Chapter 32

After a good night's sleep, Fang Yun felt a slight itch on his face. Opening his eyes, he saw that Nunu, who should have been in the bamboo basket, was lying by his ear, using the new soft pillow as a bed.

Nunu used her tail as a blanket, lying on her side in a very elegant posture.

Fang Yun smiled slightly, patted Nunu's little head, and got up to wash and freshen up.

Holding the order from the secretary, Fang Yun went to the Wen Hui Hall and then to the printing workshop. The five thousand books took up a lot of space, so Fang Yun did not take them out, planning to retrieve them on the first day of the fourth month and sell them to those buying the *Holy Way* or the *Literary Gazette*.

Fang Yun further refined the sales plan, and everyone began to prepare intensively, determined to make the Three Flavors Bookshop famous.

Leaving the bookshop, Fang Yun sent Fang Da Niu home and then drove to buy all the collected works of the three semi-saint examiners of the year, spending sixteen taels of silver, which was equivalent to his income for the past three years.

He also went to the Wen Yuan to buy the *Literary Gazette* and *Holy Way* compilations from the past ten years, spending sixty taels.

Fang Yun calculated in his mind that buying all the *Holy Way* and *Literary Gazette* would cost nearly four thousand taels of silver. If he bought one copy of each book in the Jingguo Academy, at 100 cash per book, totaling one million books, it would cost ten thousand taels of silver.

"The road is long."

Fang Yun drove the carriage to a secluded place, stored the newly bought books in the Wondrous Book World, and then went home.

That day, Fang Yun discussed with the senior lady of the Fang family, who arranged for him to teach the启蒙 (启蒙 means "启蒙" in Chinese, which can be translated as "basic education" or "primary education"). However, the children had already learned the *Thousand Character Classic* and the *Hundred Family Surnames*. They would start learning the classics of the saints and how to take the child scholar exams in the fall, three months later. During this period, he only needed to teach one class a day, which was very leisurely.

Although Fang Yun was grateful for the senior lady's arrangement, he did not want to receive twenty taels of silver a month for nothing. He decided to teach something else and began to compile the *Three-Character Classic*.

The *Three-Character Classic* covers many aspects, including education, history, astronomy, geography, and morality. It is easy to remember and read, and is a well-known primary education text, on par with the *Thousand Character Classic* and the *Hundred Family Surnames*, holding an irreplaceable position in ancient times.

The original *Three-Character Classic* contains a lot of content, some of which is not suitable for the ideas, figures, or history of the Holy Yuan Continent and needs to be removed. At the same time, the unique history of the Holy Yuan Continent needs to be added.

Based on the history of the Holy Yuan Continent, Fang Yun rewrote a *Three-Character Classic* of about 1,500 characters, preparing it as the content for tomorrow's class. If the reaction is good, he will continue teaching it, then quickly print and publish it to spread his literary fame and earn silver.

The wider the poetry and literature spread, the greater the literary fame, and the brighter the stars in the Literary Palace, the faster Fang Yun's talent will grow.

The next morning, Fang Yun went to the Fang family, met the senior lady, and then, led by her, came to the Fang family clan school, where the senior lady personally introduced the school to him.

The Fang family clan school is located at the edge of the city, covering a vast area, and its scale is no less than that of a small academy.

The students here have very complex backgrounds, including members of the Fang family, relatives of the Fang family, sons of the Fang family's servants, and descendants of Fang Shouye's comrades-in-arms who fought with him. All the children of martyrs were adopted by Fang Shouye as foster sons.

The clan school is completely free, and even provides a free lunch.

Fang Yun estimated the expenses and found that it would cost at least a thousand taels of silver a month, which made him even more respectful of Fang Shouye. This was true benevolence and righteousness.

There were four hundred students in the clan school, divided into three parts: basic education, primary education, and child scholar classes.

The Fang family clan school had more than twenty teachers, and the senior lady introduced them to Fang Yun.

Among these teachers, only four were scholars, and the rest were child scholars. Most were very enthusiastic and praised Fang Yun's poetry, while a few were cold and indifferent, and also cold to the senior lady.

One person's tone was the hardest, a young scholar who called himself the "city's double-eta child scholar," quite proud of himself.

Fang Yun was too lazy to deal with such people.

The number of candidates for the child scholar exams in the city each year was twenty times that of Jixian County, but the number of admissions was only ten times that of Jixian County. Therefore, some children of wealthy merchants and officials, although studying in the city, had their school records in other counties.

The competition in the city was much more intense than in other counties, so they generally looked down on those from smaller counties. Even though Fang Yun was a double-eta child scholar, this scholar did not think he was much weaker.

However, if they encountered students from the capital, people from various states would unite because the admission rate in the capital was the highest among the four states and the capital. Despite being one city, the number of child scholars was more than that of a state.

When the senior lady introduced this scholar, she specially mentioned, "This is your second aunt's nephew."

Fang Yun immediately understood what was going on.

After seeing off the senior lady, Fang Yun returned to the classroom, sat at his desk, and once again organized the content of his lecture.

Not long after, the old principal of the clan school, Fang Jingtang, came to the classroom.

All the teachers immediately stood up.

Fang Jingtang smiled and said, "Sit down, there are no outsiders. Fang Yun, you will teach the alpha class of the basic education, the second class every day, from 8:15 to 9:15. Is that okay?"

Many people looked at Fang Yun enviously. The basic education had five classes, and the alpha class was always the best, with a much higher proportion of students passing the child scholar exams. In the future, when these students succeed, the teachers will gain experience, or they can teach in the Wen Yuan, or use this to expand their social network.

Fang Yun immediately said, "Everything is up to the principal, I will follow your decision."

Fang Jingtang nodded in satisfaction, but the scholar Lu Yingnian said, "Principal, he is just this year's child scholar, although he is a double-eta, we cannot compare, but he lacks experience. Is it appropriate to let him teach the alpha class? I have been a scholar for five years and have been teaching here for three years. I am not tired of teaching the child scholar class, so why not let me teach the alpha class?"

"Lu Yingnian, are you questioning my arrangement?" Fang Jingtang asked with a smile.

Lu Yingnian's face changed slightly, and he hurriedly said, "No, no, I am not questioning Uncle's arrangement, but I am questioning Fang Yun's ability."

Fang Jingtang asked with a smile, "Lu Yingnian, how old were you when you passed the child scholar exam?"

"十九." Lu Yingnian answered.

"Fang Yun, how about you?"

"十六."

Fang Jingtang asked Lu Yingnian again, "Was your child scholar exam a double-eta?"

"No."

"Have you ever made a poem that resonated throughout the state?"

"No."

"Have you ever made a poem that resonated throughout the country?"

"What!" The classroom was in an uproar, and all the teachers looked at Fang Yun in disbelief.

At this time, the April issue of the *Holy Way* had not been released, and the news of Fang Yun's poem resonating throughout the country had only spread among high-ranking literati. These teachers only knew from the *Literary Gazette* in late March that Fang Yun was a double-eta child scholar.

Lu Yingnian opened his mouth but did not dare to speak again.

Fang Jingtang bowed to Fang Yun and said, "I only heard about your *Early Morning in Jixian* yesterday, and it is truly a masterpiece. Your presence here brings glory to the Fang family clan school. Teach well, and here, no one can say anything bad about you."

Fang Jingtang still had a smile on his face, looked around, and then left the classroom.

Lu Yingnian was silent, and the other child scholar teachers gathered around Fang Yun, wanting to know about his poem that resonated throughout the country.

Fang Yun could not refuse and wrote *Early Morning in Jixian*. These teachers were only child scholars and did not see the beauty of the poem at first. After Fang Yun pointed it out, they all understood and praised him, convinced of his talent.

Lu Yingnian did not come over but listened from the side. After hearing it, he lowered his head, deep in thought.

As 8:15 approached, Principal Fang Jingtang came to the classroom again, leading Fang Yun to the alpha class of the basic education.

Lu Yingnian and a few teachers without classes followed from a distance.

As they approached the classroom, Fang Yun's breathing became rapid. It was his first time teaching, and he was naturally a bit excited.

Entering the classroom, the first thing Fang Yun saw was a pair of bright, clear eyes. These children, ranging from six to twelve years old, sat straight behind their desks, looking at Fang Yun curiously.

Someone said, "Bow."

The desks and chairs moved in a chaotic manner, and all the students stood up, bowed slightly, and said in unison, "Teacher, good morning."

"Sit down," Fang Jingtang smiled and gestured for the students to sit.

Fang Yun looked around the classroom and noticed there was no blackboard, but there was a lectern.

The two walked to the lectern, and Fang Jingtang said, "This is your new teacher for the second class. You may not know, but he is this year's famous double-eta child scholar, the first case in ten countries, Fang Yun!"

All the children stared at Fang Yun with wide eyes and open mouths, some even gasping in surprise.

In the past few days, students throughout Jiangzhou and Jingguo had heard words like "Fang Yun," "double-eta," "saint," and "state" every day, whether in school, at home, or on the road. Every place had people talking about it because Fang Yun had broken Jingguo's barren sky.

These children, who had heard their teachers praise the double-eta and their parents talk about the saint, had long admired Fang Yun. Now, seeing the legendary genius in person, how could they not be surprised?

Some children were so excited that their faces turned red, and they wanted to run to Fang Yun and ask for a poem.

Fang Jingtang was very satisfied with the children's reaction and said a few more words before leaving.

Lu Yingnian and a few teachers waited outside the classroom, wanting to hear if Fang Yun could teach.

Fang Yun looked at the still excited students and smiled, saying, "You all know who I am, but I don't know who you are. Starting from the left, introduce yourselves one by one, saying your name, age, and what you like. Come, you go first."

Fang Yun looked at the first student on the left.

The child immediately became the focus of the class, blushing and standing up, saying softly, "My name is Song, Song Qiming, nine years old, I like, I like to eat."

"Ha ha ha..." The whole class burst into laughter.

Fang Yun smiled and said, "Good, eating well helps you grow strong. In the future, you must study hard to defend the land of the human race, because who knows what delicious things will grow on the land occupied by the demons."

The students laughed again.

The teachers outside also laughed, surprised by Fang Yun's humorous way of teaching.

"Um!" The little foodie Song Qiming's eyes sparkled, and he nodded vigorously, secretly remembering Fang Yun's words.

As 8:15 approached, Principal Fang Jingtang came to the classroom again, leading Fang Yun to the alpha class of the basic education.

Lu Yingnian and a few teachers without classes followed from a distance.

As they approached the classroom, Fang Yun's breathing became rapid. It was his first time teaching, and he was naturally a bit excited.

Entering the classroom, the first thing Fang Yun saw was a pair of bright, clear eyes. These children, ranging from six to twelve years old, sat straight behind their desks, looking at Fang Yun curiously.

Someone said, "Bow."

The desks and chairs moved in a chaotic manner, and all the students stood up, bowed slightly, and said in unison, "Teacher, good morning."

"Sit down," Fang Jingtang smiled and gestured for the students to sit.

Fang Yun looked around the classroom and noticed there was no blackboard, but there was a lectern.

The two walked to the lectern, and Fang Jingtang said, "This is your new teacher for the second class. You may not know, but he is this year's famous double-eta child scholar, the first case in ten countries, Fang Yun!"

All the children stared at Fang Yun with wide eyes and open mouths, some even gasping in surprise.

In the past few days, students throughout Jiangzhou and Jingguo had heard words like "Fang Yun," "double-eta," "saint," and "state" every day, whether in school, at home, or on the road. Every place had people talking about it because Fang Yun had broken Jingguo's barren sky.

These children, who had heard their teachers praise the double-eta and their parents talk about the saint, had long admired Fang Yun. Now, seeing the legendary genius in person, how could they not be surprised?

Some children were so excited that their faces turned red, and they wanted to run to Fang Yun and ask for a poem.

Fang Jingtang was very satisfied with the children's reaction and said a few more words before leaving.

Lu Yingnian and a few teachers waited outside the classroom, wanting to hear if Fang Yun could teach.

Fang