Volume 3: Dragon and Snake Movement Chapter 422: The cicada knows before the autumn wind arrives
Zhang Shou could hear the deep resentment in Lu Sanlang's voice. He was also angry at first, but he couldn't help but laugh at what the fat boy said. He immediately asked, "You rarely act on your own initiative, but you actually did it to make me break up with Xu Heizi? Do you hate that black-faced supervisor so much?"
Lu Sanlang immediately said confidently, "People like Xu Heizi and I are born to clash! His critical expression, as if to say, 'I'm watching you every day, don't let me find any evidence against you, kid!', makes me uncomfortable! I hate this kind of guy who doesn't care about human feelings and only cares about rules. He is even more annoying than my dad, who only uses people when he's useful and throws them away when he's not!"
"I scolded those two idiots in Jiuzhang Hall severely this time. I told them that I am the head monk of Jiuzhang Hall, and I am not helping them for nothing. They can do things for me in the future to make up for it. Why do they have to go to Shengqian Hall to beg Xu Heizi? I am the boss when the young master is not here! Originally, I wanted them to return the house, but then I thought about it and decided to let Xu Heizi go this time to show the enemy that I am weak."
Lu Sanlang even said something that showed weakness to the enemy, and Zhang Shou couldn't help but smile. However, he was more curious about something else: "What about you? Your father should look at you differently now. If you give me this house, are you willing to move back?"
"Why should I move back? Hey, young master, do you remember that next to Xiao Cheng, the old house of Mr. Liu Zhiyuan, Mr. Zhu's teacher, was bought by me. You also moved Zhao Si, Luo Xiaoxiao, Guan Qiu and others there before. But now the whole workshop has moved to Zhang Garden. Are all the houses vacated?"
However, when he saw Zhang Shou nodded in sudden realization, as if he thought he would move in, Lu Sanlang smiled and said, "Actually, I lost the bet with that kid Xiao Cheng, so I rented the house next to that old house, which is Xiao Cheng's house."
As Lu Sanlang spoke, he stretched out two fingers and shook them, saying with a pained look on his face, "It costs two strings of cash every month!"
If Zhang Shou hadn't known that the little fat guy was a better actor who debuted earlier than Zhang Chen and was more professional, he would have laughed at Lu Sanlang. Not to mention two strings of cash, even twenty or two hundred strings of cash would be a small number that was not worth mentioning to the little fat guy. It was a pity that Lu Sanlang still said it seriously!
However, Lu Sanpang said before that the house next to Xiao Cheng was actually the old house of the Liu family, which had long been renamed Lu. Now he said that he had rented Xiao Cheng's own house. This was a bit inconsistent and totally wrong. Thinking about the temperament of this little fat man who would not do anything without profit, he had already concluded that there must be something fishy.
So, Zhang Shou looked at Lu Sanlang with a half-smile, suddenly put away the key that the person had just given him, and turned to leave. Sure enough, before he had taken a few steps, he heard the heavy footsteps behind him. It was Lu Sanlang who hurriedly caught up with him. While chasing him, he was busy explaining: "Young sir, young sir, don't leave! I'm not keeping you in suspense, I just..."
"You are just used to talking nonsense, right?" Zhang Shou laughed without even turning his head. "You have such a complicated mind, do you think I don't know? Xiao Cheng is helpless, the only one he considers as a brother is Yingying 's elder brother, but he is still in Cangzhou. Even if he is in Beijing, his personality will not match yours. You will definitely not try to please Brother Zhu, because it is useless."
Lu Sanlang immediately scratched his head in embarrassment, coughed and said, "Young Master, you have a keen eye. I was tricked by Zhu Er in the beginning, and my father has ulterior motives. I wish I could stay as far away from Zhu Lao Da as possible. How could I try to please him?"
He was afraid of being beaten up by Boss Zhu, and then he would have no place to complain!
Seeing Zhang Shou just smiling but not saying anything, Lu Sanlang looked around and made sure that the get out of class was not over yet and there was no one else around. He took two steps forward and whispered, "Didn't my father resign as the Minister of War? That Minister Zhao also went to Yunnan and Guizhou. The one acting as the Minister of War is the Right Minister surnamed Yan, but he has little experience and will definitely not be able to get a permanent position."
Zhang Shou had never expected that Lu Sanlang would actually think of the highly sought-after position of Minister of War. He pondered for a moment, and suddenly something occurred to him. He immediately stared at Lu Sanlang and said word by word, "Do you think that Yingying's elder brother's teacher, Mr. Liu Zhiyuan, who used to be the Minister of War but later became unemployed and left the capital sadly because of his wife's death, might have a chance?"
"Hey, young master, you guessed it right!"
Lu Sanlang smiled until his eyebrows narrowed, and then he said with a beaming face: "It is reasonable for a husband to mourn his wife's death, but nowadays, there are very few people who still do this. Think about it, after the death of the wife of the State of Zhao, the Duke of Zhao did not touch women for more than two years, but many people secretly said that he was hypocritical. I sent someone to inquire about it, and that old man Liu returned to his hometown and built a hut to mourn his old wife for a year."
Hearing this, Zhang Shou couldn't help but sigh - although Taizu did not prohibit women from remarrying, and even encouraged widows to remarry, the rate of widows remarrying was much lower than that of widowers remarrying. As for some men who remarried within a few months after losing their wives, it was even more common.
Therefore, those who can mourn for their wives are always praised for their deep love. As for why Zhu Jing was accused of being hypocritical, it is probably because Zhu Jing has been a widower for too long... Because when a husband mourns for his wife, it does not say that he cannot get close to his concubines and maids...
His thoughts flew far away, but he quickly retracted them. He beckoned to Lu Sanlang to come forward and walk side by side with him, and then asked unhappily: "Don't talk about these trivial things you heard from others, get to the point!"
Lu Sanlang was just beating around the bush out of habit, and when Zhang Shou said that, he quickly laughed and said, "I originally wanted to inquire about Mr. Liu's situation, and then tell the young master that you can do me a favor to Mr. Zhu. This old Liu built a hut to guard the tomb. Several children from the surrounding civilian families went to play there, and he actually read Tang poetry to them for enlightenment. Among them, three smart ones went to read every day..."
Listen, where can you find such a nosy student? It's really no wonder that little fat boy Lu Sanlang is where he is today!
Zhang Shou glanced at this omnipresent boy and couldn't help laughing: "You are prepared for a rainy day. What do you do after you get these insignificant news?"
"Later, I asked someone to pretend to be Boss Zhu's close aide and persuade this Boss Liu to return to Beijing."
Lu Sanlang blinked his eyes seriously, "But it's not easy. Old Liu is a stubborn person. He said he hated the infighting in the officialdom and refused to return to work. He also said that he was satisfied with having a student like Zhu Lao Da who was responsible and courageous. He planned to teach a few children at home for the rest of his life and was too lazy to care about worldly affairs. Later... hehe!"
When Lu Sanlang saw that Zhang Shou had a strange look on his face because of his smile, he smiled even more slyly.
"I told him about your suggestion to my father to ask for the establishment of a public school. As a result, Old Liu, who had been unmoved at first, immediately became excited! He said that what he hated most in his life was someone misinterpreting the Master's original intention, saying that the people can be led to follow it, but not to understand it!"
"What he hoped most was that the people of the world would have enough food and clothing and know honor and disgrace. They would be able to read and write, so that mediocre officials and corrupt officials would not be able to control the channels for interpreting the court's policies. What he hoped most was that not only the poor and the poor could read, but also the poor and the farmers could read. In this way, the upward channel would always remain unobstructed, and the world would not be stagnant!"
"So, in June, they had already set off for Beijing! I'm rebuilding the house next to Xiao Cheng's to restore it to its original state. Otherwise, if Old Liu comes back and finds out that this was once a blacksmith shop or a carpenter's shop, he'll be furious. That's why I made a bet with Xiao Cheng. I said that he was too young to remember what the Liu family used to be like, but he ended up explaining it very well."
"The bet is that if I win, he will be my servant for a year. I tell him to go east, but he can't go west."
"If he wins, I will move into his house and give him two kan every month as rent. I will take care of his food, clothing, housing and transportation. If I lose, I will accept the loss and follow his instructions to quickly renovate the house and wait for the original owner to come back and live there!"
"Anyway, the personal attendant I sent won us a lot of favor in front of Master Liu, and he praised me in the same tone as Master Zhu. I heard that people kept praising me!"
Hearing this, Zhang Shou finally couldn't help but give Lu Sanlang a thumbs up. Not to mention that this kid can see the big picture from the small details, or that he is as sensitive as the cicadas that know the autumn wind before it arrives, just based on this seemingly careless but actually meticulous mind, most people are really far behind.
Lu Wan really judged people by appearance and lost Ziyu! Now she feels that she has raised her son in vain? It's too late to regret!
He smiled and praised: "You are killing two birds with one stone. Xiao Cheng is very young, but his mind is very sensitive. Yingying's elder brother and I were not here before, so it's thanks to you who took care of him."
Lu Sanlang was immediately delighted and smiled. Although many people fawned on him, he still wanted to hear Zhang Shou's praise the most, because it was much more real than those flattering words. He said happily, "That kid is stubborn and always scratches people like a cat, so I had to stroke his fur."
It is not easy to live in Beijing. Not to mention the expensive daily necessities, the most expensive one is the rent, which is comparable to the high house prices and rents in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou in later generations. Therefore, even if you are a high-ranking official, your private life may be to rent a small yard and live with a dozen people in your family.
And more officials in Beijing had to endure the loneliness of the long nights and serve alone in the capital. Otherwise, how would they support their families?
Therefore, a small house in the capital city is really the capital for a family to settle down. For example, in Xiao Cheng's family, even if he is the only child left, he can actually make a living by renting out the house - of course, if he encounters a vicious tenant, he may become the host or even murder the landlord, then it is hard to say.
Since Xiao Cheng met Zhang Shou and others and entered the Imperial College to do odd jobs, the little guy's desire to be independent has become stronger. Although he later reunited with Zhu Tingfang, he was unwilling to accept Zhu Tingfang's financial support for food and clothing, and was determined to be self-reliant.
Even if Zhu Tingfang said it several times, it was difficult to persuade him. In the past, when there was a blacksmith shop and a carpenter's shop next door, at least someone could let him work with them and charge a symbolic fee. Now Zhao Si, Luo Xiaoxiao, Guan Qiu and others have moved to Zhang Garden with their apprentices, and the old house next to the Xiao family has been emptied. When Lu Sanlang came to guide the renovation of the old house, he discovered the "miserable situation" of the Xiao family.
It was more than just the house that was covered in dust! From inside to outside the house, everything was in a mess, and the kitchen stove was covered with dust. I didn't know how this kid lived at home except for doing odd jobs and studying in the Imperial College. So, Lu Sanlang rolled his eyes and made a bet with Xiao Cheng to kill two birds with one stone.
After explaining the whole story, Lu Sanlang said with a smile: "I have told Xu Heizi that this dormitory will be shared by my teacher and student in the future. If he dares to make plans again, I will not let him go even if I file a complaint to the emperor!"
"You, Xu Heizi is unlucky for messing with you!" Zhang Shou was too lazy to care about the dispute between Lu Sanlang and Xu Heizi, and just smiled. However, when he came to the outside of Lu Sanlang's dormitory, he suddenly heard the little fat man yelling.
"Oh no, that's bad! Xiao Xian usually has his lunch delivered by Ah Liu. If he still delivers it there as usual, wouldn't that be giving others an advantage? No, no, we have to go and check it out quickly..."
Before Lu Sanlang finished speaking, he heard a faint voice above his head: "Do you think I'm a piece of wood?"
The little fat man raised his head in a hurry and saw Ah Liu quietly sliding down from the roof. He couldn't help but widen his eyes. Then he hurried to look at the door that he had locked when he left, but he saw that the padlock was gone. He almost immediately turned his head to look at Ah Liu and found that he was holding a lock in his hand. He couldn't help but feel a little nervous. Ah Liu didn't just walk into his dormitory like this, right?
This time, even Zhang Shou couldn't help but scold him, "Ah Liu, how dare you barge into Lu Sanlang's cell?"
"I didn't barge in. I just followed someone here. I saw him use copper wire to open the padlock and sneak in to search around, so I followed him in to see what he was looking for." At this point, seeing that Zhang Shou and Lu Sanlang's faces changed slightly, he pointed to the cell with the door half-closed and said, "The person is still tied up inside. Do you want to try him?"
Lu Sanlang was so angry that his face almost turned blue: "My dormitory is not a confidential place, how could someone sneak in here?"
"Ah Liu, didn't you ask him why he came? Did someone instruct him?" Zhang Shou asked Ah Liu first. Seeing that he just shook his head, he simply pushed the door open and went in. But he didn't see anyone at first glance. If it were someone else, he might have thought that the person had run away, but based on his usual understanding of Ah Liu, he raised his head thoughtfully. It would have been better if he hadn't looked. After looking, he almost laughed out loud because he was originally suspicious.
He saw a man with his limbs tied up and hanging up, just like a fat pig with its four hooves tied up and pierced with poles; if his mouth had not been tightly blocked by a piece of rag and he was hung so that he could not struggle at all, he believed that he would definitely hear miserable wails at this moment.
Even Lu Sanlang, who was originally full of anger, looked up along Zhang Shou's line of sight and saw this scene. After laughing, he couldn't help but shudder. No matter if he was a thief or something else, it was bad luck for him to run into the hands of Ah Liu, the evil star!
