Top Scholar

Chapter 88 Another resignation

"Is that kid some kind of Midas touch?" Scholar Cheng asked incredulously. He continued reading the following articles and discovered that Cheng Wantang had indeed made rapid progress since that day.

In just over twenty days, his writing underwent a complete transformation, becoming entirely different! The previous stiffness and obscurity were swept away. Now, his arguments were precise and to the point, with a smooth and natural flow, and the structure and logic of his writing revealed a rigorous and methodical approach.

It really does seem like he's been enlightened by a famous teacher.

Such an article wouldn't even get a single point at Taiping Academy...

After reading it, Cheng Xiucai closed the workbook and didn't say another word that night.

For the next few days, he stayed home and didn't even eat. His sons were very worried, and even the landlady couldn't help but come back to check on him and see what was wrong with her father.

I don’t know, I’m scared.

Cheng Xiucai sat stiffly in the rattan chair, like a lost puppet. His wrinkled face was devoid of any expression. The arrogance that once adorned his brows was gone, his eyes were sunken and clouded, and he stared blankly at the workbook in his hands.

Cheng Chengcheng said softly to his sister, "Father has been like this for the past few days. I'm thinking of asking a Taoist priest to come and take a look at him."

“Brother, don’t be ridiculous. Father is a scholar who cultivates a righteous spirit, making him impervious to all evil,” the landlady said resolutely, shaking her head. “What kind of image is it to bring in a shaman?”

"I didn't invite her, did I?" Cheng Chengcheng sighed inwardly after saying this. He hadn't seen his sister for more than half a year and found that she was like a different person.

She stood under the eaves, the silver hairpin in her hair gleaming brightly. Though she wore a simple dress, her radiant beauty was undeniable, exuding confidence and decisiveness from head to toe. Even her voice was clearer than before, crisp and crisp, carrying an undeniable crispness that made you involuntarily bow your head before her.

"Father, what's going on?" The landlady walked up to Cheng Xiucai, picked up the workbook, and said, "Even if Wantang doesn't go to the academy, you can still teach him yourself. The sky isn't falling down!"

"I'm not teaching anymore, I'm not teaching anyone else." But then Cheng Xiucai murmured, "I can't teach anyone else anymore, I'm resigning..."

Looking at Cheng Wantang kneeling in the corridor, his face was swollen from being slapped so much, and he cried until his voice was hoarse, "Grandpa, I was wrong, I'll never dare to do it again..."

"Alright, Wantang, stop crying." The landlady, feeling sorry for her nephew, pulled him up and said to the old man, "Dad, what's wrong with you? Even if Wantang doesn't go to the academy, you don't have to completely deny yourself."

"It has nothing to do with him," Cheng Xiucai finally revealed his true feelings. "I'm just outdated..."

The proprietress thought to herself, "Why does this sound so familiar?" Then it dawned on her—it was something Su Er-ge had said before. He had only quit his job to work for her because he believed she was out of touch with the times. Otherwise, no matter how much she tried to persuade him, he wouldn't have come…

On second thought, Su Erge is only in his early thirties, while his father is almost sixty. If the young are like this, it's quite normal for the older to have similar thoughts.

"Sigh, it's good that Father resigned from the teaching profession." Cheng Chengcheng said softly, "At his age, he was still teaching and reviewing homework all day long. I felt exhausted just thinking about it."

"If you stay home and enjoy your retirement, your dizziness might get better," the proprietress agreed.

~~
It was rare for the whole family to be of one mind, so Cheng Xiucai wrote his resignation letter that very day and had Cheng Chengcheng deliver it to Lincheng.

Cheng Xiucai was a teacher at the government-run community school, unlike Su Youcai, a private tutor who could resign simply by informing the clan head. He had to report to the higher authority—the Yongning Guard Administration Office—and wait until a new teacher arrived before he could leave.

In many places, due to their remote location, no new doctors are willing to go. Years have passed since his resignation was submitted, and no one has come to take over; the old doctor has no choice but to work until he dies…

For example, the previous teacher of Erlangtan Community School.

Cheng Chengcheng submitted his resignation to the Yongning Guard Command Office. Education within the guard's jurisdiction also fell under the command office's jurisdiction. Not only were all community schools established by the Yongning Guard, but the Taiping Academy was also established by the commanders of the Yongning Guard, Luzhou Guard, and Chishui Guard together at the Heshan Academy in Luzhou.

Unfortunately, only one-third of the military garrisons in the Ming Dynasty had schools, and these were concentrated in the nine border regions. In the southwestern, uncivilized areas like theirs, there were almost none. Therefore, students from the three garrisons who wanted to take the imperial examinations had to go to Hejiang County for the supplementary examinations…

This is the most frustrating thing for all the commanders: they train a bunch of talented people, only to have them all benefit others.

But they also knew that the only way to change this situation was to continue cultivating talent and strive to produce a Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations). He could then submit a memorial to the throne, sharing his own experience and requesting the establishment of a military academy; this would be far more effective than a hundred memorials from the military officers themselves.

Therefore, the three commanders invested more in education than the county and prefectural officials. Last year, in order to bring the renowned Zhu Liu to teach at Taiping Academy, the three guards even gritted their teeth and exempted the academy's school land from taxes.

Now, a scholar wants to resign from his teaching position. This wouldn't normally be a big deal. However, Chen, the clerk of Yongning Guard, is worried that no one will take over in that wretched place of Erlangtan, and that trouble might arise that would alarm the Commander. Therefore, he doesn't want to approve the resignation and wants Scholar Cheng to continue teaching.

“My father can barely stand, how can I teach him?” Cheng Chengcheng slammed his hand on the table in frustration, leaving two taels of silver on it. “Isn’t that reason strong enough?”

"Absolutely necessary." Chen Jingli flicked his sleeve, and the silver ingot vanished. His attitude finally softened.
“Here’s what we’ll do: let your father rest at home for now. I’ll send a letter to your garrison; as long as they have someone to recommend, your father can leave immediately.”

Cheng Chengcheng, however, was still worried and said, "What if there isn't a suitable candidate in time? Won't the children in the school fall into a trap?" "Brother, you have quite a few worries," Chen Jingli said, giving him a disapproving look.

“They are all clansmen. If we don’t make proper arrangements, how can my father enjoy his old age in peace?” Cheng Chengcheng said with a wry smile, taking Chen Jingli’s hand and slipping him three taels of silver, “Please help me out again, sir.”

"Alright. Considering your filial piety, I'll add another deadline and urge the Thousand Household Office to find a candidate within a month." Chen sighed and said, "For the next month, just find someone to tide you over."

"Alright, I'm sorry to have troubled you, sir." Cheng Chengcheng breathed a sigh of relief, bowed, and took his leave.

After leaving, Cheng Chengcheng was both amused and exasperated. What kind of world is this? You have to give gifts just to leave a job.

If it weren't for the family having some assets, my father would probably have died in school...

~~
Taiping Thousand-Household Office, Thousand-Household Duty Room.

Uncle was excitedly describing to Manager Ma the bright future of becoming a distributor of Tian Shui Ji liquor!

"This liquor is not like sweet water. Sweet water is too cheap and spoils easily, so it is indeed quite difficult to export it."

"Hmm. I remember the proprietress saying that we need to overcome something like... sealing and freshness-preserving technology in order to leverage the local traffic advantage and open up... cross-regional distribution channels to create a second growth curve." Ma Qianhu was indeed exceptional; he even remembered the proprietress's coded language from six months ago.

"Oh my, you really are a gentleman! You can even remember such difficult words! It's a pity you didn't pursue a literary career, otherwise you would at least have passed the imperial examination!" The uncle quickly and skillfully offered his flattery.

"Hahaha." Commander Ma laughed loudly, "I actually studied back then and even prepared for the exams properly. Unfortunately, my father passed away right after I passed the county exam, so I had to abandon my studies and join the army, returning to take over as a centurion."

"However, my grandson is just like me. Let's see if he can change the old Ma family's reputation." Ma Qianhu's eyebrows danced as he mentioned his family's 'Thousand-Mile Horse'.

“Speaking of which, my good-for-nothing nephew was your grandson’s classmate, and he often talks about how good their school principal is,” the uncle quickly chimed in.

"Su Lu!" To everyone's surprise, Commander Ma immediately called out Qiu Ge'er's name and praised him highly, saying, "Qianli often talks about him, praising that kid to the skies. It makes me want to meet your nephew and see what kind of talent he is."

The uncle thought to himself, "Haven't you seen him before? You still have the nerve to brag about your good memory..."

Of course, Ma Qianhu didn't have the ability to remember everything he saw. The reason he could remember the landlady's slang was mainly because the shock he felt at the time was so profound that it almost made him feel inferior... Later, after studying it over and over again for a long time, he finally understood what it meant.

Isn't their only goal to maintain a local monopoly and export their products? Why are they making things so vague and incomprehensible?!
Fortunately, the proprietress wasn't exaggerating. Since opening, she had already sent twenty taels of silver as dividends to the household head. That was more than the shops directly managed by her brother-in-law, and without all the messy affairs.

So even Su Youjin became more and more pleasing to Ma Qianhu's eyes. He asked with a smile, "So, the proprietress is planning to use baijiu to create a second growth curve?"

"Absolutely! Absolutely!" Uncle waved his hands and gestured. "Selling wine at the dock is a perfect opportunity! Once we open up the market, we can expect a flood of wealth!"

"That depends on whether the merchants are willing to pay." Commander Ma wasn't so easily swayed. He smiled and said, "The merchants in town might give me some face. But the traveling merchants at the docks are from all over the world. Who knows me, a commander? We can't force them to buy or sell."

“No need for hard selling, we have top-quality goods!” the uncle said, taking out a small tin wine pot from his sleeve and presenting it with both hands, saying, “Please, sir, take a look.”

Ma Qianhu took it, took a sip, closed his eyes and savored it, saying, "Hmm, it's smooth and mellow, the soy sauce and caramel flavor is typical of your family's style."

He then frowned slightly and said, "It's just that the later part is a bit weak, and the taste is a little monotonous. It doesn't seem like your best wine."

"Lord Commander's tongue is absolutely amazing!" Uncle immediately flattered, "He speaks exactly the same words as our bartender!"

"I usually drink fine wine, so I can tell the difference if it's slightly inferior," Commander Ma said matter-of-factly. "But for an ordinary person, it would be difficult to detect these subtle differences."

Actually, he gave the Su family face because this wine was significantly inferior to Chengji's wine.

"But what if this wine is only sold for thirty coins a pound at the distillery?" the uncle said confidently.

"Thirty coins?!" Commander Ma exclaimed with a laugh, "Are you going to go bankrupt?"

"That's the distillery's business. Our Sweet Water Distillery is just a sales agent. We just add our own profit to whatever price they offer and sell it," the uncle asked with a smile.
"Does the gentleman think this business is feasible?"

"Of course we can make it!" Commander Ma finally perked up, took another sip of wine from the pot, and asserted, "This wine, even if it sells for forty coins, will be snapped up like crazy!"

P.S. Four updates in five days!!! Still owes ten more updates!!!
The monk is now spending all his time, except for eating and sleeping, writing for everyone! He can't even remember the last time he worked this hard. Does this monk deserve everyone's subscription and support?!
(End of this chapter)