Confucian and Taoist scholar

Chapter 186 Substitute Teacher
Upon hearing this, Wang Xiu said softly, "Thank you for your concern, sir. I've already been to the government office once before, and the county magistrate has done justice for me."

"Huh? What happened?" Lu Zheng couldn't help but ask.

Wang Xiu said, "My parents passed away. When the elders of my clan learned about it, they wanted to fight with me for the family property. The case was brought to the county government. Fortunately, the government was fair and impartial, and they didn't succeed..."

Lu Zheng raised his eyebrows. Is he trying to wipe out the entire family?

Lu Zheng sighed, "It's not easy for you as a girl. You should be more careful about villains in the future. I don't think those people will let it go."

Lu Zheng had heard a lot about the extinction of a family. It would not be easy for Wang Xiu, a woman, to keep the family business.

Wang Xiu said embarrassedly, "So, I had some thoughts. I wanted to talk to you and build some connections. Given your current reputation, they certainly wouldn't make things too difficult for me... I took advantage of you, and I hope you'll forgive me."

Lu Zheng said disapprovingly, "What are you talking about? Miss Wang is smart and knows how to take advantage of the situation, which is good."

Lu Zheng didn't feel that he was being used. It was such a small matter, so he didn't care about it.

Lu Zheng took out a few pieces of candy and handed them to Wang Xiu. "Would you like some candy? I heard that when people are unhappy, eating candy will make them happy, and if they are happy, eating candy will make them even happier."

Wang Xiu blinked and took the candy respectfully, "Thank you, sir!"

Although it was just an ordinary candy, in the eyes of others, being able to talk to Lu Zheng and having Lu Zheng take out candy to share with them meant that their relationship was naturally not that of ordinary passers-by.

Lu Zheng waved his hand, took out a few more candies and gave them to Xiao Qingqing next to him, and ate one himself.

Wang Xiu opened her mouth slightly and put a piece of candy in her mouth. The sweetness filled her heart and she felt much happier.

Lu Zheng remembered something and asked, "Are those gambling houses in your town still open?"

Wang Xiu replied, "They've all been closed down. Those families are all very well behaved now, and no one dares to continue running gambling houses. One family even had their property raided by the government; they were said to be colluding with demons and ghosts."

Thinking of this, Wang Xiu was still frightened. If Lu Zheng had not found the Wang family and solved the problem of demons and ghosts, their Wang family would definitely not have been able to survive.

Lu Zheng nodded and said, "That's good. I'll visit your town when I have time later."

Wang Xiu smiled and said, "Sir, please come to my house as a guest when the time comes."

"Of course." Lu Zheng said with a smile, "I have something to do at the government office. Where's the girl?"

Wang Xiu then said, "Then I will not bother you any more. Goodbye."

Wang Xiu bowed and walked away.

Seeing Wang Xiu leave with the Wang family servants who were waiting not far away, Lu Zheng also went towards the county government office.

Xiao Qingqing followed beside her and asked curiously, "Did something happen to that girl's family?"

Upon hearing this, Lu Zheng told the story of the Wang family's demonic ghost.

Xiao Qingqing was surprised when she heard this. She didn't expect that there would be such rampant demons. She couldn't help but admire Wang Xiu for being able to wait for rescue in such an environment.

When we arrived at the county government office, we entered smoothly.

Li Yuan saw Lu Zheng coming over and said with a smile: "Lu Zheng, now that you're here, just sit wherever you want and treat yourself like you're at home!"

Lu Zheng thought to himself that this was the county government office, so he couldn't be so casual.

He began, "I've been studying at the dean's for two days and came out to get some fresh air. I wonder if there's anything the master needs me for."

"Well, just mind your own business. Leave these matters to us. We won't let them interfere with your studies." Li Yuan said.

Study? Lu Zheng thought that he didn't have any studies at all. If he had to say that he had any, it would be cultivation. And his principle of cultivation was that cultivation is everywhere in life.

Lu Zheng and Li Yuan chatted for a while and then left the county government office.

When it comes to implementing policies, government officials are more professional than him. If Li Yuan doesn't want him to help, he can't force him to stay.

After returning to Beishan Academy, Lu Zheng planned to find some more books to read in order to increase his knowledge and experience.

At this time, Xiao Shan found him.

"My dear friend Lu, I have a request for you." Xiao Shan said.

Lu Zhengdao: "What's the matter?"

Xiao Shan smiled and said, "I thought I'd be a teacher at the academy for a few classes. I'd like to assess the students and see who would be suitable to be my disciple."

"Ok?"

Lu Zheng was stunned for a moment and couldn't help but say, "The dean is most familiar with those students, so why does he need my help in selecting them?"

Xiao Shan said ashamedly, "As the saying goes, those involved are often confused, while those who are on the sidelines can see clearly. I feel that my teaching methods over the years have been wrong. I am at a loss as to how to select disciples. Young Master Lu has a righteous heart and will certainly not make the mistake of selecting them, so I would like to ask you to examine them."

"This..." Lu Zheng thought for a moment and asked, "What kind of disciple does the dean want to accept?"

Xiao Shan said seriously, "If a person with real potential can be even one or two percent as good as you, that would be enough."

Lu Zheng said embarrassedly, "The dean is exaggerating. I'm not that good, and those students aren't that bad either."

"Hey, my friend, don't be so modest. I wonder if you can help me with this?" Xiao Shan looked at Lu Zheng with burning eyes.

Lu Zheng nodded and said, "But, I wonder what the dean wants me to do?"

After all, I have been living in the academy and reading Xiaoshan's collection of books during this period. I can't just not repay any favor.

Xiao Shan was delighted when he heard this and said, "Teach them however you want. For the next few days, you will be the teacher of those talented students! I'll take you there!"

Having talent and knowledge is one thing, and teaching and educating people is another.

Just because you are talented doesn't necessarily mean you can teach good students. However, Xiaoshan knew Lu Zheng's study abroad experience and was good at dealing with people, demons and ghosts.

He felt that there would be no problem for Lu Zheng to be a substitute teacher, and he didn't need to worry about Lu Zheng not being able to control the students.

Xiao Shan excitedly took Lu Zheng to the school.

Beishan Academy is divided into three schools and seven classes, including three classes for elementary school students, two classes for students of higher learning, and two classes for scholars of higher learning.

The scholar class is divided into Class A and Class B. Class A has the smallest number of students, but there are nearly fifty people in total, and several of them have already gone to Hongzhou to take part in the autumn examination.

Xiaoshan gathered the two classes together.

There are nearly fifty scholars, the youngest is about twenty years old, the oldest is nearly fifty, some of them have gray hair, but they have not given up on the imperial examination and want to get the title of Juren.

If you become a juren, you can become an official and get much more benefits than being a scholar.

Those scholars who did not have any family background basically wanted to pass the imperial examination, strive to make a breakthrough, and completely change their lives, and even the future of their entire family.

Xiao Shan took Lu Zheng to the podium.

Almost all the students had seen Lu Zheng, and they were all a little surprised to see him here.

Xiao Shan got straight to the point. "For the next few days, you and Class A will attend classes together. Lu Zheng will be the substitute teacher and give you lectures."

"what!"

Many students were shocked when they heard this.

They thought Lu Zheng appeared here to study in the academy, but it turned out that he was here to be their teacher?

Although Lu Zheng is indeed very famous in the county now, many students do not think that Lu Zheng is superior to them and qualified to be their teacher.

Li Zhao, who was sitting below, was stunned for a moment, then grinned and waved his hand and said, "Okay!"

Naturally, he would not object to such a thing.

Having Lu Zheng as the teacher would definitely be more interesting than having other teachers in the academy teach.

Xiao Shan said seriously, "As your substitute teacher, you should treat Lu Zheng the same way you treat me. Do you understand?"

Xiaoshan usually treats these students very harshly, so no one dares to stand up and oppose them now.

"clear."

Even though some students were reluctant in their hearts, they still agreed quickly.

Xiao Shan said calmly, "In that case, why don't you stand up and greet me, sir?"

"Shh!"

Li Zhao dared to be the first to do so. He stood up cheerfully and bowed to Lu Zheng, "Student greets Mr. Lu!"

When the other students saw this, they had no choice but to stand up and salute.

Lu Zheng accepted the greetings from the students, bowed and said, "Please sit down, everyone!"

Everyone then sat down.

Xiao Shan couldn't help but nod slightly. Fortunately, these students did not make a fuss and did not embarrass him.

He smiled at Lu Zheng, then left the classroom, but did not leave.

Lu Zheng faced the group of students with a calm expression.

He slowly began, "A sage once said, 'When three people walk together, there must be one who can be my teacher.' Therefore, a disciple need not be inferior to his teacher, and a teacher need not be better than his disciple. There are different levels of understanding of the Way, and different areas of expertise. That's all."

Everyone present was a scholar, and after hearing Lu Zheng's words, they couldn't help but feel that he was quite knowledgeable.

There is a sequence in learning, and everyone has their own specialization... Xiao Shan's eyes flickered, and he deeply agreed with it.

Lu Zheng added, "I'm not very talented, but I'll be your substitute teacher for a few days and try to help you learn something."

He turned and looked at the classics on the desk. "I won't teach you any Confucian or Taoist classics. There's no need. You've been reading the books of the sages since childhood. I'm afraid some of you can recite them by heart."

"But the words of the sages can't just be spoken or memorized; you need to put them into practice! In a class like this, I can't tell how much you've truly learned, so there's no need to teach you any sage books."

"Today I'll start by teaching you math. I won't cover anything complicated. If you have any questions, just ask. I'll teach you clearly, not just give you an answer!"

These students all knew that Lu Zheng had once overwhelmed Wu Ren in mathematics and that he could not answer any questions.

But apart from Li Zhao and a few others, no one knew how Lu Zheng solved the problem.

Seeing Lu Zheng so confident, someone directly asked a difficult question.

Without hesitation, Lu Zheng used the problem-solving skills from his previous life and solved the other party's confusion in just a short while.

The students were not stupid either. When they saw Lu Zheng's way of solving the problem, they felt it was extremely novel, as if they had opened the door to a new world.

Outside the hall, Xiao Qingqing also sneaked over and listened to the class there.

Xiao Shan also listened attentively, thinking that there were so many aspects of mathematics and he had learned too little before.

After one class, all the students gained a lot.

Even though some people were still dissatisfied with Lu Zheng being their substitute teacher, they had to admire his amazing talent in mathematics.

(End of this chapter)