Mr. Zhuang turned around and saw Bai Shan with a distressed expression. He shook his head, lightly tapped Bai Shan's head with a book, and chuckled, "If you can't absorb your learning, take a rest. Fretting like this troubles both yourself and the book."
Bai Shan said worriedly, "Teacher, do we really have to take the examination at the prefectural school this year? I feel I can delay it by a year."
Mr. Zhuang smiled, "This year you'll just try it out. It doesn't matter if you don't pass. You can try again next year. Besides, you should go out and see the world. Always staying in Qili Village with your mentor to study isn't good either."
Manbao was very eager to go out. Ever since she knew they could go to Yizhou Prefecture, she had already promised Keke a lot of things, such as digging up plants, picking flowers, catching bugs, touching fish—she wanted to find everything she hadn't collected before.