95. The Art of Taking Payment Without Doing the Work

“Master...
My benevolent Father...
The God I believe in...”

As Wu Qingshen spoke with emotion, Andre had already sung the first segment of the hymn three times in a row.

“All right, that’s how you sing it... Ross, give it a try.”

“Uh...” Wu Qingshen hesitated. “I’m not good at singing...”

“It’s okay, just try...”

Since it was his first time seriously teaching someone else, young Andre tried to adopt the encouraging tone his pastor often used with him, but his words came out awkwardly. “Um... just try... um! Just sing casually! No matter how it sounds, it’s fine.”

“All right!”

Wu Qingshen nodded, took a deep breath, and opened his mouth. “Master... @! ... &%*... ¥@...”

Except for the first two syllables, which were pronounced fairly accurately, the rest of Wu Qingshen’s singing was a complete mess.

To describe it specifically, if such a singing style were heard on Earth, and if the timing were unfortunate, it would probably prompt the neighbors to call the police.

Despite this, young Andre nodded repeatedly, clearly satisfied.

This was understandable; Andre knew that for a boy who had never left the village of Ecrie, singing a hymn was an experience almost never encountered in daily life.

“Singing,” with its exaggerated tonal shifts and elongated syllables, would certainly be tough for someone encountering this style for the first time, like Wu Qingshen/Ross.

Moreover, beyond the difficulty of hitting the right notes, Andre also knew that many of the words in the hymn were probably being heard for the first time in Wu Qingshen/Ross’s life.

Thus, two already considerable challenges were compounded. That Wu Qingshen managed to sing the beginning part passably well before it devolved into humming and nonsense was a testament to his cleverness—just half a month of learning and he was already teaching himself to count backwards.

After listening to Wu Qingshen’s “singing,” recalling how the pastor had taught him, Andre smiled as he looked at Wu Qingshen. “Not bad, although some parts weren’t very accurate...”

“Yes...” Wu Qingshen admitted honestly, “It doesn’t sound good... it’s really hard...”

“No, that’s not what I meant...” Andre shook his head firmly. “For your first time singing, to sound like this is really very good... As for those parts that are off, you don’t have to worry about them yet...”

“Oh?” Wu Qingshen asked doubtfully, “Then what should I focus on first?”

“When the pastor taught me, I asked the same question... The teacher said: first, you need to know how to read every word in the hymn...” Worried that Wu Qingshen might lose confidence, Andre quoted the pastor directly to lend weight to his words, “... You need to understand what story the hymn is telling. Only then can you sing it accurately.”

“Ah! I see...” Wu Qingshen nodded earnestly, paused briefly, then followed Andre’s meaning. “That makes sense... Just now I felt that it was really hard to sing words you don’t know how to read... like... like... ‘Smefeu’... that part is really hard to sing...”

“‘Smefeu’... that word means family, help... hmm... wait, no...” Andre quickly shook his head, then looked up slightly, trying to recall carefully, “... It should mean family... help... not angry, care, everyone... hmm, no... besides these, there should be many other good meanings... wait a moment...”

“... Hmm, here’s what, Ross...” After thinking for a while, Andre wasn’t quite sure how to fully explain the word to Wu Qingshen, so he spoke vaguely, “... Just remember that it combines ‘help,’ ‘people,’ ‘joy,’ and many other ‘good’ meanings—something like that will do...”

Excellent!

Wu Qingshen brightened.

Wu Qingshen, and Earth behind him, had been waiting for just this sentence from young Andre.

By medieval world standards, as early as twenty or thirty days ago, with the full support of experts in language, literature, history, and religion, Wu Qingshen’s mind had already translated “Smefeu” quite accurately as “benevolence.”

However, at this critical moment, when dealing with Andre’s subtle calculations, the Earth side, represented solely by Wu Qingshen, needed not exactness, but ambiguity.

Young Andre had no idea that by uttering those words, he had effectively authorized Wu Qingshen to interpret “Smefeu” himself, lending his endorsement.

This was the main reason Wu Qingshen did not go directly to the pastor to learn the hymn.

Compared to the pastor, Andre’s “authorization” and “endorsement” carried far less weight.

Yet, as one of only two official church staff in the village of Ecrie, this degree of endorsement was enough for Wu Qingshen to cloak his theory and practice in a sacred mantle when he later conducted “targeted instruction.”

Indeed, the Earth team planned to subtly alter the “hymn” as a powerful reason and source of skills to persuade Wu Qingshen’s medieval family and other close ones to learn and improve their labor efficiency standards.

Of course, with the help of many experts, when Wu Qingshen truly began to alter the hymn, he would choose the least conspicuous modifications—those that changed the meaning as little as possible and remained close to the original intent.

“Oh... oh...”

As Andre finished reading, Wu Qingshen immediately repeated, “‘Help,’ ‘people,’ ‘joy,’ and many many ‘good’ things, that’s roughly the meaning...”

“Yes.” Andre was very satisfied. “Ross, you remember very well.”

“Mm! I’ll remember it well!” Wu Qingshen nodded vigorously, looking very serious. “... Then what does ‘Litgoku’ mean?”

“Well...” Seeing that Wu Qingshen accepted his explanation without hesitation, a strong sense of satisfaction welled up in Andre’s chest.

“Litgoku means ‘believe,’ ‘true,’ ‘father,’ ‘give,’ and many many other meanings related to ‘giving’...”

“Mm!” Wu Qingshen nodded again, repeating seriously, “Litgoku means...”

Excellent! He had gained the right to interpret “faith.”

“Right... Okay...”

After Wu Qingshen finished repeating, Andre asked, “You understand the meaning of the first verse of the hymn now, right? Shall I sing it once more for you?”

“All right.”

Andre began to sing: “Master...”

“Ah!”

Just after two syllables, Wu Qingshen suddenly stopped beside Andre and raised his voice sharply, “Watch out!”

“What’s wrong?”