Volume 1 In the Countryside Chapter 44: The Cunning Fatty and the Righteous Young Master
"Amitabha, I was out for just one day and yet so many things happened. It must be the Bodhisattva's blessing, otherwise why would Mr. Ge stand up and support Ah Shou..."
Early in the morning, Zhang Shou was awakened by Wu's nagging in the yard.
Although he had stayed up all night the day before, he was still young after all, and finally recovered his energy after a good sleep. After getting up, washing and changing clothes, he pushed the door open and went out. He just learned from Wu that Zhu Ying had urged Zhu Hong to take Zhu Yu to the Shuntian government office in the capital early in the morning, and she herself took Zhan Jin and Liu Yin to investigate the village.
In the eldest daughter's original words as relayed by Wu - "I lent the money, so I have to make sure it's spent wisely. Just like my father often goes down to check on the military pay, I have to make sure the money is spent on renovating the house. Only when this money is spent properly can I give the next sum!"
After she finished speaking, Mrs. Wu smiled and added: "Yingying went out holding the umbrella you gave her. She also asked me to tell you that she will not interfere in Cuiyun's affairs anymore. I believe you can convince those guys."
Having spent these days with Zhu Ying day and night, Zhang Shou had to admit that the daughter of a prominent family did have many advantages that were beyond his expectations. However, he still felt a little troubled by Wu's blatant matchmaking. He quickly made an excuse to go to Cuiyun's room, ate his breakfast in a few bites, and then left the house in a dignified manner.
After entering the bamboo forest and seeing the cute panda screen from afar, Zhang Shou realized that someone was waiting there. As soon as he saw him, the person rushed over with a speed that was totally inconsistent with his size. Who else could it be but Lu Sanlang?
Before he even stood up, Lu Sanlang began to speak breathlessly: "Young sir, I have something to discuss with you..."
Before Lu Sanlang could finish his words, Zhang Shou interrupted him with a smile: "I have something to tell you too. I didn't originally think of accepting so many people. I planned that most of you would stay for a few days and then go back. Now it seems that no one will return to Beijing for a while. In this case, I'm thinking whether I should renovate this area?"
Lu Sanlang was immediately delighted: "Oh, this is exactly what I thought! Since this was once the place where Master Ge lived in seclusion, he might come back to stay for a few days, so we have to renovate it properly. Don't worry, leave it all to me, everyone will definitely be willing to contribute!"
If they continue to live like this, he and the others will die, truly die of hunger and cold!
Zhang Shou knew without thinking why Lu Sanlang took on this job, but it was a good thing for him to save both trouble and effort, so he nodded and said, "In that case, I'll leave this to you. By the way, you should remember that I said in public the day before yesterday that you have a talent for mathematics."
The reason why Lu Sanlang could wait here today was definitely not because other playboys ignored Zhang Shou, the young master, but because... the cunning Lu Sanlang had used all kinds of means to hold everyone back early in the morning, and then waited here for at least three quarters of an hour! At this moment, he thought that Zhang Shou had seen through his other purpose of waiting, and he was immediately horrified.
No wonder Zhang Shou, who came from the countryside, was not only engaged to Zhu Ying, but also able to make Zhu Ying put aside her pride and help him act, and even became Ge Yong's last disciple. His ability to see through people's hearts is amazing!
He hesitated for a moment, thinking about how ugly he had been, and decided to just admit it.
"To be honest, sir, I have read the Nine Chapters on the Mathematical Art a long time ago. In fact, I have read more than just the Nine Chapters on the Mathematical Art. I have read all of the ten mathematical books, except for those that have been lost or those that were falsely attributed to ancient sages. Of course, I cannot understand every single one of them."
"However, after Senior Brother Qi taught me the ideas for solving the problems, I begged him to take down the bamboo plaques in front of the bamboo houses so that I could have a look at them. As long as I understand the ideas, I think I can probably solve them."
"So, I want to ask you, young master, is it true that you said the other night that you were willing to teach me all your mathematics?"
As Lu Sanlang spoke, he stared at Zhang Shou. He thought that the other party might pretend to be profound and evade some questions, and then set a series of difficult tests. However, he did not expect that Zhang Shou looked at him for a long time and finally smiled.
"If you want me to teach you everything I know, that's totally fine. Go and ask Qi Liang to lend you all the textbooks and exercise books he has accumulated over the past three years so that you can copy them. But I have to tell you that both the textbooks and the exercise books use the numbers that came from overseas."
"That's perfect. I like to use this kind of numbers. It's much easier than counting with sticks. It's simple and clear! Young sir, I'll go find Brother Qi right away!"
Seeing Lu Sanlang beaming with joy, bowing and running away, Zhang Shou thought about the information that this Lu Zhutou had just revealed without hesitation from Zhu Ying's mouth, and he felt that he had guessed a little bit about Lu Sanlang.
A strong talent for mathematics, and a preference for using Arabic numerals instead of counting rods... In this ancient society, there are only two types of people who meet these two characteristics, unless they are officials with special talent skill trees.
An accountant, or...a businessman!
The role of an accountant is obviously not suitable for a son of an official like Lu Sanlang. In this case, this guy is probably doing business in secret!
As for Lu Sanlang thinking that he has a strong talent for mathematics, haha, one of the most despairing subjects in the world is mathematics!
When Zhang Shou walked around the panda screen thoughtfully, a person suddenly jumped out from the side. He was caught off guard and jumped back swiftly. After he stood firm, he saw that it was Zhang Chen who had an uncertain face. He immediately calmed down.
"Did you hear what Lu Sanlang and I just said?"
"Hmph." Thinking that there was no one around, Zhang Chen returned to his rebellious nature. He stared at Zhang Shou with a somewhat unfriendly look, but after a long mental struggle, he did not dare to act rashly. He could only say stiffly, "It's a good trick to let Zhu Ying act for you and let Mr. Ge back you up. But I hope you don't forget that other people's power belongs to them after all."
"Haha, thank you for reminding me." Zhang Shou smiled calmly, as if he really didn't care. "As the eldest son, you will definitely be the Duke of Qin in the future, but you don't want to be a rich and idle person, but want to do something. Otherwise, you wouldn't have let people report that the servants of Marquis Tai'an colluded with the Tianjin Maritime Patrol to secretly rob innocent merchant ships, and you would have brought justice to those victims."
"How did you know that?" Zhang Chen was shocked and angry, his voice suddenly became sharp, "Are you spying on me?"
Zhang Shou was immediately angry and amused: "Shouldn't you just pretend to be confused or deny it?"
Seeing Zhang Chen was stunned at first, and then showed an extremely annoyed expression, he smiled and said: "I have never left this village, how can I monitor you! In order to please Miss Zhu, some people naturally flattered me, an old gentleman, and exposed other people's shortcomings and stabbed other people's knives in front of me. How can I confirm whether it is true or false? Your reaction just now is simply confessing it."
Without even looking at Zhang Chen's uglier face, Zhang Shou flicked his clothes, walked past Zhang Chen and continued to walk towards Cui Yun's room, saying without looking back: "Actually, I really want to say that your righteous reporting is very just, but since it has reached my ears, it means it is no longer a secret. In this way, not only will someone hate you, but someone will also hate your father. Your carelessness may implicate him."
Zhang Chen felt so suffocated that he almost vomited blood.
After all, other people’s power belongs to them...even if that other person is his father!
Zhang Shou actually hit him back with facts!
