Chapter 25

As saying goes “ The ugly daughter-in-law was bound to meet her in-laws “ sooner or later, and Shen Cui, who had anticipated this situation, purposely stayed outside and didn’t leave.

When the room suddenly fell silent, Shen Cui knocked on the door and entered, explaining, “Master, it’s like this. My Er Pang was confined by me before. He only started studying right before the New Year, so it’s only been less than a month. That’s why he has only read three hundred enlightenment books and some commonly used characters from these three books.”

Lao Buyu took three steps back in disbelief, still wearing a face of incredulity. “But he…”

Wasn’t he Mu Yunchuan’s own brother? Wasn’t he the talent that even his senior brother wanted to recruit?

As the words were about to come out, Lao Buyu looked at Mu Er Pang at the desk.

Mu Er Pang stood at the desk, and the desk had a curvature that fit his chubby belly. Not understanding the situation yet, he took half a step back from the desk, carefully moving his belly out of the way, holding his book in one hand, looking at Lao Buyu and then at his mother with a puzzled expression.

The child was a well-behaved kid. During today’s banquet, he even knew to serve Lao Buyu with dishes and soup.

Lao Buyu happily ate the food he served, only later realizing that there was a small bowl of steamed pumpkin with red dates and white fungus, his favorite dessert, on the table, which Zheng Shi specifically ordered for him.

However, Mu Er Pang didn’t eat any of it himself, serving it all to Lao Buyu. If Lao Buyu hadn’t overheard Zheng Shi asking why he wasn’t eating, he wouldn’t have known that Mu Er Pang was secretly showing filial piety.

Lao Buyu had been mingling in the world for decades, and he had seen all kinds of people, but he had never encountered someone with such clear and innocent eyes like Mu Er Pang’s.

When encountering cunning and deceitful individuals, one would naturally want to engage in a battle of wits with them. But when facing truly pure-hearted individuals, one would hesitate to ruin their innocence.

So, the words that were on the tip of Lao Buyu’s tongue remained unspoken. Suppressing his surprise, he gently said to him, “I’ll discuss something with your mother. You read your books for a while.”

In the outer room, Lao Buyu carefully asked Shen Cui about the situation.

“If your Er Pang has just started studying, why did my senior brother urgently come to stop it?”

This was Shen Cui’s arrangement, but she naturally felt embarrassed to say it directly. She touched her nose and said, “Didn’t the Headmaster say it? He’s afraid that you lack teaching experience and might mislead the child, which could affect his elder brother later on.”

Top of Form

When she got to this point, she felt a bit guilty.

With Mu Er Pang’s current progress, even if the system didn’t insist on finding a teacher with a talent score of 85 or above, it would still be more than enough to find an experienced student to teach him. Even if Lao Buyu taught him with his eyes closed, he couldn’t possibly lead him astray.

Seeing Lao Buyu unconsciously clutching his chest and imagining himself wandering naked in the county town in the future, Shen Cui also felt a bit sorry for him.

She earnestly said, “Master, don’t be discouraged. Our Er Pang started late, but he learns exceptionally fast. Just half a month ago, he couldn’t recognize a single character, and now he’s already mastered three hundred of them. We have plenty of time ahead of us, far beyond your ten-year agreement. Trust me, Er Pang won’t let you down.”

Lao Buyu didn’t believe it would make much of a difference.

All the boasting during the day was probably already known throughout the city. Moreover, he could dismiss everything else he said as nonsense, but the words spoken in front of Headmaster Shan were different.

Talking about how he couldn’t back down now.

He could only think as Shen Cui said, that the ten-year agreement was still a long way off.

For Lao Buyu, becoming a Jinshi was somewhat difficult, but becoming a Xiucai or Juren before that was much easier. If, in ten years, he could develop Mu Er Pang into a Juren, then at least he might be able to afford a pair of pants while wandering around the county.

With these thoughts in mind, Lao Buyu suddenly felt like the pressure wasn’t as heavy anymore.

“If that’s the case, then Master Shan will have to start earlier and sleep later than others from now on. He’ll have to study a few more hours each day to keep up with the progress.” There was no need to hide these matters from Mu Er Pang, the person concerned. As Lao Buyu said this, he walked back into the house. “It might be a bit tougher, but…”

“Master, I’m not afraid of hardship.” Although Mu Er Pang didn’t quite understand what Lao Buyu had misunderstood earlier, he probably knew that Lao Buyu was not satisfied with his current progress in learning. He immediately said, “I’m really not afraid of hardship. If I hesitate or regret, I’ll strip naked and wander around the county.”

Lao Buyu

He had just managed to forget about that.

After a while, Lao Buyu shook his head with a smile and waved his hand. “We can walk together when the time comes.”

After chatting for a while, it was already dark outside.

That’s how it is nowadays, even if people have the willpower, they’re still influenced by external conditions.

If studying was like the ancient stories, where people had to study by candlelight or even using fireflies in the snow, then it would be really tough.

Like Lao Buyu and Headmaster Shan, when they were young, they faced difficult conditions, yet they still studied hard, even if it meant damaging their eyesight at night.

In the end, although he had learned a lot, it greatly affected his daily life, let alone realizing any grand ambitions. He could only take on some students, passing on the knowledge he had acquired throughout his life, and cautioning his disciples to learn from his experience.

Lao Buyu shook his head with some regret. “It seems today…”

Shen Cui said, “Master, don’t worry. I bought some candles specially for Er Pang. They’re perfect for nighttime use.”

After completing the monthly task, Shen Cui had 130 shopping points left in her account. Today, she spent 30 shopping points on stinky tofu, and after completing the cross-level task, she received another 300 points, bringing the total to 400 points.

This was the most substantial asset Shen Cui had acquired since starting her tasks.

She had promised to buy this for Mu Er Pang so he could read and practice writing at night. Without hesitation, she spent 200 shopping points to buy the specially made candle.

Mu Er Pang’s desk was a system-generated item that could serve as a medium. Shen Cui went to the desk and took out the candle from a drawer, pretending it had been prepared in advance.

As described by the system, the specially made candle looked no different from the most ordinary candles, except perhaps it was as thick as a child’s arm, much like the candles used in weddings.

Of course, a candle like this wouldn’t last for years, as it didn’t fit the rules of this world. Like regular candles, it could burn for several hours at a time.

After a few hours, it would return to the system package and could be used again next time.

Lao Buyu glanced at the seemingly ordinary candle. Reading under such a candle would make your eyes sore and even tear up in no time.

But in the end, it was Shen Cui’s way of showing her care…

Lao Buyu didn’t say much about Shen Cui’s thoughtfulness. He decided to teach Mu Er Pang for a while, planning to stop when his eyes felt strained.