The leisurely life of the Qin people

Chapter 264 The Master's Generous Gift
Xiao He looked at the young man before him and hesitated before asking, "Liu Fei?"

When Wu Bo saw that Magistrate Xiao seemed to have a distant relative, he told the local residents to go home first, giving Magistrate Xiao space to catch up with his relative.

After delivering the person, Master Jing did not linger and drove away in his carriage.

After leaving the canal, Wu Bo and several other villagers repaired the looms. Although these looms were old and leftover from Jingye County, they were one of the biggest sources of income for Jingyang County, and the scale of the operation had been expanded in the past two years.

Every year during the off-season, these looms are busiest. Since the Qin army conquered the southern desert, more wool has been sent to Guanzhong, and the price has become cheaper.

Wool and mutton became cheap everywhere, and wool cloaks also became inexpensive.

The only way to improve the sales of wool cloaks in the county is to improve the craftsmanship.

The women could only improve their needlework skills, selecting the best wool and using the finest needles and thread. Only with good craftsmanship could they sell their products.

As for the distinguished guest who bought the wool cloak from the county magistrate back then, he hasn't come to the county again in the past two years.

Instead, every year before the winter solstice, that distinguished guest would send someone to buy wool cloaks.

Uber heard that these woolen cloaks had been sent to the West County, but he couldn't always rely on them.

Once that distinguished guest is lost, the county's woolen cloaks will not be able to be sold, which is what Magistrate Xiao is worried about. Therefore, he needs to find more buyers, which requires better craftsmanship.

In the midst of his busy work, Wu Bo looked back at the outside of the workshop and saw the county magistrate returning with a young man.

Inside the county government building, Xiao He instructed Cao Shen to prepare the day's meals, and then led Liu Fei into the county government building.

There were quite a few empty rooms in the county government building. Xiao He and Cao Can each lived in one room, and there were several other empty rooms.

As Xiao He tidied up the room for him, he asked, "How has your father been lately?"

Liu Fei replied, "Father is doing well, but he often talks about Uncle Xiao."

"Hmm, is he still serving as a pavilion chief?"

“Yes,” Liu Fei replied with a smile, “After all these years, my father is still just a village head.”

Xiao He then asked, "Did the county officials also mention the promotion order to him?"

“I did say that.” Liu Fei wiped a table clean and replied, “Father said that if he were promoted, what would happen to the older brothers in Sishui Pavilion? Mother often said that Father simply didn’t have the ability to get promoted.”

Xiao He suddenly smiled and asked, "How have you been studying lately?"

Liu Fei took out several scrolls of books from his bundle, then took out a bronze plaque, and said, "This was given to me by Master Jing, who said that I can go to Tongguan to study in the future."

Looking at the bronze plaque, Xiao He knew it was a generous gift, and that having it meant Liu Fei would be able to study at the Tongguan library in the future.

Now, in order to enable all registered residents to study, Qin has created a great many books and even more teachers in Tongguan.

But if they want to stand out among students, they need to read even more books.

Xiao He had met the children of the former noble families of Chu, and it was already quite remarkable that they were proficient in the knowledge of one family.

But the children of Tongguan are different; they have a lot of knowledge to learn, including the works of various schools of thought.

This is different from before. It doesn't mean that if you study Confucius and Mencius, you can't study Mohism and Legalism. Rather, you can study both together.

Xiao He asked a few more questions, intending to test Liu Fei's basic skills.

After several inquiries, Xiao He discovered that Liu Fei had a very good foundation, but was somewhat weak in numerology. However, this was not a big problem; he could learn more in the future.

After nightfall, Cao Shen also prepared a meal.

The next day, Cao Shen took Liu Fei to Tongguan. This time, Cao Shen took him there, and they would stay in Tongguan from now on, returning every five days.

Upon reaching Tongguan City, Cao Can instructed again: "Take the bronze token given to you by Master Jing and go to the Academician's Residence. Someone will make arrangements for you there. Master Jing has taken care of everything for you."

"Thank you, Uncle Cao."

Cao Shen added, “No need to thank me. You should thank Master Jing. The prefect here, Sima Xin, is a good friend of your Uncle Xiao. If you encounter any difficulties, you can also go to the prefect’s office.”

"Please remember this, Fei."

Cao Shen patted Liu Fei on the shoulder again before leaving.

After saying this, Liu Fei walked into Tongguan City alone after Cao Can left.

On the banks of the Wei River, Cao Shen hadn't actually gone far. Instead, he stood by the bridge, lost in thought. He could have taken Liu Fei with him to the Imperial Academy.

However, Magistrate Xiao repeatedly instructed that Liu Fei should not be given too much care, and that once they entered Tongguan City, Liu Fei would have to rely on himself.

It wasn't that Magistrate Xiao was dissatisfied with the child, but rather that he valued him too much.

The weather was still a bit cold. Liu Fei walked through the bustling Tongguan city, just as when Master Jing had brought him here before, and arrived at the gate of the Imperial Academy.

The gatekeeper standing guard at the entrance of the Imperial Academy asked, "What is it?"

Liu Fei took out his bronze badge and handed it over with both hands, saying, "I'm here to enroll."

Upon hearing this, the gatekeeper was taken aback at first, but upon seeing the bronze plaque, his expression became more solemn, and he led him into the Imperial Academy.

The master of ceremonies at the Imperial Academy has been busy compiling curriculum materials lately, and the current teaching in Tongguan City mainly focuses on literature and mathematics.

Upon seeing the gatekeeper arrive with his men, he asked, "What's wrong?"

"Reporting to the teacher, this child has come to enroll in school."

Zhui then said, "Go to the Literary Academy outside the Imperial Academy to enroll."

The gatekeeper then said, "This child was brought by Master Jing."

Upon hearing this, Zhui raised his hand and took the bronze plaque handed to him. The plaque had the character "Jing" written on it, and he became more serious about the child. He then asked, "Has Master Jing been here?"

“He did come a couple of days ago.” Wang Yu walked over quickly and said, “He came back two days ago and should be going home now. You weren’t here then, so I met with him and we talked for half an hour. He asked me to make room for the child.”

Liu Fei lowered his head. Only now did he realize that the reason he had been waiting outside the Imperial Academy was because Master Jing was trying to find him a place to stay.

It turned out that before coming to Guanzhong, Master Jing had already thought it through. It was not convenient to travel between Jingyang and Tongguan to study, and he knew that Magistrate Xiao would definitely make things difficult for him.

That's why he made these arrangements. Liu Fei felt a little guilty. He didn't even see Master Jing off when he left, and was only busy talking to Uncle Xiao.

He said, "Go and make the arrangements."

After receiving the master's words, the gatekeeper led Liu Fei away.

After a day's journey from Jingyang, we arrived in Tongguan in the evening, and the city of Tongguan was quite beautiful under the setting sun.

In the east of the city, there is a cluster of houses. The houses are not big, just big enough for a family of three to live in. There is no yard in front of the house, and the road is right outside the door.

A family of three might live in one room, or two or three students might live together.

The gatekeeper led Liu Fei to a separate room and said, "You will live here from now on. Do not leave any valuables here."

"Thank you." Liu Fei bowed respectfully.

Because he doesn't speak the Guanzhong dialect well, his accent inevitably carries a regional flavor when he speaks.

The gatekeeper didn't mind and left with a smile.

Liu Fei walked into the room. There was a table, a stool, a stove, and a bed. The furnishings were very simple, and there was no other furniture.

Liu Fei put down his bundle and sat on the edge of the bed. The last rays of the setting sun shone through the window, dappling the floor of the room.

Looking back on the way he came, Liu Fei sighed with gratitude for how kind Master Jing had been to him.

The next day, just as dawn broke, Liu Fei, carrying his bundle, found a schoolhouse according to the list given to him by the gatekeeper. He had gotten up quite early because he was afraid he wouldn't be able to find a schoolhouse.

In fact, Liu Fei didn't sleep at all that night. It was his first day studying in Guanzhong, how could he possibly sleep?

Last night, Liu Fei wrote a letter to his parents, but he didn't know how to get it delivered. But then he thought that Uncle Xiao would definitely write it, so Liu Fei didn't need to worry about it.

When he entered the study, there were only one or two people sitting there early, reading books.

The other person looked to be around the same age as me, and only one person seemed a bit lazy and wasn't reading.

Liu Fei followed the seat number to find his seat.

"newcomer?"

Upon hearing this, Liu Fei replied, "Yes." The one who spoke was the same person his age who had been so lazy earlier. He said, "Your seat is behind mine."

Liu Fei checked again and found that it was indeed in the back, so he sat down.

"May I have your name."

The other party asked that question right away, so Liu Fei quickly bowed politely and said, "My name is Liu Fei."

"My name is Heng."

"Heng?"

"Ah."

Liu Fei bowed once more.

Seeing the other person bow several times, Heng asked, "Where are you from?"

Liu Fei replied, "I come from the land of Chu."

Heng then asked, "Do people from Chu still greet each other like this?"

"Don't you need to?"

When Liu Fei asked in return, Heng said, "You don't need to be so formal here. Since we're sitting in the same dormitory and studying in Tongguan, we'll be classmates from now on."

"classmate?"

Heng said, "Liu Fei, please sit down."

The students around smiled and thought Liu Fei was both endearing and very honest.

However, their sneers were quickly silenced by Heng's glare.

Liu Fei could tell that Heng was very powerful; he could intimidate the children here with just a glance.

About half an hour later, Liu Fei sat in his seat, while Heng, who was sitting in front of him, was asleep on the table.

As more and more students came to the area, no one dared to disturb Heng, and they even lowered their voices.

Until someone said, "The Master has arrived."

Upon hearing this, Heng immediately raised his head, rubbed his eyes, and took out a book from his bag to prepare for today's lesson.

I spent too long writing papers at the old teacher's place last night, and only slept for two hours after I got back. So I naturally need to catch up on sleep here.

A class lasted only half an hour, and Liu Fei listened very attentively. The knowledge here was indeed different from what he had learned in Chu. Today, the teacher was teaching the calculation methods of the calendar and solar terms.

The algorithm was extremely complex, and Liu Fei only had a vague understanding after attending the class. However, he dared not admit that he did not understand and could only watch the teacher leave.

"Don't understand?"

Upon hearing Heng's question, Liu Fei nodded and said, "I didn't understand."

Heng said, "I didn't understand either. Never mind... Let's go eat first, or we won't be able to eat after noon."

"what?"

Liu Fei was still in a daze, but when he walked outside the schoolhouse, he saw a group of children running towards the canteen, and many of them were already wolfing down their food.

As Heng said, if it's past noon, there really won't be any food left.

No wonder Liu Fei saw so many students rushing to the restaurants; once they got inside, they could eat to their hearts' content.

When Liu Fei and Heng arrived at the restaurant, fortunately there were still plenty of dishes left. The two of them sat down with a bowl of stewed meat and a flatbread.

Seeing that Liu Fei was holding the pancake but not eating it, Heng asked again, "What's wrong? Doesn't it taste good?"

Liu Fei asked, "Doesn't this cost money?"

"You've already paid for your enrollment in the dormitory, haven't you?"

Liu Fei shook his head and said, "I don't know."

Heng asked, "Which teacher brought you here?"

"Master Jing".

"That means Master Jing gave you the spot. Your food and lodging here are free. Each teacher can have three spots. Usually, they will choose the best children they teach to come to Tongguan. The courses we will learn are also the most difficult."

Liu Fei understood and nodded slightly.

Heng then said, "Eat well, study hard, and we'll go to class together this afternoon."

"it is good."

For the rest of the day, Heng took Liu Fei to familiarize himself with the environment of Tongguan City. When night fell, Heng returned to Jingye County. He first greeted Zhang Jing and Zhang Ye, who were grinding tofu, and then hurriedly went to the rear.

Fu Zijing's family all live in Jingye County, and Fu Zijing himself is a teacher who came from Jingye County to teach in rural areas.

"Master Jing!"

Upon hearing the young master's call, Jing bowed and said, "Young master."

Heng looked at the other person and asked, "Is Liu Fei your disciple?"

"Yes."

"You assigned him to my dormitory?"

"Exactly."

"You even assigned me a seat behind me? Did you do that on purpose?"

Master Jing bowed and said, "This child is very talented."

Heng said, "I took him around Tongguan City today. You owe me a favor, and you'll have to pay it back later."

Master Jing said, "I accept the order."

Heng said, "I'm going to the army in two years, shall we go together?"

Jing said, "I want to go to the north to teach."

"when to go?"

"Let's go in two years, then I'll take my wife and children with me."

Heng said, "Alright, we should be traveling the same way. Let's go north together."

After the two made the appointment, Heng felt much more at ease and returned to the old master to tell him about it.

Shusun Tong listened to the young master's words, shaking his head occasionally, but remained silent and did not interrupt.

For the young master, everything is a give-and-take situation. The boy named Liu Fei is completely caught in the young master's scheme and probably doesn't even realize it.

The young master, having sensed something from Liu Fei, wanted to help Liu Fei in order to get closer to Master Jing.

This method may not seem very clever, but for the young master, no one can eat a bite of food for free. Whatever is given away must be taken back, or even doubled back.

Despite his young age, this young master is quite shrewd and calculating.

This year, the two young princes did not return to the palace for the winter solstice, but instead spent it in Jingye County.

The emperor still hasn't returned; it's said he's spending the winter in the north with Meng Tian at the Helan Mountain camp.

On the winter solstice, Fusu arrived at Qinian Palace in Yongcheng.

Master Wang was in charge of the affairs of the Imperial Academy in Tongguan, and he was on leave on the winter solstice, so he came to see the young master.

Wang Yu stood outside Qinian Palace. After being informed, he entered the main hall and saw Prince Fusu, who was dressed in black.

……

P.S.: There will be another update later, in about half an hour.

(End of this chapter)