Chapter 9: Did I Really Do This?
The waiter at Xinghua Bookstore came out carrying a tray of lunch and saw the shopkeeper smiling radiantly at the counter. He curiously asked, “Shopkeeper, why are you so happy?”
Seeing him about to place the tray on the table, the shopkeeper immediately stopped him, “No, don’t put it here! Don’t dirty my money box! Go away, go away!”
Seeing this, the waiter knew that the shopkeeper had encountered another interesting storybook. He had been in the backyard cooking earlier and didn’t know who had delivered it.
He didn’t think of Xingnong at all. After all, many poor scholars came to write storybooks, but few of them became bestsellers.
Currently, the most popular storybook was written by a girl named “A Pearl Covered in Dust.”
However, “A Pearl Covered in Dust” had just delivered her storybook a few days ago. Could she have written a new story so quickly?
In the past, it usually took her a quarter of a year to produce one.
But the only person who could make the shopkeeper so excited, apart from “A Pearl Covered in Dust,” he couldn’t guess who it was. So he said, “Shopkeeper, is it “A Pearl Covered in Dust”‘s storybook that has arrived?”
The shopkeeper carefully put away the half-written storybook, “No, it’s ‘Lone Star from Beyond the Heavens,’ the plainly dressed girl who came in just now.”
Her tone was full of admiration.
The waiter: “…”
It was actually her?
The waiter placed the food from the tray onto the counter that the shopkeeper had cleared.
The shopkeeper chattered while eating, saying that “Lone Star from Beyond the Heavens”‘s storybook was much more exciting than “A Pearl Covered in Dust,” with a different scope and a powerful emotional impact.
Her handwriting was also streets ahead of “A Pearl Covered in Dust.”
She just asked for too much money!
Otherwise, she could have earned even more!
That girl, despite her rustic clothing and seeming lack of sophistication, he suspected she deliberately dressed in rags to fool him, to make him lower his guard.
What a scheming woman!
She even thought of something called copyright, which he had never heard of before!
She said that all copyrights to this storybook belonged to her. If the storybook was published, adapted into a play, calligraphy model book, and so on, she wanted half of all the profits!
His first reaction was to refuse, but she simply wouldn’t sell the storybook. Without saying another word, she turned and left to find the next bookstore.
In the end, he anxiously compromised, and now he felt like he had missed out on tens of millions of taels!
If he had known that she was so scheming, he would have negotiated the price from the beginning!
Regret!
Seeing the shopkeeper looking like he had suffered a great loss, the waiter asked in surprise, “Then shopkeeper, why did you agree?”
The shopkeeper rolled his eyes at him, “You fool, although I earned a lot less, but based on my many years of experience selling storybooks, I can guarantee that the bookstore’s profits will definitely double by the end of the year. By the way, don’t tell anyone about the true identity of “Lone Star from Beyond the Heavens,” lest someone steal my money tree.”
The waiter: “…”
That amazing?
“To keep this money tree, I even gave her ten taels as a deposit, and I have to pay a thousand taels if I break the agreement.” The shopkeeper said proudly.
The wool was almost all plucked, he had to hold on tightly to the master’s belt!
Ugh, ugh, ugh.
What master, he wasn’t working for her!
It should be the money tree’s belt!
The shopkeeper laughed heartily, his appearance not at all matching his scholarly temperament.
~
Xingnong left the bookstore and headed towards White Deer Academy. She planned to take Xinghui to a restaurant for a meal and then buy some rice and flour to take home.
It was noon, and many students from White Deer Academy came out for lunch. Seeing Xingnong waiting there with a chicken cage, everyone looked at her in surprise and then whispered, “Who is that? Could it be a family member of one of the students in our academy?”
“Probably not, there doesn’t seem to be such a poor student in our academy!”
“Probably a relative coming to sponge off someone.”
Xingnong looked at the students coming out of the academy gate, letting them scrutinize her.
After a quarter of an hour, no one came out of the academy anymore.
Xingnong couldn’t help but wonder if Xinghui had already left. After all, he wasn’t here for classes but for chores, he didn’t need to follow the students’ schedule.
✿✿✿
Just as Xingnong was about to leave, a slightly surprised voice called out, “Little Sister Xingnong?”
Xingnong turned around and saw a handsome young man with delicate features showing a warm smile, “Little Sister Xingnong, it really is you. Are you here to find Xinghui?”
Xingnong recognized him as Gu Zesen, the son of the village chief from the neighboring Peach Blossom Village.
From the original owner’s memory, this was a young man who was as warm and dazzling as the sun, someone she didn’t dare to look directly at.
Because he was too outstanding!
Gu Zesen was a student at White Deer Academy and Xinghui’s idol. He passed the county level imperial examination at the age of sixteen and was the top scorer, even more impressive than Shen Zhiyuan.
Shen Zhiyuan was also impressive, ranking tenth in the county level imperial examination. Both were considered prodigies at White Deer Academy.
Both were preparing for the provincial examination in over a year.
When Xinghui came home, he would always say that Shen Zhiyuan was overestimating himself by trying to compete with Gu Zesen to become the headmaster’s disciple, and that he wanted to compete with Gu Zesen in everything at the academy.
Gu Zesen didn’t pay much attention to him.
Madam Gu was from Gu Family Village, so they knew each other.
The original owner used to call him Big Brother Gu, but Xingnong couldn’t bring herself to call him that for now, so she just nodded.
“I don’t know if Xinghui has left yet. Come on, I’ll take you inside to find him. Don’t worry, the academy allows students to bring their families in, you just have to follow me.” Worried that Xingnong wouldn’t dare to go in, he took the initiative to explain.
Xingnong followed him inside.
~
Under a large banyan tree in the academy.
Surrounded by students.
A teacher frowned, looking seriously at the two people arguing in front of him.
Xinghui’s face was flushed with anger, and he said furiously, “I did this problem! My sister taught me how to do the ‘Pheasants and Rabbits in the Same Cage’ problem, that’s why I could solve this one! You lied to the teacher!”
Hearing this, Shen Zhiyuan’s face showed disapproval. Compared to Xinghui’s furious outburst, he appeared confident, calm, and spoke properly, “As the saying goes, ‘A gentleman establishes himself through integrity.’ How can you lie? Are you referring to your Cousin Xingnong? But Cousin Xingnong is just a country girl who has never studied, how could she do arithmetic problems? Let alone a problem that has stumped all the students in our academy?”
Xinghui: “I’m not lying! You’re the hypocrite! You saw the answer on my paper on the ground and deliberately told Master Zhang that you did it! You even lied about dropping a piece of paper while getting on the carriage this morning and that I picked it up. You’re full of lies, a hypocrite.”
Upon hearing this, Shen Zhiyuan first wore an expression of disbelief and then showed a hurt expression, as if he didn’t want to argue. He said to Master Zhang, “Master, perhaps I misunderstood Cousin Xinghui.”
The other students in the academy couldn’t stand it anymore. Zhang Zichong, Shen Zhiyuan’s classmate, stepped forward, “What misunderstanding? Brother Zhiyuan, you don’t need to cover for him! His words are full of holes. He said his sister taught him? He comes to the academy every day to clean, at least he can learn a little bit of knowledge. If he had said that he figured it out himself, I might have believed that he’s exceptionally talented. But he said that his sister, who has never read a book at home, taught him? Who would believe that?”
The other students nodded in agreement, “I certainly don’t believe it. Ordinary women from wealthy families learn to read and write, learn a bit of zither, chess, calligraphy, and painting. Who would learn arithmetic? Only those from prestigious families with a tradition of scholarship. Is his family like that?”
“Isn’t Master Zhang planning to take on a disciple? Could he be deliberately solving problems in front of Master Zhang to get him to take him as a disciple?”
Listening to everyone’s words, Xinghui felt both angry and sad. He knew that no one would believe him no matter how much he said, but Master Zhang might. He couldn’t help but say, “Master Zhang, I’m not lying, my sister really taught me this.”
Master Zhang frowned. He had originally allowed this boy to listen to lessons outside the classroom because he saw that he was eager to learn. Today, when he saw him solve this problem, he had thought of taking him as a disciple, but he didn’t expect that it was deliberately done for show and a lie.
He shook his head in disappointment, “Integrity is the foundation of a person, kindness is the root of a person, neither can be lost!”
Xinghui’s heart sank when he heard this, and he lowered his head in disappointment, “I have always followed the Master’s teachings and treated people with sincerity.”
With his background and identity, no one would believe him, right?
“You should reflect on your actions!” Master Zhang shook his head and walked away.
Happy Valentine’s Day ~^_^
