Misty Rain of the Old Times

Chapter 62 Dusk Drum
With a burst of cheers, Gao Jingming and his team won the second level of Class D again.

This was the third victory, and Deng Lingfeng contributed the most to it. After all, he had practiced martial arts for two years, so he was agile, had many tricks, and could even kick a curve ball. His performance attracted the seniors.

Three consecutive victories made the students in the second class of Grade D dejected, but their little faces were full of dissatisfaction.

Even though I can’t beat you, I just won’t give in and will defeat you with my eyes!
Gao Jingming and his friends circled around the court and cheered, as if they had won a battle, looking like they were the best in the world.

Children are so easily satisfied. Winning a small Cuju game against their peers is enough to make them happy for a long time.

"Do you still dare to go to the Second Hall?"

After the cheers, Zhou Lin continued to shout at the opposite side, seeming to be still unsatisfied. Gao Jingming and the others also looked eager to try.

"Humph, we didn't eat today, so you guys luckily won a few games. What are you so proud of?"

"That's right, we'll give you some time. We'll come back next time when we're full. Then we'll definitely defeat you and make you lose face..."

Rather than losing face, the kids from the second hall made up excuses, said some polite words, and ran away in shame.

This caused Gao Jingming and the others to burst into laughter, and they shouted that Ertang was shameless.

After a few games, it was almost an hour. For children, this amount of exercise was quite a lot. In fact, Gao Jingming and the others were exhausted and sweating profusely.

Since the people in the second hall no longer had the courage to compare, once the momentum wore off, fatigue also took over their bodies and minds.

"Let's go, let's go back, take a rest and then we can eat."

"Don't mention it, my stomach is rumbling..."

The brothers headed towards the dormitory with great joy, reviewing and discussing as they walked who had made mistakes and how they could have won more beautifully.

Chen Xuan followed their steps and after they returned to their dormitories, he found a wooden basin, poured some boiling water into it, and added some cold water. When the water temperature was about right, he wet a towel and handed it to Gao Jingming, who was pulling at his collar and panting, and said, "Young Master, wipe yourself. You just played such an intense game of Cuju. Don't catch a cold."

Gao Jingming took it and wiped his face and body, then said in silence: "Is there such a saying?"

"I once heard from a quack doctor that it's not advisable to rest immediately after strenuous exercise, nor to take a cold shower. It's best to take a break and then wash with hot water or wipe the sweat with a dry towel. I think it's right," Chen Xuan made up an excuse.

Gao Jingming didn't think too much about it. He returned the towel to Chen Xuan and nodded, saying, "Is that so? I'm really relieved. I never thought you were so attentive, Xuan. Even when Xiao Cai and the others were around, you weren't as attentive as me."

That's because they may not know such common sense.

Without continuing the topic, Chen Xuan said, "Master, please change your clothes first. I'll pour the water and go get some food."

After several games, he was covered in dirt. Poor families might not be so particular, but he was the eldest son, and Chen Xuan had to fulfill his duties.

Looking down at himself, Gao Jingming grinned and said, "Axuan, go get some food first. Don't worry. After dinner, I'll go to the bathhouse to wash and change clothes. I'm too lazy to move now."

Chen Xuan no longer insisted. Although Xiao Cai and the others had prepared enough spare clothes for Gao Jingming, changing them several times a day would not be enough. It would be okay to change them later.

There is a bathhouse in the school with hot water in the morning and evening. Xiao Cai and the others have introduced this to us.

After pouring out the water, Chen Xuan took out the meal ticket from the cabinet and asked Gao Jingming, "How many dishes will you eat today, Master?"

"Two taels of rice, two meat dishes, one vegetable dish and a soup. Xuan, it's up to you. The food in the school tastes just so-so anyway," Gao Jingming said indifferently, slumped in his chair and didn't want to move.

Chen Xuan remembered it silently, took the meal ticket and went to the cafeteria with the dinner plate and soup bowl.

Meal tickets are prepared in advance and need to be purchased at school. They are divided into staple food tickets, meat dish tickets, vegetarian dish tickets, and soup tickets. A meat dish ticket costs five copper coins, a vegetarian dish and staple food ticket costs two copper coins each, and soup costs one copper coin.

In any case, all places in school that require money have been replaced by various tickets. Tickets are also needed for things like getting hot water. This is probably because scholars are trained to stay away from the smell of money from a young age. This is really an attempt to cover up one's mistake.

The bill is just a small piece of paper the size of a postage stamp with a seal on it. There is a small box in the cabinet, which contains hundreds of bills of various kinds. A young master like Gao Jingming can afford this.

In addition, the style of the dinner plate was not much different from what Chen Xuan remembered. The biggest difference was that it was made of wood.

You can eat in the cafeteria or take it back to your dorm. There are no hard and fast rules, but you need to clean up after yourself. As a newcomer, Chen Xuan needs a little bit of adjustment to everything.

It was time for dinner and there were still quite a few people in the cafeteria, so they had to queue up. Chen Xuan found the shortest queue and lined up at the back.

There is no window, only a row of wooden barrels containing various dishes and staples, which can be selected with tickets.

Most of the people queuing up are children, and judging by their attire, most of them are schoolboys or the like, but there are also adults and teenagers queuing up. It is not clear whether they are outsiders or teachers. It seems that everyone eats the same food, which can prevent students from eating inferior food and poisoning to a certain extent.

While waiting in line, Chen Xuan saw that Shu Yao, who had greeted him before, had ordered five or six meals by himself. He placed the plates in a large grid bamboo basket, and then took them away with some difficulty.

This is serious. He is indeed running errands for others to earn hard-earned money, and people around him are used to it.

When it was Chen Xuan's turn, he ordered three dishes and a soup for Gao Jingming, and one meat dish and one vegetable dish for himself. Whether at home or at school, he always had a quota of two dishes. Although no one was supervising him, it was better to order consciously. What if someone secretly checked the account and was accused of being dishonest? It would not be worth it. At least as long as he could eat his fill, it was enough.

When he left the cafeteria with the food, Shu Yao actually came back with a basket. It seemed that his "business" was quite good.

After taking the food back to the dormitory, Gao Jingming took a set of clean clothes and ran away, saying that he was going to the bathhouse with Zhou Lin and others to take a bath, and would come back after playing enough. Don't worry about him, he will naturally find Chen Xuan if there is anything.

The school was only that big, so he could go wherever he wanted. The servant didn't need to be with him all the time, and there were people watching over the bathhouse, so nothing would go wrong.

After washing the dishes, Chen Xuan had nothing to do, so he simply took out paper and pen to practice calligraphy, trying to make up for the missed progress as soon as possible. Now he has more room to operate in the school. After getting familiar with some people, he can quietly ask about the progress of the test and strive to understand the book as soon as possible.

Originally, Chen Xuan thought that Gao Jingming was self-disciplined and studious, but now it seems that it was just within the scope of the teacher's assignment and he had to complete it. In fact, he was just at the age of playing around.

Chen Xuan threw himself into practicing calligraphy. It was a new experience for him, and he was still using a brush, so it was easy to make mistakes if he was distracted...

Before he knew it, it was dusk. The sound of a deep evening drum brought Chen Xuan back to reality from practicing calligraphy.

The sunset glow in the sky is like fire, the mountains are covered with green trees and colorful flowers are blooming, creating a unique sense of tranquility and tranquility.

Looking out the window, he saw occasional children playing, but Chen Xuan noticed that most of the students were studying hard. Some were under trees, some were by the wall, and some were on the eaves. They were all concentrating, shaking their heads and nodding their heads, immersed in the world of books.

No matter what time, there are always diligent and hardworking people.

"Ah Xuan, are you practicing calligraphy? Good job, that's the way to go. Try to catch up with me as soon as possible."

Gao Jingming came back after changing his clothes and said in silence, seeming a little embarrassed.

This kid, when he went out to play by himself, actually felt a little ashamed when he saw others playing seriously.

Feeling amused, Chen Xuan helped him put his changed clothes in the bamboo house and would wash them when he had time. He couldn't really wait until the holiday to bring them down the mountain and let the servants wash them. It was his own job, so Chen Xuan tried his best to do it well. After all, the treatment he received was really good.

Then he asked Gao Jingming if there was anything he needed to do. He said no, so Chen Xuan rubbed his wrist and continued practicing calligraphy. He had already written about ten or twenty characters, and his progress was quite fast.

Seeing that Chen Xuan was still practicing calligraphy, Gao Jingming felt embarrassed and pretended to pick up the book to read. Chen Xuan went over to light the lamp and incense for him, and then continued to practice calligraphy.

Chen Xuan didn't stop until the sound of drums signaling dark and lights out prompted him to do so.

"A Xuan, go to bed early. You have to get up early tomorrow morning." Gao Jingming, who had been unable to contain himself any longer, dropped his book, washed up quickly, and went to bed.

After tidying up, Chen Xuan washed up, turned off the lights and went to bed to rest. He could hardly lift his hands. Practicing calligraphy was undoubtedly a painful process.

Chen Xuan was woken up by the urge to urinate at night. He went to the toilet in a daze under the bright moonlight outside the window. After he was done, he occasionally looked out the half-open window and suddenly woke up.

It’s not that he saw anything dirty, but he saw people outside reading books in the moonlight. There was more than one person, and he couldn’t see clearly, but Shu Yao seemed to be among them.

This made Chen Xuan gasp inwardly. This was too much. He was still studying when the moon was at its zenith? And in some rooms, it was obvious that someone was violating the rules by burning the midnight oil!

Thinking about how he practiced calligraphy in the afternoon and stopped when the lights went out at night, Chen Xuan felt a little speechless. He couldn't pass it, he simply couldn't pass it.

Looking at Gao Jingming who was sleeping like a dead pig, he thought, "Boy, if you don't work hard, you might end up having to go back and inherit your wealthy family's fortune in the future..."

(End of this chapter)