Chapter 1423: Chapter 1401: Registration (November Monthly Ticket Extra Update 8)
Zheng Gu watched, and couldn’t help but ask Manbao while walking from one end of the street to the other to register, "Master, your family doesn’t seem to be short on money, why are you so eager to let Lixue and the others go out to earn money?"
Manbao said, "Who said my family isn’t short on money?"
She said, "My family is indeed short on money. My father said that during times of good weather and abundant harvest, we must think about what to do if there’s a year of disaster and difficulties. We need to prepare more money to get through the storm."
She sighed and said, "When I was very young, my family wasn’t short on money either, but then my fourth brother made a mistake, and our family declined. Since then, I’ve felt that what my father said is absolutely right. People must think about the future and not just focus on present pleasures, or else they will surely squander their family wealth."
Zheng Gu found these words very reasonable, yet something seemed off.
Zhou Wulang, walking beside Manbao, heard this and remained silent.
Manbao’s memories of childhood were becoming increasingly vague. Some things were clearly etched in her mind, but most were fading away.
To this day, she still feels that life at home was not bad when she was little, only Zhou Wulang knows what really happened.
He silently sympathized with his fourth brother in his heart and led Zhou Lixue and Zhou Ligu to register at Songhe Academy with Manbao.
Yesterday, Zhou Lixue and the others came over, and the teacher responsible for admissions at the academy still remembered them.
Because they had already roughly assessed their studies, knowing they had learned the basics and didn’t need to start from scratch, they handed them a paper to write down their names, places of origin, etc.
Compared to Qili Village, the student admissions process here was much more standardized. Back when they went to school, apart from paying that meager amount, they would only give the teacher a piece of bacon or a basket of eggs.
But here, one had to first pay a deposit for registration, then choose a day for the exam, and only those who passed could enter the academy.
Manbao said to Zhou Wulang, "Do you see? We want to study, but they may not necessarily accept us. So, if they manage to pass the exam, we must support them, and with a good teacher and their own hard work, they can progress faster than others."
Zhou Wulang nodded thoughtfully.
The teacher handed the sheet to Zhou Lixue and Zhou Ligu, saying, "This is your exam list. Bring it on the first day of February for the exam. Which class do you want to take?"
He took out another list, asking, "What books have you read? Check them, so we can see which class to place you in."
Zhou Lixue and Zhou Ligu had only read introductory books. The teacher they invited to Qili Village wasn’t as good as Mr. Zhuang, and the children in the village had the biggest aspirations of either becoming an officer in the County Governmental Office or a bookkeeper, so after enlightenment, learning arithmetic was most important.
The teacher at the school also taught them this way.
So when Zhou Lixue and Zhou Ligu saw the list of classes on the paper, they checked the primary level, then looked at the A, B, C, D classes, and directly marked the A class, saying, "Sir, we want to join the A class."
They’re not stupid, of course the A class is the best class.
The teacher smiled and said, "Then you must work hard. The class division is based on your scores. The top twenty enter the A class, the next in the B class, and so on."
The rest didn’t need to be explained for Zhou Lixue to understand, the lowest ranks enter the D class.
Of course, if they can’t even make it to the lowest rank, they probably won’t pass at all.
Zhou Lixue and Zhou Ligu had decent grades when they studied in the village. Although they often acted mischievously, especially Zhou Lixue, who was a headache for the teacher, they indeed studied well and were frequently praised.
What’s more, even their aunt said they studied well, so the two were full of confidence and assured the teacher they could certainly enter the A class.
Zhou Wulang and Manbao were naturally full of confidence in them too.
Zheng Gu watched, unable to resist looking up at the plaque of Songhe Academy, silently thinking: This is Songhe Academy after all.
Songhe Academy isn’t the best private school in the capital, but it is well-ranked. Their family, those who do not wish to study medicine and want to take the official exams, have also come to apply.
At present, it seems only one has managed to get in.
Seeing Zhou Man and the others so happy, as if they had already been accepted, Zheng Gu couldn’t help but softly advise Manbao that Songhe Academy isn’t easy to get into. They should make more preparations, like finding a few alternative academies, so if they don’t get into this one, they can try another.
Curious, Manbao asked, "Is it difficult to get into Songhe Academy?"
It’s not particularly difficult, just not easy.
However, Zheng Gu nodded and said, "Master, would you like me to recommend a few academies to you?"
"No need," Manbao shook her head and turned to Zhou Lixue and Zhou Ligu, saying, "Did you hear that? The academy is difficult to get into. Now there are ten days left. When you go home, study hard, ask the teacher if you don’t understand something, and when Bai Shan returns, I’ll have him make up some questions for you to solve."
She said, "He’s really good at predicting exam questions, and his predictions are very accurate."
Zhou Lixue and Zhou Ligu earnestly agreed.
Zheng Gu was dumbfounded.
Back at the restaurant, Zhou Liulang and the others had already cleaned up the dining table and kitchen and were resting. They could rest for over an hour before starting to prepare dinner.
Bai Shan and the others wouldn’t finish school for more than an hour either.
With nothing to do, Manbao moved a small stool to sit at the door to bask in the sun, and casually asked Zheng Gu about his questions.
Manbao was very curious, "Didn’t you start learning medicine from a young age? Since you’re also aiming to be a doctor, why haven’t you opened your own practice yet?"
She thought Young Manager Zheng just liked counting medicine and money, but it turns out he also aims to be a doctor.
Zheng Gu moved a small stool to sit beside her, scratched his nose, and said, "My father and Doctor Ding said the prescriptions I wrote lack spirit. In the short term, there won’t be a problem, but over time, people might think my skills are average, unable to reach influential figures, and it might even cause trouble."
He said, "This is not good for me or the Zheng family’s reputation, so they let me temper myself in the pharmacy, not hurrying to open a practice."
Manbao, after all, was young and lacked experience, so she confusedly asked, "What do you mean by prescriptions lack spirit? Can prescriptions have spirit?"
Upon hearing this, Zheng Gu slapped his thigh in excitement, "Exactly, I don’t understand either. Look, I’ve been studying prescriptions at the pharmacy for a year, dispensing medicine for a year, and I still don’t get it."
At this moment, he felt Manbao was his confidante, and he poured out his woes, "If it weren’t for the fact that the chief manager is my biological father, and my father only has me as a son, I would suspect he and Doctor Ding conspired together to deliberately suppress me."
Zheng Gu sighed, "Thinking about myself, although not as formidable as my uncle, I was always renowned in the family for being smart and learning quickly since childhood. Yet, while other cousins have all started their practices, I’m still stuck dispensing medicine at the pharmacy."
Manbao said, "I thought you liked dispensing medicine."