This Kid Has Something

The crowd filed into the Waterside Pavilion.

Two middle-aged men were already standing before the hall. One was clean-shaven, dressed in a blue robe, his lean frame standing perfectly straight.

The other had two carefully groomed little mustaches above his lips and wore silk, looking like a somewhat prosperous gentleman.

Seeing them enter, the mustached man spoke first. "Find yourselves a place."

Everyone found a low desk. Zheng Fa also took an empty spot in a corner and knelt before the desk.

Zheng Fa had always felt that the most nerve-racking moment of an exam was before the papers were handed out.

Like now—the Waterside Pavilion was so quiet that only slightly heavy breaths could be heard.

"I am the Madam's inner butler, surnamed Wu. This is Seventh Young Master's teacher, Mr. Shen." He pointed to the middle-aged man in blue beside him. "Today's examiner will be Mr. Shen."

Mr. Shen gave a slight nod, his face revealing nothing. Without further words, he said, "Today, we are selecting a study companion for Seventh Young Master. Your family backgrounds vary greatly."

He glanced at Zheng Fa's short shirt, then swept his eyes over the youths dressed in silk.

"Your learning is equally uneven."

His gaze lingered for a moment on the scholar caps worn by the three boys who had passed the basic examination.

"Therefore, for the sake of fairness, we will test nothing else today." He pointed at the desks before Zheng Fa and the others. "On them is a copy of the Daoist Scripture, Classic of Purity and Tranquility. I will lead you in reciting several passages. Afterward, you must write down whatever lines you can remember."

Having said that, he ignored the youths' reactions. Without even holding a book, he began reciting straight away.

The youths hurriedly opened the Classic of Purity and Tranquility before them, following Mr. Shen's recitation with their mouths as they scrambled to keep up with his pace.

"The Great Dao is formless, yet gives birth to Heaven and Earth; the Great Dao is without feeling, yet moves the sun and moon; the Great Dao is nameless, yet nourishes the ten thousand things. I know not its name, and so forcefully call it the Dao. As for the Dao: there is clarity and turbidity, movement and stillness; Heaven is clear and Earth is turbid, Heaven moves and Earth is still. Male is clear and female is turbid, male moves and female is still. From root descending to branch, the ten thousand things are born. Clarity is the source of turbidity, movement the foundation of stillness. If man can remain ever pure and tranquil, Heaven and Earth will all return..."

After reciting four sections, he abruptly stopped and said:

"Enough. Hand in the books in your hands and begin writing from memory."

The start had been sudden enough, but the ending caught them even more off guard.

The youths sighed one after another. Yet seeing his far-from-pleasant expression, none dared say anything. They obediently placed the scriptures they had not finished memorizing before him.

The Waterside Pavilion fell quiet again, leaving only the sound of ink being ground and paper rustling.

Mr. Shen and Steward Wu stood side by side before the hall, watching the dozen or so youths bent over their desks. Their lips moved faintly, but their conversation could only be heard by each other. Clearly, both possessed remarkable martial skill.

"Mr. Shen, you do have quite the temper," Steward Wu said.

Even those seventeen- or eighteen-year-old children could see the other man's impatience.

"Looking for a mere study companion..."

"What can be done? Seventh Young Master is, after all, the apple of Madam's eye, and the future Patriarch of our Zhao Family. How could we possibly be careless over those by his side? You know it yourself, Teacher—the previous study companions were all driven away by Madam."

"He is clearly the one who is unruly!"

At this, Mr. Shen's expression grew even uglier.

Steward Wu did not dare respond to that. He merely changed the subject. "This Classic of Purity and Tranquility is quite obscure. Even we have never read it. These little fellows usually read only Confucian Ancient Texts and have never encountered Daoist Scripture before. They are bound to suffer this time."

"Hmph! Since your Madam wants a good one, I will find her a good one!"

Steward Wu smiled faintly, knowing the other man was merely grumbling.

As the Young Master's teacher, it was only natural for him to feel that testing these children was using a butcher's knife to kill a chicken.

"This book was an excellent choice. Not one of these children has read it before. Who could say today's test is unfair?"

Who would have thought that Mr. Shen would shake his head slightly? "You call it fair, but I think the only ones who can rise above the rest will be those with some background."

"How so?"

"You have studied too. How could you not know? Eating meat nourishes a person better than eating vegetables; those who eat well have better memories. Besides, study brings wisdom. Those who have attended school are mostly a little smarter than those who have not."

Steward Wu knew in his heart that Mr. Shen was right.

"The three boys here who have passed the basic examination each have their own background. One is the child of a manager from the second branch, one is from Seventh Young Master's wet nurse's family, and another is the grandson of a family shopkeeper. By your meaning, Teacher, it will be one of these three?"

Mr. Shen nodded.

"But I think one boy is rather interesting." Mr. Shen was startled and followed his gaze toward the corner.

In the corner, Zheng Fa was slowly grinding ink.

"This child?" Mr. Shen frowned. "Judging from what he is wearing, he is likely the poorest among them. You actually think he has a chance?"

Steward Wu chuckled. "Compared to you, Teacher, I am ashamed of my lack of learning. But when it comes to judging people, these eyes of mine have some sharpness."

He lifted his chin slightly and pointed at Zheng Fa. "When the others entered, they were all timid and constrained. He alone, though somewhat nervous, seemed to adapt to this environment after only two or three breaths."

"When you finished reciting just now, even the three boys who had passed the basic examination were all wearing bitter faces. Only he showed no great difficulty."

"He probably has something in his belly."

Mr. Shen studied Zheng Fa carefully for several moments. Influenced by Steward Wu's words, he truly did seem to see a measure of composure on the child's face.

More importantly, he knew Steward Wu was not boasting. To be so deeply trusted by Madam and manage nearly every major and minor affair in the main branch's Backyard, the man's ability to judge people could not be underestimated.

Zheng Fa had finally managed to grind the ink.

He truly was not very nervous. During his Five Years in the modern world, he had taken no fewer than a hundred exams, large and small.

Whether he had done well or poorly was another matter, but he had trained his composure in an Exam Hall.

He was confident that, compared with the other youths, he was vastly more experienced in this respect.

What was more, this testing method was extremely favorable to him—the Classic of Purity and Tranquility was certainly difficult to memorize, but when he had first begun learning English, that had been like a heavenly book.

No matter how hard it was, could it be harder than challenging High School Mathematics with a kindergarten-level foundation?

Sure enough, though there were some words and phrases he did not quite understand, after hearing and reading along with Mr. Shen once, he had remembered seventy or eighty percent of it.

It was just that having to grind ink before writing was truly something he was unaccustomed to.

The others had all started writing, while he was still battling the inkstone.

Once he finally had ink, Zheng Fa picked up the brush, only to remember a very embarrassing problem—

He did not know how to use a writing brush!

In either world, he had never learned calligraphy.

Zheng Fa could only make do by holding it as though he were gripping a fountain pen.

Then he realized:

He did not know this world's writing.

It was not that he knew none of it at all. He had attended one year of Basic Education, after all, but overall, he knew very little.

The writing of this world was strangely similar to modern writing, more like the forms used in modern Ancient Texts.

When reading the Classic of Purity and Tranquility, he had not noticed this problem. Just as many modern people found traditional characters quite easy to read, he genuinely could understand them.

But once he put brush to paper, despair crept in.

Having completed Compulsory Education, was he going to become illiterate all over again?

"During an exam, even if you would rather write it wrong, fill the page. Don't hand me a blank sheet!" Old Chen's earnest teaching still rang in his ears. Zheng Fa gritted his teeth and began writing from memory in simplified characters.

Before the hall, Mr. Shen watched Zheng Fa write one crooked, twisted, mistaken character after another on the paper, and could not help smiling at Steward Wu.

Steward Wu stroked his two little mustaches. "I misjudged him. Where did this child get such confidence?"