Chapter 037: The Lantern Festival
Chen Biao really wanted to see the future Hongwu Emperor.
Their whole family went to join in the fun, but he was the only one not allowed to go. Chen Biao was very dissatisfied.
But what his father said made sense.
First, crowded places have turbid air, and he is still young and prone to illness;
Secondly, he was a "divine child" and Zhu Yuanzhang was a "true dragon emperor." It was unknown if anything unusual would happen when the two of them were together. Perhaps, at his young age, he would be intimidated by Zhu Yuanzhang's true dragon aura.
His father was weird and said that the child's soul was unstable and it would be better for him to wait until he grew up before meeting Zhu Yuanzhang.
Winters are cold, and respiratory illnesses are common. Children in ancient times didn't receive vaccinations. Zhu Yuanzhang's gatherings with the people were crowded, with poor ventilation, and he might have gotten sick. He agreed with the first point.
Second point… Chen Biao really wanted to tell his father that superstition was wrong, but since he was the first to believe in it, he had no choice but to accept it.
So Chen Biao could only wait for his father to come back at the lantern stall.
He looked up and asked, "Mr. Bowen, aren't you going to such an important celebration?"
Not only did Chen Biao wear a tiger hat on his head, but there was also a round wooden tiger mask that looked like a fat cat hanging on the side.
Liu Ji helped Chen Biao pull the tiger hat down a little to cover the back of his head: "It's not interesting, I won't go."
Liu Ji was 49 years old this year, but he looked just 40. When he rolled up his wide sleeves to his shoulders, one could even see the bulging muscles in his arms. This was one of the reasons why Zhu Yuanzhang was confident in letting Liu Ji take care of the children.
Whenever someone looked at the well-behaved chubby child at the lantern stall with malicious eyes, Liu Ji would tie up his sleeves and weave lanterns, or draw his sword to cut bamboo strips. Those people would immediately look away and leave.
When those people left, Zhu Yuanzhang's personal soldiers, dressed like ordinary people, followed them in the crowd and actually wiped out a human trafficking gang.
Without his knowledge, Chen Biao became bait for a human trafficking gang.
Liu Ji was quite puzzled. According to common sense, Chen Biao was surrounded by male family members armed with swords, so the traffickers should not have targeted Chen Biao.
After thinking about it, he could only think that Chen Biao looked too adorable, so even though the human traffickers knew they couldn't catch him, they couldn't help but look at him a few more times with envy.
Just a few more glances were enough to reward the human traffickers. Biao'er truly was a fairy boy.
The lanterns and masks were made by Chen Biao and several other gentlemen. His father, cousin and cousin also came to add to the fun.
Chen Biao originally just wanted to make something to give to Brother Ying who couldn't go home for the New Year.
Unexpectedly, there were too many things to make, so Chen Biao took advantage of the celebration to sell them at half price and give them away for free to join in the fun.
With Li Shanchang working very hard, a large market for the Lantern Festival celebration has been set up.
As soon as Zhang Yi and Liu Ji arrived, Li Shanchang pulled them to work and formulated regulations and systems for the large market, including temporary taxes and fees.
Chen Biao also participated.
His father Chen Guorui was appointed by Zhu Yuanzhang as the person in charge of the big market. Chen Biao casually wrote some rules and regulations that might be used in future markets and asked his father to satisfy Zhu Yuanzhang.
Chen Guorui brought back a large pile of jewels and jade, saying it was a reward from Zhu Yuanzhang and was to be used as toys for Chen Biao.
Chen Biao chose a piece of fine white jade, designed it himself, and slowly polished it with a file, wanting to give Yingge a little white jade tiger.
It doesn’t matter if he’s a little ugly, Brother Ying won’t dislike him anyway.
He had to keep this matter secret for now, otherwise his father would make a fuss.
"Little sir!" A child dressed in the same furry clothes as Chen Biao pushed through the crowd and pounced on the lantern stall.
Chen Biao's face darkened as he saw the person coming: "Chang Mao, why are you here alone?!"
"Mao'er, don't run so fast... Hey? Young master, Mr. Liu?" Lan Yu followed with a lot of things in his arms.
Only then did Chen Biao discover that Chang Mao had a belt tied around his waist and tied to Lan Yu's wrist.
He couldn't help but frown. Is this uncle really "taking the child for a walk" when he takes the child with him?
Lan Yu put the things on the small box beside the stall in a familiar manner and patted his shoulder: "Young Master, Mr. Liu, are you selling lanterns?"
Chang Mao jumped up and down and said, "I want this, this! I have money!"
Lan Yu smiled bitterly: "Yes, yes, you still have a lot of New Year's money, but your uncle can't take it anymore."
The naughty kid Chang Mao started screaming.
Chen Biao's face darkened: "Chang Mao!"
Chang Mao screamed and immediately covered his mouth.
He looked at Chen Biao, then at the pile of strange toys that Lan Yu had put down , and said with his head down, "Uncle, I was wrong. I won't buy it."
Lan Yu breathed a sigh of relief and said with a wry smile, "Young Master, you are still the one who can control Mao'er."
Naughty kids are so scary.
After Lan Yu took a breath, he chose a mask for Chang Mao, and then took Chang Mao away with his things.
On the way, he told Chang Mao that he could buy anything he liked, but Chang Mao would take anything he couldn't carry. If both of them couldn't carry it, they couldn't buy anything else.
Chen Biao looked at Lan Yu, who had a calm aura, with a strange expression on his face.
Liu Ji was curious: "Isn't that Ye Zheng's registered disciple? Has he ever offended you?"
Chen Biao shook his head: "It's not an offense. I'm just surprised. Half a year ago, he was still a playboy who would bully the good and the innocent."
Chen Biao told the story of how Lan Yu, instigated by his dandy "brothers", molested a woman and kicked an old man.
Liu Ji said, "I heard that Ye Zi is in Yangzhou. He lets him play villains on stage and good guys off stage, so that he can understand the difference between good and bad people. He also takes him to visit the neighborhoods and villages, mediating trivial matters among the people, so that he can gain experience and understand the people's livelihood and human nature. If Ye Zi has been with him for half a year and he hasn't changed at all..."
Then Ye Zi would probably find a way to prevent Lan Yu from doing evil forever.
Mr. Shuixin's thinking only considers the goal and ignores the process, and he will do anything to achieve his goal. Since Ye Zizheng has accepted Lan Yu as his apprentice, he will never allow Lan Yu to do evil again in the future.
Of course, Ye Zizhen would definitely not harm anyone, but he would make Lan Yu infamous and alienated by his friends and relatives, making it impossible for him to pursue a career in politics in the future and take advantage of Chang Yuchun's power.
Although Liu Ji had only known Ye Zheng for a few days, he knew how cruel and ruthless this man was beneath the mask of a great scholar who saved the world.
Therefore, the Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism, which was advocated for self-cultivation at that time, became the mortal enemy of the School of Utilitarianism, believing that the School of Utilitarianism would bring disaster to the people if it came to power.
Liu Ji also disliked some of the arguments of the pragmatic school. Human nature is evil. If one only pursues practical achievements without cultivating the mind, the more capable a person is, the greater the malice he will unleash, causing greater harm.
However, although Ye Zheng was somewhat unscrupulous, he also practiced education and began to revise the theories of his predecessors. He had the idea of giving equal importance to practical achievements and self-cultivation. Only then could Liu Ji reluctantly work with him.
Chen Biao sat on a high stool, shaking his short legs. "On stage, he plays the bad guy, and off stage, he plays the good guy. People in Yangzhou think he plays the bad guy, but he's actually the good guy. So when his villain role causes outrage, there will definitely be many people explaining him off, saying that he's a really good guy, and that's why he plays the bad guy that others don't want to play. How does he feel when he hears this?"
Liu Ji stroked his beard, smiled and nodded: "Biao'er is really smart. He saw through Zizheng's little trick in one go."
Chen Biao said helplessly: "What do you mean by seeing through a trick ? It's better to say that great minds think alike, right?"
He finally discovered why Liu Ji and his father had a bad relationship. Although Liu Ji was very kind to him, he always had a sarcastic and ambiguous attitude towards others.
He guessed that Liu Ji was a little arrogant because of his talent, so he was unwilling to say good things to people he recognized.
But when it comes to the elderly, the weak, women, children, or people he looks down upon, Liu Ji will be kind.
Although Chen Biao and Liu Ji get along well now, they have only known each other for a short time and Chen Biao has no intention of getting too close to them.
Song Lian and Liu Ji were friends, so Chen Biao decided to mention this matter to Song Lian and let Song Lian persuade Liu Ji in a tactful way.
Liu Ji's arrogance towards his friend and his father had nothing to do with it. His friend would not care about these details, and his father was a broad-minded, honest and straightforward man who would not let his grudges go unpunished.
Zhu Yuanzhang, however, was known for his pettiness. Chen Biao worried that Liu Ji would be in trouble if his sarcastic words and strange personality angered Zhu Yuanzhang.
Although Liu Ji was arrogant, he was also very smart. After he discovered Zhu Yuanzhang's narrow-mindedness, he would definitely change his attitude and treat Zhu Yuanzhang with respect, right?
Chen Biao shook his head, feeling that he was worrying too much. Mr. Liu was such an intelligent man, he must have seen it clearly.
"Little sir!"
While Chen Biao was in a daze, another primary school student rushed over to his stall.
This time it turned out to be Zhou Ji, the little dandy from Uncle Zhou’s family.
Zhou Ji proudly took out a few Zhizheng Tongbao copper coins from his pocket and said, "I want to buy the biggest one!"
Although Zhou Ji didn't get a scholarship, he did make some money in his labor class. He heard that the young master was setting up a stall, so he used his hard-earned money to buy something.
Chen Biao laughed: "I don't have enough money. This is for you."
Chen Biao asked Liu Ji to take out a puppy head lantern and hand it to Zhou Ji.
Zhou Ji was not disappointed. He put down the copper coin, picked up the puppy head lantern, turned around and waved happily.
Zhou Dexing's wife came over panting and scolded, "Why are you running so fast? Be careful not to get robbed! Ah, young master, Mr. Liu, happy Lantern Festival."
Chen Biao jumped off the stool and bowed: "Aunt, happy Lantern Festival."
As soon as Chen Biao jumped off the stool, the people in front of the stall could only see Chen Biao's tiger-head hat.
Zhou Dexing's wife couldn't help laughing.
Liu Ji carried Chen Biao back to the stool and said, "You should sit here and greet people."
Zhou Dexing's wife smiled and said, "Young Master, this mask is really beautiful. Do you have another one like it? I want to buy one for my son-in-law."
Chen Biao pointed to the side of the stall and said, "They're hanging there. Please take your pick. Consider it a gift from me to you."
Zhou Dexing's wife chose the same mask as Chen Biao and put it on Zhou Ji's forehead.
Since Chen Biao said it was a gift, she didn't give him any more money. Instead, she took the largest lantern Zhou Ji had chosen and gave him a silver coin: "No need for change. The extra money is for Auntie to treat you to cakes."
Chen Biao was not polite and bowed again: "Then I will respectfully obey your command."
Zhou Dexing's wife took Zhou Ji away happily, and Chen Biao discovered that Zhou Ji also had a rope around his waist.
Chen Biao almost laughed out loud.
Before, Lan Yu was walking the Pekingese, but now Auntie was probably walking the Husky. If Zhou Ji started running, it would be strange if Auntie could hold him.
After a while, other students of Chen Biao came to visit the stall one after another, and used the money they earned from labor classes to support Chen Biao's business.
The students didn't pay much, so Chen Biao sold most of the items on the stall at a discount price.
What made Chen Biao laugh was that he didn't know who among Zhu's army came up with the idea, but his students all had a rope around their waists.
These parents all walk their children like they are walking their dogs.
The child is jokingly called a "divine beast", so it seems there is nothing wrong with walking him like this?
When the news that the stall owner was Chen Biao, a famous child prodigy from Yingtian Prefecture, spread, a long line immediately formed in front of the stall - no one knew who spread the rumor, saying that if you bought things from Chen Biao's stall, your descendants would be influenced by Chen Biao's talent and become enlightened!
Zhu Yuanzhang's personal soldiers who were hiding in the dark and pretending to be servants of the Chen family ran out to maintain order. Chen Biao looked at the bustling buying scene and felt both amused and helpless.
Liu Ji took a large tiger mask that was a circle larger than the mask on Chen Biao's head and hid it in his arms. He sold all the other lanterns and masks, and then ordered Zhu Yuanzhang's personal soldiers to disperse the crowd.
Seeing that all the things were sold out, this group of people actually wanted to pay to buy the decorations and clothes on Chen Biao, and some wealthy merchants even took out gold beads.
Chen Biao looked at the huge crowd in front of him and finally understood how Wei Jie was killed.
In this situation, someone with a heart disease would have died instantly. Fortunately, he was not sick.
Fortunately, the people of this era were still quite afraid of officials. In the territory of the Zhu family army, Chen Guorui could be considered a general.
Liu Ji commanded the Chen family servants to show off their power, and the crowd dispersed.
Chen Biao continued to wander around boredly, waiting for Chen Guorui with his short legs.
His father said that he would only accompany Zhu Yuanzhang for a short while, and would sneak up to see him during the trip, and the father and son would go shopping together.
Actually, Chen Biao wanted to take Chen Chong and his mother out with him. But his mother was so pregnant that it was difficult for them to go out. Chen Chong had been too excited during the day and jumped around for a long time, but he fell asleep as soon as it got dark. Tonight, he was the only one accompanying his father to watch the lanterns.
Chen Biao's fingers moved unconsciously, and he missed his cell phone very much.
If it were in modern times, he would just concentrate on playing games and would wait as long as there was internet and electricity.
This era is so boring.
Seeing that Chen Biao was bored, Liu Ji took out chess from under the stall.
Chess is more "rough" than Go and is more fun to use to kill time.
While playing chess with Liu Ji, Chen Biao was thinking about whether he could make a more interesting game.
In modern times, he doesn't have much time for fun. He occasionally uses his computer and mobile phone for a break, but he doesn't have time to play offline games with friends. However, even if you haven't eaten pork, you have seen pigs run. Some online games can also be reproduced offline.
Now Zhu Yuanzhang has become his pen pal. Before Prince Zhu's death, his safety is guaranteed. He can spend some time thinking about fun things, and by the way, combine education with entertainment to make his students happy.
Chen Biao was trying to do two things at once, so Liu Ji deliberately gave in to Chen Biao and fought him on equal terms .
Just when the two were about to tie, a loud roar accompanied by heavy breathing rang out: "Biao'er! Dad is here!"
Chen Biao immediately raised his head and waved vigorously, his drooping eyelids lifted up, his eyes sparkling: "Here, here!"
Zhu Yuanzhang, who was wearing a furry black cloak with animal fur covering half of his face, looked like a bear and also waved vigorously: "I see, I see!"
The streets were too crowded for a horse. Zhu Yuanzhang trotted over, lifted Chen Biao up, and swung him around: "Sorry for the wait!"
Chen Biao opened his arms like a little fat bird: "Not long!"
Liu Ji took out a big tiger mask from his arms: "Here."
Zhu Yuanzhang glanced at the small tiger mask on Chen Biao's head, took the big tiger mask handed to him by Liu Ji and put it on: "Thank you."
Zhu Yuanzhang put on the mask, lowered his hood, and held Chen Biao against his neck.
Chen Biao also put on the little tiger mask, holding his father's head with one hand and raising the other hand upwards: "Let's go see the dragon dance first! Sir, do you want to come with us?"
Liu Ji stood on tiptoe and straightened Chen Biao's hat. "I'm going to close my stall and go back to have a drink with Song Lian and the others. You go ahead and have some fun."
Chen Biao said: "Okay! Take care, sir!"
"Ahhh, Fourth Uncle, you're running too fast!"
"Uncle, how can you run so fast with so many people around you?"
When Zhu Yuanzhang was about to set off with Chen Biao, Zhu Wenzhen and Li Wenzhong finally caught up with them.
Seeing that both Zhu Yuanzhang and Chen Biao were wearing masks, Li Wenzhong hurriedly asked if they had any more. He then snatched a mask that the Chen (Zhu) family servant, who was helping to clear the stall, had bought for his children. He tossed a silver coin to the man as he gave him a wry smile: "If you want a mask, just ask Brother Biao for it directly. I'm sure he won't give it to you. Wenzheng, here it is!"
Li Wenzhong put on the fox mask himself and threw the black wolf mask to Zhu Wenzhen.
Zhu Wenzheng first caught the mask, then took out a thick strap from his arms: "Brother Biao, brother Biao! I'll tie one for you!"
Chen Biao: “Ah?”
Zhu Wenzheng tied the belt around Chen Biao's waist and said, "It was Mr. Li's idea to tie the child up when we go out, so he won't get lost easily."
Chen Biao was speechless: "I was sitting on my father's shoulders, how could I lose it?"
Zhu Wenzheng said: "I know you can't get lost, but I just want to see Fourth Uncle walking you around, it's fun, hehe."
He tied the other end of the belt around Zhu Yuanzhang's right wrist and proudly put his hands on his hips: "It's really fun!"
Chen Biao: "...Brother Zheng, when I grow up, I will beat you to death."
Zhu Wenzheng laughed loudly, "Come on, when you grow up, you won't be able to beat me!"
Chen Biao snorted coldly: "When I'm in my forties, I'll be in my prime, and you'll be sixty. I'm sure I can beat you!"
Zhu Wenzheng was extremely shocked: "Brother Biao, are you really going to hold a grudge for over thirty years?"
Chen Biao said, "Just wait! I'm narrow-minded and I can hold a grudge!"
Zhu Wenzheng: "Hey, hey, hey, don't do this!"
Zhu Yuanzhang walked forward with his son on his shoulders. Chen Biao and Zhu Wenzhen started to quarrel with each other, and Li Wenzhong added fuel to the fire from time to time.
The father and son, as well as the adoptive father and son, walked into the crowd, like a few drops of water merging into rivers, lakes and seas. No one noticed that the man wearing the big tiger mask was Marshal Zhu, who had stood on the podium before and passionately patted his chest, promising that next year would be better.
…
"Dad, is that the guy with the weird designs on his face selling gold and silver utensils, Uncle Xu?"
"Yes, that's him."
"Wow, Uncle Xu didn't go to the banquet with Marshal Zhu, but came here to set up a stall?"
"He asked for leave, saying he wanted to earn some money to buy some newly woven satin as a betrothal gift."
"Huh? Just ask me."
"Can asking you for something be called a betrothal gift? Let him earn it himself."
…
"Dad, that street performer couldn't be Uncle Tang, right?"
"And your Uncle Zhou."
"I just saw Aunt Tang and Aunt Zhou struggling to take care of the baby. I thought Uncle Tang and Uncle Zhou were with Marshal Zhu and had no time to take care of the baby. But they came here to do some sideshows?!"
"Look carefully and see who is collecting the money and beating the gong."
"Oh my god, the aunts actually brought their children to help Uncle Tang and Uncle Zhou perform. They are really interesting. Dad, do you want a tip?"
"No."
…
"Mr. Bowen lied to me. He said he was going out for a drink, so why is he here pretending to be blind and setting up a fortune-telling stall?!"
"Look at the stall opposite him."
"Uh, why are Mr. Ye Da and Mr. Ye Er also pretending to be blind? What are they playing at?"
"I guess he made some weird bet."
"Where are Mr. Wang and Mr. Song?"
"Let Dad see, um... over there, there's a group of people writing couplets."
"Mr. Wang and Mr. Song are relatively normal... Wait, why did Mr. Wang start writing with his hair? And why did Mr. Song start writing with his hair too?"
"It seems they are not normal either."
…
"You've been watching for so long, where's Mr. Li?"
"Working, right? Didn't you come up with the idea for an auction? Mr. Li didn't trust the others, so he hosted the auction himself."
“How tragic.”
"Um ."
"Will Mr. Li be angry if he knows that others are playing?"
"Well... well, he took the initiative to work, what does it have to do with us?"
…
Chen Biao was carried on his father's shoulders and walked around, where he saw many familiar faces.
He was extremely puzzled. Shouldn't these people be accompanying Marshal Zhu for dinner? Why were they all out on the street? Did Marshal Zhu also slip away?
Chen Biao said, "Dad, are you tired? Put me down?"
Zhu Yuanzhang said, "You are so light-weight, why are you so tired?"
Zhu Wenzheng held a candied haws in his left hand and a candied dough figurine in his right hand, taking a bite on the left and a bite on the right: "Yes, yes. If I don't hold him a few more times now, my fourth uncle will be too old and frail to hold him anymore."
Li Wenzhong quietly moved away from Zhu Wenzhen.
Zhu Yuanzhang kicked Zhu Wenzhen so hard that he almost knocked him to the ground.
Although he almost fell, Zhu Wenzhen still protected the candy in his hand tightly and continued to eat it after being kicked.
Zhu Yuanzhang was helpless. Had he failed to teach his nephew well? Would he be ashamed to face his brother and sister-in-law in the afterlife?
"Dad, Dad! Fireworks!"
Just as Zhu Yuanzhang was about to kick Zhu Wenzhen a few more times, Chen Biao patted his father on the head.
Zhu Yuanzhang looked up and saw the huge fireworks prepared by the Chen family's craftsmen, using the Zhu family's cannon, suddenly exploded in the sky of Yingtian Prefecture.
The residents of the city already knew that there would be fireworks at this time, so they all stopped and looked up.
"Happy New Year!"
"Happy Lantern Festival!"
The air was filled with the smell of gunpowder, but this time it was not the smell of war, but a festive atmosphere.
The people passing by were all smiling, bowing to everyone they met, and laughing constantly.
