Teaching as I Raise the Kids

Novel blurb:

In 1368, Zhu Yuanzhang established the Ming capital at Nanjing and named the dynasty Great Ming.

He made his eldest legitimate son, Zhu Biao, crown prince.

Just as he was basking in his success, a screen suddenly appeared in the sky above the Ming Dynasty.

“...The United States successfully detonated the world's first atomic bomb. That same year, the United States used a B-29 bomber to carry the Little Boy atomic bomb and bomb Hiroshima.”

On the sky screen, a gigantic mushroom cloud exploded with a thunderous boom.

An island was instantly blasted into ruins.

The people of the Ming Dynasty, who had been watching the sky screen curiously, were stunned, too.

“What... what sort of divine object is this?”

“The United States' Apollo 11 spacecraft successfully carried three astronauts to the moon.”

“That's one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind.”

A blond, blue-eyed man with a prominent nose spoke on the sky screen.

The people of the Ming Dynasty looked at the barren, crater-pocked ground behind him.

Then they looked up at the moon hanging high in the night sky.

“Is the moon on the sky screen the same moon we see in the sky? Can people really go there?”

“So Chang'e flying to the moon wasn't just a legend!”

“The Wright brothers invented the world's first airplane, the Flyer.”

“Wow, people really can fly through the sky!”

“Dutch farmers began using steam-powered plows. Meanwhile, farmers in the United States and elsewhere in Europe used steam tractors to pull standard plows!”

“After further improvements, these machines could plow, weed, sow seeds, and more, all in one large piece of agricultural equipment.”

Watching the machines plow, weed, and sow seeds on the sky screen, the common people of the Ming Dynasty were green with envy.

“If only we had a miraculous device like that, so we wouldn't have to plow with oxen!”

“Then we wouldn't have to toil all day bent over, with our faces to the earth and our backs to the sky.”

“James Hargreaves of England designed and built a spinning machine with eight upright spindles. As spinning machines continued to improve, the number of spindles increased from eight to eighteen, thirty, thirty-two, sixty-four, and even one hundred, boosting spinning efficiency nearly a hundredfold.”

The common people of the Ming Dynasty watched the efficient spinning machines, their envy growing by the moment.

“If we could spin cloth this quickly, fabric wouldn't be so expensive!”

“If we really had a miraculous device like that, our whole family could finally afford new clothes.”

Watching all kinds of miraculous inventions on the sky screen, Zhu Yuanzhang was so envious that tears of jealousy practically dripped from the corners of his mouth.

How prosperous would the Ming Dynasty be if it had these miraculous inventions?

And just what countries were America and England?

The Northern and Southern Dynasties:

What's corn?

What? We had geniuses, too?

Western Han: Don't worry, don't worry. A talented woman from Julu invented a floral weaving loom, too!

Eastern Wu of the Three Kingdoms: Sun Quan, don't worry. My wife also drew the “first military map.”

Western Jin: Our woman physician, Bao Qian'guang, was also among the earliest to use “smallpox inoculation”!

She was also skilled in acupuncture and moxibustion, able to restore hair to the bald and treat skin tags with moxa!

The Qing Dynasty: Our descendants may have been a bit disappointing, but we had one, too. Wang Zhenyi was named by the authoritative academic journal Nature as a “female scientist who laid the foundation for the development of science.”

And so, every dynasty began digging through its own history for its “scientists.”

Warring States: Mozi, a carpenter by trade. Bian Que, a great physician of his age.

And Laozi, Confucius, Mozi, Shizi, Wenzi, Mencius, Shi Shen, Gan De...

Han Dynasty: Zhang Heng, a “man of remarkable versatility,” rare in this world. Zhang Zhongjing, a sage of medicine...

Three Kingdoms: Hua Tuo, the forefather of surgery...

Wei and Jin: Huangfu Mi, from “fool” to renowned acupuncturist...

Song Dynasty: Shen Kuo, a landmark figure in the history of Chinese science...

Ming Dynasty: Zhu Zaiyu, a scientific giant born into the imperial family. Wang Yangming, renowned educator, philosopher, politician, and military strategist...

Content warning: Science here includes military affairs, agriculture, industry, physics, chemistry, medicine, astronomy, geography, botany... and philosophy.

The order of events is not chronological!

One day, a small, scrawny child in ragged clothes suddenly appeared on Bai Xiang's phone!

The child's eyes were stubborn, like a little wolf cub's!

Bai Xiang thought it was a newly developed virtual pet game. The big data knew she was “goo-goo over babies,” so it had specially recommended it to her!

She even suspected that Sanqi might be behind it.

But the System firmly denied it.

Bai Xiang had to admit that she really was “goo-goo over babies,” so when the little wolf cub suddenly appeared, her curiosity was piqued and her maternal instincts kicked in.

And so, every day, she fed the little one in the game.

The little one was hungry and couldn't find any food.

Bai Xiang immediately fed him!

The house had holes in it, the cold wind blew through, and there was no heating inside. The little one could only wear thin clothes and curl up under a tattered quilt.

Bai Xiang's heart broke at the sight.

She immediately repaired the little one's house and provided him with charcoal, clothes, and bedding.

The First Emperor cub felt his comfortable clothes and warm, lightweight quilt, and developed an attachment to the unseen “big sister.”

At the same time, he wondered where “big sister” got these things. He had never seen anything like them where he lived!

Sanqi watched as its Host devoted herself to raising the First Emperor cub.

At last, it could breathe a sigh of relief.

Because of its mistake, the key figure in the transition from slavery to feudalism had run into trouble.

Fortunately, its Host was more than capable!

Coming soon: My Father Is Zhu Houzhao, Emperor Wuzong of Ming

He was an emperor.

He lived for thirty-one years, and played for thirty-one years.

Who was the lucky person?

That was my father, Zhu Houzhao.

My grandparents had no other children, so they were very indulgent with my father.

When he was young, my father was a bit of an academic star, but the older he got, the worse he became.

Well, at first he was a brave and resourceful emperor, but later he became obsessed with his Leopard House.

He played himself to death.

Everyone knows about my father's illness: he was infertile!

So when I suddenly appeared as his son, his first reaction was to “reject me outright.”

But from our looks to our interests, we were almost exactly alike.

In the end, my father had no choice but to acknowledge me.

I thought that now I was my father's only son, I could be spoiled and do whatever I wanted, just like him.

Unfortunately, no matter how much of a handful parents are, they're just like ordinary parents: they “want their sons to become dragons” and push their kids to succeed.

The “happy life” I had imagined never came to pass.

I was surrounded by a pile of teachers and books.

I angrily threw my books down.

Why could my father play around while I couldn't?

We were both only sons. What made him more precious than me?

And so, I began to “neglect my studies for my amusements.”

Of course, I was still young and hadn't found any fun ways to play yet.

So I simply followed my father around and watched how he played.

When Zhu Houzhao was nearly thirty, he still had no children. He knew he might never have an heir.

Then one day, a Taoist brought a four-year-old child and solemnly declared that the boy was his son.

Zhu Houzhao refused to believe it. After so many years without an heir, how could a son suddenly appear?

But when he saw the child's resemblance to himself, and felt pressure from his ministers and empress dowager, he acknowledged the boy, though “very reluctantly.”

He had thought that with a son, he could finally rest easy.

He had no idea how wrong he was.

This son had inherited not a bit of his talent for reading and learning.

But when it came to “having fun,” the boy was just like him. Zhu Houzhao couldn't deny it: that mischievous streak had to be inherited.

That wasn't even what annoyed him most.

What annoyed him most was that the little brat followed him everywhere, right on his heels.

But was the Leopard House a place for a child to play?

Zhu Houzhao refused to let him join in.

But the boy seemed to be having a great time anyway, and he was playing at a much higher level.

He either promoted colored glass or discovered high-yield crops.

The people of the Ming Dynasty became increasingly prosperous and their lives more comfortable.

Zhu Houzhao felt that he had lost.

“Zaiyin, can you let your father play with you?”

Additional blurb:

Who is this brazen little kid who pulled Yang Tinghe's beard and smacked Liu Jin on the head?

That's me, Zhu Xiaoyin!

“I heard there's someone claiming to be the emperor's illegitimate son?”

Qian Ning, the “emperor's illegitimate son”: “I wouldn't dare!”

“I heard Father likes Qian Ning the most, and even gave him the imperial surname. He claims to be the emperor's illegitimate son!”

“Father, which ‘son’ do you love more, him or me?”

Zhu Xiaoyin threw a tantrum and rolled around on the floor.

Zhu Houzhao had a headache. He couldn't hit him or scold him.

He could only grit his teeth and say, “Of course I love you most!”

One day, Zhu Xiaoyin suddenly heard a bit of gossip and excitedly shared it with his father.

“Father, I heard that some fellow named Zhu Shou had his credit stolen by Wang Shouren!”

“Then that fellow put on a whole act, pretending to capture Prince Ning through his own cleverness!”

Zhu Xiaoyin cupped his face, looking exasperated. “What a narcissist!”

Zhu Houzhao's expression darkened. Who had dared to let that “embarrassing history” slip?

It had to be that old rascal Wang Shouren!

Life in the palace was lively, full of interesting and amusing people.

Of course, Zhu Xiaoyin hadn't forgotten the “old beggar” he had first met, who was destitute but an excellent painter.

His father said the man had terrible luck!

Later, the man kept trying to worm his way into the “inner circle.”

Zhu Xiaoyin simply shoved him back. You'd better save that tiny brain of yours for painting. Don't go falling into another trap.

Yin means boundary or limit.

It indicates that the protagonist has a sense of boundaries when he plays around and won't cross the line.

It also hints at reining in Zhu Houzhao.

Theme: Innovation is what truly matters.