Volume 4: Gathering of Sages Chapter 519: Freeloading
Zhang Shou finally shared this midnight snack with Ah Liu... Actually, he wasn't hungry, but the dinner at the Duke of Zhao's mansion was too good. He felt full just by looking at the fish and meat, but most of it went into Zhu Tingfang's stomach. Obviously, the eldest brother-in-law had to eat a lot every day to maintain the powerful fighting power of the big devil.
So, as soon as he came back, he asked the kitchen to cook a vegetable and tofu pot, but he ran into Ah Liu.
As for his reaction after he knew the truth about how much Ah Liu had eaten tonight, he was very calm, because when Ah Liu no longer concealed his big appetite, he could afford to feed this big stomach equivalent to four or five people, so of course he had already gotten used to it. However, he couldn't help but feel a little weird about the strange apology Ah Liu proposed to Song Huishou.
"You want food as an apology? How dare you think of that! Do you want that old man Song to think you are a fool who knows nothing about the world?"
"Isn't that great?" Ah Liu ate the last piece of tofu and drank the last bit of soup innocently, then said nonchalantly, "The eldest lady taught me this. She said that she dresses gorgeously and luxuriously all day long, so others think she is vulgar and brainless. Since I am cold-faced and clumsy-mouthed, I just need to speak less and speak more bluntly, and others will definitely think I am actually stupid."
Zhang Shou finally couldn't help but cover his forehead. Miss Zhu's teaching by example is really good. She is forcing Ah Liu, who seems to be innocent but is actually evil, to become even more evil!
The thing is, these two guys who know the truth but pretend to be ignorant are really alike to some extent!
However, compared to Ah Liu's teasing of Song Huishou, or Song Juren's unfortunate beating, Zhang Shou was more concerned about Song Huishou's plan to introduce fruits such as mangoes and pineapples, as well as more ingredients that are said to be native to Southeast Asia but introduced to Fujian and Guangdong, to the capital. Because in his impression, mangoes are of course native to Southeast Asia, but pineapples are different.
He clearly remembered that pineapple was originally a fruit native to America! He gently rubbed his brows and said to himself, "The butterfly's wings really flapped more than a little..."
Although Song Huishou, the old fox, did reveal a lot of information, Zhang Shou probably knew that what such a person could reveal was at most the tip of the iceberg. There were more things hidden under the iceberg, but people kept them secret. However, he was just starting out now, so he was not in a hurry at all. Therefore, the next day, he went to his class as usual.
But when he arrived at Jiuzhang Hall that day, he was stunned. Because in the last row, the seat where Zhang Chen and others had sat yesterday when they were taking classes, today, a familiar little guy was sitting upright. Who else could it be but the Fourth Prince?
Before he could open his mouth to question her, the Fourth Prince took the initiative to speak: "I am an auditor who is here to listen to the class for free. Teacher, you don't have to worry about me!"
An auditor who sneaked into the class... You are so good at talking, does your father know about it? Zhang Shou couldn't help but go to see the third prince first, because he was sure that if the third prince hadn't told the fourth prince that Zhang Chen and his friends had fled yesterday after sneaking into the class, the fourth prince would never have come so boldly. As for whether the emperor knew that the fourth prince was coming... there was no need to ask!
For such a big matter, if the Fourth Prince hadn't begged and pleaded for the Emperor to agree, how could the little guy be so bold?
Seeing the Third Prince trying to remain calm, he glanced around the classroom where no one was talking, wondering why the Fourth Prince was sitting there so openly without anyone else having any objections. When he saw this, Ji Jiu was the first to stand up and said, "Teacher, the Fourth Prince is also a student of the Imperial Academy, so he can come and go at any time, and he is actually allowed to attend classes at Jiuzhang Hall."
"In fact, other halls of the Imperial College have not banned auditors in recent years. Of course, because there are not enough seats there, and the teachers are too strict, most of the auditors stand outside the hall. But since we still have extra seats in the Jiuzhang Hall, and Zhang Chen and others came in openly yesterday, I think the Fourth Prince's words..."
"No need to say." Zhang Shou didn't expect that Zhang Chen and others' whim yesterday could actually provide a precedent for the Fourth Prince to sit here at this time. He couldn't help but have a headache. At this time, he heard the Third Prince suddenly speak.
"Teacher, since everyone in Jiuzhang Hall calls me Zheng Rong, please call me Fourth Brother Zheng Rong."
Seeing that the Third Prince clearly had no intention of explaining and wanted to leave the matter as a fait accompli, Zhang Shou narrowed his eyes slightly, thinking that this shy and timid child was so tough at this rare moment just because of his younger brother. Should he praise their deep brotherly love?
With this ridiculous thought in mind, Zhang Shou said calmly, "There are indeed many seats in Jiuzhang Hall now, because your senior brothers are still doing internships in various places and cannot come back to compete with you for the class and seats. When they come back, we will discuss how to arrange this huge class. In this case, Zheng Yan, you can audit the class if you want."
The fourth prince immediately smiled with a successful trick, but at this time, he only heard Zhang Shou say: "But, there are rules for auditing. You are not allowed to ask questions, you are not allowed to answer, you have to prepare your own textbooks, and check your own exercises. No one will correct them for you. Moreover, auditors cannot enjoy the same treatment as those students who have been admitted with great difficulty, so..."
Zhang Shou paused for a moment, then said word by word: "You need to come over to clean the blackboard during the break, do you understand?"
As soon as these words came out, a small commotion suddenly broke out in the classroom, which had been quite quiet just now. Having already accepted a fourth prince, it was not difficult for the students of Jiuzhang Hall to accept another fourth prince who was shamelessly trying to attend classes. After all, they already understood the character of the two brothers and saw that they were truly eager to learn and work hard.
But now, not only did Zhang Shou set so many rules for the Fourth Prince as an auditor, he even sent someone to wipe the blackboard!
You know, if there is a task they are most reluctant to take on, it is definitely to wipe the blackboard! This is the teaching method that was passed down from the public school to Jiuzhang Hall, and a whole white wall was blackened for this. Although they have only experienced the method of solving problems on the blackboard for a few days, they already find it very intuitive and easy to use - as long as they are not asked to find a way to clear the blackboard with plaster pen!
Of course, the most painful thing than wiping the blackboard was probably being asked by Zhang Shou or Lu Sanlang to write on the blackboard directly from the book or exercise book! For this reason, the classroom even prepared three rows of special benches for stepping on. Even if they took turns to write on the blackboard, they were exhausted every time. Moreover, they noticed that Lu Sanlang, who occasionally wrote on the blackboard, could not persist for long.
Accustomed to using brushes, they cannot adapt to the hard pen whose strength is difficult to control for a while.
However, they all still remembered that the few times Zhang Shou went up to write on the blackboard, his handwriting was elegant, graceful and beautiful, with particular elegance in the turns. They felt so ashamed looking at their own dog-chewed handwriting on the blackboard!
The fourth prince didn't know that he had been entrusted with a difficult task that all the students complained about , so he answered loudly without thinking, "Okay, I'll agree to it, teacher!"
In this case, you can't chase me away, teacher! This way I can continue to study with my third brother, and I don't have to wait for him in the palace, but he always comes back later and later! I am so smart!
Zhang Shou pretended not to notice the Fourth Prince's pride, and immediately began to flip through the book and give a lecture. For others, this pace of his teaching had already become natural, but the Fourth Prince was still used to Zhang Shou's extremely detailed explanations in the Banshan Hall, and was still used to the kind of teaching that was afraid that you would not understand, so he broke down the key points bit by bit, so he was in a hurry when he first started.
It was not until Zhang Shou stepped onto the high bench and began to write on the blackboard that he breathed a sigh of relief. However, when he saw the complicated symbols and formulas, he felt dizzy again. While feeling dizzy, the Fourth Prince even thought of a completely unrelated question.
He had overheard what Sister Yingying said to the Emperor. Didn't she say that Zhang Shou was good in everything except his handwriting? Now look at the words on the black wall. What's wrong with them? The words even have a sharp character! Wait, when they were in Banshan Hall before, Zhang Shou had commented on their homework, and the handwriting seemed to be pretty average at that time, but what was going on now?
The fourth prince was distracted, and when he looked at the blackboard again, he suddenly found that he was completely confused. He was immediately terrified and hurriedly began to write at his desk and copy the blackboard.
However, he soon realized the feeling of powerlessness when you can't catch up with others even though they are both writing.
Of course, Zhang Shou didn't know that his extremely fast writing on the blackboard had caused so much pressure on the Fourth Prince - of course, if he knew, he would definitely be even more pleased and proud.
He recalled that when he was a child, he particularly admired his teacher for a while, because in that era, students did not rely on teaching materials to solve problems, but on the teacher writing on the blackboard, and the students copied them hard at the back. He truly experienced the feeling of having clumsy hands.
Because no matter how he copied, he couldn't catch up with the teacher's speed! And the most frightening thing was that when the teacher finished writing on the blackboard and was about to wipe the blackboard, he almost wanted to chop off his crippled hand... It was not until he became an experienced person that he realized that there was another choice, which was to copy others - and even copy the questions and answers!
After he became quick with his hands and became the one whose homework was copied, he accidentally became the good student that many lazy teachers picked up to copy questions on the blackboard!
Because of these tragic past experiences, Zhang Shou is now doing the same thing, letting a group of students deeply experience the pain he had in those days. Writing on the blackboard well and writing on the blackboard quickly? Do you know that this is what I, your teacher, learned during the two years when I was picked up by several teachers to be a ghostwriter!
The compensation they received was teaching supplementary books, special treatment for not having to copy homework, and even the ultimate killer weapon...
No exam required!
Of course, when the teaching tools were replaced by black pens and whiteboards, and even more intuitive electronic courseware, the new generation of teachers finally began to save effort. Not only did they no longer have to write to the point of straining their wrists and elbows, they no longer had to breathe in so much dust that it was almost like pneumoconiosis, and students no longer had to endure the tedious process of writing notes at a desk. Even copying notes after class became photocopying.
Of course, what's even better is to directly copy the teacher's teaching courseware. If you can't copy it, just take a photo...
After drawing a bunch of pictures and writing a bunch of formulas, and seeing that there was almost nothing left on the entire wall, Zhang Shou just turned around casually. Although he wanted to throw away his pen in a casual manner, the thing in his hand was still too rough even though it had been improved again and again by Guan Qiu, who was fond of research and thinking, and it would not be nice to embarrass himself casually, so he could only settle for the second best and clap his hands.
Then, he pointed at the Fourth Prince and said with a smile: "Zheng Yan, come and wipe the blackboard!"
It was not until this moment that the Fourth Prince finally woke up from his dream. He understood why the others had made such a commotion when they heard that he was going to wipe the blackboard, and why the Third Brother had turned back to look at him with a look of pity in his eyes. You know, at this moment, he had only copied a little over one blackboard, and he hadn't been able to copy down the rest!
When he thought about having to borrow someone else's notes to copy, he felt that today was his first day in Jiuzhang Hall, which was really a tragedy.
However, he was the one who had just promised, and no matter how depressed and aggrieved he was, the Fourth Prince could only go up to wipe the blackboard listlessly - and in this era when there were no blackboard brushes and the writing on the black wall was not written in chalk, he soon realized the difficulty of this task.
Being short in stature, even if he stood on the highest stool and stood on tiptoe, he could not reach the highest point. However, remembering his promise, he had to stand on tiptoe to wipe the blackboard again and again. After a while, he was exhausted and sweating all over. Not only did his arms become heavy from taking turns to wipe the blackboard, but even his waist and legs felt a little sore.
Although he was not particularly pampered in the palace, he had never suffered such hardship before, and his nose felt a little sour unconsciously. Even though he did not think that Zhang Shou was deliberately making things difficult for him, he still felt an unusual grievance. But at this moment, he felt his right hand loosen, and a brush was taken away. He turned his head and saw who else but the third prince?
"Third brother..." Since childhood, the fourth prince had only seen the third prince with tears in his eyes most of the time, and this was the first time he had looked at his brother with tears in his eyes. But at this moment, he couldn't hold back his tears, and they almost fell out.
"You're too slow!"
The Third Prince still remembered the meaningful look Zhang Shou gave him when he stood up just now, so he tried his best to make his tone sound stiff. He turned his head and stood on tiptoe to work, while scolding, "If you do it like this, how long will it take to finish wiping the blackboard? We won't be able to have class! Why are you still standing there? Two people can always work faster than one!"
Although he was told off, the Fourth Prince sniffed hard and finally started working right away. Zhang Shou looked at the two little brothers working there. Some of the elders, led by Ji Jiu, had already stood up, while others wanted to stand up, wanting to help but afraid of what he would say. He couldn't help but laugh, "Zheng Yan is really too slow to work alone. From now on, you can take turns to help him."
