Chapter 101 - Struggle in Ancient Times - NovelsTime

Struggle in Ancient Times

Chapter 101

Author: NovelBin
updatedAt: 2025-04-09

“Teacher? You’re not a student here for a study tour?” The boss looked at Liao Tingyu with bright eyes.

“We went to live with relatives, not to study,” Liao Tingyu said with a smile, not worried about being exposed.

“Don’t let fool me. You go to your relatives, and others go to theirs. But you buy a person on the way. After buying, you want to buy a cow. Is it for you? Does your relative’s family is very rich?” the boss joked.

Liao Tingyu expected this reaction. The boss was mature with age.

“There’s no way around this. With just the two of us going on the road without our hands and feet, wouldn’t it be dangerous if we encounter any emergencies on the way?” Liao Tingyu explained.

“Okay, okay, whatever you say is what it is. Now come here and help me figure it out. I’ve done it several times, but it’s all wrong,” the boss admitted, handing over the troublesome account book.

Liao Tingyu remembered it quickly and completed the account book in just a quarter of an hour.

“Don’t you have someone who can take care of the accounts in such a big inn? Why not let him check the accounts?” Liao Tingyu asked.

“Do you think I don’t want to? My son can only write and can’t calculate at all. I can’t do it either. Thanks to you today. Without you, I don’t know how many times I would have had to calculate it,” the boss said, satisfied.

“It’s just a trivial matter. You’ve helped us a lot. If you need help in the future, you can call me as long as I’m still here. I don’t have any other skills, but this is the only one I can use,” Liao Tingyu said.

The boss rolled his eyes, appreciating the sentiment.

Sure enough, Buddhism said that good deeds were rewarded with good deeds. Isn’t this what happened?

Thinking this way, the boss’s mood improved. Even after walking several streets with two people, sweating profusely, he couldn’t hide the sunshine in his heart.

Finally, they found a suitable young man—medium build, dark skin, regular features, like a hunter. He was adept at walking mountain trails based on the terrain.

The young man was satisfied. The employer was gentle, polite, and offered a high price. A round trip could earn him more than ten taels in three months. It was a cost-effective deal, allowing him to buy land in the countryside, marry, and live peacefully.

He really has to thank the wild boar that suddenly appeared on the mountain yesterday. If it weren’t for it, he wouldn’t have gone down the mountain to buy meat today, and he wouldn’t have encountered such a good thing.

“My name is Ren Qiu. You can call me Xiao Qiu. Don’t worry. I have lived in the mountains and forests since I was a child. Hunting is not a problem. I can protect you,” the young man introduced himself.

“Okay, it’s settled. We’ll be leaving in three days. You’ll be waiting for us at the door of the inn three days from now,” Liao Tingyu agreed, looking at the young and vigorous body, feeling a bit old.

“Yes.” The young man jumped away happily like a rabbit.

“I want to buy a kilogram of it, my mother hasn’t eaten candy cakes for a long time. Today is a good day and it’s time to celebrate,” Xiao Qiu said out loud and stopping by the pastry shop.

When he got home, his mother was cleaning the house. His father had passed away a few years ago, leaving them alone.

His mother was left alone to raise him. Fortunately, the villagers were kind and did not mistreat them. However, being hunters, they didn’t own land and could only grow some vegetables next to their houses. Even rice had to be bought with money.

His father originally planned to earn some money to buy some land, but unfortunately, he didn’t earn any money, but he left the world first. In order to attend to his funeral, the family, which had been enjoying some improvement, was depleted again.

“Mother, look what I bought for you,” he called at the door.

His mother looked at the door, put down their work, walked out and took the package of oil paper.

“Why do you always buy this thing after selling your preys? It’s expensive and not cost-effective. Why not save your money and buy some lands, so that you can get married later on. This small bag of candy cakes costs more than ten wens, which can be used to buy a pound of meat,” his mother remarked.

“Aren’t I happy today? I’m telling you, Mom, I encountered a good thing today. Two young masters from wealthy families hired me to send them to visit with their relatives. It only takes three months for them to come back. They also gave me a dozen taels of silver. With that money, we can buy a few acres of land and repair the house,” Xiao Qiu shared happily.

“Have they said where they went to join their relatives?” Ren Qiu’s mother asked.

“They didn’t say it, but the only innkeeper in our county quietly told me that these two people are scholars. I just follow them. This is my destiny,” Ren Qiu explained.

Ren Qiu’s mother encouraged his son to seize this opportunity, “You go! Follow them. Just keep them safe, don’t rush forward carelessly, don’t talk nonsense, and it would be best if you can let them teach you to recognize some common words,” his mother advised.

“How am I supposed to study? Learning calligraphy is for smart people. I am not that bright, even if someone is willing to teach me, I can’t learn it,” Xiao Qiu expressed doubt.

“Whether you know it or not, remember to read more and talk less.” Ren Qiu’s mother hoped that his son would not miss this opportunity.

If you could learn a thing or two from a scholar, you wouldn’t have to run to the mountains every day and exchange your life for a few taels of silver.

He thought about his husband who was left behind in the mountains because he traveled a lot and met his ends there, and he didn’t want his son to follow in his father’s footsteps.

This was why he tried his best to make him came down from the mountain, and why he wanted to buy land no matter how frugally he lived.

But he really couldn’t do it. No matter how hard he tried, the family’s savings were only a few taels. They couldn’t buy half an acre of land and they still had to use it for emergencies.

In the next few days, Ren Qiu was confined at home by his mother and was not allowed to go up the mountain. Every day, Ren Qiu listened to his mother teach him how to do things and prepare clothes.

.

Liao Tingyu was also very busy these days. He unexpectedly received an apprentice who was halfway through.

And this apprentice was almost pissed himself off, and it was a waste of time to teach him in accordance with his aptitude.

“Brother, take a closer look. This is 5 taels, not 5 wens.” Liao Tingyu was almost confused by him.

He just said, the registration in the account book is pretty good, why does the boss have to settle the accounts?

So, this was what happened.

This was the first time he had seen such a person. He could write well and read words quite well.

But if he were to do the math, he would really drive people crazy.

“What on earth is going on with you?” Liao Tingyu put one foot on the bench without any image, bending over and looking at him.

Wang Ran looked at his fierce expression and almost felt aggrieved.

“Teacher, don’t be like this, I’m a little scared.”

“What are you afraid of? I should be afraid of you? I have never seen a biological brain as powerful as yours. 4 wens plus 8 wens, equal 11 wens?? Don’t you know how to count money?” Liao Tingyu said, slamming the table with his hand.

“I know how to count, but you don’t let me!” Wang Ran was also very aggrieved. He knew how to count.

But the teacher watched him count. It was very nerve-wracking.

Liao Tingyu said, “What do you mean I won’t let you do it? I asked you to do it several times yesterday, and today you are going to do the same questions as yesterday, but you haven’t gotten any of them right yet. You have already done all these. You didn’t remember any of the numbers.”

“I’m sorry!” Wang Ran was several years older than Liao Tingyu, and he almost shrank into a ball under Liao Tingyu’s scolding.

But Liao Tingyu could only cover his ears and forehead to suppress the villain in his mind.

He had gone to school for so many years and taught so many children, but there was no one like this man.

He lost his sense of numbers.

“Teacher, am I too stupid?” Wang Ran looked at Liao Tingyu who was worried about himself and felt very sorry.

Liao Tingyu calmed down his mood, “I won’t do anything today, you go back first!”

“Oh!” Wang Ran was very happy to hear that he could go back. He put away the notebook and walked out of the room in three steps, and immediately ran away.

Although he was sorry, he really tried his best.

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Liao Tingyu planned to talk to his boss.

The boss also saw his son’s look and probably had no choice. In fact, Liao Tingyu had been persistent for a long time and was very patient.

He found so many people to tutor his son in arithmetic alone, but to no avail.

“You must have thought of me coming here, right?” Liao Tingyu said, leaning in front of the counter.

“Well, there’s nothing we can do about it. Thank you for your hard work.” The boss poured a cup of tea for Liao Tingyu and spoke.

“I have a bad temper today, I guess I scared him, but let me tell you the truth, boss, is your son married? Does he have any children?” Liao Tingyu asked.

The boss was very surprised, why did the topic turn to his grandson?

“Yes, he is three years old this year. What’s wrong?” the boss asked.

“He’s three years old, so he’s almost there. Listen to me, you should hire a teacher to teach your grandson now.” Liao Tingyu said seriously.

“He is only three years old. Isn’t it too early?”

“It’s not too early. Three years old is the time to lay the foundation for knowledge. Your son should be born with it. He is actually very smart but he wasn’t good at arithmetic. It’s not normal to stumble here.”

“Even an ordinary person can master it after being taught in three times, and they can memorize it by rote, but your son can’t.” Liao Tingyu said sharply.

The boss was silent. When his son was studying, he was praised by his teacher for being able to take care of him, but here he suffered a lot and was laughed at by everyone.

After studying for so many years, he didn’t even pass the entrance examination. It seemed that he had no choice but to let his son come out and stay in the inn to work.

Now it seems that my son must be suffering from a disease.

He remembers that in order to help his son be able to count, he taught him year after year. Finally, he could count, but he had to rely on objects to count, and he forgot about counting.

“This may be passed on to your grandson. Teach it early and correct it early.” Liao Tingyu said.

These words suddenly woke up the boss who was immersed in memories, “Isn’t there a way to cure that?”

“No, this is something you are born with. In fact, in terms of money you are doing pretty good. Anyway, there is such a big industry waiting for him to inherit, just be sure to teach your grandson well.” Liao Tingyu said.

The boss returned to the backyard, where his grandson was still playing with toys. He walked over and taught his grandson to count 123.

It was indeed different from other children.

That night, the father and son drank all night. As a grandfather, he personally carried the child to the inn in front of him. Whenever he had time, he taught the child how to read. When he was not free, he asked Liao Tingyu to take care of him.

Liao Tingyu did not reject this pink-looking child.

Huang Zilan also liked it very much. He hoped that his future children would be as cute and well-behaved as this.

The two people took the child shopping, played and taught him how to count on his fingers.

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