29 - Chapter 27
Hou Bao was seething internally. He had not expected the girl, no Sa Bina he corrected himself, he would have to start referring to correctly even in his own mind. He could not afford to get into bad habits with this one. While he could pass off education related topics as the complaints of a student who was just not good enough to keep up, matters of etiquette were another matter entirely. He really had let his temper get the better of him.
He would need to be more careful in the future. He had expected Sa Bina to provide an adequate answer, yet she had gone above and beyond. This showed that she understood the subject remarkably well. He had to grudgingly accept that his assessment of her, based primarily on how he saw her, had been completely incorrect. Still he was not an idiot. Now he needed to minimise the damage. If he allowed her to showcase what he now accepted based on her confidence, to be her considerable grasp of the subject, then he would be left looking even more the fool. It would also demoralise his students further. He knew that the older boys had taken pride in being selected for the advanced economic class. To be shown up by a 13 year old girl would be too difficult to accept, a crushing blow to their hyperinflated egos.
“Excellent answer, Lady Sa Bina.” said Hou Gao, controlling his expression. “It seems that you truly do know your material.”
“Oh, you judged that based on that simple question, professor.” replied Sa Bina with a smirk. She could see that he was in damage limitation mode. She needed to make an example, and the dear professor had volunteered. The story would spread at the end of this class, she wanted to ensure it had the maximum impact. “If I recall the test that the headmaster administered, it included detailed questions on significantly more advanced economic theories, such as, active government intervention to manage economic fluctuations, the idea that markets are self-regulating, and free markets achieve efficiency through the invisible hand, focus on individual decision-making, utility maximization, and market equilibrium, the role of money supply in influencing economic activity, the importance of individual choice, entrepreneurship, and decentralised decision-making, study of how psychological factors affect economic decisions, analysis of strategic interactions among rational decision-makers, the role of institutions in shaping economic performance, and the role of technology, innovation, and human capital in driving long-term economic growth. I am happy to provide detailed answers on any of these topics, or any others that you wish to test me on, Professor. We would not want anyone to be left with the incorrect impression after all.”
With each word and each new theory mentioned Hou Bao winched internally. Half way through her speech however, a change occurred. He actually started paying attention to the topics she was mentioning. Some were more advanced than his classes covered, others even he had never heard of. Just who was this lady Sa Bina.
The impact on the other students in class was even more pronounced. These were some of the brightest young minds in the academy. They understood the fact that knowing something and being able to explain it were two very different things. Sa Bina’s detailed answer on what would be considered a simple topic, was anything but simple. It was elegant. It explained topics in a way that would make it easy for anyone to understand. This was already difficult enough for most to accept, but the list of topics and esoteric theories that Sa Bina casually mentioned left them feeling stupid, perhaps for the first time in their lives. For some it was an impossible pill to swallow. The majority grudgingly accepted that she was as good as she claimed, meaning ahead of them. For a few it was a moment of enlightenment. They furiously started to take notes on Sa Bina’s theories.
“I do not think that is necessary, Lady Sa Bina.” replied a now much more respectful Hou Bao. “If you would take a seat. Class, Lady Sa Bina has very eloquently demonstrated why we should never judge a book by its cover. Please welcome her to the class. Also please make use of her expertise as the teaching assistant in this class.”
Meng Fan was internally delighted at the way Sa Bina had handled Hou Bao. The fact that by the end Hou Bao actually seemed to have completely changed his mind was even more impressive. “I will take my leave now,” she said to the class. “I will be back at the end of class, to take you to advanced mathematics.”
Hou Bao and the class both looked at Meng Fan sharply at that comment. “Don’t tell me,” said a only mildly incredulous Hou Bao. “Will Lady Sa Bina also act as a teaching assistant in that class?”
“Yes,” replied Meng Fan. “She will.” With that she departed. She left behind an intense buzz of gossip. More than half of the students in this class were also in the advanced mathematics class. It had already been difficult enough for them to accept that she was better than them in economics, the shock of learning that she was also ahead of them in maths, left them reeling again. One thing was certain, Sa Bina would be the most talked about person in the academy for some time to come.
After Meng Fan left, Hou Bao brought order back to his class room and returned to his original planned lecture. As they had started late, due to Sa Bina’s interruption at the beginning, there was not much time left for discussions at the end of the lecture.
As soon as the end of the lecture was announced several students rushed away, probably to spread gossip to their friends. Meng Fan returned to escort Sa Bina to her next class.
Sa Bina finally realised why there was a ¼ bell gap between classes. To say that the classrooms were not next to each other, would be to understate the scale of the problem. The room was across the quad from the economics classroom. The issue was the size of the quad. It was essentially a military training ground with assault courses, and training areas that could be used by people on a level above professional athletes.
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“If I may ask, deputy head, who uses the training area and when?” asked a curious Sa Bina.
“I am sure the headmaster mentioned groups and clubs to you, Lady Sa Bina?” replied Meng Fan a little distractedly. She had just been wondering if the mathematics professor would also give Sa Bina a chance to show off. “He likes to understate things. Two of those groups are the army and the adventurers guild. Both have electives in combat that a lot of students choose to take. It is mostly the older students, with the classes being held on the fifth day. The rest of the time the training space is used recreationally by the students.”
It did not take them much longer to reach the mathematics classroom. They had arrived just as the students were settling into their seats. Sa Bina looked around. Again the class consisted of older students who were predominantly male. At least there were two girls in this class, though both seemed to be 17, meaning it would be their final year.
“Professor Wei Bolin, may I introduce Lady Sa Bina,” said Meng Fan. “She is to join this class as a teaching assistant.”
“Welcome Lady Sa Bina.” said Professor Wei Bolin pleasantly. “Please do take a seat.”
“Thank you professor,” replied Sa Bina and went to find a seat. One of the girls waved her over to an empty desk next to her. Sa Bina decided to accept the implied offer.
Once Sa Bina was seated the professor continued. “It’s not that I doubt your abilities, Lady Sa Bina, however I need to understand the extent of your capabilities. In that you have picked a fortuitous day to join us. I had already planned a mock examination for the class today. It will give you the opportunity to showcase your skill.”
“Of course, professor.” replied Sa Bina. Wei Bolin’s request was perfectly reasonable, so Sa Bina had no issue with it. As long as her fellow students and professors treated her well, she would return the same. It was only those who sought to put her in her place or play games with her that she would put in their place.
Seeing that this class would be straight forward, Meng Fan said, “I think I can leave you to manage the rest of the day by yourself. I am sure your fellow students would be happy to show you around. If you need anything else, please come to my office.”
“Thank you for helping the deputy head.” responded Sa Bina. With that exchange a disappointed Meng Fan returned to her office.
Wei Bolin picked a random student seated at the front, and asked them to distribute the examination papers to the whole class. Sa Bina wondered for a moment why he had not asked her to do that, but thought that he wanted to see her test results before deciding how to treat her. Sa Bina was happy to let things play out. She would deal with any issue that came up when they did. No point taking things too seriously.
The examination papers were handed to everyone. Sa Bina also noticed that the desk each had quills and ink, as well as spare parchment.
“Welcome to the academy Lady Sa Bina.” said the girl who had waved her over. “I am Lady Jia Yun. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance.”
“Pleasure to meet you Lady Jia Yun. That is a beautiful name.” replied Sa Bina. “Please feel free to call me Sa Bina.”
“Thank you. Please call me Jia Yun.” replied Jian Yun. “I am happy to show you around if you would like Sa Bina.”
They did not have time for much more small talk as the professor asked them to start the exam. The questions were fairly simple for Sa Bina, and she completed them at speed. When she had finished, she looked around to find everyone else still laboring away.
Professor Wei Bolin noticed her looking around. “Is there an issue, Lady Sa Bina.” he asked.
“I have completed the examination professor.” replied Sa Bina. “I was looking around to see if others were done or not.”
“If you are sure you have answered everything that you can,” replied a nonplussed Wei Bolin. “Then you can bring the paper down to me.”
“I have completed all the questions.” responded Sa Bina standing up. She picked up her completed examination paper down to the waiting professor.
Her short conversation was enough to create a buzz in the room. The students who had been in her first class were waiting with anticipation to hear the professor’s verdict. Some fervently hoped for her to fail.
Wei Bolin took the paper from the new mysterious student and proceeded to check the answers. His eyebrows rose higher and higher the more questions he checked. Not only had she answered all the questions, and answered them correctly, she had also shown the intermittent steps to showcase her understanding of the underlying principles.
“All correct Lady Sa Bina.” said Wei Bolin, holding out another examination paper. “I would like you to attempt a more advanced paper, it would better enable me to judge your abilities.”
“Of course, professor.” replied Sa Bina taking the new examination paper and returning to her desk to complete it. While this one was harder, it was still not very complicated for Sa Bina. She also completed this one in short order.
The students had been taking surreptitious glances from their own examination papers to observe the interaction between Sa Bina and the professor. They were surprised by her completing the first paper correctly.
This time, once she had completed the paper, she stood up and carried the paper down the professor without being asked too. As she walked down, she looked around and found that a few students had actually finished. They were gawking at her. Her new friend was still working on her paper.
“I am done professor.” said Sa Bina handing over the completed second examination.
Wei Bolin was impressed that she had gone through the questions so fast. He took the paper and proceeded to mark the second paper. He was again surprised, and impressed, that she had managed to get them all correct.
“Well done Lady Sa Bina. All correct.” he said. “How did you find the topics on the second paper?”
“They were rather elementary, professor.” replied Sa Bina politely “Is this the extent of the syllabus covered in this class?”
Sa Bina’s question, heard clearly in the silent classroom, left the audience stunned.