If shopkeeper Hua hadn't been the introducer, it would have been hard for Zhang Shou to believe that the man he called Mr. Hua was actually a young man less than thirty, with a hairless mouth and a slight beard on his chin. You know, these days, everyone in
In official circles and shopping malls, old people are more trustworthy than young people, so young men with weak crowns are also busy growing beards, as if as beards grow, people look older and gain dignity.
Therefore, people who are still fair-faced and beardless in their thirties are almost rare, because in that case, even if they put on official hats and official robes, they will not look like officials in the eyes of outsiders... As for what they look like, they are more than forty years old.
Please find out more about Chu Kuan, the palm seal of the Supervisor of Ceremonies, who is still pale-faced and beardless?
But Zhang Shou, who has not yet been crowned but has already become an official, has no intention of growing a beard to pretend to be old. He plans to continue pretending to be young! So when he saw a man who was at least seven or eight years or even ten years older than him, his lips were
He naturally felt that someone who was still naked on the top and chin was very special. However, he forgot that he was even more special in the eyes of others.
After receiving the letter from Shopkeeper Hua, Fourth Master Hua sent people to send the letter quickly, and at the same time he sent people to Suzhou to integrate the deacons and other wealthy businessmen of the family. He immediately took a boat from Huai'an to the north. In his opinion, if he could
It would be best to meet Zhang Shou in Cangzhou, but if he is recalled to the capital, you can always find a way to meet him and start negotiations when you arrive in the capital.
However, even though he was mentally prepared, he did not expect that such a coincidence would happen today. At this time, seeing such a handsome young man who was jealous of such a prosperous young man, he still felt that
The more than twenty years of life that I have always been proud of have gone to dogs.
Therefore, after greetings, he opened the topic with a smile: "Dr. Zhang, don't think I am young, I am the direct grandson of the family, so since I was five years old, my old man has taken me with him to meet guests, make accounts, and meet with guests.
Shang... I have been nurtured like this since I was a child. So after my father passed away at an early age, thanks to the trust of the old man, I took charge of the family business at a young age."
"Actually, the so-called fourth master is not very accurate, but he is already the head of the family. It is not easy for people to call me young master, and my fourth uncle cannot overshadow me as the head of the family, so everyone is like this. Dr. Zhang, you
If you want, just call me Hua Si or Ah Si, that's what my old man calls me."
Shopkeeper Hua knew that his fourth master, the head of the family, could be called a man with a thousand faces. He could be arrogant, gentle, arrogant or ferocious. As long as a person wanted to, he could show any face. But this was the first time for him to be such a humble fourth master.
You see. Even though he was a clan uncle according to his seniority, he did not dare to act like an elder in front of the heir whom the old man devoted himself to teaching, so he simply stayed away at this time.
God knows if the fourth master will forget his merits and become jealous because he sees his grandson-like side?
Zhang Shou was used to seeing people pretending to be grandsons first and then turning against him, but he regarded Fourth Master Hua's appearance as normal.
Shopkeeper Hua withdrew, but he did not let Ah Liu withdraw. Instead, he said with a smile: "Fourth Master Hua is too polite. You are older than me in terms of age, and you are far better than me in terms of experience and knowledge. Although today
You are the host and I am the guest. If you have a way, the guest can do as he pleases, but not everything can be done as he pleases."
But Fourth Master Hua smiled disapprovingly and said: "Dr. Zhang, if what you discussed with my nineteenth uncle before can be achieved, I don't know how many merchants in Suzhou will be grateful. To put it more exaggeratedly, I will treat you as my parents.
That's too light. I wish I could enshrine you in a shrine and burn three sticks of incense every day, just like you offer to the God of Wealth. Businessmen value profits, that's how practical it is."
Hearing that Fourth Master Hua clearly said that he was practical, but also said it in a funny way, Zhang Shou smiled. He chatted with the person for a few more words, and when he saw that the person was calmly saying very beautiful compliments, he simply said it bluntly.
The ground pierced the window paper.
"Now that I have left Cangzhou, I can no longer control so much of Cangzhou's affairs. If Fourth Master Hua wants to make plans, he must either do it in the court or go to my future brother-in-law to negotiate with me. But he has the wrong person to go to."
.”
Before Fourth Master Hua could answer, he said with a smile: "When I come back this time, I will only be in charge of my one-third acre of land in the Imperial College. I am really powerless to do anything else."
Fourth Master Hua did not expect Zhang Shou to speak so bluntly. After being slightly startled, he simply said straight to the point: "Doctor Zhang really doesn't care about the great situation you have created in Cangzhou? You know, no matter which dynasty or generation,
In the court, there is one emperor and one courtier, but in the local area, it is just people who are in charge of government affairs. I don’t know how much effort your uncle and I have spent on Cangzhou. Are you really going to throw it away?"
"Haha." Zhang Shou smiled casually, and then said in an understatement, "Four Master Hua, what you said is really similar to that of Eunuch Lu, the chief ceremonial supervisor who came to Cangzhou before."
Of course Zhang Shou would not elaborate on what Lu Chan said, but he was very sure that besides lobbying him and Zhu Tingfang, Chu Kuan, the Chief of Ceremonies who clearly liked to cause trouble, would never ignore the Su gang.
As for the officials' previous move to defect to Jiang, they might have already prepared to contact Suzhou businessmen such as the Hua family.
Therefore, seeing Fourth Master Hua's eyes brighten up, he said slowly: "However, because of Taizu's old system, eunuchs were not allowed to enter because of the harm to the heaven and earth, so the number of eunuchs in the palace has always been very few. Even if the Chief of Ceremonies has any plans
, and they are always by the Emperor's side, and those who are near the water and towers get the moon first, but the ideas of some officials in the court are deeply ingrained, and if they do not do well, it can easily be self-defeating."
Fourth Master Hua, who had originally planned to take the wrong approach, suddenly felt something in his heart. Ever since Taizu disdained the use of eunuchs, the civil servants in the DPRK were simply overjoyed and had been working together to suppress the number of eunuchs, lest this generation become bigger. If he really
He was in cahoots with the eunuchs. If someone wanted to drag them on the boat and make the matter public, it would be too late for him to get off the boat even if he wanted to.
Moreover, what kind of virtues do eunuchs generally have? Look at the ten permanent servants in the late Han Dynasty, look at the eunuchs in the Tang Dynasty who overshadowed the sky and deposed the emperor, and then look at Liang Shicheng, Tong Guan and others who used the power of the emperor to run rampant during the reign of Emperor Huizong of the Song Dynasty.
That's enough to make people wary.
If you want to open Hong Kong and find an ancestor on your head... No, a bunch of ancestors, wouldn't that be heart-breaking?
The message he wanted to convey had already been delivered, so Zhang Shou naturally had no intention of staying any longer - he had indeed put a lot of effort into the Cangzhou matter, but that didn't mean he wanted to end it personally, so he stood up and left after finishing the call.
Seeing that Fourth Master Hua sent him out with a smile and no grudges at all, he was naturally polite when he said goodbye to the young head of the family at the door. As for the peeping people in the Yangzhou Guild Hall opposite, he just pretended that they were not there.
Seeing that, it was not until he got on his horse and turned back and entered the Chongwen Gate in the inner city that he suddenly asked Ah Shou: "Then you brought me here specifically to the Yangzhou Guild Hall?"
"I only know that it tastes good." Ah Liu answered easily, but after riding his horse and following Zhang Shoufu for a few more steps, he continued, "Of course, I also remember that it is opposite the Suzhou Guild Hall."
Zhang Shou suddenly turned back, pointed at Ah Liu, who seemed to be honest and dull, and scolded with a smile: "You kid has tricked people, it's really hard to guard against! You can't figure it out. If Shopkeeper Hua knew that he had fallen into your trap,
He'll definitely make his eyes pop out."
Ah Liu nonchalantly pinched the horse's belly and took two more steps forward. He was only half a horse behind Zhang Shou. Then he coughed dryly and said: "Those who are close to vermillion are red, and those who are close to ink are black. Young Master and I learned from you."
"
Zhang Shou wanted to scold him for not imitating the good ones, but instead imitating the bad ones, but when he thought that this was tantamount to scolding himself, he could only shake his head and sigh, such a simple and honest young man suddenly turned black. But when he continued to move forward
, riding the horse in front, he couldn't help but curl up the corners of his mouth. He was actually in a pretty good mood, but he still warned: "Don't blindly make mistakes next time, be careful to make yourself self-defeating!"
In a place like the capital, it is better to be shady than to be honest. He has always felt that people like Ah Liu who are silent and taciturn are the most worrying. Now that it is better, he does not have to worry about Ah Liu being too honest and loyal... With this skill, he can still
It's better to worry about those smug victims who hit the head of this kid's gun in the future. They can beat and deceive people. That's really amazing!
When Zhang Shou dismounted at the gate of Zhangyuan, he saw two figures rushing out, and finally they all grabbed the reins he had dropped. They saw the old Liu Tou and the lame Anlu staring at each other, the latter
He quickly got out of the way without saying a word and went to hold Ah Liu's horse instead. His expression brightened a little. He thought that after all, these two were not so competitive that they would cause trouble.
Immediately afterwards, the always talkative old Liu Tou said first: "Master, Miss Zhu and my wife are going to worship Buddha."
Does Zhu Ying like to worship Buddha? Zhang Shou felt that a place like a Buddhist temple was completely unsuitable for her. But when he thought about her mother who liked to talk about Amitabha and even gods and Buddhas when she got anxious, he understood that Zhu Ying was probably the mother of Buddha.
They made this trip simply to accompany Mrs. Wu. Considering Wu’s request yesterday, they might have gone to perform rituals for the deceased Zhang Xiucai and his wife.
He was secretly blaming himself when Ah Liu's voice came from behind him: "Does the eldest lady come here all the time?"
Old Liu Tou had been getting along with Ah Liu for so many years, so he didn't know what he meant, so he laughed and said: "She came here every day in the first few days after returning to Beijing, but then... ahem, later the eldest lady and several
The scholar had a big quarrel at Tianxia Taiping Tower on Qipan Street, and then he became very angry. Even the imperial doctor had gone to Zhao Guogong's mansion, so he couldn't come. But Mrs. Zhao Guo came often."
Knowing that Jiuniang often came to see Wu, Zhang Shou didn't think it was strange that Mrs. Zhao Guo was condescending. After all, people are straightforward and willful. He had no intention of talking in front of the door, so he immediately
Hurry inside.
But he heard behind him that Ah Liu seemed to be talking to Old Liu Tou about being addicted. He actually asked how many times Lu Sanlang had come to represent the supervisors of Jiuzhang Hall, and how many times Ji Jiu had come to represent the first supervisor of Banshan Hall...
…Even Uncle Xiangyang’s third son, the big guy from the Zhang family, Ah Liu, was not spared. Old Liu Tou also spoke eloquently, claiming that everyone had come at least three times.
Of course, it was impossible for Mrs. Wu to act like her grandma and meet these people. She just ordered people to come out to say thank you, receive gifts in return, and then let them go back. The only one who met was Lu Sanlang and Zhu Ying.
Once, Mrs. Wu met two people together.
Just when Zhang Shou was suspicious, Old Liu Tou, who had followed Ah Liu, broke another big news to him: "I was listening from a distance about the matter of dealing with Mr. Jiang Ge, and it seemed that it was Lu
Saburo encouraged the eldest lady to do it."
"Conscience of Heaven and Earth, it's really not me who instigated it. I just happened to come to see Grandma Grandma, and then I met my little Master's Wife here. I just tipped her off by the way, saying that Old Man Jiang had evil intentions... But how did I know that she
She actually wanted to force herself on her, so I was so scared that I moved you out, little sir, saying that you definitely didn’t want us to be reckless, but I couldn’t stop her!”
"I specially asked people to follow her, and then ran to Duke Zhao's Mansion to find Mrs. Zhao Guo to report the news... Who knew that Mrs. Zhao said it didn't matter, that the matter could be dealt with, but even so, I still chased her to the Taiping Tower.
I saw with my own eyes that she was so powerful that she silenced those scholars...I was really more unjust than Dou E!"
When he came over in the evening and was questioned by Zhang Shouyi, Lu Sanlang looked like he was crying. It was extremely aggrieved.
When he came over that night, he brought four strong followers with him. Together with them, he moved two large boxes from the carriage, which were full of Jiuzhangtang homework. Moreover, he did it himself, stacking them one by one.
On Zhang Shou's desk, he also marked the date and type, which made him look like the best substitute teacher in the world.
However, Zhang Shou knew best what kind of virtue Lu Sanlang was. When he saw that the man was almost crying, he said with a smile: "Oh, then it seems that I have wrongly blamed you. But you are like this
The little master's wife screamed loudly, and thinking about it, even if you really did something, Yingying wouldn't have the heart to scold you...even if she knew you went to betray her to her mother."
Lu Sanlang suddenly shuddered. God knows Zhu Ying's temper. It would be better for him not to bet on this possibility!
So, without even thinking about it, he immediately gave up and honestly confessed all the conversations he had when he met Zhu Ying here. As for how he could remember such details clearly... Don't underestimate the science major and the business genius.
memory!
Zhang Shou originally just wondered why Zhu Ying suddenly exploded, but now the missing link was filled in. Although he was angry and funny, he couldn't help feeling that he really didn't lack any talent here.
There is Lu Sanlang who is a shady person behind the scenes, Zhu Ying is a person who insults people in person, Zhang Chen is a person who is good at acting, Ah Liu is a person who is good at pretending to be stupid, plus a bunch of talents of all kinds, who can do it in such a big capital?
How could a person like him, who started from scratch, have such a luxurious team? Speaking of which, he really managed to gather a bunch of talents that were once buried under a strange combination of circumstances!
Seeing Lu Sanlang looking at him pitifully, Zhang Shou smiled and said: "Well, since we have been interrogated and you have confessed honestly, I will also explain to you and forget the past. Remember, this is because you are in Jiu
For the sake of Zhang Tang’s due diligence, you can’t blindly make clever things!”
After seeing this, Lu Sanlang was overjoyed. He quickly said a lot of good things to Zhu Ying. Seeing Zhang Shou but smiled, he quickly laughed and shut up, and then helped Zhang Shou look at the homework.
.As for Zhang Shou, he just took a general look and listened more to Lu Sanlang's talk about everyone's acceptance ability and learning progress.
As he read the homework and listened to the progress, Zhang Shou also revealed something about what happened when the emperor summoned him that day. As a result, Lu Sanlang, who had been a little cautious just now, heard that Jiuzhangtang would be responsible for the internal treasury audit, and he
I was so excited all of a sudden.
"Sir, does the emperor really want to hand over such an important task to Jiuzhangtang? This is simply a God-given opportunity! As long as the news spreads, why worry about people with mathematical talents in the world not sharpening their heads to drill into us!"