Chapter 2: The Wind Rises from Zhongshan Mountain Chapter 57: Changing the Family
When the long procession, with banging and banging, escorted the four sedan chairs back to Caijia Lane, the deafening sound of firecrackers continued like cooking porridge.
There were also lion dancing and stilt walkers on the street, and with the sound of gongs and drums, the entire Caijia Lane became a sea of joy.
The sedan stopped at Dashiqiao. The four men lifted the curtain and looked out, only to see three long paths paved with yellow paper, leading all the way to the alley where Wei Ji Xian Dao was.
"This is called continuous yellow armor!" Yu Jiachang said with excitement, his face flushed, "The juren gentlemen are walking on yellow paper, and the jinshi are in front!"
"This is a good luck." Zhao Shouzheng jumped out of the sedan chair and landed steadily on the yellow paper. He bowed to the neighbors to express his gratitude while being very careful not to step on empty air.
Although Eryang was not impressed by this simple folk custom, he could not refuse such a generous gesture. Besides, who wouldn't want good luck? So he smiled and bowed as he followed his master into the alley.
At this time, Fan Datong brought over a basin of loose change, and Zhao Hao grabbed handfuls of it and threw it towards the neighbors who were congratulating him.
The neighbors cheered and scrambled for the goods. This joyous scene was something that had never happened before in Caijia Lane.
Others gave tips by throwing copper coins, but when it came to Zhao Hao, he threw silver coins. The title of the richest man in Caijia Lane spread completely.
…
The closer you get to home, the more frequent the firecrackers.
Amid the smoke, Zhao Hao saw a group of people holding sticks standing at the gate of his yard.
If he hadn't seen his uncle and his son among them, he would have thought he had encountered some trouble.
But since Zhao Shouye went to the Qian family to get back his revenge, he has been staying at home pretending to be dead. Now, he can finally see the light of day again!
Zhao Shouye had grown fat and strong over the past few months. With a rosy face, he watched his brother return. He then raised his axe and chopped it hard on the threshold of his brother's house!
"Smash them all!" Seeing that Uncle Zhao took the lead, the others also went in with sticks and smashed them all, smashing the doors and windows that Zhao Hao had replaced only a few months ago into pieces...
"What the hell is this for?" Zhao Hao was anxious, because this was all the money he earned with his hard-earned money.
"Don't worry, sir. All the things in the house have been moved out in advance. This is the custom." Yu Jiachang held Zhao Hao and said with a smile: "After passing the imperial examination, you will become a rich official. Naturally, you have to change your family. The neighbors will work together to help you destroy everything and then replace it with new ones..."
"This is new from the beginning." Zhao Hao said sullenly. Although he was generous, he had a special feeling for this nest that he had originally built.
"Uh... the material is not good enough, let's replace them all with rosewood..." Yu Jiachang hurriedly smiled and comforted him.
Before he finished speaking, there was a loud bang. Uncle Zhao got too excited and swung the hammer at the wall, actually making a big hole in it.
Seeing that the walls were so dilapidated, Tang Youde shouted, "How can a scholar live in such a shabby place? Tear it down! Tear it all down and rebuild it!"
Everyone was in high spirits, so they picked up their hammers and started to knock on the wall. Most of the people demolishing the wall were bricklayers from Caijia Lane. They knocked down a wall in a few strokes, and then shouted and worked together to knock down the three main rooms where Zhao Hao and his son had lived for more than half a year, leaving them in the dust...
"Okay, as long as everyone is happy..." Seeing this, Zhao Hao had nothing else to say.
…
When the commotion had ended, ninety-nine tables of buffet were set up in Caijia Lane.
For three consecutive days, all guests who came to congratulate could sit down and drink.
This time, not only all the delicious chefs and waiters were mobilized, but also chefs from three large restaurants along the Qinhuai River were invited to come over to help.
Wang Fugui, the second largest restaurant tycoon on this street, felt very hurt by this. But after tasting the dishes made by others, he shut up and treated himself as an ordinary diner, eating and drinking heartily.
The residents of Caijia Lane and the citizens of the nearby streets all came in droves. Not only did the three scholars become the center of attention, but even Zhao Hao was surrounded by a group of gentry, asking him what the secret of his teaching was and why he could train two scholars at once...
Zhao Hao was dissatisfied and said, actually there were three of them...
On the surface, he claimed that it was his elder brother's work. But people thought he was hiding it, so they didn't let him go and insisted that he teach them some secrets.
Being forced into a corner, Zhao Hao could only utter: "Uh, let them do more housework..."
"Hey..." The crowd who were full of expectations were greatly disappointed when they heard this, thinking that it seemed that Master Zhao was not going to reveal the secret.
Little did he know that Zhao Hao himself couldn't figure it out either.
Logically speaking, Wang Wuyang and Hua Shuyang should not have ranked so high in the provincial examination, and he did not leak the questions to them, so why did they both take the first and second places?
After thinking about it, Zhao Hao could only conclude that he had bullied them too much, which made them lose their arrogance and stop being impetuous. He also used the knowledge of later generations to keep them company, so that they would start to work hard again driven by their thirst for knowledge. As a result, they improved their rankings...
"Thinking about it this way, I am really a good teacher." Zhao Hao couldn't help but toast himself with a glass of juice.
…
On the other side, Zhao Shouzheng was drunk from drinking one cup after another, and suddenly started crying while sitting there.
The gentleman who was drinking with him asked hurriedly, "Why is Mr. Zhao crying on such a happy day?"
"I think of my old man." Zhao Shouzheng cried and said sadly, "I don't know where he has gone. How great it would be if he could see his useless son finally become successful !"
"Don't worry, brother." Zhao Shouye wiped his tears and said, "I've already made up my mind. Let Zhao Xian take people back to his hometown to look for him. If he can't be found in his hometown, we'll look for him all over the world. We must find him back..."
"Okay..." Zhao Shouzheng looked at his brother with tears in his eyes and said, "I hope the old man is okay..."
"Puff..." At a banquet table in the distance, an old man wearing a deep-brimmed hat, with his back to the Zhao brothers, spat out a mouthful of wine far away.
The elegant lady beside him hurriedly took out a handkerchief to wipe the corners of the old man's mouth.
"The two brothers were drunk and said something out of turn, sir, don't take it seriously..."
The old man turned out to be Zhao Liben, whom the Zhao brothers could not find anywhere in the world.
Although he was determined to be cruel and not care about his descendants.
But how could Zhao Liben sit still on a day that would rewrite the fate of his family? He quietly returned to Nanjing, disguised himself with Ye, and mingled with the crowd at the banquet, looking at his children and grandchildren from afar .
Zhao Liben waved his hand, indicating that he didn't care. At this moment, he lost his usual toughness, and happily wiped his eyes and said, "It is true that misfortunes are closely related to blessings. The ancients were not deceiving me."
Ye asked softly, "Since you are so happy, why don't you show up and enjoy it with us?"
Zhao Liben shook his head decisively and said, "At times like this, we must be patient and wait for them in Jiangbei."
After saying that, he raised his glass, raised it slightly towards Zhao Shouzheng, then drank it all in one gulp, and left quietly with Ye.
