Chapter 21 Urgent Situation
When Zhu Hao got everything ready to go home, it was already dark.
When he came back, he found that the store was closed, which was inconsistent with the business strategy that Zhu Hao had told Zhu Niang.
Zhu Hao had analyzed before that in order to paralyze the Zhu family and make them think that the money was earned by selling rice and official salt, it was necessary to ensure normal business operations, and even find some "fake customers" to visit the store to create the illusion of a bustling business.
Arrived at the back courtyard.
Zhu Hao's heart sank when he saw Butler Liu standing outside the main courtyard gate. After entering, he saw old lady Zhu Jia sitting in the middle of the hall, lecturing Zhu Niang, who was standing in front of her with a respectful look on her face.
Aunt Li didn't even have the qualifications to enter the house, and could only stand by the moon gate and look into the main house.
"...Old Third's family, it's not that your mother wants to embarrass you, everything is for the sake of the only son left by Old Third. Do you want to remarry in the future? If you can't take care of your husband, you have to teach your son well...
"If you don't want to go back, my grandson won't be able to study with the older children in the family. So you should just go back with me. I'll leave the shop to you. Just don't live in the city. It will make people think that my Zhu family is falling apart."
In Zhu Hao's opinion, the old lady's visit was to continue to put pressure on her daughter-in-law, but this time she was not very strong. She was just using Zhu Hao as a breakthrough point to attack her psychological defense.
Just as Zhu Hao analyzed before, if the older one can't be cured, how can the younger one be controlled? As Zhu Hao is now eight years old and still hasn't started to learn, the Zhu family has a reason to take the child back.
After you bring him back, will you really give him a chance to study? Isn't everything in the hands of the old lady? How can you, Zhu Niang, not be obedient?
Zhu Niang said: "Mother, actually my daughter-in-law has found a teacher for Xiaohao. He started learning yesterday and performed the formal ceremony of paying respect to his teacher."
This statement surprised Zhu Jia.
Zhu Jia said, "Really? I wonder which gentleman in the city he is? I would like to thank him very much!"
Is this a thank you?
They clearly wanted to knock on my door and give me a fight. They knew this was my Zhu family's internal affairs, but they dared to get involved. Are they tired of living? They dared to mess with the Jinyiwei?
Zhu Niang said hurriedly, "He is a gentleman who passed by Anlu. He has a distinguished family background and is in contact with the teachers in the palace. His profound knowledge is admirable... My daughter-in-law also heard that he was a juren."
When Zhu Jia heard Zhu Niang say "she has contacts with the tutor in the palace", her brows furrowed and her eyes instantly became sharp, obviously she took it very seriously.
But after hearing what happened next, his expression turned indifferent again.
"Third son's wife, are you obsessed with your son's education? Even if a juren takes in disciples, I have never heard of taking in an uneducated child... After passing the juren exam, one can already be selected as an official and perform duties. Would you condescend to teach a child?"
Zhu Jia's attitude was firm. "Besides, how can someone with unknown origins teach my child casually? Maybe he has other intentions because of the Zhu family's background."
"But, mother..."
Zhu Niang wanted to argue more.
Unexpectedly, Zhu Jia raised her hand and said, "I have said all the good and bad things to you. If you still refuse to change your ways, you can find a teacher for your child... Let me tell you this, as long as the Zhu family speaks out in the city, don't even think about finding a teacher for him, even if you want him to learn to read or become an apprentice to learn a craft!"
He was originally speaking in a friendly and reasonable manner.
This is already unreasonable.
In Zhu Hao's opinion, his grandmother was such a strong person that she insisted on keeping everything and everyone under her control, which was unreasonable.
"I came to the city today just to check the accounts, and I came to see you by the way... Now that I have finished my work, it is time to leave the city. Old Third, you should think about it carefully..."
After the old lady finished speaking, she stood up and left.
When she saw Zhu Hao at the door, Zhu Jia's face was full of indifference. It seemed that she did not have much affection for this grandson, or maybe she was angry with Zhu Hao because her daughter-in-law always contradicted her.
…
…
The night is dark.
There was a small candle in the room.
The family had their meal around the newly bought candlesticks. The food was delicious, but Zhu Niang and Aunt Li couldn't muster up any energy.
"Mom, candles are still brighter. I'll use candles when I study in the future. They are much better than tung oil lamps. It's great to make money."
Zhu Hao wanted to liven up the atmosphere at the dinner table.
Zhu Niang looked at her son and sighed softly: "Xiaohao, I think you should have heard what your grandmother said. If I continue to go against my family, you will not even be qualified to study. How can you study late at night in the future?"
"Mom, if we can't find a local teacher, we can find one from other places. It's not like Anlu is the only place in the world that has teachers. It's fine even if you send me to a private school. Studying with my peers and encouraging each other may help promote academic progress."
Zhu Hao had an optimistic expression on his face, which made Zhu Niang feel even more uncomfortable.
Aunt Li asked, "Madam, do you want to... obey for Master Hao?"
Zhu Niang did not express any opinion.
If it was just for herself, she would have gritted her teeth and persevered , but when it came to the child's future, the mother hesitated.
Zhu Hao said seriously, "Mom, have you forgotten our agreement? It's not the end of the month yet, and grandma is just stopping by to put pressure on you. If you give in, what will our efforts mean? Should we hand over our salt drying method to our family? How can we be worthy of Dad's spirit in heaven?"
Zhu Niang shook her head. "In order for you to read books, I will endure any hardship. I don't want you to hang out in the streets at such a young age... Look at how you have been hanging out with Uncle Zhong and the others recently. As the saying goes, 'A red plum is red, a black plum is black.' Are you going to be a peddler in the future? And...if you don't return to the Zhu family, how are you going to inherit your father's military position? This step will have to be taken sooner or later..."
Zhu Niang thinks long-term.
Even if Zhu Hao really found a teacher and started to learn to read, it was still a low probability event for him to succeed through studying and passing the imperial examination.
In the end, the most likely possibility is to inherit the military position. Zhu Hao's father died loyal to the Ming Dynasty, so he can be said to have a good family background. There should be no problem in taking over, but the prerequisite is that he must obey the family arrangements, because this military position was brought to Zhu Hao by the Zhu family, not Zhu Niang.
"Master Hao, I think...what your mother said makes a lot of sense."
This time even Aunt Li was shaken.
In fact, Aunt Li was most afraid of returning to the Zhu family because she was just a concubine. If the Zhu family insisted on assigning her a husband, she would have no way to refuse.
But Aunt Li cared a lot about Zhu Hao's future, and she did not hesitate to return to the Zhu family even though she knew it was dangerous.
Zhu Hao sighed.
He could see that both women were becoming paranoid. It was useless to persuade them verbally. They could only break free through their own actions.
"Mom, aunt, no matter what you think, at least delay it until the end of the month. We can't give up on our own initiative. Just give me a chance and fight for it."
Zhu Hao said in an eager tone.
Zhu Niang asked in confusion: "Xiaohao, what do you mean by striving for..."
Zhu Hao couldn't explain it. He couldn't just say that he would work hard to become a servant in Prince Xing's Palace, right?
Be willing to be lowly!
If I tell her about it, Zhu Niang will definitely not agree.
"Mom, I'm currently studying the Four Books and Five Classics with Mr. Lu. If you don't believe me, I'll recite a passage for you. I've also learned how to write. Three to five hundred words are no problem. If you don't believe me, I'll write a few words for you to see..."
Zhu Hao didn't have time to eat. Now he just wanted to make Zhu Niang feel at ease.
Zhu Niang had already bought writing brushes, ink, paper and inkstone, and she took them out immediately upon hearing this. Then, under the watchful eyes of Zhu Niang and Aunt Li, Zhu Hao splashed ink and wrote down Tang Bohu's "Song of Peach Blossom Cottage" on a piece of white paper. He deliberately wrote in a sloppy manner so that Zhu Niang would not be able to find many flaws.
Seeing the end, Aunt Li said happily: "I said that Master Hao is a good student. It's only been two days, but he knows so many characters and writes so well... Your mother is always worried that you will go out to play, it seems that you really go to study."
Just one sentence revealed what the two people were saying secretly.
Zhu Niang must have complained to Aunt Li, thinking that her son had been hanging around the city lately, always going out for no reason and being gone all day. If he continued like this, his future would be ruined. So she thought about letting him return to the Zhu family, where at least there would be some restraint.
"Mom, no matter what choice you make at the end of the month, at least let me study with Mr. Lu for a few more days while he's still in Anlu, okay?"
Zhu Hao pleaded with an innocent smile on his face.
If she didn't even agree to this condition, Zhu Niang felt that she was ashamed of her son, so she nodded and said, "Then you study hard. If you can impress Mr. Lu and let him stay in Anlu for a long time, I will never let you return to the Zhu family."
…
…
Zhu Hao felt the urgency of time.
It was almost the end of June, and he only had about ten days left. If his plan failed, he would probably be put in a cage and tied up at Zhu's house. If he wanted to get out, it would all depend on the Zhu family's attitude...
At this moment, he hated his small body for not being able to be independent, and he hated the Zhu family for being aggressive even more.
He has prepared for the worst.
"If I really have to go back to the Zhu family, I would rather sell the secret recipe of drying salt to Su Dongzhu, exchange it for some money, take my mother, aunt, and sister and run away. At worst, I can make a comeback somewhere else."
Although they knew that this plan was crazy, it was impossible for two widows with children to travel far, and it would be difficult to get official travel permits.
But he knew that Su Dongzhu had a strong network of connections and might be able to accomplish all these things. After all, the salt-drying method he possessed was equivalent to an inexhaustible mountain of gold and silver, and no one would dislike it.
The next day.
As soon as daybreak, Zhu Hao went to the hill outside the city again to check the traps and other items he had set up personally. After making sure that there was no problem, he returned to the city and went to the Flower and Bird Market to wait for the child from Prince Xing's Mansion.
It was past noon, and Zhu Hao looked up at the sky, thinking that it should be lunch time in the palace. However, after waiting for another half an hour, he still didn't see the young man come out.
"If he doesn't come, all our efforts will be wasted."
Zhu Hao could only wait.
Zhu Hao waited until the sun was setting and felt that there was little hope, but then he saw two children jogging towards him, one in front and one behind.
They didn't seem to come out from the palace gate, and it was hard to say where they came from.
But according to Zhu Hao's observation, there were no guards from the palace following them, and no one was paying attention in secret, which meant... they were doing this without telling the adults.
This is a big step forward towards the completion of Zhu Hao's plan...but I don't know who the person who followed out is.
