Chapter 46
Gang Jo-hang asked Gang Gye what he had learned at the academy that day.
Gang Gye briefly explained what Teacher Lin had taught him.
Since Munsaeng was sitting beside them, it would have been awkward to say too much.
So Gang Gye deliberately shifted the topic toward Munsaeng and asked what book he was studying.
Munsaeng was also learning the Thousand Character Classic.
His progress just wasn't as fast as Gang Gye's.
Gang Gye asked how Scholar Zhou taught him, then explained how he himself had learned that day.
The two children compared their lessons.
Gang Gye also helped Munsaeng understand the material more deeply.
Gang Gye had no desire to suppress Munsaeng or stop him from standing out.
If anything, he hoped they could study together, take the Imperial Examinations together, and both achieve good results.
Whether Munsaeng later became an official or opened a private school, Gang Gye simply wanted him to live a better life.
Munsaeng also realized that Gang Gye genuinely wanted to help him.
Munsaeng was somewhat timid by nature.
Sometimes, he even looked down on himself.
Studying hadn't originally been his own dream.
He was doing it because his parents had placed their hopes on him.
He understood how difficult it was to obtain this opportunity.
He also knew that this path offered the best chance of making his future life easier.
But if he truly wanted a comfortable life, he needed to become at least a xiucai.
If he kept failing the examinations, his family's expectations would eventually become invisible shackles.
And the entire village would laugh at him.
Munsaeng knew his own talent was ordinary.
He needed Gang Gye's help.
Gang Gye had been born with a memory that never forgot anything after seeing it once.
He also loved studying.
And the headmaster of White Crane Academy had personally come to invite him.
The entire Gang family already recognized him as a child prodigy.
Naturally, Munsaeng couldn't compare with someone like that.
So rather than feeling insulted that Gang Gye was trying to teach him, Munsaeng only felt happy.
After all, wasn't it perfectly normal to be worse than a prodigy?
"Wait a moment. Let me get my book."
Munsaeng rummaged through his book box.
"I still don't remember that much."
"Okay."
Gang Gye waited for Munsaeng to take out his book, then called toward the second son, who was driving the ox cart.
"Second Uncle, please don't make the ox go too fast."
"Let's go slowly."
"Reading for too long while the cart is shaking probably isn't good for our eyes."
"Ah, all right."
The second son laughed loudly.
Warmth surged through his heart.
He could only feel grateful toward this little nephew.
Gang Gye's willingness to help Munsaeng so freely wasn't something that could be explained simply by the children being close.
Studying at White Crane Academy could cost dozens of taels a year.
The second son asked again,
"Little Six, won't helping him interfere with your own studies?"
"No."
Gang Gye shook his head.
"If I explain it to Brother Munsaeng once, it's also like reviewing it myself."
"It helps me remember it more firmly."
Even after hearing that, the second son remained deeply grateful.
He silently decided that he would treat Little Six even better in the future.
As the two children compared their lessons, it became clear that Liu Yunhe really did have a good eye for teachers.
Teacher Lin of Class C and Scholar Zhou were both xiucai.
But Teacher Lin was clearly the better teacher.
Scholar Zhou relied heavily on rote memorization.
His teaching was also rigid.
Rather than encouraging new ways of understanding something, he mostly repeated established interpretations.
Teacher Lin was much more flexible.
His explanations were more detailed, and he focused on guiding students to think for themselves.
While Gang Gye and Munsaeng studied together, the ox cart eventually reached the village.
But before they even arrived home, they heard angry shouting from not far away.
"Ha! Let me tell you right now, there's no such good deal in this world!"
"There are so many people in this family, yet only one person has ever been allowed to study, and he still hasn't achieved anything!"
"Now you're secretly trying to send your son to school too?"
"So the rest of us are supposed to work like oxen and horses for you?"
"Exactly!"
"Jang Un-mo, how did you even come up with such a shameless idea?"
Gang Gye froze and looked toward his parents.
"What's going on?"
Why were the Zhao family members fighting with Jang Un-mo?
Jang Un-chu knew exactly why.
"Half a month ago, Headmaster Liu came looking for you and invited you to study at White Crane Academy."
"That spread through the village almost immediately."
"Jang Un-mo probably decided around then that she wanted her son to study too."
"Now that you officially started today, I suppose she couldn't hold herself back anymore."
Jang Un-mo always wanted to stay ahead of Jang Un-chu.
Now that Jang Un-chu's son had begun studying, of course she wouldn't want to fall behind.
Jang Un-chu understood Jang Un-mo's thoughts so well that she barely needed to think about it.
She could already guess what had happened.
And after going through so many things because of her, Jang Un-chu had no desire to see Jang Un-mo prosper either.
So hearing them argue like this only made her happy.
Gang Gye blinked.
He understood the situation now.
This was another chain reaction caused by his decision to study.
Nothing like this had happened in the original story.
In the novel, Jang Un-mo's son had studied too, but it had happened smoothly without causing any dispute.
He had only begun studying after Zhao Yongchang became a xiucai.
After being reborn, Jang Un-mo had quickly reclaimed Zhao Yongchang.
But that didn't mean she had married him immediately.
She knew Zhao Yongchang was the type who matured late and wouldn't become a xiucai until relatively late.
The Zhao household was also huge.
Old Madam Zhao had given birth to five sons and two daughters.
