Gou Zai Xianwu Wenjing Search for Opportunities

Lin Yuan listened quietly, but felt little anger. With natural disasters and man-made calamities converging, such accidents were unavoidable. He was only concerned about his own family: "How much did we lose? I still have some silver here, I'll give it to you later..."

"There's enough money, you don't need to take it! This tax is shared by the nine of us, it's only one and a half qian of silver per family, it's not much. It's just that we families have to cover their corvée labor."

"If you encounter any difficulties at home, then come and find me," Lin Yuan said with a sigh, seeing that his elder brother insisted on refusing.

"Lin Jiu's parents were kind-hearted people. When I was little, I often stole dates to eat, and the old couple would give me rice crusts to eat. I think Jiu would not have fled the mountains if he hadn't been forced to. Fleeing to those mountain strongholds would have meant being treated like slaves, and life there wouldn't have been easy."

"Sigh, his parents are indeed good people. I hope he can live a good life." The older brother was somewhat helpless and conflicted. Even though he was implicated, he could only curse a few times, but he couldn't bring himself to hate them, because they were all pitiful people forced into this situation.

After saying this, the two fell silent.

Lin Yuan broke the silence, suggesting, "I think we shouldn't make Father do corvée labor this year. We could just pay some money and call it a day. I'll give you the money."

"No! It's one thing for our family not to have money to sponsor your martial arts training, but how could we hold you back?" The eldest brother wiped his face, shook his hand, and then asked cautiously, "Erlv, the reason I came here this time is also to ask you about this."

Lin Yuan gestured for him to continue.

"The village head said that our family will contribute one person for this year's corvée labor, while Uncle Liu's family will take over for Lin Lao Jiu's family, contributing two people. My father is getting old, and I don't want him to go. I'll go with Uncle Liu and his son. Aren't you familiar with Li Tingzuo? Could you ask him to do me a favor and not make me repair the river embankment? Even repairing the city wall would be fine."

Those performing corvée labor had to bring their own dry rations and build their own sheds to live in; otherwise, they would have to live in the open. In addition, the winter and spring were cold, and if the working conditions were too poor, it was easy to suffer from poor food and lodging, exhaustion, illness, or even death outside.

In the city, no matter what, it's more convenient to eat and stay. There are sheltered places, and you can even ask for hot water. It's different in the wilderness; there's nothing there.

"I'll ask Li Tingzuo to see if you can be transferred to Tingli for corvée labor. With his help, things will be easier for you." Lin Yuan nodded immediately.

The eldest brother, used to being the head of the family, was a little embarrassed to ask for favors in front of his younger brother.

"Sixth Uncle's family has always had a good relationship with our family. They haven't been doing well either. This time, they're doing corvée labor for Lin Lao Jiu's family, so we should at least do something in return. Could we take him and his son with us? If not, we can have them work on the city wall."

"Let me ask." Lin Yuan nodded. He wouldn't mind helping his sixth uncle's family if he could. The two families had been on good terms since they were young, and he often went to his sixth uncle's house to play.

……

Early morning is the time for martial arts practice.

Zhao Sheng arrived a little late today; Lin Yuan and the other man had already been practicing for quite some time when he arrived.

Hu Cai immediately called out, "Junior Brother Zhao, why are you so late? The medicine is all ready, but you didn't come soon enough, so I had the cook keep it warm for you. Go and drink it!"

"Hey, the county government came to inspect today, and my uncle asked me to go to the pavilion to check in and deal with it," Zhao Sheng said. Then he laughed and added, "My cousin is having his first birthday celebration this afternoon, and my uncle asked me to invite you two over for some noodle soup."

Zhao Sheng's cousin is the only son of Li Shi's concubine. He just turned one year old today, which brings honor to the Zhao family. Zhao Sheng is also proud of this.

Lin Yuan feigned a complaint, saying, "Why didn't you tell us beforehand? Senior Brother Hu and I should have made proper preparations."

"Yes," Hu Cai echoed.

"Uncle said that you two are just starting to learn martial arts, which is a time when you need to spend a lot of money. So today, I won't let you spend any money. Just come over, and don't bring anything." Zhao Sheng earnestly conveyed Li Shi's meaning, not that he was there to take advantage of them.

"Hey, how could we..." Lin Yuan and Hu Cai waved their hands repeatedly. Although Li Shi didn't want the two of them to spend money, they couldn't go empty-handed. However, they took the opportunity to talk about the corvée labor.

The three practiced their boxing for a while, using the medicinal properties to temper their bodies and complete their daily martial arts basics.

Zhao Sheng proposed a three-way contest, and Hu Cai clamored to prepare some small gifts.

Lin Yuan asked him to handle it all at once, and they would settle the accounts later. He then went to wipe his sweat and prepare to go to school.

Because it was getting cold, and he had just worked up a sweat, he didn't dare to take a shower directly, for fear of catching a disease.

He carried the wooden basin and asked the cook to pour some hot water, then went to the water vat in the yard to add cold water to dilute it.

Suddenly, I saw a reflection in the water tank: a handsome young man with sword-like eyebrows and bright eyes, almost exactly like myself in my previous life.

Memories flooded back, and I dreamt of my middle school days.

He rarely looked in the mirror in the past, and even if he did, he didn't care much. Now, as his nutrition improves and his figure gradually develops, the resemblance becomes stronger.

He was a little confused. Was this a soul transmigration, reincarnation, or even a physical body transmigration?

He shook his head, no longer dwelling on it. He picked up a gourd ladle, scooped up some cold water to make warm water, went back inside to wash up, and then changed into a long robe.

The long gown was still Xu Shan's; it used to be a bit too big for him, but now he could barely fit into it.

Studying saves money; a long gown can be worn for a long time, while he has changed his training clothes several times.

Arriving at the school.

Lin Yuan taught two math lessons in the morning, and then discussed a grain statistics problem with Master Xu.

This problem is a bit difficult. It's not easy to solve using normal methods. You can only calculate it by adding each element one by one, which is not only time-consuming and laborious, but also very easy to make mistakes.

Lin Yuan solved the problem using the formula for permutation and combination equations, getting it right in one step. This greatly interested Master Xu, who continued to explore his problem-solving approach and study the principles of permutations and combinations.

Even though he was over fifty, his mind was still sharp. He could actually understand and comprehend what he heard, and even apply it to other situations.

Lin Yuan had to admit that Master Xu was indeed quite skilled in his field.

No wonder the Master was able to rise to prominence; he truly has the ability, otherwise even a powerful figure couldn't have helped him.

After their discussion, Master Xu grew even more fond of this true disciple, and, holding his hand, said, "I've had some free time lately and am planning to write a collection of explanations of mathematical classics. What do you think, my worthy disciple?"

Upon hearing his words, Lin Yuan knew that he wasn't asking a question at all, but rather trying to recruit him as an assistant. So he dodged the question by saying, "My esteemed teacher has such profound knowledge of mathematical classics that he is a master in his field. If he could annotate and write a biography to enlighten the people of the world, he would surely become famous throughout the land and be remembered in the history of mathematics!"

Master Xu, seeing that he had hit the nail on the head, couldn't help but burst into laughter. He was truly a disciple who suited his temperament, and he liked him even more, holding his hand tightly and refusing to let go: "My worthy disciple! You have extraordinary talent, would you be willing to lend your master a hand?"

"The students will do their best." Lin Yuan was reluctant to do it and could only give a perfunctory reply.

Master Xu knew this was a shrewd student, one who wouldn't act without seeing the benefits, so he could only promise, "If the book is completed, your name will be included, enough to make both of us, master and disciple, famous. You can also use this good name to try and get a low-ranking scholar's degree, which isn't much worse than learning martial arts..."

Even if someone comes from a poor family, if they can truly become a great scholar, write books that will be passed down through generations, and become famous throughout the world, then powerful families will offer them some benefits and recruit them. They may not be able to become high-ranking officials, but they still have a chance to become minor civil officials.

Of course, it's not easy to write a book that will be passed down through generations and gain fame; it has to withstand scrutiny from all over the world.

Seeing that he had promised to sign his name and that he wasn't doing this for free, Lin Yuan immediately bowed and said, "Rest assured, Master, I will certainly live up to your expectations."

"Good, very good! Let's go, we won't leave until we're drunk tonight." Master Xu looked at him with great joy, and the two smiled at each other, a picture of teacher-student affection and filial piety, a scene of harmonious joy.

After saying this, the teacher took his hand and led him to the back hall, ignoring the students behind him.

The students behind them ignored the two, as if the two belonged to a completely different world from them, and they kept to themselves.

Seeing his teacher so happy, Lin Yuan could only remind him, "Master, today is Li Tingzuo's first birthday celebration. We have to go over there, or they'll start eating soon."

"Right, right, I almost forgot. Look at my memory." Master Xu patted his hand. "Come on, let's go by donkey cart, you and I. Don't bring anything, I'll bring plenty."

"I've already asked Senior Brother Hu to prepare everything; it wouldn't be right for him to go through all that trouble for nothing." Lin Yuan explained the situation, and the two of them rode in a donkey cart to Hu's house to pick up Hu Cai.

Seeing how close Master Xu and Lin Yuan were, Hu Cai couldn't help but feel awkward. They were both Master Xu's students, so why was there such a big difference in their treatment?