Volume 2: Residence in the Capital Chapter 194: The Fields of Dandy's Expertise

"How can we openly announce our visit to Tingyu Cottage? Wouldn't it spread all over the city and cause a sensation?"
This is another elegant restaurant, and booked all three private rooms on the third floor. Then he invited everyone to occupy one of them, and said that it was to prevent others from eavesdropping. Zhu Er questioned Zhang Shou angrily. Not only him, but several others also secretly agreed. However, the teacher-student relationship was already determined, and Zhu Er, the future second uncle, was undoubtedly more suitable to come forward.
"Because if you go there today, even if you don't tell others about it, it will spread all over the city tomorrow." Zhang Shou calmly bit into the soupy steamed dumpling and let the soup flow onto the spoon. He then tasted the sweet and familiar taste with relish, and then said slowly, "Instead of others spreading the news, it's better to reveal it yourself."
After a pause, he continued, "This way, everyone can leave a good impression of being sincere and honest in front of Yingying and the other girls."
Zhu Er couldn't help but mutter, "Is it a good impression? I heard that we actually went to a place like Tingyu Cottage to fool around. People must be questioning our character and integrity." As soon as he finished speaking, he received a sneer from Lu Sanlang, and he easily understood the meaning - you, Mr. Zhu Er, still have character and integrity? You know, I first met you in Tingyu Cottage!
Zhu Er, who was angry and embarrassed, immediately fought back: "My reputation alone is not important, but the reputation of so many of us is of course important! And your reputation, Dr. Zhang, is even more important. This also concerns the reputation of our Zhaoguo Mansion!"
"That's why we came out during the day, not like last time when it was almost evening, so I asked you, Mr. Zhu, to come with us." Zhang Shou didn't even raise his head. He saw that Zhang Wu and Lu Sanlang had already started eating like him without hesitation. Zhang Lu and Zhang Chen also hesitated for a moment before following suit. Only Zhu Er was still anxious and hesitant, so he continued to speak slowly.
"Besides, the regular guests of Tingyu Cottage include Tang Ming, the top scholar in the imperial examination, Xie Wanquan, the head of the Imperial Academy, the imperial censors, the high-ranking officials of the Nine Ministers, and the governors of the localities. After all, they don't stay overnight there. It's known as the most elegant place in the capital, and it's definitely not a brothel. We're going there during , so why should we be afraid of what others say?"
"The most important thing is, if the play is to be performed as scheduled, you have to go over to watch the rehearsals from time to time. If you are afraid of what people will say today, how can you go in the future?"
Will you go there again in the future? Even Lu Sanlang was almost splashed with soup in shock, not to mention the others. But after the initial surprise, several people looked at each other. Except for Zhang Chen and Lu Sanlang, whose faces were changing, the others were secretly delighted. A place like Tingyu Cottage is not cheap at ordinary times. They can't afford to go there at all. How can they go there often in the future?
But Zhang Shou's next words poured cold water on their excitement: "Of course, if you go alone, gossip doesn't matter. But if you really want to linger, that would be bad. When you go, why don't I let Ah Liu go with you."
Ah Liu is following... Damn it, with that evil star following, who would dare to do anything else?
Zhu Er thought of the scene when Ah Liu dragged him like a dead man, and suddenly shuddered. He had no interest in going to Tingyu Cottage to see any beauties. In the final analysis, his family education was too strict, and he was originally a thief with the intention but not the courage! He muttered in a low voice: "Lu Sanpang is already engaged, isn't he afraid of being disliked by the Liu family girl if he goes to that kind of place?"
"So, you go during the lunch break, once every seven days, and it will take up an elective class in the afternoon. Among you, there are nobles from the top families in the capital, and there are also children of officials. You have high standards, and you can tell whether they perform well or not at a glance. If you think the performances are good, they will naturally not be booed when the performance officially starts!"
Zhang Shou paused, and then said meaningfully: "To outsiders, you can say that the flowers are so beautiful that they dazzle the eyes... You can practice your character in such a place. When you have important tasks to shoulder in the future, who among you will be dazzled by the beauty in front of you?"
Can you find such a reason?
Except for Lu Sanlang, the others looked at each other in amazement. But Lu Sanlang coughed and said thoughtfully, "Those guys who boast about their talent and want to take the imperial examination can go to Tingyu Cottage, so why can't we go? A person with integrity is not afraid of his own shadow. I will go and ask to see Minister Liu and borrow two followers later."
Everyone was stunned by Lu Sanlang's strange idea. Is he going to borrow his father-in-law's family to be his witness? After looking at each other for a while, Zhu Er suddenly found that everyone's eyes were on him. Zhang Lu laughed and said, "Brother Zhu Er, instead of asking Fatty Lu to go through so much trouble, why not ask your wife to send two reliable people to go with us!"
Amidst the laughter, the table was completely cleared of food and wine. Zhang Shou then tapped the table gently and said, "Don't think that when Weinan Bo and I went out, Lu Sanlang told you about his idea because he was obsessed with money or just talking. Don't look at this fat boy, who was not liked by his father in the past. In fact, he is not only talented in mathematics."
Glancing at the serious Lu Sanlang, Zhang Shou casually introduced what he knew about Lu Sanlang's bookstore and his method of locking people in a small dark room. Zhu Er, Zhang Chen, Zhang Wu and Zhang Lu were dumbfounded. When he avoided Lu Sanlang's stake in Tingyu Cottage and only said that Ren and Weinan Bo had become close friends by chance, the four were even more shocked.
Although they may seem like glamorous and wealthy young men to outsiders, even Zhang Chen and Zhu Er, who have extraordinary family backgrounds, are at most at the top of their own circle, and are far from qualified to be in their father's circle. Now, Lu Sanlang, the little fat boy who has always been ridiculed, not only secretly owns his own business, but can also talk to Weinan Earl Zhang Kang?
For a moment, Zhang Chen felt that his previous conceit was simply stupid. He looked at Lu Sanlang with some complexities, and finally recovered a little after a long while. He snorted and said, "Lu Sanpang is only good at these little fights, what's the big deal!"
"It's just a small fight, but a seven-story pagoda must be built from the ground up. Otherwise, Zhang Chen, you can inherit the title of Duke of Qin, but it's hard to say what kind of official positions others here will hold in the future. If you just muddle along like this, just like what I said before in Cui Yun's room, when you get married and divide up your family in the future, how will you and your descendants live? Will you be worse off than a mere steward?"
Although Zhang Chen was specifically picked out by Zhang Shou as a counterexample, he was not happy at all - after all, his father's disregard for him had always been a thorn in his heart. Moreover, after inheriting the title of Duke of Qin, what would he do? Would he also bury himself in books like his father and become a nobleman like a civil servant?
“So, young master, what you mean is that we should let Twelve Rains of Tingyu Cottage perform Peach Blossom Fan, and we should go to watch and give suggestions from time to time. Is there any purpose behind this?” Compared to the distracted Zhang Chen, the sullen-faced Zhu Er, and the sad Zhang Wu, the well-behaved Zhang Lu was more quick to perceive Zhang Shou's hidden meaning .
"How should you enter the official career? I can't help you with this matter. If you don't become an official, how will you make a living in the future? The capital seems to have many shops, but the competition in various industries is very fierce. Behind many industries, there may be elders in your family. Lu Sanlang previously chose a bookstore that didn't have any big boss background, but even so, he also cooperated with the contemporary literature selector."
"What about you? What kind of business do you want to rely on to support your family in the future? Don't tell me you'll rely on the land that might be distributed to you. You know, in the past, one acre of rice field in the south of the Yangtze River could produce four shi, while in the north, one acre of land could produce two to three shi, which was already a high yield, thanks to Emperor Taizu's advocacy of fertilizer. Let's calculate based on three shi, so one thousand acres of land is three thousand shi."
"And if it is a tenant farmer, or a farmhand, the annual rent that can be collected is 70%, rounded down to 2,000 shi." Speaking of the word 70%, Zhang Shou couldn't help but sigh secretly, thinking that the rent and taxes of the tenant farmers in the Zhaoguo Mansion in Rongshui Village were indeed quite light, which was very different from the greedy way most dignitaries exploited farmers these days.
"And these two thousand dan of grain, in a good year when grain is cheap, can be worth about one thousand guan, and in a year when grain is expensive, it can be worth about two thousand guan. But all this is based on the premise that you can get a thousand acres of land and harvest every grain. Oh, I haven't counted the taxes paid to the court."
Zhang Wu and Zhang Lu smiled bitterly. Their families were called marquisates, so they naturally had a lot of land, but how could they, bastards, get a farm as big as a thousand acres? It would be a blessing to get two or three hundred acres. By this calculation, the money they could get in a year was five or six hundred strings of cash at most, and one or two hundred strings at least. Besides, which family manager didn't take advantage of the situation?
Even Zhu Er thought that if his eldest brother came back safely, the family might not split up, but that would mean he would always depend on his eldest brother to survive. If the family split up, he might get a lot, but if he couldn't manage the family well, he might live worse than now. So he simply asked, "What kind of business should we rely on to survive in the future?"
"The only thing you can do in the capital nowadays is entertainment. So-called entertainment means having fun. Although there are many opera troupes, many people playing musical instruments and singing in teahouses and taverns, and many wealthy and noble people hang out in places like Tingyu Cottage, generally speaking, there are not many kinds of entertainment. You were idle in the past, and you should have been to all the places you should have been to. You should be good at this."
Zhang Shou glanced around at the people and said with a smile, "Why do you think the story I told you today is interesting? Isn't it because you think the story of a scholar and a beautiful woman is too old-fashioned? The books written by those scholars in Lu Sanlang's bookshop are getting less and less interesting. Isn't it because every day there are poor scholars who pass the imperial examinations and scholars and beautiful women under the moonlight? Using a famous girl like Shieryu to interpret a different story is just an attempt. You should know what attracts your kind the most."
Zhang Chen, Zhang Lu and Zhang Wu exchanged glances, and they understood something. Zhu Er's response was straightforward: "That's right. In the past, whenever there was something new in the capital, everyone was afraid to fall behind. Now, why don't we lead the trend?"
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