Top Scholar

Chapter 95 Two Horses in the Same Trough
During lunch break, Su Lu, as usual, went to the preparation room to receive special tutoring from Mr. Zhang.

Of course, there was also the lovingly prepared skewered food made by the teacher's wife.

Mr. Zhang was very pleased with his significant progress over the past five months. "I didn't expect you to make up for your shortcomings in such a short time. All that's left is for you to continue to improve."

"Yes." Su Lu nodded and said with a wry smile, "This disciple has clearly felt that my progress has not been as fast as before."

"Isn't that fast enough?" Mr. Zhang almost fainted, and after a long while, he nodded and said, "If you compare it to before, then yes, it is. But that's normal. You progress the fastest when you start from scratch, and it will slow down once you reach a certain level."

He gave a wry smile and said, "Otherwise, how high would our literary skills be, given that we old men have studied for decades? Why would we need to teach in this remote mountain village?"

"The students were greedy," Su Lu said with an embarrassed smile.

"Don't be nervous. I haven't seen any bottlenecks in your performance yet. At least defeating Zhu Zihe shouldn't be a problem," Mr. Zhang said with a smile, reassuring him.

"And then what?" Su Lu didn't consider surpassing Zhu Zihe a big deal at all.

"After that, just focus on your studies and master everything you need to know. You should be able to pass the imperial examination at the county level." Mr. Zhang said, his eyes looking somewhat lost. "After that, I can't teach you anymore. You need to go to a higher place to reach a higher level."

"Do you mean the state school or the county school, sir?" Su Lu asked.

"Haha, of course not, you can't learn anything in that kind of place." Mr. Zhang laughed. "If you can enter the academy someday, remember to either try to become a tribute student and study at the Southern Academy, or find a famous teacher. Don't waste your time there, or you'll never pass the provincial examination in your life."

"Yes, disciple will remember your teachings, Master." Su Lu said with a self-deprecating smile, "I can't run, so I'm thinking of flying."

"It's good to think three steps ahead before taking one, but we can't forget to be down-to-earth." The teacher smiled and took his test paper from yesterday, saying, "Come on, let's analyze this article and see how to improve it next."

~~
After school in the afternoon, Su Lu went to the general affairs office to collect his reward for ranking fourth in the monthly exams—two hundred coins of gold.

This is the second time he has received it. Last time, he ranked tenth in the exam and received fifty coins.

Supervisor Chen already recognized him, so he stopped putting on that big, snarling face. He tied two hundred coins with a money rope and handed it to him, forcing a smile as he encouraged him, "Keep trying. If you move up one more rank, you can get an extra hundred coins."

"Yes, I will do my best." Su Lu took the string of money with both hands, put it in his sleeve, bowed, and took his leave. He had indeed become a 'good student,' full of kindness in everything he did.

"Go ahead. If all students were like you, I would lose my temper much less." Supervisor Chen waved his hand.

After leaving the office, Su Lu went to the headmaster's room to attend class.

As it turned out, Zhu Zihe arrived shortly after him, and Su Lu always managed to get there before him, which made her a little embarrassed. Since she was in a good mood today, she stepped aside and said, "This time, Zhu, please go first?"

"Hmph." Zhu Zihe snorted habitually and said in a muffled voice, "Let's go together. It'll save time if two people go to class. You don't care about my uncle, but I do."

"Oh, oh." Su Luxin thought to herself, "You're the one who always stands outside and doesn't come in."

But he doesn't argue with children; whatever he says goes...

Seeing the two of them enter together, Zhu Liu smiled faintly and said, "Two horses in the same trough, huh?"

"Huh?" Su Lu naturally didn't understand.

Zhu Zihe, however, blushed and said, "I already admitted last time that he was a fine horse."

“Oh…” Su Lu finally understood, and the mystery that had troubled him for so long was finally solved.

So it was their Qiji after all, not a miracle!

This stubborn child, can't he just speak clearly?

~~
Meanwhile, the Erlangtan Community School.

Chun Ge'er was feeling very unwell today, and even pinched the outside of his thigh several times to see if he was dreaming.

Because not a single fight has broken out all day long!
He clearly saw several times that a fight was about to break out, but immediately a lot of people jumped out to break it up, and both sides actually held back...

Even more incredibly, they actually started studying. Although he knew that both the Su and Cheng families had good academic traditions, these past few days had been filled with fighting; who had the mind to study?

Could it be that the ancestors have appeared again? Chun-ge'er is used to attributing all good things to that brick... and last night he took out the treasure again and even subconsciously raised it twice.

In any case, this is a good thing! After a peaceful day of teaching, Chun-ge finally experienced the joy of being a teacher.

When he said "school's out," the children suddenly revealed their true colors, almost blowing the roof off.

They were really bored after being cooped up all day! The reason they were able to stay quiet all day wasn't because of Brother Chun, but because of Brother Monkey!

Since last night, the children have been on tenterhooks, eager to know how the monkey is doing. These days, entertainment in the mountains is extremely scarce; even storytellers who make a living in the countryside wouldn't come to a place like this.

To outsiders, the vast mountains are a place that devours people; one wrong move and you might never return… Only the Cheng family would hire an opera troupe for the Xiasha ceremony, and they would sing only the old folk songs that the elderly like, without even a single somersault…

Then the captivating "Monkey King" was released, and the children's enthusiasm was understandable.

To find out what happens next, let alone getting them to study properly and stop fighting, they'd do anything, even set their houses on fire.

Seeing the children rushing towards him, Chun Ge, who was completely unaware of what was happening, was startled. He thought to himself, "What's going on? They've stopped fighting amongst themselves and started ganging up on the teacher?!"
Fortunately, the children didn't intend to fight. They simply surrounded him, grabbed his robe, shook him, and chattered, "Sir, sir, we haven't fought all day, can you tell us a story about the monkey?"

"What monkey story? It's 'The Monkey King'!" the Cheng family child shouted, correcting him loudly. "You're not allowed to call my hero that!"

"What do you mean, 'your hero'? He's my hero!" a child from the Su family immediately retorted loudly!

Just as another fight was about to break out, someone shouted, "Have you forgotten what Brother Qiu said? You won't hear 'Monkey King' when you're fighting!"

The children from both families immediately put their arms around each other's shoulders and said with smiles, "No, no, the Monkey King is our common hero!"

"..." Chun Ge was so clever that she immediately understood her younger brother's intention and felt a warmth in her heart.

He quickly recalled the story he had heard before going to bed last night. Fortunately, although he hadn't consciously tried to remember it, it was still clear in his mind, and he could tell it to the children without any problem.

He coughed and said, "You all did a good job today, so I can tell you a story!"

"Aww! Aww! Aww!" The children cheered wildly, feeling that all the 'hard work' of the day was worth it.

"What did you hear?" Chun Ge asked after they quieted down.

"The Monkey King has decided to become an apprentice and go out to sea in a boat!" the children exclaimed in unison. "We haven't even reached the shore yet, and it's already gone! We were so anxious!"

“Alright, I’ll continue…” Chun-ge’er cleared his throat and took over from Qiu-ge’er:
"Continuing from the previous story, the Monkey King had traveled across the ocean for a long time and first arrived at Jambudvipa (the southern continent). He jumped off the raft onto the beach and saw people drying nets and gathering seafood. He went over to ask for directions. However, he looked strange, and the people thought he was a monster. They were all so frightened that they dropped what they were doing and ran away with their heads in their hands..."

Chun Ge'er cherished the opportunity his younger brother had created for him, and he went all out. The handsome young man bent over, made faces, and acted like a monkey, making the students laugh out loud.

"An old man with mobility issues fell behind, and the Monkey King grabbed him, stripped him of his clothes, and dressed him up to look like a human. This is the meaning of 'a monkey wearing a hat.'" He also made sure to teach a lesson through entertainment.

To be honest, Chun-ge'er really does have some talent in this area, especially since Su Lu had already laid a good foundation for him. The children seamlessly transitioned back to their state from last night. While Chun-ge'er was jumping and hopping around, vividly recounting his story, they unknowingly listened until it was almost dark.

The adults in the family thought they had gotten into another fight and were being kept after school, so they all came to pick them up, but they were also engrossed in listening.

"...The Patriarch laughed and said, 'Since you are a monkey, you shall be surnamed Sun from now on. According to the generational ranking in my sect, you belong to the 'Wu' generation. Since you are orphaned and born from a stone, I will also bestow upon you the character 'Kong'.' The Monkey King happily scratched his ears and cheeks, saying, 'Very well, from now on I will be called Sun Wukong!'" Chun Ge'er finished recounting Wukong's journey to find and become a disciple, then softened his tone and said:

"To find out how the Monkey King learned his skills, stay tuned for the next chapter!"

"Why are you brothers all the same..." The children were really into what they were hearing, but then it was over, so they naturally blurted out whatever came to mind.

"Hmm?" Chun Ge'er hadn't yet come out of the state of Bodhi Patriarch, and subconsciously hummed.

"Disciple knows his mistake!" To everyone's surprise, the children were all stunned and knelt down on the ground with a thud.

Chun Ge'er immediately understood; the children had clearly also identified with Sun Wukong. He then solemnly lectured them: "Look how difficult it was for the Monkey King to become a disciple, and how steadfast his desire to learn was! Since you all take him as your role model, you should study diligently and not slack off. Do you all remember that?!"

"Yes, Master!" the children replied in unison.

"Alright, go home and eat. Remember to do your homework. If you don't finish any of your homework tomorrow, you'll have to make it up while others are listening to audiobooks," Su Man said with increasing practiced ease.

"Yes, ma'am!" The children didn't dare to bargain at all, and got up to bow and take their leave.

The parents were dumbfounded. Su Dacheng's eldest grandson was quite something! He had managed to subdue two groups of boys in just a few days?

It's true that you can't judge a book by its cover, and ambition knows no age.

Su Man calmly watched everyone leave, and only when he was the only one left in the school did he jump for joy!

"Teacher, what's wrong?" A student who had forgotten his books came back and witnessed Chun Ge'er jumping around like this.

"Ahem!" Su Man quickly stood up and said with a serious face, "I am rehearsing the story of 'The Monkey King' that I will tell you tomorrow."

"Wow, sir, you're so serious!" Children are so easily fooled; they clapped their hands with admiration.

"Of course, you should do the same when you're studying." Su Man secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

P.S. Four updates today, the next one will be here in a bit.

(End of this chapter)