Volume 4: Gathering of Sages Chapter 589: There is always a mountain higher than another
This is the first time I know that my third brother is such a terrible person. This calculation is simply...
In the past, he had been sarcastic and mocking, and although the fat boy would get annoyed and angry, at most he would just fight back a little and not try to trick him to death. That really showed mercy on his part!
This was the thought that almost crossed Lu Dalang and Lu Erlang's mind when they left the study under Lu Wan's glare. When they went out one after another, they saw Mrs. Lu standing outside the door with a stern expression. Her unhappy eyes were clearly looking at the two bad brothers who bullied their younger brother. The two brothers were extremely wronged. We apologized and will never dare to do it again. Isn't that enough?
Mrs. Lu certainly would not scold her son outside her husband's study. She gestured for them to leave and then went in. When she barged in, Lu Wan, who was originally planning to have a good discussion with the fat boy about the ownership of Jiuzhangtang, immediately shut up. However, before any of the three could speak, a hurried shouting sounded from outside.
"Third Young Master, Third Young Master!"
He and his wife were both here, but someone outside was shouting "Third Young Master". Lu Wan was furious. But the next moment, he saw the little fat man rush to the door with an agility rarely seen in a fat man, and asked in a matter-of-fact manner: "What are you yelling about? Dad and Mom are here. If you yell and disturb them, can you afford to be punished?"
The attendant who was sent by Lu Sanlang to deliver the "gift" was stunned at first, and then he quickly apologized: "I was confused for a moment and forgot everything. Please forgive me, Master and Madam... It's like this. After Mr. Ye and his four companions left our Lu family, they didn't return to the inn at all, so the Third Young Master asked me to deliver the book, but the book was not delivered..."
This time, it was the little fat man who suddenly changed color. He had put so much effort into performing such a play of letting bygones be bygones and repaying evil with kindness, but he actually failed? It was impossible. He had arranged it before the banquet was over. The attendant who delivered the book almost chased after the four people who left the Lu family. How could he not catch up? Did he fly with wings?
Lu Sanlang, who had just appeared very amiable in front of his father and brothers, suddenly had a fierce look in his eyes and asked viciously, "What on earth is going on? Don't tell me you didn't go and find out!"
Faced with the Third Young Master's extremely ferocious face, the attendant couldn't help but take a step back. When he heard a sneer from behind, as if it was the First and Second Young Masters whom he had just bumped into at the gate of the courtyard, his face turned pale.
If the eldest and second young masters make a fool of themselves by this, the third young master will definitely kill him!
He didn't dare to waste time, and hurriedly explained: "Of course I tried every possible way to find out... It was Dr. Zhang, the Third Young Master's teacher, who led people on horseback to catch up with the four of them, and then cordially invited them to Zhang Garden."
Lu Sanlang, who had just looked fierce and aggressive, as if he would fight anyone who set a trap for him, suddenly showed a very strange expression when he heard that it was Zhang Shou who intercepted them and took all four people to Zhang Garden. After a moment of stunned silence, he laughed.
"Otherwise, how come he is the teacher and I am the student? This move is a one-time solution, brilliant! Well, in that case, you can send the box of books directly to Zhang Garden, and tell them that mathematical talent is hard to come by, and today we just met, so this is a small gift from me sincerely, and they are all works by senior mathematical masters, so please be sure to accept them."
"I know the teacher has these books, but I think there is only one set. It's not like me who runs a bookshop. I have at least eight or ten sets of all the books. The teacher can only lend the only set of books to people to read. He can't just give them away. So I, as his student, will send this gift on his behalf. We are all in the same boat, so why should we be polite?"
At this point, Lu Sanlang deliberately looked behind the attendant and saw that there was no one at the gate. It was obvious that his two brothers heard that Zhang Shou had taken someone to Zhang Garden and couldn't bear to see the joke, so they left in shame. He smiled and made a gesture to send the attendant away. Seeing that the attendant hurriedly retreated with a sense of relief, he turned around and went back to the house.
Seeing his parents standing side by side, his father was full of sighs, while his mother was in high spirits, he stepped forward with a smile and said, "In the past, I only assessed those classmates and juniors who wanted to apply for Jiuzhangtang. Today, I can really see my peers. It turns out that hearing about them is not as good as meeting them in person. Let's not talk about their level, but their horizons are really very narrow."
Lu Wan couldn't stand the fat boy's smug look, and wanted to scold him with a glare, but Madam Lu interrupted him and said, "Sanlang, you got the Jia character today, the emperor even came to see you in person, and you showed off your excellent math skills in front of others. It can be considered a triple blessing. But the more you do this, the more you should guard against arrogance and impatience."
Lu Wan was surprised that his wife had said the same warning he had often given in the past. However, when he turned his head to look at his wife who always favored his fat son, he saw Mrs. Lu curl her lips and then said earnestly, "Today, so many of your classmates came to support you, and even Jiuzhang Hall happened to be closed. As the head of the hall, shouldn't you come out and thank everyone?"
"Besides, since Dr. Zhang has invited everyone to Zhang Garden, you should take everyone with you, along with Ye Mengqiu and the other four, so that you can have a good discussion and study. If you spread the word, it will be a better story than you giving away books!"
Oh, my dear, this move of yours is just adding fuel to the fire... No, it's the icing on the cake, it's really wonderful!
Lu Sanlang was immediately overjoyed, and he quickly stepped back and bowed deeply: "Thank you very much for your teaching, mother. I will go right away!"
He didn't have time to say a word before the little fat man ran out of the room again with that agile pace. Lu Wan had no choice but to pull hard at his beard, which was not much to begin with, and as expected, he pulled out several strands. Before he could feel distressed, he heard Mrs. Lu's voice from the side.
"It is said that when brothers are united, they can break metal. In my opinion, in Sanlang's case, it is a teacher-student unity, which can break metal. Look at Sanlang's coming-of-age ceremony today, where all the students are sitting there in neat rows, looking heroic and high-spirited. You were right to abandon the mess in the Ministry of War and start anew. Although I was not able to be present at the coming-of-age ceremony today, I heard about the scene at that time..."
"I can only think of one thing: some people have really become stupid because of reading so much! And some people are not stupid but pretend to be stupid!"
Mrs. Lu usually seemed like an ordinary woman with long hair and little knowledge, but at this time, Lu Wan felt sad when he heard the last two comments. However, after Mrs. Lu finished speaking and walked out, he just remembered the most important question.
What on earth was my wife doing here? She seemed to be here just to watch the fun and remind her fat son?
Lu Sanlang didn't think much about what problems his parents, who were already an old couple, could have - even if Mrs. Lu usually listened to Lu Wan, she would be very clear at the critical moment, and his father would never even think about crossing the bottom line in certain aspects.
He went out and hurried to the Xiao family, which was the collective dormitory of Jiuzhangtang. When he arrived at the end of the field, he found that the door of the Liu family next door was open. He suddenly thought of another important matter and quickly gave up the idea of going straight to the Xiao family. He arrived at the door of the Liu family first, climbed down the horse with difficulty, and then called out to the door with a smile: "Is Mr. Liu home?"
"The master just came back... I said the voice sounded familiar, it turned out to be Mr. Lu San, please come in."
Zhou responded with a smile and came out to greet him. After inviting Lu Sanlang in, she said with a smile, "The master told me about the grand ceremony of the young master's coming of age today when he came back. If I had known it would be so exciting, I would have gone to watch the fun."
"What do you mean by climax after climax? It's because mathematics has declined in recent years, so that there are only a few talented people, and even the works of the predecessors are hard to find. Speaking of it, we are both in the same boat, so we should sympathize with each other when we meet."
The fat boy shook his head and said he felt sorry, but when he passed the second gate, he saw Liu Zhiyuan suddenly come out of the study and look at him with a playful expression, as if to say, "Keep fooling me." Knowing that the old man had been fooled by him once before, and now that he has spent more time in the capital and has come to his senses, he is no longer as easy to fool as before, so he laughed and walked forward quickly.
"The old gentleman attended my coming-of-age ceremony today, and I didn't even have time to thank him. I was really neglectful."
Seeing that Liu Zhiyuan was smiling but not accepting his polite words, Lu Sanlang was not embarrassed and continued to say a few polite words until Zhou couldn't stand it anymore and shook her head and quietly left. Then he coughed and said seriously: "Old sir, I came here today because I want to discuss something with you."
"You know, Xiao Cheng's house next door is occupied by more than 20 students from the second term of Jiuzhang Hall, and all the rooms are full. Now, my classmates from the first term of Jiuzhang Hall, whether they went to Xuanda or went to the Ministry of Revenue and Guanglu Temple to check accounts, have all returned. Although some people are still living in the Imperial College dormitory, it is not convenient after all."
"There are not many students in the first term, so I just want to ask you, can your family take them in? You know, most of my classmates are short of money, and the environment and food in the Imperial College are really hard to describe... "
Before Lu Sanlang could describe the poor food and accommodation conditions in the Imperial College in vivid detail, Liu Zhiyuan coughed in annoyance and said, "I was also a dean in the Imperial College. You don't have to cry poor and be miserable."
This old gentleman is getting more and more cunning. He was so easy to deceive when he just returned to Beijing, but now he even knows the words like crying poor and playing miserably... Lu Sanlang muttered a few words in his heart, but his face became more sincere, as if he would kneel down if you didn't agree the next moment.
Sure enough, under his sincere gaze, Liu Zhiyuan finally said calmly: "This house was originally lent to me by you teachers and students without charging a penny. Now that we need a few more tenants, why are you asking me, who is also a tenant, for what?"
Seeing that Lu Sanlang was anxious and wanted to explain, the vigorous old man waved his hand and said, "Okay, no need to say so much, I agree to this matter. Jiuzhang Hall is full of students who are diligent in work and study. I also hope that this empty place can have more such energetic people. After you make the arrangements, just tell Zhou."
Although he knew that Liu Zhiyuan would most likely agree, the fat boy was still happy when he actually agreed. The second and first classes of Jiuzhangtang had different experiences. Although he repeatedly gave way to others and Qi Liang was good at comforting people, his classmates' originally impetuous minds finally calmed down, but he couldn't let the brothers who were only one year apart quarrel with each other.
Living next to each other like this, everyone can interact with each other, and many problems can be solved! So, he thanked Liu Zhiyuan again and again, and then went out to the Xiao family next door. Not long after, he summoned the second-term junior brothers who had returned here, and they went out again. After this group of people left, Xiao Cheng next door was bored and quietly slipped over.
He originally wanted to play with Zhou, but Zhou was already in the kitchen preparing dinner. When he saw Liu Zhiyuan standing alone in front of the door with his hands behind his back, he hurried over and called out "Old Master Liu". However, he did not get a response for a long time. After a long while, he saw Liu Zhiyuan come back to his senses and then reached out to touch his head.
Although Liu Zhiyuan was a serious person outside, Xiao Cheng, who had been neighbors with him for many years, was not afraid of him at all. He not only pulled his sleeve, but also whispered, "Mr. Liu, I just heard from Brother Lu San that he took people to Zhang Garden to discuss mathematics with Brother Zhang and some others? Maybe he won't come back for dinner or sleep."
"Don't they usually learn this in Jiuzhang Hall? Why are they making such a big fuss today?"
"You used an idiom well." Liu Zhiyuan sighed and touched Xiao Cheng's head again, "That's the teacher and students building momentum."
"Create momentum? What does creating momentum mean?" Xiao Cheng can now read and write quite well, and has learned a lot of idioms and poems, but he still doesn't understand some words. At this moment, his face is full of confusion.
"To create momentum means... your elder brother Zhang hopes to create an atmosphere where mathematics needs to be open to all, inclusive, but also innovative. Then, when the talents of astronomy and numerology gather in the capital, those who are not so old-fashioned will be absorbed and those who stick to the old ways will be isolated. Now, this is a process of screening, lobbying and influence. Do you understand?"
Seeing Xiao Cheng still looking confused, Liu Zhiyuan couldn't help but laugh. Talking to a little guy about this almost involves the issue of cliques, he was also confused. As the old saying goes, a gentleman does not form cliques... But in many cases, the living space for lone ministers is too small.
Zhang Shou didn't know that Liu Zhiyuan had already classified his actions as forming a clique. In fact, he didn't even know about Lu Sanlang's self-initiative. The reason why he intercepted him halfway and took him to Zhang Garden was naturally because he made the decision after observing the words and deeds of Ye Mengqiu and the other three people at Lu Sanlang's coming-of-age ceremony.
There are just four brothers whose sect has fallen into decline and who have huddled together for warmth. Some are so pitiful that they don't even have arithmetic scriptures and can only read the handwritten books of their ancestors. What a waste it would be if we don't pick them up and try to re-educate them!
However, when he was taking people to the workshop to see the lenses being ground, he heard a loud bang. His first reaction was that it was an earthquake, but when he was squatting on the ground subconsciously, he saw a figure flash in front of him, and then he was flying up in the clouds like a wind. When he finally saw the sun, he heard Ah Liu's annoyed voice: "It exploded again!"
