Transmigrated into a Grandpa, Embracing the Laid-Back Life

Chapter 27: Xu Qing

The young man heard footsteps and looked up. When he saw the newcomers were Su Ming and Zhao Rui, a faint trace of surprise flickered through his eyes, which were usually as calm as deep pools. He clearly recognized them too, especially Su Ming—from the entrance of Wenbao Zhai. His face remained expressionless, but he gave a very slight nod toward Su Ming as a form of greeting. For Zhao Rui standing beside him, he merely glanced over before refocusing on the book in his hands.

"Master, it's him! The one from Wenbao Zhai..." Su Ming said inwardly to Lin Yu.

"Oh? That kid protecting the books?" Lin Yu's voice carried a hint of amusement and understanding. "Interesting. Him being here... it seems the man you saw at this book stall last time was most likely his father. The Wenbao Zhai assistant chased him away, probably because he wanted to copy books there. Tsk, this book stall is his actual 'territory.' Disciple, opportunity has arrived, have a good chat!" Lin Yu's thinking was extremely sharp, instantly connecting the two events and pointing out the key details.

Su Ming's mind suddenly cleared. So that was it! No wonder he was chased out of Wenbao Zhai—he must have been copying books there.

"I came to look at books." Su Ming suppressed his thoughts and walked to the book stall, also nodding toward Xu Qing.

"Mm, feel free." Xu Qing's voice remained cool, but seemed slightly less tense than at Wenbao Zhai's entrance.

Zhao Rui stood to the side, looking at the spread of yellowed old books and unconsciously frowned. In his past understanding, books should be brand new and crisp like those in Wenbao Zhai, not casually laid out on a grass mat like this.

Su Ming naturally squatted down, his gaze roaming through the book piles. The books here were more varied than at Wenbao Zhai and much cheaper. He picked up an elegantly handwritten "Qingzhou Local Records" and selected another book about basic arithmetic called "Simple Explanations of the Nine Chapters."

effective communication is the first step

"Are all the books here copied by you alone?" His tone carried genuine curiosity rather than doubt.Xu Qing paused in wiping a book cover and looked up at Su Ming. Seemingly surprised by the question, or perhaps because Su Ming was the only one who had spoken up for him at Wenbao Zhai, he remained silent for a moment before answering: "Not all.

interjecting nearby, his tone carrying a subtle complex emotion—envy? Or some kind of

Qing glanced at Zhao Rui but didn't respond, tacitly

see." Su Ming nodded

doesn't just sell books—more importantly, he connects to those impoverished County School students who copy books to make a living, who thirst for knowledge but have empty purses! This channel is far more valuable than a simple

these two?" Su Ming handed over his selected

of the Nine Chapters, fifty coins, total ninety coins." The price remained

promptly counted out ninety coins from his robe and handed them over. Xu Qing took them, carefully counted them, and put them away. He looked at Su Ming, a barely noticeable recognition appearing in his eyes. This youth before him, dressed just as roughly, didn't focus solely on imperial examination stepping stones like many educated

Xu Qing surprisingly took the initiative to ask, his

his bundle and said frankly: "Studying

words once again

if something had struck his heart, leaving him feeling

Qing's eyes, however, suddenly brightened. He looked at Su Ming, remained silent for a moment, then suddenly said: "You... if you come to town often, you can come here to read books. Just reading without buying is fine too." He said this quickly, then slightly lowered his gaze to the

generosity a poor scholar could