A Lectern as a Teacher

Chapter 25: A Lectern to Mold Men

After Father brought the silver home, he spent a long while in a state of high anxiety. At the slightest rustle, he would scramble up to investigate, and even checking outside wasn't enough to put his mind at ease. For several nights in a row, Zi Bofeng watched as Father dug up the money to bury it, then dug it up again to rebury it. The ground beneath the large locust tree in the courtyard was riddled with pits, as if he were terrified someone might not know exactly where he had hidden his wealth.

Father was just like the miser described in storybooks. Only after digging it up in the middle of the night to count it once, then burying it back down, could he finally fall asleep. Zi Bofeng even heard him chuckling to himself: "The travel expenses for my son to go to the capital for the imperial examinations are finally enough."

As time dragged on, Zi Bofeng truly worried that Father would develop a mental illness over this pittance. He asked, "Father, why don't you take this money out, prepare a dowry for Auntie, and bring her home as your wife?"

This bold suggestion from Zi Bofeng earned him a slap on the forehead from Zi Jian: "What nonsense are you spouting! This money is for you to go to the capital for the examinations; no one else is allowed to touch it!"

As for going to the capital for the examinations, Zi Bofeng was in no rush. His greatest reliance now was the Monster Raising Art, yet he hadn't raised a single monster with it yet. The only monster he could show off was Uncle Blue Rock, but Uncle Blue Rock was just a large boulder—he couldn't move, and he couldn't be taken along.

According to the memories of Zi Bofeng's past life, money should either be spent or invested; keeping it clutched in one's hand was just waiting for it to depreciate.

Unfortunately, Zi Jian had been poor for half his life and was terrified of poverty. He refused to spend the money no matter what, determined to keep it until it grew moldy and maggot-ridden. Even with money in the house, the meals on the table hadn't become any richer.

"I have a salary, after all. Father, why are you so reluctant to spend a little more to make something delicious..." Zi Bofeng did indeed have a salary, though it was barely enough to scrape by. Father glared at him and said, "What do you know? You need money to go to the capital for the examinations, and you need money to take a wife. There are so many things that require money now... How about this? Since there is a little spare money at home, I'll go ask someone to find you a woman from a good family..."

Seeing that he was about to set himself on fire, Zi Bofeng could only retreat in defeat: "Father, I am a man destined to rank first in the imperial examinations. If you find me a wife of humble origins, won't she be unable to grace the halls, and wouldn't it be a disgrace to our Zi family to bring her out?"

"That's right, my son is a man destined to rank first in the imperial examinations; he certainly can't just marry anyone... If the daughter of a Prime Minister wants to marry into our Zi family in the future, we mustn't wrong her... Oh my, what if the Emperor recruits a son-in-law?" Father immediately fell into a state of blissful anxiety, forgetting everything else.

Cold sweat began to trickle down Zi Bofeng's back. Father's imagination was far stronger than his own. The Emperor recruiting a son-in-law? Zi Bofeng remembered that few imperial sons-in-law in history had lived comfortable lives; he would rather not suffer that kind of treatment. If a Prime Minister were to recruit a son-in-law, that might be worth considering. He was a man of immense talent and vast learning with a bright, boundless future. If it wasn't the Prime Minister's daughter, he should at least be the son-in-law of a great general, right?

The more Zi Bofeng thought about it, the happier he became. He hummed a tune as he walked out of the house, only to find Yan Lao Wu blocking the doorway, arms crossed, glaring at him with a stern face.

"Old Master, what is this for..." Zi Bofeng didn't think he had offended the old man in the last few days. Why block the door?

"The Scholar has a short memory," Yan Lao Wu said, cutting straight to the point.

"Ah, right... No, wait, what did I forget?" Zi Bofeng looked completely bewildered.

"The Scholar has truly forgotten, hasn't he?" Yan Lao Wu sneered, clearly extremely dissatisfied with Zi Bofeng. "I remember someone once saying that in just three months, he could get the children of Lower Yan Village into the academy. Ten or fifteen days have passed, and I haven't seen the Scholar open a class."

"Old Master, please don't dig a pit to trap me," Zi Bofeng quickly clarified. "I said at least three people, but some of them are truly too dull-witted; I don't have the ability to fix that. Besides, wasn't it you, Old Master, who said we would talk about this later?"

The old man blinked, glossing over the matter, and grabbed Zi Bofeng. "Since you said it, let's go quickly. Our Yan family boys are all waiting in the private school."

Dragged by the old man to the private school, he wasn't taken to Zi Bofeng's study, but pulled directly into the largest room. The children of the village, both big and small, were waiting there. One by one, they blinked their eyes, hands obediently behind their backs, staring at Zi Bofeng.

Some of them were even older than Zi Bofeng.

"Where is the private school teacher?" Seeing this formation, Zi Bofeng suddenly had an ominous premonition.

"The private school teacher? That old pedant? I've already told him to pack his bags and go home," Yan Lao Wu waved his hand. "With you, the greatest talent in Meng City, why would we need that useless old man?"

Zi Bofeng was speechless. "You're just pained by the cost of the tuition, aren't you?"

He had wanted to see for himself the legendary teacher who had managed to turn the former Zi Bofeng from a genius into a fool.

The old man was straightforward; why not save money if you could? He admitted it brazenly. "As the village head, you should contribute to the development of the village. Don't you agree?"

Zi Bofeng really had nothing to say. Even though Yan Lao Wu had dug the pit for him to jump into, the key was that he had handed the shovel to the old man himself.

"Don't worry, we won't make you work for free. In the future, I, Yan Lao Wu, will take care of the work in your fields, and I'll provide lunch for you every day."

"What about morning and evening?"

Yan Lao Wu mouthed the word "scram."

Zi Bofeng helplessly spread his hands. Yan Lao Wu didn't understand what the gesture meant, assuming he was just acting up. "Anyway, all the young ones in the village are here, thirty-one in total. You must teach them well."

Zi Bofeng looked closely and was taken aback.

All the school-age children in the village were here, even Little Stone was sitting in the front row to the side, hands behind his back, blinking at Zi Bofeng. He had been sitting there for a long time, shifting back and forth as if he had an awl stuck in his backside. Beside him, Xiao Tuozi was much better behaved, sitting straight as a ramrod, staring at Zi Bofeng with wide eyes. Although his eyes were red, it seemed he had been crying.

"Why are there so many people?" Zi Bofeng asked in surprise.

If nothing else, the fact that even Little Stone was here was truly strange.

"Which family doesn't want their child to get ahead?" Yan Lao Wu said this with some emotion. Although he only knew seventeen characters, he knew that being able to read and write was a good thing. However, farmers would rather have their children help in the fields or look after their younger siblings at home.

But after Zi Bofeng became a scholar, returned to serve as village head, helped the village avert a great disaster, and gained the appreciation of the Prefect, the thinking of these people had changed. They all hoped their own children could become village heads, too—not only would they be exempt from taxes, but they would also have a bright future.

Even Yan Wu Shi held this thought, and after much persuasion, she had sent Little Stone over as well.

Zi Bofeng could only say that the hearts of parents are truly pitiful.

"Bofeng, listen to me. As long as you can make them successful, you can do whatever you want with them. If anyone is disobedient, beat them to death, and I'll take the blame." Yan Lao Wu's words were filled with murderous intent.

However, Zi Bofeng knew that in this world, no successful person was ever beaten into greatness.

"Since you've handed them over to me, Old Master, I won't be coy," Zi Bofeng said. "Rest assured, within three months, I guarantee that three of them will pass the entrance exam for the academy."

"Actually, it doesn't matter if they don't pass this year..." In truth, Yan Lao Wu didn't have much confidence in his own kin.

"I keep my word," Zi Bofeng said.

Zi Bofeng walked onto the podium with his hands behind his back. One glance was enough for him to get the measure of the situation.

Among these people, some were his former classmates; they had no problem recognizing characters, but they couldn't understand them when put together.

Some were half-grown boys who barely knew any characters at all.

And there were others like Little Stone, unruly children who didn't know a single character. Zi Bofeng decided to divide them into three groups, corresponding to kindergarten, elementary school, and middle school.

Zi Bofeng gave a lecture first, and the people below were surprisingly obedient, listening quietly. Seeing that Zi Bofeng was truly capable, Yan Lao Wu felt relieved. "You stay here and get busy; I'll go find a few hunters to take a turn around the mountain."

"Hunters?" Zi Bofeng saw him to the door and asked in surprise, "Has something happened?"

"A big creature came down the mountain last night. I don't know what it was, but it mauled several head of livestock to death," Yan Lao Wu said. "It's been many years since any beast dared to come into the village. Could it be they've forgotten that I, Yan Lao Wu, am still alive?"

Although Yan Lao Wu's words sounded arrogant, they were grounded in truth. He had once led a group of hunters to hunt the mountain wolves to the brink of extinction, and for a long time, they hadn't dared to come into the village to wreak havoc.

"A big creature?" Zi Bofeng was genuinely worried. His family lived in the spot closest to the mountain; if a big creature came, they would be the first to bear the brunt of it. It would be one thing if it only harmed livestock, but if it hurt people...

Zi Bofeng didn't dare to think any further.

However, it had indeed been several years since such an incident occurred in the village. A good hunter could ensure the peace of an entire area. Even though Yan Lao Wu was old, his prowess remained; every day he would patrol the outskirts of the village and relieve himself on the back mountain, and the wolves wouldn't dare approach once they caught his scent. In a sense, Yan Lao Wu was a beast himself.

Zi Bofeng's heart suddenly stirred. He reached out and tapped his finger against the center of his brow, and the spinning Porcelain Shard appeared within his consciousness. In that gray, hazy world, only Lower Yan Village glowed with the size of a pinprick, and as the point of light expanded, it revealed the entirety of Lower Yan Village.

In the past, there had only been scenery within Lower Yan Village, with everything shrouded in a layer of deathly stillness. But now, upon this map of Lower Yan Village, several points of light were emitting a faint glow.

Record of Raising Monsters