"What will happen if you enter the government?" Fang Yun asked again.
"I am too uneducated to be a clerk, so I can only be a servant. As for the positions of village chief and village head, they are all held by powerful people in the local area and have nothing to do with me."
"Then what career would you choose?" Fang Yun said.
"I can only beg and plead to get into a workshop as an apprentice and learn the skills secretly. Once I have mastered the skills, I can go to a better workshop and earn more money." Zhang Jing'an said.
"Why do you want to learn technology?" Fang Yun asked.
"If I don't study, how can I start a family? How can I support my family?"
"Is there any difference between learning technology in a workshop and studying in a school?"
"No."
"If you had chosen to study, what would happen if you were a child now and joined the army?"
"You will be selected into the elite troops and promoted to sergeant or squad leader soon. You may even have a chance to become a captain. If you are lucky, you can get the ninth rank and become a deputy lieutenant or a full lieutenant. That is a real officer. When you are old, you will definitely be granted the title of a countryman and will never have to worry about food and clothing."
"After becoming a student, if you don't want to join the army, which workshop would you choose?" Fang Yun asked.
"Why should I choose a workshop? I can open a private school as a teacher, I can be a teacher at the county academy, I can teach in a large family, or I can even work as a clerk in a government office. Any job I choose is better than going to a workshop, unless I am a student of a factory family." Zhang Jing'an answered seriously.
"How about becoming a scholar?" Fang Yun asked again.
"Then there will be more things to do. Whether you join the army, go to the government or the Academy of Literature, as long as you don't mess around, you will have a place. It won't be too difficult to get an eighth-rank official position when you are old. Those who wear scholar's clothes walk more majestically than others." There was some envy in Zhang Jing'an's tone.
"You can definitely name all the benefits without me asking you, the Juren, Jinshi, Hanlin, Daxueshi, Daru or even Semi-Saint. Do you know the benefits of studying now?" Fang Yun asked.
Zhang Jing'an looked embarrassed and said vaguely, "I understand."
"Tell me."
"You can achieve a higher literary status." Zhang Jing'an secretly looked at Fang Yun.
Fang Yun shook his head slightly.
Zhang Jing'an blushed and didn't know what to do.
"Reading gives you more choices!" Fang Yun's voice was as resounding as the collision of gold and jade.
Fang Yun turned around slowly and looked at Zhang Jingan.
"When you were born, we made all the choices for you, including what you ate and drank. Everything was beyond your control. But when you grow up, whether you like it or not, you will be forced to make choices by this world. You have no official title, so you can only choose to work for others. You can only choose to be a yamen runner or a soldier. Yes, there is no distinction between high and low in the professions, but in our hearts, there is a distinction between high and low!"
Fang Yun's voice suddenly rose.
"On the first day we went to the dental clinic, we saw recruiting everywhere. It seemed that there were many choices, but your education, age, and gender limit your choices. Your body limits your choices, your experience limits your choices, your family limits your choices, your parents limit your choices, your employer limits your choices, your preferences limit your choices, and even how much money you have at the time limits your choices. Even if some businesses will pay you very high wages after a month, as long as they don't provide food and accommodation, you can only choose to transport garbage and feces on an empty stomach, just to get paid on the first day. Just to avoid starving to death!"
"You see, there are many options in the world, but you often can't choose! Do you know why? Because you made the most wrong choice from the beginning. You chose not to study!"
Fang Yun's voice reverberated in the room like a morning bell. Zhang Jing'an felt his head buzzing, as if something was drilling through his skull.
Fang Yun continued to ask: "You chose to join the army when you were eleven years old. Now, was it right or wrong?"
"Wrong." Zhang Jing'an said dejectedly.
"Is it right or wrong for you to choose to be a civil servant?"
"wrong."
"You chose to lean on your feet. Was that right or wrong?"
"wrong."
"You choose not to study. Is that right or wrong?"
"Wrong." Zhang Jing'an's face turned even redder.
Fang Yun said slowly: "Not to mention you, even great scholars who have insight into worldly affairs or even semi-saints who have fully understood the way of saints will face choices, and they may make wrong choices. You are only eleven years old, why do you think your choice is correct? It's not stupid, it's that you haven't read enough books and you haven't experienced enough things. So, do you know the role of reading now?"
Zhang Jing'an nodded, but didn't dare to speak, because he felt that he didn't fully understand what Fang Yun said.
Fang pointed his index finger at the books on the table. His eyes were as deep as the stars and as far as the horizon. He said, "The entire human race has used thousands of years of wisdom and experience to create the imperial examination system, build academies, and formulate books to pave the broadest, longest, and most correct path for our future generations to study! The purpose of this path is to give you enough time and knowledge, so that when you reach the farthest point you can reach, you can choose a new path you want to take!"
"If you don't know how to choose when you are a child, then become a student; if you don't know how to choose when you are a student, then become a scholar; if you don't know how to choose when you are a scholar, then become a juren or a jinshi! One day, you will make your own choice. Yes, the choice at that time may not be easier or more noble, but at least you don't have to make the choice on an empty stomach! At least you don't have to choose between garbage and feces!"
"Choose to study, choose to grit your teeth and keep going. At that time, even if you are still in pain, you will be able to choose more ways to alleviate the pain!"
Fang Yun leaned down, looked at Zhang Jingan, smiled brightly, and reached out to rub Zhang Jingan's hair.
"Go study. Even if you regret in the future, you will only regret choosing the wrong path, not that you have no path to choose! Even if you are troubled, it will only be because there are too many directions, not because there is no path to choose! As a human being, you must choose the path you like most! If you reach the end, use books as swords and choose to carve out a new path!"
"Yeah!" Zhang Jing'an nodded vigorously, and this time he didn't dodge.
"Go to bed." Fang Yun said with a smile.
"Why do you go to bed so late? Sometimes even before dawn. I have hardly heard of any scholar working harder than you." Zhang Jing'an asked, looking up.
Fang Yun smiled slightly and said, "I chose the most difficult path, so I have to read the most books!"
Zhang Jing'an felt that his father's smile was more dazzling than the sun at this moment. He nodded as if he understood and said, "I'm leaving now. Good night, father. No, good morning."
"Good morning." Fang Yun said with a smile.
Zhang Jing'an turned to leave, and when he reached the door, he suddenly turned back, a trace of worry flashed across his face, and asked: "Is it too late for me to study now?"
"It's not just the words on paper that are knowledge. Everything you experience in the military camp, government office, and at work is knowledge. The people you meet, the words you hear, and the scenery you see are all words between heaven and earth. People have been reading the big book of heaven and earth since they were born. As long as you read it thoroughly, you will go further. However, studying in a school is the best way to study. Other ways are a thousand times more difficult!"
"Yeah!" Zhang Jing'an left with confidence.
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Three minor updates. (To be continued.)
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