Chapter 25

In the remaining days of the week, John met the other three tutors one after another.

The theology teacher was Mr. Ov, a pastor in his fifties from Boston. Due to the destruction of his church during the Civil War, he later moved to New York. According to Old Hunteral, he was an "upright and steadfast" gentleman, highly respected by the people.

John did not doubt this. In fact, before the Civil War, being a pastor was definitely one of the upper-class professions in American society. Even though many churches were destroyed due to the war, they remained figures people could rely on. In this era, the prestigious professions of lawyers and doctors that people in later generations would value were still relatively low in status, far from matching the status of the clergy.

Although John had no interest in Christianity, he was well aware that having no religious faith in Western society at this time was very dangerous. Therefore, he decided to study with the old pastor for a while, at least enough to get by.

The science teacher was Mr. Cole, a German who reportedly graduated from the oldest university in Germany, Heidelberg University, and now taught physics at a private school. After their first meeting, John could determine that this middle-aged gentleman, around forty, was quite competent, at least in the fields of physics and mathematics. As for chemistry, he would need more time to assess.

For John, the scientific knowledge in his head was already sufficient.

As for the last literature teacher, there was not much to say. He was a nearly sixty-year-old British old man, a typical British gentleman, but when they met, he spoke with the same London accent as Joshua, which made John feel disdainful and arrogant! In fact, he had always been puzzled as to why Old Hunteral, a descendant of the German people, would hire a British literature tutor for him. Was it just because English was the mainstream language in America?

In comparison, John had the best impression of Miss Philip. If this elegant French woman were younger and prettier, he might have even fantasized about a legendary teacher-student romance...

"Starting from tomorrow, they will take turns coming to your house to give you lessons."

On Saturday evening, at the dinner table, Old Hunteral said calmly, "On Mondays and Wednesdays mornings, you will have theology classes. On Tuesdays and Thursdays mornings, you will have science classes. On Fridays mornings, you will have literature classes. In the afternoons from Monday to Friday, Miss Philip will be in charge. She is a noble and talented woman who will teach you many things."

"Five days a week of study?"

After hearing Old Hunteral's arrangement, John's expression turned sour, as if he had just swallowed a fly. He did not oppose learning more, but spending so much time understanding God's thoughts, revisiting middle school-level science, and studying British literature and pretentious art that he might never use seemed like a pure waste of time to him.

"What, is that a lot?"

Seeing John's expression, Old Hunteral frowned and asked coldly.

"Uh... not a lot, I will definitely study hard."

After seriously considering the consequences of opposing the stern Old Hunteral, John decided to back down and respectfully answered.

At that time, workers had to work at least six days a week, and only the so-called upper-level "white-collar" workers could work five and a half days a week. In Old Hunteral's view, five days of classes a week was already quite relaxed. However, after a moment of thought, he suddenly added, "John, you've been in New York for over a month, right?"

"Yes, a little over a month."

John's heart stirred as he answered softly.

Unconsciously, he had been in New York for so long! Now, looking back, apart from going to New Jersey to witness the birth of one of Edison's inventions and the trip to Central Park, John had almost never left the Hunteral house. He spent his days fiddling with those old light bulbs and batteries, reading newspapers and ancient books in Old Hunteral's study, and he did not feel bored or lonely!

Thinking about this, John could not help but feel sad: "Does the otaku attribute from my previous life have to continue in this life?"

Of course, Old Hunteral did not know what John was thinking. His beard twitched as he said solemnly, "A month is enough time for you to adapt to your current life. However, as a man, you cannot always stay at home; you should go out and see the world."

"What do you mean..."

John was stunned, not quite understanding Old Hunteral's words.

"Do whatever you want!"

Old Hunteral stroked his neatly trimmed mustache and said in a tone that brooked no argument, "You can go shopping, to the park, to the library, meet new friends, learn to ride a horse, shoot, fence, play tennis... In short, get out of this house!"

"Yes, sir."

After a long pause, John nodded woodenly, and his expression gradually became strange, like he had just eaten a bad plum. Old Hunteral, a descendant of the fierce Germans, was indeed formidable. At just eleven years old, he was even encouraging him to play with guns...

...

On Sunday morning, John got up early without waiting for anyone to call him.

Since coming to New York, this was the first time he had gotten up without being urged. In the winter without heating and air conditioning, getting into bed at night required at least ten minutes of huddling, and getting out of bed in the morning was like being tortured!

There was no place more inviting than a warm bed on a winter morning.

However, today, John felt that getting out of bed was not so unbearable.

The reason was the request Old Hunteral had made to him the previous night. Although John was initially depressed and could not think of what he wanted to do, after a night of thought, he suddenly saw things differently. Although this era was backward, there were many things that were very attractive to him, such as riding and shooting, as mentioned by Old Hunteral. Why not try them?

In his previous life, as a poor doctor, he could not afford to play with such things!

With this mentality, John eagerly got out of bed in the morning, ready to ask the butler where he could go to play with guns. Men are rarely uninterested in guns, especially when John thought about how the guns of this era were absolute antiques, possibly worth thousands of dollars in the future. This excitement was something others could not understand.

However, when he went downstairs, John found that he had gotten up early, but Old Hunteral had gotten up even earlier! He had left in a carriage before dawn, and according to Hans, he had business to attend to across the river and would not return until the evening.

John was not bothered by this and quickly made his request to Hans, which he had thought about the previous night: "Mr. Elber, I want to find a place to learn how to use a gun. Is there a shooting club in Manhattan?"

"There is, but..."

The butler hesitated, then shook his head apologetically, "I'm very sorry, but I'm afraid you won't be able to go out today."

"Ah, why?"

John was slightly taken aback. Old Hunteral had said those words in front of Hans, hadn't he heard clearly?

Not noticing John's disappointment, Hans nodded and said, "Sir, because the telephone will be installed in the house today, I won't be able to take you to the shooting club. How about next weekend?"

"Telephone?"

Hearing this word, John was startled and asked in surprise, "There are already telephones this year... I mean, we can install a telephone now?"

"Yes, sir!"

Hans said excitedly, "You know about telephones? Mr. Stone has already installed one and says it's very convenient. He strongly recommended that Mr. Hunteral try this new thing, so I applied for one from the Bell Telephone Company. We have an appointment at ten o'clock, so I won't have time to take you out today."

"Oh, I see."

Taking a deep breath, John's eyes flickered several times before he nodded with feigned interest, "Since that's the case, I won't go out either. Let's take a good look at this so-called telephone."