[4] Wang

"Alright, all of you go practice in the courtyard, I will be there in half an hour." Zhang dismissed the students. One by one his students bowed and left the cafeteria.

"Don't be too upset lil Wang." Zhang patted Wang's shoulder. "Eastern province people look down on all outsiders. When I first came to Qinglong Academy, I was looked down on as well!"

"It's not that..." Wang looked down. "Well, not entirely that. It's just that..."

"Your father is a merchant?"

"Yes..."

Silence hung in the air for a good minute, then all of a sudden Zhang burst out laughing.

"What-what's so funny?" Wang's face was a mask of confusion.

"That's what you were so concerned about? Sorry I just find the whole thing hilarious."

"Merchants are the 2nd lowest social class! How is that hilarious!?" Wang's face turned as red as a ripe tomato.

"What's so wrong with being a merchant? Some merchants even make more money than scholars!"

"Yes, but they are despised everywhere!"

"So what?" Zhang looked Wang right in the eye. "Let them despise you all they want, cause at the end of the day, you'll be the one rolling in coins!"

Wang opened his mouth, but no sound came out. Seeing his silence as an invitation, Zhang continued:

"We can't choose our parents, but we can choose our path. Whatever your dad does, it doesn't apply to you. You're not your dad. You're Wang Fei. And I want you to remember that."

The silence was short but weighed on Wang like it was an hour. Wang finally spoke up:

"Thank you big bro." Wang gave a small grin.

"No problem lil Wang." Zhang gave a large toothy grin and gave him a slap on the back. "Follow me, I will take you to your new living quarters."

***

"You have no idea how lucky you are lil Wang." Zhang said, as he led Wang in front of a long 1 story complex.

"Lucky what?" Wang asked.

"Students of literature get their own individual rooms." Zhang pushed open a door, revealing a 4x4 room.

Inside the room was a desk with an unlit candle and stand, simple cotton bed, a wooden box in one corner, and a bamboo basket in the other corner.

"Normal Chi user students have to share the same room with a dozen people. And the quality of their dormitory is determined by their level of Chi."

"How many levels of dorm are there?" Wang asked.

"3." Zhang held up 3 fingers. "The lowest Chi user students is level 3 and level 5 being the highest. Once you reach level 6 you can apply to become a teacher."

"So big bro is level 6 Chi then?" Wang asked.

"Yep!" Zhang smiled brightly. "There are 11 other people living in this building. They are all literature students like you. The washroom is in the back, and if you have dirty clothes, just throw it in the bamboo basket and leave it on your front doorstep in the morning. The laundry lady will clean it and return it to you by night."

"I didn't know being a literature student came with so many perks..."

"Once you become a real scholar, the perks you will receive will be tenfold!"

"What about Chi users? Do they get to become scholars too?"

"Nope." Zhang said flatly. "At best they become a general, but those are only for the cream of the crop. Most Chi fighters either end up becoming mercenaries or bodyguards or in some cases performance artists."

"Huh..."

"Alright, I still need to go back and teach a class." Zhang stretched his back. "Your literature class begins tomorrow at 7 a. m. in Cang-shu-ge. Now rest well, cause you gotta big day ahead of you tomorrow."

Q: Have you been to a boarding school before?