Chapter 65: Reliving the Nightmare

Chapter 65: Reliving the Nightmare

After a moment of surprise, Mother Zhang leaned over to look at the dried flower in Xianjin’s hand and smiled knowingly. "Oh, those are Erlang’s dried flowers! He said it was part of the Qingcheng Mountain Courtyard’s coursework. Everyone in our courtyard received one. I got a winter jasmine, and Xiao’er got a tiny peach blossom. Even Third Master, Master Li, and Master Zhou each got one."

The small cherry blossom lay quietly in the center of Xianjin’s palm, her fingers clearly defined.

Xianjin was slightly taken aback, but after a moment, she sighed with relief and smiled.

Thank goodness. If she had really been involved, Old Lady Qu would have ground her into dust and swallowed her whole!

Xianjin placed the dried flower back between the pages of *The Great Wei Code*, using the delicate and beautiful blossom as a bookmark.

The dried flower was useful, but *The Great Wei Code* was even more so. Xianjin carefully copied down the laws related to merchants and traders, then drafted a preliminary agreement based on those laws. It consisted of twenty-eight broad clauses that generally outlined the rights and obligations of Chen’s and Shang’s, followed by sixty-seven sub-clauses that detailed the specifics.

Primarily, these clauses were meant to bind both parties. For example, all printing work for Chen’s Paper Shop must be handled exclusively by Shang’s Printing House, which would charge market rates. Another clause stipulated that Shang’s Printing House must expand to a certain number of printing machines by a specific date and agree not to take on printing work from other paper shops for several years.

Xianjin wrote out the contract in full, reviewing it once and feeling quite pleased with herself. She thought that not pursuing a legal career was a great loss for the field. On the second read-through, however, she found bugs everywhere and realized that perhaps the legal world was better off without her.

In the end, Xianjin took the patched-up contract to Shang’s Printing House.

Owner Shang held the contract far away, squinting at it for a moment before signing his name with a flourish and stamping it with a dusty seal he fished out from under a pile of wooden printing blocks.

Xianjin stared blankly.

"Did you read it carefully?" Xianjin asked, amused yet exasperated.

Owner Shang smiled and countered, "Would Little Master He deceive an old man like me?"

Xianjin chuckled. "…Not necessarily."

Owner Shang laughed, slapping his round belly. "Between people, one deception is forgivable, but two raises suspicion. Three deceptions, and we cut ties forever. Paying a price to learn someone’s true nature… Well, I’d say this old man came out ahead."

It reminded Xianjin of how her father did business in her previous life.

Contractual spirit, in her past life, could be enforced with well-established regulations and competent authorities. But in this feudal era, contractual spirit ultimately tested human nature. No matter how comprehensive the contract, if the local government didn’t enforce it, who would compel the guilty party to pay compensation? Could the aggrieved party do it themselves? In that case, what was the point of having a contract?

Xianjin nodded thoughtfully. When she returned to the shop, she added a passage to her annotations on Qiao Shanchang’s *On the Grand Path of Commerce*: “If there are debts or other financial disputes, they should be reported to the local authorities for resolution.” She then decided to personally deliver the densely written notes to the Qingcheng Mountain Courtyard.

She wasn’t sure what Qiao Shanchang meant by giving her an essay, but years of test-oriented education had instilled in her the habit of writing something after reading anything, as proof of her understanding.

After all, Chinese people had a genetic predisposition for note-taking…

Before leaving Jing County, Xianjin had approached the essay as homework, annotating it as she read. But as she went through it word by word, she found the document surprisingly interesting, reminiscent of poring over research papers during her thesis. Whenever a thought struck her, she would add a sentence or two, and her annotations grew longer. Eventually, she transcribed them neatly with a soft brush pen, mounting them properly. At a glance, it looked quite impressive.

"…You wrote this?"

Qiao Fangzhi stood with his hands behind his back, bending slightly to peruse the annotations Xianjin had presented. He was quite surprised.

This must be four to five thousand characters!

The structure was very organized, containing alternative perspectives on Baoyuan’s content, some imaginative ideas and suggestions inspired by Baoyuan’s original text, and practical solutions to problems encountered in real-life transactions…

Qiao Fangzhi was astonished!

If Little Master He hadn’t handed it to him personally, he wouldn’t have believed that such an article could come from a young girl! The style was rigorous, the structure clear, the points well-supported by examples. Judging solely by the content, this piece could stand up in the provincial or even metropolitan examinations!

Even if it didn’t place first, it certainly wouldn’t fail!

Of course, there were still many issues…

For example, the article felt thin, supported by examples but lacking citations. Some parts seemed to be the author’s speculations.

And…

Qiao Fangzhi furrowed his brow, flipping through the three or four pages again. His tone was stern. "…Why are there so many misspellings? And your handwriting is terrible! It’s limp, like dying river shrimp! There’s no spirit or dignity!"

He then asked Xianjin, "Has your Second Brother reviewed it?"

Xianjin, who had been blushing from the scolding, hesitated at the sudden question. What Second Brother?

Qiao Fangzhi emphasized, "Erlang! Jianfang!"

Xianjin finally understood.

He was talking about Chen Fu!

She shook her head hurriedly. "No, Erlang has a heavy workload. This is just a child’s idle musings. I submitted it to you because the essay you gave me to read left a deep impression… My own piece is not fully developed, so I didn’t want to bother Second Master Erlang…"

It was just a reading journal…submitted to show that she was diligent and studious, a model dependent.

Homework was mainly about showing effort; she never expected the headmaster of a prestigious institution and an industry expert to read it seriously!

But Qiao Shanchang had actually read it!

Not only did he read it, but he also read it right in front of her!

It was like facing capital punishment!

Xianjin’s face was nearly as red as her ears, more embarrassed than when her advisor in graduate school had pulled her ear and scolded her for writing such a terrible thesis that he didn’t know where to begin fixing it…

It wasn’t that she made typos; it was that the modern simplification of characters had made traditional ones less common. She could accept the blame, but it was too much…

Seeing the girl’s red face and evident guilt, Qiao Fangzhi paused, his long beard brushing the table. He put Xianjin’s homework back in a wooden drawer behind him and gave her a way out with a casual expression. "Pay attention to these issues next time."

Next time?

There would be another time?

Xianjin was stunned, now fully understanding Zhou Ergou’s despair.

Oh, her dear mother! Even transported to a feudal era in an alternate dimension, how can she still have to write a thesis!