Chapter 23: The All-in-One E-Classroom (2)
Ever since Chen Bai sent Qi Zheng a sleepy animated sticker, every voice message Qi Zheng sent him was followed by an emoji or sticker.
Chen Bai sighed. “If I’d known, I wouldn’t have taught Qi Zheng how to send animated stickers.”
What kind of messy, eye-searing nonsense was he sending?
A perfectly good ice-block face somehow felt like it was developing down the path of a dumbass youth. He had even started battling Chen Bai with reaction images.
However, the next day, Qi Zheng was quite straightforward when it came to paying.
The steward beside him looked as if his eyes were turning green. That was three hundred taels of gold.
It was indeed a huge sum. Qi Zheng asked, “How exactly do you plan to build that multifunctional electronic classroom you said can teach immortals?”
Chen Bai answered him directly with action.
He went to a department in Shangjing that specialized in construction and negotiated the deal.
Only, Qi Zheng’s whole mood turned bad, because no matter how he looked at it, what they were building was just an ordinary schoolhouse. It would not cost much money at all.
Qi Zheng looked at the banknotes Chen Bai had put away. “Is it too late for me to regret this now?”
Chen Bai nearly burst out laughing. What a stingy Qi.
He replied, “Relax. I’ll help you earn it back.”
Chen Bai was not saying that casually. Although he had technically invested skills into Qi Zheng’s breeding and planting industries, he would not receive any share of the profits for at least five or six months.
Right now, he was so poor his pockets practically jingled with emptiness.
So besides setting up three years of compulsory education, he also had to charge extremely high tuition fees.
For the rest of the time, Qi Zheng kept staring at Chen Bai, probably hoping Chen Bai would suddenly grow a conscience and return at least a little of the money. Who tricked someone right in front of their face like this?
But unfortunately, demons had no hearts.
The steward beside them: “…”
After the deal was settled, Chen Bai hesitated for a moment, because they still had to choose a site and so on.
But recently, he had appeared far too frequently as “Mountain Lord.” Just now, when he appeared, he had even noticed a few suspicious signs in the crowd.
If Crown Prince Jiao had not cared about some insignificant nobody before, now Chen Bai had defeated him four times in a row and turned him into the talk of Shangjing. If Crown Prince Jiao still made no move, even Chen Bai himself would not believe it.
The reason he could act without restraint against Crown Prince Jiao was because of Mountain Lord’s untraceable identity. So that identity absolutely could not be exposed.
Chen Bai thought to himself that “Mountain Lord” should avoid appearing in public as much as possible from now on, lest he capsize in a gutter. If Crown Prince Jiao was pushed into desperation, he might do something unexpected.
Qi Zheng arranged to go with the demon to his fief to choose a site for the schoolhouse and, along the way, check the grape planting on the mountain.
In the end, after the demon temporarily left for a while, the one who came back was Chen Zixiu…
Chen Bai waved the banknotes in his hand. “Mountain Lord has to undergo another tribulation recently, so he asked me to accompany Your Highness. He also told me to keep an eye on the schoolhouse matters for now.”
Qi Zheng: “…”
The money he had just given that demon had actually been handed over to Chen Zixiu in the blink of an eye…
Chen Bai explained, “If Your Highness has any requirements, I will relay them to Mountain Lord one by one.”
Qi Zheng neither agreed nor disagreed. In any case, along the way, he did not say a single word. He was as cold as a stone.
In Qi Zheng’s heart, Chen Zixiu was a useless, man-loving cut-sleeve, a coward who did not even dare speak up when wronged.
How could that demon have no standards at all when choosing a believer?
When Chen Bai wanted to buy a flatbread by the roadside, Qi Zheng shot him a cold glance. Chen Bai’s hair nearly stood on end, and he quickly took out his own broken silver to show he was spending his own money and not using public funds.
Boohoo. He would not even buy him a flatbread.
Sure enough, the street rumors were true. His personality was moody and unpredictable.
Did anyone know what it felt like to accompany an ice block?
Chen Bai felt like he was about to develop psychological trauma.
Throughout the entire process, Qi Zheng wore only one expression: Don’t come near me. Don’t speak to me. Just stand humbly at the side.
Chen Bai: “…”
A person like this deserved to have no friends.
The location for the schoolhouse was chosen at the foot of the mountain where two peaks met. One of those peaks was the rabbit mountain.
Between the two peaks flowed a small stream. The environment felt quite nice. They could even see rabbits running to the stream to drink water.
The entire process of choosing the site was very compact, without wasting even a quarter of an hour.
Chen Bai curled his lip. As if anyone cared to spend more time with an ice block.
Qi Zheng was probably thinking the same thing: who would want to spend time with a dead cut-sleeve? Not even half a moment.
So after checking the grape trellises that were being built, they returned, leaving the construction workers there to take measurements. Once the cost of the necessary materials was calculated, the bill would naturally be submitted.
After separating from Qi Zheng, Chen Bai finally let out a breath. “I nearly froze to death.”
Recently, chatting with Qi Zheng online had almost made him forget Qi Zheng’s real personality.
The internet truly was a marvelous thing.
When getting to know someone through the internet, one really had to be careful, because… they might be completely different from how they were in real life. Chen Bai had now experienced this deeply. A lesson from the past, sincere advice from the heart.
Chen Bai returned home, but the matter was not over. As for the construction, at most he would review things, then pay the money. He truly did not understand ancient architecture.
But he had to handle enrollment personally.
Thinking of enrollment improved Chen Bai’s mood a little, because… he was going to collect tuition fees. For a penniless person, this was an incredible matter.
The next day, a board appeared at the entrance of Shangjing Academy. Written on it was an enrollment notice.
This notice mainly announced two things.
The first was that Qi Zheng’s fief was urgently building a schoolhouse and was now recruiting children from refugee families between the ages of eight and thirteen for three years of compulsory education.
The learning content would mainly be basic subjects like literacy and arithmetic. Each family was limited to one spot.
This was an extraordinary thing. Even if it was only literacy and arithmetic, being able to write letters for commoners and such was already far better than being a tenant farmer.
The condition was that the refugee household had to move its household registration to Qi Zheng’s fief.
At present, Qi Zheng’s fief was still barren mountains and wilderness, with farmland almost equal to none. In addition, the ancient attachment to one’s homeland was extremely strong. It depended on how they would choose.
Just this first item on the enrollment notice had already caused a great stir.
The fifth question set by Duke Gan at the previous banquet had already spread throughout Shangjing. Qi Zheng was building a schoolhouse in his fief and implementing this so-called three years of compulsory education for the sake of the fifth question?
It did indeed seem like an impressive method. When the Crown Prince of Zhao and his envoys arrived, perhaps they really would praise it.
“If the other regions of our Great Qian could also implement this three years of compulsory education, would scholars from other countries still be able to say we are uncivilized?”
Of course, that was impossible.
The reason was simple: they could not afford it.
Qi Zheng could implement it because his fief did not have a single household to begin with. Even so, there was still the restriction of one spot per household.
In other places, there were hundreds and thousands of children with no books to read. Even building the schoolhouses alone would be impossible.
“What a pity.”
But this method, this idea alone, made many old scholars so excited their hands trembled. They kept muttering, “What a good three years of compulsory education…”
Others might have only seen the immediate benefits, but from it, they saw a possible direction for the development of Great Qian’s culture and education.
Yet they could not help sighing, “Difficult, difficult, difficult!”
It was likely that very soon, this three years of compulsory education would spread throughout all of Shangjing and even reach the court. Of course, such an idealized policy could only make people gaze at it and sigh.
Although it was impossible to truly promote it throughout Great Qian, such a romantic and idealistic vision would surely haunt those old officials who had worried their hair white over the development of culture and education.
It would also surely draw their eyes toward Qi Zheng’s fief, the only place implementing this strategy.
In Chen Bai’s words, Qi Zheng’s schoolhouse was a test field. Everyone would instinctively observe how it would develop.
Of course, it was still too early to say those things now.
If the first item of enrollment showed the crowd novelty and hope, the second item left them utterly confused.
It was also enrollment for the schoolhouse Qi Zheng was building.
But the students it recruited were different.
“Rest-Day Interest Class Enrollment:
Class time: Shangjing Academy rest days.”
There was no choice. Chen Bai was still a student of Shangjing Academy, so he could only teach on rest days.
Rather than call Chen Bai’s enrollment a formal class, it was more like a summer camp.
“Learning content: teaching according to interest.
Instructor: Mountain Lord.
Tuition: ten taels of gold per year.”
When they saw the second part of the enrollment notice, countless people were baffled.
What was an interest class? And what did teaching according to interest mean?
Ten taels of gold a year?
Surely “gold” had been mistakenly written instead of “silver.” If it was taught by that first retainer of Prince Zheng’s household, ten taels of silver would be worth it, even though there were only so many rest days in a year.
But ten taels of gold?
No one was stupid enough to pay that. Besides, it was not even clear what would be taught.
Wasn’t this just a joke?
Outside Shangjing Academy, a group of people were completely baffled by this strange “enrollment notice.”
When Qi Zheng arrived, some people even gathered their courage and went up to ask him about it.
Qi Zheng: “…”
What was that demon playing at now?
Still, he vaguely responded with a few “mm”s. “That’s how it is.”
The crowd grew even more confused after hearing him.
Of course, everyone thought it was a joke and did not really take it seriously. But they did treat it as gossip and spread it everywhere.
Because it was so strange, the news spread extremely fast. Those who heard it simply did not believe it and laughed together. How could there be such fools in the world?
But…
There really were fools.
For example, Chen Xiaobu’s classroom had already exploded into chaos.
“I want to sign up.”
“I do too.”
Because the last line of the notice said, “The student who places first in the year-end assessment will receive an exotic beast from Young Master Bai of the Chamberlain for Law Enforcement’s Estate.”
Why was Chen Bai’s name on a matter concerning Qi Zheng’s fief?
Those who saw it were not actually too surprised. No one knew who had spread the story that the reason Young Master Bai had not been punished was because Prince Zheng had intervened.
The person who spread it probably wanted to drag Qi Zheng down with Chen Bai and have them condemned together. But who could have known that later, news would spread that there had been a twist in Chen Zixiu’s case? Only then did the matter fade away. Otherwise, once this spread through the marketplace, Qi Zheng would have been somewhat affected.
Just this reward alone had already driven Chen Xiaobu’s classroom crazy.
“Shang Jujiu, Shang Zhizhou, why are you two signing up? Don’t you already have dogs?”
“And Gan Thirteen, why are you joining in too?”
With one more competitor, the chance of getting an exotic beast decreased.
In the end, Shang Jujiu and Shang Zhizhou snorted. “We want to raise one more. So what?”
Gan Xin also nodded his little head.
They had become addicted to raising dogs. Whether eating, sleeping, or attending class, they wanted to keep their dogs beside them at all times.
“I heard there are only a few spots in total.” No one knew who suddenly said this.
Before everyone could react, the teacher happened to walk in.
They each returned to their seats.
But suddenly, one student clutched his stomach. “Master, my tummy hurts. I need to ask for leave. If I don’t go home right now, I’ll die.”
The teacher was startled.
If something happened to these second-generation young masters, it would be a serious matter. He quickly called an academy attendant to take the student away and could not avoid offering a few concerned words.
Only, as soon as that student left the classroom, he ran so fast it was as if his feet were stepping on wind-and-fire wheels. He did not look sick at all. His little face was even flushed with excitement.
Not only was the teacher stunned, but the group of students was also dumbfounded.
But suddenly, another student cried, “Master, master, my forehead hurts. I also need to ask for leave. If I don’t go home, I’ll die too.”
After he said that, he ran straight out without caring about anything else.
He left behind a pile of jaws that had practically dropped to the floor.
At that moment, the gentle and refined Gan Xin suddenly said as well, “Master, my family’s Second Aunt is giving birth to a little brother today. I need to go home and see.”
“Wasn’t your Second Aunt only just confirmed pregnant?” The teacher’s face turned black. She had only been confirmed pregnant a few months ago, and she could already give birth?
Gan Xin’s face turned red. “Any-anyway, I have to go home now. Otherwise, I’ll die too. If I die, teacher, your sin will be great.”
Teacher: “…”
Someone else giving birth, and you will die?
Gan Xin could no longer care about that much. He led his Old English Sheepdog and ran outside. As he ran, he shouted excitedly, “I want to sign up! I want to sign up! Save me a spot!”
The classroom was silent for a moment, then exploded like a nest that had been kicked over. “How shameless! He actually wants to sneak off and sign up while we’re still in class.”
“Teacher, my foot hurts…”
“My Second Aunt is giving birth to a little brother too.”
“Teacher, I’m already dead. I need to go home and tell my family…”
The master watched as one student after another ran away on their little legs, moving faster than anything, and he was so angry he almost lost his temper. “Where exactly are all of you going?”
“To sign up! Mountain Lord’s class has limited spots. If we go late, there’ll be nothing left.”
Teacher: “…”
However, the people Chen Bai had arranged for Qi Zheng to wait at the registration point did not send back any news.
Because when those little radishes went home to ask for money to sign up, they nearly got beaten.
Just a moment ago, their parents had still been talking to others about how there could possibly be such fools in the world. Ten taels of gold to study something that was not even clearly explained—how could anyone possibly go?
And then their own foolish sons came home with excited faces.
Ten taels of gold was no small sum even for the nobility. They could afford it, but it was not the kind of money they could spend without blinking.
But now the whole of Shangjing was watching this as a joke. How could they possibly be the first fools to step forward?
Chen Bai waited an entire day without receiving any news.
After thinking for a moment, he roughly understood the reason.
No one wanted to be the first person to eat the crab.
He was not in a hurry either. After all, the schoolhouse had only just begun construction. Even if they rushed the work, it would still take ten days to half a month. Ancient buildings were basically single-story structures, so they did not take too long to build. Since Prince Zheng had ordered it to be built urgently, they would surely pay even more attention and work even faster.
Chen Bai thought for a while, then specially went to Chen Xiaobu’s courtyard.
That little fellow was actually playing on his skateboard alone in the courtyard, having the time of his life.
Chen Bai sat down on a stone stool in the courtyard. On the table were pastries and tea prepared by the servants for Chen Xiaobu.
At that moment, Chen Xiaobu ran over as well. “Brother, look, am I good at skating?”
Honestly, the little fellow was skating quite well now. He looked rather decent at it. He was a clever little imp.
Chen Bai said, “I signed you up. It’s Mountain Lord’s class at Prince Zheng’s estate.”
Chen Xiaobu froze. “Brother, where did you get the money? Didn’t Father cut off your monthly allowance?”
After saying that, the little clever ghost picked up a pastry from the table and stuffed it toward Chen Bai’s mouth. “Brother, am I your real little brother or not?”
Chen Bai smiled. This child was about to start acting up. He gave a nasal “Mm.”
“Then I can go to Mountain Lord’s class, but you have to give me an exotic beast.”
He had been craving one for a long time, but he already had his skateboard, so he had been a little too embarrassed to ask.
Today, he had finally seized his chance. “Prince Zheng’s fief is so far away. Going back and forth will be so tiring…”
He even laid out his conditions in a serious, logical manner.
Chen Bai smiled. He had thought it would be some kind of difficult demand.
The next day, when Chen Xiaobu arrived at the classroom, he was holding the leash of a dog covered entirely in spots. He was smiling like a little fool.
The whole classroom rushed over excitedly. “Ahhh, what exotic beast is this?”
They had thought Gan Thirteen’s yin-yang-faced dog was strange enough, but now there was one covered all over in spots.
They drooled just looking at it. It was too rare and precious. They wanted so badly to hug it and never let go.
Chen Xiaobu bared his teeth, smiling brightly. “It’s called a Dalmatian. My brother gave it to me last night. Isn’t it beautiful?”
Dalmatian. The name was a little strange, but exotic beasts were supposed to have strange names. Just like the Shang brothers’ Husky and Corgi, and Gan Thirteen’s Old English Sheepdog. They had never heard those names before either.
Shang Jujiu, Shang Zhizhou, and Gan Xin also brought their own dogs over.
Now there were three more fools grinning as if their heads had been caught in a door.
The other classmates’ eyes turned green with envy. They wanted one so badly too, something they could pet whenever they had nothing to do.
It felt like a cat was scratching at their hearts.
At that moment, Chen Xiaobu said again, “Yesterday, my brother signed me up. At first, I was even complaining that Prince Zheng’s fief was too far away and that traveling back and forth would be tiring.”
When everyone heard this, they felt that Chen Xiaobu was really too much. Yesterday, they had gone home wanting to sign up, but their parents had refused. No matter what they said, their parents had not agreed. Yet Chen Xiaobu had successfully registered and was still acting reluctant?
They were practically dying from jealousy.
Chen Xiaobu added, “My brother already prepared the reward. I heard it’s a particularly beautiful exotic beast. My brother said he almost can’t bear to give it away.”
Gulp.
Now it was truly over. They had already been stimulated just now, but this was the final straw that broke the camel’s back.
Their faces hardened. They reached up and pulled their eyebrows into angry inverted V-shapes, then charged out of the academy in a fierce rush.
Once they got home, each of them threw themselves onto the ground and rolled all the way from the entrance to the main courtyard.
The servants were stunned. Why had the young masters, who should have been studying properly at Shangjing Academy, come back like this?
“Mother, if you don’t sign me up, I won’t get up.”
Each child returned home and made a fuss in their own way. These second-generation young masters had been held in the palms of their families’ hands since birth. When they started tormenting people, they had method after method.
Today, they had already made up their minds. If they did not get results, they would not go back to Shangjing Academy.
Didn’t they hear what Chen Xiaobu said? Young Master Bai had already prepared the reward. It was a particularly beautiful exotic beast, one he could hardly bear to give away.
How wonderful must it be? They also wanted to be like Chen Xiaobu, the Shang brothers, and Gan Thirteen, bringing a dog to class every day.
The adults at home were furious but helpless. “Are you stupid? Who would go sign up for that? Who charges ten taels of gold for tuition, and only teaches on rest days? No matter how amazing Mountain Lord is, he’s still just a commoner with no official rank…”
Before they could finish speaking, the child on the ground climbed up. “What do you mean no one? Chen Xiaobu has already signed up.”
Then he rolled back onto the floor again.
“You used to call me your little ancestor. You used to tell me to study hard. Now I want to study seriously, but you won’t let me. Adults are all liars.”
“…”
After Chen Bai arranged Chen Xiaobu as the bait, it really did have some effect.
Because that very same day, someone actually went to register.
At the entrance of Shangjing Academy, this shocked quite a few people.
There really were fools in this world.
Only, they did not know that the treatment these students would receive was worth far more than ten taels of gold.
Chen Bai was not a person without principles. Since he charged such a high price, there was naturally a reason.
Of course, it was not because he thought too highly of himself and believed his learning was priceless. Rather, he had prepared some very valuable things for these students.
Once the second and third people registered, Chen Xiaobu’s classmates no longer dared to delay.
When Qi Zheng held the sheet filled with names, he was stunned for a long while.
He could not help asking, “Did Mountain Lord think of some method and have you advertise it?”
The person replied, “No. Mountain Lord only told me to sit by the enrollment notice and wait for people to come sign up. Then people came…”
Qi Zheng: “…”
That was impossible.
The steward beside him glanced at the list, and his heart clenched. The names on it were all descendants of the Three Dukes and Nine Ministers.
These children were about to study at the still-unfinished schoolhouse in their fief? Although they would only come once every five days, this was still extraordinary.
Someone who could serve as a prince’s steward naturally understood the value within. Although the registered students were all young boys, these were connections.
In the past, their Highness had been pushed around and excluded in every way precisely because he had no connections. And since these were all young masters, it would not arouse suspicion from others.
That night, Qi Zheng even sent Chen Bai a voice message. “How did you do it?”
Chen Bai replied, “You really have Chen Zixiu to thank for this. Those exotic beasts of his are rather attractive.”
He had to build a bit of goodwill for his other identity. Honestly, facing such a stern Qi Zheng every day made him feel as if he had turned into a punching bag.
Qi Zheng gave a cold laugh. “Do you really think I don’t know those exotic beasts came from you and were given to Chen Zixiu? Buying them from some foreign merchant? Do you truly think no one went looking for that so-called foreign merchant? Others might think they simply couldn’t find him, but do you think you can fool me?”
Chen Bai: “…”
Boohoo.
Attempt to raise favorability: failed.
Why did Qi Zheng have to be so calculative?
After a while, Qi Zheng asked, “Have you finished undergoing your tribulation?”
Chen Bai replied, “Not yet. If there’s anything, tell Chen Zixiu. He’ll pass it on to me. Let him be in charge of the schoolhouse matters for now too. I’ve told him all my requirements, and he’ll handle them accordingly.”
In the end, he waited for a long time but did not receive Qi Zheng’s reply.
What was wrong now?
He was actually a little unused to “chatterbox” Zheng suddenly not speaking.
The next day, Chen Bai originally thought that since he had used Mountain Lord’s identity to say a few good words about his other identity to Qi Zheng, Qi Zheng would treat his other identity a little better.
In the end…
Qi Zheng did not even give him a cold glance now. He treated him completely like air.
He was simply expressing his dislike even more intensely than before.
Chen Bai: “…”
He had said Chen Zixiu would be in charge of the schoolhouse matters, so he could not even leave.
Fine. He would endure it. If Qi Zheng ignored him, it was not as if he wanted to pay attention to Qi Zheng either.
Ignore each other, then. Each could do their own work.
The schoolhouse was being built according to plan. Enrollment at the entrance of Shangjing Academy had also stopped, because… the spots were full.
At the time, it refreshed many people’s understanding of the world. There were truly many fools in this world.
One thing worth mentioning was that after Chen Bai’s three years of compulsory education became famous throughout Shangjing, Crown Prince Jiao also began copying him and building schoolhouses. He even built two at once, insisting on having one more than Qi Zheng.
Chen Bai: “…”
Could Crown Prince Jiao think that he was using this three years of compulsory education to answer the competition question Duke Gan had set?
Chen Bai almost laughed. He was merely helping Qi Zheng attract some residents while casually helping the refugee children.
Three years of compulsory education sounded impressive, but at its core, it was only building a schoolhouse and recruiting some refugee students. An ordinary village gentleman could do the same. How could that guarantee one hundred percent that the Crown Prince of Zhao and his envoys would offer praise?
The answer he had prepared for the question had always been these students he had recruited.
Only, if he said that now, probably no one would believe him.
As for Crown Prince Jiao copying him and building schoolhouses, that was a good thing too. Let him build them. It would still benefit the people.
Before, it had been “Mountain Lord” going to the fief with Qi Zheng every day.
Now, it was Chen Bai and Qi Zheng going to the fief.
Of course, Chen Bai no longer rode in Qi Zheng’s carriage. He used the Chamberlain for Law Enforcement Estate’s own carriage.
“That’s fine too. Who would want to face that corpse-like expression all the time?” Chen Bai muttered.
Strangely enough, although the two of them were clearly traveling the same road, they acted exactly like strangers.
Nowadays, there were quite a few people on the road to Qi Zheng’s fief. They were all going to see the peacocks and the mountain full of rabbits. That mountain had already become the best destination for a countryside outing.
Chen Bai had also specifically observed those crude tea stalls. Business was fairly good. It was definitely enough for them to scrape by. At the very least, it was better than not knowing where the next meal would come from and wandering from place to place.
Like this, half a month passed. During that time, Qi Zheng sent several messages asking whether his tribulation was over.
Chen Bai thought, once the schoolhouse was finished, he would naturally come out.
During this period, quite a few refugees decided to transfer their household registration into Qi Zheng’s fief. Just among the refugee students, there were already more than thirty. This was even with the limit of one child per household and the age restrictions.
In fact, there were even more people who had transferred their registration. Of course, some were reluctant to leave their homeland or had other reasons, and were only working here temporarily. Once the time came, they would return to their hometowns.
Qi Zheng had also found a down-and-out master. Once the schoolhouse was completed, he would teach these children literacy and arithmetic. That was enough.
Now, the schoolhouse was almost finished. It was an ancient-style courtyard, built against the foot of the mountain, with a stream murmuring beside it. It had quite a bit of atmosphere.
Among the rooms, Chen Bai had instructed them to leave one rather large classroom. He planned to use it as the multifunctional electronic classroom.
Now, Chen Bai was actually at his busiest.
He had to handle the renovation of this classroom all by himself.
He also had to install the equipment alone, and it nearly exhausted him.
Whether it was decorating or installing the devices, there were many things he did not know how to do, so he had to learn everything on the spot.
But it was all worth it, because… he was charging each person ten taels of gold in tuition. Classes were only held once every five days. If this were placed in modern times, it would be outrageously luxurious.
Even after buying some study materials for the students, and after deducting Qi Zheng’s share, his purse was still rather full. Half a month ago, he had still been completely broke.
After the schoolhouse was completed, Qi Zheng even made a special trip to take a look. Unfortunately, there was no communication throughout the entire process. Chen Bai had originally wanted to take him to see the multifunctional electronic classroom he had arranged.
…
In the fifteenth year of the Daqian calendar, during the final days of spring, the weather had already grown hot. The leaves on the roadside branches had begun to curl.
Carriage after carriage was heading out of Shangjing City. Most of the passengers were young little noblemen.
On the first few carriages, dogs were even lying on top, panting with their tongues out. The young masters in the carriages poured water from the waterskins they carried into their palms, then smiled as they held it out for the dogs to drink.
The reason there were so many people today was because Chen Bai’s schoolhouse was opening for class.
The road was not easy to travel.
When they arrived at Qi Zheng’s fief, they could see the two mountain peaks from afar.
One of them was already covered in grapevines. However, not enough grape trellises had been built yet, so the vines had merely been planted in the ground first to prevent them from truly drying out under the sun.
These grapevines were all old vines. Once planted into the soil, and with the season being suitable, they had all sprouted buds and leaves.
It was said that the new leaves on the grapevines that had not yet been put onto trellises had already been nibbled quite a bit by the rabbits. Recently, Qi Zheng had been making people work overtime to build grape trellises.
In fact, quite a few rings of trellises had already been built halfway up the mountain. The whole mountain no longer looked as desolate as it had before.
Once the vines grew a little longer and the leaves became denser, resting in the shade beneath these trellises would surely be very pleasant.
At this moment, Chen Bai was also in Qi Zheng’s carriage. No, to be precise, it was Mountain Lord.
Today, he was teaching under Mountain Lord’s identity. He felt that aside from teaching days, it would be better for him to stay hidden.
As they approached the two mountain peaks, the schoolhouse beside the stream came clearly into view.
It was built in an ancient, elegant style. Since it had only just been completed, it looked very nice.
The weather was truly a little hot, and the road had been bumpy, so everyone’s forehead was covered in sweat.
Chen Bai went ahead first and waited in front for these students.
As soon as the students got down from the carriages, things became lively. “Ah, there are bunnies by the stream! They’re drinking water.”
The few dogs were also excited when they saw unfamiliar animals, but since they were leashed, they did not run around.
Chen Bai looked at the little boys holding dog leashes, and the corner of his mouth twitched.
But who said that students had to sit perfectly straight with their hands behind their backs during class?
Of course, a freer classroom had the benefits of a freer classroom, and a strict classroom had the benefits of a strict classroom.
What Chen Bai taught would not be the Four Books and Five Classics anyway, so there was no need for those rules. The proper classics and literature would naturally be taught by the teachers at Shangjing Academy, and they would teach them better than he could.
Aside from the twenty-seven young masters from Shangjing, there were now forty-three children from refugee families. There were seventy students in total.
No, their families had transferred their household registration into Qi Zheng’s fief, so they could no longer be called refugees. They were commoners now.
These commoner students had already followed the teacher Qi Zheng had hired and studied for several days.
Chen Bai’s multifunctional classroom was large enough, so teaching them all together was not a problem.
Of course, the others had paid an expensive tuition fee. In order not to let these commoner students develop a habit of getting something for nothing, Chen Bai would give them separate tasks and let those tasks serve as their tuition.
The commoner students’ clothes were not very good, but they had been washed clean.
Their parents had sent them here with expectation as well, hoping they would not be excluded by the others.
However, compared with the young masters from Shangjing, they were much more restrained.
Chen Bai smiled and said nothing. It was only the beginning. Once they adapted, they would naturally relax little by little.
At that moment, Chen Bai walked forward.
Only then did the group of students quiet down, each bowing in the manner of a student.
From today onward, Chen Bai was their teacher. Heaven, earth, ruler, parents, master—this was something carved deep into their bones.
Of course, these little fellows were not too restrained either. They kept staring at the mask on Chen Bai’s face.
There were more and more red-clothed, masked people on the streets of Shangjing now, but the one before them was the real one: the first retainer of Prince Zheng’s estate, the unparalleled strategist who had stirred all of Shangjing.
Perhaps many people disdained Chen Bai’s arrogant attitude and unknown identity, but in the hearts of these children, his flamboyant personality was exactly what they liked.
Chen Bai said directly, “Now that you have come here, you will have to follow the rules here from now on…”
Some things still had to be made clear. Otherwise, who knew what these second-generation young masters might do while relying on their status?
Chen Bai began to speak. It was mostly about respecting masters and elders, not bullying the weak, and similar matters.
Of course, he himself did not dare say such treasonous words as “everyone is equal,” so it was even more impossible for him to demand it of others.
He only said a few things. The weather was too hot now, and many of the students’ hair at their foreheads had already grown damp, so they could not stay outside for long. After speaking, he pointed to one of the classrooms. “Now, follow me into the multifunctional electronic classroom.”
What classroom?
The little boys froze. Wasn’t it just a schoolroom?
Chen Bai ignored them and walked in first.
When the first student walked in and had only stepped one foot inside, he was so shocked that he stood there without moving.
“Chen Xiaobu, what are you doing?”
The people behind him saw that Chen Xiaobu had one foot inside the classroom but was not moving, so they could not help shouting.
Chen Xiaobu was currently completely dazed. Feeling the cool breeze blowing against his face, he even reached up to touch his cheek.
“So… so cool.”
The people behind him said, “Chen Xiaobu, are you stupid? It’s such a hot day, and you’re saying it’s cool?”
“Are you going in or not? Don’t block the door.”
Chen Bai glanced over and said, “Hurry in. Find a seat and sit down. Don’t block the door.”
Chen Xiaobu was still dazed as he led his spotted dog inside.
It was clearly very hot outside, so why was it like entering a different world after passing through a single door? The air was cool and icy, so comfortable. Especially after experiencing the heat outside, the difference the moment he stepped through the door was simply too great.
Chen Xiaobu quickly discovered something unusual. In the four corners of this classroom stood four stone pillars?
The key was that these four stone pillars were shaking their heads.
Really. He was absolutely not seeing it wrong. The stones really were shaking their heads.
When he got closer, he realized that what blew out from the gaps in the stones was all cool wind, blowing his bowl-cut hair up.
Chen Bai glanced over. These were bladeless air-conditioning fans. It was not dangerous to get closer, as long as they did not blow directly at their heads for too long.
These air-conditioning fans consumed a relatively large amount of electricity, so they had to sit idle for half a day to self-charge before they could be used for half a day. Unlike his phone, which consumed very little electricity and required no waiting time for self-charging.
Chen Xiaobu opened his mouth and stood there letting the wind blow into it, looking incredibly silly and cute. He even stretched his eyes wide and peered into the fan.
At that moment, the student behind him had just come in and also let out an “Ah!”
The students who had not entered yet were all confused. What was going on?
Why were they all making such surprised noises?
Wasn’t it just a schoolroom? What was there to be surprised about?
But the sounds of “Ah,” “Ah,” and “Ah” never stopped.
The hotter it was outside, the cooler and more comfortable it was inside.
Those who came in kept touching their faces and hands. “It’s cool.”
Good heavens. Why was this happening?
And those four stones—why did they keep shaking their heads?
Truly, white stones were shaking their heads and constantly breathing out cool wind. Look at Chen Xiaobu’s hair. It was flying up.
This classroom could hold around eighty people. Now there were seventy students, so it was just about right.
Chen Bai looked at the increasing number of people coming in and said, “Each of you, find a seat. Remember this seat. Unless there are special circumstances, your seat will not be changed in the future.”
Only then did the group of students react.
Then they noticed something else was wrong.
Their desks were different. They were smooth slabs of stone, cool to the touch, so clean it was almost unbelievable. They could even reflect a person’s image.
On the surface of each desk, there was also a piece of glass embedded into it.
It really was glass. It was extremely beautiful.
Then there were the stools.
Ordinary classrooms did not have stools. Students usually sat cross-legged before low desks.
This stool was strange too. After sitting down, there was a “backrest” behind them.
They stretched out their little hands and carefully, curiously touched the surface of the desks. It was so smooth it could hardly be called stone.
Their little bottoms sat on the chairs, and they were also endlessly curious.
It was Qi Zheng’s first time entering as well.
His mouth opened slightly. So this was the multifunctional electronic classroom that had cost him three hundred taels of gold?
Unheard of. Unseen.
No wonder it was so expensive.
The cool wind blowing over was truly comfortable.
But… why did the glass on the desks look a little like his stone tablet?
He frowned and looked at Chen Bai.
Chen Bai hurriedly patched the explanation. “These are all my clones. The main body is the stone tablet in your hand.”
He stared straight ahead. All rights of explanation belonged to him.
To stop Qi Zheng from thinking too wildly, Chen Bai quickly said, “I specially saved a seat for you. An exclusive seat.”
He pointed to the seat beside the podium at the very front. In fact, it was the teaching assistant’s seat.
Mm. Now it was Qi Zheng’s exclusive seat.
Then Chen Bai raised his voice a little. “Everyone, this is your first lesson in the multifunctional electronic classroom.”
“Before we officially begin the course content, what I need to teach you is how to properly listen to a class.”
The group of curious little radishes: “…”
Listen to class? Didn’t you just need ears for that?
They were very good at listening to class. Their masters never even noticed when they slacked off.
Chen Bai smiled and pointed to the upper right corner of the desk surface. “On this part of every person’s desk, there is an embedded flat button. Mm, a mechanism. Now… everyone, gently press it to turn it on.”
Turn on the chicken?
What chicken?
“There really is a mechanism.”
But the noisy voices that had just appeared vanished immediately, because everyone’s mouths opened wide and could no longer close.
As the button was pressed, the glass-like stone tablet embedded in the desk slowly rose up.
Complete silence.
Good heavens, what was this?
