Chapter Nine: Education Only a Fool Would Understand

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But the director said, “There’s a condition. I want her to meet the standards to enter the Paranormal Bureau within five months.”

I said, “That’s easy. Did you hear that, An’an?”

An Mingshan glared at me and said, “You called me An’an? Besides, I only agreed to join; I never agreed to all this.”

I said, “You have to agree to this because listen to this.” Then I took out a voice recorder and played its contents.

From the recorder came An Qimin’s voice: “...From now on, I entrust An’an to your care. If she listens to me and follows you, please take good care of her...”

I said, “An’an, rest assured, my principle is to keep my promises. I promised your father I would take care of you, and I will. Think of me as your personal bodyguard, your human shield. If danger comes, I’ll be the first to rush out and protect you with all my strength.”

At that moment, An Mingshan glared at me fiercely, clearly unhappy.

The director came up to me and whispered, “That move was pretty ruthless.”

I whispered back, “Didn’t I learn it from you and the others?” But then the director said something unexpected.

He said, “Alright then... An Mingshan, you go and study with Liu Shan first.” I was instantly stunned. Indeed, the old fox is always more cunning.

Seeing my reaction, the director said, “Isn’t it the same anywhere? If he doesn’t teach well, you can always bring her back. Besides, did you forget how people just looked at you? Okay, Shucheng, take her to Liu Shan’s place! It’s already evening; I should head back. There’s a pile of work waiting for me at the bureau.”

I looked at An Mingshan, who was glaring at me with anger, crying and shouting, “What do you mean? What do you take me for, merchandise? Toss me to anyone who wants me? Fine! All of you bully me! I’ve grown up facing nothing but disdain, no one cares, no one asks. You never treat me like a person! You never consider my feelings! None of you are good! I hate you all!” While shouting, she tried to run out.

I caught her and gently pressed her back into the chair, wiping her tears softly. “Don’t worry, the people you met today truly care about you and would protect you with their lives. Think about why those people did what they did to you—it’s because you discovered secrets you shouldn’t have. Think carefully—would we treat you like that? If you go out now, I bet you won’t last long before you’re having tea with the King of Hell.”

An Mingshan gradually calmed down and said, “But...”

I said, “There’s no ‘but.’ Staying in the Paranormal Bureau is the safest place for you now. I’ll say it again: even if everyone else abandons you, I will protect you with my life. You better show some backbone—don’t let people say our bureau can’t even teach a little girl properly.”

An Mingshan blushed and crossed her fingers, saying, “Who do you call a little girl?”

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Noticing her calming down, I said, “I mean when you get to Liu Shan’s house, study hard and ask lots of questions. As the saying goes, ‘Be quick to learn and not ashamed to ask those below you.’ Alright, I’ll take you there.”

Finally, An Mingshan was taken to Liu Shan’s home to begin her five months of “hellish training”...

Five days later, early in the morning.

Liu Shan brought An Mingshan to my shop. As soon as he entered, he shouted, “Damn it! Whoever wants to teach, go ahead—I’m done!”

I said, “Enough. If you have something to say, let’s take it to the director.”

At the Paranormal Bureau, director’s office.

We entered, and the director was sitting in his swivel chair, back turned to us.

Liu Shan said, “Director, you’ve got to make a ruling! This girl is too difficult. She can’t learn anything; all she says is ‘I don’t know.’ She’s driving me crazy! In short, I can’t handle it. I’m applying to have her taken away immediately—let her go wherever she wants! My place is too small for a big Buddha like her.”

The director turned to say, “An Mingshan, right? Tell me, how is Liu Shan teaching you?”

An Mingshan said, “How to put it... On the first day at his house, he showed me a pile of books, but I couldn’t understand a single word. I asked him, but I still didn’t get it. So... I was wrong. I’m sorry.” She lowered her head, looking both aggrieved and scared.

I understood—Liu Shan was using a book-heavy method to teach her. To gain her trust, I quickly comforted her: “It’s okay, it’s not your fault. Tell me about your five days’ experience; it’ll help me learn.”

After hesitating, An Mingshan quietly recounted her “learning experience” of the past five days:

On the first day, Liu Shan showed her a huge stack of books, none of which she could understand; when she asked for explanations, he gave a long lecture that she still didn’t grasp. Liu Shan said his explanations were so simple even an idiot could understand. I asked him to explain live what “six relatives” in the Six Yao divination meant. He simply recited: “Those born of me are parents, those born by me are descendants, those who overcome me are officials and ghosts, those I overcome are wife and wealth, those like me are brothers,” then finished.

On the second day, he tested her on the first day’s content. Luckily, she memorized it, though she didn’t know why. The following days were the same.

I realized Liu Shan was using a “force-feeding” method. No wonder only fools could understand it.

I whispered in his ear, “You expect someone with only a second-grade elementary education to understand this? That’s a joke.”

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Liu Shan replied in the same tone, “How would I know...”

I continued, “You didn’t even assess her foundation, no wonder you failed. As the saying goes, ‘teach according to aptitude,’ understand?”

Then the director raised his voice, “What are you two whispering about?”

I quickly said, “Nothing, nothing. This matter is up to you, sir. I’ll follow your decision.”

Finally, I took An Mingshan back to my place to continue her training. The best news was the director gave me a raise—my monthly salary increased to ten thousand. After all, I had to support both myself and An Mingshan.

My teaching method was: learning based on willingness, breaking traditional methods; content tailored to the individual, emphasizing practical application.

I summarized Liu Shan’s failure—he failed because he didn’t tailor his teaching and used force-feeding: cramming knowledge into An Mingshan and testing regularly; when she asked questions, he recited rote theory she couldn’t understand. It was all useless. This approach only produces students who cram before tests and forget everything after, possibly making An Mingshan distrust us. That’s why I devised my method.

We returned to the Suiyi Residence, which had just been renovated by a construction crew I hired. After settling the bill and sending them off, I entered the shop. It was already seven or eight in the evening. I let An Mingshan choose a room, gave her the keys to the front door and bedroom, helped her tidy up a bit, then left.

Everything was ready. Whether it works depends on these five months.

Reader’s Quiz:

Q: Author, do you support the current force-feeding educational methods?

A: Absolutely not—I am completely and thoroughly opposed. Every person is an individual with different circumstances, so education methods cannot be uniform. Education should inspire, not force-feed knowledge. Force-feeding only makes students hate learning or become numb bookworms. Such cases have existed throughout history but have never been seriously addressed or improved. As the lament in "Shiwentan" goes: “Scholars at their worst produce rotten essays, rotten as mud. The state seeks talent but instead is deceived. Three lines to introduce, two to break the topic, ending with a nod, deemed a top scholar. But do they really understand the Classics or the Four Histories? Which emperor of Han or Tang? Lectures are read aloud, new tools bought, skills parroted. Sucking on sugarcane waste, what flavor remains? Wasting time, fooling a generation. Even cheating officials, it’s a curse on the people and court.” Therefore, education should encourage imagination, creativity, and hands-on practice, not restrict or stifle. Otherwise, we only buy others’ skills, becoming factories with no originality. Moreover, as the saying goes, “Fingers differ in length; uniformity is impossible.” Force-feeding tries to make all students identical, like forcing fingers of different lengths to be the same—what use are such fingers? Historically, the education method despised at home is revered in neighboring countries. As Secretary Jiao Yulu said, “Eating someone else’s chewed bread tastes bland.” I truly do not understand why.