Top Scholar

Chapter 127 Top-Tier Teacher
In terms of business, as the weather turned colder and fruit became scarcer, Sweet Water's turnover indeed declined significantly.

Fortunately, long-term orders from taverns, gambling dens, and brothels were not significantly affected by the seasons. Moreover, under Su Lu's guidance, the godmother developed a pre-order system, home delivery, and a points system with rewards for drinking more, which allowed the sweet drink business to still make a profit of ten or twenty taels each month.

My godmother was quite calm. She even sent people to various rural areas to buy up a lot of tangerines, pomelos and other fruits that can be stored for a long time, in preparation for a big sale at the temple fair in the first month of the lunar calendar!
Of course, the most important reason why the godmother was so calm was that the retail sales of Erlang wine were going exceptionally smoothly.

This actually has little to do with the taste of the wine, because people who buy wine at the end of the year are basically not drinking it themselves, but preparing it as gifts for the end of the year and for visiting relatives and friends during the Spring Festival.

Whether it was the advertising slogan "Give Erlang wine as a gift" that resonated with people, or the price that was half the price of Chengji's wine that was so tempting, in any case, local merchants opened up sales channels without much effort.

This is actually the function of trademarks. Whether it's Chengji or the original Suji, the wine they sell is called Fengqufa wine. At most, they print their own logo to distinguish it, but they don't have the concept of trademarks.

When a product with a trademark appears, people can instantly recognize it, and when giving gifts, they will try to choose brands that others have heard of. Therefore, the previously worried "aversion to unfamiliarity" did not occur, and customers' desire to buy was very strong from the start.

Of course, relying solely on a brand name is only a temporary solution. To maintain strong sales, word-of-mouth and quality are essential. If people who drink alcohol during the Lunar New Year complain about how bad it tastes, forget about sales next year.

Of course, that's a story for later. At least for now, all the retail merchants are selling their goods very quickly, and they're not buying much at the same time. Before long, they're all following the upstream merchants to replenish their stock. The merchants' stock of a thousand or so kilograms is also quickly depleted, and they're constantly urging the shop owner to place orders and asking when the next batch of wine will be shipped.

In this situation, Su Youcai, who was in charge of collecting debts, had no difficulty. He originally planned to use the same momentum he had shown when collecting debts last year, but the merchants from all walks of life settled their payments early, just so they could get the next batch of goods sooner.

This prevented 'Debt Collection King' Manager Su from using all his skills...

Therefore, it seems that the year-end dividend is guaranteed.

Oh, right, there's also something else that could be considered good news.

My aunt finally gave birth. On the fifth day of the twelfth lunar month, the old man announced the good news to the whole clan—his youngest daughter-in-law had given birth to twins, a boy and a girl, on the third day of the twelfth lunar month, named Xibao and Dongge!

Su Lu even went door-to-door delivering celebratory eggs with his older brother...

Looking at the celebratory eggs that had been delivered, the old clan chief suddenly realized: "No wonder my third son's wife hasn't been coming back for so long. It turns out she's pregnant and it's inconvenient for her to come back."

“Your grandfather is so polite. He still remembers the old rule that ‘a father-in-law should not mention his daughter-in-law’s pregnancy.’ I think he should be the clan chief!” He couldn’t help but sigh to Su Lu, “No wonder he was able to cultivate so many scholars. It turns out the root of the problem lies with my sixth brother.”

"..." Su Lu thought to himself that the old patriarch was also a person who overthought things.

However, no matter what, the old man's "deception" plan has finally come to a successful conclusion, which is truly remarkable!
However, a slight mishap occurred at the end, and the enthusiasm of the clansmen was extraordinary, with many expressing their desire to form a group to go to the county town to witness the celebration.

The main problem is that no one contributed to my uncle's wedding last year, and the more I think about it, the more I feel it's not right... If someone says they don't want it, and you really don't contribute, you won't get any complaints or credit either.

Moreover, the sixth branch of the family is doing exceptionally well this year. The entire clan now depends on them for food, and the head of the clan even confidently predicted that their future is limitless! Naturally, each branch regrets their stinginess back then, and they must take advantage of this opportunity to make up for the money they didn't give last year.

But to pay for a wedding viewing, they have to see the wedding first. How could the old man let them see a wedding? Oh, a newborn baby crawling all over the place? Wouldn't that scare someone to death?

What kind of rumors would that spread? The Su family produced two more superhumans after already having a child prodigy? Is that even reasonable?

The old man could only claim that it was too far away and resolutely refused to allow anyone to visit. He only said that he would bring the child back for everyone to see when the child was older, and that the matter of giving money as a wedding gift could wait until then.

After much persuasion, they finally managed to calm the tribesmen's enthusiasm.

It seems that the day my uncle's family returns to their hometown is still a long way off...

~~
Su Lu stood under the corridor, reflecting on the past year, feeling deeply grateful for everything that had gone smoothly, filled with joy and peace, and wishing that such days could last forever...

He remained silent, which frustrated Zhu Zihe, who finally decided to show goodwill by handing the hand warmer to Su Lu: "I've warmed it up, you can use it for a while."

"Thank you, but no need. Military families' sons are rough around the edges," Su Lu shook his head, snapping out of his reverie. Would men even use such things? And share them?
“Our hands are our lifeblood. If they get frostbite and we can’t write, how can we study?” Zhu Zihe then taught him, “You still have many years of hard study ahead of you. Be good to your hands.”

"I've learned something." Su Lu thought it made a lot of sense. Although Yongning's winters weren't bad enough to cause frostbite, writing for a long time would definitely make your fingertips numb.

"Take it. Use it to warm your hands while you write, and you won't get cold." Zhu Zihe handed the hand warmer to him without further ado. "I have another one, but this one is for you."

"..." Su Lu suddenly realized that the boy was holding a hand warmer because he was going to give it to him.

Before he could refuse, Zhu Zihe said, "This is a thank you gift for your guidance."

Zhu Zihe paused for a moment, then said seriously, "I will never call you godfather..."

"I told them not to shout, but I couldn't stop them. They were just joking." Su Lu couldn't help but smile bitterly. This whole thing was Li Qiyu's fault, the one who started it all.

“Boring,” Zhu Zihe said. “Indeed,” Su Lu nodded helplessly, but isn’t a fourteen or fifteen-year-old boy just at the point of utter boredom?

The two talked for a while longer, and finally Qian Shanchang came out of the study with a beaming smile.

"Hey, aren't these Su and Zhu?" Qian Huai-ren greeted the two of them.

"Headmaster," the two greeted him.

"Well done, truly talented and beautiful, a perfect match! I wish you both a bright future!" Qian Huai-ren praised the two of them without any apparent reason. Then he sauntered away.

"Old Qian is acting different today," Su Lu said softly, watching his retreating figure. "He's like he's been drinking fake alcohol."

"Because my uncle asked him to act as the headmaster." Zhu Zihe clearly knew more than him, and said calmly, "Hurry up and go in, or someone will cut in line again."

~~
In the headmaster's study.

“Old Qian is probably the one who most hopes I pass the imperial examination,” Zhu Liu said with a smile to the two of them. “Because then he can officially take over as the headmaster.”

"What's so great about being a lousy schoolmaster?" Little Zhu said steadily.

"No one will think you're mute if you don't speak." Zhu Liu glared at him.

He was indeed busy before his departure, and instead of idly chatting as usual, he went straight to the point:
"I called you here to ask you if you've decided which meridian to treat."

"Do I even need to choose? Of course, it's the one from my family," Zhu Zihe said listlessly.

"Which one?" Su Lu asked softly.

“The Book of Rites.” Zhu Zihe replied, “All the scholars in my family study this classic.”

Upon hearing this, Su Lu was overjoyed. Since the headmaster was studying the Book of Rites, what was there to hesitate about?
He then declared loudly, "This disciple also wishes to study the Book of Rites!"

Zhu Liu said to him, "If you want to choose the Book of Rites, that's fine too, but I have to remind you that I was able to pass the imperial examination at a young age thanks to the Book of Rites. But I failed the metropolitan examinations many times, all because of the Book of Rites."

"May I ask, Headmaster, what is the reason for this?" Su Lu hurriedly asked.

"It's simple," Zhu Liu said calmly. "Few people choose the *Book of Rites* for the provincial examinations, and even fewer are truly skilled. My understanding of the classics is decent, so the examiner had no choice but to select me; otherwise, the *Book of Rites* section would be too difficult to handle."

"But when the imperial examination came, all the masters of the Book of Rites from the two capitals and thirteen provinces across the country came. My level was not outstanding, so at this time it was necessary to rely on the lineage of the master. There were too few famous masters of the Book of Rites, so if I could not find a master, I would not pass the exam."

"Is the headmaster confident this time?" Su Lu asked softly.

"Not bad." Zhu Liu nodded and said, "Firstly, thanks to you, I've improved a lot on the short answer questions. Secondly, I received guidance from a famous teacher the year before last, so I'm more confident on the long answer questions."

"Who is this renowned teacher the headmaster mentioned?" Su Lu asked curiously, wondering if he had any chance of becoming his student.

"He is one of the two great masters of the Book of Rites in the world, the top scholar in the seventeenth year of Chenghua, and the current Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites, Mr. Longshan!" Zhu Liu bowed to the north with a face full of reverence.

It was nothing like the performance he put on in front of Magistrate Lu; it was genuine admiration and respect.

"What is Mr. Longshan's name?" Su Lu asked, even more curious.

"Sir, your surname is Wang, your given name is Hua, and your pen name is Shi'an. You are from Yuyao, Zhejiang. Your moral character and literary talent are renowned throughout the country!" Zhu Liu finished speaking and then added with pride:
"The reason I was able to receive his guidance is because I am the same age as his son, we were both successful candidates in the imperial examinations in the same year, and we even participated in the imperial examinations three times together."

He gave a bitter laugh and said, "The difference is that Young Master Wang only needs to do things three times. In the twelfth year of the Hongzhi reign, he was ranked second in the imperial examination and was awarded the seventh place in the second class of Jinshi! But I am still stuck in the examination hall and can't turn things around."

"In fact, Young Master Wang is exceptionally talented and has already achieved great learning. After failing the first imperial examination, Grand Secretary Li Dongyang smiled at him and said, 'Although you did not pass this time, you will surely become the top scholar in the next examination. Try writing a "Top Scholar Ode" for the next imperial examination. Young Master Wang picked up his pen and wrote it immediately, winning unanimous praise from all the Grand Secretaries, who all said that he had the talent to become the top scholar!'"

Su Lu thought to himself, "Another prodigy like Yang, with a good background and great talent. I really want to tie him up and throw him into the Chishui River..."

"But the tallest tree in the forest catches the most wind," Zhu Liu sighed. "Those who were jealous of him began to gossip, saying that if this young man were to become the top scholar, he would surely be arrogant and conceited. In addition, his behavior was indeed somewhat...unconventional, so he missed another exam and still didn't become the top scholar."

"His luck was really bad. In the twelfth year, a famous case occurred. Tang Bohu, a talented scholar from Jiangnan, boasted after drinking that he would definitely be the top scholar in the imperial examination. As a result, he was accused of cheating and was imprisoned along with the deputy chief examiner Cheng Minzheng and another scholar whose name I forgot."

P.S. This chapter is for Lao Niu, who has 1000 chapter comments again. If anyone reaches 1000 comments, let me know, and I'll give you the same as a monk.

(End of this chapter)