Chapter 126: A Master Teacher of the Highest Caliber

Regarding business, as the weather grew colder and fruit became scarcer, the turnover of the Sweet Water Shop naturally declined considerably.

Fortunately, the long-term orders from taverns, gambling houses, and brothels were largely unaffected by the seasonal change. Moreover, under Su Lu's guidance, the foster mother developed a pre-order model, home delivery, a loyalty points system, and various promotional gimmicks like winning prizes for drinking more. This allowed the sweet water business to still net a profit of twenty to thirty taels every month.

The foster mother remained quite calm and even sent people to scour the countryside to purchase a good supply of cold-hardy fruits like citrus and pomelos, preparing to make a big fortune at the New Year temple fair!

Of course, the most important reason for the foster mother's composure was the unexpectedly smooth retail sales of Erlang Liquor.

This actually had little to do with the taste of the wine, because people buying wine at the end of the year were mostly not drinking it themselves, but preparing it as gifts for the year-end and for visiting relatives and friends during the Spring Festival.

Whether the advertising slogan "When giving gifts, give Erlang Liquor" had deeply embedded itself in people's minds, or the price being half that of Cheng's was too tempting, merchants everywhere managed to open up sales channels without much effort.

In truth, this was the power of branding. Whether it was Cheng's or the former Su's, the wine sold was simply called Fengqu Method Wine, at most stamped with their own logo for differentiation, lacking any concept of a brand.

Once a product with a distinct brand appeared, ordinary people could instantly recognize it, and when giving gifts, they would naturally choose a name others had heard of. Therefore, the previously feared "stranger unfamiliarity" did not occur, and customer demand surged intensely right from the start.

Of course, relying solely on a brand could only be temporary. To maintain hot sales, one had to rely on reputation and quality. If everyone drinking the wine during the New Year complained that it tasted bad, there would be no hope of sales next year.

That, however, was a matter for later. At least for the present, the retail merchants were moving stock very quickly, and having taken in small initial batches, they soon began repeatedly calling on the upstream traveling merchants for restock. The traveling merchants' inventory of a thousand or so catties was also quickly exhausted, prompting them to urgently hound the proprietress about when the next batch would be shipped.

Under these circumstances, Su Youcai, who was responsible for collecting payments, had a remarkably easy job. He had originally planned to unleash the formidable debt-collecting momentum from the previous year, but the traveling merchants settled their accounts early just to secure the next batch of goods sooner.

This left the "Debt-Collecting Heavenly King," Shopkeeper Su, with no chance to display his true prowess...

So for now, the year-end dividend seemed guaranteed.

Oh right, there was also something that could be considered a joyous occasion.

That was the little aunt finally giving birth. On the fifth day of the twelfth lunar month, the old master announced the good news to the entire clan: on the third day of the twelfth lunar month, the youngest daughter-in-law had given birth to a pair of fraternal twins, Xibao and Dongge!

Su Lu even went around with his eldest brother delivering congratulatory red eggs to every household...

Looking at the delivered eggs, the elder of the clan had a sudden epiphany, "No wonder Third Uncle's wife hasn't been coming back; it turns out she was with child and it was inconvenient."

"Your grandfather is truly so observant of propriety; he actually remembered the old-school rule that 'a father-in-law does not mention his daughter-in-law's pregnancy,' I think he should be the clan leader instead!" He couldn't help sighing to Su Lu, "No wonder he can cultivate so many scholars; it turns out the root of it lies with the sixth uncle."

"..." Su Lu thought to himself that the old clan elder was also quite the imaginative soul.

Regardless, the old master's elaborate ruse of "crossing the sea under camouflage" had finally achieved a full loop. It certainly hadn't been easy!

There was just a slight hiccup at the end: the clan members' enthusiasm was unusually high, and they all expressed a desire to form a group and go to the county seat to see the newborns.

Mostly because they hadn't chipped in for the youngest uncle's wedding last year, and the more they thought about it, the more improper it felt... If people said they didn't want contributions and you actually didn't contribute, you wouldn't escape grievances nor would you earn any favor.

Besides, the sixth branch was thriving fiercely this year. Now the whole clan depended on his household for their livelihood, and the thousand-household military commander had even made a definitive prophecy that their family had an immeasurable future ahead! Naturally, the various branches regretted their past stinginess and wanted to seize the opportunity of giving monetary gifts for the newborns to make up for what they hadn't given last year.

However, to give congratulatory baby money, one first had to see the baby, but how could the old master let them see the babies? Oh, newborns could already crawl all over the place? Wouldn't that scare people half to death?

What kind of rumors would spread? That after producing a child prodigy, the Su family had produced two superheroes? Was that proper? Was that proper at all?

The old master could only use the excuse that it was too far away and resolutely forbade anyone from visiting. He simply said that when the children were a bit older, they would be brought back for everyone to see, and the congratulatory money could wait until then.

After much persuasion, the clan members' enthusiasm was finally suppressed.

Yet the day the youngest uncle's family would return to their hometown still seemed remote and uncertain...

~~

Standing in the veranda, Su Lu recalled the past year and deeply felt that everything had been smooth, joyful, and peaceful. He only wished such days could endure long...

He remained silent for a long time, which thoroughly frustrated Zhu Zihe standing nearby. Finally deciding to extend an olive branch first, Zhu Zihe handed his hand-warmer to Su Lu. "I've already warmed it up. You can use it for a while."

"Thank you, no need. Military garrison youths are hardy," Su Lu snapped out of his reverie and shook his head. Would real men use such things? And share them at that?

"Our hands are our lifeline. If they get frostbitten and we can't write, how can we study?" Zhu Zihe lectured him earnestly. "We still have many years of studying by the window ahead of us. Treat your hands a bit better."

"I stand corrected." Su Lu felt there was indeed some reason to it. Although the winter in Yongning wasn't quite harsh enough to cause chilblains, writing for long periods did make the fingertips go numb.

"Take it. Write for a bit, then warm them for a bit, and you won't get frostbitten." Without taking no for an answer, Zhu Zihe shoved the hand-warmer into his hand. "I have another one anyway, so this one is yours."

"..." Su Lu suddenly realized that this fellow had been holding the hand-warmer precisely to give it to him.

Before he could decline, he heard Zhu Zihe say, "This is a token of gratitude for your guidance."

Zhu Zihe paused, then added earnestly, "I'm still not going to call you foster father..."

"I don't make them call me that either, but I couldn't stop them; it was all just a joke." Su Lu couldn't help a bitter smile. This whole mess was entirely Li Qiyu's fault as the instigator.

"Boring," Zhu Zihe remarked.

"Indeed," Su Lu nodded helplessly. But weren't fourteen or fifteen-year-old youths precisely at the age of extreme boredom?

The two chatted for a bit longer until they finally saw Headmaster Qian emerge from the study with a beaming expression.

"Oh, aren't these Student Su and Student Zhu?" Qian Huaiyin proactively greeted the two.

"Headmaster," the two bowed and paid their respects.

"Good, good. Truly talented and handsome, a matched pair of Qiao and Zhou, I wish you both a bright future!" Qian Huaiyin dropped a few vague compliments before pacing away with leisurely, swaggering steps.

"Old Qian is acting different today," Su Lu watched his retreating figure and muttered quietly, "As if he drank fake wine."

"Because my uncle invited him to serve as acting headmaster." Zhu Zihe obviously knew much more than he did and said indifferently, "Hurry and go in, or someone else will cut the line again."

~~

Inside the headmaster's study.

"Old Qian must be the one most eager for me to pass the metropolitan examination," Zhu Liu smiled at the two. "Because that way he can officially take over as headmaster."

"What's so great about being a lousy headmaster anyway?" Student Little Zhu delivered a steady and predictable remark.

"If you don't speak, nobody will take you for a mute." Zhu Liu shot him a glare.

Indeed pressed for time before his departure, he didn't indulge in idle chatter as usual and went straight to the point:

"I called you here to ask—have you decided which Confucian classic you will specialize in?"

"Do I even need to choose? Of course it's the classic of my family," Zhu Zihe said listlessly.

"Which classic?" Su Lu asked softly.

"The *Book of Rites*," Zhu Zihe replied. "The scholars in our family all study this classic."

Hearing this, Su Lu felt a surge of joy. Since the headmaster himself specialized in the *Book of Rites*, what was there to hesitate about?

He stated clearly, "This disciple also wishes to study the *Book of Rites*!"

Zhu Liu, however, said to him, "If you want to choose the *Book of Rites*, that's fine, but I must remind you: I earned my provincial graduate degree at a young age thanks to the blessing of the *Book of Rites*. Yet my repeated failures in the metropolitan examination were also entirely due to the *Book of Rites*."

"May I ask headmaster why that is?" Su Lu hastily asked.

"It's very simple. Fewer people take the *Book of Rites* for the provincial exams, and naturally even fewer have a high level of proficiency. My proficiency in studying the classics was decent, so the examiners had to select me; otherwise, the *Book of Rites* examination panel would have looked too poor," Zhu Liu said indifferently.

"But when it comes to the metropolitan examination, masters of the *Book of Rites* from the two capitals and thirteen provinces across the country all gather there. My proficiency was not top-tier, and at that point, it comes down to lineage and mentorship. There are too few renowned masters of the *Book of Rites*, and since I couldn't study under one, naturally I couldn't pass."

"Then does the headmaster feel confident this time?" Su Lu asked softly.

"Fairly confident," Zhu Liu nodded and said, "First, thanks to you, my essay-writing skills have improved considerably. Second, a couple of years ago I received guidance from a renowned master, giving me much more certainty on the major essays."

"Who is the renowned master the headmaster speaks of?" Su Lu asked out of curiosity, wondering if there was any chance he could study under him.

"He is one of the two great masters of the *Book of Rites* in the realm, the top scholar of the seventeenth year of Chenghua, the current Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites, Master Longshan!" Zhu Liu bowed northward with an expression of utmost reverence.

It was entirely different from the performance he had put on before Magistrate Lu; this was genuine admiration and respect from the bottom of his heart.

"What is Master Longshan's given name?" Su Lu became even more curious.

"The master's surname is Wang, given name Hua, style name Shian, hailing from Yuyao, Zhejiang. His moral integrity and literary works are famous throughout the land!" After finishing, Zhu Liu added with a sense of reflected glory:

"The reason I was able to receive guidance from the old gentleman is largely because I am the same age as his son, passed the provincial examination in the same year, and have even taken the palace examinations together three times."

With that, he gave a bitter smile and said, "The difference is that Young Master Wang doesn't make the same mistake a third time; he placed second in the palace exam in the twelfth year of Hongzhi, and was conferred as a second-class jinshi, ranking seventh! Yet I remain bogged down in the imperial examinations, unable to turn my fortunes around."

"Actually, Young Master Wang possesses peerless talent, and his scholarship had long matured. After failing his first metropolitan examination, Grand Secretary Li Dongyang smiled at him and said, 'Though you didn't pass this time, you will surely be the top scholar in the next cycle. Try writing a *Top Scholar Rhapsody* as practice for the next exam.' Young Master Wang immediately penned it with a stroke of his brush, winning the unanimous praise of all the grand secretaries, who all declared he had the talent of a top scholar!"

Su Lu thought to himself, yet another child prodigy-like figure with a good background and talent. He really wanted to tie him up and toss him into the Chishui River...

"But a tree standing tall in the forest is battered by the wind; those jealous of him began to gossip, saying that if this young man were to place first in the palace exam, he would surely look down on everyone. Coupled with his behavior being somewhat... unconventional, it delayed him by another examination cycle before he finally passed, and he didn't even manage to win top scholar." Zhu Liu sighed and said:

"He was truly unlucky; that examination in the twelfth year produced a notorious case. The Jiangnan talent Tang Bohu, because of drunken boasting that he was bound to be the top metropolitan scorer, was accused of cheating by someone. He ended up thrown into the imperial prison along with the assistant chief examiner Cheng Minzheng and another provincial graduate whose name I've forgotten."