Chapter 222: The cabinet is baffled—where are my disciples

Around 5 p. m., Lu Yuan was also getting hungry.

At this moment, over five hundred people had already gathered in the school field.

Besides the students of Qingbei Daxue, the rest were all from the Guozijian.

At this time, Lu Yuan stood before the loudspeaker and said:

"Alright, today's lesson ends here. Tomorrow morning… we'll continue at nine. Before I leave, I'll give you all an assignment."

"You've all eaten frozen tofu, right? So the question is, why does frozen tofu in winter have honeycomb-like holes after freezing?"

Having said that, Lu Yuan laughed and said:

"You can think on your own or discuss it; whoever answers correctly tomorrow will get meat at noon, as I, the principal, guarantee."

Hearing Lu Yuan's words, the crowd below burst into an excited cheer.

Thus, today's lesson ended here.

Lu Yuan stood on the platform, waved smilingly at the crowd, packed up his teaching materials, and walked toward the house in the distance.

Lu Yuan knew that Gu Qingwan had come today.

At noon, the two of them were still eating together in that small room.

Now summon Gu Qingwan; the two of us will go home together to eat.

When Lu Yuan pushed open the door and entered, he saw Gu Qingwan sitting behind the window-side table, smiling and looking at him.

Lu Yuan was not polite; he walked over, came directly to Gu Qingwan's side, picked up her teacup, and drank it in one gulp.

This afternoon really wore out Lu Yuan's voice.

His throat was completely hoarse.

Lu Yuan had really never spoken so much in a single afternoon before.

Moreover, he had to speak loudly.

This now felt to Lu Yuan like the first day of military training when he was in school.

His throat was truly burning.

Seeing Lu Yuan pick up her cup and drink it straight away, Gu Qingwan coquettishly said:

"This is my sister's cup~"

After finishing his drink, Lu Yuan continued pouring water from the nearby teapot while raising his eyebrows and said:

"What? I don't dislike you."

After Lu Yuan finished speaking, Gu Qingwan's brows slightly furrowed, her beautiful eyes full of smiles, yet she still coquettishly said:

"My sister dislikes you~"

After Lu Yuan gulped down another cup of water with a glug-glug sound, he raised his eyebrows and said:

"It's too late to dislike me now; come on, let's go home and eat."

Hearing Lu Yuan's words, Gu Qingwan gave him a flirtatious glance, then rose obediently and followed him out the door.

"Lu Yuan, how is it that you know everything, you understand everything~"

Following behind Lu Yuan, Gu Qingwan couldn't help but say:

Lu Yuan, walking ahead, proudly shook his head and swayed his body as he said:

"Just read books; reading more will make you know."

"Didn't I say before? In books there is beauty like Yan Ruyu, in books there are golden houses."

Gu Qingwan, meanwhile, blinked and said:

"Do you have any books like the ones you mentioned? My sister has never heard of them."

"And even if such books existed… it couldn't be just you reading them; wouldn't others read them too?"

"Why has my sister never heard anyone talk about these things before?"

"Hmm..."

Lu Yuan fell silent for a moment, then indeed had a reply, and immediately raised his eyebrows and said:

"Just reading books certainly isn't enough; you also need to practice, think more, do more, and add a clever, capable mind~"

Seeing Lu Yuan's proud look, Gu Qingwan truly adored him, couldn't help laughing out loud, and indulgingly said:

"Good, good, good~~ you're the smartest and most capable~~"

Lu Yuan arrived at the place where he parked his bicycle, and immediately said:

"Will you ride my bike back?"

Gu Qingwan looked at Lu Yuan's bicycle; to be honest, she still really wanted to.

However…

Not to mention, this place is too close to the imperial palace, and the Guozijian is right next door.

The officials in the Guozijian all hold high ranks, and moreover, because of Gu Lie's affair, Gu Qingwan has frequently summoned Guozijian personnel.

Therefore, everyone in the Guozijian has seen Gu Qingwan before.

It would really be inappropriate to ride, in case someone noticed.

Lu Yuan also knew Gu Qingwan couldn't ride, and then said:

"Just follow behind me~"

Saying that, Lu Yuan pedaled away, but as soon as he stepped out the gate, he was surrounded by a group of people.

Some Qingbei Daxue students, holding their notebooks, asked Lu Yuan some questions about today's events.

They just had some questions they couldn't figure out.

Lu Yuan isn't afraid that these people will learn from his teaching; he's afraid they won't learn.

Since their enthusiasm is so high, Lu Yuan certainly won't just leave.

Lu Yuan sat on this bicycle, one foot on the pedal, the other foot on the ground, he turned his head and glanced at the carriage road behind:

You go ahead first, I'll head home later.

Having said that, Lu Yuan began to explain to the surrounding students.

There were quite a few students coming to ask, everyone rushed over.

Even some people from the Guozijian came to ask.

This made the people from Qingbei Daxue unhappy.

At once they shouted while pushing those Guozijian folks out, saying:

You're not our students here, get out!!

When the Qingbei Daxue people shouted, their fellow students also chimed in.

Looking at those Guozijian people beside him, they immediately joined forces and shoved them out.

This left the Guozijian people angry, but they couldn't say anything.

After all, they indeed weren't students here.

That's right...

We're Guozijian people, wherever we go we're usually treated well.

But here we got shoved out.

Although unhappy, they couldn't say anything, so they could only stand outside and listen.

Anyway, the questions from those Qingbei Daxue students are basically the same as ours; standing outside we can still understand.

Next, Lu Yuan gave them the explanation.

After about another hour or so.

Lu Yuan couldn't take it anymore—where does this end? He'd spoken for over an hour and the crowd was still growing.

If he really finished explaining to them, would Lu Yuan still go home to eat?

Immediately, Lu Yuan directly said:

Like this, I'll pick two student representatives; you gather your questions tonight, and tomorrow I'll come back to explain to everyone.

Lu Yuan opened the system, found two three-and-a-half-star students to serve as representatives.

Only then was he able to slip away.

As Lu Yuan rode back, he noticed Gu Qingwan's carriage hadn't left; it was still waiting there.

Lu Yuan rode his bike alongside Gu Qingwan's carriage heading home.

Lu Yuan glanced at the window with the drawn gauze curtain and said:

Why aren't you going back? What are you waiting for me to do?

From inside the carriage came a soft hum, and Gu Qingwan said in a sweet voice:

Let's go home together~ Anyway, even if we go back early there's nothing to eat.

No one dares to pick up their chopsticks until you, the boss, sit at the table~

Hearing Gu Qingwan's words, Lu Yuan gave a hehe laugh.

That's~

Outside, Gu Qingwan is a prince, but at home I'm the boss~

……

The next day.

Lu Yuan went to Qingbei Daxue at 8:30.

These days he cultivates at night, so he's not tired.

Cultivating and sitting in meditation at night equals resting.

It leaves him more spirited than a full night's sleep.

After Lu Yuan arrived at Qingbei Daxue.

The students here had long been ready.

Lu Yuan looked and gasped, 'Goodness, how many people have come?!'

His gaze swept over—there had to be nearly a thousand people!

The Guozijian people... all came?

Hmm...

Probably, because the Guozijian folks are easy to find, this group sat on the ground.

As for the Qingbei Daxue students, they all had desks and chairs.

When Lu Yuan arrived, no one knew who started it.

As Lu Yuan walked toward the platform, the Qingbei Daxue students rose in unison and loudly said:

Good morning, Principal.

The Qingbei Daxue students genuinely admired Lu Yuan.

Among the students were young people in their twenties and also middle-aged folks in their thirties.

But no matter who, everyone felt respect for the twenty-two-year-old Lu Yuan.

In just half a year, so many great inventions have emerged.

The steam engine, the train—these are epoch-making!

Moreover, our own principal is simply all‑talented, not just skilled in industry.

And the potato yield has increased manyfold.

It directly solved the grain shortage caused by southern winter floods.

There are also the mortars used in the southern bandit suppression, and also the newly invented ore refining equipment from recent times.

Each of these left everyone admiring them so much they prostrated themselves.

So, no one would look down on Lu Yuan because of his age; now, in everyone's eyes, he is an elder, a senior, a teacher.

Being called 'principal' all together by this bunch, Lu Yuan was momentarily stunned.

However, after he came to his senses, Lu Yuan grinned and said:

"Please have a seat."

Afterwards, Lu Yuan came to the podium, sat down, and then said:

"Were yesterday's questions all sorted out?"

The two student representatives that Lu Yuan had selected yesterday stood up then, nodding repeatedly, and then proceeded to describe yesterday's problems.

Lu Yuan, meanwhile, held a large enamel tub, leaned back in his chair, crossed his legs, sipped tea, and answered the students' questions.

He looked exactly like a veteran official.

After spending more than half an hour clearing up all the questions, it was now ten o'clock.

He hurried to lecture; from now until noon there were still two hours.

Then Lu Yuan stood up, looked down at the Qingbei Daxue students below, and said directly:

"Did anyone get the homework I assigned yesterday?"

After that, many people offered their guesses.

But this answer, obviously……

None of them were correct.

That's normal, after all we've just begun.

Moreover, nobody has studied this stuff yet, so Lu Yuan immediately laughed and said:

"Today we'll continue studying temperature, and the formation of holes in frozen tofu is also very simple."

First, water has a strange property: at four degrees its density is greatest and its volume smallest.

But once it reaches zero degrees, water's volume begins to expand, becoming ten percent larger than at room temperature.

So, when this tofu is frozen……

What followed was a two‑hour explanation.

Lu Yuan now prepares his lessons every evening when he returns home, so he has planned exactly where to start and where to end each lecture.

Thus there are no awkward pauses, and there is always plenty to talk about.

One thing after another.

Listening to this, everyone's spirits rose high.

Especially for the students of the Guozijian, this is all the more true!

After all, for the Guozijian students, this kind of teaching method is truly something they have never seen before.

And the things Lu Yuan speaks of are also things the Guozijian students have never encountered.

After all, being able to enter the Guozijian around the age of thirty

means that before this, one must have spent every day poring over the sages' books, leaving them utterly clueless about everyday life.

So, the things Lu Yuan talks about, for the people of the Guozijian,

are truly astonishing.

At noon, the morning class ended.

Everyone went to the cafeteria to eat first.

Qingbei Daxue, as a key project supported by the Imperial Court, is truly changing day by day.

Yesterday's crude cafeteria at Qingbei Daxue had no tables, chairs, or benches, so when people went to eat they could only squat or stand.

Today it is almost finished being renovated.

The Qingbei Daxue students all went to eat, and Lu Yuan also took his meal to a little hut; today Gu Qingwan came as well.

As for the Guozijian students,

they naturally returned to the Guozijian to eat.

or they went out to eat on the street.

After all, no one here looks after their meals.

You may come to listen to the lecture, but you may not come to mooch a meal.

……

"Oh dear, the great principal even personally serves the students their meals~"

Lu Yuan entered the room carrying two bowls of dishes, and Gu Qingwan immediately went up to meet him.

Hearing Gu Qingwan's teasing, Lu Yuan didn't respond, merely raising his eyebrows and saying:

"The funds approved by the Ministry of Rites are far too little—look, there's only one meat dish, everything else is vegetarian."

"The people here are destined to become the pillars of the state; how can we get by feeding them only this?"

Hearing Lu Yuan's words, Gu Qingwan quickly replied:

"When I go back today, I will certainly give the Ministry of Rites personnel a good talking‑to!"

After Lu Yuan sat down and set down the meat dish, he raised his eyebrows and said:

"Will you really scold them, or just pretend?"

Gu Qingwan raised her eyebrows and said:

"Hey~ you little thing, you still don't trust your sister? When have I ever lied to you? When I go back I'll have the Ministry of Revenue allocate funds directly."

Hearing this, Lu Yuan finally nodded in satisfaction and said:

"This is fine; from now on we must have three dishes and one soup, eh?"

Gu Qingwan gazed at Lu Yuan, her eyes full of indulgence, and said:

"Good good good~ Sis will follow you~"

……

After lunch, Lu Yuan was not polite either.

He wiped his mouth, and in Gu Qingwan's soft exclamation, Lu Yuan directly rested his head on her warm, soft thigh and fell asleep.

Lu Yuan's sudden move of resting his head without any warning made Gu Qingwan's face flush with annoyance.

But soon, Gu Qingwan's face full of gentleness, she lightly patted Lu Yuan's back.

She hummed softly, as if coaxing a child to sleep.

Afternoon.

Two o'clock.

Lu Yuan continued to go to class.

However, this afternoon's students were noticeably fewer than this morning's.

Mainly, half of the Guozijian students didn't come.

Lu Yuan inquired a bit and found out that today, the Vice Grand Secretary Yan Shijin was giving a lecture at the Guozijian.

Quite a few Guozijian students went back.

Lu Yuan nodded, didn't say anything else, it didn't matter; Qingbei Daxue was never aimed at those Guozijian people anyway.

Immediately, Lu Yuan began lecturing again.

Meanwhile, at the Guozijian side.

Yan Shijin looked at the huge classroom with half the seats empty, completely bewildered.

Huh??

No.

Where are my students!!

Where are my disciples!!

I had so many students, where did they all go!!

Thanks to Feng Huāliànmāo for the 588 book coin reward, thank you very much~



(space)

(End of chapter)