In a daze, Li Yan unconsciously touched his mobile phone, preparing to see if it was time to sleep for another five or ten minutes. However, today was strange. He searched for a while but couldn't find it.
Where is my phone? Did it fall to the ground?
Suddenly, a voice echoed, "What are you looking for, valiant sir? Do you need help from someone named Guo?"
Li Yan jumped, and his confused consciousness suddenly became clear. He opened his eyes and saw Guo Dian standing not far away, with a smile on his face looking at him.
'Asleep and befuddled, I forgot to cross over to the Qin Dynasty yesterday! How wonderful it would be if I could wake up from a sleep and return to the modern times?'
Seeing Li Nian wake up, Guo Dian apologized, "I disturbed your good dream, please forgive me, Master Valiant. It's just that the king has ordered that Dr. Su Xu is to come today to instruct you, and I had no choice but to disturb you!"
Guo Dian explained and turned to the several attendants behind him, "Quickly serve Master Valiant in getting dressed and ready!" Immediately, some of the attendants came forward to help Li Nian get out of bed.
While being attended to by the maids, Li Nian glanced at the grooming tools in their hands. Besides hot water and towels, he even spotted something that resembled a toothbrush.
Did the Qin Dynasty have toothbrushes?
Li Nian curiously searched in his mental frame, and he found that toothbrushes actually existed during the Qin and Han dynasties. He never expected it.
It was called the bronze toothbrush, and its shape was somewhat like a smoking pipe. A piece of cloth was stuffed into the circular hole as a toothbrush to use.
With a toothbrush, there must also be toothpaste. Li Nian saw a maid holding a plate of white powder, "Is this the toothpaste?"
He searched in his mental frame again, and this thing is called calcium carbonate powder in modern times. It is made by grinding calcium carbonate into powder, washing, and filtering. The main ingredient is calcium carbonate.
Calcium carbonate powder is warm and non-toxic, but long-term use can enter the heart and spleen, damage the five internal organs, and make people thin.
Upon seeing the search results, Li Nian pointed at the calcium carbonate powder and shook his head at Guo Dian. Although the substance would gradually accumulate and harm the body with long-term use, of course, he would prefer not to use it if possible.
'If I can't go back in time, I will have to live here in the future. I must find ways to improve personal hygiene and raise the quality of life.'
'Oh, I must get a flush toilet. Although I can't make the one that draws water, the one that lets water out will do!' Remembering the night before last when he had to get up to urinate, he could only say it was beyond words.
'The production of paper must be added to the agenda. Otherwise, it will be a hassle to wipe my butt. I've crossed over to the Great Qin Palace, and it's still decently well off here. But if I were in the common folk, using toilet paper sticks to scrape my buttocks... '
'There are also tables, chairs, and stools. Who can endure to sit down all day? My legs will be broken! Although the toilet and paper-making are not easy to accomplish at the moment, tables, chairs, and stools are relatively simple.'
Guo Dian saw Li Nian pointing at the calcium carbonate powder and shaking his head at him again. He also understood Li Nian's intention, but he didn't understand why Li Nian didn't use it. Nobles in the palace used this powder, including the king. Is there something wrong with this thing in his eyes?
Under the attendance of the maids, Li Nian finished dressing and washing up. At this moment, he was wearing the set of Qin Dynasty attire that Guo Dian had brought back yesterday. As for his clothes from the modern era, Li Nian was too considerate to ask about them.
Sitting at the desk, eating his breakfast for today, the taste was not much better than yesterday's dinner. However, Li Nian has made progress. He can identify the ingredients of breakfast, unlike yesterday when he had no idea what he was eating. He also knows that Qin people generally only have two meals a day, and after finishing this morning's breakfast, it would be four o'clock in the afternoon before his next meal.
After finishing the meal, Li Nian walked around the palace to aid digestion. Then a eunuch came in to report, "Manager, Dr. Su Xu has arrived!"
Guo Dian told Li Nian, "Master Valiant, wait for a while. I'll be back shortly!"
In the Qin Dynasty, "doctor" was not a degree but a title of office. Chunyu Yue, who was well-known, was a "doctor".
The "doctor" official in the Qin Dynasty was responsible for managing national history, ancient and modern events, books and records, and could also participate in government affairs. He was responsible for educating royal descendants and had significant powers and responsibilities.
In the time of Emperor Qin Shi Huang, there were once seventy doctors, which is not what some people think, that all seventy doctors are from Confucianism. For example, Huang Ci was from the school of Logic, and Luo Ao was from the school of Daoism. But the Su Xu doctor who gave Li Nian lessons today is indeed a Confucian.
Soon, Guo Dian and a middle-aged man dressed in the official attire of the Great Qin Dynasty came in. The man was holding a package, and from the sound it made while he walked, it was guessed that it contained bamboo strips.
Guo Dian introduced the middle-aged man to Li Nian, "This is the person you will teach today, Doctor Su!"
Guo Dian turned his head and introduced Su Xu to Li Nian, "Master Valiant, this is Dr. Su Xu, who has been sent here by the king to teach you."
Su Xu put down the package in his hand and bowed to Li Nian, "Su Xu greets the valiant!"
Li Nian followed suit and returned a bow.
Su Xu felt a bit strange in his heart. The king suddenly issued an edict last night, ordering him to enter the palace and teach the next day. He thought it would be for one of the prince's sons, but it turned out to be someone he had never seen before. Guo Dian's way of addressing this person was also unusual, referring to him as "valiant" instead of "prince," indicating that this person was not the king's son.
Then, what is the origin of this person, why would they be in the palace, and why would the king order him to come to the palace for a teaching session? Moreover, considering his hair – he isn't wearing a crown and has short hair – couldn't he be from some place barbaric?
Before starting the lesson, Su Xu noticed something else. This person seems to be unable to kneel-sit, just sitting directly on the desk.
This further confirmed Su Xu's guess: this person, a barbarian!
Su Xu took out two scrolls of bamboo strips from the package he brought, handed one to Li Nian, and held the other in his hand. Looking at Li Nian, he asked, "What books have you read? Have you read any of the following: 'The Book of Songs,' 'The Book of History,' 'The Book of Rites,' 'The Book of Music,' 'The Book of Changes,' or 'Spring and Autumn Annals'?"
Seeing Li Nian's puzzled expression, Su Xu shook his head. This person was certainly a barbarian, and there was no doubt about it. It would be difficult to teach this barbarian to read and write, and the king's edict was indeed hard to fulfill.
"Since you haven't read any, let's start with 'The Book of Songs'!" Knowing that Li Nian couldn't understand what he was saying, Su Xu stopped talking nonsense and started teaching.
Su Xu's teaching method was rough; he would read a sentence, and Li Nian would repeat it, occasionally adding some explanations and descriptions. Without a blackboard, chalk, or paper, if Li Nian were a normal student, he would only be able to learn through time gradually.
However, Li Nian thought of a solution. He searched for Xiaozhi characters in the search engine and compared the characters on the bamboo slips with those from various Xiaozhi characters found in the search results. He quickly found that the bamboo slips recorded The Song of Birds and Peas, which was actually Shijing. Guāngjū.
"Guan Guan Ju Jiu, zai he zhi zhou. Yao tiao shu nu, jun zi hao kou."
Can can xing cai, you zuo liu zhi. Yao tiao shu nu, wu mèi qiú zhi.
Qiú zhī bù dé, wu mèi sī fú. You yao yao, zhuǎn zhuǎn fǎn cè.
Can can xing cai, you zuo cai zhi. Yao tiao shu nu, qin si yǒu zhi.
Can can xing cai, you zuo mao zhi. Yao tiao shu nu, zhong gu drum le zhi.
He just doesn't understand the language of this era, can't speak the language of this era, but he's not really illiterate. As long as someone teaches him the pronunciation of characters in this era, he would learn at a reasonable pace.
Su Xu also noticed this. He thought that this barbarian wasn't as difficult to teach as he had imagined, but instead, he learned very quickly. After Su Xu corrected him several times, Li Nian could now read the whole 'Chou Nan·Guang Ju', although it was still a bit stumbling.
"Who would have thought this barbarian wasn't stupid!"
"If Li Nian knew what Su Xu was thinking, he would point to himself and say, 'I, a barbarian?'"
Alright, he is from Shu. Following the location of his hometown, it's true that he can be called a barbarian in this era.
