63. Scheming

The snacks on display are walnut pastries, which should be mixed with jujube paste. Eating them with tea will make them very moist and comfortable, and the people in the yamen will also enjoy them. On the table, there are also some thread-bound books, newspapers and other sundries for people to read.

After waiting for about a quarter of an hour, footsteps were heard from the corridor outside. A young man in a long robe walked over. He looked very normal from the Qin Province. If he was put on the street, there would be nothing surprising. He was in high spirits and seemed to walk without any rules. Unlike most people, he should have given up some things because he studied abroad.

These made his eyebrows look very tough, like a knife and an axe.

At a glance, you can tell that he is a military school student, and his demeanor is different from others.

Bai Gui heard the footsteps and stood up to greet him.

When he got closer, he saw more clearly that it was General Zhang who had cut off his braids. There was still some hair on his forehead. It was a very capable shape, and the whole person became different.

Yes, he cut off his braids.

Most of these students who studied abroad would cut off their braids. After returning home, no one would question their actions, as if they had tacitly approved of such things.

At the same time, after the defeat in the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895, in order to facilitate training, the new army generally cut off their braids.

"First..." Bai Gui was about to call him "Mr.", but he felt that this word was a bit inappropriate. The "Mr." used by the minister to greet customers was a bit humble, and the students respectfully called the teacher Mr. with admiration. He was now calling General Zhang "Mr.", which was not appropriate, because he was not a teacher yet.

The teacher-student relationship was not confirmed.

He changed his way of saying it, a novel way of saying it.

"Senior Zhang, I am Mr. Zhu's student. Because I have to take the provincial examination, the provincial examination has added a new subject of translation, so Mr. Zhu wrote a letter and asked me to come and ask you for Japanese..."

Bai Gui said first.

He had a little secret in his words. He was also a student who was about to be eligible to study in Japan at public expense. This title of "senior" was the most appropriate. If General Zhang asked, he could tell everything.

"Senior", at this time, it was also appropriate for his identity. General Zhang was also a scholar, and they had pursued the imperial examination together. It was natural for him to call himself a junior.

"You are Brother Meng Zhou's favorite student!"

General Zhang's tense face relaxed a little. He sat on the chair and opened the letter handed to him by Bai Gui. When he saw the signature on the cover of the letter, he had already believed most of it. Calligraphy is also difficult to forge these days. An old friend can tell the truth from the false at a glance.

He glanced at the content of the letter quickly and smiled. The look he gave Bai Gui was not cold, but the look he gave his own children and nephews...

"My Japanese is OK. You can come every three afternoons and I can give you some pointers."

General Zhang said.

He didn't think it was strange for Mr. Zhu to ask. Although he had recommended his juniors to the Japanese crash course, they, the students studying in Japan, had the most say in how to learn Japanese from scratch.

With the right teacher to give guidance, I don't know how much hard work can be saved.

The master-disciple relationship was determined.

Bai Gui also took the opportunity to give General Zhang the Parker fountain pen he had prepared as a gift for his apprenticeship.

"Yes, there is a line of English engraved on it. It is a fountain pen from Amei Ken. You are thoughtful."

General Zhang originally thought that Bai Gui was a traditional Confucian scholar. Even if he had some new ideas, he was not much better. Although he did not despise him and had a superior attitude, he still felt a little unfamiliar.

But after seeing this Parker fountain pen, he took a good look at Bai Gui, and his first impression was overturned. Moreover, this Parker fountain pen was exquisite and beautiful in his hand, and he felt very comfortable.

Five dollars was not much for him, but it was not a small amount.

It cost a lot to study in Japan. Although he was studying in Japan at public expense and was a military student of Zhenwu School, he had an allowance, but relying on such a small subsidy, his life was extremely tight. After returning to China, as a copyist, his salary was not very high.

"Sir, here are some of my doubts about Japanese..."

Bai Gui knew that he could take advantage of the situation and take the opportunity to ask for advice. He spread out his handouts and asked General Zhang to teach him about the unclear parts one by one.

He had sorted out these questions in advance.

When asking others to teach you, you must prepare in advance. Otherwise, when you wait for others to teach you, you will slowly look through the books to find the answers. Even if the person you are teaching is very close to you, he will feel impatient. This is taking other people's time lightly.

In addition, relationships are something that can only be formed after you have interacted with each other and become familiar with each other.

Friends who borrow money and repay it on time are definitely more close to you than friends who are polite to you on weekdays.

According to psychology, this is a lot of sunk costs, and there will be corresponding hints in your heart to let yourself continue to interact with them in order to get more rewards...

It is the same when teaching students.

But you can't be too clumsy. People who are alert will stop the loss immediately.

"Ruzi is teachable. Listen to my pronunciation. This word is like this..."

Seeing Bai Gui's learning speed, General Zhang was surprised for a while and continued to teach. After all, anyone who sees a smart, polite, and motivated student will be happy to teach him.

Soon, General Zhang got tired of talking and said, "Let's stop here today. Come back in three days. Also at this time today."

He left the ear room. Although the post of copying was only a transitional official post, there were many daily tasks. This was also an observation period. He had to work diligently every day so that he could be assigned a good official post.

But after General Zhang left, Bai Gui did not leave immediately in a hurry. Instead, he found a yamen runner, borrowed some paper, and wrote down the key points of what General Zhang had just said in the ear room.

No one would notice this habit of the day.

But every time it happens, it is not difficult to spread it to people's ears.

With General Zhang's promise to teach Japanese, Bai Gui decided to go to the provincial capital government office to learn Japanese every three days. During this period, thanks to Fujino Hachiheiji's teaching, General Zhang also praised his accent. Zhenwu School was opened in Tokyo, and Tokyo's accent is Kanto accent. At this time, Japan was not far from ancient times, and the shadow of the Edo period still influenced Japan. Kyoto accent is the dialect of the capital, which is better than Kanto accent.

The daily courses in Shiwuzhai are compact, but also very practical.

But Bai Gui still did not give up the study of the Four Books and Five Classics. Confucianism needs to be viewed dialectically. If you regard it as a way of dealing with the world, there are not many people in the world who are better than it. Moreover, he also has to prepare for the imperial examination. Although the proportion of Confucian knowledge in the prefectural and academy examinations has decreased, it is still not small.

Time slowly passed in this continuous learning.

It is worth mentioning that the Hulu Chicken restaurant they opened in the provincial capital has also achieved great sales, and the supply is in short supply. Every day, there are diners who order in advance. It is very popular in the provincial capital and makes a fortune every day...