[Translation] Don't Let The Country Go (不讓江山): Chapter 7 — Master Should Be Comfortable Too

The instructor of Four Pages Academy, Yan Qingzhi, looked at Li Diudiu coldly and replied, “Because you’re poor.”

A moment later, he added, “Any more questions?”

Although Li Diudiu felt stifled inside, he still shook his head and said, “No. That’s very reasonable.”

Yan Qingzhi’s brows twitched slightly. The words very reasonable sounded almost like mockery.

“It can be even more reasonable.”

Yan Qingzhi stepped forward and stood over Li Diudiu, looking down at him. “You’ll clean twice a day.”

Li Diudiu asked, “Does it pay?”

Yan Qingzhi frowned even deeper. “Do you know everyone has to pay for their own academy uniforms and books? Cleaning the classrooms will count as repaying your debt. And if you clean twice a day, I can consider your debt repaid nearly twice as fast.”

The other three boys all looked at Li Diudiu, thinking how unlucky he was to be humiliated by an instructor on the very first day. They all came from wealthy families and naturally could not understand how difficult it was for poor people to possess three taels of silver.

So none of them felt sympathy for Li Diudiu.

Instead, they found it amusing.

After hearing Yan Qingzhi’s explanation, Li Diudiu actually smiled, without the slightest trace of embarrassment.

He said, “When you put it that way, it’s even more reasonable.”

Yan Qingzhi’s expression changed slightly, seeming to dislike Li Diudiu even more. He turned and walked away while saying, “Formal lessons begin tomorrow. Late once, stand outside for one hour. Late three times, expelled from the academy. Breaking other academy rules is the same.”

Zhang Xiaolin had already been beaten by Li Diudiu, and his nose was still swollen. Seeing Li Diudiu humiliated by the instructor naturally delighted him, so he walked over laughing.

“So what if you can fight? You can’t even come up with three taels of silver. Want me to lend it to you? Call me Master once, and I’ll give you three taels.”

Li Diudiu shrugged and ignored him.

Standing nearby, Zhou Huaili could no longer bear watching. He came over and tugged lightly on Li Diudiu.

“Let’s go.”

Li Diudiu nodded. “Yes, sir.”

Zhou Huaili said, “The wooden tag attached to your academy uniform has your room number on it. Most students don’t live at the academy. Even though food and lodging are provided, they still go home. After all, home is more comfortable…”

He glanced at Li Diudiu and paused before continuing, “Don’t feel wronged. In the future…”

Before he could finish, Li Diudiu suddenly stopped him.

“Mr. Zhou.”

“Hm?”

“This is for you.”

Li Diudiu took out the money pouch and handed it to Zhou Huaili. “The academy is letting me clean classrooms to repay the cost of the uniforms and books. That’s actually pretty good, so I won’t need this money anymore. You should take it back.”

Zhou Huaili froze.

Looking down at Li Diudiu, he saw that the boy’s fair little face still carried that somewhat carefree expression. But when he looked into the child’s eyes, waves of bitterness and pain suddenly rose in his heart.

This child…

His neck was dark with grime, though his face was washed spotless.

And his eyes were even cleaner.

“Keep it. I’m giving it to you. You don’t need to repay it. If you run into a situation where you need money later, at least you won’t be completely empty-handed.”

“No need.”

Li Diudiu held the pouch out with both hands. “Food and lodging are provided. I won’t need to spend money. I can earn money myself.”

Zhou Huaili truly did not want to take the pouch back.

But in the eyes of this eleven-year-old boy, he saw two words:

Self-respect.

“Alright. Then I’ll take it back.”

Zhou Huaili accepted the pouch. He instinctively wanted to pat Li Diudiu on the head, but restrained himself.

“You should behave yourself. I can tell you’re actually a sensible child. And if you’re sensible, then you should understand your master’s painstaking intentions.”

“I understand.”

Li Diudiu bowed once more before saying, “Let’s go.”

After walking several steps, Li Diudiu suddenly asked, “Mr. Zhou, I’m guessing you must’ve given the Ascending Sparrow Tower Calligraphy to Headmaster Gao, right?”

Zhou Huaili’s heart shook again.

This child…

“Thank you, Mr. Zhou. And… I’m sorry.”

Li Diudiu stopped, turned around, and bowed toward him.

Zhou Huaili asked, “Why are you apologizing?”

Li Diudiu smiled apologetically. “Because at first, I thought you weren’t a very good… person.”

Zhou Huaili felt that when Li Diudiu reached the word good, he had paused slightly, as though changing the word thing into person.

“Child, in this world there aren’t that many good people or bad people. Most are just ordinary people.”

“Ordinary people don’t have good or bad?”

“No.”

Zhou Huaili pondered for a moment, somewhat distracted as he shook his head. “Ordinary people are those caught between good and bad. Sometimes they lean one way, sometimes the other.”

Li Diudiu fell silent for a moment, then lifted his face into a smile.

“Mr. Zhou is a good person.”

“I thought you were going to say I was a good thing.”

In the end, Zhou Huaili still patted Li Diudiu on the shoulder.

“That’s far enough. I’m heading home now. Go find your room yourself. I already asked around—the bedding and books have been placed there. Don’t be late for morning lessons tomorrow.”

“I’ll remember.”

Li Diudiu bowed again. “Safe travels, sir.”

Zhou Huaili walked several steps before turning back with a smile.

“When I first gave away the Ascending Sparrow Tower Calligraphy, it hurt terribly. Do you know why people feel pain after giving something away?”

Li Diudiu thought for a moment but didn’t dare answer. He thought: Isn’t it normal to feel bad after giving something valuable away?

Seeing the confusion on his face, Zhou Huaili smiled and explained:

“At first it hurt because I thought you weren’t worth comparing to the Ascending Sparrow Tower Calligraphy. Using one of Master Songming’s authentic works to get you into the academy seemed like a terrible trade. But now it doesn’t hurt anymore. Li Chi… your future value will surpass that calligraphy by far. Understand?”

Li Diudiu thought carefully, then bowed.

“I understand.”

Just as Zhou Huaili turned to leave, Li Diudiu suddenly thought of another question and couldn’t help asking it.

“Mr. Zhou, how is a person’s value measured? By silver?”

A child so young asking such a question startled Zhou Huaili.

The question was too large.

Not because he couldn’t answer it, but because the answer absolutely wasn’t suitable for children.

Because it wasn’t beautiful.

Children need fairy tales that teach them truth, goodness, beauty, right and wrong, good and evil, black and white. Fairy tales don’t contain so much gray.

“How should I explain this…”

Zhou Huaili turned and looked seriously at Li Diudiu.

“The value of a person is relative. For example, your value to me now far exceeds that piece of calligraphy. But if we really want to measure value, silver is the most direct comparison.”

“In one lifetime, you’ll meet many, many people. How much value those people hold in your life… let me give you a simple example. How much money are you willing to lend them?”

“If you have three taels of silver, and a friend asks to borrow one tael, but you hesitate and don’t want to lend it, then that person’s value in your heart is less than one tael.”

“If someone asks to borrow one tael, and you ask whether one tael is enough before giving them two, that’s someone very important to you.”

“If someone asks to borrow one tael, and you hand over all three, that’s a true friend.”

He paused before continuing:

“If someone asks to borrow money when you don’t even have one tael yourself, but you still exhaust every method to help them, then that’s family—someone closer than brothers.”

“Li Diudiu, this answer isn’t really suitable for a child your age. But I believe you can understand it, because you have a good master. You should know his value.”

He walked over, crouched in front of Li Diudiu, and smiled.

“Don’t care too much about people you yourself don’t care about. In life, you’ll meet many worthless people, but you’ll also meet priceless ones. You already have one priceless person in your life. That makes you richer than many others.”

Li Diudiu nodded.

“At first I had one. Now I have one and a half.”

Zhou Huaili laughed.

“I’m the half?”

Li Diudiu nodded again. “Yes. After all… we’re not that familiar yet.”

Zhou Huaili burst into laughter, rubbing Li Diudiu’s head.

At that moment, he finally understood why Longbrow Daoist loved rubbing this little fellow’s head so much.

It really did feel wonderful.

“Thank you.”

Zhou Huaili patted his shoulder again and turned to leave. After several steps, he came back once more, rubbed Li Diudiu’s head again, then again.

It felt wonderful.

Especially wonderful.

Li Diudiu stood there watching Zhou Huaili leave the academy grounds. He shook his hair and thought:

Is my hair just especially nice? Master likes rubbing it, and Mr. Zhou likes it too…

From far away, Zhou Huaili turned around and mimed rubbing a head while shouting:

“That means they like you!”

Li Diudiu nodded thoughtfully.

So that’s what it means.

Then he raised his own hand and rubbed his own head.

I like myself too.

He didn’t ask anyone where he was supposed to live. Holding his academy uniform and wooden tag, he searched through row after row of rooms until he quickly found the right one.

The moment he entered, he vaguely sensed someone watching him from behind.

He spun around suddenly—

But there was no one there.

Far away, Gao Xining slipped behind a large tree, and for some reason her heartbeat accelerated, as though she’d been caught stealing.

She really was curious about this boy named Li Chi.

He was shorter than her, so poor he couldn’t even afford academy uniforms and books, yet he still wanted to study at Four Pages Academy.

Most importantly, after overhearing the conversation between Li Diudiu and Zhou Huaili, she became even more curious.

When Instructor Yan Qingzhi had said those things to Li Diudiu, Gao Xining had almost rushed out to argue with him.

But just as she was about to, someone grabbed her.

Only then did she realize her grandfather had also been secretly watching.

Li Diudiu didn’t see anyone following him. He pushed open the door and entered.

The room was simply furnished:

One table, one chair, one bed.

One bookshelf, one washstand, one flower stand.

One wooden basin, one small wooden bucket, one large wooden tub.

Nothing else.

But Li Diudiu had never lived in such a nice room before.

The moment he entered, he couldn’t help taking a deep breath.

He smelled the fragrance of wood from the furniture.

The scent of books.

The smell of brand-new bedding.

He wanted so badly to throw himself onto that bed that looked so comfortable.

But he was afraid his dirty clothes would stain the bedding.

So he set down the academy uniform, grabbed the wooden basin, and went to fetch water.

He couldn’t remember how long it had been since he’d properly bathed.

Bucket after bucket, he filled the large tub halfway full, shut the door, then impatiently jumped inside.

Water splashed everywhere.

The water was cold.

But it felt amazing.

Master hadn’t bathed in a very long time either.

But Master had said he was going to the huge and famous Wuwei Temple in Jizhou City, where the abbot was an old friend.

He was probably bathing too right now.

Wuwei Temple.

Longbrow Daoist bowed respectfully to the Daoist who had opened the gate.

“My Daoist title is Longbrow. I once had ties with your abbot and have come seeking refuge. May I ask if I might join the temple and request an audience?”

The middle-aged Daoist looked Longbrow up and down. Seeing the ragged clothes, he frowned.

“Where’d this wild Daoist come from? You trying to register yourself here?”

Longbrow Daoist hurriedly nodded. “Yes, yes. Please inform him for me, Senior Brother.”

The middle-aged Daoist held out his hand.

“Hand it over.”

“What?”

Longbrow asked blankly.

The Daoist’s eyes widened immediately.

“Money! How else do you think you can register yourself at Wuwei Temple? No money, and you think you can even enter?”

Longbrow stammered, “I… I have no money. I only wish to see the abbot.”

“Scram!”

The middle-aged Daoist turned around and slammed the gate shut.

“Get lost.”