Dream of the Red Chamber: Starting with winning over Daiyu's favorability

Upon learning the purpose of Deng Zechen's visit, the young man's face lit up with joy, and he smiled at Deng Zechen:

"You're lucky. This is the only time of year that Master Li is home. Come in and sit for a while. I'll go call Master Li."

Thank you!

Deng Zechen followed the young man to a bright and simple hall. Above the hall was a plaque with three large characters:

"Standing Yantang".

After leading Deng Zechen to sit down in the hall, the young man hurriedly left, saying he was going to find his teacher.

Before long, Deng Zechen met his apprentice:

The old man in front of me had completely white hair and beard, but his face did not have the age spots that many elderly people have, and he even had very few wrinkles. His skin tone was healthier than that of many middle-aged people, with a wheatish hue.

His deep brown eyes, set beneath white eyebrows, were sharp as arrows. He was a very stern-looking old gentleman.

Deng Zechen handed the letter written by Magistrate Li to the old man. The old man took it, glanced at it, and casually put it aside. He then asked:

"What's your name?"

Deng Zechen bowed respectfully to the old man as a student would to a teacher, and then answered him respectfully:

"The student's surname is Deng, and his given name is Zechen."

The old man nodded slightly after listening, then his sharp eyes shifted from Deng Zechen's expression and he commented on the name:

"Hmm... Ze refers to a place where water gathers, implying grace and nourishment, while Chen refers to a precious treasure. Who are your parents? If they regard you as a precious treasure nourished by grace, why haven't they come with you?"

Upon hearing the old man's words, Deng Zechen felt a sense of unfamiliarity with his own name for the first time, even though it was the same name he had before.

The original owner knew nothing about her parents, Deng Zechen.

Mr. Su, who raised him, was hardly a friend. Now, upon suddenly learning that he was also his parents' treasure, he felt as if he had just acquired a treasure but had lost it before he could even see it clearly.

"The student has little connection with his parents and was raised by his teachers from a young age, so he has no opportunity to serve his parents."

The old man stopped stroking his beard, then lowered his sleeves and tucked them behind his back before speaking without any preamble:

"From this day forward, you are my last disciple. No tuition fees are required for your studies, nor are you obligated to pay respects morning and evening or serve me. Only three things must be observed:"

1. Those who fail the provincial examination may not publicly identify themselves as my disciples.

Second, the instruction of my disciples before the provincial examination has always been carried out by my eldest disciple, Du Feng. After the provincial examination, regardless of whether they pass or not, they must bring their own money to travel and study with me.

Third, before officially entering officialdom, you are not allowed to use my name to make a show of yourself.

If you violate any of the above three conditions, you will be expelled from our sect. Do you agree to this?

Deng Zechen readily agreed, since he had lost his way to enter the prefectural school and was indeed running out of money. He just wanted to find a teacher to learn from.

Since I have something to rely on, I just need to get my footing first.

"Mr. Meng is so kind as to accept me as his disciple; this kindness is like being given a second chance. The rules of the sect are strict, and I would never dare to disobey them."

Only then did the stern old man soften somewhat:

"Alright, my surname is Li, and my given name is Jieran. You can just call me Master Li. I currently have seven disciples who haven't graduated yet, making eight in total including you. Your eldest brother should be back in the next couple of days. Right now, only your sixth brother, Guo Wenshao, is looking after the house. As for your other brothers, they're all still out there. I've left them some homework, and they won't be back until they finish it. If you're interested in anything about them, you can ask your sixth brother."

"Yes, student understands."

Li Jieran seemed to be in a good mood and shouted loudly outside:

"Wen Shao! Come and meet your junior brother!"

Soon, a series of "tap-tap-tap" footsteps came from outside. The person who came was the young man who had opened the door for Deng Zechen earlier. It turned out that he was the sixth senior brother, Guo Wenshao.

"Huh? Master Li, you're accepting disciples already? When I became your disciple, didn't you say that the minimum test for me to enter the sect was to walk three thousand steps a day to collect dew to brew tea for you for a month?"

Deng Zechen was also taken aback, and he and Guo Wenshao looked at Li Jieran with disbelief. Li Jieran's expression remained unchanged, and he answered matter-of-factly:

"Are you the teacher or am I? Do I need you to teach me how to do things? Have you finished showing off the books I asked you to show off? Take your junior brother with you, and when your senior brother comes back, take him to meet the new people. I have other things to do, so I won't be back today."

Without waiting for his fellow disciples to react, Li Jieran finished speaking and left, disappearing in the blink of an eye. Only the two young men remained in Tingyan Hall. Deng Zechen was the first to recover, and looking at the still somewhat dazed Guo Wenshao, he tentatively said:

"Senior brother, aren't we supposed to air out the books? Shall we go now?"

"Oh right, there are still a lot of books to air out. Come on, I'll take you there."

As Deng Zechen followed behind Guo Wenshao, he imitated Guo Wenshao by rolling up his sleeves high and tying a knot to prevent them from slipping down, making it easier to work later.

Upon arriving at a spacious courtyard, even though Deng Zechen was somewhat prepared, he was still shocked by the enormous collection of books before him.

In one corner of the yard, there were bundles of books of all kinds, both new and old. Even the smallest pile was as high as Deng Zechen's chest. And only about one-tenth of the total number of books had been laid out to dry.

"When will this work end?!"

Guo Wenshao scratched his head, glanced at the books in the courtyard, and answered in a casual tone, as if asking what he would eat today:

"Oh? It won't take long. I can spread them all out to dry in half an hour by myself. It'll just take a bit of work to pack them up, but with your help, it shouldn't take more than an hour."

"Senior brother, I'm young and not well-educated, but please don't try to fool me with something like this. Look at these books! Just this one pile alone is taller than both of us combined!"

Hearing Deng Zechen's words, Guo Wenshao looked at him strangely, seemingly not understanding why his master's newly accepted disciple would say such strange things, but he still answered the question that he found odd:

"Why would I lie to you? If you don't believe me, just rest over there. I'll do it myself, you just watch. Once they're almost dry, you and I can put them away."

As Guo Wenshao spoke, he gestured for Deng Zechen to wait under the veranda, and then walked alone toward the pile of books that had been opened and were half-drying.

With a flick of his toes, Guo Wenshao sent a stack of books flying high into the air. Deng Zechen didn't even see what Guo Wenshao's hand movements were. As the stack of books fell, Guo Wenshao grabbed the spines of the books, shook them with just the right amount of force, and then accurately threw them into the row of books that were already laid out and drying in the sun.

The books that had flown out seemed to have eyes, and one after another they lined up. In just a short while, all the books at Guo Wenshao's feet had been neatly arranged.

Holy crap! We're all scholars, how come you know martial arts?

Deng Zechen smiled, unbuttoned his sleeves, tugged at them, crossed his arms, bowed to Guo Wenshao, and praised him:

"As expected of your senior brother! I was being disrespectful just now. Could you please teach me?"

With emotional appeal maximized, Guo Wenshao was easily swayed and readily agreed to his new junior's small request with a hearty laugh.

They began arranging the remaining books in the same way, and when all the books were unfolded and laid out in the courtyard, it had indeed been less than half an hour, just as Guo Wenshao had said.

"Let's go, I've ordered someone from Liuquanju to bring lunch. It should be here soon. Let's go eat first."