Fang Xuanling Teaches at Blue Silver Village

After seeing the recruitment notice, the scholar had come to try his luck. As for whether he would be hired, he was fairly confident.

"Young man! I heard you're planning to become a teacher?"

"Yes! I just want to stay here a while longer."

"It's good to stay a little longer, but once you get to the school, teach the students well. You mustn't keep your knowledge to yourself!"

"Of course!"

As the two were chatting, Lan Xin came looking for the scholar. She hurried over to greet the old man.

"Grandpa Chen! Hello!"

"Lan Xin, girl, it's you! You haven't come by in such a long time. Have you forgotten this old man?"

"Grandpa Chen, stop teasing me! From now on, whenever I have time, I'll come see you every day."

"Ha ha! It's the thought that counts, girl. Are you here for him today?

"He's a learned man, so make sure you treat him well."

"Of course. I've come to invite him to meet my master."

"Young Master Zhang wants to see him? Then hurry along. Don't waste your time here with this old man."

After bidding the old man farewell, Lan Xin and the scholar headed for the Zhang family estate.

Since it wasn't very far, they soon arrived at the Zhang family estate.

The scholar saw that it was even larger than Old Uncle Chen's house, and there were guards on duty at the entrance. He couldn't help mulling it over.

"Sir, please follow me inside!"

"Sorry for the trouble, Miss Lan Xin!"

The two crossed the front courtyard and soon reached the reception hall, where Zhang Sheng had already been waiting for them for quite some time.

"Welcome to Blue Silver Village, sir. Please, have a seat! Lan Xin, go brew a pot of fine tea."

"Yes, Master!"

After Lan Xin left, the scholar took a good look at Zhang Sheng. He was immediately stunned by how young Zhang Sheng was.

"May I ask how old you are, Young Master Zhang?"

"You seem quite curious about my age, sir!"

"I was presumptuous. If it's inconvenient for you to say, Young Master Zhang, then never mind."

"What's inconvenient about it? It's no secret. I'm thirteen this year, and I'll be an adult in another two years."

"Hiss!"

The scholar had never imagined that Zhang Sheng had yet to reach adulthood. To have developed Blue Silver Village to this extent at such a young age, he had the makings of a born sage!

The scholar suppressed the turmoil in his heart and asked somewhat eagerly:

"Then who was your teacher, Young Master Zhang, to have taught you so well?"

"Heh heh! I had no teacher. I worked all this out myself by tinkering around. It's nothing much."

Hearing Zhang Sheng say that, the scholar couldn't help widening his eyes a little.

"And you call that nothing much! Young Master Zhang, you're far too modest. This would put many high officials at court to shame."

"If you keep saying that, sir, I'm going to get conceited."

"Young Master Zhang, you have the right to be conceited!"

Seeing that this was going on without end, Zhang Sheng hurriedly changed the subject.

"Enough, enough! I still don't know your esteemed surname, sir."

"Oh, look at me! I nearly forgot. My surname is Fang, my given name is Qiao, and my courtesy name is Xuanling."

"What! You're Fang Xuanling, from Linzi in Qi Prefecture?"

"Yes! Why? Do you know me, Young Master Zhang?"

Zhang Sheng hadn't expected it. He had only met Zhangsun Wuji and Empress Zhangsun a short while ago.

Only a few days had passed, and now the future chancellor of Great Tang had come too. Could this place have some kind of summoning power, drawing one famous historical figure after another?

"No! I've only heard of your great name, Mr. Fang. I never expected to meet you here today. It's truly a great fortune for me, Zhang Sheng."

"You're too polite, Young Master Zhang. I have no great name to speak of. To this day, I've accomplished nothing.

"I can neither serve the country above nor bring prosperity to the people below. I'm truly ashamed. I can't compare to you, Young Master Zhang, who has brought blessings to this place."

"Mr. Fang, you needn't concern yourself too much with your present gains and losses. As the saying goes, 'Heaven gave me talents, and surely they will find their use.'

"I believe your name will surely be passed down through the ages."

"Well said! 'Heaven gave me talents, and surely they will find their use.' I never expected you to speak in such polished phrases, Young Master Zhang. Those words went straight to my heart."

Zhang Sheng hadn't expected that casually quoting a line of poetry from a later age would make Fang Xuanling so excited.

The Immortal Poet was indeed the Immortal Poet. His poems were classics in any age.

Just as the two of them were finding more and more common ground in their conversation, Lan Xin brought the tea.

"Come, Mr. Fang! This is mountain spring tea I specially prepared. Please have a taste!"

"Then I'll make a fool of myself!"

Fang Xuanling picked up the teacup and took a small sip. The fragrance of tea filled his mouth.

It tasted better than any tea he had ever drunk, and it also had the effect of refreshing the mind.

"Fine tea! Truly fine tea! Today I've finally seen it for myself.

"This really is a treasure land. Otherwise, how could such a fine thing come from it?"

"I wouldn't call it a treasure land. I merely made some improvements to them, which is why they seem a little extraordinary."

"How many people in this world have such ingenious ideas as you, Young Master Zhang? I don't suppose there are any, or we wouldn't be able to see such things only here."

Fang Xuanling's praise left Zhang Sheng a little embarrassed. After all, he knew how much talent he actually had. He was merely benefiting from having been reborn from a later age.

The two had a pleasant chat, and in the end, Fang Xuanling stayed for a meal at Zhang Sheng's. During the meal, Fang Xuanling also brought up the school.

After all, he would be teaching there for a while, so he wanted to ask what the situation was.

Zhang Sheng had nothing to hide. He simply thought it was better for people to learn more.

They didn't have to become the top scholar in the imperial examinations, but they should at least be able to recognize more than a single character. It would be somewhat embarrassing to admit otherwise.

Of course, Zhang Sheng funded the school himself, and the students could also eat a free lunch there.

There were benefits aplenty, all to encourage more villagers to send their children to school.

After meeting with Zhang Sheng, Fang Xuanling took up his post.

Because he was so famous in later ages, Zhang Sheng directly entrusted the management of all the school's affairs to him.

Of course, he also raised his salary directly to five strings of cash a month. That counted as spending heavily to recruit talent.

On Fang Xuanling's first day at the school, the first thing he did was receive his teaching materials:

A copy of the Hundred Family Surnames, a copy of the Thousand Character Classic, and a book called Mathematics.

When Fang received his books, he was extremely curious. He knew the Thousand Character Classic; it was a primer for young learners.

But it was his first time seeing the Hundred Family Surnames and Mathematics.

He opened the Hundred Family Surnames to see what was inside and found that it introduced various surnames.

Zhao, Qian, Sun, Li, and so on. Fang Xuanling's eyes lit up. The Hundred Family Surnames was also a primer for young learners, one that could be passed down to later generations.

The future chancellor of Great Tang grew excited at once. He immediately turned to the other book, eager to see whether it too was a wonder.

When he opened the book, its contents immediately drew him in.

He discovered that it was all about arithmetic, explained simply and clearly. With just a little effort, anyone could master it well.

"A genius! Truly a genius! Someone who can explain arithmetic so thoroughly

"must have attained the very pinnacle in this field. I'd really like to meet the person who wrote it."

Just as Fang Xuanling was thrilled by the two books, a teacher from the same school came looking for him.

"You're Mr. Fang, aren't you? I'm the teacher in charge of logistics here. I'll take you to your office."

"Oh, sorry for the trouble!"

"It's no trouble. Young Master Zhang has already instructed us to listen to you more on school matters from now on, Mr. Fang."

"Let us encourage one another!"