93 He Was A Mute Before
Zhou Yu immediately perked up and subconsciously bowed. “Hello, Sir.”
Zhou Junjun and Zhou Xiaoli also greeted the teacher respectfully at the same time, “Hello, Tutor Tang.”
Tang Sheng nodded at the three of them and asked gently, “Why are you here today?”
He had noticed the arrival of Zhou Xiaoli and the other two a long time ago. He saw that after entering the courtyard, they did not walk up to disrupt his class and instead, they stood quietly outside and waited for him to finish the class.
Although they were farmers, the family was very polite and from this, he had a good impression of the three of them.
Similarly, Zhou Xiaoli had a good impression of the old man in front of her.
Although he was more than 50 years old, his eyes were not cloudy. Instead, they revealed wisdom in them.
His face, although showing traces of age, did not look rigid. Instead, he looked kind and calm.
After hearing the teacher’s question, Zhou Yu was so nervous that he did not know where to put his hands. He licked his dry lips and recalled what Zhou Xiaoli had taught him when they were walking here.
He then said respectfully, “Sir, it’s like this. My son has reached the age of enlightenment, so I want to ask you to see if you can accept my son into school.”
Hearing this, Tang Sheng’s gaze landed on Zhou Junjun, who was standing at the side.
He saw that the child was standing respectfully. When he looked over, he was not reserved and bowed graciously instead.
He felt even more satisfied with this potential student.
Then, he asked, “How old are you?”
Zhou Junjun replied respectfully, “Sir, this would be my first year of enrollment.”
Tang Sheng stroked his beard. “Hm, enrollment into a school begins at the age of eight. It’s suitable but just a little late to start studying now.”
He asked again, “Do you recognize any words?”
Zhou Junjun replied truthfully, “Sir, I’ve already read the Three Character Classic. I can recognize most of the words and know some counting techniques.”
“Yes.” Tang Sheng nodded. He felt that he had a better understanding of the situation now.
Then, he asked, “Before entering the school, you have to pass a test. Only after passing it can you officially enter the school to study. Do you understand?”
Zhou Junjun immediately nodded. “I understand.”
“Alright, follow me then.”
As he spoke, he brought Zhou Junjun to the study room.
As for Zhou Xiaoli and Zhou Yu, they did not follow along. Instead, they stood in the courtyard and waited.
Now that the tutor was not around, the students were much more relaxed.
Previously, they had only leaned against the window and peered out. Now, many of them had walked out of the classroom and were looking at Zhou Xiaoli and Zhou Yu curiously.
These students were not very old. The oldest was a student from the big class, who was about 12 or 13 years old. The youngest was a student from the beginner class, who was only seven or eight years old, about the same age as Zhou Junjun.
Zhou Yu’s attitude towards these elementary school students was also extremely respectful.
With the mindset that everyone else except the educated are of a lower class, he had a natural reverence for those who studied.
On the other hand, Zhou Xiaoli was observing the situation in the private school in a casual manner. At this moment, she saw two familiar figures.
Zhou Anfu and Zhou Anle.
Madam Lai’s two precious grandsons.
Ever since she removed the Zhou family’s Feng Shui Evil Formation and replaced it with the Fortune Breaking Formation, she had not paid special attention to the outcome of their family.
Occasionally, she heard bits and pieces from others that Zhou Fugui was exiled and that Madam Lai spent a lot of money to save her son.
The second son of the family, Zhou Fuchun, became a cripple and completely useless. He threw tantrums at home all day, hitting and scolding his wife and children.
Ever since Old Zhou fell ill, he had been bedbound.
This family was crippled and sick. They also lost their pharmacy business in the county city.
However, she did not expect that that family would still have the money to send their two precious grandsons to school.
As Zhou Xiaoli was deep in her thoughts, a rock hit the back of her hand.
With Lai Jinniang’s indulgence, Zhou Anfu and Zhou Anle were used to bullying Zhou Xiaoli.
Now that Zhou Xiaoli had appeared in the school, they kept calling her a jinx.
They even threw stones at her.
Zhou Yu immediately stood in front of Zhou Xiaoli and said angrily, “Anfu, Anle, what are you doing? Stop fooling around.”
Zhou Anfu, who had been pampered, was not afraid at all. He stuck out his tongue at Zhou Yu and made a face.
“She’s a jinx to begin with. She jinxed my grandfather and my second uncle!” He shouted loudly.
There were not many children from the Boyu Village among these students. Most of them were from the surrounding villages.
They do not know much about Boyu Village.
In addition, since most of the children were only about age eight or nine, they do not know how to form their own judgment yet. As such, many children believed his words.
This made everyone look at Zhou Xiaoli with fear.
Zhou Xiaoli couldn’t help but frown.
With these two boys around, she suddenly began to worry if Zhou Junjun would be bullied.
As expected, the two boys targeted Zhou Junjun next.
“Let me tell you, the person who just entered the study room with Tutor is the jinx’s younger brother. If he studies with us, we will definitely be in trouble.”
“We’ll tell him not to let the brother of a jinx study with us!”
“That’s right. I won’t let the jinx’s younger brother enter the school.”
There were already a few children jeering along with Zhou Anfu.
At this moment, a familiar voice rang out and interrupted their jeering.
“Zhou Anfu, Zhou Anle! The two of you slandered and even hurt others. Now, you’re isolating your future classmate. Be careful of the Tutor punishing you for this.”
The students seemed to be very afraid of the person who spoke. As soon as the voice rang out, they scattered like frightened birds.
Zhou Xiaoli looked over and saw Zheng Yongyan walking out of the classroom.
He held a book in his hand and walked over in his green robe. He really did look like a humble gentleman.
However, what he said to her next made Zhou Xiaoli feel that what she had just seen was purely an illusion.
“Zhou Xiaoli, don’t be too touched. I’m not helping you. I just can’t stand the behavior of these two brats.”
Yes, it was still the Zheng Yongyan she was familiar with.
Zhou Xiao shrugged and smiled. “I’m not touched. Don’t flatter yourself.”
Zheng Yongyan did not continue to bicker with Zhou Xiaoli. He nodded at Zhou Yu and asked, “Uncle, is your Brother Jun going to study in the school?”
Zhou Yu nodded. “Yes.”
Zheng Yongyan nodded and said to Zhou Yu, “Uncle, don’t worry. With me around, no one will dare to bully Brother Jun when he enters school.”
At this moment, Zhou Anfu, who had run back to the classroom, stuck his head out of the window and interrupted unhappily, “It’s still not certain if Zhou Junjun can enter the school.”
Zhou Anle chimed in, “That’s right. Only smart people can enter our private school. Zhou Junjun is so stupid. He only knows how to speak when he’s eight years old. The Tutor would not want him for sure!”
Upon hearing this, many children were shocked. They came over to ask, “He only learned to speak when he was eight years old? Is it true?”
“Of course it’s true. You can go to our village and ask around. Zhou Junjun used to be a little mute!” Seeing that many children were interested, Zhou Anfu said proudly.
“Haha, so it’s a little mute. That means he’s stupid. Such a stupid person will definitely not pass the tutor’s entrance test.”
…
