Chapter 184: The Ship Industry – Gao Xun

Wei Yu finally returned with a sullen face.

He got back around You hour, four quarters—that is, a bit past 6 pm.

His entire wonderful day was all spent at the Ministry of Works!

And yet this matter was not over.

Because many people said they didn’t understand the lecture, they wanted to take further classes the next day!

Wei Yu was somewhat upset.

If he were a diligent and motivated student, a real teacher would be overjoyed to see that, but he was not!

He didn’t even qualify as half a student!

Wei Yu didn’t want to go, but Emperor Wei, upon hearing of this, cheerfully said this was a good thing and that it was time for him, as a prince, to make contributions to Great Wei…

What a beast.

So Wei Yu gritted his teeth and became a teacher for three days.

Although this process was somewhat miserable, Wei Yu made new discoveries during that time.

A new day dawned.

Taking advantage of the “students” still pondering their after-class exercises, Wei Yu sneaked out of the small classroom to use the restroom.

As soon as he left, Huo Tingyu, who was guarding the door, followed him.

Wei Yu gave him a look and clicked his tongue, “Lord Huo, you have to follow me even to the restroom? Don’t you mind the smell?”

After being forced to work as a teacher for three days, Wei Yu was quite annoyed with Huo Tingyu now.

He no longer thought this guy was handsome; in his heart, he saw him as a clingy shadow who tattled.

Even the smallest matter he would report to his Dad!

It left Wei Yu with no privacy!

Huo Tingyu said nothing, just quietly followed Wei Yu, looking as if he would go wherever Wei Yu went.

Wei Yu took a deep breath and turned away.

“Follow all you want, let’s see if the piss smell won’t burn your nose by the toilet!”

As for squatting at the toilet, in the end, it didn’t stink Wei Yu’s nose off.

Instead, Wei Yu himself couldn’t stand the Ministry of Works’ latrine anymore.

The smell was too strong, especially with someone next door letting out continuous “puchi puchi” fart sounds!

Wei Yu covered his nose and mouth with his collar; after holding his breath for three moments, he finally lost it when he heard strange noises next door again.

Bang!

He punched the partition and gritted his teeth, “Hey, brother next door, since we’re both squatting here and sharing the same latrine, it’s fate. I haven’t poisoned you, at least tone it down, okay?!”

The man next door was silent for a while.

Just when Wei Yu thought the other person had reflected and recognized his fault, a thunderous string of fart sounds exploded, leaving him stunned.

“Pfu, pfu pfu, pfu puchi…”

Wei Yu, just about to relax his collar: ???

“Damn! You really know how to let it out!”

Wei Yu’s mentality collapsed from the fart assault.

As he was about to get up and leave, he heard the next door person sigh contentedly.

“Phew—much better.”

“You feel better, I’m not feeling better!”

Wei Yu angrily punched the partition again, “What did you eat? Don’t you know releasing so many farts can scare someone to death? The Ministry of Works latrine was already stinky…”

The neighbor agreed, “Yep, young brother, I completely agree with you. Among the Six Ministries, the Ministry of Works’ latrine is the worst.”

Wei Yu stopped, “Wait, you’ve been to the other five ministries’ latrines?”

All departments had offices inside the imperial city; locations were not far apart.

The voice next door proudly said, “Naturally. Not only the Six Ministries, I’ve also been to the Hanlin Academy, the Department of Foreign Affairs, and others. People eat grains, it’s normal to fart and defecate; it’s nature’s law. People say these matters are dirty, but the common folk use manure to water crops, and after autumn harvest, the rice returns to people again—so it’s natural…”

“So I think people shouldn’t hate this matter but instead see going to the restroom as a proper thing that shouldn’t be taboo. I always look for a decent place when I have to go.”

Wei Yu suddenly became interested in the man next door.

He wasn’t in a hurry to leave; he loosened his slightly numb foot and asked, “If so, why are you here in the Ministry of Works latrine? Isn’t it the smelliest?”

“Ah, smelly as it is, where else can I go to? The Hanlin Academy latrines are all occupied.”

Wei Yu was curious, “Are you from Hanlin Academy?”

“Yes, I am an editor at Hanlin Academy, Gao Xun. You? Young brother, you work at the Ministry of Works, right?”

Just as Wei Yu could tell from the voice that the neighbor was a young man, Gao Xun could also judge Wei Yu by his voice.

The voice of a young man was distinctive.

Without blushing or panting, Wei Yu answered, “Yes, I came here to help my master with work. You can just call me Wang Jiu.”

Gao Xun smiled and said, “Brother Wang, hello! It’s been lively at the Ministry of Works recently. I heard the Wise King is giving lectures about that thing called the telescope?”

Wei Yu: “Yeah, how come? Do you want to listen?”

There were sounds of footsteps shuffling, “I do want to listen, but not about the telescope — it’s about the new unit of measurement the Wise King proposed.”

Wei Yu organized his clothes, “Yes, about length units. Why are you interested? You’re an editor at Hanlin Academy, so you probably don’t need it, right?”

Gao Xun sighed on his side, “Hanlin Academy doesn’t need it, but back in my hometown, it’s very useful.”

Hmm?

Wei Yu’s curiosity was piqued, “What do you do with it in your hometown? Is it for measuring something?”

“Yes. I’m originally from Huzhou, where my family has a shipbuilding business to inherit.”

What!?

Wei Yu’s eyes opened wide.

“Shipbuilding? Your family builds ships? Do you have a shipyard?” Wei Yu hurriedly asked.

“Huzhou is a vast area with flat terrain and many rivers, so naturally, many boats. My family doesn’t have a shipyard, but my ancestors all learned this craft.”

Gao Xun was curious, “Why do you suddenly ask?”

Why ask? Naturally, because Wei Yu had mentioned going to sea and shipbuilding before!

The blueprints have already been shown to his Dad and other elders, but unfortunately, nothing has started in action yet… he thought to ask his Dad later.

Thinking about overseas good things, Wei Yu perked up and continued, “Brother Gao, who is the most skilled craftsman in your hometown?”

The man next door was silent for two seconds, then chuckled lightly.

“None other than myself.”

Wei Yu: !!!

Kidnap him, kidnap him! This talent must be taken away!

His legs were numb, Wei Yu gritted his teeth, pulled up his pants, stood up, and then pushed the door open loudly, calling out for Huo Tingyu.

“Lord Huo! Quickly, come help me! My legs are numb, hurry…”

Huo Tingyu standing far away: …

Gao Xun, squatting next door, was also stunned.

What’s this? “Lord Huo”?

Who’s next door?

Wang Jiu?

Hiss… Ninth Wise King.

Gao Xun, realizing this, was dumbfounded inside the latrine.