Volume 4: Gathering of Sages Chapter 495: Eyes without Eyes
Isn't he a rich man instead of a slave?
Fang Qing was completely dumbfounded, his face suddenly looked uglier than a pot bottom. He wanted to accuse Mr. Hua of talking nonsense and making excuses, but he didn't expect Mr. Hua to say sincerely, "When Li Saner heard that the person he had let out the dog to scare turned out to be a distinguished guest of Zhang Garden, he was immediately dumbfounded and begged me to come and apologize in person. He is already outside the door."
Hearing this, Mr. Song immediately forgot that he had just lost face in front of Mr. Hua Si, who recognized him, and laughed out loud, "I told you, hahahaha, he is a famous wealthy family in Ye Zi Hutong. There is a huge gap between him and the servants of a wealthy family!"
Seeing Fang Qing's face flushed red, Zhang Shou winked at Xiao Huasheng. Seeing this extremely clever young man immediately came up and invited Fang Qing and Mr. Song into the next room with a big smile on his face, he smiled at Mr. Hua Si and said, "Thank you Mr. Hua Si for helping them out. Ah Liu, go in person and invite Li San'er. Remember, be polite."
After hearing the words "be polite", when Xiaohuasheng settled them and left the side room, both Song Juren and Fang Qing in the inner room felt very uncomfortable and they both took the gaps on both sides of the door curtain to peek out. But then they realized that they were in sync, and they glared at each other again, but they didn't dare to say anything.
Zhang Shou and Mr. Hua chatted for a while, and soon, the door of the study was pushed open again, and then Ah Liu led a man in bright clothes in. At the first sight, Zhang Shou understood why Fang Qing kept saying that he was a servant of a wealthy family.
This was because the man was obviously quite skinny, but his silk clothes were made very loose, so he looked like a clothes rack with the clothes hanging on him fluttering. In addition, his face looked as if he had suffered a lot and had a deep hatred. The word "rich" had nothing to do with his honor.
Not only that, he walked up quickly as soon as he entered the room, then knelt down in fear and trepidation and was about to kowtow. Fortunately, Xiao Huasheng, who had already come out from the side room, was quick-witted and swift-handed. He rushed forward in one step and stopped this wealthy man from the outer city who was too polite.
While pulling the man up, Peanut said, "Mr. Li San, my young master doesn't like people being too polite."
"No, no, no, what Master Li Saner? That's just a name given by outsiders. I just have a little spare money, how dare I call him that." Li Saner wanted to kowtow and admit his mistake right away, but he was stopped. He was so frightened that he could only explain repeatedly. When he saw Zhang Shou, whom he had only seen from a distance on the street once, sitting there and nodding to him with a smile, he felt relieved.
Since the other party clearly didn't want him to kowtow, he could only bow and say, "Dr. Zhang, please forgive my fault. I don't have many hobbies except raising dogs. That big black dog has been with me for seven or eight years. It is very loyal and brave. It may be a little noisy sometimes, but the neighbors are more tolerant of it because it has saved people before and is the most vigilant in the middle of the night, scaring away many thieves."
At this point, seeing Zhang Shou smiling but not saying anything, he looked around, looking for the two victims of today. Finding that they were not there, he said cautiously: "Dahei was sick a few days ago, and he finally recovered from the illness, so he was happy and kept shouting. The neighbors are used to it, but there are a lot of people from the outside city today, and people who don't know will inevitably be frightened."
"I was just confused for a moment. I laughed a few times just to see the excitement. I didn't expect that the child would fall and arouse people's anger. In fact, Dahei is the most obedient. He just barked a few times and only bit the bad guys, never the good guys!"
Song Ju and Fang Qing in the inner room were almost furious. Could it be that they were evil people, not good people, so they were chased and bitten by dogs all the way, and one of them had his clothes torn and the other lost his shoes?
Li Saner realized that there was something wrong with his words, so he swore, "I am an old resident of Yezi Hutong. If you don't believe me, you can ask someone. Not only our hutong, but also the nearby hutongs know about it. Don't look at my shabby appearance. I am a good person, and the little wealth I have is from legitimate business."
He straightened his chest and spoke with confidence.
"I was just angry that someone called me a servant of a wealthy family... I have nothing to do with the wealthy family. This money is not passed down from my ancestors. It is my own hard-earned fortune! I used to be a tinsmith who walked the streets. By chance, I helped Master Wanbao. Later, when Master Wanbao became rich, he lent me several hundred strings of capital."
"I bought a poorly managed store on Qianmen Street and opened a gold and silver shop. Because my prices were fair and I hired two young but capable jewelers, my business was booming and I could barely be considered rich..."
Hearing this, Mr. Song immediately turned his head to look at Fang Qing, his eyes full of ridicule. Although Fang Qing's mouth was trembling, he gritted his teeth and said nothing. Seeing him like this, Mr. Song just bared his teeth slightly and even reached out to scratch his face. This kind of humiliation between children immediately angered Fang Qing, but when he wanted to speak, he heard Zhang Shou speaking outside.
"So that's what's going on. If it's true, then you are certainly wrong, but others shouldn't speak rudely." Zhang Shou did not doubt what Li Saner said, because of Hua Siye's character, he would definitely find out the details of the person before bringing him here, and these situations are the easiest to find out.
Li Saner didn't expect Zhang Shou to be so reasonable. His original anxiety suddenly turned into gratitude and he bowed again quickly.
"Thank you, Dr. Zhang, for your generosity! I suffered so much in my early years, and I went through so many hard times, that I like to wear nice clothes to show off. That big gold tooth is actually the same reason. I was almost kidnapped because of it. Fortunately, I had Dahei as my bodyguard... So when I heard someone calling me a rich family slave or a dog who took advantage of others' power, I got furious."
"I am willing to apologize to the two young masters in your house. Especially one of them, he should have been implicated by his companions, but Dahei didn't recognize anyone, so he chased him as well..."
Hearing this, Zhang Shou couldn't help but chuckle, and then said nonchalantly: "Although what you said is true, it is totally wrong for a fierce dog to bark in the street, scare passers-by, and even scare children to fall. If people investigate, they can sue you in the government! Don't get carried away when you are proud, otherwise you will definitely bring shame upon yourself. If you don't want to be accused of taking advantage of others' power, you must stand up straight!"
Li Saner's back immediately broke into sweat, and he quickly bent his waist even lower: "I know I was wrong, no, I know I am guilty, I will definitely remember it in the future, and I will never dare to indulge Dahei again... From now on, when I go out, I will strictly control it!"
Seeing that Zhang Shou had only reprimanded Li San'er a few words and was obviously not going to pursue the matter any further, Mr. Hua Si couldn't help but think that Zhang Shou's decision to take in Mr. Song was indeed just a spur of the moment decision, and he didn't expect to gain anything from this eccentric young man from the richest family in Guangdong.
He knew that the Song family was far away in Guangdong and controlled the sea routes, and they did not have the same urgent need to make friends with dignitaries of the court as he did. Therefore, although he was happy to see Mr. Song take refuge in Zhang Yuan and compete with the Song family, he also wanted to send one or two of his own outstanding sons to Zhang Shou's school.
Unlike those Confucian scholars who are well-versed in poetry and books, for merchant families like the Hua family, being proficient in mathematics is often a necessary skill for outstanding children. Therefore, he has enough confidence that he can pick out the right candidate in the near future.
Therefore, although Zhu Ying had set such a condition for cooperation for him before, he did not intend to bring it up at this moment.
On the contrary, seeing Zhang Shou winking at Peanut, and then someone came down and took Li San'er away with a smile, he immediately said, "Dr. Zhang, I wonder if those seeds I gave you before are useful?"
The seeds that Fourth Master Bao Hua sent as a birthday gift, and that he asked Xiao Huasheng to give to Guan Tao and his fellow brothers?
Zhang Shou was slightly stunned, and then thought to himself that because he had missed all the planting seasons recently, he had almost forgotten about this one...
After all, because Jiuzhangtang was recruiting new members, and American crops already had a lot of connections, he didn't pay much attention to Hua Siye's gift for a while. However, just as he was trying to find an excuse to prevaricate, Hua Siye's next words made him move.
"It is said that when Young Master Song first participated in the preliminary round of the Imperial Chef Selection, he once made a dish of taro balls? The cassava flour in that dish must have come from overseas. Unfortunately, there are no cassava seeds in my packet of seeds. After all, there are no maritime merchants in Suzhou. The ones I have are given to me by Young Master Song's uncle because I used to have a good relationship with the Song family in Guangdong."
Although Zhang Shou had mixed feelings about Mr. Song's taro balls, he asked Mr. Song afterwards and he was told that he got the tapioca flour from the housekeeper at home, and as for the recipe for the taro balls, it came from the so-called "Thirteen Secret Recipes of Taizu Sweet Soup" that he bought at a high price by saving money - he had been shocked by the name - so he didn't argue much.
But at that time, he was completely convinced that the ship that Lao Xianyu was on was not the first ship to sail across the ocean to America, and there must have been other people who had been to America. Otherwise, how could they have brought back cassava, which is native to South America and is known as one of the three major potatoes in the world?
But when Fourth Master Hua said this, he knew that people were quietly hinting that if he wanted overseas seeds, he should go to the Song family. Therefore, he nodded happily and said with a smile: "In this case, some of Mr. Song's stocks are running out. It seems that I should find his elders. Otherwise, even if he really becomes the imperial chef, he can't cook without rice."
"Dr. Zhang, please stop trying to make fun of me."
Seeing that the gold-toothed Li San'er had left, Mr. Song finally came out from behind the curtain of the inner room. He was always very thick-skinned, and since he had just been seen in such a state of embarrassment by Mr. Hua Si, he didn't care about his dishevelled appearance at all. Instead, he came out and begged Mr. Hua Si to help him get the raw materials from his uncle.
Fang Qing, who also came out in silence, could not act as nonchalant as Mr. Song.
He used to despise people who only recognized their clothes and not their people. However, he made this mistake again and again after entering the capital. Even if others didn't say anything, he felt that he was as stupid as a pig. Therefore, when he saw that Mr. Hua was talking to Zhang Shou about a topic that he didn't know much about, he hesitated for a moment, and finally made up his mind and walked out.
When Mr. Song saw this, he wanted to call the man to stop, but he changed his mind and finally held back. Others said that he was a bad mouth, but Fang's mouth was several times worse than his!
When Fang Qinggao, still disheveled, came to the gate of Zhang Garden, he saw Li Saner, the man with the golden teeth, about to leave. He suddenly shouted, "Stop right there!"
Peanut, who was delivering the gift, turned around and recognized Fang Qing. He immediately cried out inwardly. He had gotten to know Mr. Song well and knew that he was a very interesting easy-going person. He was not only a rich kid and a young scholar, but he could hang out with anyone, including servants, without any scruples. But Fang Qing was different... He always had a stiff face, as if someone owed him eight hundred strings of cash!
He had heard the whole story, and was immediately disgusted by Fang Qing's narrow-mindedness in chasing him. Before Li San'er could react, he simply stood in front of him.
"Master Fang, do you want to find this Third Master Li to question him?"
"I..." Fang Qing was speechless for a moment, but then he gritted his teeth and said, "I just want to make sure whether it is what he said! If it is true as he said, he has not been domineering in the past, I am willing to apologize to him! But if he lied to me..."
Before he could finish his words, Li Saner finally reacted and immediately patted his chest and said, "Okay, come with me out of the city and ask whatever you want..."
"No need!" Just at this moment, An Lu, who was lame, came in from outside, took a look at Fang Qing and said, "Before, Li San'er's dog barked wildly on the street and scared passers-by, and Master Fang scolded him in the street and was chased by the dog. I happened to witness it with my own eyes, but because I couldn't catch up with you due to my lameness, I asked the neighbors about Li San'er's character."
Seeing Fang Qing's eyes change and staring at him, An Lu said calmly, "This dog is very famous in Ye Zi Hutong. Although it is fierce and barks loudly, it is very docile most of the time and quite intelligent. It has bitten thieves, robbers, and even flower-snatching gangs who kidnap children. It can be considered a dog that protects the neighborhood."
"As for Li San'er, he just likes to show off a little. He doesn't do any big things. He will give a little money to help others in need, but he never gives a penny to beggars. He often says that he will help in need but not in poverty. But he is not a vicious person. On the contrary, he is a kind man. Mr. Fang, this time it is you, the scholar, who is too impatient."
Li Saner was not relieved, but was filled with fear. What he didn't expect was that Fang Qing stared at him for a long time, and finally took a step back and bowed deeply to the ground.
