Chapter 2 Platform (II)
Half a month after the time travel, Huo Chong stood outside the door in a proper manner, listening to the conversation of the people in the main hall. The old man who saved Huo Chong said, "I have a new apprentice named Huo Chong. He is a real man and can be trusted."
"Uncle Liu, wasn't the kid who came to your place last time not right?" someone asked.
Uncle Liu said in a disdainful voice, "I chased that guy away a long time ago. Huo Chong is my new apprentice, not that kid."
I am almost 30 years old, and I am still called a kid. Huo Chong smiled bitterly. But this is nothing compared to other things. Seven or eight days ago, Huo Chong finally confirmed that this year is the Dingyou Year. When he asked his lifesaver, Huo Chong's current teacher Liu Shu, Liu Shu said that this year is the 56th year of Kangxi.
Huo Chong was not very knowledgeable about history and had no idea how to calculate the year. He determined that this year was the Dingyou year, and after sixty years of the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches, it was a Jiazi year. Combined with the fact that 2020 was the Gengzi year, after repeated calculations, he finally determined that this was 1717, the fifty-sixth year of Emperor Kangxi. But he was in Zhangdian, Shandong. It was quite far from Jinan, where his grandfather had been.
At this time, a commotion was heard in the main hall, "Uncle Liu, what are you waiting for? Call the young man over so we can meet him."
"Huo Chong! Come in." Uncle Liu shouted to the outside of the door.
Huo Chong hurriedly stepped forward, crossed the threshold, and approached the main hall. The windows were covered with window paper, which did not allow much light to pass through. Uncle Liu's house was also a two-story house, with a corridor more than one meter in front of the main hall. The eaves blocked the sunlight, making the light inside the house quite dim.
Walking up to Master Liu Shu, Huo Chong first bowed to his master and said, "Master, what can I do for you?"
Uncle Liu said kindly, "These are the leading figures here. Please greet them."
After Uncle Liu finished his instructions, Huo Chong turned around and saluted everyone on the chairs one by one using Qing Dynasty etiquette. Everyone responded while sitting on the chairs, looking Huo Chong up and down. Huo Chong also looked back at everyone naturally.
Sitting on the chairs on both sides were middle-aged and elderly people dressed in somewhat shabby clothes. It was the third month of the lunar calendar, and these people's cotton jackets were relatively long, but not long enough. They were neither short jackets nor long shirts, and the collars of their jackets reached below the knees, revealing their cotton pants and cotton shoes underneath.
Uncle Liu said to everyone, "What do you think of this kid?"
Everyone withdrew their gazes and praised Huo Chong for being tall, strong, sensible and handsome.
If Huo Chong had not known that this was a discipleship, these words would only make him think that this was a blind date. Since the master wanted to introduce Huo Chong to this group of people, he thought there would be plenty of opportunities to interact with each other in the future. Huo Chong turned his eyes to look at Uncle Liu. Uncle Liu's golden rat tail was already gray, and his goatee was also gray. He was wearing a long gown with a front opening, which was common in Qing Dynasty TV dramas. There were several deep wrinkles on his face, but his triangular eyes were very bright. Judging from his appearance, he looked like a local squire.
He didn't look like an extremely open-minded and kind person, but Uncle Liu didn't expect that he not only saved Huo Chong, but also treated him kindly. On the third day after they met, he began to teach Huo Chong a lot of special knowledge. Within half a month, he accepted Huo Chong as his disciple and introduced Huo Chong to the people in the village.
This move is too strange. In the 21st century, it is equivalent to Huo Chong eating chicken wings with a company boss who he has never met before at a McDonald's. Just because they sat next to each other and chatted for a few minutes, the company boss left Huo Chong's phone number and appointed Huo Chong as a department manager after a little training. Perhaps only TV dramas with Phoenix men as the protagonists dare to act like this.
Just as I was thinking, I heard the middle-aged man sitting in the second seat on the right ask: "Uncle Liu, has your eldest disciple seen this little brother?"
As soon as these words came out, the room immediately fell silent. Huo Chong also felt that the man who spoke had bad intentions and was clearly trying to provoke others.
In the 21st century, teachers are still responsible for many things for their students. In this era, teachers have to bear more responsibilities. For example, if a student in the 21st century beats someone to death, the class teacher will be held accountable for the education problem. In the Qing Dynasty, teachers would not only be condemned, but also bear the stigma for the rest of their lives. They would also have to pay money to appease the family of the deceased for what their apprentice did.
With this personal relationship, the conflicts between the apprentices can be imagined. When the eldest brother saw the younger apprentice, his attitude was similar to that of the old department manager towards the new manager. Maybe he was polite on the surface, but in fact he was uneasy and calculating in his heart.
Uncle Liu's calm expression immediately turned into indifference, and he asked in a cold tone: "Old Five, what do you mean?"
The middle-aged man, who was probably the fifth in line but whose name was unknown, laughed and said, "It's nothing special. Just asking casually. By the way, Uncle Liu, I'm short of money recently. Can you give me half of my money first?"
Uncle Liu tilted his head slightly and stretched his face. The deep wrinkles on his face became deeper, especially the nasolabial folds between the corners of his mouth and cheekbones, which made him look intimidating without even getting angry. Gently patting the armrest of the chair, Uncle Liu replied, "Old Five, we follow the rules and we will only give out money before the end of the year. It's only March now, are you trying to break my rules?"
Lao Wu didn't dare to act rashly and lowered his head slightly, "Uncle, I really need money urgently."
Uncle Liu refused decisively, "Old Five, I have been doing this for many years. I have always followed the rules. There are no such rules here. You spend money today, he spends money tomorrow, and they all do it this way. What should I do? No, the money will be used until the end of the year."
Huo Chong watched what happened and felt it was very funny. Although it was only half a month, he was not unfamiliar with the industry that his teacher Uncle Liu was engaged in during this era.
As a small leader of Tianlijiao, Liu Shumian not only provides religious services to believers, but also provides another kind of service. In good years, he collects money, and in bad years, he opens a porridge stall to give out porridge. If believers who give money encounter great difficulties, Liu Shu will also help them. He may even provide financial assistance.
As long as these contents are slightly modified and written into a "user agreement" in sophisticated legal language, it will be an agreement for a P2P platform. Huo Chong was also forced to join this business during the Qing Dynasty. He felt that if there was any will of heaven, it must be full of malice to play with the common people.
Seeing that he couldn't get the money, Lao Wu still tried to persuade him. Uncle Liu didn't even look at him and started talking to the people next to him. Just as Lao Wu couldn't help scratching his head, a man ran into the yard and arrived at the door in a blink of an eye. It turned out to be Uncle Liu's second apprentice Zhu Youquan.
Zhu Youquan ran to the door, wanting to go in but not daring to. Uncle Liu saw this and stood up and walked to the door, asking something in a low voice. Zhu Youquan immediately said anxiously: "Master, something happened!"
Uncle Liu pushed Zhu Youquan so hard that he took two steps back. Then he whispered, "Nothing will happen!"
Zhu Youquan lowered his head quickly, but the anxiety on his face was beyond words. Uncle Liu walked to the wing room first, and Zhu Youquan quickly followed behind Uncle Liu. When everyone saw the two disappear from sight, they turned their eyes back to Huo Chong. After another moment of silence, everyone started to chat with Huo Chong.
Huo Chong had already thought of a set of excuses, which were simple but watertight. Soon, everyone stopped asking about Huo Chong's background, so they asked why Huo Chong's accent sounded so unusual.
Huo Chong could handle his origins, but he had no idea about his accent. He had been taught Mandarin since elementary school, and even when he spoke Mandarin, he spoke with a Shandong accent. It was very different from the pure Shandong dialect of the Qing Dynasty.
Moreover, these people also have something that attracts Huo Chong. Every time he sees the money rat tails of these people, Huo Chong can't help but take a few more glances. In this era, men shaved their heads, leaving only a small piece of hair at the back of their heads, which was used to braid into a small braid.
Seeing that everyone had the same haircut, Huo Chong finally understood that foreign movies would use the ugly haircut of the Qing Dynasty in order to vilify China. However, the haircut of the haircut of the haircut except the forehead in Chinese movies and TV shows was a lie.
Seeing that all the guests had hair that was a thousand-centimeter long, Huo Chong felt even more differently about his master, Uncle Liu. Uncle Liu did not ask Huo Chong why his hair was only three millimeters long, but was very surprised when Huo Chong asked whether he would return to secular life as a monk. Uncle Liu asked a female relative to cut off a strand of hair, braided it into a small braid for Huo Chong, and attached it to the back of his head. Without this strand of hair, it is unknown what Huo Chong would have done.
The guests were not very interested in Huo Chong, and after chatting for a while, they began to talk about local affairs. The content was mainly nonsense, but they gradually heard some information. The local county magistrate was going to be promoted, and he was going to get some money before leaving. The runners were plundering in various ways, so everyone tried to avoid them.
An old man named Zhang mentioned that someone in Lin County was arrested because of the literary inquisition. He had a tone of gloating and awe. The man sitting next to him was called Liu Wenyuan. He said to the old man named Zhang who mentioned the literary inquisition with disdain: "I heard that it was the emperor who ordered them to be arrested. It was the emperor! They must have committed a serious crime, so the emperor wanted to kill them. Their crimes are serious!"
Many people nodded. The old man named Zhang who was mentioned earlier nodded, but he was still afraid. "It must be extraordinary for a scholar to do something so great that even the emperor knows about it."
Liu Wenyuan curled his lips, "The literary inquisition will implicate everyone, and no one in the family can escape. Speaking of which, these people are just cheap after reading books. Being a good scholar is as uncomfortable as sticking dried flowers. Now you know who is older."
Huo Chong listened to the nonsense quietly, trying his best to use the information contained in these people's words to enrich the knowledge of the social system he had begun to build. Then he heard footsteps outside the door, looked up and saw Uncle Liu coming in with a stern look, and said absentmindedly: "Everyone, everyone has seen my apprentice. I have something else to do today, so everyone go back. I will treat you all to a drink when I have time."
Everyone looked at each other, all disappointed. Liu Wenyuan said tentatively: "Since we are becoming his apprentice, we should let this kid toast us a drink."
Seeing Liu Wenyuan's expectant face, Huo Chong turned his eyes away from him and laughed inwardly. After a formal event like apprenticeship, a banquet should be set up. If there is no major event, it will definitely not be cancelled according to Shandong's rules. However, Uncle Liu has already announced the cancellation, and this person is still looking forward to this meal, which is really a bit tactless.
Before anyone else could join in, Uncle Liu said, "Huo Chong, you invite everyone to dinner. I have something to do and I'll be out first."
Huo Chong asked quickly: "Master, do you want me to go with you?"
At this time, the second brother Zhu Youquan walked outside with a stern face to wait for the master. After hearing what Huo Chong said, Zhu Youquan cast an unfriendly look at Huo Chong. Huo Chong sighed in his heart. Master Liu Shu was very good to him, which made the brothers unhappy.
Although what the fifth brother said was unpleasant to hear, it was not wrong. If he met the eldest brother, who knows what would happen.
Just as I was feeling uneasy, I heard Uncle Liu respond, "You stay here to entertain the guests. I'll take your second brother with me."
