Volume 4: Gathering of Sages Chapter 525: Send a message to teach
Zhang Garden was quite lively that night.
As soon as Zhang Shou got home, he learned that Zhang Chen was waiting for him. After he had calmed down the young master of Qin, who was determined to clean up the family and wash away the shame, he had someone send him away. But before he had time to eat, Zhang Wu came again. After he persuaded the future consort to leave, Zhang Lu came again...
By the time these three people who came with the intention of asking for forgiveness and refused to stay for dinner had all left, Zhang Shou had already heated up his dinner twice. When he finally sat down to eat, he had only moved his chopsticks twice when he heard Wu's obviously cautious voice.
"A Shou, as long as there is green, there is no need to worry about running out of firewood. It's just that some things were stolen or burned by thieves, so don't take it to heart. As long as the emperor doesn't blame you, the other things can be put aside for the time being. Anyway, you and your students, as well as the second son Zhu, have created a great situation in Cangzhou and Xingtai. With so many cotton fields, you will always be able to grow colored cotton."
It was not until this moment that Zhang Shou realized that Wu was comforting him! He was about to explain that he was not angry, annoyed, or furious at all, and even had the urge to gloat over others' misfortunes... However, when he saw Wu's worried eyes, he finally changed his mind.
"Mom, I understand. I'll listen to you." Zhang Shou smiled at Wu, then pointed at the table full of food and said, "But next time there is such an emergency, mom, remember not to worry about the guests, just send someone to come and tell me that it's time to eat, so that I don't want to keep those guys for dinner, but they won't stay, but they will stay there and refuse to leave, leaving me hungry. The food has to be reheated again and again."
"Anyone who disturbs others from having a good meal should all starve for three days. Let's see if they will come to discuss business when others are having a meal! In the world, eating is the most important thing!"
Wu was originally full of worries, but Zhang Shou's teasing interrupted her and she immediately laughed. Seeing Zhang Shou eating so happily, she, who originally had no appetite, unconsciously developed an appetite. But she just followed Zhang Shou and moved her chopsticks a few times, eating half a bowl of rice, and then she saw the door curtain suddenly lifted high, and then Ah Liu came in.
"Madam, Master." Ah Liu first glanced at the table which was obviously not finished yet. Zhang Shou had already sent him to the kitchen to eat first, so he coughed and said, "Someone from the palace has sent a message that in three days, the four deans will come to the Imperial College to give lectures, and then..."
Ah Liu glanced at Zhang Shou, who continued to eat without even looking up, and then thought about what the visitor had said. He then repeated it word for word, "Please ask Dr. Zhang to prepare well and give a lecture on mathematics to all the students in the Imperial College. On that day, the Emperor has issued an edict, allowing those in Beijing who have achieved a high degree of academic achievement to attend the lecture."
There are people with honors in Beijing? How many people would that be? Could the Imperial College accommodate them? Are there any amplification equipment these days? Would they have to shout until their throats were hoarse? Fortunately, he had done a lot of morning exercises to strengthen his breath during his year as a teacher, otherwise his voice might not have been heard a few steps away!
"What a trouble! What is this, a rehearsal before the imperial lecture?" Thinking of this, Zhang Shou finally put down his chopsticks, rubbed his temples with a severe headache, and then thought to himself a little irritably that in the future there will be many students who are outstanding in literature and history but helpless in mathematics, not to mention this era when literature, history and philosophy are emphasized, while mathematics, physics and chemistry are suppressed to the point where they have no room to exist.
What should he tell these people? If he talked too deeply, some of the candidates who were not interested would fall asleep! If he only talked about interesting mathematics, it would seem too frivolous. As for talking about history... he should not show off his skills in front of a group of top students who could pass the imperial examinations.
He could look down on the poor work ability and political level of , but he could never look down on their ability to memorize. Maybe there were some evil people among them who could recite the Records of the Grand Historian and the Book of Han, and even many official and unofficial histories!
Being well-read seems to be what scholars are most proud of these days, even if they only understand literature, history, and philosophy, but not mathematics, physics, and chemistry!
So, Zhang Shou was thinking while eating, carefully trying to find a way to deal with it, while Wu was eating while looking at her son who was thinking, her heart full of pride and gratitude to the late widow Zhang.
She was grateful to Widow Zhang for leaving behind such a good son, and to God for giving her the opportunity to raise him and watch him grow up. How many mothers in the world, even if they strictly discipline their children and pray to God every day, still cannot have a good child?
Ah Liu, who had already filled his stomach in the kitchen, stood quietly by the side, seemingly without any sense of presence. It was not until he saw Zhang Shou eating absentmindedly, his chopsticks constantly swiping in the bowl that had already been cleaned to the point where not a single grain of rice was left, that he finally could not help but remind him, "Master, there is no more food."
"Oh, if you're not full yet, ask the kitchen to make some more..."
Zhang Shou had just said this when he felt a hand suddenly reach out in front of him, and then a clean bowl was handed to him, only an inch away from his eyes, and it was shaken vigorously. As if waking up from a dream, he looked at the table again and found that the four plates of food were already completely empty, just like the bowl that Ah Liu had specially brought to him.
Anyway, he was just making a fool of himself in front of Wu and Ah Liu, so he didn't care at all. He just pointed at Ah Liu, as if blaming the boy for his naughty behavior. Then he stood up and said with a smile, "I was distracted by the endless news while eating. It's my fault. Mom, I'll go back to my room to prepare. Although I was forced to do this, I can't let others laugh at me."
"Go ahead." Wu nodded quickly, but said with some regret, "It's a pity that I can't go, otherwise I would also like to see what the scene is like that day."
Zhang Shou, who was about to leave, heard Wu's sigh and stopped immediately. He smiled and said, "In the past, all family members could enter the Imperial College, but I don't know what will happen that day. If you want to go, go find Yingying. She will definitely be able to arrange everything. But I don't know if the four deans will talk about something too abstruse that day that would make ordinary people sleepy."
"I don't know about others, but Ah Shou, you must be very interesting!"
Wu was a person who was content with having a son, so she made a conclusion without thinking, and immediately urged Zhang Shou to go back to his room to prepare. However, Zhang Shou yawned and stretched out, and said lazily, "A Liu, go and tell someone to prepare the bath water. I want to take a good bath and relax. Regaining my energy is the best preparation."
"What lazy ideas are you thinking of, Master?"
Ah Liu asked a question directly. Seeing Zhang Shou just smiled but said nothing, he said seriously, "Master, you once said that life lies in movement, and fighting never stops as long as life continues. But you always want to be lazy."
"The way of civil and martial arts is to alternate between tension and relaxation. If you work hard all the time, won't you be exhausted? I teach a day in Jiuzhang Hall, and if I work diligently on other things the rest of the time, that string may not be too tight. For example, you don't practice martial arts or work all the time, right?"
Facing Zhang Shou's plausible words, Ah Liu glanced at him with a slight disdain, and then counted on his fingers: "I get up at 2:00 pm, practice martial arts for half an hour, train those little guys for half an hour, then have breakfast, and go out with the young master to the Imperial College. Then I will go to the local snakes in various places in the North City to exchange ideas. If the young master doesn't leave the Imperial College, I will go to the South City..."
"Then I'll deliver lunch or go to Xiao's house for lunch. After lunch, I'll go to East City and West City for a walk to digest the food. I'll catch two thieves. If they're minor, I'll teach them a lesson. If they're serious, I'll just send them to Shuntian Prefecture. Sometimes I'll go to Zhaoguogong Mansion to fight Zhu Hong and the others..."
Zhang Shou couldn't help but raise his eyebrows when he heard this. Although Ah Liu rarely talked about such details, his main point was only one - in a day, apart from the unshakable time of eating and sleeping, this kid practiced martial arts, fought, practiced martial arts, and fought! As for the seemingly recreational time such as taking a walk to digest food, it was also to find an opportunity to make the itchy little guy take action.
He wondered how many unlucky people had fallen at the hands of Ah Liu in the past year, and whether the capital had added another terrifying urban legend. After hearing the end, he couldn't help but ask, "Didn't those local tyrants come together to settle accounts with you?"
With the way Ah Liu fights, not to mention this kid himself, maybe someone will find someone behind Ah Liu and vent their anger on him!
"Why are you looking for me to settle accounts with? The madman said that if I could wander around the capital, and if I didn't go to the casinos and brothels and other messy places, I would still see people doing messy things, and those people deserve to die. Under the feet of the emperor, even if there are dark places under the lamp, they should be hidden well and not be seen by ordinary people, otherwise they deserve to die!"
Zhang Shou was slightly absent-minded when he heard this. Where there is light, there is darkness. This is true everywhere, and the capital is no exception. However, after the fall of Mr. Wang Si in Nancheng, Hua Qi... or the emperor behind Hua Qi has long realized that he should ensure that the dark activities do not endanger ordinary people. This can be regarded as a kind of fight against what is eliminated.
Thinking of this, he stopped teasing Ah Liu, gave him a thumbs up as a compliment, and turned around to continue walking forward. When he prepared a change of clothes and went straight to the bathhouse to take a comfortable bath, Ah Liu stood in the yard, glanced at the high eaves, and remembered what Hua Qi said to him today.
"Qin Garden can be easily infiltrated, so all the houses in the capital should be strictly checked. Although I have placed copper bells and mechanisms in high places inside and outside this garden, they are not omnipotent. No matter how strict the mechanism and alarm bells are, they are still useless after all, because people are the most important. For example, the four wise men, the daughter of Hong Shanzhang has ulterior motives, and Fang Qing, a student of Yue Shanzhang, has become a guest of your Zhang Garden."
"Mr. Xiao's housekeeper went to the red-light district to relieve himself when he first arrived in the capital. Mr. Xu's student even spread news about his teacher to the outside world... People of their age can't help but fail to manage the people around them, and the Duke of Zhao's mansion once had a traitor Zhu Yu. Even though Zhang Yuan was recruited from the countryside, people's minds change. I can train people, but I can't train their minds."
Ah Liu thought about it, and finally said to himself: "People are greedy and they want to change. So we should select those who are greedy and try to drive them out."
On this day, when Zhang Shou was taking a comfortable bath, Ah Liu, who regarded himself as the housekeeper, called in a group of little guys and issued all kinds of strange and completely different little orders. Some asked them to keep an eye on someone, some asked them to be responsible for a certain area of the house, and some tested people's martial arts and then taught them some inhumane tricks...
Anyway, even if Zhang Shou came, he would be completely confused by all the messy orders. However, Ah Liu seemed to have a plan in mind. After the little guys left one by one, either in high spirits or with sad faces, he went straight to the gate, found the lame An Lu, whispered a lot of instructions to him, and then went to the kitchen to find Xu Pozi.
As for Old Liu and Aunt Liu, who came to the capital with him from Rongshui Village , he did not even look for them. In his simple understanding, if even this couple who watched Zhang Shou grow up in the countryside had problems, then everyone in the family, including him, would have problems.
Zhang Shou didn't know that Ah Liu had quietly started his Zhang Garden cleanup plan, but even if he knew, he would definitely let Ah Liu take charge. After spending so much time with this guy, he still had some confidence in him.
After taking a short nap in the bath, he returned to his room. Instead of preparing for the lecture three days later as he had told Mrs. Wu, he went straight to bed and fell asleep. When he woke up, he saw that it was still dark outside the window paper. It was obviously not dawn yet. However, he woke up for a moment, turned over and sat up, and then slipped on his shoes and got out of bed.
Nowadays, there are no tempting cartoons, movies or TV series at night, and there are no entertainment activities except for night places like brothels and casinos, so he has long developed the habit of going to bed early and getting up early. Unless there is an emergency, he would rather get up early to work than stay up late at night. Therefore, he put on an outer robe rustlingly, and was about to touch the desk when the door was pushed open.
Ah Liu came in and placed a basin of water on the basin stand without looking away, and then handed over a soft towel and a toothbrush dipped in salt. Without waiting for Zhang Shou to speak, he said seriously, "I'm going to practice martial arts. Master, wash up and put on more clothes before you work. It's cold outside today."
Zhang Shou wanted to ask how Ah Liu had found such a perfect time to arrive, but his clothes were neat and tidy, all the toiletries were delivered, and there was even hot water in the basin. What else could he ask?
Although having a beautiful woman by his side is what every man dreams of, he had been accustomed to having Ah Liu by his side since he was a child. In addition, Mrs. Wu was very satisfied with her daughter-in-law Zhu Ying. Even now that he had moved to the capital, she was still unwilling to let him have one or two maids around him. He only had a maid who was in charge of the boxes and tidying up the clothes and the house.
So since Zhang Shou moved into Zhang Garden, he usually received guests in the study during the day. The three main rooms in the courtyard where he lived were not partitioned at all. At night, he slept on the big bed on the west side, and Ah Liu slept on the warm couch by the window in the east room. Whenever he turned over, he didn't need to make a sound, and Ah Liu would often hand him hot tea or a soft towel a moment later, just like when he was in the countryside.
Thinking about all these things, Zhang Shou, who had just finished washing up, couldn't help but smile. Then, he spread out the paper, put a paperweight on one corner, and then concentrated on writing the lecture summary with ink. Since the right way didn't work, he would take a different approach!
