Yang Yiqing was a child prodigy. When he was three or four years old, he read widely. He has read all the four books and five classics, and he has read all the classic documents. At the age of seven, he could write a good article at one go. At the age of eight, he formed an unforgettable memory, so he was regarded as a "child prodigy" by the local governor, also known as the first child prodigy in Lizhou.
Quan, a five-year-old student, can write articles at the age of nine and is known as a "child prodigy". At the age of sixteen, Chu Kun was a scholar. At that time, Qian Lou, the examiner, predicted that Chu Kun would "one day become the first in the world". In the 19th year of Chenghua (1483), he took the provincial examination in autumn, ranking first in Xie Yuan. The following spring, I went to Beijing for an exam as Hui Yuan. In the imperial examination, Chu was the No.2 scholar.
In addition to the above two prodigies, there was another prodigy in the Ming Dynasty, and this prodigy was Yao Lai.
Yao Lai's family used to be very rich. His father's name was Mo, and he was a scholar in the sixth year of Ming Hongzhi. Has been awarded the Ministry of war left assistant minister, director of the Ministry of rites. In the fourth year of Jiajing in Ming Dynasty, he moved to the right capital for the suggestion, served as the military affairs and governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, and later served as the minister of war. However, he was dismissed from office for offending Emperor Jiajing and was recuperating at home.
Yao Gan, who returned to his hometown, wanted to support his family by doing business. However, he doesn't know how to do business. Not only did he not make any money, but he also lost all his money. He was heavily in debt and unable to repay it. As a result, the creditor came to collect debts every day and was forced to leave even at night.
It is estimated that some people will suspect that Ministry of War officials and ministers have no money? Well, Yao Gan was an honest official, and the salaries of Ming officials were not high, so Yao Gan had no deposits. He was as anxious as a cat on hot bricks and didn't know what to do.
At that time, Yao Lai was only 9 years old, but he was studious, flexible and smart. When he saw his father's long face, he decided to help him solve the problem.
So he found his father and said to him, "Give me 400 pence and I will help you pay off your debt in three days."
How much is 400 pence? How much is it equivalent to now? We can do the math. According to the data, during the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty, one or two silver coins could buy two pieces of rice of average quality. If a stone was about 94.4 kilograms at that time, one or two pieces of silver could buy 188.8 kilograms of rice, which was 377.6 kilograms. According to the average family eating a catty of rice between 3 yuan and 5 yuan, it can be calculated that one or two pieces of silver in the Ming Dynasty is equivalent to about 1000 yuan today, calculated in 3 yuan.
Even if it's 1000 yuan, one or two pieces of silver is equal to 1000 pence, then 400 pence is equivalent to 400 yuan today. In other words, Yao Lai asked his father to give him 400 yuan, and he could settle the huge sum owed by his father in business within three days. Do you think this is great?
God, of course, so his father didn't believe it at first, but it didn't seem like talking nonsense when he saw his son swearing. And the money is only a small sum, what's more, Yao Kun is at the end of the road and there is really no way out. Let's treat it like a dead horse, and he agreed.
It is said that Yao Lai secretly came to a performer's house after getting 400 yuan from his father. Yao Lai said to the actor, "I'll give you 400 yuan. Please sneak into my house in the middle of the night and pretend to be a singer. You stood quietly behind me when I was reading. Just stand for three nights. "
Hearing this, the actor thought the child was very interesting and readily agreed. It takes neither time nor effort, and he can easily earn 400 yuan. Why not?
So that night, a "Wenquxing" stood behind Yao Lai and studied with him until midnight.
The next night, Yao Lai continued reading. Every night, the debt collector of his family heard the voice of his children reading, and thought to himself: Although this adult is in debt, the children are very disappointing. If they study so hard since childhood, they will surely succeed in the future.
One of the wealthy businessmen was curious and went to watch outside the study. I saw a child absorbed in reading in the study, and a man dressed strangely stood behind the child. Look carefully, isn't this the wenqu star that people worship?
This scene stunned the wealthy businessman, who dared not make any more noise or peep, and quickly retreated quietly.
The next day, the rich businessman announced to other creditors that he would pay the debts on behalf of the Yao family and could go to his house to withdraw money at any time. As soon as the creditors heard it, they were very happy that the money had finally fallen, no matter who gave it, as long as it was given.
Yao Kun is a little strange, but he is very grateful to the rich businessman. Unexpectedly, the rich businessman said to Yao Kun at this moment, I am very interested in your son and like it very much. I have a daughter. Can I get married?
Yao Gan owed the rich businessman a debt, and it was difficult to refuse it immediately, so the marriage between the two families was settled. Later, with the support of wealthy businessmen, Yao Lai really lived up to expectations. In A.D. 1523, Emperor Shizong of Ming Dynasty successfully passed Zhongju and palace examination, and became the top scholar in one fell swoop, known as the top scholar in the world.
After taking photos of the lintel, Yao Lai returned to his hometown dressed up, and found the actor of that year specially to thank him for his help. Unexpectedly, the actor denied it and said, I didn't actually go when you gave it to me. The one standing behind you must be a real literary star.
As a result, this story has been passed down to this day as a much-told story.
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