Volume 2: Residence in the Capital Chapter 129: Fatty Lu Seeks a Cute Girl
When he heard Zhang Shou asking him something, Lu Sanlang finally came to his senses from his resentment and quickly raised his head: "Young Master, do you have something to ask me? What is it?"
"We were eating and talking at the same time. I was hungry after a morning of classes. I don't have a rule of not talking while eating or sleeping."
Zhang Shou sat down as he spoke. Seeing Lu Sanlang immediately agreed and sat opposite him without any hesitation, he rolled up his sleeves, picked up the chopsticks and started to put the mutton in. He also put in a few slices of winter melon and duck blood, and then asked, "How did you run your previous San San Bookstore?"
Lu Sanlang didn't expect Zhang Shou to ask this. He almost got burned when he stuffed a piece of mutton into his mouth. After swallowing the meat with great difficulty, he quickly poured himself a cup of tea, then raised his head and said proudly, "I wanted to prove to my father that I was capable, so I opened a bookstore in the capital and hired a few scholars to write legend books."
As he spoke, his eyebrows danced with joy, and his chopsticks began to dance with him: "Didn't Emperor Taizu write Journey to the West? At that time, it took a long time for a chapter to come out of the palace, and paper was really expensive in the capital. Although I don't have the ability to write books, I still have a taste for reading, so I spent three years secretly visiting many scholars and finally hired these people."
"Don't underestimate the fame of people like Ge Zushi. If we talk about books that really sell well... Hey, apart from the Four Books and Five Classics and their annotations, it's my novels and stories! Miss Zhu probably doesn't know that the book she revised about Du Shiniang was also printed by my bookshop! Hey, she was very generous. She gave me a lot of money to print so many thousand books."
Zhang Shou immediately laughed. So, is Lu Sanlang actually a well-known publisher in the Ming Dynasty novel industry?
No wonder those dandies in Cuiyun's family helped Ge Yong print books, but in the end all the business was taken away by Lu Sanlang!
He also ate a few slices of mutton with sesame sauce, and then asked, "Besides the bookstore, what other businesses do you have?"
If it were someone else, Lu Sanlang would really not bother to show off - among those aristocratic families, Zhang Chen lived purely on the money of his family, while those who were not favored, such as Zhang Wu and Zhang Lu, went around begging for money. He told these people to be self-reliant, self-sufficient, and make some achievements in the future to show his family, which was simply talking to a cow. But Zhang Shou was different, he was willing to show off in front of others.
He attentively poured a cup of tea for Zhang Shou, and then chuckled: "Young sir, don't disbelieve me. People in the capital say that Tingyu Cottage is an elegant place, and I own 40% of it."
Although he was showing off on purpose, seeing Zhang Shou was a little confused, Lu Sanpang couldn't help but want to slap his forehead in annoyance. Zhang Shou had just arrived in the capital for a few days, and the emperor had stuffed him into the Imperial College. Why would he go to such a place? Thinking that although Zhang Shou's appearance and talent were better than his, he was definitely not as knowledgeable as himself, he was very excited and hurriedly explained vividly.
"Young Master, that is an elegant place to listen to music, recite poetry, and enjoy singing and dancing. Not to mention the dignitaries in the capital, even the talented people who come to the capital to take the imperial examinations often feel proud to listen to a piece of music in Tingyu Cottage. Listening to music, playing chess, painting and talking about poetry, just look at the two afternoon classes at Banshan Hall. If it weren't for your strict order, young master, someone might have thought of inviting people from Tingyu Cottage."
Zhang Shou, who had just pretended not to understand, actually knew it all in his mind. This kind of place with a rather mysterious name was most likely a place for sex transactions under the guise of elegance - well, it could be said in a more pleasant way that it was not sex transactions, but soul-body transactions. Before the physical relationship, there was a so-called spiritual exchange.
Of course, in such places, there are mostly those prostitutes who sell their art but not their bodies.
Before he could say anything, Lu Sanlang said mysteriously, "Young Master, do you want me to take you to see it tomorrow?"
"Oh, sure." Zhang Shou nodded calmly, "Since this is such an elegant place, let's call Yingying to come along."
Lu Sanlang, who was swallowing a piece of mutton, almost choked to death.
Call... Zhu Ying? Does Zhang Shou know what that place is? Even though Tingyu Cottage is definitely not like those low-end brothels, filled with heavily made-up and flashy women, it is indeed a place for elegant conversations and humor, and both parties are willing... and they will never let men stay overnight, but in essence it is a place for pleasure!
Miss Zhu was a notorious bad guest in the capital's romantic circles. Back then, when she dressed up as a man and went around, an elegant and noble courtesan with countless admirers became a merchant's concubine in tears, and a head of a brothel who was good at dealing with several noblemen hastily redeemed herself and got married to a poor scholar. In short, it was a real turmoil.
Of course, that was also because, among the people fascinated by those two most popular brothel beauties, there happened to be one named Zhu Er...
So, Lu Sanlang swallowed the food with great difficulty by pressing his chest, and then took a sip of hot tea to calm himself down. He said with a smile on his face: "I was thinking wrongly. How can such a place that pretends to be refined be suitable for a real exiled immortal like you? Let's go back to Yunzhong Temple, which was visited by Emperor Taizu..."
Zhang Shou was not fooled by Lu Sanlang's trick. Seeing that he was obviously frightened by his words that he would bring Zhu Ying with him, he interrupted calmly, "I'm more curious about how you got 40% of the shares in a place that is so popular among dignitaries and scholars?"
“This…”
Unexpectedly, Zhang Shou was interested in this. Lu Sanlang's eyes rolled around. The tender mutton and delicious vegetables that he had just thought were now tasteless. He was filled with regret. It was enough to brag about his San San Bookstore. Zhang Shou, who was not bound by the books of saints, certainly didn't care about writing legendary stories. But why did he brag about such a romantic place?
If he had really succeeded in bewitching Zhang Shou just now, he dared to guarantee that as soon as he and Zhang Shou showed up at Tingyu Cottage, Zhu Ying would definitely come to their door, and that would be a disaster!
He thought again and again, considering the consequences of the four words "Tingyu Xiaozhu" appearing in Zhu Ying's ears, and finally said honestly: "Ordinary people think that the owner of Tingyu Xiaozhu is Wan Yuanbao, the richest man in Beijing, but in fact, there is someone behind that guy. Have you heard of Weinan Bo Zhang Kang, young sir?"
The surname Zhang... Well, Zhu Ying mentioned it before. I remember it was a barbarian whose real name is now rarely remembered. He saved Emperor Ruizong several times and was even seriously injured for it? Zhang Shou nodded while thinking, but did not say how much he knew.
Since Lu Sanlang knew that Zhang Shou had heard of this name, he had to omit the earth-shattering story that was on the tip of his tongue and just laughed dryly: "In short, I accidentally saved the life of Weinan Earl Zhang Kang. He originally wanted to transfer all of Tingyu Xiaozhu to me, but I refused to take it. He thought I was very righteous, so he gave me 40% of the shares of Tingyu Xiaozhu."
A nobleman of barbarian origin now runs the most elegant place of entertainment in the entire Ming Dynasty capital?
Zhang Shou thought it was funny, but then he felt that the little fat boy from the Lu family was really a very smart and contented person. If it were most people, they would feel at ease and happily accept the gift given by others in return for saving their lives, especially in such a famous place in the capital.
He scooped up a piece of fresh duck blood and ate it thoughtfully, then asked with a smile: "According to this, Tingyu Xiaozhu should pay you interest regularly according to the 40% share you received? That's a lot of money. You may look ridiculous on the surface, but you are actually very smart. You are not one of those people who indulge in sensual pleasures and squander money without restraint. Where did you spend your money?"
Although Lu Sanlang, who had been criticized since childhood, had received a lot of praise in recent days, when he heard Zhang Shou praising his intelligence and thought that Zhang Shou was the first person to recognize the talent, Lu Sanlang couldn't help but smile.
"Young sir, you have to keep this a secret for me. I have never told anyone else. I am not like Zhang Chen, a proud spendthrift who has people following him all day long. I have not wasted any of this money."
He paused, then boasted proudly: "With the dividends from the first year, my bookshop grew from one to four, and from the initial four scholars to the later twenty. Even before I spent all the money, I bought another 200 acres of land in the suburbs."
"The dividends from the second year, the bookshop's income, and the money from the farm together, are almost half more than the first year. I wanted to buy more land, but I thought about my parents. If I bought too much private property and my father found out, I would lose a lot. So, I bought two shops on Qianmen Street and asked Weinan Bo to help me find a safe bank to store the remaining money."
"You know, the money in the bank is exchanged on presentation of the bill, it is not in the name of the owner, and no one knows that the money is mine."
Lu Sanlang smiled at Zhang Shoule and said, "Thanks to the Emperor Taizu, the money deposited in the bank also earns interest. That little money plus the pocket money my mother gives me privately is enough for my annual expenses. I haven't received the third year's dividend yet. You know, Tingyu Cottage has been more prosperous every year in the past five years. I estimate that the money I will get will be this amount!"
Seeing Lu Sanlang proudly stretching out five fingers, Zhang Shou couldn't help but sigh secretly, this little fat boy can still keep a clear mind after getting rich. In this era when parents are not allowed to own private property, owning too much property may very well be a gift to your brothers.
He gave Lu Sanlang a thumbs up and then said, "Now that you have transformed from a prodigal son into a genius, you have moved out of your home. You and your father have indeed become too estranged. You must plan for the future and stop being angry."
Speaking of the future, Lu Sanlang's face suddenly lengthened. He was not worried about his property. What he was worried about now was his marriage!
At first, he thought he was doing a good job pretending to pursue Zhu Ying, but he was fooled by his father. He felt ashamed when he thought about it now. Moreover, his reputation as a prodigal son had been spread for so long, but he hadn't heard of any girl liking him!
As a result, Lu Sanlang completely forgot that he came to Zhang Shou to volunteer to find out the mastermind behind sending the sword to threaten Zhang Shou, and he just became depressed.
"What I hate the most is that marriages these days are inseparable from the arrangements of parents and matchmakers. My mother's side is easy to deal with, but when I think about my father doing something weird again and forcing me to marry a girl I've never even seen before, I get so annoyed that I would die. Otherwise, I wouldn't have moved out of my home!" At this point, he suddenly remembered a rumor that he had found out by threatening and bribing certain people when he was in Cuiyun's room.
At that time, when Zhang Shou was still dressed as an old gentleman, it was said that he had promised several people that he would find suitable marriages for them?
His eyes lit up all of a sudden, and he didn't care about eating at all. He stared at Zhang Shou with his eyes fixedly: "Heaven, Earth, Emperor, Parents, and Teachers, my father seems to be quite afraid of you, young master. Otherwise, can you find me a stable marriage? I don't have high requirements. It doesn't matter if the girl has no money or family background. As long as she is innocent and cute, treats me well, and is willing to live with me, that's enough!"
Isn't this just about finding an innocent and cute girl?
Zhang Shou was immediately confused. I asked you to plan for the future because I wanted to persuade you, a rich man, to get this year's dividends and give me, a poor man, an angel investment. How come I'm asking you to be your matchmaker?
