Chapter 60: Forcibly Establishing Master and Disciple

Zhang Lao's temper flared absurdly, and Chen Wuji cracked a joke, only to be driven half a street away by the old man brandishing a feather duster.

Being chased like this, even Chen Wuji's temperament got a bit heated.

"Old man, you're being excessive! If you hit me again I'll fight back, and don't blame me for bullying the weak!" he turned his head and shouted.

"Fight back? Let me see you try, you little rabbit!" Zhang Lao snarled as he chased him up, "With that temperament, how will you inherit my mantle later? Your mouth is flippant; it's fine if you can't take a hit, but you still dare to talk back!"

Chen Wuji:???

Is this old man still half‑asleep?

"When did I agree to inherit your mantle?" Chen Wuji shouted.

"You didn't agree, but I, the old man, think so!" Zhang Lao said with righteous confidence.

This left Chen Wuji completely speechless.

I've heard of forced buying and selling, but I've never seen someone force the master‑disciple relationship.

"Old man, what do you like about me? I'll change!" Chen Wuji shouted.

He actually couldn't make sense of this matter.

They've only met once, yet the old man is so stubborn about taking him as a disciple.

"You kid will agree later; what brings you to see me today?" Zhang Lao glanced at Chen Wuji, slipping the feather duster behind his back.

Chen Wuji was a bit speechless, "I don't want to talk now."

"If you don't want to talk, get lost."

"Do you buy Five Spirit Fat?"

"Buy! How much?" Zhang Lao, hands behind his back, walked toward the Yaopu.

"About ten jin, I guess."

"About ten jin?!" Zhang Lao suddenly stopped, looked over, "Did you force the Han Hao Bird on the mountain to defecate right in front of you?"

Chen Wuji unfastened his satchel and placed it on the counter.

The Five Spirit Fat had already been sorted; the satchel's two pockets held Spirit Fat Rice and Spirit Fat Lump respectively.

Zhang Lao opened the satchel, glanced, "Yo, it really is."

"Old man, I've at least learned something; I wouldn't poke around mouse holes and use mouse droppings to masquerade as Five Spirit Fat—I'm still aware of that honesty," Chen Wuji said without words.

He doesn't know how great his skill truly is, but the goods will never be mistaken.

"Little fish, little fish!" Zhang Lao shouted, straining his throat twice.

But the agile disciple didn't appear.

"That damn thing surely ran off to check Hu Nü's belly again; I'll end up dying of anger at this dog," Zhang Lao muttered as he entered the counter and took out a scale.

But before the scale's weight could be released, his temper snapped again; he tossed the scale onto the counter, drooping his face, and shouted, "How much? You tell me!"

Chen Wuji was stunned, "Should I say it myself?"

"Speak!"

"Fifty liang!"

Zhang Lao slapped open the cash cabinet, grabbed a few Silver ingots, and tossed them in front of Chen Wuji.

"Take them and scram!"

Chen Wuji was dumbfounded.

What a volatile old man, even his business is like this?

He dared to hand over the money, yet Chen Wuji wouldn't take it; resigned, he lifted the scale and said, "At my age, I still don't know where this huge temper comes from; I'll weigh it myself!"

He weighed the Spirit Fat Rice and Spirit Fat Lump separately, then set the scale down and said, "Spirit Fat Rice: four jin two liang; Spirit Fat Lump: eight jin six liang. What price?"

"The former is one liang for two hundred wen, the latter one liang for one hundred fifty wen; calculate the total yourself!" Zhang Lao said.

Chen Wuji was shocked by the price.

Spirit Fat Rice costs one jin one liang, and Spirit Fat Lump costs one jin one liang plus five hundred wen.

He indeed made a very wise choice; if Flying Squirrel can really be farmed, this would be a long‑term profitable venture.

Even if those little critters only produce one or two jin of droppings a month, Chen Wuji could achieve modest prosperity.

In an era when many common folk didn't even know what a liang of Silver looked like, earning one or two liang a month was certainly a modest‑well‑off household.

This simple arithmetic, Chen Wuji calculated in his head once and gave Zhang Lao a figure, "Spirit Fat Rice: four hundred twenty wen, Spirit Fat Lump: twelve liang ninety wen."

Zhang Lao slightly frowned, "You calculated so fast; are you correct?"

"You, old man, calculate it again yourself; don't later suspect I've swindled you," Chen Wuji said. This simple math, if he had been laboriously counting, would have wasted the school uniform fee from nine years of compulsory education.

Zhang Lao recalculated, then suddenly scrutinized Chen Wuji, "You little rabbit, what's your background? You can't determine fate, you hunt, yet you also know medicine, and now seem to dabble in mathematics."

"Mathematics is something many noble families never even touch; how could you?"

Chen Wuji stared blankly at Zhang Lao, completely speechless, "Old man, I was just calculating the price, why does this turn into mathematics? If we go by your words, every merchant in East Market would be a math master, many of them calculate faster than I do."

Zhang Lao hummed lightly, "Do you think I don't know how they calculate? As for what you just calculated, if those East Market folks could instantly figure it out without a ledger, I wouldn't take you as a disciple. Let me be your master, how about that?"

Chen Wuji thought carefully, and it seemed there was some truth to it.

Most of the big trades in East Market involve ledgers, and even street stalls seem to count copper coins.

A price per jin costs, you count the number of jin repeatedly; most seem to do it that way.

He was already accustomed to such a tiny math problem and never gave it a second thought. Now, thinking it over, he realized he might actually be somewhat impressive, even able to slip a counting board under his arm and work as an accountant in East Market.

Incredible, this accidental insight gave him another way to make a living.

If later the mountain yields nothing, he could try this.

"Kid, you're naturally clever; I figured it out myself!" Chen Wuji blurted a lie, then asked, "Old man, what did you mean about my fate? Did you also..."

Zhang Lao suddenly gave a sinister smile, "Otherwise, how could I say we have a master‑disciple destiny? But fooling an old man isn't fun; I won't press further, no need to be so wary."

Chen Wuji shivered, "Old man, a forced melon never tastes sweet; hurry up and settle the money, today this city feels uneasy, I need to leave early."

"A forced melon isn't sweet, yet it's still sweet. No problem, I can wait; there will be a day when you'll gladly become my disciple. Some things you don't believe now, but later you will." Zhang Lao said slowly, seeming quite pleased with the way Chen Wuji was behaving at that moment.

"However, you can't leave for now; that Censor Lord has come to Yunan and has already dispatched someone to look for you for two days. Wait a moment; I'll send someone to give notice."

"What would such a high-ranking lord want with me?" Chen Wuji suddenly felt a bit nervous.

Could it be that his daughter is in some sort of trouble?

"Good thing, I guess there's still Silver to be taken." Zhang Lao's expression softened a bit, then he solemnly said, "But if Censor Lord Zhang asks you to help him with a diagnosis, it's best not to accept, lest the Silver you get flies away and you also incur resentment."