The waiting time outside the door wasn’t very long — about half a quarter of an hour — before the young servant returned and invited Wei Yu into the academy.

It was Wei Yu’s first time entering the academy, and he found everything novel and curious.

The young servant led the way in front, while Wei Yu glanced left and right at the corridors and courtyards, listening to the clear voices of students reading aloud. As he walked into a secluded pavilion surrounded by corridors, he didn’t see a single person.

Wei Yu reasonably suspected that this servant had deliberately chosen a deserted route, in case they were here to secretly steal lessons.

The young servant stopped in front of a courtyard gate.

“Gentlemen, the Dean is inside. You may go in by yourselves.”

Wei Yu nodded. “Much obliged.”

Only after the servant had walked away did Wei Yu step forward.

He had thought it would be a small courtyard and that the Dean would be sitting inside a house. But upon entering, Wei Yu realized that it was practically a lakeside pavilion.

There was a spring-fed pond, a winding veranda, and a gray figure wearing a bamboo hat sitting by the lake, lazily holding a fishing rod with one hand while the other hand rested loosely on his thigh. The whole posture looked extremely carefree.

Wei Yu stopped a short distance away.

He squinted at the fisherman and couldn’t help but ask Fang Sheng, “Look at his hair — doesn’t it seem a little too black?”

Lord Pei’s hair was already half black and half white. How could his good friend, the Dean, still have such jet-black hair?

Wasn’t he a bit too young?

Fang Sheng revealed the truth: “Master, Zhang Qingsheng only became Dean of White Horse Academy five years ago. He’s only thirty-five this year.”

Wei Yu was shocked. “What? He’s not an old man?!”

Fang Sheng stayed silent.

Realizing he had made a blunder, Wei Yu coughed and said, “Ah, this Dean Zhang is truly a young and promising talent. At such a young age, he’s already become the Dean. Clearly a bright and capable young man — excellent, excellent. Being young is good… young people can take on more work!”

As he spoke, his eyes lit up.

He clapped his hand and turned to instruct Fang Sheng, “You stay here and don’t move. Your master is about to go recruit talent. Don’t mess things up for me.”

Fang Sheng: …

Staring at the figure fishing by the lake, Wei Yu straightened his robes, eyes burning with determination.

He had initially thought he would be facing an elderly scholar and hadn’t planned to exploit him, but now that Dean Zhang was so young, how could he not bring him back to be a math teacher?

Wei Yu finished tidying himself up and approached.

When he was about four or five meters away, he could see the fish in the lake clearly — they were all fat silver carp with bulging bellies!

Just by looking at their plump bodies, Wei Yu could already tell how delicious the meat would be.

He couldn’t help but remark, “Sir, your fish are very well raised — they look delicious.”

The fisherman was amused by Wei Yu’s comment. With a soft chuckle, he raised a hand and tilted up his bamboo hat slightly.

“Seeing what you see — judging it by its appearance. Hearing your words, young master, you must be quite a food lover.”

As he lifted his face, Wei Yu finally got a good look at him.

It was a hard-to-describe face — clearly, if you looked closely, he wasn’t particularly handsome. His features were very ordinary. Yet somehow, he still gave off the illusion of being extremely attractive?

Wei Yu felt it was a matter of temperament.

“Are you the Dean?” Wei Yu asked.

The man nodded and sighed with a smile, “Yes, I’m the Dean of White Horse Academy. Let me think how long I’ve been Dean… seems like it’s been a few years.”

His casual tone didn’t sound like something a respected scholar would say.

Wei Yu blinked and tentatively asked, “Sir, it sounds like you’re not too willing to be Dean?”

“I’m a free spirit by nature, roaming the human world as I please.”

His words hinted at a more complicated story, but Zhang Qingsheng only shook his head and sighed, slightly lifting the fishing rod, and then asked Wei Yu in return, “Young master, you must be either wealthy or noble. I imagine you have famous teachers at home. White Horse Academy may look good to outsiders, but it may not be enough for you. So tell me, why have you come?”

Wei Yu was slightly stunned.

Didn’t Lord Pei’s letter of recommendation mention his identity?

Or had this person not even bothered to read it?

Thinking about it, Wei Yu decided not to explain and instead brought up the matter of mathematics.

“I heard from Lord Pei that sir is very skilled in mathematics?”

Zhang Qingsheng glanced at him, a little surprised. “You actually came here for mathematics?”

Well.

Seeing Zhang Qingsheng’s reaction, Wei Yu could confirm: this man definitely hadn’t read the letter!

Wei Yu nodded.

“That’s rare,” Zhang Qingsheng said with a smile, visibly more cheerful. “Nowadays, the imperial examinations don’t test mathematics. Very few people study it anymore. I’ve been at White Horse Academy for several years now, and you’re the first to come asking about mathematics.”

Before Wei Yu could say anything, Zhang Qingsheng got up on his own, packed up the fishing rod, and headed inside.

“Come on. Since you’re the first person in years to seek me out for math, whether you end up learning or not, I’m in a good mood now. I’ll at least hear you out.”

Wei Yu smiled.

A Dean this skilled in mathematics, and he even appreciated those who respected the subject — perfect.

The math teacher position was as good as settled.

Zhang Qingsheng’s room was very simple, with few belongings, and a general air of poverty.

Even the tea he brewed was stingy — he only put two tea leaves into the cup!

“My humble abode is simple, and my purse is tight. Young master, I hope you don’t mind — the tea is still drinkable.”

Zhang Qingsheng sat across from him, looking perfectly at ease, without the least embarrassment a scholar in straitened circumstances might have shown.

Wei Yu glanced at the two lonely tea leaves floating in his cup, then quietly put the cup down.

He smiled, “Sir, you overthink. With your lofty character and high ideals, how could I possibly mind? I’m not thirsty at the moment anyway. I’d rather talk about mathematics.”

Zhang Qingsheng glanced at the tea cup, smiled, and said nothing.

Wei Yu began stating his purpose. “To be honest, sir, I’m here today to ask you to teach mathematics. But before that, I’d also like to test you a little.”

Hearing about Zhang Qingsheng’s skill and seeing it for himself were two different things.

Wei Yu wanted to gauge Zhang Qingsheng’s level of understanding so he could match him to the appropriate level of mathematical material.

“You want to test me?”

Zhang Qingsheng was a little surprised but not offended. Instead, he smiled with genuine interest. “Very well, pose your question and let’s see if I can solve it.”

Since he was so straightforward, Wei Yu didn’t hesitate and immediately gave him a classic “chickens and rabbits in the same cage” problem.

“There are chickens and rabbits in a cage, one hundred animals in total, with three hundred twenty legs altogether. How many chickens and how many rabbits are there?”

This was a problem that could be solved with a simple linear equation — something any middle school student could do in modern times, but in this era, only someone truly good at mathematics could manage it!

Wei Yu fixed his eyes on Zhang Qingsheng, wanting to see how long it would take him.

But—

The fact was, Zhang Qingsheng was truly good at math.

He didn’t even take three seconds before giving the answer!

“Forty chickens, sixty rabbits.”