Shen Cui was taken aback by Lao Buyu’s unexpected request for a loan after hesitating for so long. She looked at him with a mixture of shock and confusion, unsure how to react.

Eventually, with the system’s laughter echoing in her ear, Shen Cui regained her composure and asked Lao Buyu, “Master, you want to lend him silver? But what about the money you earned?”

Lao Buyu looked embarrassed as he replied, “Living in the city requires money, and since I don’t cook, I have to eat out every day… Moreover, before I came up with that competition idea, I borrowed quite a bit from others. I need to repay that money first. Once those old debts are settled, there won’t be much left.”

Shen Cui didn’t inquire further into why Lao Buyu had to borrow money to get by. Such things happening to him, an unreliable person, seemed quite normal.

She pondered for a moment before saying, “I’m in a similar situation. I only have a few taels of silver on me.”

Now it was Lao Buyu’s turn to be stunned. He found it impossible!

“Yesterday, in the city, didn’t Madam prepare two banquets?” he asked.

“Yes, but that was paid for by my maternal family. It was because someone looked down on our Er Pang and said hurtful things that upset my mother. To make her feel better and to show her some happiness, I agreed to organize the banquet.”

“But when I asked for a copy of ‘Juvenile Education in the Land of Bamboo,’ you managed to get it overnight. That book alone must be worth more than a few taels of silver.”

“Well… that was because I care about Er Pang’s education. I saved every penny I could. Master, don’t think about those two occasions. Just think about our daily expenses for food and clothing. We don’t seem like people who can come up with tens of taels of silver, do we?”

Lao Buyu sighed with a defeated expression. “You’re right. I got sidetracked.”

It was only his second day in Shuiyun Village, and because he was focused on catching up with Mu Er Pang’s studies, he didn’t have much time to chat or inquire about the Mu family’s situation. He had assumed that since they were planning to support two scholars, even if they weren’t particular about their food and clothing, they should be considered wealthy in the village.

Top of Form

Shen Cui saw that Lao Buyu had abandoned the idea of borrowing money, so she steered the conversation towards the matter she had been thinking about.

“But I think Master is right. You are a literary genius of our generation and also our Er Pang’s master. Leading by example is the way to go. Previously, you were forced to resort to such measures due to financial constraints, so you asked him for some silver. I know that was definitely not your intention. Now that you want to make amends, and we both have no wealth to spare, why not consider other options?”

With this flattering speech, Shen Cui smoothed things over for Lao Buyu. He stroked his imaginary beard and adopted a scholarly demeanor, saying, “You’re right. From what you’re suggesting, it seems you have other compensation methods in mind?”

Shen Cui said, “I’ve heard a little story about a person who wanted plums. Even if you give him a bag, or even a cart full of peaches, he still wouldn’t be happy. So when it comes to compensation, it depends on what the person wants. Little Fatty… Little Master wants to become your student. Even if we had silver to give him, would that make him happy? Does he look like someone who values tens of taels of silver?”

This line of thinking was what a normal person would have, so Lao Buyu wasn’t surprised to hear it. He just looked a bit awkward and said, “Madam, letting me teach another student wouldn’t be a problem for me. Little Fatty is honest and simple, so teaching him shouldn’t be too much trouble. But our progress in the mountains… is slightly, I mean slightly slower than our peers. Setting aside time might be… difficult.”

“Er Pang has to study and practice calligraphy every morning, so Master would allocate this time to teach Little Master. This was agreed upon by Er Pang himself. He felt guilty about taking away Little Fatty’s position of being Master’s students during dinner. Of course, we also need to get Little Master’s consent, as he may not have much time allocated to him.”

Shen Cui paused for a moment, then dropped a line that would dispel any hesitation from Lao Buyu.

“Master said to the Headmaster at the time, ‘If I can’t produce an imperial scholar in ten years’ time…’ You didn’t mention any names. Suppose ten years later, Er Pang doesn’t make it, then wouldn’t that be…”

This time, Lao Buyu truly saw the light. His eyes sparkled.

Indeed, when he said he would produce an imperial scholar, he didn’t specify it had to be Mu Er Pang!

Lao Buyu had competed with Little Fatty so many times and knew his level well. Even if they ended now, achieving the level of a xiucai wouldn’t be a problem. There’s a gap of two or three years between the examinations for xiucai and juren. Even if he only had a small portion of the day to teach him, in two or three years, he could greatly improve Little Fatty’s level!

Earlier, Shen Cui had felt a sense of mutual sympathy with Lao Buyu. Now, hearing this, she wished she were a man. The two of them would make great friends.

“Good! I’ll go discuss it with Little Fatty.”

“Wait, Master.” Shen Cui stopped him, a hint of embarrassment on her face. “About this… payment…”

Lao Buyu also stopped in his tracks, equally embarrassed. “About this payment…”

After a moment, they both spoke at the same time.

Shen Cui: “How about thirty taels?”

Lao Buyu: “How about five taels?”

As soon as the words were out, they both froze.

Shen Cui had thought that Lao Buyu, with his reputation, would demand the lion’s share, taking twenty taels while she took ten.

Twenty taels wasn’t just a random figure; it was based on the fees set by Qingzhu Academy. When the academy recruited students, the fee for a year’s tuition was twenty taels. Of course, for exceptional students like Mu Yunchuan, who consistently excelled in exams, most of the fees could be waived, and only a portion needed to be paid.

However, Qingzhu Academy didn’t offer small-group teaching; there were about twenty students in each class. Unless a student was highly valued by the Headmaster and received special attention, the amount of time allocated by the teacher to each student was far less than what Lao Buyu would give Little Fatty.

Her request for ten taels was to try to improve Little Fatty’s physical condition in the future. This amount was definitely considered a fair price.

Lao Buyu looked at her in astonishment, almost writing “Are you really asking for this much?” on his face.

Lao Buyu didn’t know what Shen Cui was thinking. He just thought that, as a former jinshi, he would normally charge ten taels for a belt. Since he had lost his official status and was starting afresh, and Little Fatty could only occupy a small portion of his teaching time, he felt he owed the other party, so he would accept three to five taels as a symbolic gesture.

Truly deserving of the title of the woman who managed to win herself and get him to teach for free!

No wonder they felt a sense of mutual sympathy and could become close friends!

Shen Cui felt a bit embarrassed under his gaze and lowered her voice. “It’s just… I thought Little Master would study at home in the future. Although the city is nearby, he can’t see at night, so it’s inconvenient for him to come back and forth. He’ll be staying with us for meals and lodging. That’s why I dared to ask for this. But rest assured, I have ways to help him improve his health.”

“Oh, so Madam meant this.” Lao Buyu understood and nodded. “I naturally believe that Madam can raise children very well, given how well she has taken care of Han Shan. If you can help him improve his health, even if it’s a hundred taels, it’s worth it!”

Inadvertently, Mu Er Pang became Shen Cui’s advertisement for childcare expertise.

Shen Cui didn’t feel comfortable explaining further and simply nodded in agreement. “That’s what I meant.”

“In that case, as I said before, I agree to teach the two children for free for three years and won’t charge any fees. Madam can keep the tuition fees. After all, I’m living and eating in your house, and I don’t have any expenses. You can have the thirty taels.”

Lao Buyu was unreliable at times, but when it came to important matters, he was quite meticulous. Of course, mainly because he had already taken more than this from Little Fatty earlier, so he felt embarrassed to ask for more money.

After a brief discussion, the two reached an agreement. When they went back inside, Lao Buyu explained the situation to the young man, making it clear that he would primarily focus on teaching Mu Er Pang and then asked for his opinion.

The young man, who refused even to go to Qingzhu Academy for Lao Buyu’s sake, wouldn’t care about such matters.

He had always been reserved and restrained, but upon hearing this news, he couldn’t contain his joy and wanted to get up from the kang table to bow to Lao Buyu.

That excitement, Shen Cui felt, if it weren’t for his injured legs, he might have bowed and served tea on the spot, finalizing the matter and leaving Lao Buyu with no room for backing out!

Naturally, Lao Buyu stopped him, saying, “Don’t move yet. This matter isn’t just up to us; your family needs to agree too.”

The young man nodded. “I’ll send a letter to my eldest brother early tomorrow morning.”

His face was filled with confident smiles, showing that he was extremely confident in convincing his eldest brother.

It was understandable, as the spring enrollment for Qingzhu Academy had passed, and his eldest brother couldn’t even get him into the academy. He had no say in this matter.

With the matter tentatively settled and the formalities of bowing not yet carried out, Shen Cui and Lao Buyu didn’t mention the matter of tuition fees.

However, when Shen Cui was about to leave, the young man called her back and took out a jade pendant. “My money pouch fell somewhere, and this jade pendant is worth some silver. Consider it a token of gratitude for saving my life. When my foot heals, I will prepare another generous gift to thank you properly.”

The jade pendant was translucent and of excellent quality, completely pure green without any impurities. Previously, Shen Cui and Lao Buyu had been debating over tens or dozens of taels, but just this piece of jade pendant alone was worth several hundred taels!

No wonder Lao Buyu wanted to take advantage of him. Who wouldn’t be tempted by such an item?

Shen Cui exerted great willpower to tear her gaze away from the jade pendant and said, “Saving you was just a matter of convenience. But since we’re keeping score, if the master is to teach at my house, and Little Master will need to stay here for his meals and lodging, then I will collect the tuition fees from you at that time. Keep the jade pendant; I can’t accept it.”

But the young man was persistent. “Madam also said tit for tat. I will naturally pay for the room and board. But as a token of gratitude for saving my life, you should accept it.”

Though stubborn, he could still be persuaded by soft words. So he took back the jade pendant. “Madam is right. My thinking was inappropriate.”

Afterward, the young man needed to rest, and Lao Buyu had to start teaching Mu Er Pang. Shen Cui went back home.

When she got home, she washed up and lay on the kang, then called out to the system.

【Brother System, it’s not fair for you to eavesdrop on my conversations and laugh!】

The system heard her cheerful voice and laughed as well. 【Host didn’t block me, so of course I could hear. My bad for not expecting Host to get choked up too.】

Shen Cui didn’t argue with him about this. Because her mood was indeed good. The task of finding a famous teacher was quite eventful, but this time, she didn’t have to put much effort into selecting a classmate.

The only thing she did was suggest going to the tree at the village entrance, and then she managed to save someone. It was like waiting for hares at a tree stump!

But since it was almost settled, she started looking at items in the mall that could enhance physical fitness. She had already begun planning to improve physical fitness.

Later in the evening, Mu Er Pang returned from outside. After washing up, he said to Shen Cui, “Mother, I finally remembered where I saw him.”

Of course, he was referring to the young man.

Earlier, when Shen Cui and Lao Buyu were chatting in the hall about the young man, Mu Er Pang was sitting by the kang and didn’t hear their conversation.

Shen Cui repeated with a smile, “I thought you were getting smarter, but why are you so forgetful? We were together at the dumpling stall that time, and I took you to find Teacher Lao because we overheard him and his brother talking.”

“Oh? Was it him then? I was probably too focused on Huang Juren’s question while eating dumplings, so I didn’t pay attention.”

“When did you see him then?”

“I didn’t exactly see him, but I saw someone who looked almost identical to him. He has a brother, right? That should be his brother.”

Shen Cui paused in the midst of tucking him into bed. Soon, Mu Er Pang continued, “His brother is a friend of Eldest Brother. That time at the tailor’s shop, his brother was making clothes for Eldest Brother.”

Hearing this, Shen Cui’s hands stopped.