I just wrote a love poem, how did that make me so powerful?

Xiao Mingyuan asked with a frown.

"What should we get for it?"

Before Xu Qing could answer him, the monkey squeaked, seemingly with the same question in mind.

Xu Qing had no choice but to turn around and explain to the monkey.

"What I mean is, in a couple of days I'll get you something to wear on your eyes, so you won't be afraid of the light anymore."

As he spoke, he gestured to make the shape of glasses.

The monkey tilted its head and glanced at him, seemingly not quite understanding.

But seeing Xu Qing's calm tone, he didn't back down, only scratching his neck with his paw. He glanced again towards the well, clearly wanting to go back.

Xu Qing waved her hand. "Go ahead, see you tomorrow."

The monkey squeaked, picked up the remaining food from the food box, leaped, and disappeared silently below the well.

Once the wellhead was completely still, Xu Qing stood up, dusted off the debris from his hands, and turned to speak to Xiao Mingyuan.

"Regarding those glasses, go find Craftsman Cheng and have him polish two thin pieces of smoky quartz, make them as clear as possible, but don't make them prescription."

Xiao Mingyuan was taken aback. "Smoky crystal? What do you need that for? Besides, it's not cheap."

Xu Qing nodded and said, "It's expensive, but smoky crystal can block most of the light. With it on, the monkey will dare to come out during the day and won't be afraid of the light. It will make things much easier for us when we go down the well."

Xiao Mingyuan thought for a moment, then slapped his thigh.

"Understood, I'll take care of it first thing tomorrow morning. What's this thing called?"

Xu Qing said, "Just call them sunglasses. When you wear them, everything looks like it's through a layer of ink, and they can especially block out sunlight."

Xiao Mingyuan gave a thumbs-up in praise.

"It has a nice name, and you can tell what it's used for just by hearing it."

Su Man smiled and agreed.

"Brother Xu, you're truly amazing. You figured out a solution so quickly; it's truly impressive!"

After she finished speaking, she covered her face and smiled.

But Xiao Mingyuan could tell.

This Miss Su's smile wasn't very generous; she seemed a bit shy.

This is completely different from her usual habits.

However, he didn't dwell on the issue too much.

……

Early the next morning, the soft sound of grinding stones could be heard in Cheng the blacksmith's workshop.

Smoky quartz pieces are not cheap. Xiao Mingyuan had someone buy one, which cost twice as much as ordinary transparent quartz.

Cheng the blacksmith spent a while grinding before he finally produced two thin lenses, which he then inlaid into a copper frame with fine copper wire.

Xu Qing took it and tried it out. Looking through the lenses, the sunlight was indeed several times dimmer, basically achieving the effect of the original time-travel sunglasses.

He packed his things, preparing to bring them to the monkey that evening.

Afterwards, Xu Qing and Xiao Mingyuan went back and began to look through the stack of past exam questions and their analysis that Zou Linchuan had given them.

Xiao Mingyuan sat down opposite the desk, with a compilation of past exam questions from the past five years spread out in front of him and a stack of blank draft paper next to him.

He held a pen between his fingers, looking down at a policy essay question, but after a long time he still couldn't figure it out.

He looked up at Xu Qing.

Xu Qing was writing on the paper with his head down, his left middle finger unconsciously bending.

Tap the table with your knuckles.

Xiao Mingyuan looked at his hands and, imitating Xu Qing, bent his middle finger and tapped it on the table before continuing to look at the questions.

Immediately afterwards, Xu Qing picked up a pen that was not dipped in ink and began to spin it.

A moment later, Xu Qing looked up to drink water, casually placing the pen behind his right ear.

Xiao Mingyuan first tried twirling the pen, then took a sip of water and tried to hold the pen to his right ear. However, the pen shaft was too thick, and he couldn't hold it properly. The pen fell and hit the corner of the table. He quickly bent down to pick it up.

Xu Qing looked up at him and couldn't help but laugh.

"Why are you mimicking my movements when I'm doing exercises? Twisting the pen and holding it between your fingers."

Xiao Mingyuan picked up the pen, scratched the back of his head, and then touched his double chin.

"You must have your reasons for doing this, and I'm sure I'll do the right thing by following your example."

Xu Qing was both amused and exasperated after hearing this.

For some reason, I thought of the Primitive Era, and how some countries learn from the advanced experiences of the great Eastern power.

They even learned football skills, causing their international ranking to drop by dozens of places.

Xu Qing shook her head, took the pen off her ear, and put it back on the pen holder.

"I do that so that my hands are free to turn pages more easily, and sometimes I twirl a pen just to think. Everyone has different habits, and if you try to imitate me, it will just look awkward."

Xiao Mingyuan blinked. "Then how am I supposed to know what I should learn and what I shouldn't learn?"

Xu Qing laughed heartily, "Don't worry, I'll tell you what you need to learn. For example, tell me how you thought about this problem first?"

Xiao Mingyuan looked down at the problem, pondered for a while, and then explained his thought process.

Xu Qing nodded after listening, and then pointed to one of the places.

"The direction is correct, but you missed a point in the argument. The county examination essays require that they be substantial, and you missed that point, so the entire essay is missing a support."

Xiao Mingyuan nodded repeatedly and picked up his pen again to add that sentence.

As the two were talking, Zhou Nan lifted the curtain and came in carrying a tray. On the tray were two bowls of hot tea and a plate of sliced ​​fruit.

She placed the things on the corner of the table, not rushing to leave, but standing there for a while, her gaze falling on the open pages of the book in front of Xiao Mingyuan. She seemed to want to say something, but didn't speak.

Zhou Xing brought in some snacks from behind and saw his younger sister standing by the table, not moving. He quickly pulled her along.

"Nannan, don't disturb the two young masters' reading."

Zhou Nan hesitated for a moment, took two steps and then stopped, finally mustering up the courage to turn around and ask a question.

"Young master, I also want to learn to read, is that alright?"

Zhou Xing's face changed instantly, and he pulled his sister a little harder.

"Don't talk nonsense. Studying is something for wealthy families. How could someone like us dare to even think about it?"

Zhou Nan lowered her head, clutching the hem of her clothes, and remained silent.

Xu Qing put down his pen and said seriously:

"Who says studying is only for the wealthy?"

He looked at the clothes he was wearing.

"Look at me, I'm not exactly rich, but I still managed to get an education."

He stood up, walked up to Zhou Nan, and spoke earnestly.

"Books hold a wealth of knowledge and beauty. I owe my success to this. As long as you're willing to read, no one will stop you."

Zhou Nan looked up at him, then turned to look at her brother. Her eyes were already red, and her voice was trembling.

"Brother, I want to study."

Zhou Xing opened his mouth, glanced at Xu Qing, then at his sister's stubborn face, and finally sighed and slowly let go.

"...If you want to learn, the young master has agreed. Then don't take up too much of his time."

However, it was Zhou Xing's turn now, and he awkwardly tugged at the hem of his clothes.

"But, Young Master Xu, we don't have the money to pay for Nan Nan's tuition..."

Xu Qing stood up, took out an introductory book from the bookshelf, and handed it to him.

"Start with the basics, learn five characters a day, and ask me if you don't understand anything."

Then he looked at Zhou Xing and said.

"What money? If you want to learn, I can teach you."

Zhou Xing couldn't believe his ears.

"Is it really free to learn these things?"

Xu Qing nodded in affirmation.

"Why would you need money for something like this? I once dreamed of a world where education was free, and knowledge was all free. Everyone had to study for nine years in school. For those nine years, all you had to pay was a small fee for books. Which family would dare not let their child study? That would mean facing a lawsuit."

Upon hearing this, both siblings widened their eyes simultaneously.

"My God, such a thing exists? That's wonderful!"

Xu Qing laughed heartily.

"Just focus on doing your own jobs well. Maybe one day, we can achieve that too."

Zhou Nan took the book, nodded solemnly, and carefully left the study.

After the brother and sister left, Xiao Mingyuan chuckled to himself.

"Brother Qing, you're really daring to make such a big promise."

Xu Qing laughed and said, "How do you know that I was just making empty promises?"

He looked up at the sky for a while before looking away.

"Alright, stop joking around. We haven't finished explaining half of this question yet."

The two studied until it was completely dark.

Xiao Mingyuan rubbed his sore eyes as he put away the stack of past exam papers.

Footsteps sounded at the courtyard gate.

It was Xiao Wanjin who brought Xiao Liu back.

His robes were dusty and worn, clearly indicating that he had just rushed back from outside.

Upon seeing this, Xiao Mingyuan asked.

"Father, you haven't even gone back to your own courtyard? You came here first to see if I've been studying hard?"

"I don't need to worry about your studies with Mr. Xu's help. I'm here now to ask you something else."