knife

Chapter 302 You have to go even if you don’t want to go

"of course not!"

Li Dachui's resolute answer made Old Master Yu's face darken immediately. Although he knew in his heart that it was not true, could you brat tell a lie and fool an old man like me?
"Master, I've come to take you to Tai'an City!"

Li Dachui's next sentence left Old Man Yu dumbfounded.

"What? You want me to go to the Northeast? Do you know how old I am?" Yu Entai glared at Li Dachui.

“Master is only eighty-five this year! He’s very young!” Li Dachui laughed.

Yu Entai shook his head: "I'm getting old. When I left the pass back then, the soil only reached my waist, but now it's up to my neck. I'm not leaving anymore. It's hard to leave one's homeland. We Qin people value returning to our roots. I hope that after I die, I can be buried in the soil of my hometown!"

“Teacher, this world has gone awry. Along my journey, I’ve seen human life treated like dirt. Luoyang is in chaos, and since Luoyang and Chang’an are of the same lineage, Chang’an will be next. This place is no longer suitable for habitation,” Li Dachui said.

"Nonsense!" Yu Entai glared. "Even if the world is in chaos, no one will bother my little estate!"

“Teacher, those with status, position, and knowledge will naturally not bother you, but those who can’t read a single word and have never had a full meal since childhood, do they even know who you are?” Li Dachui spread his hands and said, “When refugees and bandits come here, in their eyes, your village has food and clothing. Do you think they will be polite? Your elegant houses and pavilions are probably just easy to burn and can be used to cook and keep warm, right?”

Yu Entai waved his hand and said, "I understand what you mean, but I don't want to leave. If that day really comes, let them rob or burn as they please! I have taught countless students in my life, and most of them have become officials, and high-ranking ones at that. But the world is getting worse and worse. None of my disciples have been able to turn the tide and save the people from suffering. It's truly shameful! If, when that time comes, the things here can appease their anger and relieve their temporary predicament, I will be satisfied!"

Seeing the old man's stubbornness, Li Dachui also became annoyed: "Teacher, you have always said that education should be provided to all, and your greatest wish in this life is for everyone to be literate and knowledgeable. This place outside the Great Wall can be considered a wasteland of knowledge. Do you know that there are millions of people outside the Great Wall, but at most only 20,000 or 30,000 can read? This makes it very difficult for me to govern the area outside the Great Wall! The scholars inside the Great Wall are unwilling to go there at all, not even someone like you. What, is it no wonder that the area outside the Great Wall is backward? Why don't you go there, open your doors wide, and teach and educate people?"

Looking at Li Dachui, who was talking animatedly, Yu Entai laughed: "Dachui, your provocation is too clumsy. It won't work on someone like me at all!"

Li Dachui snorted and said, "I don't care, you have to go anyway. Let me tell you, when Chang'an is in chaos, even if Uncle Wang is a top-level ninth-rank expert, he won't be able to protect you."

"No need for further words. How about Stephen Chow? And what about Fu Qingzhu?"

"Teacher, the old man is a master of innate martial arts, so naturally he's in great health and has a good appetite. Now he doesn't care about anything anymore; his greatest pleasure is to dress up as a city management officer and issue fines in Tai'an every day."

What are urban management officers?

"Oh, they're the people who manage Tai'an City. We have a lot of old men and women there who have nothing to do, so we gave them a job. They wander around the city every day, and if they see anyone urinating or defecating in public, or spitting, they fine them ten coins each, and they get a cut! And you know what? They're really enthusiastic. Teacher, even though Chang'an is the capital and our Tai'an City is just a remote little town, when it comes to cleanliness and hygiene, Chang'an can't even come close to Tai'an!"

"Everyone says their own family is the best!" Old Master Yu seemed somewhat skeptical, but he was unwilling to refute Li Dachui.

"Master Fu is quite remarkable now," Li Dachui said, looking at Yu Entai. "The second and third generation disciples of Changchun Valley have all left the valley. They no longer bury themselves in research like before, but have gone out into the community. I've funded the opening of countless small clinics outside the pass, each staffed by a Changchun Valley disciple. In Baoping City, there are large clinics and a medical academy. The large clinics specialize in treating difficult and complicated diseases, while the medical academy focuses on medical research. Teacher, if you go there, you'll see how advanced our medical skills are outside the pass—they're improving by leaps and bounds!"

“Okay, okay!” Yu Entai nodded repeatedly.

"Master Fu is currently engrossed in writing a medical book. Teacher, it's not the kind of book that's difficult to understand for experts, but rather one that's concise and easy to read, so that anyone can understand it. In addition, he will compile hundreds of prescriptions that he has verified. Once the book is finished, I will print thousands of copies and distribute them."

"Good, good, good!" After saying "good" several times, Yu Entai realized what was going on and looked at Li Dachui with a smile, "Don't try to persuade or provoke me in a roundabout way. I won't leave Chang'an."

"No, no, I just mentioned it casually when the teacher asked about them!" Li Dachui stood up with a smile. "Teacher, it's been more than ten years since we last met. Do you still remember how good my cooking is? After eating Uncle Wang's cooking for so many years, aren't you tired of it?"

“A gentleman does not go near the kitchen!” Yu Entai said.

"Eating, drinking, defecating, sleeping—the five essential things in life, with eating coming first!" Li Dachui laughed. "Besides, this is also a token of my filial piety as a disciple! You take a nap first, and I'll wake you up when the food is ready!" Smoke rose from the kitchen.

Fang Xiaomao was in charge of starting the fire.
Old Wang gripped the cleaver, meticulously preparing various dishes.

Li Dachui was busy at the stove, wielding a spatula.

Old Wang's knife skills were exceptional. Fang Xiaomao looked at the fish slices on the table, which were as thin as cicada wings, and the fish bones that still retained their fish shape. She couldn't help but feel a little uneasy.

He also uses a knife, but he couldn't possibly do what Old Wang did to a fish like that.

"Young Master Hammer, my cooking skills aren't as bad as you say! The few dishes I learned from you in Tai'an City back then are now even better than you are!" Uncle Wang said somewhat indignantly while holding a meatball.

He had clearly heard Li Dachui's disparaging remarks about his cooking skills earlier in the house.

"Just trying to make the teacher happy, Uncle Wang, don't take it to heart!" Li Dachui chuckled. "Over the years, I've developed dozens of new dishes. If you go to Tai'an City, Uncle Wang, you'll have plenty to learn!"

"Actually, I'd like to go!" Old Wang said, "but the old man doesn't want to go, and there's nothing we can do. He gets more stubborn as he gets older, and you can't persuade him otherwise!"

"Why should I try to persuade you?" Li Dachui asked with a smile.

"What do you mean?" Old Wang asked in astonishment.

"Teacher isn't feeling well right now, he's got some internal stagnation. I'll prescribe some medicine later to help him recover!" Li Dachui said. "Once he's recovered enough, I'll give him one more dose to knock him out, then we'll load him into the carriage and head straight for the border!"

"Bullshit!" Old Wang rolled his eyes. "Your teacher's body is already like a candle in the wind. Do you think he can be knocked out by one dose of your medicine?"

"Uncle Wang, do you not believe me?" Li Dachui said with dissatisfaction, "Don't forget, Master Fu Qingzhu is my grandmaster, and my medical skills are among the best of my time. Would I harm my teacher? These medicines, although they will make my teacher confused the whole way, are precisely in this confusion that his body will be slowly repaired, and his body, which is as fragile as a sieve, will be properly repaired. My teacher is a thoughtful person; if he were to be clear-headed, he would always be thinking about this and that, which is not good for his recovery."

"Are you sure there's no problem?"

"Uncle Wang, would I harm my master?"

"No, not at all!" Old Wang nodded. "Sending your teacher to the border region is killing two birds with one stone! First, it fulfills your filial duty and prevents the master from being in danger again. Second, your teacher is a literary genius. All scholars would be humbled in front of him. If he goes to the border region and reopens his school, his reputation alone will attract scholars like moths to a flame. Isn't that what you're planning?"

Li Dachui chuckled, "Uncle Wang sees things clearly! Right now, I have men and martial prowess in the Northeast, but there are far too few literate people. With your reputation, you'll surely attract a large number of people to follow me, greatly alleviating my deficiency in this area. Besides, Uncle Wang, if these people go to the Northeast, it's actually a way for me to preserve some of the world's culture! When the world is in chaos and heroes vie for supremacy, what's the most useful thing? Martial prowess! What's the least valuable thing? Scholars! They're useless!"

"Since you're a useless scholar, why are you putting in so much effort?"

“That’s a fool’s view. I, Big Hammer, am a smart man!” Li Big Hammer said. “Besides, I really want to make good use of Master’s reputation!”

"Your teacher is too famous. If he really goes to the border, I'm afraid many people will be unhappy, right?" Old Wang thought for a moment and said, "If he really goes, I'm afraid it won't be smooth sailing. Who knows, someone might try to sabotage him. If things go wrong, your teacher might not even make it to the border alive! Big Hammer, it's not that I'm trying to boost others' morale while belittling myself, but even though your Uncle Wang is a ninth-rank peak, at this time, I'm not confident that I can guarantee that I can send the old man to the border safely. Unless you go back with him yourself."

"Uncle Wang, please rest assured!" Li Dachui laughed. "I will naturally arrange everything. By the time those who are interested realize what's going on, Master will already be outside the Great Wall. You don't think I don't have any manpower available inside the Great Wall, do you?"

"That's good!" Old Wang nodded. "Going to the border is good too. With Fu Qingzhu by your side to help your teacher take care of his health, he might really live to be a hundred years old."

(End of this chapter)