The First Order

It was getting closer and closer to the Lunar New Year. Hu Shuo would practice tai chi and enjoy his barbecue at the outpost every day as there wasn’t really anything else he could do here.

Normally, a person in their seventies should have difficulties eating barbecue due to their aging teeth. However, the old man seemed to find everything delicious, and nothing could hinder him from eating.

Ren Xiaosu wondered, “So aren’t you going back home?”

During this period, the Wolf King sent over additional game to them on more than a few occasions. However, Hu Shuo did not ask about it and only cared about eating.

Hu Shuo answered, “Since I don’t have any children, there’s no point in going home. I’m much happier living here.”

“You don’t have any children?” Ren Xiaosu was taken aback. Did Hu Shuo remain single all his life or was he infertile?

However, Hu Shuo watched the campfire in front of him as he said, “I had a daughter. In my earlier years, I left her in someone’s care without anyone knowing so she wouldn’t be at risk. But to my surprise, she still got into trouble in the end. It was already too late by the time I learned of it. All I have left now is a grandson who doesn’t want to live with

me.”

Ren Xiaosu did not expect this answer from him. However, the old man did not mention his son-in-law whatsoever and what kind of trouble his daughter got into. But it would be inappropriate for everyone to ask for too much detail.

“Are you planning on spending the Lunar New Year here?” Ren Xiaosu next asked.

Hu Shuo thought for a moment and answered, “It’s not like I can’t, but since you all are inviting me to stay, I can only accept your hospitality.”

Ren Xiaosu was dumbfounded. ‘Who’s inviting you?’

Ren Xiaosu had been guarding against the old man every day since the start in case he called upon his soldiers to wipe out the entire outpost after discovering some evidence. However, nothing happened even after such a long time had passed.

Was he really here to investigate the case? No, it felt more like he was here on vacation!

And he was even freeloading with no intention of paying at all!

If they were to sell this exotic meat in the stronghold, it would surely fetch a high price for them.

In fact, even though the big shots in the stronghold had access to a supply of meat, they were more interested in exotic meats. Whoever had the chance to taste exotic meat would definitely be able to show off to their friends.

Ren Xiaosu got the feeling that this old man who claimed to be here to investigate the case was starting to look rather suspicious.

Curious, Ren Xiaosu asked, “The Li Consortium has sent you to investigate the case, but you haven’t even conducted any investigations. Won’t the Li Consortium be unhappy with you?”

“At my age, it’s not like they care about me anymore,” Hu Shuo said matter-of-factly. “Moreover, the younger generation of the Li Consortium are all brats. It wouldn’t make a difference if any of them went missing.”

Ren Xiaosu was speechless. He did not know how he should assess this old man.

Slowly, everyone started getting used to the fact that there was an additional person at the outpost. In addition, they slowly realized Hu Shuo did not have any airs to him and was extremely easy to get along with.

A few days later, Hu Shuo suddenly expressed his embarrassment at being a freeloader and that he could help out with some work.

The moment he said that, nobody would dare to allow him to do so. He was too old. What if something happened to him after they made him perform some menial work like splitting logs or doing the dishes? Who could they approach to clear the air with if that happened?

But Ren Xiaosu thought that since Hu Shuo held a very high position within the Li Consortium, he should also be very rich. “It’s definitely not suitable for you to perform menial work, so why don’t you just pay?”

Li Qingzheng was startled when he heard Ren Xiaosu say this. He did not expect Ren Xiaosu to actually ask for money from Hu Shuo.

Hu Shuo gave it some thought and said, “Aren’t there eight of you who are students? I’ve been seeing you all studying by yourselves every day, so why don’t I become your teacher instead? That way, I won’t be considered a freeloader anymore.”

Hah! Ren Xiaosu realized the old man was just reluctant to pay up!

After Li Qingzheng, Ren Xiaosu, and the others held a discussion, they deemed this as giving Hu Shuo something to do. Although, Ren Xiaosu wanted to see just how well he could teach.

Ren Xiaosu had been rather melancholic recently. He knew it wouldn’t do for the students to keep studying by themselves. Whenever they encountered problems, no one could help them resolve their queries. Sometimes, the students would ask him questions. But as the class monitor, he was totally clueless.

The students were also a little curious regarding that. “Monitor, didn’t you score 560 points during finals? Why does it seem like you don’t know anything?”

Ren Xiaosu did not know how to answer them when faced with the question.

But since Hu Shuo had taken the initiative to be the teacher here, Ren Xiaosu was glad to see it happen. However, he said, “It’s not eight students, it’s nine. I’m a student as well, and I want to be in the class too.”

It was Hu Shuo who was stunned this time. “You’re a student?

When Hu Shuo was chatting with everyone, no one mentioned anything about this. Although the students kept addressing Ren Xiaosu as their class monitor(1), Hu Shuo thought they were actually calling him platoon commander. Moreover, Ren Xiaosu did not look like a student either.

He thought for a while and said with a smile, “Sure, I’ll teach the nine of you then.”

Hu Shuo was a person who did things in a crisp and efficient manner. On the very same day, he held a lecture for Ren Xiaosu and the eight male students. This way, everyone could finally be busy. Ren Xiaosu also came to realize that Hu Shuo seemed rather fond of being a teacher.

During the break, the students would discuss in private. “Mr. Hu is able to make his lessons easy to understand and further expand our knowledge. He’s much better at teaching than the previous math, physics, and chem teachers.”

“That’s right, I didn’t expect Grandpa to be so knowledgeable,” Wang Yuchi said.

In fact, Ren Xiaosu also realized the examples brought up by Hu Shuo during the lectures were extremely easy to understand, and he could also talk endlessly without even looking at the textbooks.

The knowledge he imparted always revolved around the key points in the textbooks, but he was able to bring it to a further level.

However, Ren Xiaosu still had some difficulties in understanding the lessons as his foundation was missing. He would have to ponder over the things taught in class for a long time while the other students understood immediately.

At the end of the lesson, Hu Shuo said to the students, “You can ask me in private if there’s anything you still don’t understand. In times like this, it’s not easy to encounter such studious students like you. It’s a pity that you can’t attend university in the Li Consortium’s stronghold and further your studies.”

As the other students could understand what was taught during the lesson, they had no more questions after class ended. As it was evening by the time class was dismissed, Hu Shuo was about to gather everyone for a barbecue party.

But before Hu Shuo could walk out of the house, he was stopped by Ren Xiaosu. Although the others did not have any questions, he had plenty of questions to ask.

Hu Shuo looked at Ren Xiaosu amiably and said, “As the ancients said, ‘If you know, recognize that you know. If you don’t know, recognize that you don’t know.’ Your attitude of seeking knowledge is very courageous. It’s really admirable!”

But when Ren Xiaosu got started with his questions, the exchange went on until nearly midnight. Hu Shuo could see everyone else eating barbecue outside while he was busy clearing Ren Xiaosu’s doubts to the point of feeling thirsty. He did not even have a chance to take a sip of water.

Finally, he could not help but say, “Look, Ren Xiaosu, why don’t I pay for the food instead? I’ll continue to teach the other students, but as for you, you should do some self-study first to catch up on the progress-“

“No!” Ren Xiaosu firmly said.