Chapter 93

When Shen Cui and the old headmaster communicated, they would also exchange some insights.

But Shen Cui had only been running the school for a short time, so she didn’t really have much insight. The old headmaster also couldn’t tell her too many details.

It’s not that he was being secretive, but both of them were heads of academies, equals. He couldn’t just intervene in the affairs of other schools because he was older and more experienced than Shen Cui, as it might give the impression of lecturing arrogantly.

However, teaching his own student Mei Ruochu, the old headmaster didn’t have such concerns. He wrote down whatever he thought of.

Mei Ruochu carefully studied the teaching insights of the old headmaster. Since childhood, he could grasp anything he learned immediately.

So even though he didn’t have much experience in teaching and educating, after studying for a few days, he began to prepare his own educational plan.

Lao Buyu didn’t think he could teach him anything, so he just saw him copying “The Book of Rites” every day and thought it was his way of reviewing, so he didn’t ask much.

However, after Mei Ruochu finished writing his teaching plan, it didn’t come into use. Although the Cuiwei Academy looked simple, after so long of getting along, it had already formed its own system, and everyone knew what they should do.

After the “struggle” with Mu Er Pang and the others in the front, it seemed like they had divided up his time.

But in fact, Wei Shu and Wei Xi did their own things every day according to the previous arrangements and didn’t bother him.

The only one who really used him was Mu Er Pang, who would consult him on some questions every day before going to bed.

But what Mu Er Pang asked for wasn’t difficult for him at all. They would lie on the bed before sleeping and finish the conversation casually.

Moreover, Mu Er Pang didn’t actually wake up every night, but he deliberately drank more water before bed so that he could wake up in the middle of the night to check the surroundings and drive away the stray cats and mice that inexplicably approached, ensuring a good night’s sleep.

Both sides offset each other, so the trivial matter of talking and answering questions before bedtime was really not worth mentioning.

Later, Mei Ruochu finally realized that letting him be an assistant teacher was just a way to keep him at ease in Cuiwei.

Back in Hongle, although his classmates wouldn’t bully him, they were all somewhat afraid of him and treated him like an invisible person.

Unexpectedly, after coming here, the people at Cuiwei Academy, who had never met him before, not only didn’t avoid him, but also tried to take care of his feelings in every possible way.

Mei Ruochu felt that he should also contribute something. So he found some time and brought his organized teaching plan to Shen Cui.

Shen Cui was still busy sewing, she had already sewn three belts in one go, all of which were tied around Mei Ruochu’s waist.

She has become more proficient in making belts now. At the rate of one or two belts per day, she had already made more than a dozen.

However, it wasn’t possible to let Mei Ruochu wear all of them— not that Mei Ruochu minded; he was quite sincere.

When Shen Cui asked him to wear more belts, he did so without questioning. But the three thick belts had made his waist like a barrel, and it took him quite some effort to move around every day.

Moreover, the weather in September wasn’t particularly cold, so Shen Cui couldn’t really let him wear a dozen belts and end up with heat rashes all over his waist.

When the one-month period was up, and 15 points of luck were permanently added to his attributes, Shen Cui instructed him to take off the three old belts and replace them with new ones. She reminded him to keep track of the time and change them again in another month.

Then Shen Cui began to work on other things. She had already been recommended to start making clothes with her level 2 needlework skills.

For the undergarments and inner clothes, which she couldn’t conveniently make for Mei Ruochu, she made outer garments instead— which was perfect as he had come alone, and all the luggage he brought from Hongle Academy had been either lost or left behind.

At the moment, he was wearing Wei Shu’s clothes, which were about the same size as his, so he indeed needed to get some other clothes.

When Mei Ruochu came to find her, Shen Cui was still busy with her needlework.

Mei Ruochu knew that she had been busy helping him recently, and it was definitely not without reason.

He had indeed been less fortunate recently and really needed some clothes, so he couldn’t refuse Shen Cui’s kindness.

Having stayed at Cuiwei Academy for some time, Mei Ruochu knew that there was no need for beating around the bush here. So, feeling touched in his heart, he directly spoke up, “Headmaster, here is the teaching plan I wrote. Please take a look.”

“Why did you even write this?” Shen Cui put down her needlework and pushed her basket of needles and threads far away from him. She immediately looked at it seriously.

Surprisingly, Mei Ruochu’s teaching plan was really well-written. It was different from the teachings of contemporary educators; Mei Ruochu’s plan was very systematic.

Not only did he meticulously prepare the teaching plan, outlining the learning objectives, key points, and difficult areas, but he even included information about which sentences had appeared in exams in certain years and what questions had been asked based on them.

He also listed where it was suitable to interact with students and ask questions. Based on the learning progress and personalities of Wei Xi, Wei Shu, and Mu Er Pang, he predicted how they might respond and how to explain things accordingly.

It could be said that with this document, as long as one could read, they could simply follow it and become a teacher. And for students, this teaching plan could serve as valuable study material.

Shen Cui was completely astonished. “Did you learn this in your academy?”

If Hongle Academy had such an advanced education model, it was no wonder they could stand for two generations and cultivate so many outstanding students.

Mei Ruochu blushed slightly and said, “In our academy, the headmaster and others don’t need to do these desk jobs; they have a vast knowledge in their minds. I made this based on the educational insights of our headmaster. After all, I lack experience, so I need to prepare like this. As the saying goes, ‘a stupid bird flies early,’ which probably applies to someone like me.”

With that said, Shen Cui became even more astonished and speechless. It seemed that Mei Ruochu was a genius almost close to perfection in everything except luck, even able to produce a teaching plan that almost directly matched modern standards.

“Modern teachers need to undergo a long period of study before taking up their positions, yet he has self-taught himself and created the teaching methods of a thousand years later.”

As a modern person, Shen Cui had thought about doing this before. However, the premise of making teaching plans was to have a good understanding of the content in the books.

Her knowledge of the Four Books and Five Classics was zero, and seeing how hard Lao Buyu was working with two grades already, she didn’t want to rashly intervene and increase Lao Buyu’s workload.

Unexpectedly, Mei Ruochu had only been here for a month and had managed to create one on his own!

Seeing her speechless for a long time, Mei Ruochu continued to ask, “What do you think?”

Shen Cui didn’t know what else to say besides praising him. At this moment, she also understood Lao Buyu’s experience of murmuring that he couldn’t teach Mei Ruochu.

“If you think it’s good, then it’s settled, and I’ll continue with it.”

Shen Cui stopped her, “Although I don’t understand, I know that the books in the Four Books and Five Classics are extremely extensive. If you write out every book, how long will it take?”

Mei Ruochu calculated seriously, “The Book of Rites, five thousand two hundred and seventy characters, divided into teaching plans, took me a month from the day I arrived until today to complete. The Book of Changes is more profound and has more characters, so it probably needs half a year?”

“That won’t work either. Just writing out the nine books of the Four Books and Five Classics will take two to three years. Aren’t you going to take the imperial examination?”

“I… I…” Mei Ruochu’s face turned red. After hesitating for a while, he finally said, “I won’t take it.”

“You’re talking nonsense.” Shen Cui’s face turned stern, “What about all those years you spent studying hard? I know you’re smart, Laofuzi even said he couldn’t teach you, but don’t tell me that everything you know now, you figured out by yourself from birth, without the careful cultivation of your mentor? Your efforts, the efforts of the old headmaster, are they just for you to become an ordinary teacher?”

If it were in modern society, where all professions were equal, and Mei Ruochu had the ability to teach, she definitely wouldn’t interfere.

But in this era, to put it bluntly, fame and position represented everything. Without fame, there was no talk of controlling one’s own destiny.

Not to mention, with Mei Ruochu’s talent, if he were to achieve fame and become an official in the court, he could benefit countless people.

If Shen Cui didn’t want him to give up on the imperial examination, why would she work so hard to do so much needlework for him?

Anyway, with Fatso there, she could suppress his bad luck. She could simply brush it off and let him focus on teaching Mu Er Pang.

Realizing that she had been a bit too harsh, Shen Cui softened her tone and said, “I might have been too harsh. I’m not saying that teaching is not good, but with your talent and potential, you should have greater prospects. And I think your original intention isn’t just to be a teacher.”

“I understand.” Mei Ruochu nodded repeatedly, feeling even more embarrassed. “When I talked to the old headmaster about these things, he directly slammed the table and scolded me, much harsher than what you just said. I know you’re all looking out for me, but I just…”

In the end, he still couldn’t believe that he wouldn’t have bad luck.

“Then let’s try again. Trust me once, and I will… I mean, our ‘feng shui treasure land’ will bless you.”

Mei Ruochu thought carefully and realized that things had indeed improved recently. He only fell or bumped into things once or twice on average each day now.

Even when eating, he at most bit into a bone, which hurt his teeth a bit, instead of swallowing stones and ending up with a mouth full of blood as before.

There were also no more catastrophic accidents like starting a fire, which affected others.

“Then can I take the exam next year?” Mei Ruochu asked tentatively.

Shen Cui nodded, but after some thought, she said, “Next year, you can take the provincial and metropolitan examinations first, and then wait for the county examination… Let’s wait for a while.”

Firstly, as the system mentioned, the imperial examination required luck. With Mei Ruochu’s luck value nearing 40, a little more time would be enough to reach the pass line. It should be no problem for him to handle the provincial examinations.

As for the county examination, that was for becoming a juren, a higher rank than a xiucai. The gap between a juren and a xiucai was like a chasm, and it would require even higher luck. For now, he couldn’t pass it.

Moreover, in the upcoming county examination, Mu Yunchuan would also participate.

“He is the son of this plane, the son of luck and Son of Heaven.”

If Mei Ruochu participates in the exam alongside him, wouldn’t it be like hitting a rock with an egg? He will definitely be overshadowed.”

“Alright. Then I’ll give it another try.” Mei Ruochu nodded earnestly.

The next day, while Shen Cui was accompanying the study session at the academy, she saw Mei Ruochu still working on his teaching plan.

Before she could ask, Mei Ruochu said, “Forgive me for being presumptuous. Please don’t think I’m arrogant. I’ve been reading these books for over ten years, and I can almost recite them backward. Since the year when our headmaster said I could participate in the exam, I stopped teaching at the academy. I spend my days finding books to read and doing miscellaneous tasks. If you ask me to spend my days reading, I wouldn’t know what to read because it seems like there’s nothing I don’t know. Writing this teaching plan is just a way for me to review everything. When others take a look, they can also help me spot any gaps or mistakes.”

It’s no wonder he’s considered a genius comparable to Mu Yunchuan. When it comes to eloquence, Shen Cui really couldn’t match him.

Moreover, because of the recent smooth days, Mei Ruochu also exuded a youthful vigor. After finishing his statement, he paused with a mischievous smile and asked, “Of course, in Cuiwei Academy, we have to listen to you. If you don’t want me to write, I won’t. Should I help with some miscellaneous tasks instead?”

Shen Cui immediately surrendered. He would break dishes while washing them, scatter brooms while sweeping the floor, and even the carrying pole he used to fetch water in the morning broke into two pieces.

Although he had rich experience and could fix anything he got his hands on, and with his luck value increased by 30 points, the things he fixed could still be used, and accidents wouldn’t happen one after another. But if he were to do more chores, there was no telling where problems might arise.

“Forget it, do as you wish. Just don’t delay your main tasks,” Shen Cui said with a helpless smile.

In the blink of an eye, winter arrived, and the New Year was approaching.

This also meant that after this year, it would soon be time for Wei Xi to participate in the exam.

Although Wei Shu had passed the county examination and even achieved second place, at that time, he was a student of Qingzhu Academy, so his good performance didn’t really reflect on Cuiwei Academy.

As for Wei Xi, he had been a serious student at Cuiwei Academy for two years.

His performance this time would truly represent the strength of Cuiwei Academy.