Inquiry

Xu Wenwu stopped him and said: "Fifth brother, what nonsense are you talking about! I will naturally handle the affairs of the academy myself, so don't talk about it and let Grandpa and the others worry."

Mrs. Wang said: ''Wenwu, aren't we more worried when you are like this? Has something happened? You should tell us!"

But this time it was Xu Zhiyong who spoke: "It's nothing, it's just that big brother is usually very much liked by the teachers at the academy and their favorite, and is the first place of the students. They often play tricks and say some unpleasant things, but the eldest brother ignores them."

"Then have you told teachers?" the old man asked.

"No, don't bother the teacher with this small matter, they can't afford to make a big scene, but what's even more irritating is that they went so far as to urge the other fellow students to alienate big brother, but the others are all smart and didn't take their words to heart."

"Hai! Even though this is the case, you still have to be careful! You must be on guard, otherwise you will suffer a loss if you are not careful!" said the old man.

"Grandpa, please beware! If we let them know that we know Kung Fu, no matter how much courage they have, they won't dare to cause trouble with us! But our sister said that we know Kung Fu and we should try not to let more people know about it, that's why I didn't beat him up." Xiaowu said.

The old man said to Xiaowu: "I'm worried about your other brothers, but I'm a little worried about your temper. You're too careless in doing things!"

"Those children are not very old. It is probably because of their nature that they will not do anything excessive!" Mrs. Wang said.

"Grandma, don't underestimate anyone. As long as someone has ill intentions towards us, no matter he is an adult or a child, we should be careful, because something unexpected will happen at any time, and it will be too late to regret it by then." Qibao said.

"Yes! That's right, but they still need to deal with this matter themselves. Wenwu, you must pay attention to it in the academy, understand?" the old man said.

"Yeah, I get it!" Xu Wenwu replied.

"But because of this incident, we found out which people are sincere, Master Qian is very kind, often secretly help big brother out, because Master Qian is still relatively famous in the town, they don't dare to offend much, which often let these people suffer a dumb loss, let alone relieve our anger!" Xiaowu said.

The old man said: "I have met Mr. Qian's son. He is a good boy. If people treat you sincerely, you should also reciprocate with sincerity. Do you understand?"

"I got it, Grandpa."

"Well, let's eat dinner first!" Mrs. Wang exclaimed.

.......

Early the next morning, Qibao followed her brother's carriage to the town, and Xu Laosan also went with her.

After sending her brothers to the entrance of the academy, she let Kui Wu drive the carriage to Zuixianoul.

As soon as she entered the restaurant, shopkeeper Tong saw the father and daughter and said with a smile: "Rare visitors, I've heard that the Xujia Village is a busy place right now, how come you father and daughter have the time to come to my place today?" After speaking, he ordered the waiter to bring two cups of tea.

Qibao smiled and said: "How is Grandpa Tong's business lately?"

Shopkeeper Tong said: "It's not bad, the seats are full. You must have something to do when you come to my place today, right?"

Qibao said: "There are some things I want to ask Grandpa Tong about."

"I knew it, tell me..." Shopkeeper Tong said.

"It's like this, I'm not planning to teach at a school in the village so that the village children can learn to read and write, so I wanted to ask Grandpa Tong if you know anyone suitable to be a teacher?" Qibao asked.   

Shopkeeper Tong thought for a while and said: "I do know a lot of scholars, but the people who can be a teacher must all have merit in their own, such a person can not be easy to find. Unless they are the kind of people who have no hope to go any further when they reach the age, they may be able to, like those who are a little bit younger, and they don't have the heart to be a teacher of the academy, they all put their energy on their own studies."

Qibao also felt that what shopkeeper Tong said made sense, but she was afraid that older people would inevitably have more old-fashioned ideas and would not teach the children in the village to become nerds who could only read.

"Qibao, there is still time, just look for them slowly, you will always find them." Xu Laosan spoke.

Shopkeeper Tong also said: "I will help you keep an eye on them during this period. If I find them, I will notify you."

"Thank you very much, Grandpa Tong. I'll go find Grandpa Hong and ask. If more people help, we may be able to find them better." Qibao said.

"Okay, Old Hong also knows a lot of people. He may know such people." Shopkeeper Tong said.

So, after the father and daughter said goodbye, they took a carriage and came to Leshan Pharmacy.

As soon as the two of them entered the door, they saw shopkeeper Hong flipping through his account books and mumbling something unknown.

Qibao walked up and asked: "Grandpa Hong, what are you looking at? So mesmerized?"

Shopkeeper Hong quickly looked up, and when he saw Qibao, he immediately smiled and said: "Why do you girl have time to come to my place?"

Qibao said directly: "I'm here to ask Grandpa Hong for help."

Shopkeeper Hong said: "Come, let's sit down and talk." He took the father and daughter to the backyard and sat down.

Qibao explained the matter to Shopkeeper Hong again, including what Shopkeeper Tong said.

Shopkeeper Hong touched his chin, thought for a while and said: "Old Tong is right, even if there is a scholar who is willing to be a teacher, I guess he won't choose to be a teacher in a small mountain village, but I know someone who might be suitable, and the person is relatively young, but his body might not be able to do it."

Qibao said: "Grandpa Hong, please tell me first and let me listen."

"This person! Suffers from coughing disease, can't speak two sentences before coughing, is often here to get medicine, but can only relieve some of the symptoms, he lives in quite a poor life. The money for medicine is usually obtained from his own copying books, and he also has an elderly mother, whose health is quite good, and she specializes in helping people to wash clothes to earn some coppers, to maintain their lives."

Qibao questioned: "Since his family is not in good condition, how did they have the money to pay for him to go to school and study?"

Shopkeeper Hong replied: "His father had some abilities before. When he was young, he earned some wealth, and his son also earned his fortune. He was admitted to the Tongsheng Examination. He was originally going to take the exam to become a scholar. However, some changes happened in the family. His father, who was arrogant because of his abilities, was provoked to gamble. No matter how hard his wife and children tried to dissuade him, they could not stop him. As a result, he gambled away all the family property, later he suspected that there was a cheat in the gambling house and was trying to harm him, but he couldn't produce any evidence, so he was beaten severely by others. As a result, he couldn't bear the blow, and he felt sorry for his wife and children, so he committed suicide at the door of the gambling house."

Xu Laosan said: "Gambling is really harmful! It's such a pity that a good family is gone like this."

Shopkeeper Hong also sighed and said: "Who says it's not the case! Otherwise, with his son's knowledge, he would probably be able to pass the exam now! Since his father passed away, his mother couldn't bear the blow, but she was persuaded by her son, and now mother and son have very little time to live together!"

"Then how did he get the cough?" Xu Laosan asked.

"Since his father passed away, the family has no income. He is a scholar and has a mother to support. He can only rely on helping others copy books in exchange for some money. In the middle of the winter, he would copy books until midnight, and as a result, he got a cough. Originally, It can be cured by seeing a doctor in time. However, in order not to increase the burden on my family, he thought that drinking more hot water would cure the problem. However, the delay became worse and worse. By the time he tried to see a doctor again, it was no longer curable. he could only drink medicine to suppress it, and he was afraid of infecting others. From then on, he never went to the academy again!"