Chapter 25: Literacy

It has been half a month since settling down on Sishui Street.

Cheng Feng and Cai'er are now somewhat familiar with the surrounding area.

Sometimes Cai'er goes out to buy groceries and such, and she can greet the neighbors when she meets them.

It is a pity that Cheng Feng has not had time to go home and visit; he had previously planned to go back once every seven days!

There is a major task to be handled today.

He must find a teacher to teach him how to read and write.

Cheng Feng had already inquired about it before; two streets over on Sishui Street, there is a teacher who teaches literacy, with a tuition fee of one tael of silver.

But there is a time assessment at the Martial Arts Hall; before mastering the Horse Stance, Cheng Feng would not dare to act recklessly under any circumstances.

Now that the Horse Stance is mastered, as long as he is happy and joyful with Cai'er between the sheets, he can increase his experience, so he truly has no worries.

Cheng Feng calculated that one hundred points will raise him to the Proficient level.

Calculated at twice a day.

One month plus twenty days is enough.

For the sake of his own body.

Adding another ten days to space out the time for rest.

It is sufficient to raise the Horse Stance from beginner to Proficient in two months.

This time frame is neither prominent nor will it attract attention; it is quite ordinary!

Cheng Feng has also seen the three-month assessment of the others at the Martial Arts Hall; only three out of twenty people passed, and only then are they considered true Outer Disciples.

That is not something that can be achieved by simple entry-level mastery.

Cheng Feng estimates it is at least at the Proficient level.

Smooth and incomparable, natural rhythm, every movement like breathing.

This is the evaluation standard of the assessment master.

The current Cheng Feng and other newcomers are at most considered Peripheral Disciples.

Cheng Feng crossed two streets, arrived in front of the teacher's house, and knocked gently on the door.

Before long, the door opened, and a middle-aged man poked his head out, looking Cheng Feng up and down.

Cheng Feng hurriedly explained his purpose and handed over one tael of silver as tuition.

The middle-aged teacher nodded but did not accept the silver; he let Cheng Feng into the house and instead asked, "Why did you miss your early education?"

When a child begins to learn, it is called early education.

Cheng Feng did not hide it: "My family was poor in my youth; only now has the family situation improved."

The middle-aged teacher nodded.

"My surname is Liu; I wonder how to address you, young master?"

Cheng Feng reported his name: "I am Cheng Feng."

Master Liu said bluntly: "I have let Young Master Cheng make a wasted trip; my family affairs are busy, and I have not taught for nearly two years."

Cheng Feng lost his composure: "May I ask, Master, do you know where one can learn to read?"

Master Liu stroked his beard with one hand and said slowly: "Young Master Cheng, rest assured; although the world is not peaceful today, it is not to the point where people have nowhere to learn to read."

He then pointed Cheng Feng to a place and said to him: "This Lin You lives in the North District, but I heard that something happened in his family and he is in urgent need of money; one tael of tuition should be enough."

Cheng Feng thanked him; the information he had gathered himself was delayed.

The spread of news in this ancient society is indeed too slow.

Master Liu waved his hand quite easily: "I have always preferred those who are eager to learn; I wish there were more and more people in the world like you seeking knowledge."

"So he is a person who cares for the world," Cheng Feng could not help but feel respect.

He himself cannot be a hero, but that does not prevent Cheng Feng from admiring heroes, so he cupped his hands and said: "Master, you have great righteousness."

After exchanging a few more words with Master Liu, Cheng Feng left.

Following the address given by Master Liu, he arrived at the North City District.

"Tianzheng Street, Lane 5, Number 3."

Cheng Feng searched for the house number and came to knock on the door.

An old man in green clothes came to open the door.

He glanced at Cheng Feng and asked: "What is the matter?"

"My name is Cheng Feng, and I have come to seek education and literacy," Cheng Feng replied respectfully, handing over the one tael of silver.

The old man stepped aside to bring Cheng Feng inside and walked toward the front hall.

The two sat down, and Lin You chatted a bit about Cheng Feng's general situation.

He then agreed, as there was indeed someone in the family suffering from an illness.

Medicinal herbs also require silver to purchase.

He was not overly polite and was very calm.

Cheng Feng followed the old master to the classroom and saw neat desks, chairs, and books arranged inside; most of the students inside were young children, and there were a few older children about the same age as Lao San.

He ignored the strange looks from those children.

Cheng Feng's heart was filled with anticipation.

In Lin You's classroom, an older student arrived.

"From now on, you will sit here and study." The old master pointed to an empty seat.

After Cheng Feng sat down, the old master began to teach the class.

But Cheng Feng felt that this efficiency was a bit slow.

These children absorb slowly, but his own speed as an adult in absorbing knowledge is not slow at all.

It's impossible to just spend time grinding away here with the children day after day, right?

After all, he had paid the money.

After finishing a lesson, Cheng Feng brought this issue up to Mr. Lin.

Of course, the solution was also very simple.

Cheng Feng requested that Lin You teach him separately, focusing only on literacy and understanding the meaning of words and sentences, separate from the children's time; naturally, private lessons were more expensive, and Cheng Feng, in order to speed things up, painfully added another tael.

He then mentioned wanting to borrow a few books from Lin You to read at home.

Lin You could accept teaching Cheng Feng separately, but borrowing books to take home was absolutely unacceptable.

Even if Cheng Feng offered money, it wouldn't work.

It was only then that Cheng Feng realized that books in Great Zhou were very expensive.

The spread of knowledge was very difficult to circulate.

It could only be taught face-to-face.

Books could be called the family heirlooms of scholars.

Since they were heirlooms, they naturally could not be lent out.

But Lin You offered a compromise: he could copy the books at his house.

When Cheng Feng heard this, he thought it was acceptable too.

This way, he could also keep a few books at home.

Later, he could also teach Cai'er or Lao San.

Although Cheng Feng knew nothing about the characters of Great Zhou, he studied very earnestly, constantly asking the old gentleman questions.

Time passed quickly, and in the blink of an eye, a month went by. Through the Fortune Points Cheng Feng gained from his union with Zhang Caier every day, his skill experience constantly improved, and his literacy also made significant progress.

In this process, Cheng Feng also gradually understood the culture and history of Great Zhou, and he began to develop a deeper interest in this era.

Lin You had a book in his house called the Historical Mirror.

According to the records in the book, before Great Zhou there was Great Gan, before Great Gan there was Great Shang, and before Great Shang, after the chaos of various states, further back was the ancient history when there were powerful divine anomalies between heaven and earth, and the human race lived in tribes scattered across various places.

But there were also disputes and wars among the divine anomalies.

Thus, you had relatives, I had children, and the fighting began.

The book recorded divine anomalies as having abnormal appearances, being exceptionally tall, and possessing extraordinary abilities.

In Cheng Feng's view, that was truly just a legend.

Humans living in the surrounding areas under the tribal system had a hard time and sought the protection of divine anomalies.

Most divine anomalies looked down on weak humans.

But there were always some kind-hearted divine anomalies willing to provide protection.

Some even went so far as to unite with humans and give birth to offspring.

And wars between divine anomalies were unavoidable, and humans were also affected.

Later, no one knew who won, but in the end, the barren land left after the wars was left to the humans.

They began to pass it down from generation to generation.

The human race on these various territories began to group together and develop, transitioning from a tribal system to a feudal system.

Then came the chaotic wars of various large and small states.

After thousands upon tens of thousands of years, they finally ushered in a great unification, which was Great Shang.

After Great Shang had passed for several thousand years, it began to fall into chaos, and Great Gan rose.

After another two thousand years, chaos arose again, Great Zhou rose, and its current national reign has also lasted for nearly two thousand years.