Struggle in Ancient Times

In the past few days, Liao Tingyu came to visit teacher Li every day. Teacher Li thought he had a good seedling while Liao Tingyu gained a lot of knowledge.

“Being a teacher is the same as being a student. You will continue to learn and as a teacher, you don’t necessarily know more than your students. You must keep the passion for knowledge and strive to learn more.” Teacher Li taught him seriously.

“I know, teacher.” Liao Tingyu nodded and engraved these words inside his head.

“Okay, let’s talk about the class. First of all, you must speak clearly so the students could understand you. Remember to speak loudly for them.” Teacher Li started again, “The most important thing is the ruler was a tool to educate the students, not to punish them. I think it’s better to do simulation, why don’t you try it with me? I will listen and give you advice.”

Liao Tingyu listened to teacher Li tentatively and said gratefully, “Teacher, this student personally thanks you for your teaching.”

Teacher Li waved his hand, “No need for that. You are my student, so I have to guide you carefully. There is no need to say thank you between a teacher and a student. I just hope that you will not forget about the imperial exam. I think you could go further.” Teacher Li carefully advised him about his future.

“With your ability, I guarantee you could be a jinshi. It’s a pity your poetry was not outstanding. A poetry was born from elegance, you need to work hard for this.”

“Teacher, you’ve been talking about my poetry for so long. I really couldn’t do it. I could write good article but poetry was my weakness.”

“It all depends to oneself. You have to try harder for yourself. Why don’t you write a poetry every day? You could review it later, maybe you could find the black hole.” Teacher Li thought this method wasn’t bad, even though it would be a little long but there should be good effect.

“Yes.” Liao Tingyu plainly agreed.

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Finally, the school day was here. The students were coming one after another. Liao Tingyu looked at those young children who just entered the school, the youngest probably thirteen years old while the oldest was sixteen years old. He would teach these students and if there was no accident, he could watch them succeed and gained their fame.

Liao Tingyu stood on the platform which was a little higher and greeted them, “Hello everyone, I am here to teaches you arithmetic. This subject is very important not only for your exam but also daily life. I hope you can learn seriously from me.”

“Yes, teacher. We will definitely study hard.” The students answered together, the sound was so nice and made Liao Tingyu happy.

The good learning environment was the result of the school policy, no student under the age of ten could be admitted. Five years ago, the dean was admitted as a jinshi. Although, he didn’t choose to be an official but his fame was enough to make the school became famous. The children were rushing to study here, so the school only accepted those who had passed the Tongseng exam and wanted to go further.

Liao Tingyu was very thankful to teacher Li back then when he was a little kid, otherwise without teacher Li, he wouldn’t be able to gain his success. He looked at the polite children sitting upright in front of him, he instantly felt like a real teacher now.

“Okay, for the first lesson. I will test everyone level of arithmetic.”

When Liao Tingyu waited inside the class, he was ready to argue with a group of brats. In his mind, he simulated a scene of teacher and student battle of wits. In fact, he was that much older than these kids. But why? All of sudden, he really felt like a father. Liao Tingyu shook his head to get rid of the weird feeling, he hadn’t married yet, how could he feel this way?