APSIL -Chapter 161 Your Teacher Is a True Gentleman

The burly man was still somewhat bewildered by his current sitting posture. Therefore, when faced with the question, he instinctively answered: “Yes.”

But in the next moment, when the other party extended a hand as if to pull him up, he suddenly realized what had happened.

Just moments ago, he had actually been about to grab this person and demand an explanation, yet somehow he had ended up being thrown to the ground without even understanding how!

At that instant, the elegant and handsome young man standing before him seemed to have a face filled with profound mystery, making him feel as if he were facing someone unfathomable.

As a result, instead of accepting the offered hand, he became even more cautious, his face filled with vigilance.

Seeing the expression of the sturdy man, Zhang Shou immediately knew that A-Liu had frightened him quite badly.

He helplessly glanced sideways at A-Liu. Seeing the latter’s innocent expression, he then pointed at Lu Sanlang beside him with his index finger and smiled.

“Uncle, the person who invited you here is Young Master Lu Sanlang, the son of Minister Lu from the Ministry of War. However, he invited you because of me, his teacher. I simply haven’t had time to meet you before, causing you to wait here for several days. I truly apologize.”

The burly man looked up at the slightly awkward-looking, chubby youth beside Zhang Shou, who was forcing a smile onto his face. Then he looked at Zhang Shou, whose gentle and approachable smile immediately inspired trust.

Unable to hold back, he blurted out: “I haven’t read many books, young sir, so don’t fool me. You look even younger than this dead fatty. How could you possibly be his teacher?”

Who are you calling a dead fatty?!

Lu Sanlang was so furious that smoke almost came out of his ears.

But when Zhang Shou turned his gaze toward him, he remembered that his little “black room” incident had not yet been forgiven. Thus, he quickly piled on a smile and explained: “Uncle Sun, right? Doctor Zhang really is my teacher. Don’t be fooled by his young age—he was personally appointed as a Doctor of the Imperial Academy by His Majesty. Many young masters older than me are his students!”

The man called Uncle Sun looked doubtful, but when Zhang Shou once again reached out to help him up, he could not help but notice the difference.

That hand had smooth, rounded joints, long slender fingers, and fair skin. At first glance, it was extremely beautiful.

Compared to that, his own hands were rough, covered in calluses, with traces of suspicious blackness between his fingers and prominent knuckles.

He suddenly felt somewhat embarrassed.

Only after Zhang Shou personally grabbed his hand and pulled him up did he finally stand.

“Ahem, ahem. I was just anxious because I had been delayed for several days, so I acted a little impulsively. Doctor Zhang, don’t take offense.”

Carpenter Sun gave an awkward laugh before asking curiously: “But what does Doctor Zhang want from me? Oh, right, it’s not just me. The blacksmith Old Zhang, Li Er who builds houses, and Zhao Da who repairs ships were also invited.”

Zhang Shou looked at Lu Sanlang again.

This time, he finally confirmed that the young man really had invited more than one craftsman.

Lu Sanlang, eager to reduce the impact of the “black room” incident, hurriedly said: “Little Teacher, compared to those master craftsmen inside the Imperial Armory, these are the best craftsmen that can be found outside…”

Before he could finish, Carpenter Sun immediately refused to accept that statement.

“What Imperial Armory? The blacksmiths there might be a little better than Old Zhang, but their carpenters definitely aren’t better than me!”

“Whether it’s rough woodwork or delicate craftsmanship, as long as it involves carpentry, I’ve never lost to anyone! The Imperial Armory doesn’t even want the best carpenters—they just want craftsmen who are willing to work hard!”

Seeing Carpenter Sun loudly boasting without admitting defeat, Zhang Shou could not help but smile.

He immediately soothed him: “Uncle Sun, don’t lower yourself to Lu Sanlang’s level. How would he understand what craftsmanship truly means?”

“Dedication, precision, focus, innovation—this spirit is passed down from generation to generation. That is exactly why you possess skills that no one else can match today, isn’t it?”

Zhang Shou was extremely skilled with words.

After casually criticizing Lu Sanlang and seeing Carpenter Sun’s eyes brighten from the praise, he sincerely continued: “It was also my fault for not explaining things clearly to Lu Sanlang earlier. I grew up in the countryside and don’t know much about many things. Therefore, I wanted to find several master craftsmen with exceptional skills and broad horizons to ask them about the greatest achievements of various industries.”

After receiving several rounds of flattering praise, Carpenter Sun was naturally delighted.

He felt that this young man before him was not only exceptionally handsome and refined but also had an excellent personality.

Just listen to those words!

No wonder that dead fatty who had sent people to invite them here without even showing his face called this young man his teacher!

Compared to staying under the same roof with those pretentious and troublesome scholars every day, this was truly refreshing.

Suddenly, Carpenter Sun turned around and ran toward the room he had come from.

When he reached the doorway, he shouted: “Old Zhang! Li Er! Zhao Da! Come out quickly! They invited us here to ask questions, not to imprison us! Stop hiding inside and getting angry!”

Before anyone inside could respond, Zhang Shou had already walked quickly to the door.

“Everyone, if I have been disrespectful before, allow me to apologize on behalf of Lu Sanlang. After all, this matter happened because of me. I hope you can forgive us.”

As Carpenter Sun dragged out a thin man whose hair looked like a bird’s nest, two other people finally followed out reluctantly.

One of them, narrowing his eyes, asked before Sun could speak: “Doctor Zhang, since you are a Doctor of the Imperial Academy, you must have read countless books. What could you possibly need to ask us few ordinary craftsmen?”

Zhang Shou smiled.

“Knowing only what is written in books is not enough. After all, unlike other Doctor, I do not teach the classics of history. I teach mathematics.”

“And how mathematics is applied in reality has always been a major question.”

“That is why I wanted to meet the best craftsmen and understand things such as: what is the finest ship in the world like? What are the designs and structures of the best houses? How precise can the sharpest weapons become? How many yards of cloth can the most advanced spinning wheels and looms produce each day?”

Zhang Shou asked a whole series of questions.

Seeing that the four craftsmen had finally lost their earlier doubts, he smiled and cupped his hands.

“I sincerely wish to learn from you. May we enter the room and discuss things slowly?”

A genuine imperial official was speaking so politely to them, repeatedly saying he wanted to learn from them.

The four craftsmen exchanged glances.

In the end, they decided to let go of their previous anger.

After all, although Lu Sanlang had sent people to invite them over and then kept them here for several days without explanation, the food and wine had been plentiful, and their treatment had not actually been poor.

Now that they understood the reason, there was no need to remain angry.

Outside, Lu Sanlang watched as even A-Liu—the terrifying figure—followed Zhang Shou into the room.

Only then did he finally release a long breath of relief.

Looking around, he saw the middle-aged gatekeeper who had caused the original trouble poking his head around curiously.

Lu Sanlang walked over and kicked him.

“Go back and watch the gate properly!”

After sending him away, he waved over several servants who had come out after hearing the commotion but did not dare approach.

Once everyone gathered around, he lowered his voice and asked: “What about those scholars?”

“Young Master, those fellows refuse to accept reality until they see disaster coming. Last night, they finally finished writing the books that needed printing this month. After eating and drinking until their stomachs were round, they all went to sleep.”

“I don’t think even thunder could wake them now, let alone this noise.”

Normally, hearing that the monthly task was finally completed would have made Lu Sanlang extremely happy.

But now, remembering Zhang Shou’s reaction earlier, he only felt a headache.

Although his intentions had been good and he had paid enough money, who knew whether Zhang Shou would think his methods were too harsh?

After thinking for a long time, he still could not bring himself to release those people.

Those scholars clearly had talent.

Yet they had repeatedly failed in the imperial examinations. The best among them had only become a mere xiucai, and some had not even passed the county examination.

He had given them a way to earn money.

But instead of taking advantage of it, those fools either wanted to waste the money or return to endlessly studying for exams.

Study for what?!

If they could pass, would they still be old child scholars in their forties?

After hesitating for a moment, Lu Sanlang angrily ordered his servants:

“Everyone, stay alert. Be clever and watch my expression later.”

“Oh, and quickly prepare a banquet. Make it a good one. My little teacher is very particular about food!”

After saying this, Lu Sanlang immediately ran into the room.

The servants looked at each other.

They had all been completely subdued by Lu Sanlang’s various schemes and methods.

Now seeing that this young master, who looked unreliable on the outside but was actually extremely calculating, had truly become like a well-behaved student before his teacher, they all felt as if their worldview had collapsed.

Zhang Shou, however, had no idea that Lu Sanlang was desperately trying to deal with the exposure of his “black room.”

He simply continued asking questions.

Starting with Carpenter Sun, he questioned each craftsman about the current development of various technologies.

Soon, he gained a general understanding.

The Jiangnan region today was similar to the Ming Dynasty of his previous knowledge.

The silk weaving and cotton industries were extremely developed, attracting large numbers of agricultural workers into manufacturing.

The former land of abundant rice and fish—Suzhou and Hangzhou—now even needed grain imported from elsewhere because much of the spare farmland had been converted to cotton fields.

Several drawings of looms and spinning wheels casually drawn by Carpenter Sun were collected by Zhang Shou.

As for wealthy residences, most now had bathrooms installed.

They had boilers and hot-and-cold water pipes, allowing people to take showers.

It was even said that the imperial palace had something similar to modern running water, though it was mainly used for fire prevention.

Other wealthy households also had similar systems, though their principles differed slightly.

Modern ships came in many sizes.

The largest ships had four decks, nine masts, and twelve sails.

Fleet voyages often consisted of more than ten ships traveling together.

Civilian ships were restricted in size, and shipyards were regularly inspected by the government.

At sea, there were specialists who used star charts, compasses, and various celestial navigation methods to calculate routes.

Glass had not yet been invented, but telescopes using polished crystal lenses already existed.

As for weapons, Zhang Shou ignored ordinary cold weapons like swords and spears.

The range of cannons and firearms already surpassed those of the Ming Dynasty he knew.

Many weapons even used explosive shells, greatly compensating for their lack of accuracy.

Since this was not a military secret, Blacksmith Zhang casually mentioned it.

However, precision manufacturing and mass production of small components remained a major problem.

Zhang Shou listened carefully while asking questions.

Only after hearing several stomachs growl did he finally turn his head.

He saw Lu Sanlang looking at him with a miserable expression.

Zhang Shou immediately laughed.

“I didn’t realize it had already become so late. Let’s eat while we continue talking.”

“If not for all of you, I would never have known that the world today had actually developed to this extent.”

For Zhang Shou, who was polite, elegant, and genuinely respectful toward craftsmen, the impression of Carpenter Sun and the others naturally improved greatly.

They immediately agreed.

After everyone had eaten and drunk their fill, Zhang Shou said that he would visit again in the future to ask more questions, and perhaps request their help in creating certain things.

The craftsmen readily agreed.

Especially when they heard that Zhang Shou had asked Lu Sanlang to give them money before sending them home, they became even happier.

This time, Lu Sanlang personally escorted them to the gate.

He even used the carriage they had arrived in to send each person home.

However, when they reached the carriage doors, he lowered his voice.

“Everyone, I admit that keeping you here without explaining the reason was my fault.”

“But regarding those scholars, I hope you can keep this matter completely secret.”

“After all, scholars are useless once separated from their studies. Without me, many of them would starve to death.”

Before anyone else could respond, Carpenter Sun immediately laughed loudly.

“We have no interest in those poor scholars’ affairs. Many of them brought this upon themselves anyway.”

“Instead of worrying about whether we’ll talk later, you should think about how you’re going to explain yourself to your teacher.”

“Your teacher is a warm-hearted, refined, and upright gentleman!”