Chapter 480 Living in the Shadow of Lu Xun

The train Su Xun took was an early train, departing at the last quarter of the morning, which was 9 o'clock in the morning.

He was lucky not to be delayed this time.

The eight-hour drive was nothing but boring except for the novelty at the beginning.

Su Shi stared outside the car the whole time, looking at the scenery along the way.

Except when it was lunch time, everyone went to the dining car, met a lot of people, and chatted with each other.

Many people will take the initiative to talk to Su Xun.

At this time, the trains were reserved for wealthy businessmen and powerful people. This was a good opportunity to expand your network.

Su Xun's family of five lived in a row, so naturally they had no chance to communicate with others before.

Now when we arrived at the dining car, some businessmen guessed from Su Xun's appearance that he was an official, so they naturally tried to get close to him.

Those people became even more enthusiastic when they learned that Su Xun used to be the governor of the fifth rank and was now going to Beijing to listen to the candidates.

Brother Su Shi naturally took this opportunity to chat with them about mathematics, physics, chemistry, and Bianliang High School. They also learned that the Song Dynasty paid more and more attention to science, and even included it in the imperial examination.

This also further aroused the Su Shi brothers' curiosity about mathematics, physics and chemistry.

Time passed quickly like this.

By the end of Shenshi time and the beginning of Youshi time in the afternoon, the train finally arrived in Bianliang.

"Is this Kaifeng City in Bianliang?"

After getting off the train, the Su brothers, carrying their luggage and suitcases, were shocked.

In the evening, the sun has not yet set. Under the rays of the setting sun, the tall buildings outside Bianliang City are like a steel jungle, blocking the sky.

Compared with the scattered buildings in Xiangyang City, Bianliang is now densely packed with buildings, extending to the outskirts of Nancheng.

The number of bicycles and rickshaws outside the train station is many times that in Xiangyang, and there are even street lights laid out on telegraph poles, lighting up every street.

This is the time when school and work are over. Now there is more than one school in Bianliang, ranging from elementary school to high school, and there are more than ten schools, large and small.

Mainly primary schools, then five junior high schools, and a new high school was established. The former Bianliang High School was renamed Kaifeng No. 1 Middle School, and the newly established No. 2 Middle School was just outside Nancheng.

They saw many people of their own age wearing blue and white school uniforms with the words Kaifeng No. 2 Middle School printed on them. They were all smiling and walking proudly and confidently near the train station.

These students are also something to be proud of.

Bianliang High School was opened four years ago in Jingyou. In the past sixteen years, it has already trained many talents, many of whom participated in the imperial examination or were admitted to Bianliang University.

As a newly established No. 2 middle school, neither the quality of teaching nor the quality of students has declined due to the addition of one more school. It is still very strict.

The school does not care about their background, only their grades and abilities. Since there are only two high schools in Bianliang, if they can get into it, they themselves represent the favored students of heaven and are the only geniuses in the world.

Even if you fail to pass the imperial examination or university in the future, you will be considered an intellectual after graduation. It is more than enough for you to work as a teacher in primary and junior high schools in other places, or as a manager or technical worker in a factory.

Just like in the early days of the founding of the People's Republic of China in later generations, senior talents with a junior high school or high school education were already very rare. In the Song Dynasty, when basic education was not yet universal, high school education was also very impressive.

In addition to the imperial examination, special subjects such as the virtuous and upright and the official examination, with the same scores and a junior high school or high school degree or above, are often the candidates for merit-based admission.

As for a university degree, it not only adds points in these examinations, it is also very valuable in the imperial examinations and is highly valued.

So the future for these students is bright.

Su Shi couldn't help but look envious when he looked at his peers. Compared with Bianliang, his hometown of Meizhou was no different from the countryside.

There were no bicycles, no high-rise buildings, no electric wires, not even newspapers.

Even while taking the train, except for the changes in a few cities with developed commerce and trade such as Chengdu, Xiangyang, and Jiangsu and Zhejiang, what he saw were counties and villages that were no different from those in the Song Dynasty.

But Su Shi knew that these were only temporary.

Because he broadened his horizons on the train, and after arriving in Bianliang, he saw a different world.

‘Technology changes life, reading changes destiny, and strive for the rise of China. ’

Su Shi remembered a newspaper he had seen on the train.

That was the Dasong Daily a few days ago. It was prepared every day on the train. The article written by Zhao Jun on the development of basic education was still fresh in my mind.

At this moment, he knew what he wanted to do in the future - study hard and be a person who changes the world.

"Let's go!"

Su Xun was also very shocked when he first arrived in Bianliang.

The last time he came was six years ago, when he was transferred from Mizhou Tongpan to Daozhou magistrate and came to Bianliang for surveying.

Bianliang had changed a lot at that time, but it was far less shocking than it is now.

After leaving the train station, the family took a rickshaw again and headed towards Dongcheng while it was still dark.

Su Huan now lives outside Dongcheng.

He was a Jinshi in the second year of Tiansheng's reign, and his qualifications were pretty good, but his official career had not been smooth. At this time in history, he was only the magistrate of Quzhou, and he did not become the executioner of Luti in Lizhou until 1055 AD.

However, now that he was appreciated by Zhao Jun, he was promoted from the magistrate of Xiangfu County to the general magistrate of Kaifeng Prefecture, and later was transferred to Ezhou as the magistrate, and his official career was smooth.

As a result, when he was about to step down and be promoted, his father passed away and he had to go home to mourn.

After mourning, he returned to Bianliang for the selection and selection, and was taken away by Zhao Jun to tour the country.

Relying on the gilding in the past two years, he skipped the fifth rank and the fourth rank, and was promoted two levels in a row. He is currently working as the director of the Zhizhisi.

This is a three-level institution, with the chief officer being the fourth rank, who is responsible for drafting government orders, imperial edicts and other documents.

He is responsible for managing the clerks who help organize documents in the Political System Institute, and is also responsible for writing the political orders of the Political System Institute, similar to the previous Zhizhigao.

So Su Huan was also assigned a house, which was a tube-shaped building with a back-shaped structure, and most of the residents were government officials, which was equivalent to a house allocated by the unit.

In Bianliang, where every inch of land is worth a lot of money, even if the official salary is not low, if you want to buy a house in the city, you have to save for many years without eating or drinking.

"No. 27 Qingshuitang Street, this is it."

The rickshaw took Su Xun and his family to the place.

While Su Xun was paying, Su Shi got out of the car and looked up.

This is a seven-story building.

There is a square wall outside the building. The main gate is closed, but there is a small door next to it.

In the security room of the small door, two security guards were staring at them.

If it were placed in the future, there would be many such buildings, which would look like the family compound of a certain government unit from the 1990s to the 2000s.

But in the Song Dynasty, it would feel weird.

I am used to the kind of mansions with several entrances and exits. Seeing such a tall building, although it feels really high, it makes people feel a little depressed.

Su Xun paid the money, carried his luggage and took his family to the guard room, and asked the security guard inside: "Is this No. 27 Qingshuitang Street?"

"Yes, who are you looking for?"

The security guard was very polite. The people living here are all officials, and the people who come and go are definitely not ordinary people, so they naturally cannot be easily offended.

Su Xun said, "I am Su Xun, the former governor of Ezhou. This time I went to Beijing for the examination and selection. After arriving in Bianliang, it was getting late, so I came to seek refuge with my brother, Su Huan. He wrote to me some time ago and said that he now lives at No. 27 Qingshuitang Street."

"It turns out that he is Su Chisi's brother. Chisi just finished his duty. I will go up and call him for you now."

The security guard heard that the other party was the governor of a certain place and came to find Su Huan. He did not dare to be careless and immediately went up to report.

Not long after, a young man in his twenties came down in a hurry.

When he saw Su Xun's family, he hurried over to greet them: "Uncle, aunt, Ba Niang, He Zhong, Tong Shu."

"Bu Qi."

"Bu Qi, brother."

Several people also greeted the young man.

This man was Su Huan's eldest son Su Bu Qi.

Su Xun had two older brothers, he was the third oldest, and the eldest Su Dan was also a Jinshi, but unfortunately he died early, in his twenties.

Therefore, brothers Su Huan and Su Xun paid more attention to family affection. Even though they were both officials in other places, they often wrote letters.

"Uncle, why are you here?"

Su Buqi went up to help with the luggage and said, "Father was still talking about you."

Su Xun smiled and said, "It's not good to stay at home all the time. This time I should go to Beijing for inspection."

Su Buqi took them upstairs and said, "You came by train, right? Then you should send a telegram so that I can pick you up at the train station."

"Can we send a telegram too?"

"Yes, but it's more expensive."

"Brother Buqi, how can we tell others the news by telegram?"

Su Shi looked up at the corridor. The corridor was not narrow, but even spacious. There were many honeycomb coals piled in the corner.

"It's expensive because it's troublesome to tell others the news."

Su Buqi took them to the third floor, and then turned left to a straight corridor.

The corridor is more than 100 meters long, but only four families live here, which is enough to know that the houses here are much larger than the buildings outside.

"I also heard from others that the Zhiyuan invented Pinyin, with a total of 23 initials and 24 finals. The telegraph machine has 47 wires, each wire represents a different Pinyin, so through the combination, you can send out the text you want to know."

Su Buqi was just saying this when two young people came out of the door of the second house.

They were Su Huan's second son Su Buyi and youngest son Su Buwei. The two came up to help with things, and then Su Huan's wife Yang came out and greeted them warmly.

After a few greetings, Yang hurriedly called them into the house.

It was the first time for Su Shi and Su Zhe to enter such a tube building. Looking at the outside, they felt a little depressing, but the inside was not particularly narrow.

What came into view was a huge living room with all kinds of furniture, including sofas, tables, chairs, cabinets, and windows with transparent glass, so you can see the sunset outside.

Looking to the left, there is a toilet and kitchen on the left.

Looking to the right, there is a bedroom on the right, and there is a door at the innermost of the living room, which leads to a large balcony of more than 100 square meters outside.

Su Huan is a fourth-rank official, which is equivalent to the highest local official in the future.

Although the place where he lives is not a small villa, it is more than 300 square meters, which is naturally very luxurious. Perhaps the only thing missing is a radio and a TV.

Otherwise, it would be a room for old cadres in the future.

At this moment, Su Huan is sitting on a sponge sofa produced by the Bianliang Furniture Factory and reading a newspaper. The School of Chemistry has not been a place for nothing for so many years, and has developed many useful things.

It can be said that the highest level of life in the Song Dynasty now is basically the same as that in the early days of the founding of the People's Republic of China, except that there are no electrified products.

"Mingyun is here, come and sit."

Su Huan put away the newspaper, sat at the table and said to Mrs. Yang: "Madam, go make tea, let Buqi go out again, and tell Grandma Yang to buy more food to go home."

Su Xun saw that he was not wearing the traditional scholar's robe, but a four-patch garment with standing lapels and pocket flaps.

He glanced around, sat down next to Su Huan with some doubts, and said, "Second brother, why do you ask sister-in-law to make tea? There is no maid in the house?"

"Hey, call me a servant girl, or a manpower, not a maid or a slave. There is indeed only one maid brought here by your sister at the moment, but she is not a slave, she is a servant hired by the family."

Su Huan waved his hand and said: "Your ideological consciousness is still too low. The Imperial Court has repeatedly issued orders that the people must not be made slaves. Everyone must be equal in personality. You must always live at home. You must not listen to current affairs, and you must not understand the changes in the court."

"Forehead"

Su Xun is asking for trouble.

Su Shi was still curious and said: "Uncle, these are your clothes."

"This is called formal wear."

Su Huan lowered his head and glanced, then smiled and said: "At the beginning of this year, the imperial court changed the official uniform to court uniform. It can only be worn at court meetings or formal occasions. When working in the government office, or in private, formal clothes or casual clothes can be worn."

"oh."

Su Shi scratched his head.

Su Huan said to Su Xun: "Ming Yun, you came to Beijing this time to conduct research and selection."

"Yes."

Su Xun nodded and said: "To keep my father's filial piety, and because of Banniang's matter, I haven't been an official for five years. Thanks to the magistrate, now that Banniang's matter is over, it's time for me to go to Beijing to listen."

"Well, you came just in time."

Su Huan said: "The imperial court is short of people now. You don't know. There is a shortage of officials everywhere. Before we conquered Youyan, we sent many officials there. Now we have conquered the Western Region and sent many officials there. Every department is short of hard workers." Official, the Magistrate said before that your talents are far superior to mine, but unfortunately he has been observing filial piety. Now that he knows you are here, he will definitely be very happy. Tomorrow you will report to the Ministry of Personnel first, and then go to the Court of Judges. I will follow Zhiyuan, please tell me, Zhiyuan will see you when I see you."

"Thank you, brother."

Su Xun nodded repeatedly.

The scene of meeting the magistrate at the county government office in Xiangfu County is still vivid in my mind.

Thinking of Chiyuan's appreciation, I was also excited.

"He Zhong, Tong Shu."

Su Huan looked at brother Su Shi again.

The two brothers were not yet twenty and had no given names. They were both nicknamed by Su Shi's father, Su Xun, when they were 13 and 9 years old respectively.

"uncle!"

Su Shi and Su Che stood up quickly.

"When you study at home, do you learn mathematics and science?"

Su Huan asked.

"No."

Su Shi and Su Che shook their heads honestly.

"Then what do you study all day?"

"Learn ancient and modern texts."

"Is it your father who is teaching you?"

"Yes, mother."

"Nonsense."

Su Huan slapped the table, looked at Su Xun, pointed at him and said angrily: "You stupid head, I asked you to pay more attention to current affairs, how can you delay the children's learning in this way?"

By now, Su Xun also knew the importance of mathematics, physics and chemistry, so he could only say awkwardly: "My father died of illness, and there is also the matter of Banniang. I have been entangled with the Cheng family all day long, and I am worried about Banniang's health. How can I care about this?"

"Okay, I don't want to hear your explanation. No matter what official position you choose, even if you go to the Western Regions to be magistrates, He Zhong and Tong Shu will have to stay in Bianliang, go to school, and learn mathematics and science."

Su Huan nodded and said: "You were lucky enough to meet the magistrate. You won the imperial examination before mathematics and science were included in the imperial examination. But you can't think that your children can follow your old path in the future. What era are we in now? If you don't know mathematics, , who will admit them? If you stick to the old ways and stay in Meizhou, you will destroy He Zhong and Tong Shu, do you understand?"

"yes."

Su Xun couldn't refute, so he had to agree.

"uncle."

When he heard that he would live in Bianliang forever, Su Shi quickly spoke.

Su Huan turned his head and said with some lingering anger: "What's the matter?"

"I would like to know if Mr. Lu Xun is also in Bianliang?"

Su Shi asked.

"I heard it is."

When Su Xun heard about Lu Xun, he showed an expression of admiration and said: "This gentleman is really a great talent. He often writes articles in newspapers and knows a little bit about the current situation of the Song Dynasty. He often talks about the sufferings of the people and discusses the evils of the people. Even the magistrates often write articles in newspapers. To quote Mr.

As he spoke, he looked at Su Shi in confusion and said, "What are you asking Mr. Lu Xun for?"

"this"

Su Shi hesitated for a moment and said, "I just think what Mr. Wang said is really inspiring and thought-provoking. The other thing is..."

"Just what?"

"Just reading the poems written by my husband, I don't know why, but I feel like I have been living in his shadow, as if those poems should have been written by me."

"Hahahahaha."

Su Xun laughed, clasped his hands and said, "It's a good thing for a young man to be talented, but he shouldn't be too obsessed with other people's works. In the long run, just like you are now, when you write a poem, you should step out of your own thinking. Do you understand?"

"My nephew understands."

Su Shi lowered his head and looked out the window again, his eyes full of confusion.

Having said that.

But this feeling of living in the shadow of Mr. Lu Xun still lingers in my heart and cannot be shaken off.