Joy of Life: Starting from Teacher Fan Xian

Chapter 3 The Corner Grocery Store
As the afternoon passed, birds chirped in the yard, and the maids and cooks maintained work in the mansion in an orderly manner. In the blink of an eye, it was time for dinner.

After bidding farewell to his master, Fan Xian skipped all the way into the main courtyard, while the maids followed him anxiously, fearing that something might happen to the young master.

"What did you learn today?"

At the dinner table, the old lady closed her eyes slightly and patted her hands in silence. Fan Xian and Ruoruo sat side by side, concentrating on eating, neither speaking a word while eating nor talking while sleeping.

The old lady spoke, and Fan Xian put down his chopsticks politely and said in a childish voice, "Grandma, the master did not teach us any complicated knowledge. He only said that writing reflects a person's character and that writing carries a message, so he asked his grandson to practice writing."

"Hmm." The old lady's face was frowned. It was unknown what she was thinking, but she seemed unfamiliar with Fan Xian. She muttered a little, "Master didn't teach like this when he was in the mansion."

The teacher was entrusted by the Earl's Mansion in Beijing, and every word, action, teaching and method was in accordance with the requirements. The old lady knew it well.

What surprised her was that Lin Ruo did not continue Jingzhong's request. She thought that the teacher would also explain and instruct her.

"grandmother…"

Fan Xian hesitated to speak, his head was heavy and he was also confused.

To outsiders, he is just a child. It is too eager for a four-year-old to learn ancient Chinese classics. Are all children of wealthy families like this?
"Grandma, the master is a very nice and gentle person." Fan Ruoruo echoed earnestly from the side.

"Besides, my brother is smart, so any teaching method will be fine."

The old lady opened her eyes and suddenly laughed: "My dear granddaughter, whatever you say is right, so let's not argue about it."

After dinner, the two young masters of the Earl's villa went to play with the maids again, while the old lady sat quietly in the main seat with her eyes closed.

"The gentleman has left?"

"Madam, the master said that it was inconvenient for him to stay in the mansion, so he left on his own." Butler Zhou reported.

Looking outside the house, the old lady waved her hand: "Well, go down."

Butler Zhou was stunned for a moment, then bowed and walked a few steps forward, saying flatteringly, "Madam, Mr. Lin actually did a good job. The young master is still just a child after all, and his strict education is a bit too much."

"As long as children are happy at this age," Butler Zhou continued.

Of course, he didn't say this for Fan Xian's own good. He just wanted to excuse Lin Ruo for just doing what he asked.

But in fact, Lin Ruo taught in this way because Fan Xian did not need any additional teaching.

The old lady nodded, not getting angry at the offense of Butler Zhou. "Okay, go down."

Butler Zhou took his leave.

The old lady leaned sideways, thinking, "It's good this way. After all, he is just a child. People in the capital are too concerned about him."

……

Outside the grocery store on the corner of Earl's Villa, Lin Ruo watched secretly for a long time.

As night fell, he finally went forward and knocked on the door.

"Please take whatever you need." Almost at the same time, a bland and indifferent voice came from inside the house, as if it didn't care whether there were any customers or not.

The blind boy had his eyes covered with a black cloth. He waved the knife in his hand at a very high frequency, cutting the radish on the chopping board into pieces.

It was an unbelievable scene, as if there should be a pair of living eyes under the black cloth.

Lin Ruo looked at it and couldn't help but admire it. He pretended to be an ordinary person and asked, "Are you really blind?"

The blind boy kept moving: "Please hurry up, sir. It's time to close the shop." Lin Ruo pretended to select a few suitable goods, took out a piece of silver from his pocket and put it on the nearest table. Just as he was about to leave, the voice without any emotion sounded again:

"too much."

Lin Ruo turned around and smiled gently, "If you don't have any extra money, keep it for now and use it as payment for the next purchase."

The blind boy frowned slightly, and finally stopped what he was doing. He picked up the iron rod that looked like a sword but was not a sword, and asked, "Who are you?"

Lin Ruo's heart skipped a beat, but he said calmly, "I am the teacher of the Fan Mansion, Lin Ruo."

"You still haven't answered my question." The blind boy said coldly, two rays of light that were powerful enough to kill people were staring at me from behind the black cloth, and an inexplicable pressure emanated from his body. "Since I left the house, you have been observing the situation in the shop from a distance. I ask again, who are you!"

Lin Ruo was feeling uneasy. After a moment, he forced a smile and said, "I'm just curious. Since I entered the mansion today, you have never taken your eyes off the Fan Mansion. I have a formal status in the Fan Mansion, and you... I should have asked you this question anyway. I didn't expect you to ask it first."

The blind boy's heart moved slightly, but he remained expressionless. The subtle sound of his heartbeat revealed everything, but he did not take any action because of his identity.

According to this explanation, the scholar's motives are understandable.

"Also, it seems that Young Master Fan Xian is also interested in this place." Lin Ruo continued to ask.

The blind boy frowned slightly: "Are you saying that Master Fan Xian also knows of my existence?"

Even he, at this moment, could not help but feel slightly moved in his cold heart.

Looking at Wu Zhu seriously, Lin Ruo said with certainty: "Master Fan Xian is far more different from ordinary people than you think."

In the original novel, the reason why Wu Zhu discovered that Fan Xian had always known of his existence and even retained his memory of him was the night Fei Jie visited him. Fan Xian rashly came to his house for help, and the two of them opened up to each other and recognized each other.

So before this, Wuzhu was the one who was kept in the dark.

He thought that Master Fan Xian would not remember him, because when he was taken away from Kyoto, he was just a baby who was only a few days old, and such a child should not have any memory.

But Fan Xian is a time traveler...

Thinking of this, Lin Ruo couldn't help but want to laugh, and said, "It seems that you have no ill intentions towards Master Fan Xian."

Wu Zhu put down the iron rod and picked up the knife again: "You can leave now. Don't reveal the secrets here, and don't even think about doing anything that would be detrimental to Master Fan Xian."

Lin Ruo nodded: "Don't worry, I'm just Master Fan Xian's teacher."

Wu Zhu's face remained expressionless until the visitor left and the grocery store door closed quietly.

In Danzhou late at night, the sea breeze blows through the streets and alleys, making it unusually cool compared to the dullness of the day.

Lin Ruo took one last look and walked out of the alley.

On the second day, outside the street of the Earl's villa, a dilapidated courtyard that had been uninhabited for many years opened its doors. Neighbors were very puzzled. They heard that someone had rented this courtyard for the first time. What was the purpose?

The yard is overgrown with weeds and the facilities are outdated, but the only thing that is open is the view, which allows one to get a full view of the Earl's villa, but nothing else.

……

"Master, please, come down quickly."

Early in the morning, there was a commotion in the Earl's villa. People thought that it was the work of the naughty young master Fan Xian.

Sure enough, at the top of the rockery in the mansion, the child was smiling at the distant horizon again.

(End of this chapter)