Du Shanzhang raised an eyebrow: "Oh, is that so?" He doesn't seem like it.
Du Changjun continued, "Those siblings are both selfish and disobedient to their elders; they are ungrateful wretches who can never be raised."
He felt that students of the academy should be of good character and academic standing, and that someone like Qiu Xu was not worthy of being admitted to their academy.
Du Changjun spoke without much restraint in front of his father.
Du Shanzhang thought of Qiu Xu and his sister, "Changjun, when did you become so harsh? Don't say such things carelessly in the future."
He wondered if this boy, who seemed like a good match, was really as his son had described—that his family had a bad reputation and that he was selfish.
No one likes a student from a family with a bad family tradition.
"Du Changjun, stop gossiping about others behind their backs. Those two siblings helped me this morning, how is that considered a bad family tradition? You call yourself a scholar? Where has your manners gone?" The speaker was none other than Old Master Mu.
As soon as he arrived, he gave Du Changjun an unfriendly look.
Upon seeing that it was Elder Mu, Du Changjun quickly nodded and bowed.
“Master Mu, I heard it from someone else.”
Headmaster Du coughed lightly, a look of embarrassment on his face. He glared at Du Changjun and said to Elder Mu, "Elder Mu, why do you walk so quietly?"
His son isn't usually like this.
Old Mu looked at Du Changjun with a cold eye.
"Who told you that? Did you personally witness their family's improper conduct and disobedience to their elders? Do you know the saying, 'Hearing is believing, seeing is believing'?"
As a scholar, instead of studying diligently to pass the imperial examinations and gain official rank, you act like a gossipy woman, spreading rumors and causing trouble. You truly disgrace scholars!
He disliked Headmaster Du, and by extension, he disliked Du Changjun as well.
"The student acknowledges his or her mistake."
After being reprimanded by Elder Mu, Du Changjun lowered his eyes, looking somewhat embarrassed.
He had no idea that Old Master Mu would suddenly come, so he only told his father these words.
Du Shanzhang's expression wasn't much better; his son had made him unable to hold his head up in front of Elder Mu.
Outside the academy, Qiu Yan met with Qiu Xu and Zhou Zifang. She asked:
"Ah Xu, how's your first day of school?"
Qiu Xu smiled slightly, "It's fine."
He is much more cheerful than before.
And this is exactly what Qiu Yan wanted to see.
Today, Qiu Xu realized that everyone around him was better than him.
Of course, Zhou Zifang is an exception.
The students who were with him had all received early education; they had studied for several years in village schools, private schools, and other places of learning.
Only he had been studying for less than half a year.
He understood that since he started school later than others, he naturally had to work even harder than them.
Zhou Zifang sighed, "What's so good about it? He knows nothing when asked."
Qiu Xu glanced at him and said, "Brother Zhou, studying should be done step by step. We have only just started school, and everything is just beginning."
Zhou Zifang was somewhat depressed. If he could, he wouldn't want to study; he only wanted to do business.
However, he felt that he was far inferior to Qiu Yan in business, and suddenly he felt that he was worthless.
"But we still know nothing about it."
When Zhou Zifang spoke, his voice was somewhat muffled, as if he had suffered some injustice.
Seeing his expression, Qiu Yan knew that he must have been lectured by the teacher today and was in a bad mood.
“Zhou Zifang, no one is born with this skill.”
Zhou Zifang nodded, "Qiu Yan, you're right."
The teacher who is instructing them today is none other than Master Mu.
Although Elder Mu is no longer the headmaster, he is still unwilling to retire.
He settled for second best and became a teacher at the academy.
Master Mu began by checking what the students had learned earlier, as he wanted to know each student's strength.
Among the students, some can recite all the poems by heart, while others only have a superficial understanding.
Unfortunately, Qiu Xu was repeatedly asked the question, but he always hesitated and couldn't answer.
As the saying goes, those who know the answer don't ask, and those who ask don't know the answer.
Qiu Xu had too little time to study, so it was impossible for him to have read through the Four Books and Five Classics.
When asked, Zhou Zifang was equally dumbfounded.
He made a mistake, causing a burst of laughter and almost getting kicked out of the academy by Master Mu.
Old Master Mu was somewhat suspicious of how this student had gotten in.
Qiu Yan and the other two chatted casually, and soon they arrived at Xingyue Tower.
Because Xingyue Tower was close to the academy, Zhou Zifang arranged for Qiu Xu to have lunch with him there every day at noon.
Qiu Yan had the same idea, and Qiu Xu, considering his sister's current relationship with Xingyue Tower, didn't say anything more.
Five days later,
Qiu Yan gathered Lu Jia and the others, and as previously agreed, distributed all the ten strings of copper coins she had extorted.
For the past five days, these beggar children, who used to go hungry one day and eat their fill the next, have been eating with the workers and servants in the backyard of Xingyue Tower every day.
Because they ate normally, they became much more energetic in just five days.
Now, Lu Jia looked at the copper coin he had lost and found, and pushed it to Qiu Yan.
“We want to stay at Xingyue Tower and continue working. We just want to have enough to eat. We… want to follow you.”
They were beggars before, and it's not that they haven't thought about earning money themselves, but who would be willing to hire beggars?
After Lu Jia finished speaking, the others nodded in agreement.
"Follow me?" Qiu Yan raised her lips slightly, looking intently at the boy in front of her.
Lu Jia replied just as earnestly, "Yes, we want to follow you."
“Those who follow me must be completely devoted. As for you, I cannot trust you.”
You can know a person's face but not their heart; Qiu Yan didn't understand Lu Jia and the others.
After she finished speaking, she insisted on returning the money to Lu Jia.
Lu Jia blurted out, "We promise to be loyal to you."
"If you really want to work for me, you must sign a contract guaranteeing that you will never betray me under any circumstances."
Contracts are dead, but people are alive. If these people want to seek better opportunities in the future, Qiu Yan is willing to let them go, but on the condition that they do not betray her.
She wanted workers, not slaves. She wouldn't arbitrarily deprive someone of their personal rights unless they consented.
Manager Gao always likes to poach people's talents. If the people she has painstakingly cultivated betray her in the blink of an eye, wouldn't she have done all the work for someone else?
Lu Jia and the others were naturally willing to sign the contract.
They have no demands now, they just want to fill their stomachs.
Qiu Yan asked them their names and found that their names were very simple, from Lu Jia to Lu Gui, exactly ten people.
She entrusted the matter of the contract to Qiu Dayu.
A few days later, Qiu Xu had fully adapted to Lu Ming Academy, and he discussed with his sister his desire to return home to live.
He felt that he preferred martial arts to literature.
Qiu Yan wanted to check how her lunchboxes were coming along before heading home with her younger brother.
Today, after Qiu Xu finished school, Qiu Yan and her younger brother returned to the village.
On the way, Qiu Yan said, "Ah Xu, wait until your sister finds you a driver before you go home to live."
Qiu Xu shook his head, "Sister, I want to ride a horse. I think I can do it by myself."
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