Volume 5: Fellow Traveler Chapter 764: Chilled
You will know when the time comes.
If the Fourth Prince and Zhang Chen knew Zhang Shou better, they would realize that these meaningful words could not be measured literally. However, although the two thought they were very familiar with Zhang Shou, they still did not know him well enough. Especially since Zhang Shou actually sent someone to send a letter back to Zhang Garden, telling Zhu Ying that he would not be going back tonight, so they were all misled.
Just because of their bullshit bet, Zhang Shou, who had just married Zhu Ying, actually had to accompany them to Tongzhou overnight? When the fourth prince and Zhang Chen thought about whether Zhu Ying would hate them for making such a bet after learning about it, they felt a chill in their necks.
Regardless of winning or losing, will they be severely beaten up by Zhu Ying when they return to Beijing in the future?
So with such a worried thought, when leaving the city with Zhang Shou, the Fourth Prince tried his best to persuade Zhang Shou not to send them off, and they would complete the bet well, and Zhang Chen, who always had conflicts with the Fourth Prince, also tried his best to support him. However, they talked all the way until they were dry-mouthed, but Zhang Shou kept watching them perform crosstalk with a smile, and the two of them were immediately helpless.
They set out in the evening before the gates of the capital were closed. They simply ate some cooked food they brought with them in the carriage. Even though they had foot and hand warmers and the carriage was surrounded by thick fences, the Fourth Prince and Zhang Chen still felt that the weather was too cold and they were wearing too little. In the end, the two of them couldn't help but lean against each other, and for the first time, they regretted this inexplicable bet.
If we want to make a bet, we should wait until spring. It’s too cold!
It was impossible to make the carriages and sedan chairs airtight these days, so Zhang Shou was of course cold. However, he had Zhu Ying, the little fairy with many treasures. The couple had agreed in advance on this trip, so Zhu Ying had already prepared thick fur coats, warm socks, and waist protectors for him... Anyway, all the cold-proof items were prepared. He was armed from head to toe, and he also had a small red snail charcoal hand warmer in his arms, which was a token of his wife's infinite love, so of course he could still get through it.
But thinking about the fact that this was a night journey, the coachman outside and Ah Liu who followed the carriage would have a hard time. He couldn't help but make up his mind that after he threw the two in his carriage, plus the one sent by the Third Prince and Chu Kuan, to the place where they were, he would not let them come back no matter how much they cried out to the sky or the earth. He would never let them come back until they had stayed there for a full month, so that these two would not cause any more trouble!
Did you think that this was a relaxing trip to Tongzhou, where you could teach and visit families, talk to them earnestly, and then discover some hidden gem, win in one fell swoop, and return to the capital in glory? Haha, wishful thinking!
Therefore, seeing the big and small naughty kids in the car being drowsy due to the bumpy ride, Zhang Shou, although he was also suffering, always had a smile on his face as if everything was under control, and never looked outside the car from beginning to end - after all, in that era without street lights, as soon as night fell, nothing could be seen outside except the light of the lantern.
Even if one is not well-trained, traveling at night can be life-threatening. Therefore, if it weren't for the driver from the Duke of Zhao's mansion, he wouldn't dare to accompany him on this trip.
He didn't know how long he had been walking. When Zhang Shou was almost doubting his life, he finally heard Ah Liu's voice from outside: "Master, we're here."
Zhang Shou woke up with a start, and saw that Zhang Chen and the Fourth Prince were almost huddled together. However, their shivering from the cold did not affect their sleepiness as they were also about to faint. So, he laughed, lifted the curtain, and pushed open the door... of course, it was only a small crack.
Even so, at that instant, an extremely cold wind still rushed in with cheers, freezing Zhang Chen and the Fourth Prince's foreheads before they could react. The two screamed, and seeing Zhang Shou push the door again, they hurriedly wrapped their clothes tightly, and then braved the stronger night wind.
When the two men stepped on the ground after getting off the carriage, they felt pain in their feet as if they were stabbed by needles. It was because their feet were numb from sitting in the carriage. Although they seemed to be mortal enemies when they made the bet, they had to huddle together for warmth in the carriage just now. Now the Fourth Prince and Zhang Chen did not care so much. They had to hold hands with each other and jump and stomp their feet together.
If they didn't have a hand, they were worried that their feet would go numb and they would fall on the frozen ground!
Zhang Shou also tightened his fur coat. He had the most comfortable seat in the carriage, but his feet were less numb than Zhang Chen and the fourth prince. However, he still felt numb. However, he had to be graceful and could not jump around. At this moment, he looked up at the sky and saw that it was full of stars. Even though he had become aesthetically tired of this scene over the years, he still found it pleasing to the eye.
At this time, he finally heard the Fourth Prince exclaim: "What the hell is this place?"
Zhang Shou glanced at the two of them and saw that the Fourth Prince looked confused and Zhang Chen was equally dumbfounded, so he smiled and said, "This is Baijia Village outside Tongzhou City. Well, it's not a famous village, it's similar to Rongshui Village where I lived before. I asked Yingying to ask Miss Ye , there are 70 to 80 households here, hundreds of people, most of them have the surname Bai, so it's called Baijia Village."
Is this what I'm asking? What I'm asking is, we clearly agreed to go to Tongzhou, so why did we suddenly end up in such a remote place?
The Fourth Prince's face was filled with shock and anger, but Zhang Chen reacted faster than the little brat this time. He took a breath and asked in horror, "Does this mean that we have to complete this bet not in Tongzhou City, but in this remote village?"
How many people in this village can read? How many people have ever been to school? If it was difficult before... then it is simply a nightmare now! Even with Zhang Chen's optimism, he couldn't help but feel his scalp tingling at this moment, not to mention the fourth prince who had only one experience of rural life.
But that time, the fourth prince, who was born in the palace and had been pampered since childhood, lived in Haidian Zhaoyuan and went to the farm of the Duke of Zhao's mansion. Picking wheat ears and riding cows, in the end, it was almost the same as playing, just a little more tiring...
In contrast, Luo Sanhe's reaction was relatively calm... or rather, stable. It was obvious that he did not have night blindness. He glanced around and saw only darkness. He could barely make out that there seemed to be a row of low houses with no lights in the distance.
Probably because of the carriage they came in, they could hear the constant barking of dogs. However, there was only one house with lights on, as if someone was about to come out to see what was going on. Seeing that the Fourth Prince and Zhang Chen seemed to want to protest, Luo Sanhe said unhappily, "Is there a difference between the village and the city? It doesn't matter where you go to teach, why are there so many rules ?"
He had always thought that he could fool Luo Sanhe, but now he was being ridiculed. How could the Fourth Prince tolerate this? However, before he could rally his troops and retort, Zhang Shou spoke again without panic.
"I have already contacted the village chief of Baijia Village. There are about 40 to 50 children in the village, aged between five and fifteen. Some of them can read, but most of them are illiterate. There is not much farm work to do during the twelfth lunar month, so the village chief agreed to vacate two rooms for the children to study."
"What you have to do is to determine whether these children are qualified within this month, and then pass Miss Ye's judgment. Yes, she has agreed to bring a few family members here to live temporarily. There is no need to worry about gossip. Most people in this village have never been to Tongzhou, let alone the capital."
The fourth prince was stunned. It was a village not too far from Tongzhou City, but many people had never been to Tongzhou?
Zhang Shoucai didn't want to waste time with the Fourth Prince's questions. Seeing that he was about to ask another question, he coughed and continued slowly, "Of course, I actually selected three villages with similar situations. If you don't want to stay together, you can each be responsible for a village."
"So, do you all gather in this one village, or do you each take charge of one? You can choose for yourself."
Before the Fourth Prince and Zhang Chen could answer, Luo Sanhe made a prompt decision and said, "I will take Zhang Xiaohai, the student I taught at the public school, to another village. This will also be fairer."
Zhang Chen didn't care whether the three groups of people gathered in the same village, but at this moment, Xiao Huasheng and Xiao Cheng also got off the carriage and gathered around the fourth prince, whispering something to others. He felt that if he took Yang Hao to another village, the naughty kid might play tricks.
"I'll just stay in Baijia Village. After all, there are so many students here. If I don't help, how can these three handle it? I don't want the Fourth Prince to cry and say that I bullied him when he returns to the palace."
The fourth prince did not expect that Zhang Chen would actually want to perform on the same stage with him, and he was immediately furious. However, Zhang Shou nodded and agreed directly, "Okay, then Zhang Chen, you stay here. Otherwise, I am really worried about Zheng Yan, Xiao Huasheng and Xiao Cheng. However, if you lose in the competition, you will have no excuse!"
"How can I lose?" Zhang Chen said viciously, without even looking at the two men with lanterns hurrying towards them. "I'm not afraid of threats. Just wait and see, young sir. Even the three of them together are no match for me!"
There are only a bunch of kids in the village, so what is there to be afraid of? With threats and inducements, and then some sweet treats under the sticks and promises of some future benefits, who can resist the temptation?
Anyway, it's not like we're going to pick the top scholar or the second scholar from among them. At best, we can pick out one or two qualified people from among so many people! Of course, it's impossible that there is none, otherwise Zhang Shou wouldn't have chosen such a place...
Seeing that Zhang Chen and the Fourth Prince were arguing with each other again, and Luo Sanhe had an expression that said, "I won't get involved with you guys. I'll go and open up a second battlefield myself," Zhang Shou couldn't help but laugh secretly.
He had previously spoken in front of others about patrolling and selecting talents, but in fact, that was just a nice-sounding name, in fact, it was just another way of saying it.
In later generations, this kind of thing has been vigorously advocated and promoted for decades. How many young people with great enthusiasm and ambition have gone to the most remote places to teach in the countryside? In such villages, poverty is not the biggest problem. The short-sightedness corresponding to poverty, a lot of cleverness but no great vision, is the biggest problem.
As a result, most of the enthusiastic young people were beaten to a pulp by the cold reality and left sadly or angrily. Only a few idealists stayed resolutely to provide a roof over the heads of the children in those poor villages. He always admired these people. Even those who had been there but couldn't hold on and left were better than those who hadn't been there but said strange things.
Nowadays, Baijia Village is still under the emperor's feet, but compared to the capital city with its numerous dignitaries, it is like a different world. After experiencing it, the Fourth Prince and Zhang Chen will know what the real people are like. As for asking the two to take this opportunity to calm down, he has never thought about it. If the two can understand the reality better than their impetus, that would be enough.
Zhang Shou handed Zhang Chen, Yang Hao, the fourth prince and little Huasheng Xiao Cheng over to the village chief's son who came to greet them. Seeing the big man leading everyone to his mansion with a smile on his face, Zhang Shou winked at Ah Liu. Seeing that Luo Sanhe was driven to the carriage, he smiled at the old village chief whose face was full of wrinkles like knife cuts.
"I'll leave these two groups to you. You are an old acquaintance of Mr. Yang, so you should know the importance of this matter. They come from distinguished families, and they all have elders in their families, and they are very powerful elders. If you want to coax them by playing the victim, extorting some money, or taking some money out of them, that's fine, but just don't go too far. You know, they have been to the countryside before."
"Besides, Miss Ye who will come over tomorrow is a person who doesn't tolerate any injustice. You'd better control the villagers and stop them from talking nonsense. She has cut off the ears of scoundrels and beaten lackeys until they cried for their parents. If someone wrote a legendary story, she would be a character like the number one sword fairy and chivalrous woman, and she would not be polite to those gossipers."
The old village chief nodded and said he dared not. He never asked Zhang Shou who the two people who came today were. Because he thought that these nobles could not control their mouths and would definitely find out in two days. Of course, Yang Laoguan had acted as a matchmaker for him and sent these nobles here through Zhang Shou, so he would not be so stupid as to rashly test them.
In the past, the people of Rongshui Village were just farmers of the Duke of Zhao's Mansion. But now, because of the emergence of a remarkable figure like Zhang Shou, it was said that the land rent of the entire village was directly reduced from 30% to 20% by the Duke of Zhao's Mansion. This was a number that made him envious to death, because there was no lower rent than this in the entire capital area, and most of the land there was fertile paddy fields.
Therefore, he was not proud of Zhang Shou's constant "you, old man" and respectfully escorted the man to the carriage. When Ah Liu, who was standing beside him, stuffed a package that was so heavy that it could almost crush a person, the smile on his face suddenly became even bigger. Ah Liu's words were much simpler and more brutal than Zhang Shou's.
"Sixty strings of notes and another twenty strings of cash are enough for the expenses. Don't skimp, or you will have to pay double!"
