Volume 3: Dragon and Snake Movement Chapter 397: To state but not to create?
In the end, Zhu Er and Lao Xianyu still failed to get the information out of Ah Liu. They could only reluctantly take the paper handed to them by Ah Liu and go to Zhu Er's room next door to discuss intercropping methods.
One is responsible for providing seeds, and may have to go overseas again in the future; the other is responsible for guiding planting methods, and plans to achieve the achievements of a good farmer in the future. How can he be ignorant of all these questions?
Ah Liu sent the two men away and returned to Zhang Shou's house. He jumped up to the big tree next to the house and landed on the trunk in a few steps. He sat down with his feet dangling as usual, with a peach in his hand. He peeled the skin easily, threw the peel on the tree, and spun a small knife in his right hand, cutting off the peach flesh piece by piece and putting it into his mouth.
As Liu was eating, he thought, there was a peach tree on the hill behind the village. The fruit it produced was hairy peaches, not honey peaches. They were crisp and refreshing, and the villagers thought they were top-notch. But Zhang Shou didn't like them, because he only ate honey peaches sent by Zhao Guogong Mansion when he was a child, and he claimed that he would never eat hairy peaches. Later, Zhang Shou's health gradually improved, and he also claimed that he liked honey peaches more.
However, when there were no other fruits except peaches, Zhang Shou had to reluctantly agree to eat a few bites of the peaches, but the prerequisite was... he had to peel and slice them.
To be honest, Zhang Shou is not picky about anything, but he is really picky! However, he has become accustomed to peeling and slicing oranges, pears, grapes and lychees, just because Zhang Shou feels uncomfortable with juice on his hands. Even later in the greasy kitchen, he has never seen Zhang Shou so picky...
However, after slicing more and more, his knife skills have improved. Occasionally, he can even help Zhang Shou cut cucumber shreds or something like that... I don't know why Zhang Shou, who doesn't practice martial arts, is so skilled at cutting vegetables...
However, he had not even mentioned to Zhu Ying that Zhang Shou liked peaches. He did not know how lucky this guest was today to be able to please him!
Inside the room, a plate of peaches stacked on a large porcelain plate was placed on a tall cabinet in the corner. Each peach was as big as a bowl, round and smooth, red as charcoal, and had a refreshing aroma, bringing a natural fragrance to this room without any scent.
However, this treatment of directly taking out the gifts brought by the guests and placing them in a conspicuous place made the visitor a little nervous. At least from the moment he entered the house, he never stopped wiping the sweat off his face.
At this moment, he wiped the beads of sweat dripping from his forehead again, looked at Zhang Shou's smooth and sweat-free forehead with envy, and then smiled and said: "I am fat and sweat a lot, but I can't compare to you, Dr. Zhang, who is calm and cool..."
It's not like I'm gifted with special talents. How can I be calm and cool in this hot weather? I'm staying in a room with blue brick floors and well water poured on the ground early in the morning to dissipate heat. Plus, I just ate watermelon cooked with well water before you came, so my whole body was cool. How can I compare to you, a guest who came in from outside under the scorching sun?
Zhang Shou thought so in his heart, but he had no intention of teasing the fat man, Manager Hua. He sat there calmly, nodded slightly and said, "Manager Hua, you talked so much as soon as you came in, and you didn't even have time to take a breath. If you can't stand the heat now, why don't I ask Ah Liu to ask the kitchen to send a bowl of iced green bean soup?"
"No, no, no, I don't deserve it." Shopkeeper Hua quickly shook his head like a rattle, then wiped the sweat off his face again, and then asked flatteringly, "I don't know what you think of what I just said, Dr. Zhang? There are too many dilapidated places in and around Cangzhou City. The owner of the family happened to be in Huai'an these days. He has already replied, saying that he is willing to contact Suzhou merchants to help as much as possible!"
Even if he is not a local official, if he can give the local area a new look, the people of Cangzhou will surely admire Zhang Shou to a new level. As long as Zhang Shou mobilizes public opinion to propose building a port and makes some efforts in the court, there is no need to worry about the failure of building the port.
Raising his hand to signal Manager Hua that he didn't need to continue, Zhang Shou said calmly, "Manager Hua, I understand what you are thinking. But now General Zhu and I are being attacked by people in the court. Any suggestions we make are maliciously speculated. This is not so easy. I have also sent the merchant from Luzhou back. I don't want to be criticized in the future for seeking fame by doing this."
"Doctor Zhang, that's not the case! Such a big thing should indeed be done slowly, but forgive me for being frank, things in the court are always slow, and if you add those people with ulterior motives and gang up on others, then a good thing can be delayed for ten or eight years, or even fail!"
However, Manager Hua's face suddenly changed. The fat man stood up suddenly. This time he no longer cared about the sweat on his forehead. He waved his arms and expressed his utmost anger.
"Dr. Zhang, you and General Zhu have come to Cangzhou this time to eliminate corrupt officials, punish bullies, punish corrupt officials, and comfort the good people. You have done a good job. There are still people in the court who are talking nonsense. If they are not treacherous ministers, what are they?"
Shopkeeper Hua didn't care that his words would sweep the top boss of the dynasty into the fold. Anyway, the one who delayed the revival of Suzhou merchants was the treacherous minister! In the past, Jiang Ge Lao had always helped those Fujian merchants and had often made things difficult for their officials from Suzhou!
Seeing Zhang Shou frowning, he took a deep breath and said, "Don't worry, Dr. Zhang, we will never cause any trouble for you! Although the head of the family sent me a letter as fast as possible, saying that he fully supports us, and the reply from the Suzhou family was not so quick, our Hua family has always been vigorous and resolute. The head of the family has the same idea as the deacons, and no one will drag their feet!"
"As for the capital, I will go there myself. To be honest, I am not in charge of the Hua Silk Shop in Cangzhou. This shop in Cangzhou only distributes goods to Hejian Prefecture, and any shopkeeper would be enough in the past. I passed by Cangzhou by chance and heard of General Zhu and Dr. Zhang, so I stayed for a few days to see them. Originally, I was going to the Suzhou Chamber of Commerce in the capital to take up the position of president."
That day, when Xiao Huasheng came to report that Manager Hua had sent Bi to the county government, Zhang Shou felt that the manager of the silk shop was not as simple as he had imagined. Now that he heard that he was just passing through Cangzhou and was going to the Suzhou Chamber of Commerce in Beijing to take up his post, he felt that this made sense and laughed.
"Manager Hua is so courageous and bold. It turns out that you are the new head of Suzhou Chamber of Commerce in Beijing. I am so sorry for that. I was wondering before, with a talent like yours, how could you be confined to Cangzhou?"
"I don't deserve such praise from Dr. Zhang. There are many mediocre people like me in Suzhou. How can I dare to say that I am talented?" He spoke modestly, but although the sedan chair was carried by everyone, and Zhang Shou praised him like this, Shopkeeper Hua naturally felt a little proud.
He seemed to be carried away by his success, and said murderously: "Anyone who has a problem with the emperor, Dr. Zhang, and General Zhu is the mortal enemy of us Suzhou people!"
"It's time for those guys in the capital who only talk but do nothing to step down!"
Zhang Shou was stunned for a moment - "Explain but do not act"? Doesn't this phrase seem to be used here incorrectly? Is this what the "Explain but do not act" in the Analects means? Wait, this person in front of me is not taking this ancient saying as a synonym for talking but not acting?
Shopkeeper Hua seemed to have not noticed his slip of the tongue at all. He bowed to Zhang Shouyi solemnly said, "Dr. Zhang has worked hard for the long-term stability of Cangzhou. As a merchant, I can only run errands and do some odd jobs. I just came here in disguise because I was afraid that the news would spread and cause trouble for you. That's why I pretended to be a Cangzhou citizen and gave you a few peaches from Linyi as a token of my respect."
Seeing Zhang Shou smiling and waving his hand to indicate that he didn't need to explain anymore, he bowed again and said embarrassedly: "In short, I will go to the capital first, so please relax, Dr. Zhang, and wait for my good news in Cangzhou. It is said that there is no business without fraud, and there is no business without fraud. It is also said that there is no early rise without profit, but since our interests are the same, we will naturally not be like those old scholars who only talk but do nothing."
Until Shopkeeper Hua left, Zhang Shou pondered over the four words "tell but do not act" again, still feeling a bit amused. But after he took a sip of tea thoughtfully, savoring the conditions that Shopkeeper Hua had proposed for Suzhou merchants to help build Cangzhou, as well as his initial determination on the matter of Master Bi, he could not help but rub his chin thoughtfully.
Although he did not participate in the imperial examination, he knew that places like Nanzhili were important places for the imperial examination, and Suzhou was an important place among important places. Even if the Hua family was the richest merchant family, it was not the case that an important child in the family did not study, right? Even if you did not read all the Four Books and Five Classics, you should have read the Analects, right? Even if you could not recite the Analects, you should have understood the meaning of "explaining but not creating", right?
Is this shopkeeper Hua so shallow that he used the idiom incorrectly?
"I do not create, I believe in and love the past..."
Zhang Shou muttered to himself the original sentence from the Analects and suddenly laughed .
The original meaning of "narrating but not creating" is to only narrate and explain the ancients' doctrines without adding one's own thoughts. However, looking at the Book of Songs, Book of Documents, Book of Rites, Book of Changes, Book of Music, and Spring and Autumn Annals, they were revised by Confucius, not his works. The Analects was only compiled by his disciples. It seems that Confucius was indeed expounding the doctrines of the ancients, without his own works, and there is no question of adding his own ideas. However, anyone who can think knows that it is not the case at all!
How did the Spring and Autumn style of writing come about? How come there are only 300 poems left in the Book of Songs? Confucius edited the classics, does anyone know what he deleted now? If we use the standard of the Siku Quanshu, which was criticized by everyone in later generations, the so-called classics were actually destroyed once by Confucius in the Spring and Autumn Period...
I'm afraid that what Shopkeeper Hua meant was that those guys in the court who cling to the ancient laws and ancestral systems are just using the ghost of the ancient laws and ancestral systems to force others to accept their own endless private goods!
Thinking of this, Zhang Shou couldn't help but laugh. He was too lazy to consider whether he had over-complicated things. In fact, Manager Hua was a man who didn't read books. He yawned and called out, "Ah Liu, everyone has left, so don't stay outside. Come in quickly, let's share the peaches, you take half and I take half!"
After a while, he saw the door curtain lifted, and it was Ah Liu who came in, holding a shiny peach pit in his hand. Seeing this, he was stunned: "When did you take it?" This kid actually ate without saying a word!
"I just took it when the dish was being served." Ah Liu had no conscious thought of stealing. Instead, he showed the knife in his hand and said seriously, "I'll eat one first to test the poison."
Zhang Shou almost burst out laughing at the boy's serious joke. He glared at him and said unhappily, "Stop talking nonsense. Let's follow the old rules. I don't want peach juice all over my hands. Go wash some peaches and slice them first. We'll split 50/50, one for you and one for me. I won't take advantage of you!"
You said you wouldn't take advantage of me, you take one piece and I take one piece, but when did you not cheat and insist on having one more piece? Ah Liu thought so in his heart, but the corners of his mouth could not help but curl up. He went to the porcelain plate, picked a few of the softest and ripest peaches, and took a white porcelain plate to put them on. He went outside to scoop well water to wash them, but he was much more serious than before when he ate peaches.
After washing off the fluff on the peel, he washed his hands again and peeled the fruits one by one, throwing the peels aside. He then used a knife to cut them into slices and put them on a plate as before, and then inserted the bamboo skewers.
However, when he washed his hands again and was about to bring the huge porcelain plate in, Zhu Er and Lao Xianyu came back. The two of them saw the tempting peaches in the porcelain plate, and Zhu Er's eyes widened immediately and he shouted, "Sixth brother, how did you know that my throat was about to smoke? Great, I've wanted to eat peaches for a long time!"
Ah Liu dodged and let Zhu Er miss. He ignored the stunned Zhu Er and went back into the house. Zhu Er didn't bother to look at the old salted fish's expression of trying hard to hold back his laughter. He rushed into the house in two steps, but saw Ah Liu standing in front of Zhang Shou, who was picking up a piece of soft and juicy peach meat with a bamboo stick and put it into his mouth.
At that moment, he could even hear the sound of himself swallowing his saliva - even though he had never lacked a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables to eat in the capital, and he had just said a few half-truths, but at this moment he was actually really thirsty and greedy.
Noticing his gaze, Zhang Shou saw that Ah Liu didn't even look at Zhu Er, but took a piece of peach by himself. He pointed at the remaining peaches on the porcelain plate next to him and said, "These are sent by the guests who just came. If you want to eat them, take the peaches, wash them, peel them and eat them yourself. Don't even think about eating Ah Liu and my plate!"
When Lao Xianyu saw Zhu Er, he immediately ran over with joy, put two peaches in his pocket and ran out. He looked like a ghost who had been starving for 300 years. Zhang Shou and Ah Liu each had one peach slice and finished the whole plate of peach slices in a moment, as if they could snatch them. He just felt that he had really broadened his horizons today.
It turns out that Ah Liu really does take care of all the chores around Zhang Shou... No wonder Xiao Huasheng said last time that Ah Liu even knows how to comb his hair! He has always been curious about why Ah Liu followed Zhang Shou. Now it seems that this boy is like Zhang Shou's hand.
Zhang Shou saw Lao Xianyu's surprised look, but pretended not to see it. He said calmly, "Prepare all the seeds you need, and then hand over some to Brother Zhu. Brother Zhu has told me that the capital will probably make a final decision on Xian Yunhe in the next few days. By then, I will have to send the teacher back to the capital, so you should go with me."
