The Great Song Dynasty: You were put in charge of teaching, and you produced a whole bunch of prime

Jing Shi Academy, Main Hall

The afterglow of the setting sun spilled onto the bluestone slabs, casting long shadows.

The three-day "rules-free assessment" has finally come to an end.

Of the three hundred candidates, only four now stand proudly in front of the hall, each clutching a red brocade pouch in their hands.

The remaining 290-plus people stood dejectedly on the periphery, some with bruises and swelling, some covered in mud, and others with disheveled clothes, looking as if they had just escaped from a refugee camp.

Jiang Lin sat leisurely in a grand chair, holding a cup of hot tea in his hands.

Su Shi, Zeng Gong, and Su Zhe, the three "teaching assistants," stood to the side, holding rosters and taking notes.

Jiang Lin looked at the four people in front of him, and the corner of his mouth twitched slightly.

Three hundred people signed up, twelve lucky bags were offered, but only four people actually received them.

Where did the remaining eight go?

According to statistics: one was carried away by a stray dog, two were blown into the Bian River by strong winds, three were torn to pieces by the students fighting over them, and one was thrown into the swill bucket as garbage...

Su Shi, suppressing a laugh, leaned close to Jiang Lin's ear and whispered, "Sir, this is a bit too tragic. Should we record a few more?"

Jiang Lin glared at him: "Four it is. Better to have fewer but better ones. I need elites, not just filler numbers."

"Alright." Jiang Lin put down his teacup, glanced at the four "victors," and then looked at the dejected losers on the periphery: "Those who got the brocade pouch have successfully joined the academy. Those who didn't get it, don't rush to leave. Tell me what you went through."

Jiang Lin smirked, "I want to hear how you guys ruined yourselves."

This caused quite a stir.

The first candidate to step forward looked aggrieved, his eyes red: "Headmaster! Your clue was so misleading! I got 'Searching for the Dragon Vein by Jinming Pond,' and I thought the brocade pouch was buried underground, so... so I took a shovel and climbed over the wall."

"And then?" Su Shi asked curiously.

"Then I was arrested by the Imperial Guards!" the examinee burst into tears. "I was locked up in jail all night, and my father had to pay to get me released! They said I intended to disrupt the royal feng shui!"

The second candidate fared even worse, looking indignant: "I didn't dig anywhere, I bought the clue! Someone on the black market was selling 'insider information,' it cost me twenty strings of cash! But when I opened that pill, all I found was a note with four words written on it—'Congratulations on being scammed!'"

"Pfft—" Su Shi couldn't help but spray the tea he had just drunk all over Zeng Gong.

The third candidate raised his hand, looking utterly desperate: "I chased a pigeon for three blocks, and even lost my shoes. When I finally caught it, I found a note on its leg that read: 'This road is blocked, please try chasing another pigeon…'"

The whole place burst into laughter.

The most outrageous one was the fourth one. This guy was disheveled, with sunken eyes, looking like his body had been hollowed out.

"I...I went into Fanlou to look for clues." His voice was weak. "But I didn't find the brocade pouch, and I accidentally went into the girls' private room...and then...and then I didn't have money to pay the bill, so I was forced to wash dishes all night to pay it off. My hands were all white from being soaked in water!"

Su Shi slammed his hand on the table, his eyes wide: "Good heavens! While others are taking exams, you're visiting brothels?!"

"It's not a brothel! It's...it's a drinking party! A refined gathering!" the man argued, his face flushed.

The laughter nearly blew the roof off.

After laughing, Jiang Lin tapped the table to signal for quiet: "Alright, enough of the jokes, time to get down to business."

He picked up the roster, looked at the four "lucky ones" who had passed the test, and began to assign them to classes.

"Shen Kuo, you can deduce the location of the brocade bag from the water flow. You are quick-witted and adept at investigating things to acquire knowledge. Go to the 'Investigation of Things Class' to specialize in physics, chemistry, and manufacturing."

"Wang Shao, you dared to jump from the third floor, you're brave and quite skilled. Go to the 'Military Strategy Class,' you'll be useful in leading troops in battle."

"Zhang Dun, I've heard about your methods. You stopped seventeen people and only got three slips of paper. You're ruthless, black-handed, and smart as can be. Go to the 'political affairs class' and do those dirty and tiring jobs in the court; they're perfect for you."

Finally, it was Zhao Lingjun's turn.

"Zhao Ling, you got into Kaifeng Prefecture through your 'connections' and obtained the most difficult-to-obtain brocade pouch. Connections are also a form of strength, so you should also go to the 'government affairs class'."

Jiang Lin added meaningfully, "However, I'm very curious about the origins of your 'connections.' To have the gatekeepers of Kaifeng Prefecture treat you like an ancestor, these aren't just ordinary 'relatives.'"

Zhao Lingjun's smile froze for a moment, then returned to normal: "Sir, you're joking. He's just a distant cousin who works as a gatekeeper."

Jiang Lin gave her a deep look, but didn't ask any further questions. He simply placed a small ink dot next to the name "Zhao Ling" on the roster.

The class assignments had just ended, and everyone hadn't even had a chance to congratulate each other.

Suddenly, a tremendous banging came from outside the door.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

"Open the door! Open the door now! Jiang Shanchang! Don't hide inside and keep quiet!"

Su Shi was startled and quickly ran to the door to peek out. His face instantly turned green, and he turned to Jiang Lin and shouted, "It's over! Sir! The debt collectors are here!"

Before Su Shi could close the door, it was smashed open by a great force.

The portly manager of Fanlou Restaurant charged in first, brandishing a green tile in his hand, looking menacing.

"Jiang Shanchang! Pay up! Your student trampled and smashed my glazed tiles! Eight pieces imported from the Western Regions! Eighty strings of cash!"

He had barely finished speaking when another fat man in official robes, sweating profusely, squeezed in from behind.

"Lord Jiang! I am the steward of Jinming Pond! Your student scaled the wall into the royal garden and trampled three of my koi carp to death! Those were imperial gifts! One hundred strings of cash each! Three hundred strings of cash!"

Immediately afterward, the head monk of Xiangguo Temple squeezed in, striking his wooden fish: "Amitabha, your students have damaged the fence in the vegetable garden and even knocked off a toe of the Buddha's golden statue... Repair fee: fifty strings of cash, well done, well done."

Finally, a bruised and battered fellow defiantly stretched out his hand: "Me! The one selling information! I got beaten up by your students! Medical expenses! Compensation for emotional distress! Twenty strings of cash!"

Su Shi chuckled upon seeing the man: "Aren't you that swindler? How dare you show your face here?"

The man retorted, "Even scammers have human rights! Hitting someone is wrong!"

Qian Duoduo, who was in charge of the accounts, hid in a corner, his abacus beads almost sparking as he worked them. As he finished calculating, his face grew paler and paler, eventually turning a bluish-green hue of despair.

Su Shi leaned closer and poked him with a smug grin: "How was it? How much did we make from this recruitment drive?"

Qian Duoduo's hand trembled, and the abacus fell to the ground with a "clatter".

He swallowed hard, his voice barely audible, almost a sob: "Adding the expenses for booking the entire Fanlou restaurant before, and deducting these compensations... we still owe three hundred strings of cash."

Shen Kuo and Wang Shao, who had just enrolled, looked at each other in bewilderment, wondering if the academy was about to go out of business right after it opened.

Seeing that no one spoke, the manager of Fanlou became even more arrogant, hands on his hips pointing at Jiang Lin: "Manager Jiang, say something! Are you going to pay this money or not?"

All eyes were on Jiang Lin.

Jiang Lin remained seated in the armchair, slowly sipping the last drop of tea before gently setting the teacup down.

He stood up, walked straight to the manager of Fanlou, and took the precious piece of tile from his hand with two fingers.

Jiang Lin lifted the tile and looked at it in the sunlight outside the window.

It was cloudy and greenish, filled with bubbles of all sizes, and had very poor light transmission.

"this one?"

Jiang Lin scoffed, his face revealing undisguised disdain: "This thing... dares to call itself a treasure?"

The manager of Fanlou Restaurant immediately flew into a rage, jumping up and down and shouting, "What do you know! This is imported glass from the Western Regions! It's a tribute item from the Abbasid Caliphate! Only my family in all of Bianjing has it! If you can't afford to pay for it, just say so, don't insult my tiles!"

"Snapped!"

Jiang Lin loosened his grip, and the broken tile fell to the ground and shattered into pieces.

"A piece of broken glass, full of impurities and poorly fired, dares to sell for ten strings of cash?"

He turned back to the group of dumbfounded creditors, his voice not loud, but carrying an undeniable air of dominance: "Gentlemen, I will not pay this debt."

The entire audience erupted in uproar.

The manager of Fanlou Restaurant was so angry his face trembled: "What did you say?! You're trying to renege on your debt?! Have you no shame as a scholar?!"

"What's the rush?"

Jiang Lin stood with his hands behind his back, his gaze sweeping over the crowd, his eyes sharp as knives: "One month. Give me one month."

"A month from now, I will create something that is ten times more transparent and a hundred times more beautiful than the glass you treasure."

He pointed at the manager of Fanlou, a playful smile playing on his lips: "In the future, you'll be begging me to sell you the goods."

"As for this broken glass... it will become worthless in the future, and no one will even pick it up if it is thrown on the street."

The manager of Fanlou was trembling with rage, his finger shaking as he pointed at Jiang Lin: "You, you...you're bragging! This is a secret recipe from the Western Regions! You think you can make it in a month? Do you think you're a god?!"

Jiang Lin turned and sat back in his armchair, picked up his teacup, and gestured to the group of creditors to "see them out": "Gentlemen, come back in a month. If the goods can't be manufactured by then, Jing Shi Academy will repay you double the amount. But if you don't want the money by then and want to beg me to buy the goods..."

Jiang Lin sneered, "Don't blame me for not giving you face."

The debt collection team left, turning back every few steps, their faces filled with doubt and skepticism.

The main hall finally fell silent.

Qian Duoduo emerged from the corner, clutching her abacus, her voice still trembling: "Sir... that glass you mentioned... can it really make money? Enough to pay off three hundred strings of cash?"

Shen Kuo also leaned closer, his eyes shining brightly: "Sir, what you just said... is it true? Can we really make that 'glass'?"

Jiang Lin looked at these two naive guys, and a meaningful smile slowly crept onto his lips.

"It's more than just making money."

He put down his teacup, a cold glint in his eyes: "I want all the powerful and wealthy people in Bianjing to lay out their entire fortunes and scramble to stuff their money into our pockets."