But he didn't taste any fishy or foul smell in what he just ate!
Song Anxin tried hard to keep the curve of her lips from getting too wide, and said:
"Anbang, what do you think of the taste of this braised offal? I'm thinking of selling it to restaurants, just like the 'Rich and Delicious Eggs'."
After listening, Song Anbang slowly said, "I think it's feasible. Although this braised food is spicy, the stimulating and numbing sensation on the tip of the tongue makes people want to have another bite."
Hearing him say that gave Song Anxin confidence; it wasn't that she lacked confidence in her skills.
In that era, pig offal was considered to contain filth, so high-ranking officials and nobles generally avoided touching it.
Since Song Anbang can accept it, presumably most people in the city can accept it as well.
After dinner, it was time for the Lin family's little classroom to start. Lin Erxi arrived awkwardly, unlike before.
She walked forward shyly and said softly, "Hello, Uncle."
Lin Fengnian, Fengshou, and Shi Tou all stared wide-eyed. Lin Fengyao asked, "Second Sister, are you alright? Are you sick? Your face is so red."
Little Lin Dongzi said, "My sister's face has been red since this afternoon, and she keeps secretly laughing to herself. I told her she was sick, and she scolded me."
"You two brats, stop talking nonsense! You're the ones who's sick!" Lin Erxi's expression changed instantly.
Realizing she had broken her composure, she immediately lowered her head and covered her face, saying, "Uncle, no, it's just that it's too hot today."
Upon hearing this, the boys realized that the fact that the boys still had the energy to curse meant they weren't actually sick.
Song Anbang looked at Lin Erxi, and although he was puzzled, he politely replied, "It is a bit hot today."
When Lin Erxi heard Song Anbang speak to her, her eyes lit up and her face burned even hotter.
Song Anxin covered her face.
What was there for her not to understand? This girl was experiencing her first stirrings of love; hadn't she sworn before that she would never get married?
As expected, lust can cloud judgment, especially when it comes to a mere young girl.
Zhang Mei understood, of course. Seeing that Erxi was like this, she was afraid that she might faint, so she quickly pulled Lin Erxi to a seat.
Song Anbang remained calm, his expression unchanged, and turned to continue talking to Lin Fengnian.
He knew that Lin Fengnian and Fengshou were going to the county to deliver goods the next day, so he asked them to make a trip to Yong'an Lane to bring him his paper, ink, brushes, inkstones, and books. Although he was involved in farming, he could not neglect his studies.
Song Anxin sighed inwardly. "The fallen flowers are sentimental, but the flowing water is indifferent." But why did her younger brother only remember those books? He should have brought his clothes too, though. Look how dirty her long robe is.
Oh well, what's the point of wearing a long gown when we're already doing farm work? I'll have Meizi bring out some of Fengnian's and the others' old clothes later. I'll just have to tell Fengnian privately later to remember to ask her grandmother to put out a few more undergarments, since she really doesn't have any extra.
Soon Song Anxin started class, and Lin Erxi was still absent-minded. She really didn't know how to persuade this girl who was in the throes of first love, so she could only let her be.
Those who have never been in a relationship are not qualified to advise on love.
Song Anbang knew that his older sister was teaching some of his nephews and nieces, but he didn't expect that there were other children in the village who were also learning to read and write in such a shabby place that could hardly be called a school.
Moreover, they listened attentively to each other and occasionally offered their own insights, creating a better classroom atmosphere than his academy.
He was surprised and wondered if these people were all promising students. But the oldest of them was already eighteen years old, and any talent they had would have been worn away long ago.
No, the more he listened, the more shocked he became. It was his older sister's teaching method; he had never seen such a method before. It was his sister who had motivated them... it was his sister who had opened their minds... How much more did his sister know that he didn't know...?
He was even more shocked when he came to math class. He was surprised to find that there were such arithmetic methods and such easy-to-remember number symbols.
Because these children are older, Song Anxin is progressing very quickly. Only Lin Dongzi and Lin Fengyao are a bit younger, and if they still don't understand, Lin Feng will tutor them after class.
At this moment, Song Anxin was explaining the concept of multiplication.
"Look, calculating 2+2+2+2+2 would be quite complicated. We can use multiplication instead."
She then wrote "x" on the board and said, "This symbol is the multiplication sign, and we can represent it like this."
Adding this number to several of the same numbers results in multiplying by that number, so it's "2 x 5"...
Song Anbang listened intently and unconsciously sat down. He was amazed by how magical multiplication was, and how convenient and easy to use the multiplication table that his elder sister had them memorize.
This was a completely new exploration of arithmetic in the Great Yin Dynasty, and a tremendous help to students learning arithmetic.
Every year, each session of the scientific examinations would end with an arithmetic question, though only three questions accounted for a small percentage of the total marks. Furthermore, the teaching of arithmetic in many colleges was not very in-depth.
Song Anbang knew this was an opportunity to widen the score gap, but mathematics was complicated, and spending a lot of time studying it was not worthwhile for students.
But with these methods, things are different.
After class, Song Anxin told them to review and practice on their own.
Song Anbang walked up to him, his eyes trembling slightly, and said:
"I wonder where you learned this arithmetic method, sister. I've never seen these arithmetic symbols in any books before."
Song Anxin said without blushing or skipping a beat, "Oh, this? It seems that when I was little, my father took me to meet his teacher. The teacher saw that my father wasn't interested in arithmetic, but I found it quite interesting, so he taught me."
As for these arithmetic symbols, my sister came up with them herself. You know she runs a small business, and this makes counting and accounting much easier for me.
Her father is dead, and the teacher is long gone; the best way is to have no witnesses.
Song Anbang had no doubt that most students taking the imperial examinations would spend most of their time writing essays and would not put much effort into arithmetic, nor would many be interested in it.
But he had a different opinion. He said, "Sister, did Father's teacher teach you anything else? Could you teach me?"
Song Anxin was overwhelmed. He was already struggling to teach the younger children and give Lin Fenghe individual tutoring. Besides, she was very busy. If he had to spend time teaching Song Anbang as well, wouldn't he have to do other things?
She still needs to wash the duck eggs for tomorrow's delivery. Since two deliveries will be made together tomorrow, there are still some that haven't been washed yet.
Looking at his elder sister, Song Anbang asked, "Is there something troubling you, elder sister?"
Song Anxin told him the truth, and Song Anbang thought for a moment before saying:
"Sister, although I am not as learned as you, I can still teach a few students to get started. How about I teach the classes from now on, and I can also tutor Fenghe."
Could you teach me all that arithmetic? I can also help with the chores at your house, sister. A gentleman doesn't accept charity, but since you've invited me to stay, these chores are what I should do.
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