40 Chapter 40

◎The Cauldron Falls from the Sky◎

"Heaven nurtures the people. Without a ruler, there will be chaos. To establish a ruler to quell chaos, one needs wise and capable assistants. Only when Heaven is great and Earth is great can the people be at peace without trouble. Only when the Emperor of Sui descends, can there be ministers..."[1]

Today, when we were teaching "The Book of Zhou" in class, the teacher was shaking his head while Jiang Jingyun was nodding sleepily below.

It wasn't that he didn't want to work hard, but the sound of the teacher's lecture was like eight hundred pounds of sleeping pills. As long as he concentrated and listened for half a quarter of an hour, he would immediately fall into a drowsy state.

The man sat there in a daze, unaware that a pair of sharp eyes had already locked onto him.

Su Yuheng, who was sitting on the left, was about to give a quiet reminder when he heard a long and deep "dong, dong, dong" sound coming from outside. It turned out to be the bell for the end of get out of class.

"... That's all for today. get out of class dismissed." Master Gao closed the book, turned around and left.

Jiang Jingyun, who had escaped the disaster, also woke up at this time. He stood up and stretched slowly, picked up the lunch box and called Su Yuheng, "Let's go and eat."

Seeing his calmness, Su Yuheng followed up with a speechless face: "Do you know that the teacher's eyes were almost slapped on your face just now... and you are still sleeping there. What did you do to steal things at night?"

"I'm growing, so I need to sleep more."

Su Yuheng heard this and sneered mercilessly: "How old are you? You are still growing."

Jiang Jingyun paused, looked at Su Yuheng, who was only one year older than him but much taller than him, and suddenly said unhappily, "There will be no portion of the side dishes I bring later!"

"Hey, don't."

…

The canteen of the academy is located on the west side. It supplies fixed quantities of food at regular times every day at noon. Generally, it consists of coarse grains, rice, and vegetarian dishes, and occasionally some meat. This kind of big pot meal tastes terrible and can only fill the stomach. It is mostly eaten by children from poor families, while those from wealthy families will bring their own meals.

Jiang Jingyun didn't want his second brother and the others to get up early every morning and prepare breakfast and lunch for him, so he chose to eat in the cafeteria. There was only one meal a day anyway, and if he didn't eat well, he could make up for it at night when he got home.

However, the second brother was afraid that he would not be able to get used to the food, so he still prepared several side dishes for him, which he rotated every day. Today he brought diced papaya and pork sauce with fermented black beans.

As soon as it was opened, Su Yuheng came over after smelling the scent.

"Give me some." Su Yuheng stretched out his hand.

"Here, scoop it yourself." Jiang Jingyun pushed the palm-sized earthenware jar over.

Su Yuheng took it and put it in his lunch box without hesitation, saying as he scooped the food, "Your food is still the best. My cook only knows how to make the same few dishes over and over again. I'm tired of them."

"Why don't you ask the chef to go to the restaurant and learn from him? They've just added a few new dishes recently."

"I asked him to learn it before, but it always felt a little off."

"Other people's food is just more delicious, right? You are just bored and have nothing better to do."

“You don’t understand…”

"You know best."

The two of them ignored the rule of "no talking while eating or sleeping" and bickered while eating. Suddenly, a gentle male voice came from the empty seat at the table: "Excuse me, is there anyone here?"

The man was dressed in a blue shirt, had a slender figure, a delicate and handsome face, and his every move revealed a gentle and elegant temperament.

"No, please feel free to do as you please." Su Yuheng replied.

"Thank you." The man nodded slightly and sat down with the lunch box.

Su Yuheng felt that the person opposite him looked familiar, as if he had seen him somewhere before. Who was he? He took another furtive look and suddenly his thoughts flashed through his mind. He excitedly poked Jiang Jingyun with his elbow and whispered, "I remember now, it's Zhang Zhengbai!"

Jiang Jingyun, who was busy eating, looked up in confusion, "Ah? Who?"

"The top scorer in this college entrance examination! Zhang Zhengbai!"

"Oh...Oh!!" A real academic master!

The two were hesitating whether to go up and talk to each other, when suddenly, someone slammed the dishes and chopsticks heavily on their table. The noisy restaurant suddenly became quiet, and everyone looked over here.

When I looked up, it was Xie Weicai again.

Tsk, it really lingers.

After not seeing him for a few days, Xie Weicai's face looked even more swollen, with purple and blue flesh all over his face, which was scary to look at. However, he looked at Jiang Jingyun without paying attention to anyone else, and asked in a stern voice, "Did you do this?"

"Ah?" Jiang Jingyun looked puzzled. What was going on?

"Stop playing dumb. Last night, I was covered in a sack and beaten up on my way home. Did you do that?"

"Hey, stop slandering me. I am a law-abiding citizen. I go home before dark every day." Jiang Jingyun protested.

Xie Weicai naturally didn't believe it: "If it's not you, who else could it be?"

"How would I know? Maybe you've done too many bad things, and God can't stand it anymore, so he sent someone to deal with you." Jiang Jingyun looked at the other party's face, which had just subsided a little and now turned back into a pig's head. He couldn't help but gloat over his misfortune. He patted Xie Weicai's shoulder lightly and said something serious, "Brother Pig, although we are strong enough to bear it, it's not good for you to come out and scare people with this face all day long. You should do more good things when you are free and accumulate some merits, so as to help you successfully transform as soon as possible."

"Puchi..." Su Yuheng couldn't help laughing again and covered his mouth.

Zhang Zhengbai, who was standing by, looked at Xie Weicai's swollen face and made a serious suggestion: "Emotional disharmony and anger can damage the liver, which can lead to worsening edema and blood stasis. It would be better for you to stay calm and take food and medicine that can promote blood circulation and dissolve blood stasis..."

"Who are you?" Xie Weicai looked grim.

"My name is Zhang Zhengbai. I know a little about medicine. You look like that..." Zhang Zhengbai wanted to persuade her again.

"Shut up!" Xie Weicai yelled.

"Hey, people are trying to persuade me in a nice way, why don't you know what's good for you?" Su Yuheng became unhappy when he saw that he even scolded innocent people.

Xie Weicai gritted his teeth, his face looking hideous and slightly distorted. These two men were birds of a feather, but due to the other's identities he did not dare to offend them easily. He just stared at Jiang Jingyun and threatened: "It's better not to be you, otherwise... hum!" He flicked his sleeves and left.

"..., you're crazy." It's bad enough that he bullies the weak and fears the strong, but every time he can't win an argument he has to stick close to me, and before leaving he even says something harsh. Is there something wrong with his brain? Jiang Jingyun turned to look at Zhang Zhengbai, bowed and said, "Thank you for your help, Brother Zhang. It's our first meeting. I'm Jiang Jingyun and he's Su Yuheng. Nice to meet you."

Zhang Zhengbai stepped back slightly to avoid Jiang Jingyun's greeting. "I just told you the truth, I didn't do anything."

"Brother Zhang, do you also know medical skills?" Su Yuheng also asked.

"Well, my family has been practicing medicine for generations, and I know a thing or two from what I have seen and heard." Zhang Zhengbai looked at the two people opposite him and corrected, "In fact, this is not the first time we have met. We met once at the bookstore before the college entrance examination."

"Oh?" The two looked at each other. They had no impression.

"At that time, the two of you were discussing the document notice. I was passing by and overheard it. I thought it made a lot of sense and got some inspiration during the college entrance examination..."

"Ah, inspiration?" But he remembered that the college entrance examination did not test this aspect. Su Yuheng looked at Jiang Jingyun in confusion, "Did I miss it?"

"It's not mentioned in the book, but the truth is simple, and it's the same principle."

"Ah?" Su Yuheng's round eyes were wide with confusion. How come only six of his seven orifices were open and none of them were?

Jiang Jingyun comforted him, "You don't understand. The world of academic masters can expand from simple strokes to a thousand-word article. This is not something that academic losers like us can understand..."

"What is a top student? What does a poor student mean?" Zhang Zhengbai was puzzled.

"A top student is someone like Brother Zhang, who is brilliant in writing and far ahead of everyone else. A poor student is someone like me who dozes off in class and ranks last in exams..."

"I remember that you two were among the top students in this exam. How could it be possible that..."

"It's just rote memorization and a bit of luck."

"Don't underestimate yourself." Zhang Zhengbai said seriously.

"Hehe..." Jiang Jingyun smiled awkwardly and looked at Su Yuheng for help. Help, there is an honest man here and he can't continue the conversation!

Su Yuheng smiled secretly. There were actually people Jiang Jingyun couldn't deal with. He pushed the earthenware jar with side dishes over and changed the subject, "We don't have much time for lunch break, so let's eat first. Brother Zhang, this is the side dish we brought. You can eat it with rice. Try it."

"Thank you," Zhang Zhengbai took it with dignity, picked up a small handful with clean chopsticks and put it into his mouth to taste, "It tastes very good." Every move he made was self-disciplined and polite, maintaining the elegant and noble demeanor of a scholar.

In contrast, the young master of aristocratic family, Su Yuheng, was proudly promoting his own products. "Not bad, it's made by our Jiangyanlou chef. The taste is unbeatable. Remember to try it next time you have time. You can get a discount if you mention my name..."

"Okay, I'll order it and try it next time I have some free time." The other party's answer was also very serious.

"Well... although you look a little dull, you are quite sensible. I'd like to make friends with you!" Su Yuheng patted Zhang Zhengbai generously, but he couldn't control his strength and made the man stagger.

"Ahem..." Zhang Zhengbai steadied himself, holding his hair crown and replied, "Thank you, Brother Su, for your appreciation. It is my honor."

"Jingyun and I are both from Qing County. Where is Brother Zhang from? Where does he live?"

"I am a native of Guangzhou, and my home is..."

"So what do you like to do on weekdays?"

"I read and practiced calligraphy, and in my free time I would help my family sort out medicinal herbs."

"There will be a poetry gathering on the outskirts of the city on the next holiday. Would Zhengbai like to go with us?"

This time, Zhang Zhengbai did not answer directly. Instead, he looked at Jiang Jingyun and asked, "Brother Jiang, are you going too?"

Jiang Jingyun shook his head: "I'm not good at this."

Zhang Zhengbai frowned and disagreed, "Although the Four Books and Five Classics are the foundation of a scholar, poetry and songs can also add icing on the cake. If you are not good at it, you should practice more."

Su Yuheng also cheered: "That's right, Zhengbai is right, if you are new, just practice more!"

Jiang Jingyun looked at this man who had forgotten his old friends and made new ones, and even used his old words against him: "Humph, you are just kidding."

"Then we should go together, don't you think?"

In the end, Jiang Jingyun couldn't resist Su Yuheng and agreed to go to the poetry reading together.

After getting a satisfactory answer, Su Yuheng immediately changed the subject, "Hey, Zhengbai, let me tell you..."

"Oh, there is another matter, I have never heard of it..."

“…”

Looking at the two people in front of him who were interacting with each other in question and answer, Jiang Jingyun smiled and shook his head: These two, one fire and one water, one quiet and one dynamic, can surprisingly get along well.

【Author’s words】

[1] From the Preface to Zhouli Zhengyi (The Righteous Explanation of the Rites of Zhou).

I can only write about elementary school students quarreling, I'm sorry to make you laugh (o(╥﹏╥)o kneel down)