Chapter 74: Organizing a Training Session

“Fifth Brother, Fang’er is back. Huh? Fifth Brother has slimmed down a lot.”

“Hehe, little sister seems to have gained some weight. Could it be that you found something delicious and didn’t want to come back after all this time?”

“Oh? How did Fifth Brother know?”

“Ah? So you really didn’t want to come back? And here I was, rushing to finish making the charcoal pencil to surprise you.”

“Fifth Brother has already made the charcoal pencil? Haha, show it to Fang’er quickly!”

“Little sister didn’t even miss Fifth Brother.”

“How could Fang’er not miss Fifth Brother? I just said that to tease you. In truth, Fang’er misses Fifth Brother every moment.”

“Really? Haha, I knew it! How could my little sister really not want to come back?”

Lin Fang secretly stuck out her tongue. Over the past few days, she had been having so much fun and eating so well that she truly hadn’t thought about Lin Wu.

“Wow, the charcoal pencil is so pretty! Fifth Brother is so skilled.”

“Hehehe, as long as little sister likes it.”

Lin Wu’s version of the pencil was as thick as an adult’s finger. He had taken a straight branch, split it down the middle, carved a groove into each half, inserted a thin, well-burned charcoal stick, then bound the two halves together with colorful cloth strips.

“Fifth Brother, if the pencil is sharpened too short and the cloth strips are cut, won’t it fall apart?”

“No problem. The cloth strips may look continuous, but they’re actually segmented. When you need to sharpen it, just remove one segment.”

“Is the charcoal core sturdy?”

Nanny Liu, standing nearby, spoke up for Lin Wu: “Sturdy, very sturdy! Sixth Miss, these past few days, I’ve watched Fifth Young Master test-burning branches of different materials and experimenting with various temperatures to get this charcoal core. I even tried it impatiently—it works wonderfully! And the branches used for wrapping were also tested by Fifth Young Master.”

Li Cuimei managed many affairs alone and refused to casually add people to her retinue, keeping only Xiaoqin’s wife by her side. She was truly overwhelmed. After Nanny Liu returned, she sought Li Cuimei’s permission to transfer Xiaogeng’s wife back to Li Cuimei’s service while she herself attended to Lin Fang. Nanny Liu had been by Lin Fang’s side since she was less than a year old and had an extraordinary bond with her. How could she entrust the young miss to someone else?

“Fifth Brother, thank you for your hard work. Nanny Liu, thank you for yours.” Lin Fang bowed slightly to both of them.

When she graduated from university, her thesis project involved extracting radioactive sources from soil. Her professor had only provided the raw materials and reagents, explained the experimental methods, but hadn’t specified the quantities of reagents to use—and gave her only a month to complete it. That month, Lin Fang barely left the lab except to eat, testing various reagent ratios and recording hundreds of data points daily. One night, exhausted, she accidentally spilled a drop of nitric acid on her leg. Wearing thin summer clothes, the acid immediately seeped into her skin. Lin Fang cried out in pain, but fortunately, a patrolling teacher happened by and administered first aid, preventing serious harm. Still, a dark scar remained on her leg, never fading.

After that incident, the department ruled that the lab would close at night to prevent students from overworking and risking accidents. With only daytime hours left, Lin Fang had to work even harder. She succeeded in her experiment just two days before her thesis defense, leaving her only two days to write her paper and prepare for the presentation. Remembering those hardships, how could Lin Fang not appreciate the effort Fifth Brother and Nanny Liu had put in?

Though Nanny Liu claimed she had only observed, in reality, she must have helped a great deal—tasks like testing different burning temperatures were beyond the capabilities of Lin Wu, an eight-year-old boy raised in comfort. That’s why Lin Fang bowed to both of them.

“Hehehe.” Normally quick-witted, Lin Wu could only chuckle foolishly now, unused to his usually playful little sister being so serious.

Nanny Liu quickly stepped aside. “Oh no, no, Sixth Miss! This old servant doesn’t deserve such respect—it’s too much!”

Lin Fang played with the charcoal pencil, asking Lin Wu to sharpen one for her. She tried writing her name on paper—it worked beautifully. Delighted, she went on to write the names of other family members, pausing occasionally to shake her hand. Lin Wu, who had been watching eagerly, noticed her frown and asked, “Little sister, is it not working well?”

Lin Fang massaged her right hand with her left and smiled. “It’s fine. Fang’er’s hand is just too small. Holding it for too long makes it sore. I’ll get used to it.”

“Then I’ll modify it—make it thinner so your hand won’t ache.”

“It’s alright. Modifying it would take more effort. Fang’er will grow, and her hands will too. This will do for now.”

“That won’t do! You won’t grow up overnight. What if your hand gets deformed? Fifth Brother will fix it right away!” With that, Lin Wu dashed out the door.

Lin Fang was genuinely moved. Making the pencil thinner wasn’t as simple as choosing slimmer branches and charcoal sticks—it would require retesting the flexibility of the branches, the burning temperature, and the brittleness of the charcoal. Who knew how much more effort Lin Wu would have to put in? Turning, she noticed Nanny Liu hesitating. “Nanny Liu, if you have something to say, just say it. Are you keeping secrets from me now?”

“Sixth Miss teases this old servant again,” Nanny Liu laughed. “I have a request, but it might be overstepping.”

Nanny Liu was usually straightforward—why the sudden hesitation? Lin Fang chided, “Since when did Nanny Liu become so hesitant? Have I ever made things difficult for you?”

Nanny Liu voiced her thoughts: “This old servant would like to ask for a charcoal pencil. It would make note-taking much easier. But this pencil was made by Fifth Young Master with great effort, just for you. For me to use it would be presumptuous.”

“Haha, is that all?” Lin Fang laughed. “Nanny Liu, take one if you need it. No need for such worries. In the future, if you need more, you don’t even have to ask me. You helped Fifth Brother make these—you know the method and materials. If you run out, just make more yourself.”

“This old servant thanks Sixth Miss.”

Nanny Liu was overjoyed. The charcoal pencil was incredibly convenient. Even if servants were literate, they usually had to rely on memory for notes, unlike their masters, who had attendants carrying ink, brushes, and paper. As she grew older, her memory was starting to fail, and she feared making mistakes in her duties. With this pencil, she could jot down tasks on paper and carry them with her—extremely practical.

Watching Nanny Liu tuck the pencil into her bosom like a treasure, Lin Fang suddenly had an idea. “Nanny Liu, how many servants in the household are literate?”

Counting on her fingers, Nanny Liu listed them: “Zhou Sanxiao has studied. This old servant knows some characters. The nanny serving Second Young Master, Wu Pozi, recognizes a few. My two granddaughters-in-law learned some common words after serving the madam. As for the others—those who attend the young masters and misses have all picked up a little from their masters. Among the courtyard servants, none are known to be literate. Sixth Miss, would you like this old servant to ask each one?”

Lin Fang nodded. “Go ahead. Separate the literate from the illiterate. And for those who are literate, ask how much they’ve studied.”

Nanny Liu went to investigate while Lin Fang took Qian’er and Xian’er to find her mother. Entering the main house, she saw Xiaoqin’s wife and Xiaogeng’s wife reporting to Li Cuimei. Lin Fang sat quietly until they bowed and left, then she cooed, “Mother, Fang’er wants to be a teacher.”

Li Cuimei was puzzled. “A teacher? You little imp, what mischief are you up to now?”

“Fang’er thinks that if the servants learn some characters, their work will be more efficient, and Mother won’t have to spend so much energy.”

“Haha, you just want to play and are using me as an excuse. Are you bored because no one’s playing with you?”

“Mother is so clever—you see right through me.”

“Naughty girl! Since when does a daughter speak to her mother like this?”

“Hehe, Mother, just treat it as Fang’er playing house. Please say yes!”

“Don’t neglect your proper duties.”

“Fang’er knows. Fang’er is the most well-behaved—when have I ever caused Mother trouble?” She turned on her thick-skinned charm.

“Hmm, that’s true. Do as you like, but don’t overdo it. Discuss the details with Nanny Liu.”

Lin Fang’s eyes curved with laughter. She’d heard that wealthy families only bought literate servants for key positions, fearing that educated servants might slack off or even turn against them. Yet her mother, just to indulge her whims, had agreed to let her teach all the servants—such unconditional pampering!

What followed was straightforward. Lin Fang divided the servants into male and female classes, holding lessons every afternoon in the front courtyard. The teaching materials were straw paper and charcoal pencils, with Lin Fang and Zhou Sanxiao as the teachers.

The servants were thrilled—they’d never imagined they’d have the chance to learn to read in this lifetime. They came to kowtow to Lin Fang, some even weeping with joy in front of her until Nanny Liu scolded them and sent them away. After that, they worked even harder.

When Zhou Sanxiao heard he could be a teacher—even if only to teach household servants basic literacy—he was overjoyed. At least his studies hadn’t been entirely useless. He immediately knelt and kowtowed repeatedly to Lin Fang. When Zhou Yu heard his son’s report, he brought the whole family to kowtow to Lin Fang.

Lin Fang sighed inwardly. These people were so easily satisfied.

Of course, some were reluctant to learn, like the two old women at the gatehouse. They argued they were too old and had no ambition to become housekeepers, so what was the point? One privately begged Nanny Liu to intercede with Lin Fang for exemption. After a scolding from Nanny Liu, the woman went to Lin Fang herself. Lin Fang thought her reasoning made sense—some people simply weren’t suited or willing to learn, and forcing them was pointless.

While Lin Fang hesitated, Li Cuimei summoned the woman. That same day, Li Cuimei had Nanny Liu call a matchmaker to find a sturdy replacement for the gatekeeper, who was reassigned to hard labor with Zhou Erxiao.

Lin Fang didn’t understand her mother’s decision. Li Cuimei explained: “When a master gives an order, servants may offer suggestions but must never question the master’s authority. A master must consider every detail before making a decision. Once decided, there must be no wavering or arbitrary changes—otherwise, servants will take advantage. That woman dared to ask you to ‘spare’ her, implying you were unkind. As a gatekeeper, she interacts with visitors and relays messages between inner and outer quarters. If she spreads rumors, the family’s reputation could be ruined.”

Was this a lesson in managing subordinates and mastering authority? Lin Fang hadn’t expected her impulsive literacy class to involve so many complexities. Surviving in this world clearly required much more learning.

As for why Lin Fang had thought of becoming a teacher—it all started with a small gesture from Nanny Liu.