Gou Zai Xianwu Wenjing Search for Opportunities

In the following days, Lin Yuan continued to go to Xiaotaolin to get a beating in the morning, go to the school to teach in the afternoon, practice martial arts at the Hu family in the evening, and write arithmetic scriptures at the Hu family at night. His life was very fulfilling, following a simple routine.

That afternoon, at the school.

Lin Yuan and Master Xu worked together to compile explanations of the Six Caos' questions. During this time, the two wrote a first draft, which covered one hundred common questions about the Six Caos.

The questions were all carefully selected by Master Xu from his experience as an official and from various classic mathematical texts. Most of them were difficult and complex problems with high repetition.

The Master would solve it using his own method, and then Lin Yuan would solve it using the simplest formula. The two would then discuss it together, summarize the problem-solving approach, select typical problem-solving approaches as cases, and then demonstrate commonly used formulas and techniques.

Then use formulas and techniques to solve more complex and tricky everyday problems.

The process was tedious, but with martial arts training to balance it out, Lin Yuan didn't find it too tedious. One was scholarly, the other martial; one was still, the other active, and they complemented each other perfectly.

In fact, the main work of annotating the book was done by Master Xu, as only he could control the overall pace and main content. Therefore, Lin Yuan's workload was not much, and he was mostly an assistant.

Neither of them had any deadlines or pressure. They would rest when they were tired and write more when they had the energy, so overall they weren't too exhausted.

After finishing his discussion with Master Xu, Lin Yuan took a piece of paper and left, intending to study it again that evening.

Before leaving, he checked on Zhou Dali's current academic progress.

For more than two months, Zhou Dali has been living and eating at the school. His older brother comes over every day to bring him food and drinks, which saves Lin Yuan a lot of trouble.

However, his reading progress was not fast. For someone who had never been exposed to books and words before, learning basic knowledge and arithmetic from scratch was not as easy as he had imagined.

Zhou Dali grew up in the mountains, and his logical thinking ability was obviously not as good as that of the boys in the town. He even had some difficulty learning the "Thousand Character Classic" and the "Nine Chapters on the Mathematical Art".

At the current pace, it's clearly unrealistic to expect to learn something useful in two years.

If he wants to excel academically, he needs to increase his study time, but fortunately Zhou Dali is hardworking.

If Zhou Dali continues to study hard, Lin Yuan wouldn't mind sponsoring him to study for a few more years; five taels of silver a year isn't much.

This is a way of making up for the support my aunt's family has always given me, as well as the support from my sister-in-law.

Lin Yuan offered a few words of encouragement before leaving, only to run into Zhao Sheng as soon as he stepped outside.

"Uncle!"

"What good thing happened that made you so happy?"

"Our trip to Lishui Pavilion is settled! My uncle told me to tell you to go to the county government office to see Liang Gongcao tomorrow morning."

"Okay, let's go to our senior brother's house for dinner tonight and ask him what we need to prepare for tomorrow."

"My uncle is hosting a banquet today. We should dress nicely tomorrow morning; he said he'll take care of the rest."

"Okay, then I'll treat everyone to a drink tomorrow night to celebrate."

"Okay, count me in, let's treat each other together."

"become."

……

Early the next morning.

Lin Yuan asked Hu Cai to ask for leave from Instructor Hong before he followed Li Shi across Yuanhu Lake by boat to Linyuan County.

Linyuan County is located on the northwest side of Yuanhu Lake, where waterways and land routes converge and the area is easily accessible from all directions.

This was the first time in his life that he had left Taoli Township and the first time that he had come to the county town; everything was quite new and exciting.

The city was indeed much more prosperous, with the two marquis mansions and two earl mansions of Linyuan County located there.

This is where the most scions of powerful and wealthy families gather.

Lin Yuan and Zhao Sheng arrived at the county government office and met with Liang Gongcao. Li Shi had made arrangements beforehand, so Liang Gongcao didn't say a word and simply wrote a note for them.

The two took the slips of paper to the relevant departments to complete the formalities, and received a certificate, identification documents, and a waist tag.

The document contained his job information and the county government's signature and seal, while the waist tag served as his personal seal, which could be used as a token of identity when encountering unfamiliar government officials.

The document contained his personal information and family background, dating back three generations to poor peasants, and was accompanied by Liang Gongcao's signature.

However, there were still some blanks on the document, which needed to be filled in by the township officials. After they were filled in, the document had to be returned to the county government for filing.

The normal procedure is that the village fills out the form first, then the township reviews it, and finally the county government signs it off.

But it's easier to get things done if you have connections in the government. The county government approves it first, but those below don't care because they don't have connections.

Lin Yuan followed Li Shi back to Taoli Township, met with Township Head Li, and signed his approval. Township Head Li looked at the two men's backgrounds, didn't ask a single question, and only chatted with Li Shi for a few minutes.

When they returned to Xiawei Village, Li Shi did not go with them. He only sent Zhao Sheng with three or five guards to accompany Lin Yuan, including Lin Yuan's elder brother.

When his elder brother learned that he had been assigned to work at the Carp Pavilion, even as a mere clerk, he was so excited that he couldn't speak.

This position may seem low-ranking, but it directly governs ordinary people and small merchants, thus wielding considerable hidden power.

With his younger brother looking after him in the pavilion, the eldest brother could stay there as a lowly pavilion soldier, earning a little money and occasionally making some extra cash.

This job is much better than carrying bags at the dock; doing manual labor for too long will make you sick.

At this moment, the group, with swords and bows on their backs, formed a formidable battle formation, attracting considerable attention.

Back to Shimooji Village.

The villagers who had come to watch the spectacle all came over. Zhao Sheng announced to the public that Lin Yuan had been appointed as a scribe at Lishui Pavilion. Everyone surrounded Lin Yuan like stars around the moon, and they all stepped forward to share the good news.

Everyone wants to have some good luck and see if they can get some benefits from it.

Zhao Sheng was very good at dealing with country folk. His manner of speaking was that of a high-ranking official. He not only elevated his own status but also warned his subordinates to be careful not to mess with those they shouldn't.

Xiawei Village has five villages. The village head of the Guanlin family is not an outsider, but the head of the Lin clan. The two families are related by five degrees of kinship and have little interaction.

When Lin Lizheng heard that a member of his clan had become a scribe at the Lishui Pavilion, he immediately drew a signature and wrote an approval for him. He warmly invited everyone to stay for a meal and kept asking Lin Yuan about his well-being.

Lin Yuan used to think the clan leader was fierce, but now he realized that he was actually very approachable.

Zhao Sheng then escorted Lin Yuan back to the Lin family home. Whenever someone asked about the matter, he would loudly recount the story. Every villager who heard him would rush to speak well of him, and their words were noticeably more respectful.

Back at the Lin family's house halfway up the mountain, there were a few dilapidated thatched huts surrounded by a low stone wall.

It was afternoon, and Dad was chopping firewood on the mountain and hadn't returned yet. My sister-in-law and nephew were working in the fields and hadn't returned either. My eldest brother was busy preparing tea for everyone.

Zhao Gou'er glanced at the Lin family and knew they were poor, but he didn't expect them to be this poor.

After having some tea, everyone prepared to return to their hometown.

Before leaving.

Lin Yuan left some loose silver for his elder brother: "Brother, don't go back to the pavilion this afternoon. Give this loose silver to our father and tell him not to go up the mountain to chop firewood anymore; he's getting on in years."

The elder brother refused his money, looking helpless: "Father has such a temper, nothing I say will work! Besides, you're not married yet. Father said he wants to make more money so he can find you a wife in the village."

Lin Yuan felt a headache coming on when he heard this. He was worried that they might actually find him a wife in the village. He quickly advised, "I made a promise with my father that he would only support my studies, and I would take care of my marriage and family life myself. He doesn't need to worry about me."

"Sigh, it's because the family is poor! If the family had any money, would they really not find you a wife? Wouldn't my father and I be the subject of gossip?" the eldest brother complained.

Lin Yuanzhen was somewhat helpless, so he had no choice but to do the opposite: "Brother, to be honest, I've become arrogant. I don't even look at the girls in the village anymore. I want to marry a woman from a prestigious family. Can you help me persuade Father to stop this nonsense?"

The elder brother was speechless for a moment, then finally scratched his head and asked, "How much does it cost to marry a woman from a prestigious family?"

……

The group returned to town, and the letter was handed to Li Shi, who was to deliver it to the county government office when he had time.

Lin Yuan officially became the scribe of Lishui Pavilion. That evening, he and Zhao Sheng invited Hu Cai, Wu Yong, Li Shi, and other fellow disciples to have a drink at Chunfeng Tower.

After finishing their drinks, Li Shi wanted to treat everyone to two more meals at Hongliu Lane, but Lin Yuan declined. It wasn't that he didn't want to, but the cost of hosting guests there was too high. Once he set a precedent, Lin Yuan would have to reciprocate in the future.

He barely has enough money left to practice martial arts, let alone spend it recklessly.

That evening, Lin Yuan and Hu Cai walked back to the Hu family home, talking drunkenly about the future.

Hu Cai suddenly said, "Junior brother, what do you think about me joining the Carp Pavilion as a thief catcher?"

"Didn't you say you didn't want to be a thief catcher?"

"Hey, I certainly wouldn't look down on thieves from Fish Tail Pavilion! Oh, your family is from Fish Tail Pavilion? I forgot, that's not what I meant! It's just that there's a lot of business at Carp Water Pavilion, and I thought it would be easier to take on jobs in the future, since everyone here is from the pavilion except me..."

"That's fine. If you really want to get in, you should talk to your senior brother as soon as possible, and it's best to make some arrangements beforehand. There might be a vacancy soon!" Lin Yuan didn't mention that the title of Earl of Duting had been changed to Earl of Lishuiting.

"That's easy. As long as I say it, Father will definitely agree. He can't wait for me to find a job!" Hu Cai was overjoyed.

"Don't neglect your martial arts training either. Once you break through to the Bone Forging Martial Master level, you can become a bronze-level retainer at the Li family mansion. That will make it much easier for us to take on business!"

"I know that. Don't follow Junior Brother Zhao's example. Martial arts training is all about going all out. Breaking through to Martial Master is usually a smooth process. If you can't do it, you might keep struggling and falling just short. Let's work harder together and try to reach the next level."

"Senior brother knows quite a lot of principles!" Lin Yuan gave him a thumbs up.

"Of course." Hu Cai suddenly whispered, "Junior brother, if you're short on money, don't be embarrassed to say so. I have some savings of my own."

"Thank you very much, Senior Brother! I have enough for now, but if I ever run into financial difficulties, I'll have to rely on you for help!"

Lin Yuan clasped his hands in a fist salute, but Hu Cai slapped his hand away, saying, "We're brothers, no need for such formalities!"

Lin Yuan suddenly realized that as he gradually succeeded in his studies, became more proficient in martial arts, and his status rose accordingly, the friendships around him also increased and became more profound.

Indeed, face is something you earn yourself, not something given to you by others!