The farm in Wanghai Temple is actually not just a farm, but a small temple built there, and it also has a very resounding name, Zanghai Lower Courtyard.
However, compared with the lower courtyards of many large temples, this temple has a very wide wall, but the inner buildings look very shabby from a distance. Even the outermost door has a certain atmosphere.
It's extremely perfunctory. Looking further inside, it seems that many of the tiles are broken. It seems that it is not originally a temple, but was rebuilt from some house.
Moreover, Zhang Shou and his party had just passed through Maliu Mountain, but they still saw villagers who looked like pilgrims on the mountain road. Now, in front of the genuine Zanghai Lower Courtyard, they did not see any prosperous scene with cigarette smoke.
Even when the old salted fish yelled "Is there anyone there," a young man came out after a while, but he was shirtless and only wearing a pair of shorts. Even with his shiny bald head, if such a person appeared in the market,
Zhang Shou felt that most people must have thought that he was a competitive idle man rather than a monk from a foreign land.
"Hey, it's Uncle Xianyu, you're here!" The young monk rubbed his eyes in disbelief. Seeing the old Xianyu staring at him with a dark face, he immediately turned around and ran away. After a while, there was a loud noise coming from inside the small temple.
He was shouting and screaming. When people came out again, they were dodging behind a middle-aged fat monk. Although both of them were wearing monk robes, they still exuded a powerful aura.
At this time, Old Xianyu just laughed and said: "Dr. Zhang, eldest lady, this is my sworn brother, the host of Zanghai House, Zanghai. On the side is his apprentice Tingtao, and the others probably haven't finished their homework yet.
, so I didn’t come out.”
Zhu Ying couldn't help but nudged Zhang Shou with her elbow, and whispered: "Ah Shou, why do I feel like I'm in a den of thieves?"
What kind of ear power does Old Xianyu have? Although Zhu Ying lowered her voice, it was not a whisper. Of course he heard it. He glared at the master and apprentice in front of him, then strode forward and introduced them as quickly as possible.
Zhang Shou and Zhu Ying.
"Can you put away the evil look from me? Why does this monk's robe look like a bandit when you are wearing it? They are distinguished guests from the capital. One is the daughter of Zhao Guogong's palace, and the other is the future son-in-law of Zhao Guogong's palace.
, Dr. Zhang, Imperial College.”
"I said, Old Xianyu, are you good at it? You can get those kind of characters in the clouds? You used to say that I created a Zanghai Lower Courtyard with tyranny, and those people in Wanghai Temple still dared to be angry and dare not speak... You
If you become a monk, wouldn't you be able to become a national master who gets a royal title in a short time?"
Seeing Zang Hai, he was stunned at first, and then teased him with strange eyes. Old Xianyu didn't regret that he didn't have time to send a message beforehand, and he didn't have time to think about whether people like Zhang Shou would suspect his relationship with Zang Hai, so he took these brothers together.
Drag it a little further.
"Have you heard about the Cangzhou Palace Case? Alas, that stupid boy from Yunhe led people to fool around without consulting me, which almost caused my uncle to be arrested as well. If it hadn't been for the imperial envoy in front of me.
If General Wei Zhu Tingfang arrives in time, he will really cause a huge disaster. Just yesterday, we just dealt with those big dogs who radically changed the good people, and Yunhe is still in custody waiting to be punished!"
"The Imperial College Dr. Zhang arrived in Cangzhou one day after General Mingwei. He was also an imperial envoy. The new spinning machine was something he figured out. This man is very unusual. He also has the Taizu gifted to him by the emperor.
Manuscript. I heard from Mr. Zhu Er that he made the dandies in the Imperial College obedient, and reopened the long-closed Jiuzhangtang with the support of the emperor."
"Furthermore, as for the things I brought back from overseas, yes, tomatoes, potatoes, peppers, peanuts, etc... He just saw it for the first time, and he actually dared to eat it... Not only did he dare to eat it, but he also made delicious dishes. The most important thing is
The thing is, I have been growing cotton for several years with no improvement, and he said a lot of reasonable things..."
Ah Liu rode his horse and hid in the shadow behind Zhang Shou, but he recited the conversation between Lao Xianyu and Lao Xianyu word for word. Even though Zhu Hong and Zhu Yi always prided themselves on their martial arts skills, they also didn't think so.
Liu, with his ability to follow the wind, could only look at each other in confusion.
As soon as Zhang Shou heard what Ah Liu said, he knew that Old Xianyu was guarding them. All the information that should be disclosed in these words was revealed, and not a single bit of information that should be disclosed was revealed. Old Xianyu put him
The identities of Zhu Ying and Zhu Ying were all exposed, but apart from being known as brothers, what other relationship did he have with the vicious monk Zanghai? Ah Liu couldn't hear anything even if he eavesdropped.
Probably moved by what Old Xianyu said about the interests, Zanghai monk finally came forward with a smile on his face. First he put his palms together and saluted, then he coughed dryly and said: "I didn't expect that there would be distinguished guests coming, I...
…Ahem, I’m a poor monk who missed my welcome from afar, so please forgive me. It’s because I, the sworn brother, are not honest and bring distinguished guests here without saying hello in advance. Please come in quickly, everyone!”
Zhang Shou and Zhu Ying no longer had high hopes for this small temple with a perfunctory front door. However, after dismounting and entering, they walked around the lackluster front yard and saw something unexpected.
.
Because behind the second small door is a... martial arts arena!
On the right side of the martial arts arena is a huge weapons rack. There are not all eighteen kinds of weapons on it. There are only various sticks from thin to thick - whistle sticks, eyebrow sticks, iron rods... And the weapon rack
Next to it, there is a row of stone locks ranging from small to large.
Seeing that there were still disciples there holding stone locks and practicing strength, Zanghai's face suddenly turned dark. Fortunately, Old Xianyu's voice came to his ears: "It's okay. I started my career as a martial artist in Zhao Guogong's house. I have never seen anything like this before."
.Besides, I have already told people that you are from the Shaolin Temple and raising a bunch of stick monk disciples is nothing."
When did I become a Shaolin Temple graduate?
Zanghai was choked so much that when he saw the other disciples realizing that there was a guest, they hurriedly put down the sticks and stone locks in their hands, and hurriedly gathered around him. He didn't know who was taking the lead, but all their gazes suddenly fell on him.
When Zhang Shou and Zhu Ying, who were dressed in men's clothing, looked at him, many people's eyes were explicit and hot, and he suddenly felt a thump in his heart.
These noble sons and daughters from aristocratic families all think very highly of themselves. Who can tolerate being stared at so rudely?
Zhang Shou has long been used to being looked at. Besides, this is a group of hot-blooded monks, not a group of young nuns, so he naturally reacts calmly. As for Zhu Ying... the eldest lady is not afraid of being looked at, on the contrary.
Scanning this group of bald heads with interest.
She realized that there were some old and young monks in this group of monks. The older ones were in their early thirties, but the younger ones were only eight or nine years old. They were really cute with tiger-like heads and big heads. She suddenly thought of Xiao Cheng, who often came and went at home, and the three other monks.
The prince and the fourth prince. However, with their bodies and skin protected by their parents, it was impossible for the three little ones to shave their heads and let them play with them.
When Zhu Ying was distracted, Zanghai quickly shouted: "Okay, don't disturb the distinguished guests, let me do all the work!"
With one sentence, everyone was sent running away, and he motioned with his eyes to Tingtao to follow him and watch a little bit, lest anyone sneak back to watch the fun. Then Zanghai said to Zhang Shou and Zhu Ying with a smile: "Everyone else is from
No matter what kind of spices and gems are brought overseas, Old Xianyu often brings back some strange things, and even a lot of seeds, all of which are planted here."
"Hey, his vegetable garden occupies the largest area of my lower yard. Loosening the soil, pulling weeds, fertilizing, and watering are much more troublesome than ordinary vegetable gardens and rice fields. Especially the cotton, he insists.
The kapok brought from overseas is better than the kapok we have here... Bah, bah, what a waste of effort!"
Zhang Shou then glanced sideways at Old Xianyu and said with a smile: "Let me tell you, Ah Liu and Zhu Erlang both said that you have been in Shuishi Street all year round, so how come you have time to come here to farm. It turns out you borrowed it from someone else.
Where other people’s manpower was used?”
"That's right, this damn salty fish is used to playing tricks on other people's ideas!" Zanghai saw that Zhang Shou and Zhu Ying were not angry because of the rudeness of his silly disciples just now. At this time, Zhang Shou even made fun of them, so he took advantage of them.
While leading the way, he deliberately made some embarrassing remarks about the old man, causing the old man behind him to retort angrily, half truthfully and half falsely. However, he took the opportunity to observe Zhang Shou and his group.
At most, he had only dealt with big families in the state and county in his life, and he had never had the opportunity to meet officials such as county magistrates and prefects. Therefore, when Old Xianyu suddenly brought over such an unmarried couple with extraordinary status, he was really surprised.
fear.
But as I walked, I saw Zhang Shou talking and laughing freely, and Zhu Ying chatting curiously from time to time. The man was handsome and elegant, and the woman had a beautiful face. It was really pleasing to the eye, but there was no overbearing arrogance. Even if
He, who was always dissatisfied with those wealthy families, couldn't help but secretly praise them in his heart.
Outside Zanghai Lower Courtyard, I only saw a shabby front door and a large wall enclosing a large area. While walking among them, Zhang Shou discovered that, except for the buildings in front and the martial arts arena, there were only a few buildings inside the wall.
Behind them are rows and rows of vegetable fields. Among them are Chinese cabbage, eggplant, and a loofah trellis. It is obvious that the rice, grain, and vegetables here are self-sufficient.
However, in addition to the bald monks who had taken off their robes and concentrated on their work, he also saw many similarly shirtless men. Unlike the previous monks, these people all had hair, some were strong and young, and some
He is old and thin, and his skin color is probably darkened due to too much sun exposure - of course, it is still far from the blackness of Africans.
When they found outsiders like them, most of them just glanced at them and continued working, but a few people secretly peeked at him and Zhu Ying. He found one of them immersed in picking something, and immediately stepped forward. However,
, before he could reach behind the person, Old Xianyu had already rushed over in one stride.
"Dr. Zhang, you have really good eyesight! You actually saw tomatoes at a glance?"
Zhang Shou indeed saw the small tomatoes - in his time, they were called cherry tomatoes, and this was the original state of the big tomatoes in later generations. When he was making tomato scrambled eggs, he discovered the problem with the size of the tomatoes.
, but the fruits that have been picked are naturally not as good as the real plants that he sees now. What is even more surprising to him is that all these tomatoes are on the shelf.
It was not a tall stand like a loofah stand, but a low triangular wooden stand like a tree support. He once pulled a tomato stand when he was studying farming in the countryside, so he was deeply impressed. However, he did not believe that it was originally from the Americas.
...or in other words, tomatoes, which we didn’t dare to eat until the Europeans occupied the Americas on a large scale, actually found out how to make excuses so early on.
But I know how to build a shelf for original tomatoes, but I don’t know how to cultivate cotton after the introduction?
Zhang Shou ignored Old Xianyu's interruption. He looked at the middle-aged man who was still immersed in picking tomatoes and asked gently: "Let me ask you, why are you putting up a show for this tomato?"
Lao Xianyu had no idea that Zhang Shou would not only come over to watch picking tomatoes with great interest, but would even personally ask a man dressed as a farmer. His expression suddenly changed. Although he quickly concealed the change in his expression, he was still
Zhu Ying, who had been paying attention to him, saw it. The next moment, the eldest lady rushed over without thinking and grabbed his sleeve without hesitation.
"Hey, what's on that shelf over there? Could it be grapes? I climbed over a grape shelf when I was a kid, and I almost knocked it over... What kind of grapes are there, are they sour or sweet?"
Seeing Zhu Ying dragging Old Xianyu away, Zhang Shou praised the eldest lady in his heart, and then continued to look at the confused farmer in front of him. Zhu Hong and Zhu Yi also tasted something at this time.
Taste, stopped Zanghai directly, and asked questions with a smile, as if he had never seen a vegetable field before.
As for Ah Liu, the young man continued to stand there with his hands folded. He saw that the other monks around him did not say anything because of Zanghai. They were working and peeping. On the contrary, those guys with farmer-like hair stopped their hands unconsciously.
Someone even stood up, and he couldn't help but frown slightly and quietly took two steps closer to Zhang Shou.
The farmer who was being stared at by Zhang Shou finally spoke, but his voice was dry and he said: "If you put up an airs, the growth will be good and the results will be many."
"I see."
Zhang Shou nodded happily, and then he stretched out his hand with a smile, as if he wanted to pat the other person on the shoulder to encourage him. However, as soon as he stretched out his hand, the person scurried out like a rabbit, and then his face became wary.
He looked at him. But this time, he clearly saw the other person's body shape and height, and smiled generously. He didn't care about that move, turned around and left with a smile.
When he walked to Ah Liu, he saw the young man raised his eyebrows, as if asking him what to do next, so he patted Ah Liu on the shoulder. Seeing that the fat monk Zanghai was entangled by Zhu Hong and Zhu Yi, he quickly
After getting rid of the two people and coming over, he smiled and said: "So, in addition to the monks doing their own work, does your Zanghai Court hire these people to do the work?"
Old Xianyu was being urged by Zhu Ying to go up to the grape trellis to pick grapes. When he heard these words, his eyes flashed, but after hesitating for a moment, he left Zhu Ying and hurried back. Then he smiled and said: "Dr. Zhang,
To tell you the truth, these people... well, they are not hired. They were brought back by me from the distant West, and they are poor people who have lost their homes and relatives."
"What!"
Zhu Ying just felt that something was wrong with Zhang Shou's attitude. At this time, she rushed back with a look of disbelief on her face: "Don't think that I haven't seen Westerners. They are all blond and blue-eyed guys, and the people of the Ming Dynasty."