Qin Liu looked very sensible and honest, like a bunny.
Xie Qiao copied her. She held her head slightly low and looked respectful.
"The final examination is coming, so many students are copying books. There are only these genres to be copied now." The teacher took out a piece of paper with the genres.
Qin Liu looked troubled. "Bad news, Sister Xie. Look at these. They're not easy…"
"What are these?" Xie Qiao was rather surprised.
"Foreign text, no? Look at this one. It should be from Zhoulai. This is from Chouyou, this is from Dongye, and this is the Nanman people's text. They're difficult!"
Difficult?
Xie Qiao pursed her lips.
"How many silver beans… to translate this?" asked Xie Qiao.
The teacher stopped reading after hearing that, lifted his head, and looked at her. It was uncertain whether he was smiling. "Five silver beans per page."
Xie Qiao frowned. "Didn't you say that translating these is lucrative?"
Qin Liu was rendered speechless. She pointed at a pamphlet aside. "Look at that. Books like this only have a couple of words on a page… If you're really familiar, you can translate it very fast."
Xie Qiao's eyes lit up.
She had no idea which to choose.
Xie Qiao looked at the teacher and asked, "Can I pick the Zhoulai one?"
Zhoulai was far away from Qianyuan. Although there was an ocean between them, the two countries traded frequently, and they had a close relationship. It should be normal that one was familiar with the language.
"Of course you can, but there's a stipulated time. Also, we'll need 10 silver beans as a deposit. If you fail to complete your task, the deposit will be confiscated. If the book is ruined, you'll need to pay 1,000 silver beans as compensation."
Xie Qiao felt uncomfortable in her chest. These silver beans seemed like they could be spent easily…
She had her head filled with those expensive silver beans.
Qin Liu was a little dumbstruck. "You're familiar with this as well? The text is very difficult. Very few people in the academy know this language…"
"Why? Aren't there many people who came from Zhoulai?" Xie Qiao was confused.
"There are many. However, the people from Zhoulai are stingy. They're very business-minded, and they basically won't share their personal skills. They're familiar with our country's language and text, and they blend with us when they come here. However, we know very little about them," explained Qin Liu.
The books they had purchased from them had come at a high price. There were things from Zhoulai that were worth learning.
Therefore, they would spread the knowledge when they found out something useful from the translation and copying.
Xie Qiao found out that the era she was in was very different from her past life's ancient times.
At least, the aspect of learning about foreign cultures was much more outstanding.
The teacher asked again, "So are you copying or not?"
"I am," Xie Qiao nodded. She wanted to make silver beans.
As soon as she was done speaking, the teacher took out a book immediately and placed it in her hands. "This book has a total of 40 pages. You'll be given 200 silver beans after translating it. The dateline is within seven days. Can you do it?"
"Yes." Xie Qiao nodded. "How do you guys make sure that my translation is accurate or not?"
"Someone will check through a few pages when you're done. Your deposit will be confiscated if there's a mistake. The translated book will have your name written on it. It'll be circulated around in the future. If there are mistakes…" The teacher smiled.
Xie Qiao was enlightened. If there were mistakes, she would be embarrassed.
She would not allow herself to be humiliated like that. She had no other talent these years. However, she dared to call herself No. 1 when it came to copying books in peace.
Therefore, she accepted the task directly.
Qin Liu picked one that was suitable to her immediately. Xie Qiao glanced at her. Qin Liu had chosen to copy a medical classic. Such a book was rather obscure and hard to understand.
However, there was nothing else that she could pick from.