Chapter 825 – Are You the Master or Dad? (Part 2)
Cheng Cheng silently calculated in his heart, and he couldn’t help but admit that the young governor before him truly had a knack for numbers.
To outsiders, the corvée labor was seen as free, but Jiang Pengji was actually paying the workers—a move deemed foolish by all.
Was the truth really so?
Cheng Cheng felt otherwise. What seemed like a loss for Jiang Pengji actually carried numerous advantages.
“Today’s young people are truly shameful.”
With a sigh, Cheng Cheng observed that the girl in front of him was several years younger than his youngest son, yet she was out in front of everyone.
Jiang Pengji humbly said, “Mr. Cheng, you flatter me. I still have much to learn and need your guidance.”
Cheng Cheng waved his hand with a smile, saying, “I’m old and no longer useful; I simply seek a peaceful and stable latter half of my life.”
Jiang Pengji smiled but remained silent, inwardly coldly snorting.
If Cheng Cheng were genuinely the type who liked to play it safe, he wouldn’t be stirring things up like this.
Speaking of stirring up trouble, the man before her was quite adept at it.
What kind of mischief was Cheng Cheng up to?
He had spent several days finally figuring out a method to use different patterns to indicate punctuation.
In fact, most scholars had their own reading habits, often marking personal quirks with little symbols.
But Cheng Cheng proposed using a unified symbol for punctuation based on that, and now he was troubled about which pattern to use.
Since it was for punctuation, the symbol naturally couldn’t be overly complicated, yet it couldn’t lack distinctiveness.
He scratched his head, coming up with several sets of patterns, yet he was dissatisfied with them all and sought Jiang Pengji’s advice.
When Cheng Cheng presented his designs, before Jiang Pengji could form a thought, the audience in the live stream exploded.
【Yujinxiang】: Oh my gosh, is this ancient version of punctuation marks? But besides that dot and circle, I can’t recognize the rest.
Cheng Cheng’s symbol designs varied, with simpler patterns like “卍”, solid black dots, and hollow circles. The more complex ones resembled oracle bone script. The former was manageable, but the latter felt cumbersome and complex.
Jiang Pengji examined them closely, still feeling they were overly complicated and not straightforward.
She spoke frankly, prompting Cheng Cheng to let out a long sigh, saying, “Indeed, it is quite complex. If used for writing, it looks flashy and affects the aesthetic of the paper. Some patterns are too large and not straightforward… This is truly vexing.”
Cheng Cheng was in utter despair, while the audience in the live stream was suddenly pumped up like they had just downed an energy drink.
They felt punctuation marks could be used! If they could see familiar punctuation in the stream, it would feel like a huge accomplishment.
【Li Wushuang】: Anchor, let me recommend something good! Our punctuation marks are pretty effective!
The audience was fiercely enthusiastic, and Jiang Pengji also had willingness in this regard.
She took out a new sheet of paper, pretended to think for a moment, then picked up her brush to draw a dot and a line, while Cheng Cheng watched intently.
“What does the Lord intend to do?”
“I thought all the characters we learn today are made up of dots and lines. Since you want to create symbols for punctuation, why not evolve from this foundation?” As Jiang Pengji drew and wrote, Cheng Cheng’s eyes gradually brightened, seemingly receiving a great inspiration.
“According to what the Lord said, both a dot and a line can be used…” Cheng Cheng pondered, drawing a small circle on the paper, which was the familiar period for the audience, “This little circle is straightforward. If we fill in the middle blank, it’ll become another form.”
Jiang Pengji smiled and said, “Exactly! You can add a stroke to the black dot as well, making it simple and memorable.”
She drew what resembled a “comma,” with a black dot hanging a tail like a tadpole.
The pattern was small and clear, definitely more memorable than the designs Cheng Cheng had just proposed.
Cheng Cheng experienced a breakthrough, an influx of inspiration, quickly extending his creation based on that.
With Jiang Pengji’s guidance, before long they produced several basic symbols.
With each addition, the live stream barrage was lively as if it were a festival.
They hadn’t witnessed the birth of symbols, but they had seen the entire process of symbols coming into existence from scratch in another realm—super rewarding!
More excited than the live stream audience was Cheng Cheng. The patterns before him were incredibly simple, but in his eyes, they were treasures of great value.
With symbols created, it was essential to attribute meanings to them.
Jiang Pengji pointed to the period and stated, “The circle signifies completeness. Why not use this symbol to denote ending?”
Cheng Cheng nodded and promptly marked something next to the period.
He pointed at the comma and said, “According to what the Lord mentioned, this symbol has a sense of continuation; how about using it to indicate pauses?”
Jiang Pengji agreed, for a comma was indeed intended for pauses between phrases.
After discussing for an entire afternoon, Cheng Cheng remained buoyant, his eyes gleaming with enthusiasm.
When Cheng Cheng returned home, his wife, along with his youngest son and daughter, immediately noticed the joy radiating from their father’s face.
“What delightful news has befallen you, Father, making you so happy?”
Cheng Yuan, tired from a day in the administrative hall, felt as if his arms weren’t his own, wondering why his father was celebrating.
There were plenty of troubles in Wanzhou, and when Cheng Yuan was buried under the paperwork, he regretted—why did he willingly walk into this mess!
Cheng Cheng chuckled, stroking his beard, and said, “Of course, it’s because there’s been progress with punctuation!”
“Really?”
Cheng Yuan knew why his father had been troubled in recent days, causing him many sleepless nights.
Now that a breakthrough had occurred, as a son, he was genuinely happy for his father.
“Absolutely.” Cheng Cheng glanced at his son with a hint of disdain, stating, “Learning has no end; you must work hard.”
At first, Cheng Cheng was quite satisfied with his two sons’ knowledge, but in comparison to Jiang Pengji, he found himself displeased.
Suddenly smacked with a reprimand from his father, Cheng Yuan felt utterly innocent.
He hadn’t been slacking off recently! Why was his father suddenly lecturing him?
Meanwhile—
The city gate had been locked, but a sizable convoy arrived from outside.
Initially thought to be a passing merchant group that would soon take a detour for the night and enter the city at dawn, it turned out the group was just standing there outside the city, showing no sign of moving.
The guarding soldiers sensed something was off and sent someone down to inquire.
“Who are you? Where have you come from?”
“We’re from out of town, here to seek refuge with our relatives.”
The reply came from a house servant disguised as a little boy. He spoke in the dialect of Dongqing, but his pronunciation was stiff, making it a bit hard to understand.
Upon hearing the accent, the soldier furrowed his brows tightly.
With a slightly firm tone, he bluntly told them to leave.
“The city gates are locked. If you want to enter the city, come back tomorrow.”
The house servant smiled apologetically and presented a pouch filled with silver fragments, saying, “Oh, esteemed officer, please don’t be angry. It’s late, and it’s really not suitable to sleep outside in the wild. Wouldn’t it be better if you help us relay a message to my family’s relative to come out for a moment…”
The soldier dared not accept such a bribe; the higher-ups were monitoring that closely.
He roughly pushed the pouch back and asked casually, “Who is your master’s relative?”
The house servant replied, “Li Yun. I heard he’s a general out here.”
