My Promotion Story Through Time Travel

Chapter 15 Mountains and rivers may separate us, but my longing remains.

Under the tutelage of his two masters, Lin Ziping's physical strength improved dramatically. He felt power when he punched, and his movements were no longer just fancy footwork. He was no longer as embarrassed as he was when he first fought He Jinbao, when faced with provocations from other students in the academy.

At the first level of elementary education, before starting to learn other subjects, Lin Ziping swayed his head and followed the teacher's recitation in the classroom. He was not a child in the true sense and was out of place in this learning atmosphere. This tacit understanding with Master Cheng's indifference made Lin Ziping even more comfortable.

Life went on as usual, and Lin Ziping's life remained unchanged. However, Tao Ju'an's figure occasionally appeared under the trees at the academy. The two gradually became familiar with each other, and Tao Ju'an became Lin Ziping's tutor, teaching him to read. Under Teacher Tao's guidance, Lin Ziping's studies progressed rapidly.

During this time, Lin Ziping learned about the trajectory of dynasties in this world from the books in the library. The early dynasties followed the general course of history, but a major turning point occurred during the Tang Dynasty. Without the Xuanwu Gate Incident, the two Li brothers worked together to create a glorious future. Even so, they could not escape the law of "the world, after a long period of division, will unite; after a long period of unity, will divide." After a reshuffling and reorganization of history, the Great Zhou Dynasty, similar to the Ming Dynasty, came into being. However, Lin Ziping had not yet found detailed explanations of the Great Zhou Dynasty's development in the books in the library.

I browsed through books describing geography, and found only fragmentary descriptions of various places by scholars and writers, without any maps for a direct experience.

Thinking of Xu Xiake's travels and the beauty of the land, Lin Ziping also felt a surge of urge to one day visit the Zhou Dynasty and paint its magnificent landscapes. However, this urge was thwarted by the Zhou Dynasty's existing laws. The Zhou Dynasty had regulations governing population movement: travel between counties required a travel permit from the county government, between prefectures required a permit from the prefecture government, and so on. Checkpoints were set up at city entrances for inspection; without a permit, one might not even be allowed entry. Furthermore, local residents were required to report any strangers appearing in their vicinity, which the government would verify; failure to report was punishable…

Lin Ziping was astonished, but he couldn't help but wonder how Lin Zhong and the others managed to bring the original owner of this body from the capital to Huaizhou, since the descriptions indicated that the capital and Huaizhou were not the same place.

Suppressing his doubts, Lin Ziping continued to peruse the books in his hands, eager to understand the rules of conduct in this dynasty as soon as possible.

The Lunar New Year was fast approaching, and the academy gradually began its holidays. Lin Ziping completed his elementary education exam, and the teacher's comment was "barely satisfactory. With more practice, you can barely pass."

Lin Ziping responded, "Qualified is everything; anything more is a waste."

Next year will be the second level of elementary education!

The break for elementary school students is about a month, longer than the periods for preschool, elementary, and junior schools. Students in these schools have to return to school before the Lantern Festival (January 15th of the lunar calendar). Lin Ziping expressed his understanding, as he himself used to be back at work before the Lantern Festival.

Lin Zhong and Butler Tao became even busier, with a constant stream of people coming and going at the Lin residence.

Early on, Granny Liao began preparing for the New Year with the rest of the Lin family, cleaning and decorating the house with lanterns and colorful decorations, creating a lively atmosphere.

The air was already filled with the smell of firecrackers, and Lin Ziping truly felt the atmosphere of the New Year.

On the first day of the Lunar New Year, worship ancestors.

Looking at the plaque on the altar that had no carved text, Lin Ziping fell into deep thought: Is this really the original owner's ancestor? Is it a bit perfunctory?

Seeing that Lin Ziping did not react, Lin Zhong pulled Lin Ziping aside and made him kowtow to the memorial tablet. Then he led Lin Ziping to stand outside the door and kowtow to the east. The people of the Lin family followed Lin Ziping's actions.

Is this the etiquette of this dynasty? No need to worship ancestors, but need to worship heaven and earth? And the positioning is wrong, why is Lin Zhong behind me? Don't the original owner's parents need to be worshipped? Lin Ziping, who was just a tool throughout, was full of question marks.

Despite having a thousand thoughts swirling in his mind, Lin Ziping decided to bear it all alone and remain silent about his doubts.

The New Year's Eve dinner was a meal for everyone in the Lin family. Lin Zhong, Lin Ziping, Steward Tao, and Granny Liao sat at one table, while the others sat at another. Later on, they ended up sitting at the same table as well.

Because of the New Year, everyone shed the fatigue of the past year and was filled with joy. Lin Ziping played and frolicked with Zhu Zi, Shun Zi, and Xiao Ya in the courtyard. The adults clinked glasses and watched the children play with smiles. As a worried parent, Granny Liao would occasionally say, "Young master, don't run," "Zhu Zi, slow down," and "Shun Zi, be careful." The courtyard was filled with joy.

After playing for a while, Lin Ziping sat down and looked at everything in front of him. Suddenly, a wave of sadness welled up in his heart. He made an excuse that he wanted to rest and refused the care of Granny Liao and Zhu Zi. He returned to his own courtyard alone. The locust tree in the courtyard had lost all its leaves, leaving only bare branches that stretched out in the air. The sound of children setting off firecrackers came from the street, mixed with the sounds of people talking and laughing, making the locust tree seem even more lonely.

Lin Ziping went to the study, took out a book, opened it, and found two pieces of paper. One was written with "Mu Shaoying" and the other with "Lin Ziping".

Though mountains and rivers separate us, my thoughts are with you.[1] Happy New Year!