Wanjin Lady

Chapter 97 Looking for trouble
"Three fish..." Wen Wan lowered her head and counted the number of fish in the basket. "Oh... there's still one left."

She smiled and said to Yao Shizhen, "It seems that today we are destined to be master and disciple."

Yao Shizhen shook his head like a rattle, "I still don't believe you can really catch three fish today."

"Okay."

I'll let you know right now that 30% is determined by fate, and 70% depends on hard work. No matter what, she's going to cling to the boss's legs today!

Wenwan threw the rod into the water.

There was silence.

There is a reed marsh that is only half the height of the man. The sun sets in the distance, and the afterglow of the setting sun ripples on the river. In the distance, there are a few white returning birds.

"Husband!"

Mrs. Yao's voice came from a distance. She stood by the river and waved to them, "The meal is ready. Come home and eat."

Yao Shizhen looked embarrassed and coughed softly to remind Wen Wan, "It's time for dinner."

Yao Shi originally thought that Wen Wan would be unreasonable and was thinking about how to politely reject this girl, but Wen Wan actually put away the hanging pole obediently after hearing what he said.

Yao Shizhen raised his eyebrows slightly.

This is... not gambling anymore?

Wen Wan put away the fishing rod and picked up the fish basket in the grass. She smiled and urged Yao Shizhen: "What are you standing there for, old man? Madam is calling for dinner."

This time Yao Shizhen felt embarrassed. He was grateful to Wen Wan for knowing when to stop and he couldn't help but look at her with admiration.

He turned around, put his hands behind his back, and walked back slowly down the slope. "Let's go, let's go. If today's not enough, we can come again tomorrow."

When they were halfway there, Yao Shizhen, who had figured out what was going on, suddenly turned around and said, "Hey, are you trying to play with me?"

"How could that be?" The young lady smiled innocently and honestly, "I really want to be your disciple."

Yao Shizhen teases the children, and Wen Wan teases the old man.

Yeah, no problem.

The old man and the young boy packed up their fishing rods and went home. When they entered, they found that the food had not been served yet. They also saw Cheng Yunzhang waiting in the corridor. Wen Wan immediately knew what was going on.

It turned out that someone was using the trick of urinating to get help.

Wen Wan looked at Cheng Yunzhang calmly, and Cheng Yunzhang raised his eyebrows slightly, with a hint of provocation and a hint of pride.

OK OK.

Not only did you cling to her thigh, but you also kicked her down.

This scholar... is so despicable.

It was still early to leave for dinner, so Lu Ping went to the kitchen to help. The three of them watched each other closely, and Yao Shizhen invited the two of them into the study for a chat.

Cheng Yunzhang was still asking about something else and asked her with a smile, "Where's the fish that Miss Wen caught?"

Wen Wan's words were a double entendre, implying something, "It's dark under the lamp, I can't see the situation in the river clearly, so I just put away my fishing rod."

Two men in the room began coughing.

Although Wen Wan let him go and did not insist on the bet, Yao Shizhen still felt that he was in the wrong and was somewhat suspected of bullying the little girl.

By chance, he touched it and saw a pile of articles on the desk.

He pulled out a piece of paper and handed it to Wen Wan, coughing softly and patiently coaxing her: "Xiu Wen did indeed seek help from outsiders just now, so my victory in this round was unfair. I won't take advantage of you. This is an article handed over by a student from Qingshan Academy. Take a look and let me see how much you have in your belly."

Cheng Yunzhang hadn't expected that after seeking help from his teacher's wife one moment, he would be betrayed by his teacher the next. Just as he was feeling depressed, he saw his teacher winking at him. Cheng Yunzhang could only laugh helplessly.

have to.

Shopkeeper Wen can coax the teacher, and he can coax too.

Wen Wan's face lit up with joy. She respectfully took the article with both hands and opened her sparkling eyes again, "Old man, are you going to test my knowledge?"

Yao Shizhen scoffed bluntly, "How much knowledge do you have? I want to see if you have a sharp mind."

Wen Wan immediately put on a playful smile, "That must be quite clever!"

harm.

This girl... her face is as thick as a city wall.

You can't even give this girl a little bit of kindness. She is a monkey and will climb up if you give her a pole.

I'm bored anyway, so playing with the kids is a way to pass the time.

Yao Shizhen smiled bitterly, and Cheng Yunzhang sat down and poured tea for him.

Wen Wan watched carefully.

This is an article about how to deal with the famine relief in Bingzhou. It is based on actual events. The writer has a good handwriting, with rich ink, iron-like strokes and silver-like hooks, and it is full of vigor.

"Human nature is that if one day goes by without food, one will be hungry; if one goes by without clothes for a whole year, one will be cold. If one is hungry and cannot eat, and cold and cannot wear clothes, even a loving mother cannot protect her child, how can a ruler protect his people?"

"A wise ruler knows this, so he encourages agriculture and sericulture, reduces taxes and levies, and accumulates abundant reserves to fill granaries and prepare for floods and droughts, so that the people can have what they need."

"...In years of famine, the grain from the Ministry of Agriculture is distributed to the people to encourage them to work for their own benefit. This has been enacted as a decree in recent years. This has alleviated the famine and also led to the benefit of the people."

Wenwan read slowly, word by word.

First, she is not very familiar with traditional Chinese characters and needs to identify them carefully.

Secondly, the author quoted a lot of classics and allusions, which seemed very obscure to an engineering student like her.

Cheng Yunzhang saw her put down the manuscript, looking lost in thought. He smiled and asked her, "What do you think of this article, Shopkeeper Wen?"

Wen Wan smiled and replied, "It's well-written, eloquently written, and easy to understand. It draws on the disaster relief experiences of past sages and incorporates the unique circumstances of Bingzhou. I have to say... this article is deeply grounded... and highly practical. The author must have a kind heart. If he succeeds in the imperial examination, he will surely be a good official who understands the suffering of the people."

Yao Shizhen couldn't help but raise his eyebrows slightly.

He originally thought that businessmen were mostly clever and cunning, but he never expected that Wenwan could criticize the current situation and had such a deep understanding of the current situation.

in fact.

Wen Wan didn't quite understand.

She just wanted to show off and drop a trump card, preferably one that would confuse Old Master Yao so much that he would accept her as his last disciple. Only in this way could she not lose in the struggle with the Cheng family.

Wen Wan doesn’t understand articles, but she knows how to find faults!

No matter how well the article is written, once it falls into her hands, she will find fault with it to show off.

Otherwise, what was the point of Mr. Yao testing her?
Just to hear her praise the article as "well written"?
She is a professional at criticizing one and praising the other!
"But!" Wen Wan coughed softly and began to find fault. "The measures in this article are sound, but in essence, they're nothing more than the same old tactic of stabilizing food prices, distributing relief supplies, reducing taxes and exemptions, and using work-for-relief. Furthermore, this article misses the most crucial point: people."

"Humans are inherently evil. It goes without saying that corruption is even more prone to occur during years of natural disasters. Just take the recent case in Bingzhou, where the amount of silver allocated for disaster relief dropped from 700,000 taels to 200,000. How can corruption be avoided in the middle? Especially with the post-disaster relief payments, how can this be managed from the governor-general down to the petty officials?"

"Furthermore, due to the backward transportation conditions, food can only be transported by horse or water. The transportation period is long and the materials are lost a lot. If the food is not delivered in a long time, the people will have no choice but to wait for death."

(End of this chapter)