The Frail Scholar at the End of Ancient Times

Chapter 39 Internal Ranking

Wen Gu had people portion out the salt and vinegar refined by the Daoist Master.

A portion of coarse salt set aside in advance, and the refined fine salt, were to be portioned by the children.

First time awkward, second time familiar.

Veterans guiding newcomers.

When more personnel were added to the team in the future, if there were still children, they would guide new little friends.

Daoist Master Qingyi Personally handled the portioning of certain impurities generated during the coarse salt refining process. Others didn't know what had been produced at all.

As for the vinegar, the aged vinegar in those large jars was certainly not for eating.

Given the current conditions, how much could they eat?

If there was a choice, newly brewed vinegar would be more in line with Wen Gu's current needs.

They were not pursuing cooking flavor nowadays, nor were they thinking about health care. Instead, they wanted to pursue the effect of sterilization and disinfection.However, aged vinegar would do.

Daoist Master Qingyi's vinegar refining was essentially rough purification, sorting out the remaining waste materials.

A portion of the sediment could be added to animal feed. This was to be handled by professional personnel.

Veterinarian Fu Bo personally inspected it and conducted trials. Once confirmed it could be used, it was kept as an extra meal for the team's precious three livestock.

And some of the waste liquid was used to experiment with "vinegar charcoal."

There were many of them now, and they spent most of the day indoors. To save on medicinal herbs, they did not use the exorcism incense refined by the Daoist Master. Instead, they would use ordinary grass and wood smoke smoke them every few hours to mask human scent.

Although most of the evil creatures in the town had been cleared out, no one knew how many of those lingering outside would be attracted by the scent.

Half a day ago, an evil creature was seen entering the town from outside. County Lieutenant Zhou discovered it while searching for supplies in the town with his men and immediately killed it.

Therefore, Wen Gu decided to fumigate with vinegar again to mask the smell.

"When I was traveling for my studies, I saw a folk custom in many places called hitting vinegar charcoal.

"This involves immersing red-hot charcoal or stones into vinegar. Charcoal belongs to fire, and vinegar belongs to water. The interaction of water and fire produces vinegar charcoal vapor, which is used to exorcise evil and ward off impurities."

Upon hearing warding off evil and impurities, everyone immediately perked up.

Yu Er came over with a long-handled object resembling a large iron ladle. It was found in the kitchen of a tavern in town and slightly modified by Blacksmith Yu.

Now, Yu Er held this long-handled large iron ladle and followed Wen Gu's instructions to fumigate the room.

Wen Gu said, "We still have some aged vinegar stored, all refined by Daoist Master Qingyi. If the exorcism incense and other materials run out in the future, we can use this method for temporary measures."

To refine salt and vinegar, and to provide Daoist Master Qingyi with alchemy equipment, some team members participated in collecting parts and modifications, and some people saw them moving the vinegar jars.

At this time, Wen Gu was letting them know what the purpose of their work was and what benefits they had gained.

As expected, after Wen Gu finished speaking, his formerly tired face showed satisfied smiles among some people.

While assigning tasks and arranging work for everyone, Wen Gu called Cheng Zhi to his side to inquire about the distribution of nearby villages, towns, and county towns. He needed to determine the route for their journey.

Even if Cheng Zhi had not been there, he had more access to information in the county town. The students from the academy came from different parts of the county, so information always leaked out.

Cheng Zhi carefully recalled and answered the questions Wen Gu asked. He directly conveyed to Wen Gu the information he had heard before, regardless of whether it was bragging or exaggeration.

From this jumbled information, Wen Gu could summarize the underground water sources, geology, and terrain of the entire county.

It might not be accurate, but it could serve as a reference.

Cheng Zhi was deeply respectful and felt that it was the correct choice for him and his family to follow Wen Gu and the others north.

Based on the limited information, Wen Gu could make so many deductions – his ability was extraordinary! He had to stay by Wen Gu's side and learn more!

Even though his memory far surpassed ordinary people, he was still human, not a machine. When his mental capacity was overwhelmed, Wen Gu would let him rest.

This precious head had to be well protected.

Not far away.

He Da's two young followers were arranging the shelves on the wheelbarrow.

This wheelbarrow was used by the original owner, a peddler, for selling goods and setting up a stall. With the shelves installed, more items could be displayed.

One of He Da's followers, a young man nicknamed "Bamboo Pole," was staring at the shelves with a dazed and nostalgic look.

He was from the same village as He Da and came from a poor family. When he was a child, his greatest anticipation was when the peddler brought his goods to the village. Even if they couldn't afford to buy anything, they, as little kids, would follow him all the way, wishing they could ride on his shelves.

Looking and thinking, "Bamboo Pole" felt a touch of sentimental sadness from his memories and turned to share it with He Da.

In Feng County before, they, who were from the same village, would occasionally get together to reminisce about the past, sharing the same emotional support.

Turning around, he saw He Da as if he was seriously pondering something.

He Da's attention was not on the shelves at all. He was currently thinking about what Wen Gu had said at the Cheng's house regarding their future prospects.

He got up and fetched a pot of hot water to find Little Brother He.

If it was true that there were small courts in various parts of the northern lands as Scholar Weng said, with Scholar Weng's capabilities, he would surely become a high-ranking official no matter where he went?

Having interacted for a few days, He Da had already understood that Zhou Shan, the county lieutenant, often listened to Wen Gu, which was certainly for his future prospects.

Then, would those who followed them north be able to benefit as well?

Influential figures always had subordinates, and cultivating close confidants would prioritize those they were familiar with.

He decided to showcase his own strengths to Wen Gu more in the future.

Let his little brother perform more too!

Little Brother He had been running back and forth since morning, verifying and recording.

Although the temperature was not high, a layer of sweat had appeared on his forehead, but he was in good spirits and his voice was much stronger.

It couldn't be helped; sometimes, if he didn't speak loudly, others couldn't hear him. This courtyard was quite noisy.

"Here, little brother, drink some water."

He Da handed over the kettle.

Seeing Little Brother He holding a square wooden board, he curiously asked, "What are you holding?"

"This is a writing pad. Second Brother Wen asked Blacksmith Yu to make it; it's convenient for writing with this!"

Little Brother He excitedly demonstrated to He Da.

The wooden board had a long clip that could hold a small booklet, and there was also a groove next to it for a charcoal pencil.

"Second Brother Wen said that when he was traveling for his studies, he saw others using this kind of... office supply. He said that many merchant caravans and armies also have these portable wooden boards."

He Da looked at it. The edges and corners of the wooden board had been smoothed, so there was no worry of scratching.

However, the craftsmanship was far from exquisite, and it was just usable.

He Da picked it up with one hand and weighed it, looking at it from all sides. It was a bit thick; Blacksmith Yu's woodworking skills were not good.

He critical said, "Doesn't your hand get tired from holding it for a long time?"

"Not tired!"

Little Brother He's eyes shone brightly. After taking a few sips of water, he glanced around. Seeing that no one was paying attention to them, he leaned closer to He Da and whispered:

"Second Brother Wen also said that some high-ranking and powerful officials hold笏板 (hu tablet) in their hands when they go to court. It not only follows ancient rituals but also serves the purpose of recording memorials and discussions. Depending on their rank, some are made of bamboo or wood, some of jade, and some of ivory!"

When he wrote with this board, and when he held this board to report his work, he felt as if he was handling important state affairs, a sense of mission spontaneously arising!

He Da's gaze immediately changed.

The board in his hand felt as heavy as a thousand pounds, and even the rough craftsmanship seemed to become elegant.

He held the wooden board with both hands and returned it to Little Brother He: "Practice more!"

Heavy?

Why would it be heavy!

He would hold more valuable hu tablets in the future!

"Little brother, traveling for studies as scholars do is truly useful! Treat this escape north as your travel for studies, just like that surname Cheng. Stay by Scholar Weng's side, listen more, watch more, and record more!"

Little Brother He nodded solemnly: "Yes!"

After He Da finished instructing, he turned around.

"Bamboo Pole" came to find him to reminisce about the past. He Da waved him away.

What reminiscing about the past? That was so long ago. Don't always look back; people have to look forward!

If he really wanted to reminisce about the past, it would be after he had made it big and returned home in glory.

He didn't have time for that now!

He didn't deserve it!

Didn't he see the rising competition?

What was the point of being sentimental? Get to work quickly!

Many things were inconvenient to say. He Da pointed to the ox cart loaded with many goods, "We have our own large carts now, so what are you thinking about small shelves!"

After criticizing his subordinate, He Da settled down again and seriously analyzed the current internal team situation—

First, Daoist Master Qingyi was excluded; the Immortal Master was not included.

In the future, Zhou Shan would be the first close confidant under Wen Gu, he would be second, the scholar surnamed Cheng would be third. He didn't know about others, but if he had to say about Yu Er... he was not as quick-witted as him, nor as learned as the scholar surnamed Cheng, so he would be ranked last.

Yu Er was also considering the same matter at this time. He rationally thought it over, referencing the personnel compositions he had seen in the yamen before, and ranked them:

Zhou Shan, Cheng Zhi, me, He Da

He Da was glib and not steady enough. His character was inferior to mine, so he only deserved to be ranked last.

(End of this chapter)