After Brian Cooper helped several of his most frequently visiting neighbors renovate their fuel-saving stoves, the village head Mark Cooper personally came to his door carrying a strip of cured meat. He first chatted expansively with Brian Cooper about international and domestic affairs, discussed some sayings of ancient sages, and then finally got to the point: he too had come to ask Brian Cooper to help renovate the stove at his home.

Given Mark Cooper’s family circumstances, he didn’t really care how much firewood they used in a year, but the fuel-saving stoves renovated by Brian Cooper had already begun to take on a legendary status in the village. Some people hadn’t asked Brian Cooper for help, but instead tried to copy their neighbors’ renovated stoves by themselves. The result was that, while the modified stoves were a bit better than the traditional ones, they were still far inferior to those personally renovated by Brian Cooper.

As a result, people began to say that the reason Brian Cooper’s stoves worked so well was because the stoves he touched were blessed by the Wenqu Star, and this blessing not only helped save firewood when cooking, but could also ward off evil and misfortune. If there were children in the family who were struggling in their studies, they could benefit from this blessing and, in the future, pass the provincial or even the metropolitan exams...

As several wells pointed out by Brian Cooper successively produced water, even those villagers who had previously looked down on Brian Cooper were now completely convinced. The old charlatan Jason Brooks had previously bet with Brian Cooper that if water was found, he would drink it all himself. Now, of course, he couldn’t fulfill this bet, but he had his own way of making amends: using his glib tongue, he packaged Brian Cooper as an even more mysterious and powerful figure.

Mark Cooper had originally been the person in the village who looked down on Brian Cooper the most, because his father, Samuel Cooper, was the previous scholar in the village. After Brian Cooper passed the scholar’s exam, he stole Samuel Cooper’s thunder, which made Mark Cooper quite resentful. However, now he could no longer look down on Brian Cooper. In order to reconcile with Brian Cooper as soon as possible, he joined the ranks of villagers asking Brian Cooper to renovate their stoves.

When William Carter and Andrew Thompson found Brian Cooper, he was in the middle of renovating the stove at Mark Cooper’s house. The old scholar Samuel Cooper stood to the side leaning on his cane, chattering on about the glorious days when he himself passed the scholar’s exam, saying that if it hadn’t been for the late emperor’s passing, he would have already passed the provincial exam.

Naturally, Brian Cooper wouldn’t compete for face with a seventy-year-old elder. He smiled and told Samuel Cooper that he had admired the scholar since childhood, always taken him as a role model, and vowed to become a good young man just like him—well, to be precise, to become a good young man like the scholar was in his youth. It was precisely inspired by the scholar’s deeds that he was able to pass the scholar’s exam. Hearing this, Samuel Cooper was so delighted that even the age spots on his face turned rosy, and he promised that if Brian Cooper ever wanted to borrow any books in the future, he could come to him anytime, no questions asked.

At that moment, William Carter came in with Andrew Thompson. As soon as he entered, William Carter beamed and said, “Congratulations, scholar!”

“What’s the occasion?” Brian Cooper asked calmly.

“The county magistrate has heard of your extraordinary talent and has ordered to summon you,” said William Carter.

“Summon me?” Brian Cooper stopped what he was doing and asked, “What exactly did he say?”

“What did he say?” William Carter was stunned by Brian Cooper’s question. Was this for real? The magistrate summons you, and you’re asking what he said?

“Yes, what’s this about? Why is he summoning me out of the blue?” Brian Cooper said.

William Carter replied, “Isn’t it obvious? The wells you surveyed have all produced water. I sent Andrew Thompson to recommend your achievements to the magistrate, and now he wants to reward you.”

“My dear nephew, being summoned by the county magistrate is a great honor! Hurry up and get ready, and head to the county seat at once. You mustn’t keep the magistrate waiting,” urged Mark Cooper from the side. Although he was the village head, he had never been summoned by the magistrate himself. Hearing that the magistrate had called for Brian Cooper by name, Mark Cooper was filled with envy and jealousy.

“Uncle Zhong, there’s no rush. The stove is almost done. I should at least finish the job before I go,” said Brian Cooper.

“Hiss...” William Carter was sweating profusely, but didn’t dare get angry at Brian Cooper. There was nothing he could do—when Andrew Thompson returned, he had already said that the magistrate wanted to “invite” Brian Cooper to the yamen, and had specifically instructed not to disturb the scholar. This scholar really was something else: even when summoned by the magistrate, he insisted on finishing his work first.

Since Brian Cooper wasn’t in a hurry, William Carter and Andrew Thompson had no choice but to wait on the side. Brian Cooper finished up the key parts, then instructed a farmer who was helping out to complete the rest of the work. Only then did he wash his hands in the basin, bid farewell to Mark Cooper, and head home. Since he was going to the county seat, he had to go home and change clothes first.

Brian Cooper’s actions weren’t out of some scholarly pride, but rather a way to test William Carter’s reaction and thereby gauge the magistrate’s attitude toward the matter. If William Carter was unwilling to wait and spoke harshly to him, it would mean the magistrate didn’t attach much importance to the matter and was just going through the motions. On the other hand, if William Carter obediently waited, it would show that he already held a high position in the magistrate’s eyes—so much so that even a petty official like William Carter dared not complain.