Ma Xianglan came over with a tray and served Zhao Hao a black plum smoothie to relieve the heat and dryness, but she served Jiang Xueying red bean and tortoise jelly.

"It's too cold and not suitable for you." Secretary Ma said to Miss Jiang with a double meaning.

Jiang Xueying blushed slightly, pretending to only understand the first part. "Sister is so thoughtful."

Ma Xianglan shook her head, smiled and stepped aside so as not to disturb them from talking about business.

"I have already sent orders to Wuji in Suzhou, Yangzhou, Hangzhou and other places, asking them to buy as much food and medicinal materials as possible and send them directly to Kunshan."

"Thank you, sister." Zhao Hao bowed and thanked her sincerely.

"Brother, it's really too polite to say that." Jiang Xueying quickly turned aside and said, "How much have I learned from you? It would be great if I could repay you a little and do my part for the people of Kunshan."

"Good, great." Zhao Hao was overjoyed. "When I have a way to make money in the future, I will never forget this girl."

"Well, I will always follow you and learn from you." Jiang Xueying said shyly and coquettishly, nodding softly.

"Then I will set off later and try to help my brother collect more supplies."

"Okay, thank you for your trouble." Zhao Hao nodded gratefully.

~~

Knowing that the family was busy today, Jiang Xueying talked for a while, then declined Zhao Hao's invitation to stay for dinner and said goodbye and left.

After seeing Jiang Xueying off, Zhao Hao asked Gao Wu to call his father over.

Gao the blacksmith had already moved into the mansion from Caijia Lane and lived in the same room with Gao Wu. Soon he arrived with a rosy face.

After more than a year of nursing, the old blacksmith lived a rich and comfortable life again. He gained weight and looked several years younger.

"Sir, are you looking for me?" Gao the blacksmith asked loudly.

"Old man, please take a seat." Zhao Hao smiled and stood up to greet him, saying, "I have already reached an agreement with the Ministry of Industry to build a firearms research institute in Suzhou. This institute will be affiliated with the Military Equipment Bureau, and the bureau will allocate ten to twenty craftsmen to me."

As he said this, he smiled at Gao the blacksmith and said, "You are the chief craftsman of our institute."

"Oh, how can I do this?" Gao the blacksmith hurriedly shook his head and said, "I can only make gun barrels. I don't deserve such a big reputation."

"Why not? It just sounds good to be without rank or grade. Of course, you can get more." Zhao Hao shook his head and smiled: "How about I give you 50 taels a month?"

"Too much, too much..." Old Man Gao waved his hands and said, "The dividends from the delicious food alone are enough for the two of us to eat for several lifetimes. Not to mention the more money that the young master gave Gao Wu. If I take another penny from the young master, can I still be called a human being?"

He chuckled and said, "Young Master, you can help me satisfy my blacksmithing addiction again, which is better than anything else."

Gao Wu twitched his lips a few times, wanting to say something but unable to speak.

"Don't worry, the chief craftsman is the supervisor in charge. Your father won't get to swing a hammer much." Zhao Hao and his elder brother Gao were in perfect sync and he immediately said with understanding.

Gao Wu breathed a sigh of relief and gave Zhao Hao a ferocious smile.

"Just take it if it's given to you. Besides, it's also to give the craftsmen below something to look forward to." Zhao Hao explained to Old Man Gao with a smile.

"How many more years can you still work? When you retire, won't the next chief craftsman be chosen from among them?"

"Oh." Old Man Gao understood. "It's like fishing a carrot in front of a donkey to coax them to work hard."

"That's different. I can really eat my radish." Zhao Hao laughed and said, "But don't rush to the county. Just open a blacksmith shop in Jinling. Then go to the Military Equipment Bureau and pick 20 craftsmen. Don't make gun barrels first. Make hoes, shovels, big iron nails and the like for flood control... You know more about these than me. Start making them first. I'll make a list for you when Kunshan needs something."

"After this busy period, I'll look for a suitable place to build an institute, and then you can move there."

"Okay, I'll follow your instructions, sir." Old man Gao was full of energy to be able to swing his beloved sledgehammer again.

~~

After lunch, Master Zhao did not even bother to take a nap and went to the backyard.

The Zhao Mansion is a large house with five courtyards deep, and a row of seven bungalows in the back courtyard.

Three of the rooms were occupied by the thirty-three students who had followed him south. The other two were occupied by the twenty stewards from Beijing. The original servants of the mansion could only squeeze into the remaining two rooms.

It was still raining outside, and Zhao Hao ordered Zhang Jian to gather the students in a room in the center.

The room was full of students, looking at Zhao Hao excitedly. The teacher finally remembered us...

Young Master Zhao couldn't help feeling ashamed because he didn't even know their names.

Then just name it.

Zhao Hao asked Zhang Jian to bring the roster and call out the names one by one.

Young Master Zhao had never heard of most of the students' names.

However, there were two unexpected surprises - Xing Yunlu and Wu Zhongxing, the two Jinshi in the fifth year of Longqing, took the initiative to run into Mr. Zhao's bowl.

Especially Xing Yunlu, who later became a very famous astronomer.

Of course, he is still a student under 20 years old and probably has no achievements in astronomy.

But I am not afraid of not having accomplishments, I am only afraid of not having talent... I will let Bei Peijia teach him well later.

Zhao Hao was already very satisfied that there were two future Jinshi among the thirty or so students. If they could have passed the exam anyway, why would he have hired Li Zhi to teach them at a high salary?

Li Zhi was afraid that his employer would change his mind, so he was very active in teaching.

On the way south, he gathered his students on a boat and taught them Mr. Zhao's original "scientific art-making method" every day!

In fact, it was the "Eight-part Essay Examination Manual" invented by Li Zhi, and Zhao Hao bought out the copyright for five thousand taels of silver.

How free and easy is Li Zhi? As long as he is paid, he can even sell his moral integrity. Not only did he readily agree, he also took the initiative to claim that this method was created by Master Zhao. His five disciples all learned the "scientific art method" to pass the exam.

Moreover, apart from being opportunistic, Li Zhi also had a very profound academic background and his charisma on the podium was unparalleled in the world... Otherwise, he would not have become a popular idol that was popular in the Ming Dynasty and attracted thousands of people to attend the event more than a decade later.

When Li Zhi was in the Imperial College, he could only read from the script. If he dared to say more, he would be scolded by his superiors.

After coming to Zhao Hao, he gained absolute freedom. His suppressed soul was finally free, and his lectures were interesting and imaginative, which immediately aroused the enthusiasm of the students.

Every day they followed Teacher Li and got up at dawn, reciting the model essays aloud like crazy! On the boat, in Zhao's house, they never stopped...

This caused Master Zhao to be woken up early every day, but he couldn't get angry.

The students are working hard and teachers are so happy for them, so how can we pour cold water on them?

~~

"Please give me a lecture, teacher!" Zhang Jian, the teaching assistant, shouted in a deep voice.

All of a sudden, all the students stopped standing and listened attentively.

"You have been my students for two months." Then Teacher Zhao said righteously: "I am going to give you the first lesson now - practice makes perfect!"

“In the world, those who hear about things are not as knowledgeable as those who see them, and those who see things are not as knowledgeable as those who live in them. Only through practice can a person see his own flaws and shortcomings and find the direction for improvement.”

"Whether you want to be a scientist or a government official, as a teacher, I don't want to train a bunch of useless people who only know how to talk nonsense and ask why they can't eat meat."

"So I have arranged a test for you. Tomorrow we will go to the flood-hit Kunshan County to learn about the people's sufferings and see if you, who have studied for more than ten years, can be competent for the work of a minor official and contribute to flood control and disaster relief."

"Going to Kunshan is like going to the battlefield. Anyone who dares to slack off or desert will be expelled immediately!" He swept his sharp eyes over the students and said in a deep voice:

"If anyone doesn't want to go, you can raise your hand now. I will never force you."

How could the students bear this kind of stimulation? At the very least, they were scholars, and some of them were juren. How could they be worse than a petty official?

Teacher Zhao also underestimated us!

Naturally, no one raised their hand to quit, as everyone was trying hard to impress the teacher.

"Okay, pack up and leave tomorrow morning." Zhao Hao nodded with satisfaction. It's good to be young and have passion in your heart.

ps. The fifth update, huhuhu, finally done. Take a ten-minute break, and quickly start coding tomorrow's... Please give me a monthly ticket~~