Volume 3: Dragon and Snake Movement Chapter 430: Embarrassing Things Back Then, Patient Guidance
What do you mean, little fatty, long time no see? Do I recognize you? I sent people to you before to show my courtesy, but they were all in the name of Boss Zhu. I didn't know you at all! Why are you talking to me in such a familiar tone?
The usually clever little fat boy was a little confused, and even forgot the anger he felt when his cheeks were pinched. But when he cried out in pain, he remembered that he had also been pinched and screamed like this a long time ago. When was that... Oh, it seemed that he once sneaked into the Ministry of War with his short arms and legs!
As soon as this thought came to his mind, the little fat boy came back to his senses. He covered his red face and stepped back three steps. Then he pointed at Liu Zhiyuan and shouted angrily: "It's you! It's you, the fierce and scary old man!"
Seeing Zhang Shou looking over here, Liu Zhiyuan said with a half-smile, "Oh, am I the one who is fierce and scary, or is it that you, a little fat boy, sneaked into the Ministry of War by hiding in the rattan box that was used to deliver something to your father, and then ran to my place to hang around after you got out? I didn't tie you up and send you to see your father, and when your father came, I hid you in a rolling jar. Isn't that enough of a kindness?"
Seeing that Lu Sanlang was so angry that he was spinning around, Liu Zhiyuan laughed and said, "It's not enough that you, little fat boy, hid in the jar. Because your father stayed at my place for too long, you even fell asleep and snored in it. When your father asked me about it, I had to say that it was a cat running around in the jar. If I hadn't covered it up for you, would you have escaped that beating?"
Zhang Shou understood immediately after hearing this. This was actually the embarrassing incident of the little fat boy. Seeing Lu Sanlang's face flushed red, he compared the old man Liu described by Zhu Tingfang or Xiao Cheng in the past and felt that the old man in front of him was very different from what he imagined. How could he be so upright and serious?
Which serious and upright elder would come up and pinch the fat kid so hard that he screamed, and then tease him to the point where he got extremely angry?
He left the old salted fish behind and walked forward, smiling and saying, "Old Master Liu has met Lu Sanlang before?"
"Yes, just once. If he hadn't been pinched that time, the little fat boy would have long forgotten the past of breaking into the Ministry of War." Liu Zhiyuan looked at Lu Sanlang, whose face had turned blood red, and then said lightly, "He was very young at that time, but he could recite the Nine-Nine Songs by heart. He could even remember a page of scrapped accounts after he was thrown. So when I heard that he was naughty later, I didn't dare to believe it."
"I thought that he was a mediocre boy and might not be a good boy when he grows up, but I didn't expect that his reputation as a naughty boy was all due to his short-sighted father. It was because Lu Wan used to judge people by their appearance and couldn't choose a good teacher for him. Now that he has become your student, Dr. Zhang, his reputation as a prodigal son who has turned over a new leaf has immediately become known!"
It was not until this moment that Lu Sanlang finally felt relieved - as for others criticizing his father Lu Wan in front of him, haha, what he liked most was to hear people scolding his father for having no vision and for wasting his talents. He was so absorbed in listening that he even forgot about how Old Man Liu had just tormented him and brought up old scores with him!
When Zhang Shou saw that Xiao Cheng had been led over by Sister Zhou with his face wiped clean, he immediately went to Liu Zhiyuan and bowed properly. Liu Zhiyuan helped the little guy up, touched his head, and then walked up to him and bowed solemnly. Zhang Shou quickly raised his hand to return the greeting.
After the two of them met, he smiled again and said, "I have heard about Mr. Liu from Brother Zhu, and I have heard of his fame for a long time. When I met you today, I didn't expect that you would be so much more than I expected. I thought that you had embarrassed Brother Zhu for a long time before you were willing to accept me as a student. You must be stubborn and hard to deal with, but you don't seem to be such a cheerful and amiable person."
Lu Sanlang couldn't help but look at Zhang Shou - although this was a criticism followed by praise, but calling someone stubborn ? You really don't fear that he will get angry!
However, what he didn't expect was that although Liu Zhiyuan stopped smiling, his attitude was very calm: "I, Liu the Beheaded, am indeed a stubborn old man, especially since my wife, who had been with me for half my life, finally passed away, and my son also died before me. In fact, if I ask myself, I was so angry that I wanted to follow her. But she repeatedly told me to live well for her, and I promised her after all."
"As for being honest, stubborn, or murderous, it all depends on the person. This little fat guy pretended to be Zhu Dalang to come to see me, and used Daming Public School to lure me back to Beijing. But even so, since I had a relationship with him in the beginning, instead of scolding him with a stern face, I might as well scare this kid!"
Seeing that Lu Sanlang was staring at him as if he had seen a ghost, he smiled and said, "Why, do you still think I don't know that you are impersonating Zhu Dalang? Zhu Dalang has that kind of temper. Even if he sent someone to invite me, he would definitely not try every means to please me or do what I like. He is a straight-forward person, and the people he employs are even straighter-forward. I am not so far away from not knowing my own students!"
Lu Sanlang immediately avoided Liu Zhiyuan's gaze out of guilt. When he heard the next sentence, he simply hid behind Zhang Shou.
"The position of Minister of War has not yet been filled. What's the matter, little fatty? Do you think the emperor prefers me? But have you ever counted on your fingers how old I am?"
Seeing that the usually eloquent Lu Sanlang had been suppressed to the point of being speechless, Zhang Shou could only cough and had to stand up to rescue Lu Sanlang. Otherwise, if this continued, the fat man would really doubt his life.
He immediately said with a smile: "Lu Sanlang is not an official of the imperial court. He just helped Brother Zhu. How could he think of the position of Minister of War? He has not even seen the emperor a few times! As for his intention to promote public schools, the reason is very simple. Mr. Liu has no ambition to enter the official career again, but doesn't he still have the ambition to educate the world? Otherwise, how can he teach children?"
Without waiting for Liu Zhiyuan to say anything, he said with a smile: "You have come all the way to Beijing exhausted, how about we go in and talk? By the way, let's take a look at the Liu family's old house that Lu Sanlang carefully asked Xiao Cheng about and then restored."
"Dr. Zhang is wrong. I should say that this is the old house I sold before I left. No matter what the surname of this house is now, it will not be Liu." Liu Zhiyuan smiled calmly, then looked at Xiao Cheng who was standing beside him and said, "I didn't come here to settle down. I left too hastily at the beginning. Later I thought that I should take Xiao Cheng with me, so I came here first when I came to Beijing."
"After you left, he really suffered a lot. You know, Xiao Cheng was young and stubborn about many things, and Brother Zhu was not only away at the battle, but also in a bad situation in the capital..."
Zhang Shou's answer was equally direct. He did not describe Xiao Cheng's situation lightly, so as to make this old man with a bad fate and a bumpy career feel less guilty. Instead, he told the whole story from the beginning, starting from Xiao Cheng's pretending to be a ghost and the several changes of ownership of the Liu family's old house. But while speaking, he gently but firmly supported Liu Zhiyuan's arm.
So, while Liu Zhiyuan was unable to break free from him because he had been listening to Xiao Cheng's stories over the past year, he helped him walk into the yard.
"As for this house, I asked Lu Sanlang to buy it and use it as a blacksmith and carpenter's shop, but it has been vacant for several months. Mr. Liu, since you have a history with him, then don't let him down. If you still feel bad about it, go help his father Lu Wan, and it will offset the rent."
Lu Sanlang, who was following behind, immediately gnashed his teeth with hatred and muttered in a low voice: "He wants me to pay for helping my father. How can it be so cheap? I will squeeze the money out of that miser! I will even use it to subsidize Jiuzhangtang!"
After hearing Lu Sanlang's complaints, Liu Zhiyuan had already planned to refuse. However, when he heard the last few words, his brows immediately relaxed, and he did not resist Zhang Shou's forced dragging him to see the house .
After entering the courtyard, the old man was stunned when he saw the old tree planted on the west side. He walked forward slowly, rubbed the rough bark for a long time, and then looked at the door. He saw that the carved wooden door seemed to be new.
When he got closer, he found that it was still the same door as when the previous owner sold the house to him, but it was newly painted, so the color looked bright. Of course, he didn't know that Lu Sanlang had someone paint it urgently because when the house was changed in use, many places were scratched badly...
Liu Zhiyuan was indeed very attached to this old house. Even such a small courtyard, he could not afford it at first. His wife worked hard to run the household and taught needlework since she married him. In the end, she sold the 100-acre farm that came with her as a dowry, so that he could finally have a place to settle down in the capital.
However, once he was bullied, he could hardly keep this last bit of shelter.
After looking at the main house and the east and west wing rooms, he realized that it was impossible for Xiao Cheng, who was too young, to collect all the old items - even if some of the items were not real, it could be seen that others had tried their best. And this was not something that could be accomplished overnight, it took at least several months.
He is a man who has long retired from officialdom. How can he say anything when someone still does this for him?
So, he turned his head to look at Lu Sanlang behind him, and then looked at Zhang Shou who was supporting him like an ordinary junior, and then he said in a deep voice: "I am very grateful to both you, Dr. Zhang, and Lu Sanlang for helping me do this. Even though this is no longer my house, and I never thought of coming back before, it is after all the last memory of my late wife and I."
Although Liu Zhiyuan's eyes did not brimmed with tears, and were not even red, and his voice sounded as if naturally calm, Zhang Shou, who was supporting him, could clearly feel the other's body trembling.
So, he smiled frankly and said, "This is not my credit. It was all due to Lu Sanlang's meticulous arrangements. And I had already asked those craftsmen who once occupied this place to move to my house, so this house is now empty."
"It would be a pity to leave the house vacant. Please don't reject Lu Sanlang's efforts and kindness in tidying it up and restoring it. Because he and I had a lot of trouble in the Imperial College, we just moved out of our dormitory today and moved all our belongings to Xiao Cheng's place. I'll be a tenant of the Xiao family for a while, so I can live next door to you."
"In that case...alright."
Liu Zhiyuan smiled cheerfully and finally agreed. However, he was very curious about what Zhang Shou said about getting into trouble in the Imperial College, and when he heard about the frame-up, he immediately flew into a rage.
You know, the old man who was over 70 years old but still strong had just arrived in Beijing. He came here without even a bite of food or a sip of water. How could he have had time to inquire about what happened in Beijing recently? Even a gossiper like Lao Xianyu didn't have time to show his strengths. When he learned the details of the Guanglu Temple corruption case, his face became even more solemn.
"Who knows how many dark things are hidden in this stagnant pool of water in the capital..."
"It is said that there are many turtles in shallow ponds and that there are many Bodhisattvas in small temples, not to mention the deep water in the capital."
Lu Sanlang interrupted Liu Zhiyuan and said cheerfully, "But it doesn't matter to him. The emperor said that no matter who is involved, they will be severely punished. Old Master Liu, you will never know that the capital is in troubled times. What has the young master done? He actually encouraged the emperor to hold a selection competition to select the imperial chefs!"
Having just heard about this matter, Liu Zhiyuan now heard Lu Sanlang talking about the details from the primary election to the re-election to the final election that he and Zhang Shou had discussed before. Most of them were for the government to only have the title of supervision, while the various private guild halls and old restaurants were responsible for hosting. At first, he thought this was a waste of money and time, but as he listened, he felt something was wrong.
Why did he feel that this didn't seem like a selection of royal chefs... but rather a carnival that was trying hard to attract widespread participation from the public?
Although he passed the imperial examination at an advanced age, became the Minister of War in his early sixties, and was later dismissed from his post for offending someone, and eventually even sold his house and returned to his hometown in despair, Liu Zhiyuan spent much more time dealing with the common people, including scholars, farmers, merchants and artisans.
After Zhang Shou forced him to sit in the main seat in the main room, he waved his hand and told everyone else, including Old Salted Fish and Peanut Xiao Cheng, not to leave. Then he said with a sharp look in his eyes: "If the government doesn't do this, it means that the court won't have to pay much money. And those guilds and even taverns and restaurants that want this reputation will definitely do their best to advertise and attract customers..."
Seeing Liu Zhiyuan paused here, as if he was struggling with how to organize his sentences, Zhang Shou smiled and said, "That's right. Even if it's to attract customers, it's definitely not free. As long as there are more people watching the fun, there will be food and drink. Can sell more things because of the increase in the flow of people?"
“And can a small stall that originally only sold tea also sell some snacks?”
"And what if such a selection contest is not held in the inner city, but in the less prosperous outer city? What if it is held in a non-prosperous area of the outer city? What if there is even a lot of wasteland around? Can it drive a whole area? What if this is not a one-time carnival, but is held every year in the future?"
