You are my golden finger

Chapter 112 Qingsong Academy

After the Lantern Festival, the charity schools in various towns and villages and Qingsong Academy opened. Lin Xijin invited the teachers of the charity schools, the head of the village, the clan leader and several elders to a dinner, and asked Xihui, Xinfeng, Xingcheng and Xiaowen to thank the teachers and say farewell.

Master Liang was the one who taught the four for the longest time, because he had lived in Shiziwo with his wife and daughter for a long time, and had always had close contacts with Lin Xijin's family. His wife also gave birth to a son under Lin Xijin's care, and she treated these people as her own juniors.

On behalf of the teachers, he encouraged them, "You four are very talented and have achieved success at a young age. However, you are still young and have not accumulated enough knowledge and life experience. You need to study hard and practice diligently, and avoid arrogance and impatience. Remember this!"

"We will listen carefully to your teachings, Master!" the four answered in unison.

In the spring morning, the air is moist and the wind is still a little chilly. Fortunately, the soft sunlight has penetrated the clouds and sprinkled on the newly awakened earth, and the air is filled with a fresh breath.

Lin Xijin took An'an, Jiajia, Xinlan and Mujin in one carriage. Xihui, Xinfeng, Xingcheng and Xiaowen took another carriage. There were two more carriages behind them, one carrying the four servants and the other carrying the luggage, and they drove to the city together.

The four book boys were also bought by Ma Guanshi. Ma Guanshi had a good eye. They were well-versed in literature and were smart. They were of the same age as the four of them, so Lin Xijin was quite satisfied. He named them Qingyang, Qingsong, Qingbai, and Qingzhu, and asked them to serve Xihui, Xinfeng, Xingcheng, and Xiaowen.

Today was the day to send the boys to Qingsong Academy to study. After all, they had not met the master yet, so Lin Xijin still wanted to meet the headmaster and the master in person and present the six gifts and tuition for becoming a disciple.

It is necessary to respect these people. We don't ask them to take special care of their children, but just ask them not to be ignored. Besides, there will be a steady stream of outstanding students sent to the charity school in the future.

The road from Qingyuan to Fucheng has been paved with cement. It has been widened and straightened based on the original road, making the journey much faster. A journey that originally took two or three days now only takes one day.

In the evening, the group arrived at the gate of Qingsong Academy.

I saw the heavy and ancient gate of the academy standing quietly on the stone steps. On the lintel were written the four big characters "Qingsong Academy" in cursive script. The strokes were lifelike, as if they were about to break through the shackles of time and meander towards the green mountains in the distance.

The academy is surrounded by green mountains and lush green trees. At this moment, the orange-red sun is hanging over the mountains, bringing up clouds in the sky. It must be said that Qingsong Academy is a good place with outstanding people and beautiful scenery.

The few people did not rush to enter the academy, but came to two shops. One was clearly marked "Rulin Bookstore" and the other was marked "Delicious Home Cooking Restaurant".

You can tell who built these shops by looking at the plaques. Yes, these are the two shops that Lin Xijin opened for these guys. Aunt Jianan heard the noise and hurried out of the restaurant to greet them.

Xingjie, who was busy in a bookstore nearby, also hurried out.

Xingjie is the grandson of the fourth uncle, the elder in the clan. He is sixteen years old this year and has studied in school for two years. However, he feels that he is not cut out for studying and taking imperial examinations, so he does not want to continue studying. He has been following his uncle Jian'an to build roads for a year.

However, he was very diligent in learning to count and do accounts with Xihui and others, and he actually learned well. He was also smart and honest. Lin Xijin let him come to manage the store out of consideration for his fourth uncle's family.

Uncle Jianan and Aunt Jianan were in charge of the restaurant. Aunt Jianan was efficient and had good cooking skills. Originally, Lin Xijin asked them to cooperate directly with Delicious House, but the two were not happy about it and did not want to take advantage of Lin Xijin too much, so they had to adopt a three-party cooperation method.

Delicious House provides the recipes and sends out a master chef, accounting for 30% of the profit; Lin Xijin provides all kinds of seasonings and drinks needed by the restaurant, also accounting for 30% of the profit; Lin Jianan and the other person are responsible for managing the restaurant, recruiting laborers, and being responsible for purchasing and other matters, accounting for 40% of the profit.

In fact, as long as the restaurant is on the right track, it doesn't matter if only one of them stays in the store at ordinary times. Lin Jianan can run between the store and home. Besides, the road from the capital to Kyoto has begun to be paved with cement, and he is still needed to preside over the road construction.

The boys got off the carriage and followed Xingjie into the bookstore. Lin Xijin brought a few girls and An'an and followed Aunt Jian'an into the restaurant. Lin Jian'an and the waiter drove the carriage to the backyard and unloaded the luggage of the few people.

After a short rest, we had dinner together. The chef's cooking skills were good, and everyone at the table was hungry, so the meal was very satisfying.

Lin Xijin called the waiter and asked him to go to the academy to deliver a visiting card to the principal and see when he was free to meet her.

Not long after, the waiter came back and told her that the headmaster would be free to meet her at the beginning of the next morning at 9:00 p.m. Lin Xijin gave the waiter two dimes and went to the backyard to wash up and rest.

The next day, Lin Xijin brought four boys and four servants, and asked two servants to push the gifts in a cart to the academy.

The concierge had been notified and, after hearing their names, he took them directly to see the headmaster, who met them in a study.

The study room is very elegantly decorated. The first thing you see is a tall mahogany bookcase filled with all kinds of books. In front of the bookcase is a huge mahogany desk and a mahogany chair, on which are placed the four treasures of the study and a pot of orchids. There is also an exquisite bronze incense burner, and the air is filled with a faint scent of sandalwood. The walls around are covered with ink paintings, exuding a rich artistic atmosphere.

The headmaster Cai Yuming, who was in his fifties, was sitting at the coffee table drinking tea and chatting with a middle-aged scholar. When he saw them come in, he quickly stood up and greeted her.

"I have heard of your great name for a long time. Your visit today has brought honor to our academy. It is truly a blessing for the academy!" the dean said in an elegant tone.

"Thank you for being polite, Master. I am sorry for disturbing you. From now on, we will have to rely on your guidance." Lin Xijin replied.

"This is Master Liao Yunlang. Since I don't know how well your brothers have done, I'll let the four of them study with Master Liao first, and then make adjustments based on their progress." The dean introduced them to the middle-aged scholar standing nearby.

Lin Xijin exchanged greetings with Master Liao again, and quickly asked the waiter to present the six gifts and tuition. Xihui and the other three formally performed the ceremony of paying respects to the headmaster and Master Liao, and then they humbly sat down to drink tea.

Shanzhang and Master Liao were surprised to see two piles of gift boxes of different sizes filling up the open space nearby. This was definitely more than the six gifts given by the four people.

The two of them couldn't help themselves and were curious about what Lin Xijin would give them. They kept glancing at the pile of gifts.

Lin Xijin was a little amused, and to satisfy their curiosity, she took the initiative to introduce the gifts she brought. In addition to the six gifts, she also brought six classics, four treasures of the study, two paintings and calligraphy by famous artists, incense and fine wine, tea and fruits. In short, all the things that scholars and writers like were prepared.

The two of them politely declined, but they couldn't hide the smiles on their faces.

"Principal, our Rulin Bookstore has printed a batch of classics and is preparing to donate them to the academy. I wonder if the academy is willing to accept them?" Lin Xijin asked.

"Thank you so much, Your Excellency. On behalf of all the members of the academy, I would like to thank Your Excellency for your kindness!" The dean expressed his gratitude repeatedly, and Master Liao echoed him.

Lin Xijin and the two agreed that the first batch of donated books would be 2,000 volumes, to be delivered in three days.

Finally, I invited the two of them to invite their good friends to the "Rulin Bookstore" for lunch and have a meal at the "Delicious Home-style Restaurant". The two of them gladly agreed.

Only then did they realize that in order to take care of her younger brothers' studies, she had actually bought two shops next to the academy, which was really a generous move.

Master Liao took Xihui and four other people and four servants to arrange accommodation, while Lin Xijin said goodbye and left with the waiter.