Chapter 62: I'll Change, All Right, I'll Change My Profession?

Siyu Heng did not know when he had appeared behind her. He picked up the piece of paper, read through it, and asked in a low voice, "A five-kilometer cross-country run with a twenty-kilogram load? Is this your idea of keeping fit and strengthening the body?"

Fang Ning snatched it right back. "Pretty much."

Siyu Heng glanced at her sideways. "Then make sure you keep it up. Where is the essay?"

"Isn't it right here, unwritten?" Fang Ning pulled out a fresh sheet of paper. "I'll definitely give it to you before dinner."

Siyu Heng took a seat nearby. "Write."

"What do you mean?"

"I doubt your self-discipline. Since you want to take the imperial examinations, you should apply yourself properly."

"..."

Seeing that Siyu Heng had no intention of leaving, Fang Ning had no choice but to lower her head and write furiously.

Siyu Heng watched for a moment, then paid her no further attention.

By the time dinner was drawing near, Fang Ning finally finished. Spanning several sprawling pages of paper, she handed it to Siyu Heng. "Please have a look, Tutor."

Siyu Heng took it, read only the first three lines, and placed it back on the desk. "Rewrite it."

Fang Ning was surprised. "Young Master, you didn't even read it properly. Why must I rewrite it?"

"Did you seriously read the essays I gave you? Have you ever seen a single one written in vernacular Chinese?" Siyu Heng retorted.

Fang Ning: "..."

Right, she had completely forgotten about that detail.

The ancients wrote entirely in classical Chinese.

"And what on earth is this?" Siyu Heng pointed at Fang Ning's punctuation marks.

"These are punctuation marks, used for pausing and phrasing. Doesn't this make it much clearer at a glance?"

"Then have you ever seen anyone's writing read horizontally from left to right like yours?"

A miscalculation.

"Fang Ning, if you want to take the imperial examinations, you must abandon certain habits. It is you who must adapt to this era, not the era adapting to you. Even if you wish to reform things, you must first hold power in your hands; otherwise, you won't even be able to touch the threshold of entering officialdom."

Siyu Heng warned Fang Ning with a stern expression.

It wasn't that he looked down on Fang Ning, but even if her method made reading easier, until the world accepted it, it was simply considered eccentric!

Fang Ning rubbed her nose. "Don't be angry, Young Master. Wasn't I just letting my guard down in front of you? I'll change it, I'll change it, alright?"

Fang Ning had always thought the imperial examinations would be easy.

But now, just learning how to write in classical Chinese would require a tremendous amount of effort.

Moreover, during the examinations, the handwriting style was strictly regulated, which meant she also had to practice her penmanship.

Siyu Heng's expression remained calm. "This once, and never again. Otherwise, you'll be doing that five-kilometer cross-country run with a twenty-kilogram load."

"Young Master, I'm still a child."

"Have some shame."

Fang Ning rolled her eyes.

What an utterly unlovable, straight-laced guy!

Siyu Heng took Fang Ning's essay and rewrote it entirely in classical Chinese.

Upon looking at it, Fang Ning saw that it was far, far more concise than what she had written.

"Forget it, you should just focus on reading books for now. Writing essays can wait until a year from now."

Siyu Heng felt he shouldn't rush for success; he needed to correct Fang Ning's writing habits first.

Fang Ning had no objections.

"Young Master, will you be taking the imperial examinations?"

"No."

"Why?"

"No reason."

"Young Master, I'm serious. Why don't we do it together? At least we'll have company, right?"

Fang Ning tried to persuade Siyu Heng.

Siyu Heng glanced at her, paused in silence for a moment, and then replied, "We'll talk about it later."

Seeing this, Fang Ning didn't say anything more.

Starting the next day, alongside practicing her internal energy techniques, Fang Ning began waking up early to run laps around Futian Village for exercise.

She believed that one could not rely solely on internal strength.

If her internal strength were ever crippled one day, her physical martial arts could at least still come in handy.

Though Fang Hong and Fang Yu didn't know what Fang Ning was doing, they subconsciously felt that she was right and joined in to run alongside her.

As time went on, more and more children joined in, and it gradually became a rule in Futian Village.

Of course, these were matters for the future.

Several days later, Madam Chen had turned the pile of fabric scraps into a variety of small cloth dolls.

Fang Ning, a lover of all things cute, was utterly enchanted. "Third Aunt, these things you make are simply too gorgeous!"

Madam Chen felt a bit shy. "They aren't as wonderful as you make them sound."

"I'll have the Young Master take me to the county town tomorrow; they'll definitely sell out. But can I take this rabbit?" Fang Ning was exceptionally fond of the little rabbit hugging and nibbling on a radish.

"Take it if you like it. You bought all this cloth anyway, so do as you please with it."

"Third Aunt is truly skilled."

Fang Ning showered her with praises, making Madam Chen blush.

"Big Sister, come have a look and pick one out too. I'm taking the rest to sell, and after today, there won't be any left to choose from."

Hearing this, Fang Fai was the first to grab a kitten playing with a ball.

Fang Ling and the other two also picked out ones they liked.

Fang Ning looked at Siyu Heng. "What about you, Young Master?"

Siyu Heng recalled the hideously ugly cat Fang Ning had once made. "I don't want one."

Fang Ning placed the small cloth dolls one by one into a woven basket lined with cloth.

"Ningning, can these really be sold?"

Fang Ning nodded. "They definitely will. My Third Aunt is nimble-handed. Oh, Feifei, give me that set of checkers tomorrow too."

"Ah?"

"Let's take it to the county town to see if anyone wants it. If they do, we can take custom orders, can't we?"

"Alright, alright."

Fang Fai quickly agreed.

Just then, Shopkeeper Lin arrived.

"Young Master, the gypsum and other items you requested have all arrived. Where should they be delivered?"

Fang Ning immediately set the cloth dolls down and bolted outside. "Third Aunt, tidy up for a bit, I'm going to take a look."

Old Mrs. Fang smiled helplessly. "This child, always so rash and careless."

"Shopkeeper Lin, where are they? I'll lead you over to unload the cargo," Fang Ning asked, running up to Shopkeeper Lin's side.

"This way, Young Master."

Siyu Heng followed along to see as well.

The villagers had no idea what these items were, and it was their first time seeing so many carriages hauling goods here.

"Who can go call Third Uncle Jiang over to his brick kiln?" Fang Ning looked around the circle.

Jiang Xiaoliu happened to be there and took off running at top speed.

Fang Ning led Shopkeeper Lin and the others to the brick kiln, where all the goods were unloaded into a shed.

However, there were simply too many items, and they couldn't all fit in the shed.

After Jiang San hurried over, he hastily put together a temporary shelter so the goods wouldn't get soaked by the rain.

"Ningning, are these things used to make that cement you talked about?"

"Yes. Once the cement is all fired, we can pave the roads. It'll be much easier to push carts around after that. When it rains, the ground won't be full of muddy pits and unpleasant to walk on. When the time comes, we can even fix up the irrigation ditches so you won't have to repair them every single year."

"How much silver will this cost?"

"The Young Master is a good person; he's the one paying for it."

Fang Ning naturally shifted the matter onto Siyu Heng.

Siyu Heng did not deny it either.

Perhaps because Siyu Heng appeared unapproachable and was viewed as a person of high status by the villagers, hearing this, no one dared to pry any further.

Of course, as for the idea of paving roads with cement, everyone remained skeptical and didn't entirely believe what Fang Ning had said.

Fang Ning couldn't be bothered to explain it to them either. She found Yu Dong and gave him a few instructions.