Crossing the Unknown Country

They stepped onto the high stone steps and entered the courtyard through the tall main gate. They first looked for the academy director Qian Shan. After entering the courtyard, they bypassed a tall hidden wall and saw that the courtyard was quite large. There were a few ornamental trees planted in the middle of the courtyard. There was a rockery pond next to the wall, and fish were swimming freely in the pond. The courtyard was also orderly, with stone benches and stone tables placed around, and the children could walk around and sit after class. There were seven or eight rooms in the front of the courtyard, and children of different ages were taking classes in each room. At this time, the sound of children reading aloud could be heard.

They were led to the door of a house by servants waiting in the yard, and saw a middle-aged man in a long gown and elegant temperament coming out. He was not tall but had a straight figure, a straight gaze, and a righteous face. Uncle Su He introduced this as the head of the mountain, Qian Shan, and the five children respectfully stepped forward to salute, and Su He's father also bowed his hands in salute.

When Principal Qian saw that there was a girl among the five children, he smiled and said, "We don't accept girls here. You can't let me break the rules."

Su He's father smiled and said, "The child saw that the headmaster is an elder and you will be her brothers' future teacher, so she had to step forward and pay her respects."

Dean Qian nodded approvingly, and then asked the four children to introduce themselves. After the four brothers introduced themselves, Dean Qian asked the four brothers about their knowledge one by one. The academy needs to arrange the four people to attend classes according to their situations. In the end, the two older ones will be in one class, and the two younger ones will be in a lower class, but they don't have to go to the basic class.

Shanzhang Qian arranged for the servants to take the four brothers to their respective classes, and then took Uncle Su He and the others to the back yard. They needed to pay the fees. They asked the accountant to give them the book list and receipt, and Uncle Su He paid the fees together.

Finally, Dean Qian told them about the academy's break time, get out of class time, and school dismissal time. It also told them about the academy's rules, the annual gifts for teachers, and other things. Dean Qian didn't think these things were tainted with the smell of money, which was why Uncle Su He wanted the children to come here.

After they were done, Principal Qian took them back to the front yard and said goodbye to each other. Principal Qian asked his servant to escort them out. The servant politely led them out of the academy. He stood at the gate of the academy and said goodbye to them. He assured them that the principal would teach his students well.

Su He's father and uncle thanked him repeatedly before taking Su He back to his car. Su He thought that this mountain head looked good, and hoped that his brothers could study hard here and realize their dreams as soon as possible.

Su He's father and uncle agreed that they would go for a stroll in the town, and that uncle would go home first and bring his aunt back to sell tofu. They said goodbye and went their separate ways.

Su He followed his father to the library first and handed in the books they had copied. When they arrived at the library, they were all acquaintances. The front was busy, so the clerk shouted to the back and let them go by themselves.

Su He followed her father to the backyard, and Boss Zhao called them in, smiling and pouring them tea. Su He handed the book over, and told him about her four brothers who were studying at the academy, and that she should take fewer books home to copy in the future.

Boss Zhao was very happy and kept congratulating them on being able to send their children to school. He said, "This is a good thing. It will give them time to study hard. I can give you some manuscripts that are not urgently needed. You can take your time to copy them. In short, it is better not to delay their study time."

Su He's father was very grateful and thanked him repeatedly. Su He stood up and bowed to express his gratitude.

Boss Zhao asked her to stand up. He had seen the children work hard. In the past year, the books copied by the children were neat and tidy, without any omissions. His customers were very satisfied. He also liked these children very much and tried his best to take care of them. It was a good thing for the children to enter the academy, and he was happy for them.