The destiny of all heavens begins in the Red Chamber

"I apologize for visiting, but I'd like to inquire about the current state of the clan school."

Li Wan didn't beat around the bush and went straight to the point: "Lan-ge'er is not young anymore, and he can go to the clan school in the spring!"

"I've inquired about the situation at the clan school before, and it doesn't seem to be very good!"

"But recently, thanks to Huan-ge'er's efforts, the situation at the clan school has improved considerably!"

"Brother Huan, I wonder if I'm right?"

As she spoke, she looked at Jia Huan with a smile, her delicate face radiating a gentle smile, her scholarly air quite evident, clearly indicating that she was a lady from a well-to-do family.

"So it was about Lan-ge'er's schooling!"

Jia Huan suddenly realized and chuckled, "The clan school is doing alright for now!"

"If my sister-in-law trusts me, it would be best to send Lan-ge'er to the clan school as soon as possible!"

"Sister-in-law should have inquired about it. Not long ago, some of the gentlemen who served the master went to the clan school to work as temporary teachers. Their level is quite good!"

"There aren't many students in the clan school at this time. Excluding those who have no interest in their studies, the remaining students can receive one-on-one guidance from the teacher, which is quite a good opportunity!"

"This is actually quite the same as spending a lot of money to hire a famous teacher for one-on-one instruction!"

At this point, he chuckled and said, "This is a rare opportunity, Lan-ge'er should seize it!"

Li Wan nodded repeatedly; this was exactly the answer she wanted.

Otherwise, why would she rashly come to the residence of Jia Huan and his mother, Aunt Zhao? Did she think that the Second Madam, Lady Wang, didn't know?

"That's the truth!"

Li Wan smiled and stood up, saying gratefully, "Thank you for your guidance, Huan-ge'er. I'll take my leave now!"

After saying goodbye to Aunt Zhao, he quickly left with his two head maids.

Seriously, that's stingy!

Watching Li Wan's beautiful figure disappear into the gate of her residence, Jia Huan secretly curled his lip.

When they came to inquire about information, they wouldn't even take out a small bag of snacks!

He understood that Li Wan was influenced by the environment in the mansion and looked down on him, a nobody illegitimate son.

Otherwise, it's customary to bring a small gift on the first visit.

"Huan-ge, avoid dealing with this guy in the future!"

Clearly, Aunt Zhao was quite dissatisfied, and complained directly, "Who comes empty-handed to inquire about information? It's so disrespectful!"

"Don't worry, Auntie!"

Jia Huan chuckled and said, "We're not on the same wavelength as your sister-in-law at all!"

She was single-mindedly focused on cultivating her son's talent for the imperial examinations, hoping he would become an official and bring honor to the family. How could someone like Jia Huan, who had no interest in pursuing a career in government, possibly catch Li Wan's eye?

In the future, there will be very few opportunities for us to cross paths, so there's no need to take it to heart.

"Hmph, I just don't like it like that!"

Aunt Zhao was still displeased and said irritably, "If you're so capable, why don't you ask for favors?"

Jia Huan smiled slightly but did not reply, not taking the matter to heart.

The matter with the clan school was just something I did incidentally.

Anyway, Lan-ge'er is of school age. Even if Li Wan doesn't come, would he really stop him from entering the clan school?

Although I'm not a good person, I'm not that tasteless!

Jia Huan and Aunt Zhao didn't take Li Wan's arrival to heart, but Lady Wang was not happy when she heard about it, feeling that her daughter-in-law Li Wan lacked tact.

Even after Li Wan explained the reason when she was serving her, Lady Wang was still unhappy.

“It’s a good thing that Lan’er is going to school. Just go directly to Uncle Dai Ru. Why bother asking a mere child?”

Li Wan repeatedly agreed, but felt quite aggrieved.

How could a widow like her possibly go out of her home to ask an elder in her clan for advice?

Another point is that he was quite unhappy with his brother-in-law Jia Baoyu, which also caused Lady Wang to hold a grudge against him.

Traditionally, the children of wealthy families received their early education and education primarily through private tutoring at home, aside from attending academies to build connections.

As a result, Jia Baoyu angered all the famous teachers hired by the mansion, causing Jia Lan to have to go to the clan school.

Lady Wang didn't blame Jia Baoyu at all for this; on the contrary, she disliked her daughter-in-law for inquiring about the situation.

Overwhelmed with grief, she blamed her bad luck and could only force herself to endure it for the sake of her son.

At this moment, she began to understand Jia Huan's situation and frustration.

With Jia Baoyu, this phoenix egg, weighing him down, there's almost no chance of him getting ahead.

Of course, in Li Wan's understanding, standing out from the crowd meant passing the imperial examination and entering officialdom, so it's estimated that Jia Huan would have little chance of having such an opportunity.

As for what she found out about how domineering and powerful Jia Huan was at the clan school, it was just childish nonsense.

Chapter 57 The Boss of Ningrong Street (Please continue reading)

Time flies, and the end of the year is fast approaching.

As the weather grew colder, the festive atmosphere in the capital city grew stronger.

The Lunar New Year and Lunar New Year's Eve were the most important festivals of the Great Qian Dynasty.

The Rong family was naturally very busy.

Jia Huan, however, had some rare free time, as the clan school had given them a break early.

After the Laba Festival, the students in the clan school no longer had much interest in their books.

Jia Huan discussed the matter directly with several of his male guests and then obtained the consent of Master Zheng, so they decided to grant an early long holiday and wait until the seventh day of the first lunar month for school to resume.

After learning the true situation of the clan school, Master Zheng was both dissatisfied and helpless.

No matter how much you urge someone who has no motivation, it won't work!

Those who are motivated to improve don't need anyone else to urge them on, as long as they are given the necessary conditions.

The scholars and gentlemen under his tutelage could certainly adopt more targeted teaching methods for the ambitious students of the clan school.

Even if he didn't pass the imperial examinations to become a Juren or Jinshi, he should at least have no problem becoming a Xiucai (a lower-level scholar).

That's all we can do!

If we want clan schools to play their proper role, we'll have to wait until Jia Dairu completely retires.

With the holidays starting, Jia Huan had more free time.

He still insisted on going to the main study, Mengpo Studio, every day to pay his respects to Master Zheng. He didn't stay in the mansion at other times, but instead went out and stayed in the small martial arts school.

Cough cough, it's that small martial arts school affiliated with my blood uncle Zhao Guoji, which only has three martial arts instructors, father and son, and is not far from Ningrong Street.

Cong Ge'er also came along, and every day he practiced his basic skills under the guidance of the three martial arts masters.

Previously, Jia Huan had mentioned to Jia Lian that Cong-ge wanted to practice martial arts.

Unfortunately, Jia Lian's attitude was rather indifferent, and he did not express any intention to help.

Jia Huan wasn't angry. Jia Lian didn't have much say in the household, so he probably didn't want to cause trouble for himself.

Fortunately, he had a backup plan. He bought a small martial arts school through his blood uncle Zhao Guoji. In addition to enriching his martial arts arsenal, he also intended it to serve as a martial arts training base.

And so, Cong Ge'er put it to use.

In Jia Huan's opinion, basic training is pretty much the same for everyone.

It's not too late to learn advanced martial arts after you've completed the basic training.

It's clear that Cong-ge'er exercises with great enthusiasm every day, much more so than he does when studying.

In addition, younger brothers like Jin Rong, Xiang Lian, and Yu Ai, who didn't like studying, mostly stayed in the small martial arts school. They would play around to pass the time while also being ready to be ordered around at any time.

These guys may be useless in school, but they're quite capable outside.

Putting everything else aside, Jia Huan tried asking a few of them to help purchase rouge, face powder, and some small trinkets like pearl flowers, and the result was unexpectedly good.

Jin Rong is eloquent and articulate, while Xiang Lianyu has a keen and meticulous eye for women's products.

In short, entrusting tasks to these underlings not only ensures they are done quickly and efficiently, but also saves money, allowing Jia Huan to earn more.

For some reason, even Jia Qiang would occasionally come to the small martial arts school to hang out, as if there was something fun going on there.

In fact, there are some really fun things to do at this small martial arts gym.

Every now and then, local thugs would come and go, bringing the latest gossip from the streets.

Indeed, by this time, the small martial arts school had almost become a gathering place for thugs from the surrounding streets.

Of course, it's just a place for information to gather. Jia Huan wouldn't let the hooligans stay here for long. What if they corrupt the children?

According to Hong Kong films, Jia Huan at this time was considered a local gang leader.

He didn't want it to be this way, but Jia Huan had a natural advantage at this time.

As one of the owners of the Four Seas Gambling House and the cousin of Jia Lian, the eldest son of the Rong Mansion, he naturally earned the respect of the street thugs.