The teacher has a clue
Chapter 13: The teacher has a clue
Chu Huaibei was in a good mood today because of his relationship with the Ministry of Agriculture. After entering the palace, he went to his mother first and told her about the new agricultural tools. He also asked her to prepare for this year's autumn sowing. All the land in the palace must be sown with a plow cart, and it is not allowed to be sown roughly on the ground.
The Concubine wasn't very experienced in farming, but Chu Huaibei's words must have been based on her own reasoning, otherwise she wouldn't have been so decisive. The Concubine naturally listened to Chu Huaibei. It had to be said that Chu Huaibei's personality was inherently reliable, which led everyone to subconsciously agree with some of her suggestions.
After lunch, Chu Huaibei was about to teach Hengheng to read when Sun Mingsi called him: "Huaibei, Jin San has found a suitable teacher. Come and listen to the situation."
Chu Huaibei heard this and immediately went to the main hall with Sun Mingsi to meet the people. When Jin San saw the two people coming, he immediately bowed and said, "Greetings, Your Highness." "You must explain the situation to Your Highness in detail." Sun Mingsi instructed Jin San.
"Your Highness, I found Du Jiping, the runner-up in the imperial examination in the fifth year of Chongde, in Zhangjia Village, a hundred miles away from Youyun City. He lived in seclusion in another place after resigning from his official position. It turns out he is here. Now he lives alone in the only school in Zhangjia Village. He teaches children here for free and only asks their parents to provide him with meals." Jin San reported.
Chu Huaibei's heart was agitated after hearing this. Tsk, it seems Hu Zhi's identity is not simple. The guards even know the runner-up. It's quite interesting. But this is indeed great news for her.
Chu Huaibei's face was full of smiles. "Jin San, thank you for running so far to help me find my master. I can't give you anything without your master's permission. I'll ask Mother Wang to prepare a small table of wine and food and send it to your room tonight as a token of my gratitude."
"Thank you, Your Highness!" Jin San took it with a smile.
Seeing Chu Huaibei was quite calm, not at all surprised by Jin San's words, Sun Mingsi felt a little uneasy. He had deliberately asked Jin San to report this way, wanting to know what Chu Huaibei thought of him. But she only had a smile on her face, not showing any other expression.
"I am going to invite him in person, please lead the way." Chu Huaibei put his son in Sun Mingsi's arms and prepared to go out.
"Hey, Your Highness, slow down. Jin San, call Jin Si and Jin Eleven to ensure Your Highness's safety." Sun Mingsi looked at Chu Huaibei who was walking out in a hurry and instructed Jin San.
"Yes, master." Jin San took his leave and followed Chu Huaibei out.
Sun Mingsi shook his head, hugged Hengheng, and taught him the Thousand Character Classic. "If there's anything, let's talk about it tonight."
Because Chu Huaibei had one arm in a sling, he didn't ride too fast. Jin San and the others were amazed at how amazing it was that the King of Zhenbei was such a skilled equestrian that he could ride so fast with just one hand controlling the horse. It took them less than two hours to reach Zhangjia Village.
Jin San led Chu Huaibei and the others toward the school. Along the way, villagers kept looking over. Horses were an uncommon sight in Zhangjia Village. Uncle Zhang was the only one in the village with an oxcart. Every day, it would stop at the entrance of the village to take people to town, costing two cents round trip.
Arriving at the school, Chu Huaibei looked at the brick and tile house before him, which was noticeably taller than the mud houses next to it. He began to have a favorable impression of Zhangjia Village. At least they respected teachers and knowledge. Even though their homes were shabby, they still raised funds to give the village children a chance to study. No wonder Du Bangyan had stayed here for so many years.
Du Jiping spotted the newcomer immediately. He let the children study on their own before leaving. Facing Chu Huaibei, he bowed and asked, "Dear guests, what brings you here?"
Chu Huaibei said with the courtesy of a student, "Sir, would you be willing to come into the house and discuss it in detail?"
"Please follow me in." Du Jiping said after a pause.
He led them into the main hall where he usually rested, pointed to the square table and said, "Your Highness, please feel free to sit down. This old man's place is simple, so I hope Your Highness will forgive me."
Chu Huaibei was not surprised when he heard him reveal her identity. It was normal for him to know her in her territory and with such an identity.
"Then I'll be straight to the point, Du Bangyan, I'd like to ask you to teach us reading and writing for a few months. It will be enough for us to be able to read and write letters and official documents. But the number of people is quite large, a total of 2,500 people." Chu Huaibei revealed his purpose directly. It's better not to hide things when dealing with smart people.
"Your Highness, I have no official position at the moment, so please just call me by my name. Also, who are the people you want to teach, and why are there so many of them?" Du Jiping replied.
"It's my two thousand personal guards and five hundred palace soldiers." Chu Huaibei answered truthfully.
Du Jiping glared at Chu Huaibei, as if to confirm whether he was telling the truth. Why did the King of Zhenbei suddenly want to teach his soldiers to read? This could be taught by any student, so why did he come to him?
Chu Huaibei probably guessed something. Seeing Du Jiping staring at her in silence, she explained, "In Youyun City, the famous teachers are unwilling to teach soldiers, and the talented students are afraid to teach in the barracks. So, I've been looking for a long time, but there's no suitable one. When I heard about you, I immediately rode over to meet you."
"Then Your Highness, how can you be sure that I will agree? I will not leave. What will happen to these children if I leave?" Du Jiping replied.
"I will temporarily invite a scholar to teach the children here. All expenses will be paid by the palace. You can come back here after teaching them in a few months." Chu Huaibei promised.
"Your Highness, you should find someone else. There will always be someone willing. The children here cannot do without me." Du Jiping refused. It would take several years to teach so many soldiers to read and write. It would take several months for Your Highness to teach them. Two years are also made up of several months. Don't be so concise. Du Jiping complained in his heart.
"Your Highness, please come in. It's getting late and I have no food here, so I won't keep you here!" After saying that, he stood up and saw the guest off.
Seeing his firm attitude, Chu Huaibei realized that it was indeed getting late and he had to rush back to the palace, so he got up and went out. "Sir, I will be leaving first today and will come to see you again tomorrow." He left his words and left on his horse.
Upon hearing this, the wrinkles between Du Jiping's eyebrows became more prominent. Why is this prince so difficult to deal with?
When they rushed back to the city, it was already past dinner time. They had to prepare their own meals when they returned to the palace. Chu Huaibei sighed and said, "Come on, I'll take you to dinner. You'll have to heat up the food yourself when you return to the palace. I'll treat the three of you to dinner tonight." After saying that, he turned his horse around and headed towards Ma Ji Restaurant in the west of the city.
Jin San and the others immediately followed Chu Huaibei. Arriving at Ma's Restaurant, it was past dinner time but before curfew, so there were only two or three tables of people sitting around. Chu Huaibei walked in and said to Ma Youcai, "Give me six of your signature dishes and a big bowl of rice."
Ma Youcai was busy calculating today's income. When he heard the voice, he looked up and looked up. His eyebrows were bright with joy and he was about to call out, "Wang." "Well, Wang is new to your place. I heard that your restaurant is clean and affordable, so I brought a friend to dine with us."
Ma Youcai changed the tone and said, "Hey, sir, you've come to the right place. Please take a seat in the private room upstairs." "Waiter, go to the kitchen and tell them to bring six signature dishes, a large bowl of rice, and a pot... a pot of good tea." Ma Youcai originally wanted to serve a pot of good wine, but remembered that the prince's arm had not healed yet and he could not drink alcohol, so he changed to a pot of tea.
Chu Huaibei took the three of them to a private room. She was a very casual person, but seeing that Jin San and the others were a little reserved, she said, "Be more casual. It's just dinner. We've been running around all afternoon and we're starving. Let's eat as much as we can. We need to eat a full meal so that we can sleep well at night."
Seeing Chu Huaibei say this, Jin San relaxed his shoulders and signaled to his brothers to relax. He was indeed very hungry. "Thank you, Your Highness!"
Ma Youcai personally brought the tea, poured a cup for the prince first, and then poured it for the three of them in turn.
Chu Huaibei took a sip, noting that the tea wasn't too hot, and finished it in two or three gulps. "Tsk, I didn't even get a glass of water at Du Jiping's place. How strange!" Ma Youcai immediately refilled his tea and prepared to go downstairs to the kitchen.
"Ma Youcai, I have already used the medicinal wine you sent me. Thank you for your kindness." Chu Huaibei and Ma Youcai expressed their gratitude sincerely. Although it had only been used for two days and the effect was not yet noticeable, the pain in the arm after applying the medicinal wine was indeed relieved. After the injury healed, they would discuss the matter of supplying medicinal wine with him.
"Well, Your Highness, as long as you find it useful, I hope you recover soon! I'll go downstairs and ask the kitchen to serve you the food." Ma Youcai happily went downstairs to ask the kitchen to serve the food.
Jin San and his companions were also aware of this; after all, they had witnessed Ma Youcai kowtow at the palace gate that day. They also deeply admired the Zhenbei King's love for his people. Among the aristocratic families they had met, none could truly treat the common people with kindness. Even when they were kind, they still smacked of superiority.
Before long, Ma Youcai brought out three dishes and a large bowl of rice. He deftly filled everyone's bowl with rice and said, "Your Highness, please enjoy your meal. Three more dishes will be here soon." After that, he took his leave and went downstairs so as not to disturb them while they were eating.
Chu Huaibei picked up the chopsticks and picked up the braised pork in front of him, "You guys eat quickly, don't be polite." After that, he started to eat it all up, which made her very hungry. The braised pork was not bad. This was rabbit meat, not the Sichuan spicy flavor from her previous life, but it was also very delicious. The roast chicken was not so good, but it might be because the taste was different. After all, she loved Grandpa Ken's fried chicken in her previous life.
Jin San and the others watched the prince eat quickly. Although he was still quite elegant, in that time, the bowl of rice was almost empty, and each plate was almost one-third empty. Only then did they realize that the prince really wanted them to be polite. Seeing this, the three of them also began to devour the food, their chopsticks almost leaving afterimages.
Chu Huaibei finished two bowls of rice, and Ma Youcai brought up the next three dishes. Seeing that the large bowl of rice on the table was almost empty, he quietly went downstairs to add another bowl. He was very happy in his heart, because the prince really liked his food!
The two vegetarian dishes and a bowl of cabbage and tofu soup that were served later were also very good. The four of them finished off the food on the table and felt relaxed and refreshed. Chu Huaibei left two taels of silver on the table, stood up and said to the three of them, "Let's go back home."
Ma Youcai saw them coming downstairs and hurriedly stood up to see them off: "Goodbye, sir. Come back often when you have time!"
Chu Huaibei nodded to him, then mounted his horse and returned home.
Ma Youcai personally went upstairs to the private room to clear the tableware. Seeing two taels of silver left on the table, he inwardly marveled at the prince's generosity. He had only sold this meal for one tael of silver. His restaurant had been open for over twenty years because its food was clean, plentiful, and affordable. While not top-notch, the taste was no worse than other restaurants. He relied on small profits but quick turnover to attract repeat customers.
Ma Youcai took the two taels of silver home, put them in a small locked box, and gave it to his mother. His mother now respected the King of Zhenbei very much and prayed to Buddha every day, hoping that the Bodhisattva would bless the King of Zhenbei with a long life.
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