The people from the Mountain God Academy were recruiting fathers and sons in Tonghua Alley, causing such a commotion that most people noticed.
Lin Daqiang naturally heard the commotion, but he held that Mountain God Academy in utter contempt.
In his view, only the ignorant would believe in God, pray for divine help, and beg for non-existent mercy.
Lin Daqiang had already figured out how to refuse the other party, how to belittle this mountain goddess, and how to save face for himself.
The commotion this morning had completely humiliated him. If he hadn't pretended to faint, he would have been ridiculed by countless people. How could he possibly swallow this insult?
However, when he secretly opened the wooden door and overheard the people outside talking about the reward, a thought struck him.
Is it possible to earn one or two taels of silver a month working at the Mountain God's School? Not only that, they also provide three meals a day, and the whole family gets cotton-padded clothes.
Lin Daqiang is the apple of his parents' eye, so he naturally has plenty of cotton-padded clothes. But he only has one decent set of cotton-padded clothes. If they could provide clothes every month, it would be a really good place to go.
However, Lin Daqiang was very dissatisfied that if he went to teach at that school, he would have to teach female students as well.
"Forget it, I'll just ignore them then. They'll be taught however they want," Lin Daqiang muttered to himself.
Without this job, it would be difficult for him to continue his studies and pass the imperial examinations. After all, his second son had been imprisoned, his third son had died young, and his wife, whom he regarded as his hope, had her identity exposed and was imprisoned.
Both he and his son need to go to school, what else can they do?
Just as he was frowning, there was finally some noise outside, and the constables from the government opened the door.
Luo Yong led a group of people in, while many onlookers watched the spectacle from outside.
"I know what you want to say. Let me make this clear first: try not to assign me female students. What's the point of those girls studying?" Lin Daqiang complained.
"Since you have come so sincerely to invite me, I will reluctantly accept your invitation."
Luo Yong: "???"
This guy must have hit his head when he fainted this morning. How could he possibly invite this selfish and hypocritical fellow to teach at the Mountain God Academy?
"Lin Daqiang, stop being so clever. Do you think you can get away from prison by pretending to faint?" He sneered.
"The reason I didn't take you directly to the jail this morning was because your act of fainting was so convincing. I kindly took you to get medical treatment, but you sneaked back."
"Now that you're awake, come back with us. The wasteland prison welcomes you."
Lin Daqiang's face was flushed red; he was furious.
"Why should I be locked up in jail? This was all done by my wife and her family. What does it have to do with me? Besides, I'm a scholar. Aren't you afraid of offending all scholars by locking me up like this?"
Luo Yong raised an eyebrow: "Really? But this morning, your wife and daughter already explained that you had discovered this a long time ago, but had been covering it up."
"You discovered that the other party was impersonating a woman from the capital, but you didn't report it to the authorities. This is a crime of harboring a criminal!"
"Guards, take him away!"
Before long, Lin Daqiang was dragged out like a dead dog.
"You're spouting nonsense! How could your county magistrate be so incompetent?"
Lin Daqiang's entire head had turned red, looking as if it had been boiled.
He felt incredibly humiliated, and being watched by so many people in Tonghua Alley made him feel as if he had been stripped naked!
"Bah! What do you mean by 'incompetent'? Our county magistrate is such an enlightened and virtuous official, how dare you comment on him?"
"Lin Daqiang, are you trying to kill yourself? Don't think we don't know what you've done. You're supposed to be a scholar, yet you spend your days insulting the other scholars in Tonghua Alley behind their backs. You've insulted every single scholar in the alley!"
"What? Madam Wang, such a thing actually happened? My husband was also scolded by him? No wonder I've felt uncomfortable ever since Lin Daqiang moved in. I always felt like he looked at people with disdain. How can a guy with such character have the nerve to call himself a scholar?"
"Laughable! A scholar, indeed! You've failed the preliminary examination for over twenty years and still haven't passed. How dare you call yourself a scholar? Even if you recited the classics backwards, you should have finished memorizing them by now, right?"
The women of Tonghua Alley were quite formidable; they cursed Lin Daqiang all the way to the county government office, attracting a large crowd of onlookers and making Lin Daqiang infamous throughout the entire desolate county.
Within an hour, everyone in the entire Huang County knew what kind of person Lin Daqiang was, how he protected his wife by impersonating a noblewoman from the capital, and how he wanted to use this false identity to seek personal gain.
After sharing the gossip with the curious villagers, the women of Tonghua Alley finally raised their heads, feeling relieved, and left the scene with their heads held high.
"Your Excellency, the task of recruiting teachers has been completed. Many students and scholars from Tonghua Alley are willing to come and teach here." Luo Yong happily led the people back and told Xu Rurong the good news of the day.
"So fast?" Xu Rurong had only written a few notes to instruct Luo Yong on how to recruit teachers, but she didn't expect them to be recruited so quickly.
"Good, very good. It seems that the people in Tonghua Alley are very progressive. Once the Mountain God Academy is fully established, we must give them preferential treatment and present them with banners!"
Chen, the county magistrate standing nearby, quickly wrote down the preferential treatment and the banner. Although he didn't know what the banner was, the magistrate had said it, so there must be a reason for it!
"By the way, Your Excellency, what should we do with this Lin Daqiang?" Luo Yong asked, turning his head.
"Lock him up with Lin Erluo, so the two brothers can have a proper reunion!"
Xu Rurong waved her hand.
"Alright!" Luo Yong quickly dragged the person away.
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