Volume 1 In the Countryside Chapter 32: Strike a Large Group
Since Mr. Ge didn't stay for dinner, Zhang Shou certainly wouldn't waste the few dishes he had just prepared. He asked Ah Liu to carry them and followed him to Cuiyun Room . Of course, they took the path that led to the bamboo forest in the other direction of their home. It was a path that only one person could pass through and was only known by a few people in the village, such as Mr. Yang.
In the past, in order to prevent this path from being occupied by bamboos that grow too vigorously, Liu would be responsible for cleaning it every spring. The bamboo shoots dug up were enough for Aunt Liu to use all her skills to make a variety of different dishes, which they could eat throughout the entire spring bamboo shoot season.
At this time, the master and servant quietly entered a bamboo house on the eastern edge.
Corresponding to the Qingfeng Xulai Hall in the center, this place without a plaque is of course called Shuibo Buxing Hall.
Compared with other bamboo houses, this one has no special features and is located in a marginal area. So since of students increased, Zhang Shou used Qingfeng Xulai Hall as a lecture hall and moved here to live, and no one else thought much about it.
With Ah Liu's advice, Zhang Shou entered the house carrying a food box, changed into clothes befitting the title of "old gentleman", and then put on a hat with a veil. Then he asked Ah Liu to go to Qingfeng Xulaitang to find Qi Liang, and then went home to take a message to Mrs. Wu, telling her that he would not be returning home tonight.
Not long after Ah Liu left quietly, someone knocked on the door gently. After he answered, the person came in. It was Qi Liang.
Without waiting for anyone to speak, Zhang Shou smiled and pointed at the food box and said, "I was originally planning to borrow your house to entertain an unexpected guest, but who knew that the guest suddenly ran away, so all the food would be wasted, so I just brought it here."
Although it was not the first time that Zhang Shou had saved delicious food for him, Qi Liang still couldn't help but blush, but he completely forgot to ask who the uninvited guest was. After thanking him again and again, he hesitated for a moment, and finally told the truth.
"Sir, Lu Sanlang failed to teach those people. Not only did Zhang Chen deliberately mess with him, but also..."
Zhang Shou waved his hand to interrupt Qi Liang and then stood up.
"It's as expected. You stay here and eat slowly. I'll go take a look. Your palace exam is coming up soon. Although you don't have much confidence, you can't just ignore it. You've helped Cuiyun for several days this time. You've done your best. Don't blame yourself for not managing it well. To calm down such a group of people, even their fathers may not be able to help. The eldest lady can only suppress them for a while."
Qi Liang wanted to say something but stopped himself until he saw Zhang Shou leisurely walked out of the room. Only then could he help but scratch his hair in annoyance.
Although most of the older generation in the village had some doubts about Zhang Shou's actions, they were still happy to have someone teach their children to read for free. If the children did not listen to the teachings, all the families would smile and tell Zhang Shou to teach them and beat them, and they deserved it if they were beaten to death.
But these children of noble families are all arrogant, forming cliques among themselves and looking down on each other!
If he had secretly agreed with Zhu Ying's promotion of Zhang Shou as a hermit, he had given up now. These dandy boys were simply unteachable, and being a teacher to them was like playing the lute to a cow!
When Zhang Shou arrived at the entrance of Qingfeng Xulai Hall, he heard a commotion inside. Zhan Jin and Liu Yin, who were standing guard, looked unhappy. He waved his hand to stop them from reporting, but then he heard Zhu Ying's roar: "Is that enough?"
He did not stand in front of the door and continue to watch the development of the situation, but opened the door curtain and went in. Seeing Zhu Ying's face was livid, and a group of noble children, including Zhang Chen, were silent as quails, he laughed.
"Yingying, don't be angry. I'm a lazy person living in the countryside, and suddenly some nobles from the capital come to me. I knew they were coming for you."
When Zhu Ying saw Zhang Shou suddenly appear and pointed out the matter, she couldn't help but feel even more aggrieved.
Zhang Shou calmly came to the main seat and sat down, saying slowly: "I heard Yingying say that most of you here are not good at reading, martial arts, or horse riding... Many of you don't even know what you can do besides eating, drinking, and having fun. Except for Zhang Chen, none of you is the eldest son of the family , and you can't inherit the title. You may not get much when you divide the family in the future."
Such provocative words undoubtedly aroused the disgust of these nobles who had previously respectfully addressed him as "sir" for Zhu Ying's sake. But before they could get angry, Zhang Shou continued to speak.
"You can still live a life of luxury now because of your father, but what about your son and grandson in the future? It is true that when you are happy in life, you should enjoy it to the fullest, and don't let the golden cup face the moon in vain. But ask yourself, are you happy now, and will you be happy in the future? Yingying once complained to me, will a happy person chase her here?"
Zhu Ying didn't expect that Zhang Shou, who was always gentle and could find good points even in the fat pig-like Lu Sanlang, would suddenly speak so sharply. But these words were what she wanted to say, and Zhang Shou's first attack at this moment undoubtedly gave her an outlet for venting.
"Sir, you are right. Who among those who are truly proud of their talents and abilities would come here to study under me just because I respect a hermit in the mountains? Only you, who are not as good at calculating as the illiterate children, and not as good as a woman like me who gets a headache just by looking at a serious book, would turn studying into fanning the flames and being jealous!"
Zhu Ying became angrier and angrier as she spoke, and her tone became more and more harsh: "No one is forcing you to stay. You can leave through this door right now! The tuition you gave to the master will be returned double by my Zhaoguo Mansion. Who cares? The master will not accept idiots!"
Zhang Shou was originally playing hard to get, but he didn't expect Zhu Ying's last sentence to be so ruthless and accurate that it made a bunch of people look pale. He gestured to stop Lu Sanlang who stood up and wanted to interrupt, and then he laughed.
"Mathematics is not suitable for everyone. Lu Sanlang has a little talent for it, but most of you have missed the best opportunity. Moreover, even if you spend a lot of effort to learn it, it may not be useful in the future. So, I was reluctant to accept you at first because I didn't want to force a bunch of people who have no talent for numbers to rack their brains here."
"So, if you are willing to leave, you can leave now, and the so-called tuition will be returned in full. However, since we have the relationship of teacher and student for these two or three days, I hope you can think carefully about what you are good at, what you like, and what you plan to do in the future. To put it bluntly, how can a person who has accomplished nothing and has nothing be worthy of the eldest daughter of the Duke of Zhao's mansion?"
He said this not only to these noble children, but also to Zhu Ying. However, he saw from the corner of his eye that the rich young lady beside him was full of approval, and she seemed to have not considered the deep meaning of what he had just said.
Knowing that his little thought was in vain, he could not help but shake his head. However, in the eyes of Lu Sanlang, who prided himself on being smart, this action became a sign of pity for his misfortune and anger at his lack of resistance.
But the first person to speak indignantly was a plain-looking nobleman in the corner. Even Zhu Ying, who knew all of his peers in the capital, could only barely remember that this seemed to be the third son of the governor Zhang Xinling, but he could not remember his name.
"It's just like reincarnation. The rest of us have no future, but Zhang Chen will be the Duke of Qin!"
Zhang Chen, who was already unhappy, suddenly became annoyed and cursed with his neck stiff, "I am just more fortunate than you. If you have the ability, you can be reborn into a better person in your next life!"
Before another round of argument began, Zhang Shou laughed mysteriously.
"Zhang Chen is indeed blessed. He is the only son in the family and can inherit the title and countless wealth, but so what? As a duke, he cannot sit around doing nothing and just sit there and wait for death. But as long as he gets a job in the future, if he is not careful, he will be the best target for the censors since he is a duke."
"Let's not talk about anything else. How many times has the Duke of Zhao been impeached? How many times has the Duke of Chu been impeached? They can stand firm because they have made great contributions. Since the beginning of this dynasty, how many titles have been cut off and the imperial decrees have been taken back even though there are successors and the ancestors have made great contributions?"
Without looking at Zhang Chen, whose face was livid, Zhang Shou said word by word, "For the sake of our relationship as teacher and student for two or three days, as long as you think it through, I can help you find a way out. Do you want to live a mediocre life for the rest of your life, or try to overcome all obstacles and be as proud as your fathers? It's up to you. Well, it's getting late, let's all go back to the house."
After Zhang Shou finished speaking, Zhang Chen and some others looked gloomy, but some also fell into deep thought. Zhu Ying, who was standing by, finally waited until everyone got up and left. She immediately asked Zhang Shou in a low voice with some concern, "Were you serious just now?"
"Are you talking about giving them a way out?" Zhang Shou leaned his head and smiled, but did not directly answer Zhu Ying's question. "We don't have to wait until tomorrow. Tonight, or even just a little later, I'm afraid someone will come to see me secretly."
Among the dandies, there may be a lot of people who are just eating and waiting for death and have no aspirations, but there are also many who want to be decent people, but suffer from no clues, no channels, and no support, so they just give up! He believes that people like Lu Sanlang are not an exception!
As for whether he can tailor a smooth road for so many people...haha, is it really necessary to be so troublesome?
Do we need to guess what the purpose of these playboys coming here is?
