The leisurely life of the Qin people

Chapter 200 Two Worlds
Xiang Liang didn't care about the affairs of Li Mu's descendants; he only felt sorry for Li Mu's fate when he happened to recall it.

Xiang Bo continued to recount the information he had gathered from his connections in various places, much of which was either exaggerated or of dubious veracity.

These events were still far from the Chu region, and the emperor was even further away.

Xiang Liang's biggest worry was King Fu Chu of Chu.

Ever since Wang Jian captured Fu Chu and brought him to Qin, the King of Chu has lived in Xianyang and received the care of the Qin people.

Xiang Liang was naturally aware of whether people like Song Yi or Huan Chu at the banquet were truly willing to raise an army together.

Perhaps King Fuchu of Chu would not want to restore Chu, and Song Yi would also give up raising an army, which is the situation Xiang Liang least wants to see.

Because of this King of Chu, Master Fan Zeng did not come to Kuaiji County to meet him, but instead sent his disciple instead.

After Xiang Bo finished speaking about the situation in various places, he left. Xiang Liang sat alone in the hall, looking very worried.

Xiang Liang knew that Zhang Liang was a good friend of Xiang Bo, at least Xiang Bo would always visit Zhang Liang whenever he went on a long trip, but Zhang Liang seemed to have disappeared for the past year.

Not only could the Qin army not find him, but even the old nobles in various regions were unaware of his whereabouts.

The series of odd events seemed insignificant, as the vast majority of them were unrelated to Xiang Liang's plan to restore Chu.

The plum rain season in Kuaiji County and even Wuzhong is very long, especially this year when it rained for half a month, and everything in the world was wet.

Although there were no teachers sent to teach in Kuaiji Commandery, there were still teachers sent by Qin to teach outside Kuaiji Commandery.

This volunteer teacher's name is Jing.

Jing is a volunteer teacher from Guanzhong who has been teaching in Wuzhong for some years.

During their leisure time, Xiang Yu and Huan Chu went out and saw the man standing under a thatched hut, teaching a group of children who were also dressed in tattered clothes.

The teacher's clothes looked patched and mended, but he was clearly very young.

In fact, this volunteer teacher was even younger than Xiang Yu.

Xiang Yu sat on his horse, watching as the volunteer teacher seemed to have finished his lesson. He thought of the teacher his uncle had found for him.

The teacher my uncle found for me was a famous scholar from the state of Chu, and was considered one of the more renowned nobles in Chu.

To persuade the other party to accept him as a disciple, the uncle offered a considerable amount of treasure and treated him with utmost respect.

But in the end, the teacher still refused.

Xiang Yu had also heard about the teachers who volunteered in rural areas, and he asked, "Are all these teachers like this?"

Huan Chu met a volunteer teacher in Langya County named Lang.

Besides this one, Huan Chu had also met the other volunteer teachers. Although they were all different, most of them were like Lang, good people.

“They are all the same, living in poverty, yet finding joy in it.”

Xiang Yu pressed further, "Don't they ever think of themselves?"

Huan Chu lowered his head, seemingly feeling somewhat insecure in the face of these volunteer teachers. This insecurity was understandable, as these people were truly selfless.

In response to Xiang Yu's question, Huan Chu replied, "Some people will consider their own interests. Even if you, my lord, have promised them a bright future, some people are still willing to stay and continue teaching in rural areas. I know a few teachers who teach in rural areas."

Huan Chu had been to many places and met many heroes and famous people, including some teachers who volunteered in rural areas.

If you can understand them, you can also become friends with them.

If you can't understand them, just respect them.

Huan Chu then said, "Let's go back."

Just as he was about to pull the reins to turn the horse around, he looked back and saw that Xiang Yu had already dismounted and was walking towards the study.

Seeing this, Huan Chu had no choice but to dismount and follow.

Behind the study was a vegetable garden. The vegetables looked like they had just sprouted. He took two green vegetables from the garden next to the study and washed them.

He poured the rice into the earthenware pot and then placed the pot on the stove.

Xiang Yu approached and said, "I've heard that you've come from Guanzhong."

Upon hearing this, Jing, who had just taken a sip of water, stood up and said with a smile, "Yes, I come from Weinan County in Guanzhong."

Xiang Yu said, "Xiang Ji greets the Master."

Jing smiled and said, "There's no need for that, we're about the same age."

Xiang Yu entered the study and looked around the room. The volunteer teacher seemed very approachable.

He did not appear as arrogant as that famous scholar from Kuaiji County.

Jing didn't mind a stranger entering his study; there were quite a few people who came to his study on ordinary days.

Xiang Yu saw a woman carrying a basket, braving the rain, with a child following behind her.

The woman stopped in front of the school, took a bowl of steaming meat from her basket, and handed it to the child beside her, asking the child to take it to the teacher.

Rain was still dripping from the eaves, and when it fell on the child, he shrank his neck and placed a steaming bowl of meat in front of the teacher with a smile on his face.

“My mother said to give it to the teacher, and the teacher always eats vegetables every day.”

After saying this, the child ran away quickly without waiting for the teacher to speak.

The woman also took the child and went home.

This scene brought a smile to Xiang Yu's face; clearly, the teacher in the rural area was getting along well with the villagers of Wu. But Xiang Yu couldn't understand why his uncle disliked these teachers so much.

Jing asked, "Would you like to eat together?"

Xiang Yu, still smiling, waved his hand and said, "No need."

Jing nodded and started eating by herself, glancing at the book on the table as she ate.

Inside the study, rows of books were neatly arranged. Some of these books were made of paper, while others were made of bamboo slips. Xiang Yu reached out to look through the books, but then felt it would be impolite and withdrew his hand.

Jing saw through the guest's intention and said, "It's alright, you can take a look."

Upon hearing this, Xiang Yu smiled in relief and did not reach for the book on the table.

Huan Chu, on the other hand, picked up a book and began to read it.

While eating, Jing asked, "Are you here to send your children to school too?"

Xiang Yu shook his head and said, "I heard there is a teacher here, so I came to take a look."

Upon hearing this, and seeing that the other party was just here to take a look, Jing didn't say anything more. Since coming to Wuzhong, many people have come here to take a look, and everyone wants to know what a volunteer teacher is like.

Jing was used to it.

Xiang Yu asked, "How many disciples does the Master have now?"

Jing chewed the rice in his mouth, swallowed it after a moment, and replied, "There are more than six hundred people."

Upon hearing this, Xiang Yu hesitated and asked, "More than six hundred men?"

"Six hundred and thirty people, there's no mistake."

Xiang Yu looked up at the thatched roof and said, "You have so many disciples, yet you still live such a frugal life. Don't your disciples do anything for you?"

Jing finished his rice in a few bites, then put some water on the stove to boil. He replied, "My disciples are all from poor families. Before I came to Chu, I heard that the people of Chu do not like us volunteer teachers."

There had indeed been such rumors before, and Xiang Yu nodded.

"It wasn't until I came here that I realized there weren't that many people from Chu who resisted the idea of ​​sending teachers to teach. In fact, I've been doing very well here, and there are many children who are willing to come and study."

Xiang Yu looked at Jing suspiciously, then asked, "Why did you come here to teach?"

The water in the earthenware pot was still boiling. Jing sat under the eaves washing his dishes, pondering how to answer those words.

Xiang Yu stood behind the scholar, waiting for his answer.

After a moment of silence, Jing put down his bowl and chopsticks and said, “Everyone has their own way of living. We volunteer teachers rarely get together. Most of the time, we have to follow the orders of the county officials. Why do you think I’m doing this? Maybe it’s to see more of the outside world.”

Huan Chu stood aside, absentmindedly flipping through the book in his hands. He had actually heard another volunteer teacher's reply, who said it was for his mission and duty.

Everyone in this world is different, including Lang and Jing.

Jing may not stay in Wuzhong for long; he may leave after three to five years.

There are more and more volunteer teachers, but they are all different people, yet they are all doing the same thing.

Xiang Yu then asked, "If I offered you a very nice mansion, would you want it?"

Jing said, "Even if you give me a very nice mansion, I won't stay there for long. My teacher hopes that we can all go out and see the world, see the people in the world, and see the scenery of various places around the world."

"Do you really want to live in poverty forever?"

"Poverty is not a necessity for me to survive."

Xiang Yu frowned as he looked at the other person, completely unable to understand his thoughts.

After lunch, more children returned and came to class one after another.

Jing picked out a book from the bookshelf, handed it to Xiang Yu, and said, "This is for you."

Xiang Yu took the scroll, watched as Jing and the children gathered together, and then left.

He remounted his horse and headed towards Kuaiji County. He remained silent the entire way, thinking about the words of the volunteer teacher.

Huan Chu rode behind them on horseback and said in a low voice, "Actually, there's no need to worry too much. These volunteer teachers won't affect our affairs."

This matter concerns the restoration of Chu.

When he said this, Huan Chu was a little guilty. He didn't want Xiang Liang to deal with these teachers who were teaching in rural areas, and he also admired them very much.

Xiang Yu returned to his residence in Kuaiji Commandery, still wet from the rain and his clothes soaked. He opened the scroll in his hand and carefully examined it.

I am reading the contents of this book, which speaks of loving the people.

When Xiang Yu got tired of sitting and reading, he lay down on his side, frowning as he looked at the ideas in the book. The book talked most about loving the people and serving the people.

Huan Chu was dealing with Xiang Liang's invitation to a banquet and deliberately did not mention that Xiang Yu had gone to see the volunteer teacher.

After the banquet, Huan Chu left Kuaiji Commandery. There was a reason why Xiang Yu did not understand Jing's words.

This is because the Chu region is too far from Guanzhong and also too far from Langya County.

After Qin unified the six kingdoms, it preserved many nobles from the Chu region. Those who associated with Xiang Yu or Xiang Liang were all nobles from that time.

Xiang Yu had never seen the outside world.

In fact, even Langya County was a completely different world for Xiang Yu.

(End of this chapter)