William Carter was stunned, and instinctively replied, "Yes, sir, what is it that you are teaching?"

Immediately, the whole room burst into laughter, and William Carter's classmate James Carter, who sat behind him, laughed so hard he almost choked.

Mr. Harris clutched his chest and stomped his feet, his heart twisting in agony. Scoundrel, scoundrel! You wretched child born of that big-footed woman, anyone can tell you won't amount to much. Yet you insist on snatching such a good seat. Fine, take the good seat, but you even dare to sleep in class! Sleeping is one thing, but you shamelessly ask, "Yes, sir, what is it that you are teaching?"

So, Mr. Harris roared at William Carter in a Ma Jingtao-style outburst, "Today, I am teaching the Winter Officer's Record of Crafts!"

William Carter's body jolted—why didn't you say so earlier? The Winter Officer's Record of Crafts... He immediately searched his optical brain.

At this moment, Mr. Harris was already swinging his ruler, bringing it down toward him.

"Wait!" William Carter hurriedly said, "Sir, please wait!"

Mr. Harris's ruler paused instinctively, but his anger only grew. Fortunately, he hadn't learned the Nine Yin White Bone Claw, or else he would have torn William Carter apart on the spot.

William Carter continued, "Sir, your lecture on the Winter Officer's Record of Crafts was excellent. I still remember you recited: 'The wheelwright is for wheels; the three timbers must be cut at the right time. Once the three timbers are ready, the craftsman harmonizes them. The hub is for smooth turning. The spokes are for straight guidance. The cogs are for firm holding.' This is taken from the Rites of Zhou, which is truly profound, especially as explained by you, sir. The wheelwright makes wheels, and the three types of wood must be cut according to the proper season, right? The sages revered ritual, so ritual must not be neglected. Even in the small craft of wheel-making, the principle of everyone performing their duty is hidden within. Listening to your words just now was better than reading for ten years. I am enlightened, truly enlightened..."

The ruler was still suspended in midair, but now it froze completely.

Mr. Harris was dumbfounded. This fellow... could recite it backwards, almost word for word. Wasn't he just sleeping?

The classmates who were about to laugh now couldn't. Especially James Carter, whose smile froze, his face stiffening.

Chapter Five: Born of the Same Root

William Carter let out a long sigh of relief. It seemed his optical brain was reliable after all. He looked fearfully at the ruler still hanging in the air, feeling as if he had survived a disaster.

Mr. Harris had lost his earlier confidence, but still said with disgust, "You were just sleeping. How did you know what I was teaching?"

William Carter replied calmly, "Sir, I was feeling a bit unwell, so my posture was less than proper. But I was still listening attentively to your lesson."

Even William Carter admired his own excuse.

But Mr. Harris was still furious. He felt terrible, his chest tight, and he thought he had lost his authority in the eyes of the students. He pressed on, "Then where did the snoring come from just now?"

Ah... so I was snoring in my sleep.

William Carter remained calm and replied slowly, "As I just said, I happened to catch a slight cold, so, sir, you understand."

"Understand? Understand what?"

William Carter had to patiently explain, "Because I caught a cold, my nose was stuffed up. With a blocked nose, my breathing was labored, so my breathing was heavy, and thus..."

At this, Mr. Harris finally understood.

He realized he couldn't find any more excuses, so he could only glare fiercely at William Carter, "Pay attention in class. If you dare to slack off again, I will..."

A teacher is a teacher. When he feels that verbal threats are not enough to intimidate a bad student, he resorts to the most effective method. The ruler swung fiercely through the air, making a whooshing sound, then paused skillfully in midair. With a flick, he withdrew the ruler, displaying the poise of a virtuous and accomplished old artist. With a heavy eyelid, he glanced at the astonished students and said coldly, "William Carter, sit down."

Finally, class was over. Mr. Harris repeated the matter of the county exam. In Fenghua County, Ningbo Prefecture, where the Ye family lived, there were many people taking the children's exam every year. But not just anyone could participate. You had to find several other examinees to jointly vouch for you, and also have a local stipend student guarantee you—guaranteeing you weren't using a false identity, hiding a death in the family, taking someone else's place, or using a fake name, and that your family background was clean—not the descendant of prostitutes, actors, servants, or officials, and that you yourself had not committed any crimes or engaged in disreputable trades.

The joint guarantee among examinees was to prevent cheating. Five examinees would write a guarantee for each other; if one cheated, all five would be implicated.

The latter requirement kept most people without connections out. If you couldn't find a stipend scholar to vouch for you, you couldn't even qualify for the exam.

But for the Ye family, this was a trivial matter. So anyone who hadn't yet qualified for the children's exam would generally participate, regardless of their learning or confidence. The important thing was to take part. Passing was best, but if not, it was just practice. For the Ye family, finding someone to vouch for them was as easy as closing their eyes.

After Mr. Harris finished, his face turned cold. "That's all for today. You must finish my assignments as soon as possible."

William Carter quickly put his brush, ink, paper, and inkstone back into his book box. Now that he was fully awake, he felt energetic and vigorous, eager to fly out of the school.

Carrying his book box, William Carter stood up. Behind him, James Carter looked at him with a smile and said, "Chunqiu, the county exam is coming. You must work hard."