end 1. Brothers
"Sister, sister, wait for me, wait for me and my second brother!"
"No, you two are just followers. Why do you have to follow me wherever I go? I'm going to the girls' school. Did you hear me? It's a girls' school. There are no boys in it!"
"But my second brother and I can also dress up as girls!"
The girl who was walking in front of her with a fierce look suddenly turned around. Her eyebrows and eyes were as beautiful as a painting, but now they were glaring. When the two little children behind her saw her cold face, their faces were filled with tears. Faced with this situation, she immediately felt overwhelmed and had to repeat the four words her parents had repeatedly taught her in her mind.
The eldest sister is like a mother. You can’t be angry, you can’t be angry... It’s because when her mother was in her parents’ home, she was the youngest in the family. So after she gave birth to this daughter, she wanted the whole world to know that she was the eldest sister. So when the twin brothers Zhang Xun and Zhang Ze, who were four years younger than her, were born, they were actually left to her to take care of the two brothers!
She also claimed that she wanted to let her, the elder sister, experience the feeling of being a mother earlier, so she had to keep them from running around, make sure they learned to read and write, and was responsible for beating and scolding them. Anyway, as the eldest sister, she was half a mother! God knows she had wanted to get rid of these two followers for a long time. Finally, now that she was old enough, she could go to a girls' school, and it was legitimate!
Moreover, she could even get rid of the task of managing servants! It was because her mother saw that she could write and count, and this lazy girl even made her learn the housekeeping tasks. Even though her father said that this was exploitation of children, her mother still didn't care.
So, Zhang Luo, who was carrying a schoolbag, could only put his hands on his hips and scolded, "I've already said that I'm going to the girls' school! You two will go to Dad's public school in the future, so don't mention the nonsense of dressing up as women anymore. This is not just a matter of when your mother dressed you up on a whim and made the family laugh for a while. If this gets out in the capital, you won't be able to get married in the future!"
Seeing the two faces in front of him were extremely confused, and it was obvious that they didn't understand what he said. It was estimated that they didn't even understand the meaning of the word "daughter-in-law". Zhang Luo could only scold with a stern face: "A real man should be manly. Don't cry and whine. Now get back to the garden and practice martial arts with Uncle Liu!"
When they heard about martial arts training, the two brothers looked even more miserable. Just like their father, whose martial arts were barely enough to protect himself, the two brothers complained bitterly every time they practiced martial arts. If they were lazy, they would either be severely punished by Uncle Six or severely criticized by their eldest sister who was extremely talented. As a result, they had psychological trauma.
So, the two brothers could only watch their sister walk away. After standing there staring at each other for a while, the elder brother Zhang Xun finally spoke up and said, "My sister went to school alone, and my father and mother went to be their teachers, but we two were left to look after the house. This is so unfair!"
Seeing that his brother Zhang Ze didn't say anything, Zhang Xun looked around, then he took him in and whispered, "Uncle Liu is too strict, why don't we run away from home?"
Zhang Ze's eyes widened immediately, and his first reaction was to oppose, but he rolled his eyes and came up with a better idea. So, the little guy hugged his brother's shoulders and whispered a few words. When he finished speaking, he saw Zhang Xun cheering for the good idea with a happy expression on his face, and then he smiled shyly.
From childhood to adulthood, he was always the one responsible for filling in the gaps in his brother's unsuccessful bad ideas... Of course, the one who was beaten the hardest in the end was always the brother who first proposed it. As for him, after he cried and admitted his mistake, his mother would always give him a break. Although he would soon be exposed by his father and be punished together with his brother, at least he would get less punishment.
Today was the same. If I really ran away from home according to my brother's advice, let alone whether I would encounter flower-shooting gangs or something, even if I was safe and sound, I would definitely be beaten up if I was caught by my parents! But if I followed his idea, at best it would be a false alarm, nothing serious would happen, and I would get less beatings... He was really smart!
So, when a group of little guys finished their meticulous training in the martial arts training ground - even though these people are now married, in Ah Liu's eyes, they are still young and immature little guys - Ah Liu found that the brothers Zhang Xun and Zhang Ze were late, so he knew that the lazy brothers had hidden away again.
This was already a daily routine for him, so when he saw Yang Hao coming to report with a bitter look on his face, he said nonchalantly, "I'll go look for it, you guys continue."
Seeing that Ah Liu left after saying this, the young men in the martial arts training ground, who were sweating profusely, breathed a sigh of relief, and then couldn't help but discuss in groups of three or four what trouble the two young masters had caused this time.
Unlike the eldest daughter Zhang Luo, who inherited her martial arts talent perfectly from her mother, the twins who were long awaited by everyone and just born, except for their looks, which really combined the advantages of their parents, were not very good in other aspects. They were tired of practicing martial arts, often made mistakes in math, and stumbled in reading and recognizing words, but they were first-rate at being lazy and slacking off.
Obviously, their mother is a martial arts genius, and their father is a mathematics genius. These twins were born with a silver spoon in their mouths. It is impossible that the garden will be inherited by the eldest daughter in the future, right?
Ah Liu didn't care what other people thought. He walked on the wall as if walking on flat ground, his eyes were like a hawk, and he had been patrolling from a high position for a long time in Zhang Garden, so no one dared to hide in the corners to do anything illegal. Everyone who looked up and saw him was worried for the two young masters.
When the news reached Wu, she paced around the room for a while, and then she couldn't help but curse: "Why can't these two naughty little things be as worry-free and sensible as their sister? They finally came out after much anticipation. When they were born, Mrs. Zhao personally saw them and then passed away with a smile. Fortunately, she didn't see them being so useless!"
Despite the scolding, Wu still instructed Jin Mama: "Hurry up and send a message to Ah Shou at the public school, telling him that Xiaoxun and Xiaoze are missing again, and Ah Liu is looking for them. Don't let him concentrate on teaching the students and ignore his two sons!"
Mother Jin couldn't help laughing and agreed repeatedly, but she thought in her heart that the two brothers could only find a little sense of security with Zhang Shou. As for Zhu Ying and Zhang Luo, they really suppressed them without mercy. When the children were two or three years old, Zhu Ying often dressed them up as girls, but when they grew up, she disliked it. Zhang Luo often scolded people fiercely.
Of course, the one who was the most ruthless in teaching the two brothers a lesson was Ah Liu. With the permission of Zhang Shou and Zhu Ying, he had called the two young masters by their first names since they were young and beat them whenever they should, as if he didn't care at all that they were the future owners of Zhang Garden.
Today, the brothers Zhang Xun and Zhang Luo suddenly disappeared. If they were caught by Ah Liu, they would definitely be beaten up. Wu, as a grandmother, couldn't stop him, but she felt sorry for her grandsons!
However, although Jin's mother's letter was sent, Ah Liu, who used to be able to quickly find the two brothers, today still couldn't find any trace of the brothers after searching the whole house. Since there are many rooms in the house, he thought about it and searched in each room, but in the end he found no clues.
Finally, the boy walked around the walls and found a few words neatly carved with a branch in a corner of the wall: "Don't look for us."
Looking up at the high inner courtyard wall, Ah Liu easily jumped to the top, and after carefully checking all the traces, a faint smile appeared on his lips. The two little guys actually learned the trick of confusing the enemy, but if they wanted to make it look like they were climbing over the wall and sneaking out, it would not be enough to just climb the wall here and lie on the top of the wall for a while.
These two lazy little guys didn't even want to jump down and pretend to run away. Instead, they climbed up the wall with great effort and then returned the same way... Did they think it was too much trouble to climb over the wall and then climb back? Speaking of which, in this regard, they are really a lot like the young master, just as lazy. Should he be said to be worthy of being the young master's son?
Even though Zhang Shou was getting older and was married with children, he was no longer called "young master" in the family, no matter how unwilling he was. Only Ah Liu still kept the old name. The two brothers in the family who were called "young masters" were not much different from other little guys in his eyes, so even when Zhang Shou insisted on keeping him at home to take care of the children, he finally had no choice but to give in.
"Heh, playing hide-and-seek with me..."
As a result, the servants of Zhang Garden were soon baptized by a storm. The wine, dice and various interesting gadgets that were usually hidden were all revealed during Ah Liu's single-handed search, so that many people, while beating their chests and stamping their feet, immediately rubbed their hands and joined the ranks of helping, intending to find the two brothers.
Would it be unjust to let them suffer this unprovoked disaster if we don't let them get a good beating at the hands of Ah Liu?
However, Zhang Garden is too big, and relative to its area, the number of servants employed is much less than that of a mansion of the same size. The brothers Zhang Xun and Zhang Ze have no other skills. They have been running around in this huge house since they were young, and the house is so small that they have a natural advantage in hiding from people's sight.
Therefore, a large group of people gathered together and it took a while to sort out the witness trajectory. After Ah Liu drew a map on the ground, his face immediately turned black. Not only him, but the other people who came to join in the fun also scattered like birds and beasts. It was very simple. They were very sure that as long as the two young masters were caught next, they would definitely be grilled bamboo shoots!
When Ah Liu arrived at a seemingly inconspicuous yard, opened the secret door, and saw the clear steps, he knew that the two little guys had indeed come here.
After all, this is not the main entrance of Tiangongfang, but an emergency escape route. It is not a big secret at home - because in the past few years, when experimenting with something, Tiangongfang had to be evacuated every now and then, so it could not be kept secret at all. Therefore, this is not to prevent external enemies, but purely to leave an escape route...
As for the secret door in Tiangongfang that used to lead to the outside of the palace, which was also registered with the emperor and was later invaded from outside the palace, it had long been completely blocked again. In order to prevent the same thing from happening again, Zhang Shou even used the traditional method of cement.
Therefore, because a special key is needed to activate the secret door mechanism, no one usually walks here, so the steps are inevitably dusty. But now, the continuous small footprints clearly told him that the two brothers came here!
This secret door was set up later. He, Zhu Ying and Zhang Shou each had a stone key to open the mechanism, and the spare key was locked in the box by Wu. It was hard for him to imagine that the two brothers could get the key from Zhu Ying and Zhang Shou, and Wu had always doted on them, so maybe they had dug the key out from the bottom of the box. As for the secret door here...
Maybe someone in the family was gossiping! And the two brothers were happy to touch here and knock there, so they found the clues. However, this secret door is not something you can just sneak into!
Thinking of this, Ah Liu did not go in immediately, but quietly closed the secret door outside, and then locked it with another mechanism. Although this secret door was not a secret, the road leading to Tiangongfang was dark and full of forks, like a maze - of course, there would be no danger, it was all flat ground, but there was only one way to escape from it after activating the mechanism.
It’s a good opportunity to teach these two daring brothers a lesson!
Although he received the urgent message sent by Wu, Zhang Shou remained calm and composed until the end of the class, and then went home a little earlier than usual. He knew his two sons well, and he really didn't think that anyone could do anything big under Ah Liu's nose.
As for running away from home... the inner courtyard wall is easier to cross, but the outer courtyard wall is more difficult. Do you really think that the alarm mechanisms on the outer courtyard wall that Hua Qi set up are just for scare people?
And it was even more impossible for them to hide in the carriage and luggage and sneak out. There was no way this pair of identical brothers could get into a place like a stable!
So, when he got home leisurely, he saw Ah Liu approaching him with a dark face and said bluntly: "Zhang Xun and Zhang Luo secretly ran to Tiangong Workshop!"
This was an answer that Zhang Shou didn't expect, especially after learning that the people had entered through the secret escape door. However, when he asked with a smile whether the two had gotten lost in the dark maze, Ah Liu didn't answer at all. It was Yang Hao who was standing beside him who said cautiously, "They were well prepared. They even brought a Mingwa lamp, and I don't know where they found a dozen balls of string to take with them."
"The two young masters said that they brought the lantern because they heard you say that if the light gradually dimmed or even went out, it meant that the yang energy for breathing was insufficient, and they should immediately return the same way. The ball of thread is used to mark the way."
Although Yang Hao mistook oxygen for yang energy, Zhang Shou still roughly understood why Ah Liu had such a gloomy face at this moment - it turned out that he had been planning to teach the two brothers a lesson, but he didn't expect that he would actually go to the Tiangong Workshop!
The more he thought about it, the more interesting it became. He immediately laughed. After nodding to Yang Hao, he hooked his finger at Ah Liu to signal him to follow. After entering the gate, he asked the two brothers if they were still staying in Tiangong Workshop, and then he went straight to them.
When Zhang Shou entered from the main entrance of Tiangongfang, which also led to the underground, and went down a few steps, he heard a crisp voice: "Brother Wu, this steam engine is amazing. Can it really carry more than a horse-drawn carriage?"
"What are railroad tracks? You just said you want to use railroad tracks to pave the road, and you want to put some wood in the middle like pillows. How much does that cost?"
"Uncle Guan, is this really a steel ship? Why doesn't it sink in the water?"
Hearing the words "Brother Wu" and "Uncle Guan", Zhang Shou couldn't help but stroke his chin gently, thinking that his two sons were not good at other things, but their ability to answer questions was not bad. It was a pity that their talents in mathematics and writing were a bit useless. Their sister's mental arithmetic ability was already very strong at this age, but they stumbled when it came to their turn.
Anyway, it’s just like practicing martial arts, the two of them can’t see any talent.
Therefore, he did not suddenly grab one of them by the collar until he quietly appeared behind them. After the boy hurriedly called out "Uncle Six, spare me" twice, he saw that it was him and his face suddenly became extremely honest and simple. He knew that this was Zhang Ze who came out of the womb a little later.
He is the younger brother who always puts his elder brother ahead in everything.
As soon as he saw his father's meaningful smile, Zhang Ze knew that something was wrong. As soon as Zhang Shou let go, he quickly knelt down and hugged his father's thighs: "Dad, you haven't brought me and my brother to Tiangongfang for a long time, so we wanted to come and take a look!"
I definitely didn’t skip classes because I was afraid of practicing martial arts!
Zhang Xun shouted out what Zhang Ze didn't say in the second half of the sentence. As a result, Zhang Shou didn't answer, and Ah Liu took the older one aside to grill bamboo shoots. Zhang Ze also didn't escape the disaster. When his crying brother was beaten and thrown back, he was also picked up by Ah Liu and received no less than ten slaps on his buttocks.
When he came back pitifully rubbing his butt, he saw Zhang Shou talking to the two people he had just talked to. As the future owner of Zhang Garden, Tiangongfang was a place they were curious about but could hardly enter, so whether it was Guan Qiu, who had black hair and black eyes like himself, or Wu Dawei, who had a strange appearance, this was their first close contact.
In the past, they had only seen it from afar, and even when they came to visit with their parents two or three times, it was never their turn to speak.
So, since he had been beaten, Zhang Ze had to quietly pull his brother's clothes to make this silent brother speak less, and then prick up his ears to listen. When he heard Zhang Shou asking about the progress and then saying a bunch of words that he didn't understand at all, he took the opportunity to shout: "Dad, I want to learn from Uncle Guan and Brother Wu!"
Railroad tracks, steam engines, and the reconstruction of blast furnaces for steelmaking...this is much more interesting than martial arts and mathematics!
Zhang Xun's eyes widened, but because he wanted to be consistent with his brother in everything, he quickly parroted his own words. However, what followed was not his father's opposition or ridicule, nor was it simply approval and support.
"Learn something? You think the things in this workshop are interesting, so you want to learn them, right? But do you know to make something, you need to learn math, which you hate the most? And you also need to learn physics, which is more difficult than math?"
"You know that if the lights go out, there is no oxygen and people cannot survive. You know that you can at least find a way out of the maze by letting out the thread. But these are just small cleverness. Small cleverness is different from great wisdom. Great wisdom is not only innate, but also acquired through learning. Even I have only learned the basics."
Zhang Ze opened his mouth wide. He had never thought that he still had to learn these things that looked so interesting! He glanced at his brother who was also confused, and muttered softly, "Dad, don't coax us..."
Zhang Shou did not scold him directly, but waved his hand to signal Wu Dawei, who had transformed from a blond boy to a blond young man, to come over, and then said slowly: "Come, Brother Wu, tell your two younger brothers what you have learned."
If he were in Florence, David Wu was sure that he would be the brightest star at all kinds of balls and parties. Because of good diet, good education, and various martial arts trainings he was forced to undergo, he was extremely tall and now had both the skill of a knight and the elegance of an intellectual in his every move.
However, what made him happiest at this moment was that Zhang Shou said that the twin sons were his younger junior fellow apprentices. In other words, although he started to formally follow Zhang Shou in learning mathematics very late, he was indeed regarded as a direct disciple by the other party.
Therefore, facing these two little guys who showed no fear or awe when they first came into close contact with him and saw his appearance which was completely different from Mingren, the corners of his mouth gradually rose, revealing a very gentle smile, and then he said earnestly: "Two little brothers, to make these things you just saw, you really need to learn a lot."
"In addition to the mathematics and physics that the teacher just mentioned, there are also aerodynamics, fluid mechanics, materials science, metallurgy..."
Wu Dawei, who also learned the skill of deceiving from Zhang Shou, opened his mouth with a long list of dazzling names, and successfully made the two identical brothers' eyes full of stars. When this course of reading out the names of dishes came to an end, he said amiably: "Are you sure, my two junior brothers, do you really want to learn?"
"In no mood!"
"think!"
These two completely different voices sounded almost at the same time, not to mention Wu Dawei, even Zhang Shou couldn't help but be stunned. As a result, he saw his two sons staring at each other for a long time, and then he found that the younger one shouted angrily: "Brother, why are you so useless!"
"It's too tiring. I don't want to learn so many things!" Zhang Xun refuted confidently. Seeing his brother looking at him with an adult's distressed eyes, he suddenly felt guilty again. But after hesitating for a long time, he still straightened his chest and said, "Dad once said that in this world, some people are academic masters, and some are academic losers. No matter how hard you work, it's useless!"
"And I'm a poor student!"
At this moment, thinking that he had indeed used such words to comfort his wife who was disappointed with him in front of Zhu Ying, Zhang Shou couldn't help but want to cover his face. This was really the first time he had seen such a scumbag who was so self-righteous... And this scumbag was his son! What a sin, he had saved many scumbags in his life, and now it seemed that he might have to save his own son!
Therefore, he stared at Zhang Xun for a long time, until the little guy lowered his head in guilt, and then he said helplessly: "It is important for people to know themselves. It is better for you to know that you are a poor student than to think that you are invincible. All roads lead to the capital, and there are many other choices in this world. Even if you plan to sit and lie around for the rest of your life..."
"Is it really possible?" Zhang Xun was so overjoyed that he even interrupted Zhang Shou's words. But when he heard a loud cough behind him and realized that it was his twin brother who was reminding him, he was slightly startled and his face gradually turned pale.
He actually revealed to his father that he planned to live a lazy life!
Zhang Xun subconsciously turned around and ran away, but he forgot that he had just been severely spanked, and he bumped into someone with his head before he ran two steps. He looked up and found that it was Ah Liu. He immediately squatted on the ground with his head in his hands, like a wilted cabbage, and shouted repeatedly: "I was wrong! Dad, Uncle Ah Liu, I was wrong!"
Ah Liu picked up the little guy directly, but then he felt someone hugging his thigh. He looked down and saw Zhang Ze with a pleading face. He was stunned for a moment, but ignored him and raised his head to look at Zhang Shou, his eyes as serious as ever.
Zhang Shou believed that if he showed some interest, Ah Liu would beat up the older twin brother again. So he shook his head and said, "Everyone has their own ambitions. We can't force them. Xiaoze is willing to learn these things. Then, Wu Dawei, you can teach your junior brother and see what kind of talent he has. If he doesn't have any talent, he can only rely on hard work."
"As for Xiaoxun, you can live a life of idleness and wait for death, but your mother and I have set the rules for this family. You will get the same amount of property as your ability. If Aze is able to inherit Tiangong Workshop with his sister in the future, but you know nothing and can't do anything, then you won't get a share of it."
"Since you don't want to study and become an official, you won't be able to keep this big house in the capital. So I can only give you one of your mother's farms. You go to the countryside and be a small landlord, leading your tenants to farm the land..."
Zhu Ying, who had just returned from outside, pulled her daughter Zhang Luo. She had frowned at first, but now she was laughing so hard that her body was shaking, but she was still trying not to make a sound. As for Zhang Luo behind her, he covered his eyes, as if he felt that the scene of his brother being taught by his father was simply horrible.
Sure enough, when he heard that he would have to leave the capital in the future and stay at home quietly to avoid being picked on and bringing trouble to his sister and brother, and that his good friends in the future - which were actually just his cousins, and at most the two little guys in Senior Brother Lu's family whom he could call nephews - would gradually become distant, just because they were not from the same world... Zhang Xun's face finally changed.
Zhang Luo couldn't help but mutter that her father was fooling people like this, but when she turned her head, she found that her mother, who was almost unable to hold back her laughter just now, was gradually stunned. She was slightly stunned, and then she asked in a low voice in disbelief: "Mom, isn't Dad just fooling Xiaoxun, is he serious?"
Zhu Ying, who had just laughed until tears came out, wiped her eyes gently, and then did not answer Zhang Luo's words. Instead, she appeared and walked forward. When Zhang Xun finally noticed her coming, she saw that the twin brother had a sad face and looked at her pitifully, as if praying that she could overturn what Zhang Shou had said before.
Zhu Ying had always been quite rough with her two sons, but this time she gently stroked the little guy's head and then smiled slightly, "I actually still have uncles and uncles, and your grandfather actually also has two uncles, but now, they are not in the capital, but in insignificant minor officials far away."
"Even for such minor officials, there are people constantly monitoring them to see if they make mistakes or take bribes. Because they are relatives of the emperor but do not have much talent, this is the only way to avoid unrealistic ambitions. My grandmother told me before she died that they hated her and the queen mother. In fact, they probably also hated my father, me, and all the people who enjoyed wealth and glory in the capital."
"Ah Xun, if you have no talent and are not willing to work hard, then in the future you will just be like those elders whom you may never meet."
Although Zhang Xun, who was still young, didn't understand what Zhu Ying said, he still understood that his mother had confirmed that his father's words were not a threat! So, the older brother was finally stimulated by the strong desire to survive and jumped up, shouting: "I will learn whatever you learn, I was just lazy and didn't study hard before!"
"I just thought that if I couldn't learn anything, my parents and sister wouldn't push me so hard!"
"Brother you are such an idiot!"
After hearing his brother Zhang Xun's careless words, and his brother Zhang Ze's subsequent scolding and then rushing over to cover his mouth, Zhang Shou was stunned for a moment before he sneered. Glancing at Zhu Ying again, he saw that the child's mother was so angry that her eyebrows were raised, as if she was going to explode in the next second!
Although as a father, he should have said a few words of persuasion, but seeing Zhu Ying carrying the children away without saying a word, he glanced at his eldest daughter who was standing there in a daze, and then added casually: "Lolo, your two brothers are born in the year of the monkey. You must be more careful in the future and don't be fooled by them."
"I really didn't expect that such a pair of clowns born to your mother and I would actually play dumb just to be lazy!"
Wu Dawei was already squatting there pounding his fist with laughter, while Guan Qiu, who was more honest, also turned his back to hide the smile on his face. Ah Liu's originally stiff face became even darker. He took a deep breath and said word by word, as if he was giving a military order: "There is no future."
These five words could easily cause ambiguity. Zhang Shou could not help but mourn for the future of his two sons, and at the same time he breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, otherwise, the setting of a pair of poor-student sons would really make people vomit blood!
