Neighbor

11-20

Chapter 11 The scholar and the semi-illiterate

Before Li Erkun disappeared, he ran a boat every year and his income was just enough. When Li Guo was 8 years old, he sent Li Guo to a private school for half a year. As soon as he could write Li Guo, he had no money to pay the tuition. The ship Li Erkun was traveling with encountered a shipwreck, and Li Erkun did not return.

It was an ordinary sea-going ship, carrying more than thirty merchants of all sizes and their servants, and more than twenty boatmen.

The ship ran aground in a storm near Champa and was shattered. A few days later, the people rescued by passing ships returned to the harbor, a total of forty-three people, but Li Erkun was not among them.

Li Guo carried Guomei on his back and walked around the warehouse. He watched the goods being unloaded from the ship. The accounting clerk took a pen and abacus and made calculations on the side. Some accountants like to register goods and like to report the name of the owner of the goods, the name of the goods, and the weight while writing, with ups and downs of tone, which is very interesting.

Li Guo would imitate the appearance of a cashier, holding a piece of waste paper in his hand, making a written form, and reporting the name and weight of the goods.

"If the thief is illiterate, he still imitates the accountant."

The sailors and footmen would make fun of him.

Li Guo was not angry. He would say that he was literate, and then write words like "ten million, fields, earth and mountains" on the sand.

Li Guo is semi-literate.

He doesn't understand what "the ancient gentlemen were strict with themselves and gentle with others." (To the effect: a true gentleman is strict with himself and lenient with others). He heard Zhao Qimo recite this sentence, and it sounded very pleasant.

After the Chinese New Year, Zhao Qimo went to study in a county school outside the city. The journey was a bit long. He went there and back on horseback every morning and evening, accompanied by his servant.

When returning from outside the city after school, we sometimes pass by the harbor. At this time, Li Guo will see a huge group of people, led by four scholars: Zhao Qimo from the Nth generation official, Liu Jing from the second generation official, Wang Jing from the second generation rich, and Sun Qimin, the third generation rich .

The Sun family and the Wang family in the east of the city were both maritime merchant families and very wealthy.

Behind this group of young masters, there were more than a dozen servants, following closely, fearing that they were not taken care of well.

Whenever Zhao Qimo passed by the seaport, Li Guo would follow him from a distance. If he couldn't get close to Zhao Qimo, his servants would stop him.

"Qi Mo."

But Li Guo could shout.

So the young masters made fun of Li Guo and teased Zhao Qimo.

"Qimo, the thief is calling you."

Most of the time, Zhao Qimo would pretend not to hear, and sometimes he would turn around and nod.

Even if people like Zhao Qimo and Guo Thier get mixed up, the scholars will not reject him because Zhao Qimo is from the royal family.

The official's family is not as good as the royal relatives, but they can look down on the merchants; the merchants who wear silk and silk are not as good as the official's family, but they can also look down on the poor people who wear coarse linen clothes. Even these children, who are twelve or thirteen years old, understand the differences between them.

Li Guo, who is at the bottom, doesn't know what the royal family is. Zhao Qimo, isn't he Zhao Qimo.

School ended early that day, and tomorrow is a holiday, and the scholars passed through the harbor in great numbers.

Li Guo saw the students after school and hurriedly ran out of the warehouse. He was holding a half-eaten sugarcane in his hand. Because of the hot summer weather, he was holding up his trousers, one foot high and one foot low. He stood by the roadside, looking for Zhao Qimo in the crowd. He didn't notice Guomei following him out, and out of curiosity, he walked towards the mighty team. By the time Li Guo came to his senses, Guomei had already walked to the roadside and fell to the ground in panic because of the horse's neighing. Just when he stopped in front of King Whale, King Whale jumped off his horse angrily, raised his whip and was about to greet Guomei. Li Guo rushed over to grab the riding crop. The two had always been enemies of each other, and they were incompatible with each other. They went back and forth, and soon they got into a fight.

Guomei cried loudly on the ground, and people gathered around her. The King Whale servant pulled Li Guo away, and the two children were still yelling at each other. King Whale did not dare to cause trouble in the harbor. His second uncle Wang Chao took care of his warehouse. He was afraid of attracting his second uncle and getting scolded.

"Guo thief, just wait!"

"Afraid of you, you dead whale? Just wait!"

Li Guo bared his teeth and claws, hands on his hips, he didn't want to lose his momentum in front of Zhao Qimo.

King Whale got on his horse angrily and left with all the scholars.

Seeing King Whale leave, Li Guo pulled up his clothes to check. He was whipped by King Whale on his waist, which caused great pain.

"Okay, okay, don't cry."

Li Guo bent down to comfort Guomei and carried Guomei on his shoulders. He coaxed her and walked around the harbor.

Zhao Qimo did not interfere in the dispute during the day. At night, Li Guo went to his window to imitate a cat meowing. Zhao Qimo stuck his head out and said to Li Guo: "Try not to fight in the future." The twelve-year-old Zhao Qimo was much calmer. When he said these words , that tone seemed like that of an adult.

"But he wants to hit my sister."

Li Guo defended himself. Guo's sister is so young, and even a fat whale wants to whip her. It's so disgusting.

"In front of everyone, he didn't dare to raise his whip, he was just pretending."

Zhao Qimo analyzed that he was so calm and composed at this time, as if he was sitting on a horse and watching.

"How can you speak for him? Who said he dare not be beaten? I was whipped on my waist."

Li Guo pulled up his clothes. There were marks of whipping on his waist and obvious bruises.

"Wait until I get off."

Zhao Qimo left the window and rummaged through the boxes and cabinets. He came over after a while and gave Li Guo a small bottle of potion.

"Take it and rub it."

Li Guo took it, pulled off the cap of the bottle, poured the medicine into his hands, rubbed them to warm them, and covered the injured area.

"It doesn't seem to hurt that much."

Li Guo smiled at Zhao Qimo as if he wasn't worried, and handed the potion back to Zhao Qimo, but Zhao Qimo didn't take it and said, "You keep it."

Li Guo was aggressive, like a wild child. There are often injuries on the body.

"I'm not saying you can't fight with him. If you can't fight with him, you can outwit him."

Zhao Qimo still looked serious. Li Guo stared at Zhao Qimo with wide eyes, admiring him very much. He knew that Zhao Qimo knew more and was more educated than him.

"Let's go, it won't be good if the servants see him later."

Zhao Qimo was always worried that Li Guo would be discovered when he crossed the wall.

Li Guo would come to Zhao Qimo every day almost as soon as it got dark, very punctually and frequently.

"Qi Mo."

"Hmm?"

"Are you on good terms with Fat Whale, or are you on good terms with me?"

"Be on good terms with you."

Zhao Qimo didn't like King Whale, but he rarely expressed his dislike for King Whale.

"Then I'm leaving."

Li Guo smiled and jumped from the eaves to the wall.

"Fruit thief."

Zhao Qimo leaned out the window. Li Guo stopped and saw Zhao Qimo raise his hand and throw a bag of things into Li Guo's arms.

Li Guo picked it up and saw that it was a package of shortbread cookies.

Every day when Zhao Qimo went to school, a lot of food would be prepared at home. Zhao Qimo would give it to Li Guo wherever he could finish it.