Xiang Mingxue, who was reading in the room, heard the conversation in the yard, and couldn't help but put down the book, and looked at the master and apprentice in the yard through the window.
Mr. Zhuang lowered his head to meet his disciple's shining eyes, and couldn't help but sighed deeply.
He thought about walking in the yard, and he also hesitated in his heart whether it was right to let Man Bao go further and further on the road of studying medicine.
Especially after she showed more and more her talent in reading and her comprehension of worldly affairs.
But all the hesitation disappeared when the child looked up at the starry sky and made a wish that she would become the most powerful doctor in the world and save lives and heal the wounded.
Mr. Zhuang turned around twice, and after considering it, he said: "Man Bao, the three of you have lived in Qili Village since you were young, and you know something wrong about the outside world, and your environment is simpler than Bai Shan and Bai Cheng's. Mr. has never taught you specifically, and your family dotes on you, so you have never felt some things."
Man Bao listened carefully.
"In the outside world, people are divided into three, six, and nine classes."
Man Bao nodded and said: "I know, scholars, farmers, businessmen, and slaves, sinners."
Mr. Zhuang smiled, shook his head slightly and said, "You said it so easily, obviously you don't know."
Man Bao looked at Mr. Zhuang suspiciously.
Mr. Zhuang patted her head and said: "Let's put it this way, the world thinks that witch doctors, musicians, and craftsmen are despised by gentlemen. Doctors are among all craftsmen, and craftsmen are inferior to businessmen."
Man Bao opened his mouth wide, and it took him a while to find a reason to refute, "No, Shang doesn't have officials, but we doctors have officials."
Mr. Zhuang smiled and nodded, "You are right, so doctors are not registered in the register like other craftsmen, and are recruited by the government."
You must know that craftsmen are very hard, they must be registered in the register, they often have to do white work for the public, and sometimes they will be recruited for free when encountering large-scale events.
For example, in the military service, the number of days that peasants, that is, ordinary people, must serve in the military is stipulated each year, and general local officials will not and dare not delay it for too long.
Otherwise, the hard labor would be too hard, and the common people would rise up and attack, what if there was an uprising
But not for craftsmen. If you want to build roads, call craftsmen; if you want to build water conservancy, call craftsmen; if you want to build palaces, call craftsmen; if you want to fight wars, call craftsmen...
Some craftsmen were conscripted for two or three years, and some were even dragged to another place and were continuously seconded, and their families could not be found at all. Sometimes they had been away from home for more than ten or twenty years when they were sent back to their hometowns.
Mr. Zhuang said: "There are fewer now, but in the past, if there was a big war and there were no doctors in the army, the army would recruit doctors from the local area to the army."
If you join the army, you will be a military doctor. You can't run away casually. If you run away, you will be a deserter and you will be beheaded.
He said: "To be able to go from a military doctor to the imperial hospital, and to return to the hometown from the imperial hospital for honorary care, there is only one imperial doctor Fan in several dynasties."
Man Bao vaguely understood, "So the status of doctors is actually very low."
Mr. Zhuang nodded slightly, "And you are still a female doctor. In the eyes of the world, your status is even lower. However, educated people will be more polite to doctors and will not get angry easily."
There are also those who draw their swords and cut people casually like the prince, but they are rare.
"Mrs. Cheng was polite to you before because you are a doctor. If you want to see a doctor for her, you should be more polite and get along with me in the future." Mr. Zhuang said, "I respect you now, I think, one is because your status is already It’s different, although your father is posthumous, but he takes righteousness, you take filial piety, and you can read and write, so you can be a scholar; and you, a loyal minister, are willing to do this life-saving work, which is naturally worthy of respect.”
Man Bao thought about it.
"So you see, not all people in this world follow the rules. There are people like Mrs. Cheng who can see clearly in this world. Naturally, there are people who can't see this and only recognize the rigid rules in this world. In the future you will meet more people, all kinds of people."
Mr. Zhuang said: "These people may recognize you as a 'scholar', or they may only recognize you as a 'doctor'. But no matter what others think of you, you are what you think you are."
Man Bao thought for a while and said: "I consider myself a doctor, and I can also be a scholar, but I don't think that a doctor is inferior to a scholar."
Mr. Zhuang laughed, "That's right."
He smiled and touched her head, "As a teacher, you can barely be considered a scholar. Your father and brothers in your family are farmers. In your heart, is there a distinction between the status of us?"
Man Bao shook his head embarrassedly, "No."
"This is a matter of human nature, and the rules are set by people, but in this world, how can scholars only be friends with scholars, farmers only make friends with farmers, and merchants only make friends with merchants?" Mr. Zhuang said: " In the future, you will meet more people. Some people have the same attitude towards you from the beginning to the end, and some people will always change. You don’t have to worry about these changes, let alone change yourself for these changes original intention, do you understand?"
Man Bao nodded again and again, "Stay true to yourself and never forget your original intention."
Mr. Zhuang nodded approvingly. He likes to teach this kind of disciples. He can understand everything. He got excited about talking, so he simply sat on the chair and explained more thoroughly to her.
"The distinction between high and low in this world is just a rule specially set up by some smart people to restrain fools in order to gain benefits. This has existed since the Xia and Shang Dynasties. Of course, we flesh and blood cannot change this rule." He said: "But our hearts are our own. It is good to keep some things in our hearts. If you don't feel that you are humble, then you are not humble. This is your backbone."
Man Bao propped up her face and began to think, digesting the things her husband taught her today.
Xiang Mingxue in the room was also dumbfounded. He was holding on to the book tightly. It took an unknown amount of time before he came back to his senses when there was a huh-hah sound from outside. When he looked outside, he saw Bai Erlang holding the book. The book basket rushed into the yard cheering all the way, followed closely by Bai Shan...
Man Bao, who had been thinking about it, was also awakened. She turned her head to look at the two of them, and asked, "What are you doing?"
Bai Erlang and Bai Shanma gave their husband a sloppy salute and rushed to Man Bao together, asking with sparkling eyes, "Man Bao, where is your horse?"
Man Bao: "... how do you know?"
Bai Shandao: "When we came back, we deliberately stopped at Jishitang. We thought you hadn't come back, but Xiao Shao said you bought a horse and came back by yourself. Where is your horse? Is it in the front yard?"
Bai Erlang also looked at her with great interest.
Man Bao: "..."
She struggled for a while, but she still insisted on the bright eyes of the two, no, the three of them: "Would you believe me if I said that I gave the pony to someone else?"