Chapter 58 Mr. Zhu
To start a class, you need to make a blackboard first.
No problem!
Zhu Hao and Zhu San came out of the yard together. Jing Hong followed behind and reminded them in a low voice: "Lu Dianzhang won't let us go out."
Zhu San said disdainfully: "You listen to him? We are not leaving the palace... Zhu Hao, where do you want to go?"
Zhu Hao looked at Lu Bing.
After all, this person is Lu Song's son, sent by Lu Song to act as a spy.
But at this time, Lu Bing's eyes were shining brightly. Obviously, when he heard that there was something fun, he didn't care about being a spy for his father. He could even charge forward himself and lead Zhu Hao.
"Let's go to the East Courtyard... Although the warehouse burned down, there is more than one place in the palace to store wooden boards. Besides, some were rescued during the fire, so there should be some ready-made ones. We also need tools for planing and polishing, and you guys need to help... Jinghong, if you don't want to go, just stay here and study, and we can go by ourselves ."
After Zhu Hao finished speaking, he took Zhu San and Lu Bing away.
Jing Hong did not dare to go at first, but stimulated by Zhu Hao's words, a spirit of not admitting defeat suddenly surged in his heart... Humph, you say I don't dare?
Then I'll go and show you!
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Several children came out from the school yard.
You can't walk into the palace along the alley as there are guards at the door, but if you go outside and take a detour, there will be no problem.
Zhu San was very familiar with the process and walked in front. When he arrived at the door, he didn't even say hello to the gatekeeper. He walked across the front yard with a few children and headed towards the east yard.
It can be said that the royal palace was not very wary of these children.
Zhu San was raised as the prince, Lu Bing was the son of Lu Song, and Zhu Hao was also a celebrity in the palace. Only Jing Hong looked unfamiliar, but when they walked together, it took only a little thought to realize that he was a companion recruited by the palace and the son of the county magistrate.
This combination...
As long as you don't enter the inner courtyard or leave the palace, basically no one will pay attention to you. After all, no one wants to cause trouble for themselves.
Arriving at the East Courtyard, Zhu Hao felt a sense of relief. After all, he had lived here for more than ten days and was already familiar with the surrounding environment. He revisited the old place and went directly to the Carpentry Courtyard to find Old Song who was working.
"Uncle Song."
Zhu Hao greeted with a smile.
Old Song asked in surprise: "Zhu Hao? You...how did you get here?"
Old Song's eyes quickly fell on the children behind Zhu Hao.
Zhu Hao said, "I came here to find some wood boards... I remember that we rescued a few boards from the fire scene before. They should be useless, right? If it's inconvenient, I can buy some... I want to make a big board, paint it black, and write on it."
Old Song had a good relationship with Zhu Hao, so he did not refuse and took Zhu Hao to another warehouse. The warehouse where Zhu Hao lived had been burned to the ground, and workers were currently sorting out the ruins. Once the cleaning was completed, they would rebuild on the same site. Old Song was making beams for the new house.
"All the salvaged boards are piled there. Their surfaces are all blackened. They are probably no longer solid and are considered waste... Just take them if you need them."
Old Song couldn't do anything else, but he thought no one would mind giving Zhu Hao a few broken boards.
Zhu Hao walked over and picked some.
At this moment, Li Shun came out of the warehouse and saw Zhu Hao's face twitching. He didn't care what the little guys were doing and walked away quickly as if he was avoiding the plague god.
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Zhu Hao selected the board and went to look for suitable tools.
Next, he needed to use a planer, a razor and sandpaper to smooth the surface of the wooden board, then ask Lao Song for some black paint to apply on the surface, and also go to the warehouse to select a few pieces of talc.
Obviously, the conditions do not allow for making chalk now, but talc is often used by carpenters. It can be used as a marker, and it can also be made into talcum powder as an additive to white paint. It has a wide range of uses and is usually available in royal palaces.
Zhu Hao was busy all the time. He stopped the carpentry work when he felt it was almost done. He called Lu Bing and Zhu San over and asked them to help with sanding.
Zhu San showed off her little princess temper: "Such a hard job...Xiao Jingzi, you do it."
Jing Hong was originally very friendly towards Zhu San. After all, in his mind, this young master was the prince of the royal palace and the future Prince Xing, and he could not go against his wishes.
But at this moment he still couldn't help but protest: "My name is Jing Hong, you can call me by my full name."
"Xiao Jingzi sounds so nice, why do you want to change it? Don't be stingy, get to work!" Zhu San handed the sandpaper to Jinghong.
Jing Hong reluctantly took the sandpaper and glared at Zhu Hao as he squatted down to work: "Why don't you call him Xiao Haozi?"
Zhu San's eyes narrowed into two crescents: "This is a good idea... But I just like to call you Xiao Jingzi... Xiao Jingzi Xiao Jingzi Xiao Jingzi, get to work!"
Jing Hong was so angry that he almost vomited blood.
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Zhu Hao sat aside to rest, watching the carpenter in the east yard busy at work.
When no one was around, Zhu Hao approached Old Song and asked, "Uncle Song, how is the sharp-haired hoe?"
Old Song said, "He was sent to the government for trial. I heard he was beaten badly. He will probably be exiled to the army next... He asked for it. He actually dared to set fire to the palace... He is just used to it."
There was still a sense of indignation in his words, probably because Hou Chun usually suppressed his subordinates too much, and Jianmao took advantage of his power to bully others, which made Old Song miserable. Now Jianmao was finally handed over to the government for accountability, and the anger was finally vented.
Zhu Hao was very curious. When a family member set fire to the palace, it should be handled in a low-key manner. What did Yuan Zonggao mean by sending the pointed hoe to the government?
While he was thinking about it, Lu Bing and Jing Hong had an argument about polishing the wooden board.
Zhu Hao walked over and touched the surface of the wooden board, which felt very smooth, so he said, "Leave the rest to me."
Then he completed the finishing work, painted it with black paint several times, and after it dried a little, he asked Lao Song to help nail a frame.
Old Song, an old carpenter with superb skills, was extremely cautious in his work. After nailing it, he felt it was not perfect enough, so he made hanging corners around the blackboard. In this way, the blackboard could be easily fixed to the wall.
"Uncle Song, I'll treat you to dinner later. Thank you." Zhu Hao thanked him politely.
Old Song is usually a humble person. He just smiled and went about his own business. Zhu Hao handed the blackboard to Jing Hong and Lu Bing to carry, and the children returned to the west yard.
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It was already noon when we returned to the small courtyard beside the western alley of the palace.
Zhu Hao took out the hammer and nails borrowed from Lao Song and fixed the blackboard to the wall behind the desk. Several children watched with wide eyes. Although this was something Zhu Hao proposed to make, every child participated in it and had an incomparable sense of accomplishment.
"Hey, Zhu Hao, you are quite talented. This thing... is it made of talc? Let me write first..."
Zhu San couldn't help but pick up the talc and leave his handwriting on the blackboard that had not yet been stained by anyone.
Zhu Hao shook his head and thought, how could this be called the princess' temper? She wants her to enjoy good things first, and she is also the first to waste things...
Zhu San wrote some sentences from the Analects that he knew by heart on it, and Jing Hong also wrote a few words on it out of curiosity.
As for Lu Bing, he just casually drew something that looked like a fish on it. In the end, the three children covered the entire blackboard and then looked at Zhu Hao together.
"Zhu Hao, there is no place left, what should I do?"
Zhu San obviously didn't have enough fun.
Zhu Hao sat there and said unhappily, "I made the blackboard for you to use in class, but you messed it up like this... You don't intend to listen to the lecture properly, do you? Okay, okay, I'll make an eraser later so you can wipe off the writing, but now you can only use rags... Does anyone have one?"
The children were not prepared and they searched for a long time before they found a moldy rag in the corner of the yard.
Zhu Hao asked Zhu San to throw away the rag with disdain, and then said: "It's getting late, it's almost time for lunch. I will prepare everything after lunch, and you can come to class in the afternoon... Go yourselves."
It was almost three quarters past noon. Zhu San leaned out of the window to look at the sky. The sun was already at its zenith. He could only reluctantly put down the talc in his hand and took Lu Bing to the inner courtyard.
Jing Hong looked at the two from behind and asked, "Why was Lu Bing able to go to dinner with us?"
Zhu Hao said, "Because Lu Bing's father is the palace guard, his mother... In short, their treatment is different from ours. They can have a special meal at noon... Let's go to the West Courtyard Canteen to eat. If we are late, there may not be food."
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The dining hall on the west courtyard side has more abundant dishes than the one on the east courtyard side because most of the diners are guards. What's more, there are also meat dishes such as braised pork with preserved vegetables and stewed cowpea with pork, which are very delicious.
This time, Jinghong learned from his experience of being hungry yesterday and added rice three times in a row. His stomach was full and he didn't go hungry at night.
Sitting on the chair and burping several times, Jing Hong looked at Zhu Hao sheepishly and asked, "You said the prince has a younger brother named Zhu Si, right? Where is he?"
Zhu Hao smiled and said, "You have a lot of questions. Why did your father ask you to inquire about these?"
Jing Hong was exposed by Zhu Hao's words, and he quickly denied it out of guilt: "No."
"It doesn't matter if there is one. It's said that Prince Xing has only one son, the Crown Prince. But how do you know if Prince Xing has any bastards or illegitimate children? Bastards are sons born to concubines, and illegitimate children are... Oh, you and I are both children. You may not understand these adult matters even if I tell you."
It was just as Zhu Hao said.
After Zhu Hao finished his analysis, Jing Hong's eyes widened and his mouth opened, his expression dull as if he had heard something incomprehensible.
The son born to a concubine?
What the hell is an illegitimate child?
The relationship sounds complicated.
"If you want to know more details, you can only ask Zhu San... She knows her family affairs better than anyone else. As for whether she is willing to tell you... Hehe."
After Zhu Hao finished speaking, he stood up, patted his butt and prepared to leave.
Jing Hong hurriedly asked: "Zhu Hao, why do you know someone in the palace? Have you really... lived in the palace for a while?"
Zhu Hao didn't even turn his head and left a message: "I said I had some experience in the palace, do you think I lied to you? Well, hurry up and pack up, go back to the room and take a nap, I still have classes in the afternoon."
Jinghong was full of doubts.
He also wanted to ask, why is Zhu San so strong towards me and Lu Bing, but so kind to you, as if he treats you as an equal friend?
But Zhu Hao didn't give him the chance to ask questions.
He didn't know that although Zhu San had the temperament of a princess, she was good at changing her attitude according to the situation.
Zhu Hao can catch rabbits and has so many new, delicious and fun things. If you offend Zhu Hao, you will suffer the consequences. Moreover, in Zhu San's mind, Zhu Hao is also very stingy and vengeful.
In this case, I will coax you and snatch all the good things from you. It won’t be too late to punish you then.
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At four quarters after pm, Zhu Hao and Jing Hong appeared in the school dormitory.
Zhu San had returned with Lu Bing earlier. They also brought a dry cloth, dipped it in water and wiped it hard. Although they wiped off the talcum powder, a lot of black paint was also wiped off.
When Zhu Hao came, Zhu San actually felt ashamed of having done something wrong and didn't dare to look Zhu Hao in the eye.
Zhu Hao frowned: "Why didn't you wait for me? Look at what it has become? I'll ask Uncle Song to paint it black again... Stand aside and watch me."
After the blackboard was dry, Zhu Hao took a relatively rough linen cloth and wiped away the remaining talcum powder on it with a light wipe.
"Now I will teach you how to recognize Chinese characters... You can answer quickly to see who knows the characters. If you answer correctly, you will get a reward. You can also guess what the characters are. I can give you some hints, such as the literal meaning, so that you can remember them better..."
In his previous life, Zhu Hao taught Chinese language at a university in Beijing and had extremely rich experience in teaching.
If you teach a few children in your lifetime, wouldn’t it be easy and simple?
