Volume 1 In the Countryside Chapter 28 Provoking
"Please forgive me, old sir. We were disrespectful and offended before."
If Zhu Ying had not smiled and deliberately treated him with respect as a senior teacher, if the two maids Zhan Jin and Liu Yin had not stood by and fanned him respectfully, and if Lu Sanlang had not been so ecstatic when he praised him, Zhang Shou was sure that the three dandies who had just barged in would never stand there obediently, bow and kowtow, and sincerely apologize.
Not to mention commenting on Lu Sanlang, Zhang Chen, Zhang Lu and Zhang Wu in a didactic tone, on the contrary, after his false face was exposed, the outcome was definitely extremely unfortunate.
He chuckled and said, "Ignorance is not a crime. Since you have no affinity with mathematics, please go back, the three of you."
Zhang Chen's face suddenly became ugly, especially when he saw Zhu Ying glaring at him, he regretted it even more. But at this moment, he heard Lu Sanlang speak.
"Sir, how can you let them off so easily? They trespassed here without permission and spoke such outrageous words. How can we not punish them?"
As if he didn't notice the Zhang brothers and Zhang Chen's livid faces, Zhang Shou said calmly, "Oh, Sanlang Lu, how do you think I'll be punished?"
Two days ago, the old gentleman's words "How do you know I want to be famous?" choked him to death. He realized that he was truly a noble and elegant man who did not seek fame or wealth. Lu Sanlang had been thinking about how to persuade him to change his mind. Now that the three dandy guys have come to his door, how could he let go of such a good opportunity?
His eyes rolled, and he immediately said confidently: "My disciples like mathematics, so they come to study under me. These three are ignorant and know nothing, so I will punish them by making them copy the problems they took down but couldn't solve a hundred times! However, since teachers teach everyone, why not let them stay and be influenced by them? As for the tuition, I will treat it the same as my disciples!"
Zhang Shou knew that Lu Sanlang was very smart, but he didn't expect that this guy would not give up the idea of letting him recruit disciples and become famous in the capital.
Not to mention that his current personality is that of a hermit who is indifferent to fame and fortune, even his original intention was just to use difficult questions as bait to get these people to stay at his place at a high price, and he never thought of opening a lecture hall for the dandy.
Therefore, he immediately frowned and scolded: "Nonsense! I told you not to mention taking a disciple again!"
However, he had just opened his mouth to refuse when Miss Zhu took over the conversation the next moment.
"Just the three of them, they also want to follow the teacher to learn mathematics?" Zhu Ying deliberately frowned, with a look of disdain on her face, "They can't solve a single problem, they are worse than me!"
As flamboyant as they were when they first arrived, Zhang Lu and Zhang Wu were now as honest as they were now, but this did not include Zhang Chen, who had been spoiled since childhood. At this moment, he was first provoked by Lu Sanlang, and then heard the old man who Zhu Ying also respected refused. When Zhu Ying actually looked down on the three of them, he, who was originally a little hesitant, suddenly exploded.
"If Lu Zhutou can learn, why can't I? I also paid for Zhang Lu and Zhang Wu's tuition! Old sir, don't be fooled by Lu Zhutou. No one knows better than me how much stuff he has in his belly. Compared with his fat belly, I have been studying with my father since I was a child, so I have a much better foundation than him..."
Zhu Ying was afraid that Zhang Shou would refuse, so she immediately said angrily, "Master, you didn't easily accept people in the past, let alone accept tuition fees. It was because Lu Sanlang insisted on staying and insisted on paying some tuition fees that you had no choice but to accept him to see what happens next. If you are willing, you can pay the same tuition fees as Lu Sanlang. If you don't want to, forget it ."
Zhang Chen was immediately overjoyed and responded without thinking: "Yes, of course!"
At this time, Lu Sanlang sneered and said, "It's not that easy for the three of you to get in. Studying is one thing, but living here is not free."
As expected, Zhang Chen was not happy this time: "You still charge money for these bamboo houses that are windy on all sides?"
"Sir, you are a man of high character, why would you care about money?"
Seeing Lu Sanlang looking at him with fanaticism and admiration while he spoke, Zhang Shou couldn't help but feel a headache.
Not to mention that this fat boy is really into the role, just the combination of Lu Sanlang and Zhu Ying is simply a mess!
Lu Sanlang still said confidently: "The teacher has already made a rule. If you solve one problem, you can stay for one day. If you solve two problems, you can stay for two days, and so on. I have already solved two problems before. As long as you can solve more problems, I can continue to stay for free! As for you... Hehe, if you can't solve it, I will pay you ten taels of silver a day. This is to encourage you to study hard!"
If the veil wasn't covering his face, Zhang Shou felt that his expression of choking would be very interesting.
Zhu Ying, the eldest daughter of the Duke's Mansion, and Lu Sanlang, the son of the Minister, are even more evil than a country boy like me who is only interested in making money!
This time, before Zhang Chen could even open his mouth, Zhang Lu and Zhang Wu grabbed his arms and dragged him to the side.
Zhang Lu lowered his voice and said, "Brother Chen, that Lu Zhutou is deliberately forcing us with words, hoping to drive us away. Think about it, Miss Zhu obviously respects this old gentleman. If he stays here alone, wouldn't he be the first to get the moon?"
Seeing Zhang Chen's expression change drastically, Zhang Wu on the side also chimed in: "Brother Lu is absolutely right, Brother Chen, don't be fooled by him! If Lu Zhutou can learn it, why can't we... no, why can't you?"
As the only son of Duke Qin, Zhang Chen had everything he wanted. His father didn't care about anything, and his mother always gave in to him. The only thing he was controlled by was women. He only had a gentle and obedient maid... but she was not a concubine, so he couldn't touch her! Therefore, he was purely rebellious towards Zhu Ying, who was known as the most beautiful woman in the capital, but had a hot temper and was not easy to mess with.
His mother doesn't want a hot-tempered daughter-in-law like Zhu Ying at all...
Therefore, after being instigated by the two lackeys, he turned around and shouted fearlessly: "Okay, I accept it! Lu Zhutou, with your little ability, you still want to fight me, you better clean your neck and wait!"
Lu Sanlang smiled, revealing his bright white teeth: "Then I'll wait and see! I won't use the fact that I entered the school two or three days earlier to pressure you. I'll take you to choose the bamboo houses that the three of you can live in. If you can't solve the problem, then I'll owe you money and pay you back later!"
When Lu Sanlang led the way in a heroic and high-spirited manner, the Zhang trio followed with gloomy faces. Before leaving, Zhang Chen took the lead and saluted him. Zhang Shou could not help but observe a moment of silence for the three dandy guys.
He could almost foresee the miserable future of the Zhang trio - Qi Liang's progress in teaching Lu Sanlang was quite astonishing. In Qi Liang's unwilling words, compared with him and Deng Xiaodai, Lu Sanlang's talent in mathematics was even more outstanding. With just those two hundred questions, it would probably take only a few days for someone to be able to apply what they have learned to other situations.
After all, those are far from the same elementary school application questions...
Unless all these playboys in the capital are rare mathematical geniuses, Zhang Chen and the other two will be tortured if they stay here!
At this moment, Zhang Shou heard a strange thumping sound. He looked in the direction of the sound and saw Zhu Ying sitting on the bamboo couch, pounding the smooth couch surface with her pink fists.
"If they don't leave, I really can't help it. Oh, my stomach hurts from laughing... I really want to see what their faces will look like ... Lu Zhutou is so smart, and Zhang Chen and the other three are hopelessly stupid... No wonder Dad always says that these noble children are getting worse with each generation!"
Ever since he met Zhu Ying, Zhang Shou discovered that she always had this kind of innocent demeanor, saying whatever she wanted to say and laughing whenever she wanted to laugh, lively, bright, and free.
He was originally in a rather depressed mood, but now he could not help but laugh and said, "In troubled times, heroes emerge; in peaceful times, dandies emerge; that is how things are in the world. But if this continues, will this Cuijun Room become a dandy lecture hall? There are already four of them!"
"What's wrong with that?" Zhu Ying sat up straight, wiped the tears from her laughter, and still looked radiant. "From now on, when those guys in the capital see Ah Shou, they will bow and call you sir. I think it's perfect!"
Well, the handsome Zhu Junzi was followed by a group of noble disciples with bulging chests and bulging bellies who looked very arrogant. That scene was really nice.
Just like Lu Zhutou said, those old men in the court are all too arrogant. If Zhang Shou really wants to climb up step by step, his elegant demeanor like a banished immortal will be worn away little by little in real life. It’s boring just to think about it!
Rather than being a high-ranking official who is second only to the emperor, it would be better to be a teacher respected by everyone like a certain grandfather... Yes, as long as those playboys in the capital knew that Zhu Ying respected a great hermit here, they would surely come to her in droves!
Thinking of this, she smiled at Zhang Shou and said, "Ah Shou, don't worry, more people will call you sir in the future!"
Faced with such a confident young lady, Zhang Shou suddenly had a very bad premonition.
His original simple plan of killing the fat sheep has been tampered with and turned into a mess. What else does Zhu Ying want to do?
