Chapter 147: His Dad Is Still His Dad
Li Da spoke, "Reporting to the Heavenly Lord, in our mortal realm, crafting firearms and preparing gunpowder are tasks performed by two different types of artisans. I am only skilled in forging firearms and am not adept at mixing gunpowder. I dare not accept this assignment. Should I make any mistake, it could lead to an explosion with severe consequences."
His words reminded Li Daoxuan of the "Tianqi Great Explosion," prompting him to press, "Oh? What kind of artisan handles gunpowder? Find him and let him take charge."
Li Da respectfully replied, "The artisans responsible for making and managing gunpowder for the imperial court are called 'Firearm Workshop' craftsmen. Since private possession of firearms is a capital crime of treason, and gunpowder is strictly controlled, the court keeps a very close eye on the Firearm Workshop artisans. We don't have a single one here in Gao Family Village."
Li Daoxuan inquired, "Are there any in Chengcheng County town?"
Li Da shook his head. "None there either! If Chengcheng County occasionally needs gunpowder, they must request it from Xi'an Prefecture."
Li Daoxuan now understood. Only the official workshops in Xi'an Prefecture had Firearm Workshop artisans, and this profession was under stringent imperial oversight.
It seemed firecrackers would have to wait. If Gao Family Village's unprofessional and mischievous folks were put in charge of gunpowder, they might accidentally set off a "Tianqi Great Explosion" right in the middle of the village, resulting in heavy casualties among his little people. That would be unacceptable.
When playing city-building games like 'SimCity,' players often get infuriated by disobedient NPCs. Li Daoxuan certainly didn't want to provide these mischievous little people with a huge bomb, giving them the chance to give *him* a brain hemorrhage.
Fireworks and firecrackers would have to be sealed away for now. Only after professional talent was brought in could this area be developed.
Every step of progress for Gao Family Village required corresponding talent. Without it, they could only remain stagnant, which was truly quite a hassle.
Just as he thought this, he noticed a new visitor arriving outside Gao Family Village in the corner of his view.
A horse-drawn carriage pulled up to the fortress gate.
Bai Yuan was driving the carriage. The curtain was drawn open, and Madam Bai and Young Master Bai emerged.
It turned out that yesterday, when Li Daoxuan returned to his rural hometown to see his family, Madam Bai and Young Master Bai had also gone back to Bai Family Fortress to reunite with Bai Yuan for the New Year. They had shared a reunion dinner on New Year's Eve, and today, Bai Yuan had personally driven them back to Gao Family Village.
As soon as Bai Yuan brought the carriage to a halt, he paid no mind to his wife or son, but immediately dashed into the fortress.
He was an old acquaintance of Gao Family Village, so the sentries naturally didn't stop him. Instead, they called out loudly from the fortress wall, "Mr. Bai, what's the rush? Should I call San Shier for you?"
Bai Yuan yelled back, "You're too slow, I'll go myself!"
He sprinted straight for the council hall in the Nine Halls and Eighteen Wells.
At that moment, San Shier was in the council hall, reviewing Gao Family Village's inventory list, when Bai Yuan burst in and grabbed his arm. "Quick, quick, give me a full set of the 'Elementary Math' Heavenly Books, all twelve volumes from first to sixth grade!"
San Shier froze for two seconds, then suddenly understood. "Ha! Mr. Bai, your son crushed you in math, didn't he?"
At these words, Bai Yuan's face turned beet red.
Exactly!
He had been schooled by his own son.
Yesterday, on New Year's Eve, Madam Bai had returned to Bai Family Fortress with Young Master Bai to share a reunion dinner with Bai Yuan. After being apart for so long, Bai Yuan naturally wanted to check on his son's studies.
After casually asking some questions about classical texts, the conversation inevitably turned to the Six Arts of a Gentleman. You see, Bai Yuan couldn't go three sentences without mentioning the Six Arts, so it would have been stranger if it hadn't come up.
After a few awkward exchanges, Young Master Bai proudly mentioned that he had been studying mathematics recently and was doing quite well.
Bai Yuan scoffed, "Numeracy? Ha! That's my specialty! Your father is very particular about the 'numeracy' aspect among the gentleman's six arts. Very well, your father will test you on numeracy."
Then, father and son went head-to-head.
Addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, and "chicken and rabbit in the same cage" problems—they were evenly matched.
But Young Master Bai, showing no mercy, suddenly pulled out the fractions from the first semester of third grade, instantly stunning Bai Yuan.
Young Master Bai pressed his advantage, immediately throwing out the decimals from the second semester of third grade.
Addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division of fractions and decimals! Were you afraid or not?
While Bai Yuan could eventually calculate the results, his methods were slow, much slower than his son's. In the end, the "numeracy" aspect of the Six Arts of a Gentleman was unequivocally defeated.
How could Bai Yuan, a man who valued his reputation, tolerate losing to his son? What about a father's dignity?
So, early on the first day of the New Year, he personally drove the carriage, employing the "charioteering" of the Six Arts, bringing his wife and son back to Gao Family Village. Then he unceremoniously dropped them off at the fortress gate and rushed in to demand the math textbooks from San Shier.
San Shier was utterly delighted. "Mr. Bai, the student surpasses the master. There's no need to be anxious about this. Losing to your own son isn't like losing to an outsider. No shame, no shame at all."
Bai Yuan retorted angrily, "Nonsense! I'm not some doddering old man. Bai Family Fortress hasn't reached the point where my son needs to take charge. How can a man in his prime concede defeat to his son? Hand over all twelve volumes of the 'Elementary Math' Heavenly Books at once!"
San Shier laughed heartily but still led Bai Yuan to the book repository, which was packed with books.
"Pinyin" and "Elementary Math" were neatly stacked by grade and semester.
"Heavenly Books, all Heavenly Books!"
Bai Yuan flung himself into the pile of books, and soon, he unearthed the complete set of "Elementary Math." Clasping them to his chest like treasure, he let out a triumphant laugh, "Hahahahaha, twelve volumes of the math Heavenly Books, all mine! In just a few days, I will achieve a celestial level in the 'numeracy' aspect of the Six Arts of a Gentleman. No one in the mortal realm will be able to stand against me! Hahahahaha!"
Li Daoxuan couldn't help but chuckle at this fellow's arrogance. Intending to dampen his spirits, he spoke, "Yiye, go tell Bai Yuan that the path of numeracy is as vast as the ocean. What he holds are merely elementary school mathematics. Beyond that lies middle school mathematics, university mathematics... he still has much to learn."
Gao Yiye quickly ran over to relay the message.
Bai Yuan was still laughing uproariously when he heard Gao Yiye's words. He paused, then his joy returned. "Does the Heavenly Lord mean that if I master these twelve volumes, he will bestow upon me even more advanced Heavenly Books, like middle school and university mathematics?"
Li Daoxuan couldn't help but be amused. *This Bai Yuan, his perspective is truly optimistic. I meant to discourage him, but he's even more motivated.*
Bai Yuan threw back his head and laughed again. "Then I must finish learning these twelve Heavenly Books as quickly as possible! Then the Heavenly Lord will grant me even more powerful Heavenly Books, and I will master them all, reaching the pinnacle of the 'numeracy' art! Who else in the world could compete with me? Hahaha, that little brat will soon learn that his dad is still his dad!"
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