopped thinking about anything else and just read as much as possible.

“Wang Donggua, you have nothing to eat. The young master has a bone here. Here’s a reward for you.”

But the tree wants to be still but the wind does not stop. Wang Tiandong wants to study hard, but he is always bullied and insulted by other students.

Those who could enter the Wang family private school were either rich or noble. Wang Tiandong, a poor boy who collected herbs, was like an outlier and naturally became the target of bullying by everyone.

“Don’t go too far!”

Wang Tiandong couldn’t stand it anymore and started arguing with these people.

But he was just one person after all, how could he win the argument over so many people? Instead, he was ridiculed and insulted.

As for fighting, the other side has more people and more power, and there are servants and book boys outside. Wang Tiandong is not stupid enough to ask for a fight.

But it was not a solution to continue like this. These people enjoyed bullying him every day. Even a clay man would have some temper, let alone Wang Tiandong. It was impossible for him to concentrate on his studies.

Wang Tiandong takes studying more seriously than his life, especially since he only has one year left.

“gentlemen.”

There was no other way, Wang Tiandong could only find Mr. Wang and report the matter.

I hope Mr. Wang can come forward and stop these evil children, so that he can study with peace of mind.

“They bullied you?”

Mr. Wang looked at Wang Tiandong and snorted coldly.

“There are so many people in this school, why don’t they bully others, why do they bully you!”

“This……”

“I think it’s you who’s restless!”

Mr. Wang’s face was gloomy and he scolded coldly.

“If you cause trouble again, you will leave my school!”

“No, sir!”

“Don’t keep arguing!”

The teacher scolded again and would not allow Wang Tiandong to say anything more.

Although Wang Tiandong felt extremely aggrieved, he couldn’t speak out at this time, and no one was there to help him.

Wang Tiandong sighed secretly. He had originally thought that the master, as the master of the school, would be a person who upholds justice. But in fact, the master only taught and taught, and did not want to get involved in these troubles.

After all, he was too naive.

With no place to appeal, Wang Tiandong frowned and looked gloomy.

Since no one is helping him to get justice, he will get it back on his own!
(End of this chapter)