Seeing that Shi Zhongkui was not showing any arrogance, Yu Tongfu nodded with satisfaction.

I secretly sighed that no wonder my father would specifically tell me that this new junior brother is a smart and astute person, and I repeatedly told myself not to be contemptuous.

Now it seems that the new junior brother is at least a sensible and cautious person.

The two sat down separately from the guests, took a few sips of the tea brought by the little girl, and chatted a few intellectual topics. Yu Tongfu was just like Yu Honggao before.

The more I asked, the more frightened I became.

I passed the national examination at the age of 18, and it is no exaggeration to say that I am a genius.

In addition, for the past three years, I have been staying in my hometown with peace of mind, studying and working hard to raise a son. Although I don't say that I will definitely pass the Jinshi examination, I feel that I am no worse than ordinary people.

But I didn't expect that whether it was asking questions about the Four Books or the Five Classics, solving problems, or understanding the meaning of the scriptures, the junior disciple in front of me, who was two years younger than me, could actually keep up with my thinking.

He stopped talking, thought about it carefully, and then asked, "Brother Xian, do you know the Four Books and Five Classics by heart, as well as the annotations and scriptures passed down to you by my father?"

"I dare not hide it from Brother Si Cheng. I am indeed a little proud of my memory. Ever since I received the gift from my mentor, all I think about day and night are random thoughts and annotations."

this,,,

Not only did Yu Tongfu's expression change, but Uncle Fu, who had been standing in the main hall with him, two young men and two maids were all shocked.

Although the four books and five chapters have slightly different eras, they add up to almost half a million words, and there are still one million words if you include the annotations.

If you can remember this, how can you not be surprised?

Moreover, this is a boring classical Chinese text. Even those who have studied it for decades cannot say that they can remember it all.

It's impossible to remember everything word for word.

"Hurry up and get Zhou Li and turn left."

Upon hearing Yu Tongfu's words, the two boys turned around and ran away.

"Young Master, should we wait until tomorrow?"

Shi Zhongkui understood that Uncle Fu had good intentions, he cupped his hands and said with a smile, "Uncle Fu is so kind, my nephew thanks me in advance, but since I have spoken, there is no reason to go back on my words.

And today and tomorrow are actually the same. After all, 189,000 words cannot be reviewed in one night."

"That's right, my dear brother can understand clearly."

Yu Tongfu laughed, while Uncle Fu shook his head helplessly.

But in my heart, I was looking forward to Shi Zhongkui. Moreover, Shi Zhongkui, who had already won two yuan in a row, even called himself his nephew. It was impossible to say he was unhappy.

Shi Zhongkui would say this, not only because he wanted to win over others and not offend others, but also because Uncle Fu was an old servant of the Yu family and had white hair, so there was nothing wrong with being polite.

When Jia Yucun became an official for the first time, he was dismissed from office and returned to his hometown because he was arrogant because of his talent. He was accused by his superiors of not following the etiquette, but not of corruption.

After wasting several years, he got attached to Lin Ruhai, got his recommendation, went to Beijing, and through the relationship between Jia Zheng and Wang Ziteng, was able to sit in the position of prefect of Yingtian Prefecture.

Not long after, more than a dozen books were brought over by the boy, which immediately attracted some servants and maids in the backyard to curiously hide in the corner outside the main hall and began to listen quietly.

Before Tongfu could speak, Shi Zhongkui smiled and took out a fan from his sleeve, "Brother, if he wants to take the test, he must have a lucky draw to make it more interesting."

"No problem," Yu Tongfu agreed without thinking, and then heard Shi Zhongkui say with a smile, "Although I have great ambitions, I always regret that I don't have the guidance of a famous teacher.

I am ashamed of myself for writing in one hand, so if I win by luck, I hope my elder brother will open the family copybook to me."

"Haha", Yu Tongfu laughed.

Seeing that Shi Zhongkui did not ask him to teach in person, he must be worried that he would also take part in the examination next year, Yu Tongfu couldn't help but have a great impression of Shi Zhongkui.

"Even if you don't say anything, my dear brother, my father will let you practice more and practice calligraphy. I have agreed to this, and I will only let you borrow the copybooks I have."

Shi Zhongkui was overjoyed, "Thank you very much, brother."

Then one of them came up with the topic and the other memorized the follow-up article.

For a moment, the main hall was filled with the sound of endorsements, as well as exclamations and surprises.

Yu Tongfu didn't know about the fan, but Uncle Fu, the housekeeper, knew a lot about it.

Seeing that he was actually carrying an ancient fan handed down from his ancestors, he was inevitably surprised.

It seems that Shi Boqian really only valued the imperial examination and did not care about extraneous things.

This actually made Uncle Fu look at him even more highly. After all, the saying that all things are inferior but only those who study well has been used from ancient times to the present.

At the same time, I felt that this person was too utilitarian.

Most people would not, nor would they dare, throw away their ancestral belongings like worn-out shoes.

But if you think about it from another perspective, those who do big things are people who don’t stick to trivial matters.

Thinking of the fact that Shi Zhongkui had been called a stone idiot before, Uncle Fu, like Yu Honggao, mistakenly thought that he was hiding his clumsiness.

And he deliberately created the illusion of being an idiot to protect his ancestral belongings.

Thinking of this, Uncle Fu felt that it was a smart move for Shi Zhongkui to take out the fan at this time.

I know clearly in my heart that if you want to get something, you have to pay for it.

Knowing where you are falling short and finding ways to improve yourself is self-awareness.

Although he won the lottery, it did not affect Yu Tongfu's study. This is a way of knowing how to advance and retreat.

And this last point is also the most rare.

Uncle Fu even thought that if Shi Zhongkui had understood his father's situation back then, he would not have become so complacent that he would not have any money to spare just because he was 24 years old and ranked fifth in the top two leagues.

Or maybe he is just like him, his family has suffered enough hardships and human kindness, but he will not waste more than ten years. Now he is nearly 40 years old, and he is still only a sixth-rank magistrate of Daxing County.

Generally speaking, the magistrates of counties are at the seventh level for upper counties and the seventh level for lower counties. The counties directly under the provincial capital or the capital will be one level higher.

Even when Bao Zhengquan became the prefect of Kaifeng Prefecture, he was directly promoted by two levels. If his status as a bachelor of Longtu Palace was included, he was promoted by four levels.

After thinking about it, I heard that Shi Zhongkui probably thought it was troublesome, "If brother doesn't admit defeat, why don't I memorize a certain article backwards? What do you think?"

Everyone was originally surprised that Shi Zhongkui could memorize more than a dozen paragraphs in a row, and he could actually recite them word for word. But now that they heard that he could memorize them backwards, they immediately ignored the rules and started talking in a noisy manner.

Yu Tongfu was also shocked. He couldn't care less whether people were making noise or not.

"Dear brother, don't make fun of me."

Then he said unconvinced, "If you can really do it, brother, I will help you edit a copy of the book, and ask your master for a copy of Chang'an Forest of Steles to give to me."

"really?"

As for other forest of steles, Shi Zhongkui really may not know about it. After all, he used to be just an ordinary office worker, and he had no hobby of practicing calligraphy.

But when it comes to Chang'an Forest of Steles, anyone who has seen the national treasure will probably never forget it.

This world existed in the Tang, Song and Yuan Dynasties, but in the Ming Dynasty, it took a slight turn.

One hundred and sixty years after the founding of the former Chen Dynasty, the north was once again occupied by the grasslands. Another hundred years passed between the Northern and Southern Dynasties, and now the Great Zhou Dynasty has unified the world.
Chapter completed!