The Resolute Cannon Fodder Teaching In Ancient Time

Chapter 88: Eighty-Eight Treasures

The rent collectors burst into laughter at Xu Zhen's retort, and the one at the front scoffed, "Ha! If it were that easy to make money, I'd say my stones sell for thirty coppers each. How much do you think I could make with nothing?"

Xu Zhen replied, "That's different. People would get mad if they bought your stones, but not with my answers."

One of the rent collectors raised his sword menacingly, "Do you believe you won't get beaten soon?"

Xu Zhen remained silent.

Thinking she was intimidated, the rent collectors laughed again, mocking her as a useless scholar with nothing but empty words. Their laughter drew attention, and people from the nearby tavern, holding sweet potatoes or white cakes, came over to see the commotion.

As more people gathered, the rent collectors pressed harder for the rent.

Xu Zhen maintained her stance, saying she had no money.

The rent collectors, wasting no time, moved to seize her.

The onlookers, enjoying the spectacle, suggested, "If she's so confident in her words, why not ask her some questions and see what she can say!"

The rent collectors sneered, "What could someone like her possibly know? She's probably just making things up!"

Most of the crowd agreed, thinking that if she had real talent, she'd be a strategist or general, not earning a measly thirty coppers per question here.

Someone challenged Xu Zhen, "What do you know? Can you recite the Analects or the Tao Te Ching? What exams have you passed? Have you even ranked high?"

Indeed, Xu Zhen's academic achievements were modest, having only passed the basic Tongsheng exams. This admission made the crowd look down on her even more.

Unfazed, Xu Zhen asked the questioner, "If I recite the Analects and Tao Te Ching, will you pay me?"

The questioner, initially smug, felt a pang of doubt. What if she actually had some skill? Wouldn't he lose money for nothing? But with everyone watching, he couldn't back down, so he reluctantly agreed, "Fine! But I want to change the question!"

Xu Zhen, hearing his agreement to pay, was immediately pleased, "Great! Then put the money on the table. If I answer correctly, it's mine; if not, it's yours."

The man, thinking of a question, placed some coins on the ground and said, "I actually have a real dilemma."

Xu Zhen encouraged him, "Go ahead."

After a moment of contemplation, he said, "I borrowed an axe from my neighbor and left it in my yard. After some wind and rain, I forgot to bring it in, and the handle got damaged. I repaired it and returned it, but my neighbor insists I pay for it. A complete axe costs at least eight hundred coppers at the market. I can't afford that. What should I do?"

Xu Zhen smiled and replied, "That's simple. Ask him, since the axe only lost its handle, is it no longer his axe? He lent you an axe and handle; you returned an axe and handle. Why should you pay?"

The questioner found this reasonable and nodded, wanting to ask more questions.

However, his neighbor, who happened to be nearby, stepped forward angrily, "The axe I lent was perfect, and what he returned was broken! Shouldn't he compensate me?"

Xu Zhen didn't hesitate, "If someone built a black ship, and over time, the planks needed replacing until all the original planks were gone, and those old planks were used to build an identical ship, which one is the true black ship?"