Chapter 383: The Fun of Grilled Fish

Xu Wan tilted her head and replied, "That's true, but you studied martial arts and studied at the same time, and you passed the imperial examinations at the age of fifteen. Are you working as hard as Jin Cheng and the others are now?"

Zong Zhao thought for a moment and said, "I get up earlier than they usually do, usually at 12:00 a.m., because the early morning is suitable for both martial arts training and memorizing."

Xu Wan: “…”

She was reflecting on whether she had pushed the children too hard for the exams, but Zong Zhao's words made her feel calm.

Xu Wan commented: "It's you who are too hard on yourself."

Zong Zhao said seriously: "I was anxious at that time. I wanted to prove to my father that I could study hard while learning martial arts, so I worked harder than before. I just wanted to give it a try, and I didn't expect to pass the exam."

"So what?" Xu Wan waited for his next words.

Zong Zhao joked seriously, "So maybe I was lucky and happened to meet a class of students that weren't that good?"

Xu Wan couldn't hold back her laughter and replied, "You've already broken the record of being the youngest number one scholar in the Great Chu State, and you're still saying such irritating things. If your classmates heard it, wouldn't they all rush to our house to fight you?"

Zong Zhao was not afraid either, he nodded and said, "Come on, I just want to see what the scholars are like."

Xu Wan: “…” It was absolutely fatal.

Who dares to compete with the general?

Zong Zhao looked at her quietly and asked softly, "What do you not understand about what Mr. Su said?"

Xu Wan's smile froze, and she said awkwardly, "It's not that I don't understand. I know he's saying that my teaching method is rigid, and I understand that. The reason I don't understand is that I haven't found a way to break the impasse, so I'm very distressed."

Zong Zhao said: "Summarizing all the knowledge and feelings and feeding them directly into their heads is indeed a rigid method."

Xu Wan was caught off guard by the attack. She asked with a smile, "What's wrong with you? Did I misunderstand? Didn't you come to comfort me? Why did you join Mr. Su in criticizing me?"

Zong Zhao looked at her with a smile in his eyes and said in a low voice: "But this method can lead them to defeat thousands of troops. It is the quick teaching that students in this world dream of. Mr. Su's words may make sense, but this is just icing on the cake, not timely help. You only need to make a little improvement on this to become better. So, don't deny yourself because of this. Even if you don't change, you are still their best teacher."

Xu Wan was stunned for a moment, her bright eyes flickered slightly, and after a while she smiled again: "Is it a tradition in your family not to fight among yourselves?"

Zong Zhao was puzzled: "What is internal friction?"

Xu Wan explained: "It means that you set very high standards for yourself. If you fail to meet them, you will blame yourself, feel anxious, and deny yourself."

Zong Zhao's cold and hard features relaxed a little. He stretched out his hand to her, gently smoothed her brows, and said softly: "You have to believe in yourself. You are very good, very good, very good. They will never meet a better leader than you."

Xu Wan suddenly felt a sour feeling in her eyes. She turned her head and smiled at the lotus leaves in the pond: "Well, I understand..."

Zong Zhao slowly withdrew his hand and looked at her delicate profile. His heart was filled with tenderness. He said, "Do you want to eat grilled fish?"

"Ah?" Xu Wan was surprised by how quickly he changed the subject.

How did we get to the point of eating grilled fish?

Zong Zhao explained, "Cuizhi said that you didn't eat much at night. I haven't had dinner yet. How about we grill some fish?"

"We?" Xu Wan looked back at the cleared yard and pointed at him and herself uncertainly, "Shall we grill the fish ourselves? I don't know how..."

"I will."

Zong Zhao did what he said. He stood up and looked for a pitchfork, apparently intending to go fishing in the pond.

Xu Wan kindly reminded him: "The fish raised in the pond are goldfish and koi fish for appearance, and they are not suitable for eating."

Just as she finished her words, Zong Zhao had already caught two brown and yellow fish: "Mandarin fish, beautiful and delicious."

Xu Wan was stunned and said, "The fish raised in our pond are really versatile. They are both beautiful and delicious."

Zong Zhao cleaned up the fish neatly and explained to her without even looking up, "Originally, there were only goldfish and carp. When Zong Yan was about ten years old, he particularly liked catching fish. In order to make it easier for him to play at home, his mother raised a lot of mandarin fish in the pond at home."

"So you guys have experience in catching fish. I never noticed this before." Xu Wan came over and asked, "Is there anything I can do to help you?"

Zong Zhao didn't want to let her do it, but seeing the eagerness in her eyes, he changed his words and said, "Pick up some small branches?"

Xu Wan was happy when she heard there was work to do. She nodded repeatedly: "Wait, I'll go find it right away."

Zong Zhao looked at her receding back, the corners of his mouth slightly raised, he turned his head and continued to work.

Soon, Xu Wan's voice came from a distance: "Zong Zhao, they cleaned the yard very well, there are no small branches. How about a stick? It's a bit thick, can you break it?"

"Can."

"Oh, that's fine." Xu Wan grabbed several sticks. Those were the ones that Jincheng and the others used to hook lotus branches during the day. Now they were useful to her again.

When Xu Wan dragged back the stick, Zong Zhao had already cleaned the two fish and stuck them on two thin sticks.

He handed the fish to Xu Wan, who reminded him, "There are no small leaves either, so you can't light a fire, right? Otherwise, I'll ask someone outside to bring some in."

Zong Zhao shook his head, fumbled for a book from the ground, shook it and said, "Here is this."

Xu Wan was stunned: "You came prepared... Did you want to eat grilled fish?"

Zong Zhao hummed and said, "I suddenly thought of it and wanted to give it a try."

"What book is this? Is it serious?" Xu Wan tried to identify the title of the book in the moonlight, but the light was too dim and she couldn't see the words clearly.

Zong Zhao replied: "Don't worry, it's just a handwritten copy. The only authentic copy was burned by Zong Yan a long time ago."

Xu Wan: “…”

She asked weakly, "Isn't it grilled fish?"

Zong Zhao said with a smile and some nostalgia: "Yes, he did it. He set fire to my original copy while I was out looking for wood. When I came back, the fish was almost cooked, and he happily asked me to taste it to see if it was delicious."

"Pfft..." Xu Wan laughed unkindly, "Zong Yan is a student from the martial arts academy, and he is also very young. He probably doesn't know what a rare original copy is. It's hard for you... It's really tragic and funny."