Taking on Apprentices

Although Manbao recognizes many characters, she still struggles to understand overly complex stories. She can only rely on her intuition to comprehend these stories.

Fortunately, the books on Mr. Zhuang's shelf are different from those she knows because they are written in plain language. As long as she recognizes the characters, she can read through them. Although she may not fully understand, she can generally grasp the story.

Manbao became excited and eagerly held the book to read.

Although it was about a despicable father, she didn't realize it at first. The first story was ranked tenth and was about an emperor named Kangxi.

The story narrates how he raised his sons by pitting them against each other, akin to raising wolves, in a deliberate attempt to uphold his power and preserve equilibrium.

Initially, Manbao didn't realize the extent of his father's behavior. She just read the story as it was. The system then reminded her, "Do you see the tragic fate of his sons?" Are they not all very miserable?

Manbao was stunned and asked, "They are all princes and emperors, how can they be miserable?"

The system hesitated for a moment and then explained in detail what imprisonment and exile meant. In the end, it felt like being imprisoned and serving a sentence.

Manbao was shocked, "Their father is an emperor, their brothers are emperors, and they still have to go to prison?"

The system replied, "That's why he's a despicable father."

Manbao pouted and realized that his father was indeed not very good. After reading it twice, she also figured out the meaning of the story.

This story is about a father who sought to maintain his power by intentionally causing his sons to compete with each other. In the end, he imprisoned three of his sons and then selected one of them to be the emperor. The emperor's son imprisoned and exiled several individuals, causing great misery among his subjects.

Manbao didn't like this story very much, and it gave her a headache to read. There were several names in it that she didn't recognize, so she asked Keke for help.

Keke not only taught her how to read the characters but also explained the meanings of the characters.

Manbao turned to the next story and started crying.

This father was much worse than the previous one because he actually starved his daughter to death just because she accepted a piece of cake from a neighbor.

Manbao was a kind-hearted child, and she cried loudly, angrily asking Keke, "Is our father really that bad?" How can he still hold an official position in the Qing Dynasty?

Keke replied, "Being an official in the Qing Dynasty does not conflict with being a despicable father."

Although the idea of becoming an official seemed appealing, Manbao still chose to dislike it. The little girl was about the same age as her and had starved to death. How painful it must have been.

Manbao cried until her eyes were red.

When Mr. Zhuang returned from class, the system immediately confiscated the book from Manbao's hands as it sensed someone at the door. So, Mr. Zhuang only saw Manbao sitting alone on the steps, crying with red eyes.

Mr. Zhuang's grandson was only slightly older than Manbao and was very fond of her. He quickly walked over and gently asked, "Manbao, who bullied you?"

Manbao wiped her tears and grabbed Mr. Zhuang's sleeve, looking up and asking, "Sir, are you a good father?"

Mr. Zhuang was taken aback for a moment and then said, "Manbao, my grandson is older than you." "Even in terms of seniority, I should be your grandfather."

"Sob, sob, sob, sir, are there many bad fathers in the world who specifically bully children?"

Mr. Zhuang asked, "Did your father scold you?"

Manbao shook her head and said, "My father is very good to me; he is not a bad father."

Mr. Zhuang breathed a sigh of relief and looked at Manbao. As she was still young, he patiently asked, "Then why are you asking such questions?"

"I saw a story about a righteous official whose family had little to eat." When a neighbor gave his hungry daughter a piece of cake, he found out and became very angry. He locked up his daughter and starved her to death.

Mr. Zhuang's face twitched. "How can there be such an official?"

Manbao trusted the book that Keke had brought out and insisted, "I saw it with my own eyes."

Mr. Zhuang knew he couldn't argue with a child and said, "Even if there is, such an official is either seeking fame or is not living up to his reputation." It's just a piece of cake, why go to such extremes? If he were truly honest and upright, he would have shared with the neighbors.

"Huh?" Manbao blinked and tried to recall what was written in the book. She scratched her head and said, "It seems that it's not just because of eating a piece of cake." It is said that his daughter had contact with a man from outside. "Sir, what is an outside man?"

Mr. Zhuang laughed, "That's even more absurd. An outsider is similar to me in relation to you, or a student in the school in relation to you." Although there are differences between men and women, it is not necessary to guard against them to such an extent. "If there is, then that person is either crazy or a devil."

Mr. Zhuang said, "The former is insane if he really thinks that way, and the latter is intentional, exchanging his daughter's life for a reputation." Such an individual is someone you should avoid in the future. "But I've never heard of such a story." "Where did you read it?"

Manbao immediately said, "It's from a book called 'The Ten Evil Fathers in History.'"'"'

"Since it's history, it must be recorded." "I wonder which official you mentioned was from which dynasty?" "Mr. Zhuang asked."

"A person from the Jiajing period of the Ming Dynasty."

Mr. Zhuang couldn't help but laugh and pat her little head. "It's clear that these characters and experiences are all fictional." "There is no such thing as the Ming Dynasty in this world."

Manbao blinked, but still believed Keke. She asked herself in her heart, "Keke, are you lying to me?"

The usually silent system unexpectedly showed a sense of pleasure and said, "No, host, just because there is no Ming Dynasty in your space, doesn't mean there isn't one in other spaces." Right now there isn't, but that doesn't mean there won't be in the future. Just like me, in this space and time, only you have me, but in the era of my invention, I was not uncommon. "Not everyone had one, but as long as they had money and were willing to buy, anyone could have one."

Manbao seemed to understand, but she still summarized her understanding. That is, Keke didn't lie, but what Mr. Zhuang said was also correct. So she decided to listen to both of them.

She looked up at Mr. Zhuang and asked, "Do you know of any notorious fathers in our history?"

Mr. Zhuang asked, "Why are you interested in this?" "Children should not speak ill of their fathers." Even if the father is in the wrong, very few people will publicize it and bring shame to the family. What benefits are there for oneself?

Manbao was stunned, and Mr. Zhuang took the opportunity to teach her a lesson. After a long conversation, he said, "Manbao, you are a clever child." "I know you love to read." In that case, study hard. You have already learned the Thousand Character Classic; now it's time to learn the Analects. After you finish the Analects, I will teach you about the Rites.

Manbao was dazed, and the system couldn't help but remind her, "Host, why don't you thank your teacher?"

Manbao came to her senses and immediately knelt down, "Sir, teacher!"

Manbao bowed her head to Mr. Zhuang.

Mr. Zhuang regretted his words for a moment, but when he saw her happily calling him "teacher" while kneeling on the ground, his regret disappeared.

Oh well, even though she was a female disciple, she was clever, lovely, and comforting.

Mr. Zhuang helped her up and said, "Go back and tell your parents about what happened today."

"Why?" "Didn't you always tell me not to tell my parents about what happens here?" Manbao asked.

Mr. Zhuang patted her head and said, "Since you have bowed to me, it's only right to do so."

Mr. Zhuang sighed as he patted her head.

When he first saw Manbao, she was just a little girl who could barely stand by holding onto the wall. She was maybe only eight or nine months old and could barely support herself against the wall.

Xiao Qian, who came to cook, was very careful because she had just taken on this job. She always arrived early, not only to clean inside and out but also to chop wood, cook, and prepare meals.

So, she inevitably neglected the child. At that time, Manbao crawled to the threshold of the classroom and climbed over it to listen to the lectures.

At first, Mr. Zhuang was a little angry, thinking that Xiao Qian didn't know how to do things. He put down his book and went to find Xiao Qian.

He had initially expected Xiao Qian to look after her own child, but he changed his mind when he saw her sweating profusely and wielding an axe while chopping wood.

Mr. Zhuang was invited by the landlord to teach in this mountain village; as a result, the family was not wealthy. In fact, he had been poor before.

In memory of his mother's upbringing, Mr. Zhuang hesitated and refrained from calling Xiao Qian. Instead, he picked up Manbao and brought her back, letting her sit on the threshold.

Fortunately, this child was also well-behaved. She sat on the threshold, not crying or making a fuss, and ate when given food. When she saw the students reading aloud, she also chatted to herself.

Later, the first word she said was "teacher," and Mr. Zhuang insisted on using this term.

This child is very intelligent. At just over a year old, she could speak, and she even recited, "Heaven and Earth are mysterious and yellow..." along with the students.

The students he taught were the youngest, at six years old. They could read it ten times, remember it, and forget it the next day. But this child's little head remembered very clearly.

Of course, she could only babble and didn't recognize characters.

So, Mr. Zhuang copied a Thousand Character Classic and gave it to her.

Later, Mr. Zhuang grew fonder of Manbao when he discovered that she not only memorized the book quickly but also recognized characters rapidly.

After going through it a few times, she could remember the characters.

How could such a clever, lovely, and kind child not be a boy?

Mr. Zhuang regretted it more than once.

Then he couldn't help but teach her characters, principles, and even deliberately found some books for her to practice writing. He then gave her the manuscript to keep.

Although the words to take her as a disciple were spoken suddenly, this idea had been in his mind for a long time. It was just because she was a girl that he hesitated.

In fact, he was merely a scholar who had been expelled from the government school, and his knowledge was limited. Why bother caring too much about those meaningless titles?

Did he really have to seek fame and reputation like the bad fathers she mentioned?

Mr. Zhuang rubbed Manbao's head even harder and made up his mind, "Go find your sister-in-law now, and let your parents choose a good day to bring you over."

Manbao left in a daze.