The next morning, Lin Jiaxiang arrived exceptionally early.
Wu Nanshuang got up to cook and was almost startled by the person standing in the yard.
Fortunately, since she came in, she has been frightened by her master's wolf cubs several times, which has helped her develop a strong heart beyond that of ordinary people.
But the masters haven't woken up yet, so what's he doing here so early?
"Never mind, just pretend I didn't see it," Wu Nanshuang kept reassuring herself.
We must not disturb the master's rest.
Since moving here, Zhou Chang used to get up earlier than the chickens every day, but now the sun is high in the sky and he still hasn't gotten out of bed.
Finally, the wolf cub in his arms couldn't stand the hunger anymore and started jumping around on him, which woke him up.
He stretched, his clothes half-open.
"Huh?" Zhou Chang opened his eyes. When did a wooden stake appear in the yard?
He was puzzled when he saw something move in the yard.
They pounced on him.
"Master, you've finally woken up," Lin Jiaxiang cried.
"It's you!"
The old man reached out and touched his chest, thinking to himself, "What's going on every day?"
The old man has only a few years left to live, so I'm scaring him all the time.
"Don't call me master, I'm not your master."
Lin Jiaxiang suddenly remembered what his father had said: Mr. Zhou does not accept apprentices, only students.
"Sir," he immediately changed his address.
Zhou Chang nodded.
Just then, Wu Nanshuang finished preparing the meal.
Nanzhi called Lin Jiaxiang to sit down at the table together.
A simple breakfast of congee and side dishes.
Lin Jiaxiang glanced at it and frowned.
Then they took the food box from the carriage outside the door and brought it in.
The food box has three layers, and each layer contains delicious treats.
The first dish was a braised duck. As soon as the plate was placed on the table, the eyes of a group of people around turned to it.
Nanzhi suddenly felt that the plain porridge and side dishes in her bowl no longer tasted good.
Seeing that everyone at the table had stopped what they were doing, Lin Jiaxiang asked in confusion, "Why are you all looking at me?"
Nanzhi finally managed to swallow the pickled vegetables in her mouth.
"Are you sure your father was an honest official?" Nanzhi asked.
Lin Jiaxiang realized something and immediately retorted, "Of course, my meals are all prepared by my grandmother."
If he eats with his father, he'll probably only get to swallow pickled vegetables every day.
The person at the table said "Oh".
It turns out that it was her grandmother who doted on her.
The young master's dishes took up half of the large dining table, making the food served at Nanzhi's place seem rather meager in comparison.
Lin Jiaxiang: "What are you standing there for? Let's eat together."
After saying that, he broke off a piece of duck leg and put it in Zhou Chang's bowl, saying, "Sir, you should eat first."
Everyone thoroughly enjoyed the meal.
Inside the county town, Zhang Hongfu rushed in.
"My lord, I have sent people to investigate the young master's teacher, but so far there has been no news."
Lin Chengyi took a sip of tea. "It seems Jiaxiang has a good eye. Zhou Chang is no ordinary person."
Zhang Hongfu thought for a moment, "Zhou Chang has only taken on one apprentice so far, who is Nanzhi's husband. So he must have another identity."
That's the only explanation.
"Should we remind the young master?"
Lin Chengyi: "No need, that kid knows what he's doing. By the way, send someone to deliver dinner over."
"Sir, the old lady and young lady have already delivered the young master's meals."
————
When Nan Chunxian and Nan Chungu arrived, Lin Chengyi had already moved a stool and was sitting there waiting.
Nan Chungu: "Brother, why is he here?"
Nan Chungu had a very bad impression of the other party, only knowing that he was a spoiled rich kid who loved to eat, drink and have fun.
Nan Chunxian frowned, sat in the middle, and told his younger brother to stay away from the man.
"Why are you all so far away from me? From today onwards, I am also a student of the teacher," Lin Jiaxiang said with dissatisfaction.
Their eyes met, and Nan Chungu whispered, "Sir, you haven't taken the wrong medicine, have you?"
"Ahem." Zhou Chang walked in and sat down cross-legged.
Have you heard anything today?
The three of them looked at each other and shook their heads.
Zhou Chang sighed, "If you want to participate in the imperial examinations, how can you not pay attention to news from the court?"
The group lowered their eyes, and Zhou Chang had no choice but to say, "Qiuchen County has been hit by floods, and the people have been displaced. What are your thoughts on this?"
Nan Chungu spoke first: "Your Majesty should quickly distribute disaster relief grain to save the people from their suffering, so that they will have something to eat."
Zhou Chang declined to comment. "What about Chunxian?"
Nan Chunxian thought for a moment, "In my opinion, since the flood has caused people to lose their homes, Your Majesty should first solve the problem of food and clothing for the people, and secondly, arrange for the people to settle in other places and continue to live. Only in this way can we prevent the occurrence of refugee riots."
Zhou Chang nodded, then turned to the one from the Lin family faction, "And you?"
Lin Jiaxiang never expected to be called on to answer a question on his very first day of class.
“I think they’re both right. But the flood must have been caused by the dam in Qiuchen County not being properly repaired. Why wasn’t it repaired? They embezzled the money. So, they’re the real culprits.”
Zhou Chang nodded and glanced at Nanzhi, who was drying mushrooms nearby.
"Nan girl, what do you think?"
Nanzhi was busy with her hands; she had overheard some of their conversation.
“Sir,” she said politely, “I think the first priority should be to relocate the refugees in batches. Floods are often followed by epidemics, so the primary task should be to disperse the population. Secondly, the court should set up supply points along the roads to facilitate the migration of refugees and issue policies so that provinces and counties can promptly arrange and distribute the influx of refugees. Finally, all officials should be thoroughly investigated, and dikes should be built to prevent such a thing from happening again.”
Zhou Chang nodded repeatedly and said to the group, "Did you hear that? This is the best strategy."
Nan Chunxian admired his sister, but it was a pity that there was no such thing as a women's civil service examination in the current dynasty, otherwise his sister would definitely have been able to pass the examination.
At the same time, he secretly resolved to study hard.
The three men's answers were not as eloquent as the woman's, and Zhou Chang's expression was very bad today.
When the teacher is unhappy, it is often the students who suffer.
Nan Chungu rubbed his sore arms from copying, "Brother, I can't write anymore."
Then I caught a glimpse of one of the young masters, who had fallen asleep right there on the table.
Sharp-eyed Nan Chunxian noticed the corner of a garment in the room and quickly sat up straight.
After so long, Nan Chungu naturally knew what his action meant.
"Lin Jiaxiang!"
Lin Jiaxiang groggily opened his eyes. "Hmm, what's up? Is dinner ready?"
Facing Zhou Chang's angry glare, he said, "Copy what you learned today three times!"
"Aaaaaah!"
Lin Jiaxiang wailed, "Sir, I was wrong!"
It takes two hours to copy once, and six hours to copy three times. It's maddening!
Nan Chungu chuckled and said, "Now you're scared, aren't you? You even dared to sleep in the teacher's class."
Lin Jiaxiang was furious: "Why didn't you remind me?"
Nan Chunxian continued with his work, saying, "You didn't say anything."
"you!"
Instead of wasting time shouting here, you should hurry up and copy this down; dinner will be served soon.
Lin Jiaxiang looked towards the door and, sure enough, his servant was already waiting there with a food box in hand.
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