Chapter 48: Naming 2/3

When the magistrate returned home and saw the golden boxes, he laughed heartily—Zhu Qian was indeed practical!

In the Miaoqian Village,

After learning that Zhu Xunmiao was the young master of the Zhu family, Li Laogen avoided Zhu Xunmiao, but then went to boast to the villagers, saying how much Li Qingzhi was valued by the Zhu family—after being injured, the eldest young master of the Zhu family actually came to see him in person.

Zhu Xunmiao came to see Li Qingzhi this time with some simple pastries, which were further praised by Li Laogen.

The villagers, influenced by Li Laogen’s words, all felt that Li Qingzhi’s broken arm was really worth it!

The news of visitors to the Li family couldn’t escape the notice of Yao Zhenfu, who lived next door. So, after being very happy last night and thinking of studying well today, Yao Zhenfu became restless again and couldn’t concentrate on anything all day.

Li Qingzhi just went to copy a book at the Zhu family’s place, why did Zhu Xunmiao still come to see him in person?

Yao Zhenfu felt annoyed and couldn’t help but mutter a few words. Jin Moli heard it and said, “I heard that Li Qingzhi helped Zhu Xunmiao block a blow. If it weren’t for him, Zhu Xunmiao’s face would have been ruined.”

“So that’s how it is! He’s not really capable, but he’s good at pleasing people!” Yao Zhenfu sneered. “But he definitely didn’t expect to lose his arm. With his arm broken, it might not necessarily heal!”

Yao Zhenfu complained all day long, and when Zhu Xunmiao left, he felt a little better.

And by this time, most of the day had already passed.

Forget it, I’ll read more tomorrow. There’s still half a year left until the county exam next year! Yao Zhenfu put down the book and laid down on the bed to rest.

On the other hand, after Zhu Xunmiao and the others left, Li Qingzhi was surrounded by villagers again, all of whom came to talk to him about Zhu Xunmiao.

“Li Qingzhi, that young master from the Zhu family is really impressive!”

“In my whole life, it’s the first time I’ve seen such a handsome young man!”

“Who are the ones who came with Young Master Zhu?”

“These scholars look different from us!”

…

Although Zhu Xunmiao and Xu Qifei’s appearance wasn’t particularly outstanding, their fair and tender skin was whiter than anyone in their village!

As people talked, they also mentioned Yao Zhenfu: “Compared to them, Yao Zhenfu doesn’t look like a scholar at all.”

Yao Zhenfu was short, chubby, and dark-skinned. Although he was indeed a scholar, he completely inherited Mr. Yao’s appearance, making him look more like a peasant.

Li Qingzhi enjoyed chatting with people, and today he chatted all day, feeling very happy.

But he couldn’t help but sigh—after chatting all day, he didn’t have time to read or write.

Starting tomorrow, he needed to restrain his desire to chat, read more, write more, and allocate an hour each day to teach the three children to read and do arithmetic.

The next morning, Li Qingzhi first taught Jin Xiaoye how to read and then picked up the borrowed book from the Zhu family to read.

After reading for an hour, he called the three children who were playing games.

When Li Damao and Li Ermao saw Li Qingzhi, each of them hugged one of Li Qingzhi’s legs.

Li Qingzhi would play with them and tell them stories, something that none of the other children’s fathers could do. Now, Li Damao and Li Ermao thought that their father was the best father in the village!

Ever since they had a father, they ate white rice and meat every day, a life they had never dared to dream of before.

Li Qingzhi kissed Li Damao and Li Ermao on the head, then said, “Damao, Ermao, Dad has given you two new names. Damao and Ermao will be your nicknames from now on. As for your formal names… Damao, your formal name will be Li Xingjian, meaning simplicity in doing things. Ermao, your formal name will be Li Xingyi, meaning easiness in doing things. Dad hopes that in the future, whatever you want to do, it will be simple and easy, and everything will go smoothly.”

After Li Qingzhi finished speaking, he carefully wrote these two names on different pieces of paper and gave them to Li Damao and Li Ermao.

After writing, Li Qingzhi saw Zhao Xiaodou looking at Li Damao and Li Ermao enviously.

Li Qingzhi smiled and said to Zhao Xiaodou, “Xiaodou, I’ve also given you a name. From now on, you’ll be called Zhao Tingju.”

In this era, it was very common for teachers to give students names, and Li Qingzhi believed that Zhao Xiaodou and Zhao Laosan would not object to the name he gave them.

After briefly explaining the meaning of Zhao Tingju’s new name in terms that the children could understand, Li Qingzhi took out another piece of paper and wrote the three characters “Zhao Tingju” on it.

After that, Li Qingzhi first instructed the three children to write their names on the ground. When they could write them smoothly, he gave them a brush and let them try to write their names on paper.

Zhao Xiaodou was the first to pick up the brush.

This was his first time holding a pen, and Zhao Xiaodou was extremely nervous, hesitating to put the pen on the paper.

Li Qingzhi encouraged, “Xiaodou, don’t be afraid, just write. Look at me; my right hand is broken, and the words written with my left hand are not very good-looking, but I can still write.”

Zhao Xiaodou, a few years younger than Li Damao and Li Ermao, was Li Qingzhi’s cousin — because Zhao Laosan became a son-in-law, they were considered cousins.

Encouraged by Li Qingzhi, Zhao Xiaodou carefully wrote his name on the paper. He was already eight years old, learning faster than Li Damao and Li Ermao. Plus, he had practiced many times before with caution… His handwriting was quite good, not much worse than Li Qingzhi’s.

After Zhao Xiaodou finished writing, Li Qingzhi asked Li Damao and Li Ermao to write, but the handwriting of these two children was crooked.

From today onwards, these three children had their names known.

After teaching them their names, Li Qingzhi then asked Li Damao and Li Ermao to teach Zhao Xiaodou how to count and recite multiplication tables.

As for himself, he was going to start writing a book.

Li Qingzhi planned to finish the County Magistrate’s book as soon as possible.

Li Qingzhi had a fulfilling day, but Yao Zhenfu next door had a different experience.

He didn’t get to read properly yesterday. Before going to bed, Yao Zhenfu was very annoyed. He thought about it and wrote himself a plan before sleeping.

He planned to start reading after breakfast the next morning. He intended to review the Analects in the morning and write an article in the afternoon.

After finishing his plan with enthusiasm, he slept. But the next morning, after having breakfast, he felt lethargic.

At first, he thought he could skip reading the Analects, take a break, and just write an article in the afternoon, but in the end, he neither read the book nor wrote the article…

Li Qingzhi was unaware of Yao Zhenfu’s thoughts.

He didn’t mind reading at all.

Reading was not tiring for him; he even enjoyed it.

During the apocalypse, he often fondly remembered the carefree days of attending school, even though he had found his senior year of high school challenging, it was still filled with warmth in his memories.

He had eaten particularly well during his senior year!