Ancient Doomsday Traveler

Chapter 54 Magistrate Xu, who loved to teach others

The one speaking outside was the scholar who had previously mentioned wanting to buy storybooks.

When Lin Xiu and Yao Rongrong opened the door, they saw him standing empty-handed outside, and he even said to Brother Donkey, "Brother Donkey, six!"

Brother Donkey replied with six "Hmm"s.

Without a doubt, he had met Li Laoshi before coming here, and Li Laoshi had told him about the peculiarities of Brother Donkey.

Seeing Lin Xiu and Yao Rongrong open the door, the man turned his gaze away from Brother Donkey and exclaimed, "I never expected that Brother Donkey wasn't a mule, but a donkey. I've never seen a donkey with such long mane before."

Brother Donkey glanced at the man with some dissatisfaction.

The man ignored it and said to Lin Xiu and Yao Rongrong, "Gentlemen, I just went to the yamen to ask Magistrate Xu to exchange some paper. I have the brush and ink myself, so there's no need to go and exchange them."

However, Magistrate Xu said there was no need for that; he could lend them his writing brush, ink, paper, and inkstone. He simply wanted to invite them to sit down for a while.

Lin Xiu and Yao Rongrong did not refuse, and went with the man to the village government office.

The man on the way gave them some information: the magistrate Xu was named Xu Hong, a native of Yongnian County in Donghai Prefecture, and had only been serving in Yanhe County for a few years.

Last year, rumors circulated that the imperial court was going to issue an edict to transfer Magistrate Xu to another location, which led to a gathering of people from Yanhe County who presented him with a "Ten Thousand People's Umbrella." However, for some unknown reason, the transfer did not take place.

This year, a great disaster struck, and Magistrate Xu came to the village with two guards, Liang Yan and Xiao Zan, both of whom had learned skills and possessed extraordinary fighting abilities.

After Magistrate Xu arrived at Lijiaji, in order to help the people of Lijiaji better protect their lives, he asked the two guards to teach the villagers cultivation techniques. Now everyone in the village has learned some breathing and walking techniques. Although they are not as skilled as Liang Yan and Xiao Zan, they all have the ability to protect themselves.

Even Han Cheng, now strong and healthy, is much stronger than before.

—Han Cheng is the name of this storyteller.

The accommodations arranged for Lin Xiu and Yao Rongrong in the village were not far from the yamen. Han Cheng only told the two of these things before they arrived at the yamen gate.

Just then, two men rode out of the yamen, each on a horse. They nodded to Han Cheng, greeted him, and headed towards the village entrance behind the mountain.

Han Cheng told Lin Xiu and Yao Rongrong that these two were Magistrate Xu's bodyguards, Liang Yan and Xiao Zan.

Just as he came out of the yamen, he overheard Magistrate Xu arranging for these two guards to go south to investigate the battlefield where the dead were, and they must have packed up and set off by now.

Upon entering the courtyard of the yamen, Lin Xiu saw a number of weapons laid out on the ground, all belonging to them. There were also some hoes and shovels, which they did not intend to sell, having informed the villagers beforehand, and were now placed in a corner of the courtyard.

Han Cheng led Lin Xiu and Yao Rongrong to the entrance of the main room, invited them inside, and then left.

When Lin Xiu and Yao Rongrong went inside, they saw that Magistrate Xu Hong was sitting upright at his desk, holding a book and reading.

Noticing the footsteps, Magistrate Xu put down his book, looked up and smiled at the two men, pointed to the chair beside him, and said, "This is a humble place, there's no need for formalities, please sit."

Yao Rongrong, still with that timid demeanor, said, "Thank you, Magistrate."

Lin Xiu also thanked her hesitantly and sat down with Yao Rongrong.

Magistrate Xu seemed quite interested in Lin Xiu. After Lin Xiu sat down, he leaned slightly towards him and said, "My name is Xu Hong, magistrate of Yanhe County, as you probably already know. However, I do not yet know your names. Also, young friend, do you hold any official rank?"

Lin Xiu remained honest and unassuming, but he knew it was time for him to speak up. He couldn't let Yao Rongrong, his "good sister," always take the lead in every situation.

He replied, "I am Lin Xiu, and my younger sister is Lin Rongrong. We are from Mengzhou City. We have studied for a few years but have not yet passed the imperial examinations."

There was nothing I could do; this woman was the one who claimed to be her brother first, so now I had no choice but to make her take my surname.

"Oh……"

Magistrate Xu nodded slightly, but his expression seemed somewhat disappointed. However, he quickly stopped himself from commenting. If Lin Xiu and Yao Rongrong hadn't been so observant and perceptive, they wouldn't have noticed at all.

Magistrate Xu then asked, "May I ask what books you read, young friend?"

Lin Xiu then picked up a few books and newspapers that he had read during his time of leisure in Mengzhou City.

Judging from Magistrate Xu's appearance, he had a good idea of ​​what was going on, so he catered to his interests by reporting on proper academic texts.

Of course, we should also mention a couple of vernacular novels, otherwise, Yao Rongrong's previous statement that she enjoys writing vernacular novels would be meaningless.

Upon hearing this, Magistrate Xu's interest was piqued again, and he began to converse with him, discussing articles from the classic texts he mentioned.

Fortunately, Lin Xiu had a good memory after transmigrating. With nothing to do in Mengzhou City, he read all those books until they were worn out and memorized them. Now, when Magistrate Xu mentioned them, he could answer them all fluently.

Magistrate Xu was delighted at the prospect and became quite engrossed in the conversation, launching into a thorough test of Lin Xiu.

Lin Xiu quickly became certain that this Magistrate Xu was fond of lecturing others. Earlier at the village entrance, when he heard that Lin Xiu had been to school, his eyes lit up, and that was probably why.

However, this Magistrate Xu was indeed learned. His insights in the book were often presented in a splendid manner, citing numerous classical texts, which left Lin Xiu in awe.

Lin Xiu originally wanted to use his memories from his previous life to offer some unique insights, but in the end he didn't dare.

From his conversation with Magistrate Xu, it is clear that contemporary learning has its own system and is combined with practical experience, which is quite different from reading and understanding based on past life experience. If he were to speak casually, he would probably be given a good talking-to by Magistrate Xu.

Yao Rongrong watched silently from the side, her eyes sparkling with surprise as she glanced at Lin Xiu. Could this storyteller really be a scholar? Little did she know that Lin Xiu was sitting on pins and needles, struggling to cope.

It wasn't until it was almost dark that Magistrate Xu finally managed to get past Lin Xiu and Yao Rongrong.

Magistrate Xu sighed, "Alas... young friend, you have read a lot and are quite perceptive. If it were in previous years, you would surely have passed the imperial examinations. It's just a pity about the current state of affairs..."

Lin Xiu said, "In a year of great disaster, it is fortunate to have survived. I dare not say it is a pity."

Magistrate Xu stroked his beard and laughed: "Young friend, your open-mindedness is excellent. Would you be willing to stay in our village? If so, I need an assistant here, and you could take on that role."

Yao Rongrong's heart suddenly jumped, and she looked at Lin Xiu.

Lin Xiu hesitated for a moment before finally saying, "I hope Magistrate Xu will give me some time to think it over."

Magistrate Xu stroked his beard and said, "No rush. You can stay in the village for now. There are many good things about the village; you can take a look and experience them for yourself."

He pointed to the table in front of him and said, "This is paper that I had someone collect from Yanhe County. Take a stack of it. Han Cheng said you want to write some vernacular novels. You can write them and sell them to him."

The area outside the mountains is fraught with danger, and Lijiaji is isolated in a remote corner. Some form of entertainment is needed to prevent the villagers from living a life of oppression and misery. Therefore, Han Cheng had nothing else to do but tell stories to earn money all day, and I agreed to that.

Young friend, you could compose a story for him in exchange for some things; there's nothing wrong with that. If it's truly interesting, I might even have to read it myself.