"Then what gift do you bring?"
"It's not a gift, but something I found delicious that I brought back for you and Auntie to try. I originally asked Hong Chu to bring it back, but she refused, so I had to bring it myself."
The words were heartwarming, and Master Lin's expression softened considerably. He asked, "I heard your engraving is finished. When will it be printed?"
"I also need someone to write a preface. This book is published under the name of the Imperial College, and Mr. Du is the one who oversaw and approved it, so I'd like to ask him to write it."
Master Lin nodded, "Okay, that's appropriate."
"I'll send it to you once it's bound. It should be ready for the Spring School." Speaking of Spring School, Xu Jiang took the opportunity to bring up Lu Zhen's story. "It's embarrassing to tell you this, but I have a student who's about to go to school, and I've been wanting to find him a proper teacher. At first, I had no idea who to turn to, but when I met you, I felt like there was no one more suitable, so I thought I'd ask on his behalf if you're still accepting students."
"How old?"
"Eight years old. After the new year, he will be nine."
Master Lin nodded and asked, "What books did you teach?"
Xu Jiang scratched her head, "It's something like 'Thousand Character Classic' or 'Thousand Family Poems', kind of elementary books." She then quickly praised him, "This child is incredibly talented. He learns by analogy, applying what he has learned to other situations. He can grasp many things quickly, and he's also diligent and eager to learn. He's a fantastic prospect. I'm afraid he'll be overwhelmed, so I don't dare teach him too many things or too much."
Master Lin, hearing her praise him to the heavens, became curious and said, "Bring him here sometime to see him."
When Xu Jiang heard this, she felt relieved. She thought that the matter was most likely done. Thinking of Lu Zhen's current situation, she quickly explained his origins and life experience.
After hearing this, Master Lin frowned and said angrily, "These kidnappers are truly lawless. If they hadn't been discovered, this child would have been gone."
Xu Jiang comforted him, "Good and bad are interdependent. After that misfortune, you were able to escape with your life. Now that you have found a good family, I believe you will have endless blessings in the future."
"It's a good thing I met you." Master Lin looked at Xu Jiang and felt more and more satisfied.
This child is methodical, kind-hearted, and not bound by dogma. This is really rare and he is worthy of being the child trained by his old friend.
"When his injuries heal, just bring him here. I'll take him in."
"Well, then I'll thank you in advance on his behalf." Xu Jiang stood up and bowed, then struck while the iron was hot, "There's one more small matter, a happy one, that I'd like to trouble you with."
"happy event?"
"I would like you to write a marriage certificate."
"Marriage certificate?" Master Lin was startled at first, then frowned and asked sternly, "You want to get married? When? Who? What's their family background? Why didn't you discuss this with me in advance?"
Mrs. Lin quickly pulled him up. Look how scared the child was.
Xu Jiang was dazed by the string of questions and quickly explained, "It wasn't me, it wasn't me. It was a friend. They originally asked me to write it, but after seeing your handwriting, I felt that you would be more suitable, so I came to ask you for help."
Master Lin's expression eased slightly, and he asked again, "Really?"
"No!" Xu Jiang almost swore to the sky, but when she thought of Lou Yunchun, she felt a little guilty.
Master Lin stared at her for a long moment, then realized he had made a mistake. He coughed and said, "Write down your names and birth dates for me."
Xu Jiang breathed a sigh of relief, "Okay."
But he added, "Since your master is away, I will act as your half-teacher. You can make your own decisions on other matters, and I won't interfere. The only thing I need to do is to supervise the marriage and not hide anything from him."
Xu Jiang, who was hiding something, felt her hair stand on end. She laughed dryly and quickly replied, "Forget it."
Mrs. Lin, a woman and experienced person, understood her behavior, but she didn't expose her. She knew her old man's temperament best, especially his protective nature. It looked like the little mandarin duck was still not settled, so she decided to let them settle down.
Outside, the cloud board struck three more times, signaling Master Lin's departure for class. He asked Xu Jiang to write down the names and eight characters that would sign the marriage certificate, and told Lin Hongchu to take them to the market, then hurried off.
Mrs. Lin walked up to Xu Jiang and pinched her face. Xu Jiang felt a little embarrassed when she saw her meaningful smile.
Master Lin was about to start his class, so Xu Jiang didn't want to interrupt him any longer. Thinking that Lou Yunchun would be coming to deliver the invitation today, she felt a little anxious, so she said goodbye to Madam Lin and returned to her home.
Lou Yunchun had not arrived yet, probably because the Dali Temple had not yet dismissed its session. Xu Jiang knew that he liked sweet things, so she stewed a pot of lilies and white fungus for him.
As a result, Mr. Zhong, whom I had met at the banquet at Lou Mansion that day, arrived first. He browsed around Xu Jiang's bookstore before explaining his purpose.
"Repairing the previous dynasty's county annals? Which county?"
"Yao County."
Yao County had long been destroyed in the chaos of war, its people either relocated or perished, and by the time of the Xin Dynasty, it had shrunk to a single township. One can imagine the difficulty of restoring the annals of a county that no longer existed.
Xu Jiang was in a dilemma. This kind of work would take at least a year or two to complete. How could she take it?
Seeing her hesitation, Mr. Zhong added, "This was originally a task assigned by the History Bureau. There are specialists to repair the seal script, not just you alone."
"I'd like to hear more about it."
"This set of county annals originally had an older edition, totaling forty volumes. However, twelve of them were severely damaged, and their contents were incomplete, requiring restoration and repair. For the History Bureau, this was merely a minor task, but once assigned, it was so trivial and time-consuming that it was passed around, dragging on for six months without any progress."
Xu Jiang understood that since no one was willing to do the job because it was thankless, she had to find someone outside to repair it.
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