Volume 1 In the Countryside Chapter 20: Bamboo Gentleman and Slaughtering the Fat Sheep
The phrase "mountain people have their own clever ideas" was enough to stop the villagers who were satisfied with being able to renovate their houses, but it was completely unable to stop Miss Zhu's curiosity.
Although Zhang Shou successfully squeezed out some of the money accumulated over the years from his mother Wu, since he had accepted Zhu Ying's sincere kindness and the brocade box containing the eldest lady's private money, he certainly could not refuse her reasonable request now.
At this moment, he would occasionally glance at Zhu Ying beside him, worrying whether she could keep up with him. After all, he was deeply impressed by her weakness the day before yesterday, when she was hungry and sweating profusely under the scorching sun, and was obviously lacking in physical strength. But every time he went to see her, he found that she was looking at him with interest, so he could only look away helplessly.
Unable to bear it any longer, he asked abruptly, "Am I so good-looking?"
"Of course." Zhu Ying smiled generously, and then said to herself, "You are now walking in the bamboo forest in a green shirt, your every move is elegant and natural, as if the bamboo gentleman has reappeared in the world, how can you not look good?"
Even though Zhang Shou comes from an era where one would have no food to eat if he was not thick-skinned, girls would often scream on various social media that someone is so beautiful that they look like XXXX. They can confidently say that they just like how good-looking you are and that a good-looking man is definitely not a scumbag, but that is all a result of the gradual move towards openness and the influence of modern culture.
In this era when even unmarried girls in the countryside are shy and affectionate, Miss Zhu's behavior can be called bold and outrageous. Thinking of Zhu Ying's clear likes and dislikes when she first met him, he couldn't help laughing.
"What do you mean by bamboo gentleman? You make me sound like I'm not worldly. How can I live without firewood, rice, oil, salt, sauce, vinegar and tea? Besides, you've seen me kill animals, cook in the kitchen, and teach the young men in the village. You should know that I'm just a country boy living in the secular world. I'm not so pure and refined."
"So what?" Zhu Ying raised her eyebrows with a smile, "It's not like you're always sad about the passing of time, with your sleeves fluttering and your bones bony as if you can fly away with the wind at any time. That's the demeanor of an immortal. Ah Shou, you are just like this bamboo forest on the mountain, very green and vivid. Don't Buddhists often talk about being in the world and leaving the world? You are like a bamboo gentleman who is in the world !"
"Alright, alright." Zhang Shou finally felt that it was difficult to make fun of himself in front of this young lady, so he could only surrender. "Don't talk about me. You are a gorgeous and rich peony, but you can walk on this mountain road without blushing or breathing hard. I underestimated you."
"I told people I was going to the countryside to inspect my family's property. What would it be like if I stayed at home all day? Besides, I'm very good at riding and archery. I'll show you tomorrow!"
Zhu Ying raised her head slightly, but in her heart she was very satisfied with Zhang Shou's praise of her. She didn't think the peony was vulgar, but if he said that she was as graceful as a startled swan or as graceful as a swimming dragon, she would think it was vulgar.
Because the noble sons of the capital had repeated to her countless times all kinds of poems describing beautiful women.
While feeling proud, Zhu Ying boasted: "I am not the kind of weak and melancholy lady. On the first day I came here, I was so angry with my second brother that I didn't eat much for several days. On the second day, I was dizzy from the sun. Now it is cooler and the scenery is good. I won't feel tired even if I walk another 20 miles!"
As she spoke, she glanced at Zhang Shou again and added something in her heart.
Besides, there was a handsome young man next to her. Why wouldn't she be unwilling to stroll in the bamboo forest with him?
At this moment, the road suddenly came to an end, and what came into view was a tall, square screen with two cute rolling patterns woven from bamboo tubes of different colors. On the screen were three words written in a vigorous and powerful style, different from Zhang Shou's previous handwriting.
"Cui Yun Room."
Zhang Shou read it once, and seeing that Zhu Ying was a little surprised, he smiled and took a quick step to lead the way. When they turned into another inconspicuous path from the seemingly impenetrable bamboo forest, they walked more than ten steps and then turned around.
Sure enough, when Zhu Ying saw that sudden scene, she was obviously stunned.
In the vast open space deep in the bamboo forest on this mountain, there are exquisite bamboo houses scattered in an orderly manner, guarding the slightly yellowed bamboo house in the middle, which is obviously old and has a somewhat quaint or old-fashioned style. And on the bamboo house, there is also a single plaque hanging, with the words "Qingfeng Xulai" written on it, which is exactly the same as the handwriting of the three words "Cuijunjian" on the screen wall.
As for the bamboo houses scattered around , the materials used are obviously newer, and each one has a different shape, with pointed roofs, sloping roofs, and round roofs. They are all made of bamboo frames, and the roofs are covered with thatch, with different styles. Compared with those shabby cottages in the village, this place exudes a sense of freshness.
Zhang Shou knew that although the bamboo frame was painted with tung oil and a layer of oilcloth was laid between the thatched roof and the top of the bamboo frame, it was hard to say how long this kind of building would last. However, in this era without acid rain, it would not be difficult to maintain it for a few years, just like the bamboo house in the middle, which the villagers said was once home to an old hermit and two servants.
Unfortunately, when he traveled through time, the hermit who lived deep in the bamboo forest had disappeared without a trace. Not to mention any classics, even the bottles and jars used in daily life were not left behind. It might be that the shortcut to Zhongnan was difficult to reach, and he could not bear the hard life and had to re-enter the world.
But he thought the architectural style of the bamboo house was good, so he used various small favors to persuade the villagers in their spare time to build bamboo houses around the area over the past two or three years. He planned to build some ancient monuments in the future to attract some money-spending fools to stay here for a while.
In order to prevent bamboo shoots from growing wildly in spring and destroying the houses, all the bamboo houses are built on high elevated bases. Moreover, every spring, the half-grown children in the village happily dig bamboo shoots in the woods and often hide under the bamboo houses to play hide-and-seek, partly to add food to the family table and partly for fun.
He was just thinking that the imagined literati and poets had not yet been attracted, but the playboys might flock to the place. Should he make some changes to the decoration? Suddenly, he heard Zhu Ying burst into laughter.
"Those pretentious pigs don't want to live in the village, let alone stay at your house, but they will most likely be attracted by this quiet and elegant place! But Ah Shou, let me be frank, they are the most lawless guys. Even if they spend money like water on weekdays, it's hard to get them to pay for a place to stay. Even if people really flock here, you can't ask me to personally slaughter these fat sheep, right?"
Zhang Shou was originally thinking about this problem. When he turned around and saw Zhu Ying who was very interested, he suddenly had an idea and thought of a very good idea... or rather, a bad idea.
"It's impossible to charge money. How can a hermit who can create such a large bamboo forest be a businessman who pursues money? However, if the condition of staying here is changed from paying money to solving a puzzle, it should be elegant enough, right? If I can't solve the puzzle, I will lose face in front of you. Who can tolerate it? Isn't it natural to pay money to buy face in this way?"
Well, now that I've said this, shouldn't you understand that I'm actually a vulgar young man who cares a lot about money?
Zhang Shou thought so in his heart, but who knew that as soon as he finished speaking, he saw Zhu Ying looking at him with uncontrollable expectation in her eyes.
"Are you planning to embarrass people with those weird graph questions?"
Although the eldest lady's reaction was unexpected, Zhang Shou, who had been hit several times, was not disappointed. He just smiled and said, "Why would you use geometry to confuse these people?"
Although Xu Guangqi was still unknown at that time, the word geometry was not yet popularized... and the wisdom of the ancients should not be underestimated. However, when facing a group of playboys, is it necessary to use plane geometry or even solid geometry as a killer to crush them?
Elementary school mathematics Olympiad is enough!
