Chapter 123 The trump card
Deng Qianqiu asked people to clear out a few rooms in the Hundred Households Office for the princes to use as a resting place.

Then a proper classroom was opened.

Then he ran away and did not return to the centurion's office until the middle of the night. He seemed too tired and fell asleep immediately.

The next day, the morning light just broke through the earth.

Deng Qianqiu got up early. After a good night's sleep, he was full of energy again. He first explained some things to Wen Yuanji and Niu Shisanren, and then arrived at the classroom, and then began to ring the bell.

The bell woke Zhu Gang and the others up from their sleep. After a long while, the three of them slowly entered the classroom, only to see Deng Qianqiu already sitting there.

At this time, there was also a person waiting here with a bag on his back.

Seeing the man carrying a bag, Zhu Gang asked curiously, "Who is this?"

Deng Qianqiu said: "Classmates, your classmates, come, sit down... all of you sit down."

Zhu Gang was used to being beaten, and had long since developed a strong body. After being beaten yesterday, he was full of energy today. He said, "Master, please come out for a moment. I have something to tell you."

Deng Qianqiu coughed: "Well, cough cough... okay."

As he spoke, he walked out of the classroom with a calm look. When he reached the corner of the corridor, Zhu Gang said, "That person...why does he look familiar to me?"

"Huh?" Deng Qianqiu laughed: "You have seen it too, what a coincidence."

Zhu Gang scratched his head and frowned, "But I can't remember who it was."

"Don't think about it." Deng Qianqiu said with a smile: "It's the Shen family... Shen Sen's grandson..."

Shen Sen... is the grandson of Shen Wansan, and this man, called Shen Zhiye, is the grandson of the grandson of Shen Wansan's grandson.

Zhu Gang was stunned: "No wonder I have seen him before. I saw this guy before when I was discussing business with that old fox Shen Sen. Qian..."

Deng Qianqiu said with a straight face: "Zhu Gang, you and I have a relationship like this, so you should set an example. Now I am your mentor. If you still don't respect your elders, how can your brothers accept you in the future?"

Zhu Gang said, "Master, how come this kid... is here by chance?"

"What a coincidence? It's just that the world is small." Deng Qianqiu said with a smile: "From now on, he is also my student and will come to class with me."

Zhu Gang stared at Deng Qianqiu with a probing look and said, "You went out yesterday, could it be for this? How did your mentor hook up with the man surnamed Shen?"

Deng Qianqiu cleared his throat: "How do you say hooking up? Well...his grandson is studious, you know, as a teacher, I have a kind heart..."

Zhu Gang seemed to have noticed something, and his eyes narrowed into a slit: "Master, please tell me the truth."

Deng Qianqiu smiled and said, "I went to see Shen Sen yesterday and collected some tuition from him."

Zhu Gang was shocked: "How much?"

Deng Qianqiu said: "Ten thousand taels."

"Ah..." Zhu Gang's eyes widened in shock, and he said, "To be your student, it actually costs 10,000 taels..."

Deng Qianqiu said cheerfully, "Every year... every year... until he becomes a talent. Alas, he is dull. I think with his IQ, he won't become a talent in ten or twenty years."

Zhu Gang was about to faint: "That Shen guy is very stingy, how could he agree to this?"

"This man is one of the richest families in Jiangnan. He has a lot of money." Deng Qianqiu lowered his voice and continued, "Of course, you don't have to spend so much money to become my disciple, but... what about being classmates with several princes? The Shen family is rich, but their status is low. The old fox surnamed Shen has placed all his hopes on his grandson. Although it hurts to spend this money, Shen Zhiye has become a fellow apprentice of several royal families! This deal... is definitely a loss for some people, but it is really worth it for the Shen family."

Zhu Gang was almost so excited that he wanted to jump up, and there was a look of admiration in his eyes that he couldn't hide. He said with a beaming face: "Qian... Master, I admire you, I really admire you, why didn't I think of it at the beginning, my God..."

Deng Qianqiu patted Zhu Gang's shoulder and said earnestly: "So... from now on, you must work hard. Leave the business at hand to your subordinates, and now follow your master to make it bigger and stronger."

Zhu Gang still had a smile on his face, but confusion appeared in his eyes, so he asked, "Become bigger and stronger?"

Deng Qianqiu nodded and said, "Study hard and teach others to look at you with new eyes, so that they will know how powerful you are as a teacher. Think about it, as long as we make a name for ourselves and become knowledgeable, not only will the palace be satisfied, but all the officials will be speechless. And the Shen family... not only will their grandson be gilded with gold, but they will also learn skills. In this way, think about it, how many people in this world would want to learn from Shen Zhiye? Let alone ten thousand taels for one person, even if it's one thousand taels a month, we can recruit hundreds or thousands of them, how much money will it be in a year? Zhu Gang, now you understand my good intentions, right?"

Zhu Gang's brain started to work rapidly, and he was saying "wow" countless times in his heart. Suddenly, his face turned ruddy, as if he was slightly drunk. "I understand, I understand. Why didn't you say it earlier? Hey, hey, I really didn't make any progress in the past. I never thought that my mentor had such a skill. Let me calculate it first..."

"Forget it." Deng Qianqiu said, "Set a good example for me, study hard, and... report to me at any time. Keep a record of your brothers' behavior. We have to do something big now, understand?"

The little red chicken pecked at the rice and nodded.

Deng Qianqiu said again: "Be nice to Shen Zhiye. He spent money and you are willing to give him money. Is he still a human being? Don't let others bully him." Zhu Gang said excitedly: "Don't worry, I know that in business... it is important to make money in harmony."

Deng Qianqiu looked at Zhu Gang with appreciation, and then said, "Try your best."

So Zhu Gang returned to the classroom happily.

Deng Qianqiu thought about it and simply called Zhu Su out again.

"Master, what are you going to do?" Zhu Su had been secretly observing Deng Qianqiu. However, in front of Deng Qianqiu, he still couldn't let go of his airs as a vassal king.

Deng Qianqiu smiled and said, "A few days ago, I got some prescriptions. This prescription is so powerful that it can cure almost all diseases. Alas, as a teacher of a gynecologist, I feel so lonely."

"Take a look at me." Zhu Su's eyes sparkled.

Zhu Su was fond of medicine since he was young. Historically, this prince compiled and edited medical works such as "Bao Sheng Yu Lu", "Xiu Zhen Fang" and "Pu Ji Fang" throughout his life, among which "Jiu Huang Ben Cao" was the most outstanding.

He knew Deng Qianqiu's name, but he was shy and didn't want to ask.

Deng Qianqiu smiled and said, "That won't do. Your most urgent task now is to study hard."

Zhu Su frowned: "Tell me the truth, if I study hard, will you give it to me?"

Deng Qianqiu said: "That depends on how hard you work. Also... if you can help me keep an eye on your third and fourth brothers while they study, that would be even better. If they cheat..."

Before Deng Qianqiu could finish, Zhu Su said straightforwardly, "Great, it's a deal."

Deng Qianqiu: “…”

Deng Qianqiu suddenly began to doubt family affection. When Zhu Su happily returned to the classroom, Deng Qianqiu followed him.

At this moment, he began to gather his wisdom. He glanced at Zhu Di with a smile. People like Zhu Di who are proud and arrogant are actually the easiest to control. Although he has no interest in studying, once the brothers around him are staring at him and their academic performance and homework are better than his, he will definitely strive to be the best.

"Okay, these few days, you should read the Spring and Autumn Annals, Han Shu, Zizhi Tongjian, Shishu, Shangshu and all of them carefully, and make sure you know them by heart..."

Zhu Di sneered and said, "Master, my father didn't teach me to come here to teach you this."

Deng Qianqiu was not annoyed, and said calmly: "Of course, this is not what I teach, but... to do any study, you must have a solid foundation. If the foundation is not solid, then everything you learn... is just castles in the air, so don't talk too much, just read it carefully. If you can't read it, don't blame me for being rude."

Deng Qianqiu frowned and looked extremely stern.

Zhu Di still wanted to argue.

But Zhu Gang immediately shouted, "Fourth brother, we should do whatever our teacher taught us. Don't you understand the principle of respecting teachers and honoring the teachings? I know your mind is full of archery and horse riding again. I tell you... listen carefully to what our teacher says. If not, don't blame me, your elder brother, for being rude to you."

Zhu Gang bared his teeth at Zhu Di, looking like an angry King Kong.

Zhu Di: "..."

In fact, apart from his father, the only person Zhu Di was afraid of might really be Zhu Gang.

He had three elder brothers. The crown prince was kind and friendly, so Zhu Di was naturally not afraid of him. However, his second elder brother, the Prince of Qin, Zhu Chong, was the most absurd, but Zhu Di despised him and kept his distance from him.

Only Zhu Gang could get along with him, but Zhu Gang had always been cruel, and his archery and horsemanship were not inferior to Zhu Di, which made Zhu Di very wary of him.

But Zhu Di was still somewhat dissatisfied.

Zhu Su, who was standing by, tugged at his sleeve and said, "Fourth brother, this is your fault. Father taught us to study hard under our teacher. Why are you so nosy? If you don't want to study, go out and don't disturb us from studying."

Zhu Di's face twitched, and he glared at Zhu Gang and Zhu Su stubbornly, and finally lowered his head: "Humph, if you really want to study, you may not be able to catch up with me."

Zhu Gang looked at him with disdain and said, "If you were really as capable as my third brother, you wouldn't have to pay me back the money you lent me."

Zhu Di was so angry that his face turned green, but he was defeated in the end.

The learning atmosphere here is very good.

It can be said that this was far beyond Deng Qianqiu's expectations. For example, Zhu Gang was almost obsessed with the study and had forgotten to eat and sleep. In the past, teaching him to read was more painful than killing him, but now, he was actually contented.

As for Zhu Su, needless to say, he has always been honest. Compared with other brothers, he is considered a normal person. In the past, when other brothers were making trouble in the main hall, he could not help but join in the fun. But now that everyone is working so hard and forgetting to eat and sleep, he has calmed down.

(End of this chapter)