The Lucky Farmgirl
Chapter 607 - 596: Targeting

Chapter 607: Chapter 596: Targeting

Bai Erlang said he didn’t know.

"If you’re bullied, just hit back," he said, which is what he did in Qili Village—and no one dared to complain to his family, let alone go to the authorities.

But he also knew things here were different from Qili Village, yet he was puzzled, "Being hit is such a humiliating thing; would they really go complain to the authorities?"

Manbao: "Anyway, I would."

Bai Erlang then curled his lip, "Coward."

Manbao slapped him and glared, "Say that again!"

Bai Erlang was furious, "You’re hitting people now; I’m going to the authorities, too."

Manbao: "Coward!"

Manbao decided not to study with a coward anymore, so she put away the Book of Documents and took a medical book out into the courtyard to recite.

After school at the government school, Bai Shanbao came straight home without lingering at the school.

Once home, he took out his textbook and complained, "The teachers only let us recite on our own without teaching. The Book of Documents is difficult; I read it for a long time, managing to figure out only two Chapters, and I don’t know if they were correct or not. However, I looked back over The Spring and Autumn and gained a little."

Manbao also took out her textbook and said, "I’ve read through the first Chapter of the Book of Documents smoothly, I plan to memorize it by tomorrow."

Bai Shanbao pulled over her textbook, first correcting the punctuation and then started to examine her notes.

The two of them read and discussed together, asking each other about things one understood and the other didn’t, and noting down things that neither of them understood or were unsure of, planning to ask their teacher later.

Mr. Zhuang was at home, available for consultation at any time.

At that moment, Bai Shanbao felt that studying at home with Mr. Zhuang wasn’t so bad after all and there was really no need to go to the government school.

Thinking this, Bai Shanbao felt an even stronger desire to go home. Every day at the government school was spent either reviewing texts they had already studied or practicing calligraphy, with only the remaining time for previewing. Going back and studying with Manbao didn’t require as much effort as the other students who had to memorize the texts.

After three days passed like this, the government school slowly quieted down, and the officials gathered all the students together to read out the rules of the school.

During class, students were not allowed to enter or leave the government school at will, nor could they bring outsiders in and out at will. From now on, all visiting relatives had to register when entering or leaving the school.

If one needed to leave during class time, the signatures of at least two teachers were required.

After the rules were read out, the entire government school began to enter into formal teaching mode.

Bai Shanbao’s first class was about the Book of Documents, taught by the official whom he disliked and who also had a dislike for him.

His teaching pace was much faster than Mr. Zhuang’s. In the first class, he read through the text quickly, providing the punctuation, but he did not explain why the text was punctuated that way, nor did he give students time to ask questions.

He simply said, "Now that the punctuation is given, you must memorize this Chapter by tomorrow; I will explain the meaning then."

Bai Shanbao: ...

Mr. Zhuang always explained the meaning before asking them to memorize the text, while here at the government school it was the complete opposite.

Fortunately, not all the teachers were like this. For instance, the teacher who taught The Spring and Autumn told it like a story. Bai Shan had already studied The Spring and Autumn, but even so, he listened with great interest because some of the stories he had never heard Mr. Zhuang mention.

Of course, at the end of the class, The Spring and Autumn’s teacher also asked them to memorize the text, also by the next day.

On the first day of formal classes, Bai Shanbao came home with four assignments to memorize by "tomorrow." He looked relieved as he said to Manbao, "Luckily we started learning and memorizing in advance these past three days, otherwise there’s no way I could memorize it all by tomorrow."

Manbao blinked, "Do you think the teachers will pick you to recite tomorrow?"

Bai Shanbao: "...Our class has twenty people, I can’t be that unlucky, can I?"

"Who knows?"

As luck would have it, Bai Shanbao was that unlucky. Whether the teachers were simply interested in him or influenced by the official who always targeted him, every first person called upon to stand and recite during the class was Bai Shanbao.

Initially indifferent, by the third time he was called upon, a fire sparked in his heart, then with a surge of fighting spirit, he lifted his chin high, reciting the text with expressive modulation.

Want to see him make a fool of himself?

Dream on in your next life.

Mr. Zhai, who taught them The Spring and Autumn, squinted at Bai Shan for a while, nodded in approval, and signaled for him to sit down.

The last class of the day was with their class’s main official, who upon entering, said expressionlessly, "Random check of yesterday’s assignment, Bai Shan, stand up and recite the text you learned yesterday."

The remaining nineteen students in Class B turned their heads in unison, their faces full of unstoppable sympathy and schadenfreude.

Several students were called upon, but Bai Shan was the only one called upon four times.

After all, it was impossible for the teachers to randomly point to the same student name every time, right?

Bai Shan stood up expressionlessly, closed his textbook, and then, looking at the official, began to recite. Not far into it, the official suddenly interrupted him, "Explain the sentence you just recited."

Bai Shan paused momentarily then recited the explanation.

The official furrowed his brow, said nothing, but nodded slightly, signaling for him to continue reciting.

After being disrupted, Bai Shan fell silent for a moment before continuing on. He was interrupted twice more by the official before he finally managed to recite the entire text.

Expressionless, the official said, "With a whole day and night, your recitation is still stumbling. If you don’t want to study seriously at the government school, then leave early to stop wasting the court’s provisions."

Apart from Bai Shan, the other students all lowered their heads, feeling very uneasy—receiving such criticism despite their best efforts, they feared what would happen when it was their turn.

In the end, they weren’t scolded because the official didn’t interrupt the following students’ recitations, and even if a student stuttered, he just frowned without saying anything.

Everyone held their breath until the class on the Book of Documents was over, only exhaling in relief once the official left, promptly packing up their things to leave.

"We should find a place to memorize the text thoroughly. I have a feeling there will be another check tomorrow."

Bai Shanbao, with a somber face, also packed his things in his basket, slapped the lid of the basket closed, picked it up, and walked off.

Wei Chen hurriedly grabbed his own basket and caught up, asking, "Wait a moment, Bai Da, have you offended the teachers?"

Bai Shanbao snorted coldly and quickened his pace.

"Hey, slow down, it’s serious to offend a teacher. You need to find a way to make it right, otherwise, if the teachers target you every day, how will you... Mr. Zhai, hello!" Wei Chen suddenly braked and looked at Zhai Yongxiao with an ingratiating smile.

Mr. Zhai stroked his graying beard, nodded at him, and asked, "Wei Chen, it seems you weren’t called upon to recite today. How well have you memorized The Spring and Autumn?"

Wei Chen immediately turned with his basket to slip away, "Mr. Zhai, I’ve memorized it, but I feel I should know it even better. I’m off to recite."

He gave Bai Shan a consoling look and whispered, "Take care of yourself."