mtl008 Chapter 371 Yu Nanshu teaches the county girl how to read and write
Chapter 371 Yu Nanshu teaches the county girl how to read and write
Half an hour later, just as it was getting dark, Shen Zheng came back, followed by a group of followers - Fang Ziyan, Pei Zhaoqi, Yu Nanshu, and Feng Qianzhi.
Fang Ziyan, Yu Nanshu and Feng Qianzhi have been chattering non-stop since they met Shen Zheng, sharing with her their study and life in the county school over the past few days.
Pei Zhaoqi still held a book in his hand, reading while walking, and even managed to distract himself to answer the questions of Fang Ziyan and others.
Shen Zheng was amazed at this - this! This is the academic genius!
As soon as Yu Shizhang saw Yu Nanshu, he started to say sour words:
"Look at this pretty girl. Who is she from? Why did she have time to come here today?"
Yu Nanshu pouted, "Grandfather!"
Yu Shizhang scratched his ear and tilted his head to ask, "Why is this little girl trying to make friends as soon as she comes in? Bai Song, is she your granddaughter?"
This sentence frightened Bai Song so much that his face turned pale. How could he be worthy of being the grandfather of his great-uncle's granddaughter? He quickly pulled Niu Chu aside.
Yu Nanshu became anxious, let go of Feng Qianzhi's hand, and went over to massage Yu Shizhang's shoulders and legs.
"Grandfather, Nan Shu is studying in the county school, and you are busy with the printing house. Nan Shu didn't mean to not come to see you, really."
Yu Shizhang enjoyed it for a moment, then raised his hand and gently touched Yu Nanshu's forehead.
"You are such a heartless kid. Since you came to the county government, you have never been to my grandfather's little courtyard. You have really forgotten about my grandfather."
Yu Nanshu shook her head slightly. "Grandfather is doing great things, and Nanshu is also doing great things. In Sister Shen's words, it's, well... let's each work hard and meet at the top."
"Oh?"
Yu Shizhang became interested and asked her, "Meet at the top of the mountain? Which mountain did Nan Shu climb? Tell me about it."
Yu Nanshu was just exaggerating and didn't expect him to actually ask.
She pinched her sleeves, hesitating and a little embarrassed to speak, but Feng Qianzhi felt that Nan Shu was really doing something big, so he stepped forward and said, "Uncle, Nan Shu..."
As soon as she opened her mouth, Yu Shizhang looked over and waved his hand, saying, "Qianzhi is Nanshu's friend, and also a friend of our Tongan County. You don't have to call her Uncle here."
Feng Qianzhi hesitated: "Then...Grandpa Yu?"
"Hey——" Yu Shizhang asked her with a smile: "Qianzhi, tell Grandpa Yu quickly, what big thing is Nan Shu doing?"
Feng Qianzhi was encouraged and smiled: "When Nan Shu was free, she taught me and the girls in the county to read, write and draw. Now I know a lot of words that I didn't know before, and I have also learned the correct way to hold a pen."
After she said this, she looked at the scattered handwriting of Yu Shizhang beside her, and her eyes lit up.
"Grandpa Yu, Nan Shu said your calligraphy is the most beautiful in the world. Can Qianzhi copy a few of yours?"
Feng Qianzhi inadvertently flattered Yu Shizhang.
Yu Shizhang looked at Yu Nanshu with appreciation and waved his hand: "Qianzhi, feel free to copy whichever one you like. If it's not enough, Grandpa Yu will write one for you on the spot!"
Oh - this overwhelming wealth!
Feng Qianzhi took out a pen and paper from her small bag on the spot, sat on the wet stone bench and began to copy.
Yu Shizhang coughed again and said, "Qianzhi, you can say this in Tongan County, but if you have the opportunity to go to Beijing in the future, you must say that Grandpa Yu's calligraphy is the second most beautiful in the world."
He glanced towards Shangjing.
He almost forgot that there was a person living in the palace who was even more cunning than him.
Feng Qianzhi didn't understand why, but nodded repeatedly.
Yu Shizhang retracted his gaze, called Yu Nanshu to sit next to him, and asked her: "Nanshu, why did you think of teaching the little girls to read and write?"
Yu Nanshu found this question a bit difficult to answer.
She told the truth: "Nan Shu just wanted to do it, so she did it. In fact, she didn't think too much about it. Maybe she just thought...in fact, everyone should learn to read. In this way, if they want to work in the cloth workshop in the future, they can also help Sister Shen."
She propped up her chin, tilted her head and said, "Isn't what grandpa is doing similar to what Nanshu is doing? But Nanshu can only teach friends in Tongan County to recognize words, unlike grandpa. In the future, everyone in the world will learn grandpa's words. Grandpa is more powerful!"
Yu Shizhang felt so happy.
"Well done, you are worthy of being the girl of the Yu family!"
He once again pondered in his mind the possibility of passing the title to Nan Shu.
If it were in the previous dynasty, he would definitely not dare to even think about it, but nowadays... maybe it is possible, but it has to be done step by step.
It would be safest to let Nan Shu make some achievements first.
In the yard, Bai Song and Niu Chu were waiting for the kiln to be opened. Shen Zheng temporarily set up a large pot next to the kiln and poured something into the pot. Fang Ziyan was chattering around them. Pei Zhaoqi and Feng Qianzhi were reading a book and copying calligraphy by the firelight. It was very lively.
The evening breeze blew, making the sparks under the pot jump, and made the shadows of the people crooked, interweaving, overlapping, and inseparable.
By the time the kiln was opened, it was already dark.
Everyone gathered around. Bai Song and Niu Chu were extremely nervous. Their breathing became more and more rapid, and they stared at the kiln entrance.
When the smoke dissipated, Niu Chu didn't care about the heat and directly used pliers to take the tray out of the kiln.
Because this was an experiment, only more than twenty clay embryos were burned, and everyone's eyes were glued to the clay embryos.
"Hurry, pour all the clay into the pot." Shen Zheng called.
Upon hearing this, Niu Chu turned around and tilted the tray. The clay embryos popped into the big pot that Shen Zheng had prepared one by one, like dumplings.
The red-hot clay fell into the warm water, making a hissing sound, which surprised Fang Ziyan and others.
After a while, the pot became calm, and Shen Zheng signaled Niu Chu to take out all the mud embryos.
Niu Chu had just picked up the first clay embryo, but because of nervousness and shaking hands, he accidentally dropped the clay embryo into the water again. He took a deep breath, grabbed his right wrist with his left hand, and picked it up for the second time.
The first piece of clay did not crack.
The second piece of clay did not crack.
The third piece of clay did not crack.
......
Under the excited gaze of the crowd, the twelfth piece of clay cracked.
But they did not lose heart and waited with bated breath for the final result.
As a piece of clay fell into the plate, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
Only two of the twenty-six clay embryos cracked! Compared to the previous hundred clay embryos that had most of them cracked, this was already a very good result, and it also proved that Shen Zheng's conjecture was correct.
——Sure enough, as long as the newly fired clay is put into water immediately, the chance of cracking can be greatly reduced.
Even Fang Ziyan, who knew only half of the story, started cheering and ran around the courtyard, shouting, "Sister Shen is the best!"
Bai Song looked at Shen Zheng with excitement and admiration.
He really didn't expect that their problem could be solved with such a simple method. Why didn't they think of it?
Only two clay pieces cracked, not even 10% of the way there. So what if they cracked? He could just carve more.
He couldn't help but praise: "Lord Shen is indeed very talented. It just rained, but you came up with a solution. I admire you!"
But there was no pride on Shen Zheng's face. She picked up the two cracked clay pieces, put them back into the pot, and started burning firewood.
"Master Shen, what are you doing..."