Chapter 28

As noon approached, Zhou Shi prepared lunch.

Generally, farmers didn’t eat lunch, but since Mu Er Pang was studying, it was necessary to provide him with a good meal.

After consulting with Shen Cui, Zhou Shi used the remaining ingredients in the kitchen, such as cabbage, vermicelli, and eggs, to cook up a pot of mixed soup.

Before Shen Cui could deliver the food, Mu Er Pang returned from the old house.

Shen Cui asked him and learned that Lao Bu Yu had gone into town.

He had been in the county town for quite some time and had a few acquaintances there.

The day before, after the banquet, he had come to the village from town to find a suitable house, and now that he had found one, it was time to inform them.

Additionally, there was another important matter. Although Lao Bu Yu didn’t have much wealth, over the years of study, he had accumulated some books.

He didn’t have beginner’s books like “The Jade Forest of Childhood Learning,” but he often read and carefully preserved the Four Books and Five Classics.

These books weren’t rare editions, but they contained many annotations and insights he had gained over the years.

Now that he had a disciple, these books naturally came in handy.

However, since the New Year, he had been preparing to leave the county town. It wasn’t convenient to carry those books with him, so he had entrusted them to the escort agency, agreeing to retrieve them when he found a place to settle down, and he would write a letter to arrange for their retrieval.

This was something he had to personally take care of.

Having spent the whole morning reading, and with the good sunlight in the afternoon, after Mu Er Pang had eaten and rested from his midday nap, Lao Bu Yu wrote out the big characters he had just taught that morning for Mu Er Pang to practice. He would return before dark and continue teaching in the evening.

In rural households, there weren’t strict rules about not talking during meals or not discussing certain topics. So, as Mu Er Pang ate his meal, he explained the whole situation to him.

When Lao Bu Yu was absent and Mu Er Pang was finishing his meal, Shen Cui directly spoke to him about selecting a fellow student for him.

After all, the No. 2 development target would be spending a lot of time with Mu Er Pang in the future and would also take away some of Lao Bu Yu’s attention and time. So, it was necessary not only to consult Lao Bu Yu in advance but also to inform Mu Er Pang.

While Mu Er Pang was eating, Shen Cui had already prepared her argument. She thought that if her son disagreed, she could provide some positive examples and talk to him about the benefits of healthy competition.

However, Shen Cui’s prepared argument was not needed. Mu Er Pang’s immediate reaction was one of pleasant surprise as he exclaimed, “Mom wants to choose a fellow student for me?”

Shen Cui was somewhat taken aback by his response and nodded, saying, “Yes, that’s the idea. So, I wanted to discuss it with you in advance. But why are you so happy? Do you know what a fellow student is?”

“I know! A fellow student is someone who eats and lives together, listens to lectures with you, and if you get along well, it’s like having an extra family member or brother!” Mu Er Pang smiled. “Master talked about this today.”

It turned out that Lao Bu Yu indeed had little teaching experience, so he didn’t dare to teach arbitrarily. Instead, he recalled the practices of his own teacher when he first entered school.

His teacher was a great scholar of his generation. Unlike most teachers nowadays who used rote teaching methods, his teacher also emphasized teaching according to the students’ aptitude and making learning enjoyable.

Since reading books could be dull, during breaks in the morning study sessions, Lao Bu Yu would tell Mu Er Pang some interesting anecdotes from his own school days. He and Headmaster Shan Zhang were accepted as closed-door disciples by the teacher at the same time. Because they were close in age and entered school at the same time, they never had any conflicts. The older brothers who were older than them were very kind to them.

People tend to remember the good things from their childhood, so Lao Bu Yu picked out a few interesting stories to tell Mu Er Pang, and he also explained the phrase “respecting the teacher and cherishing friendship” from the “Three-Character Classic,” citing classical texts to support his points.

Wouldn’t Mu Er Pang be looking forward to such an atmosphere?

Despite his joy, Mu Er Pang still said, “We can’t decide on this matter ourselves. We have to ask Master first.”

The little guy had been studying for almost a month now, and he was becoming more aware of matters of etiquette.

Shen Cui, feeling pleased, tucked Mu Er Pang into bed and nodded, saying, “Of course. So, when Master returns tonight, I will discuss this matter with him.”

After Mu Er Pang had rested for a while after lunch, Shen Cui began to look for a candidate for the second student.

The first thought that came to her mind was the two teenagers she had seen passing by the dumpling stall on Academy Street.

The brothers were dressed extravagantly, indicating a prominent family background and no shortage of money. What’s more, one had a talent level of 85 and the other 88, making them rare talents.

Especially the younger brother, who, in order to be accepted as a disciple by Lao Bu Yu, was unwilling to participate in the enrollment at Qingzhu Academy, showing his loyalty to Lao Bu Yu.

With the reputation of Lao Bu Yu, he would certainly be willing to offer his tuition to become his student.

Moreover, since his older brother took him to participate in the enrollment at the academy, it proved that he had a certain level of scholarship.

There were only a few implicit requirements, and that young man met three of them at once.

The only problem left to consider was his character and temperament.

It could be said that if Lao Bu Yu agreed, this would be the best solution among the people Shen Cui knew.

However, the county town, though not large, was not small either, with several thousand permanent residents. Finding someone with an unknown surname was like finding a needle in a haystack.

The only clue was when his older brother mentioned, “Today is the last day of our academy’s spring enrollment,” indicating that he was affiliated with the academy.

It would be easier to find someone at the academy, but with Mu Yunchuan there, it would be troublesome if he found out she was actively contacting his younger brother. It might lead to misunderstandings.

Later, Mu Er Pang took a nap for more than half an hour and woke up. He asked his mother if she could accompany him to practice writing for a while because he was afraid he would get distracted and slack off without someone supervising him.

Shen Cui got up and went to the old house with him, continuing to contemplate the task.

Until it was almost dark, Lao Bu Yu returned from outside.

Shen Cui had restrained herself from doing the task all day, wanting to discuss it with him first. When she heard movement at the door, she immediately went out to greet him.

Unexpectedly, although Lao Bu Yu had returned, his condition was not right!

His hair was disheveled, and he carried a bundle of books haphazardly on his arm. The bundle and his clothes were covered in dust, and he looked panicked. After entering the house, he immediately closed the door tightly and peered out through the crack in the door.

Shen Cui was taken aback by his unusual behavior and, fearing to startle him again, just stood at the doorway without moving, softly asking, “Master, what happened?”

After staring at the door crack for a while, Lao Bu Yu finally let out a long sigh, turned around and leaned against the door panel, saying with lingering fear, “I… I think I saw a ghost!”

Mu Er Pang, who was inside the house, also put down his brush and came out.

“Master said that strange things happen when you’re startled. Didn’t he teach me that today?” Mu Er Pang said. “He told me not to believe in ghosts and gods, but to believe in myself.”

Only then did Lao Bu Yu remember that his beloved student was here and immediately suppressed his panic, pretending to be calm, and said, “That’s true, but today’s events were indeed unusual. Let me tell you…”

That afternoon, after leaving the city, Lao Bu Yu felt that someone was following him as he walked out of the tavern. Later, he purposely went through a alley and took a detour before going to the escort agency to collect books.

After that, he didn’t feel anything strange again and thought he had just been overly suspicious because he was dressed so shabbily. However, after leaving the city, with fewer pedestrians on the road, he felt someone following him again. By then, he was already near the entrance of Shuiyun Village, where there was a large locust tree. He hid behind the tree and listened carefully for any movement.

Sure enough, there was a series of rapid footsteps following him closely, and then it seemed like the person bumped into the tree, making a loud “thud”!

Lao Bu Yu immediately prepared to catch this person. But unexpectedly, when he went around the locust tree to look, not only was the thief nowhere to be seen, but there was not even a trace of a person!

At this point, Lao Bu Yu nervously swallowed his saliva and said, “I… I saw the light fading, and a normal person wouldn’t bump into such a thick tree. And even if they did, how could they disappear without a trace right away? The character for ‘locust’ can be split into ‘ghost’!”

His eloquence was indeed impressive. As he vividly described, Mu Er Pang and Shen Cui couldn’t help but feel a chill down their spines.

However, Shen Cui quickly reacted and said, “Wait a minute, what you said earlier about hearing footsteps while hiding behind the tree—if it were a ghost, wouldn’t it be floating? How could it make such loud footsteps? And you also mentioned feeling someone following you in the city, but that was during broad daylight. Even the most powerful ghost couldn’t move freely in broad daylight, right?”

Shen Cui’s calm and rational analysis quickly dispelled the atmosphere of fear, and Lao Buyu finally managed to calm down.

“So… what’s really going on?”