Volume 2: Residence in the Capital Chapter 233: Sunrise in the East, Rain in the West
The emperor actually sent someone to ask for samples of the new textile machinery!
If Zhang Shou had not reminded them in advance, Zhang Wu and Zhang Lu would have no idea how terrified they would have been when they faced the smiling Lü Chan, the attendant of the Imperial Household Department. But since they had been prepared in advance, they immediately agreed without hesitation, but they put forward a condition that they would personally accompany Lü Chan to transport the spinning machines into the palace.
As for why this was the case... they didn't care. Since Zhang Shou had specifically emphasized this to them, they would definitely do it. After all, facts had proven that they had not suffered any loss by following Zhang Shou, and had enjoyed all the benefits.
And Lu Chan had no objection at all, and agreed to this request with a smile. Not only that, when the things were delivered to Dong'an Gate, Zhang Wu and Zhang Lu were about to leave, but he coughed and said, "You two will be the royal sons-in-law in the future, so it's not too late to get familiar with Donghua Gate first. Besides, good things should be done to the end, and you should send people to the west, so you should send them to Donghua Gate!"
Although Zhang Wu and Zhang Lu were somewhat skeptical, they did as they were told. When they arrived at Donghua Gate, they discovered that besides the eunuchs wearing special hats and robes, there were also many low-ranking officials wearing green official uniforms. However, all of them held their heads high and were full of vigor and vitality. After asking, they learned that they were the secretaries of the cabinet.
Various imperial edicts that were not particularly important were written by these secretaries.
The two brothers saw these talented officials with promising futures for the first time, so they naturally looked at them curiously. However, they did not know that they also attracted the attention of those people when they stood at Donghua Gate. Therefore, when Lu Chan thanked Zhang Wu and Zhang Lu with a smile and sent them away, and then drove the huge carriage into Donghua Gate, naturally someone came to inquire.
Although Lü Chan was known as a smiling tiger, there were always some unscrupulous people among the secretaries. For example, Wu Zhongshu, who had a similar personality to Wu Ge Lao and shared the same surname, was careless in his work but liked to talk a lot and spread all kinds of news. He smiled and asked questions. He didn't expect to get any answers, but he got a lot in the end.
Lü Chan said lightly, "The one on the carriage caused the Second Prince to kill slaves without authorization, and also reported the First Prince for competing with the people for the so-called things that benefit the country and the people. It is said that it was a new type of spinning machine invented by Dr. Zhang and Lu Sanlang, which is several times faster than the previous folk spinning machines. I don't know how the First Prince found out about it, but he insisted on buying 100 of them from Lu Sanlang at a high price. But the first ones to use it were the weaving and dyeing workshops of the brothers Zhang Wu and Zhang Lu."
Wu Zhongshu's eyes flashed with a gleam of light, and then he said with a half-smile: "Eunuch Lu, are you exaggerating? My hometown is in Jiangnan, and my family is not from a wealthy family. I have seen my elders spinning and weaving since I was a child. If you say there are machines that are faster than the ones they use, I believe it, but if you say it is several times faster, isn't that an exaggeration?"
Lu Chan immediately laughed: "I don't know whether it is true or not, but if it is not really effective, why would the eldest prince spend a lot of money to buy it, and why would the second prince report the eldest prince for robbing? Since the second prince keeps saying that it is beneficial to the country and the people, and cannot be controlled by private hands, the emperor naturally wants to take a good look at the real thing."
Seeing that Wu Zhongshu laughed out loud but his eyes flickered, Lu Chan said calmly, "Eunuch Chu should be questioning the eldest prince right now. I just came back from the weaving and dyeing workshop of Zhang Wu and Zhang Lu. After all, they are the son-in-law and nephew-in-law chosen by the emperor. The weaving and dyeing workshop has not been properly opened yet, but the eldest prince intervened. But I still willingly presented it to the emperor."
Now that things have come to this, how could Wu Zhongshu not understand? Undoubtedly, the eldest prince had not yet made a decision, so Chu Kuan had not returned yet, but Lu Chan, who had gone to see Zhang Wu and Zhang Lu, had already returned successfully with his things!
He chuckled and said nonchalantly, "The one who tied the bell must be the one to untie it. Why doesn't the emperor just summon Dr. Zhang and Lu Sanlang?"
"Shuntian Prefecture's Wang Dayin had already gotten there first, snatching all the blueprints from Dr. Zhang and bringing them to the palace." Although Lu Chan was somewhat suspicious of Chu Kuan's previous statement, he still casually disclosed the matter. Seeing Wu Zhongshu's unusually strange expression, he naturally sighed as well, "Wang Dayin is too rigid, and Dr. Zhang is indeed quite reasonable..."
Wu Zhongshu was not in the mood to argue with Lü Chan anymore. He knew very well what kind of person Wang Jie, the governor of Shuntian Prefecture, was. If Wang Jie, who was only slightly versed in farming and weaving, thought that the spinning machine was a good thing, then he must be right! Therefore, when Lü Chan led people to push the cart with the spinning machine to the Qianqing Palace, he immediately rushed back to the cabinet.
Love to rap, like to spread news? Haha, people who really know him know that he spreads the news that others want him to spread, and he will never say a word about the things that others want him to keep silent about.
Why did Lu Chan say so much to him today? He was hoping that he would spread the news!
Knowing this, after Wu Zhongshu returned to the cabinet, he first reported to Wu Ge Lao, who appreciated him the most and was also his biggest backer, and then he started bragging to other Zhongshu. Just now, everyone saw him happily talking to Lü Chan, the attendant of the Imperial Household Department, who others avoided as much as possible. Now he was exaggerating things, and others had to listen even if they were skeptical.
However, by the evening of that day, the news about the new textile machine had spread like wildfire throughout all the major government offices in the capital.
When the eldest prince, who had tried every possible means to delay Chu Kuan for a day, heard the news, his hands and feet turned cold at first, and then he fell backwards. If the servants had not rescued him in time and the imperial physician had not arrived quickly, the poor eldest prince might have suffered a stroke...
As the initiator of this series of events, Zhang Shou was helping his mother Wu make dumplings in a relaxed manner, and Xiao Cheng was also picked up by him. After all, when the Imperial College was on holiday and the capital was filled with the festive atmosphere, it was really inhumane to leave him alone in the Xiao family.
However, seeing Xiao Cheng clumsily wrapping the dumplings into a big belly, he couldn't help laughing while rolling the dough. Wu saw this and quickly pulled the discouraged little guy in front of her and taught him step by step for a while. Then she said to Zhang Shou: "A Shou, do you think everyone is like you? Born with knowledge, you can do whatever you see? You actually made fun of a child!"
Zhang Shou was speechless. He was not born knowing, but practice makes perfect... In order to satisfy his picky taste, he once hired a chef at home, but in the end, he was still not satisfied. Finally, he had to study cooking and even thought about various dark dishes. As for making dumplings...
In his previous life, when he was very young, his mother once scolded his father that dumplings must be made by kneading the dough, rolling the skin, mixing the stuffing, and wrapping them bit by bit by yourself. Only then would they have the taste of home, and all other ways were heresy... At that time, he was the type who loved the smell of food from another pot, and preferred to eat the various flavors outside. When he later realized what he had missed, it was already too late.
That’s probably the biggest reason why he likes to cook for himself.
Just when he was a little dazed, a burst of laughter came from outside: "Aunt Wu is right, Ah Shou knows everything, so he thinks everyone else is the same as him!"
Following the voice, Zhu Ying walked into the room boldly. Seeing Wu standing up quickly, she washed her hands full of flour in a basin beside her, and then came forward. After she talked to Wu for a few words, she forced her to sit down. Then she looked at the thin dough rolled out by Zhang Shou's hands, and said curiously, "By the way, this is the first time I've seen someone make dumplings!"
Ever since she ran to the kitchen out of curiosity as a child and nearly got scalded, the kitchen of Duke Zhao's mansion became her forbidden area. Her grandmother, father, and even her eldest brother strictly prohibited her from setting foot in the kitchen!
Seeing Zhu Ying's eager face, Zhang Shou casually threw a few sheets of dough he had rolled out onto the chopping board next to him, then took one, quickly wrapped a dumpling, and then held it in his palm and handed it to Zhu Ying.
However, before the young lady could take it to see what was going on, Zhang Shou pulled his hand back and said with a smile, "Wash your hands first!"
Aunt Liu , who was obviously a cook but had to help out , was afraid that Zhu Ying would be angry, so she quickly went to get a basin of water, added hot water that had been hanging from the stove and brought it in. Seeing that Zhu Ying washed her hands without any offense, she took the dumpling and looked at it from left to right, as if it were some rare work of art. She couldn't help but repeat in her mind a thousand times that beauty is in the eyes of the beholder.
No, it's the lover's eyes that see the beauty in a handsome man! Of course, this young master of ours can indeed be said to be both talented and handsome...
Zhu Ying watched but she didn't dare to try it. She had never been good at anything that required manual labor since she was a child. Therefore, she would rather stand by and talk about the bad luck of the eldest prince today while watching Zhang Shou's ten fingers deftly make dumplings one after another as if they were printed from the same mold.
Although she took it lightly, Mrs. Wu, who was standing by, could not help but feel worried: "Ah Shou, will the eldest prince hate you for his efforts in vain?"
Zhu Ying snorted coldly: "How dare he? When his father asked him for something, he dared to make excuses. This is already considered disloyal and unfilial. How dare he be jealous of others?"
Zhang Shou knew that Wu came from a poor family, so she was very cautious in everything she did. He smiled and comforted her, "Mother, he has always disliked me, and his future situation won't be much worse. What's more, what he should be worried about now is how to make up for his sin of evading the emperor today, and how to deal with the second prince biting him like a mad dog... The brothers have to fight to the death first, so they don't have time to care about me."
Seeing Zhu Ying's eyes rolling and about to speak, he smiled and said, "Although the New Year is coming to an end and everyone has their own things to do, Yingying, can you accompany me to look at a few houses in Xicheng tomorrow?"
"What's the point of looking at the house?" Zhu Ying asked back instinctively. When she saw Mrs. Wu burst into laughter, she seemed to realize something.
"Ah Shou, are you going to..."
"This house is temporarily lent to me by Mr. Qi. Although I feel at ease living here without paying rent, I can't just stay like this forever. Of course, if I want to move before your father and eldest brother come back, it may be too late, and the twelfth month and the first month are not suitable for moving. But I have to take a look first, since I just made a fortune!"
Although Wu had heard from Zhang Shou that Zhang Shou had made a fortune by selling the highly efficient new spinning machine, she still felt that it was not appropriate to hear that both the first and second princes were in trouble. And Zhang Shou actually told Zhu Ying so bluntly, which made her even more worried.
Although if we get married in the future, we can't live in Mr. Qi's house, but if Zhu Ying is unhappy...
However, Zhu Ying's reaction seemed simple and pure. She smiled with eyes and eyebrows as beautiful as flowers, her face full of joy: "Okay, okay, I'll go with you to see it! Although it's New Year, but apart from the ancestor worship, I have nothing to do at other times. Mother and grandmother both dislike me being in the way, after all, even those shops have closed... Oh, by the way, we can also meet a few people !"
As she spoke, she winked at Zhang Shou: "How can you only help Zhang Wu, Zhang Lu and Lu Sanlang? Didn't Zhang Chen's father, Duke Qin, also say that he would leave the marriage to you?"
During the Chinese New Year, is she still helping Zhang Chen find a date? Does Zhu Ying think that this standard of stunning beauty can be easily achieved? Didn't she see Zhang Chen's vision? He first took a fancy to Zhu Ying, and then to Princess Yongping... By the way, Princess Yongping didn't get married this time. Was it postponed temporarily, or did the emperor really allow her to stay like this and not get married?
Zhang Shou had these ridiculous thoughts in his mind, but he did not intend to mention Princess Yongping in front of Zhu Ying. After all, he was not familiar with her, let alone a friend, so it was enough to have Zhu Ying as a busybody.
That night, Zhu Ying ate a bowl of dumplings at Zhang Shou's house, and then returned to Zhao Guogong's mansion, but he could no longer eat the proper dinner at home. Zhu Er secretly expressed contempt for the female appearance, but seeing that the lady and Jiu Niang, the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, did not take it seriously, what else could he, an outsider, say? He could only shut up and eat.
"By the way, Grandma, Mom, there's nothing going on at home these days, so I'm going to go look at houses with Shou."
Zhu Er, who had a mouth full of rice, was immediately choked by these words, and almost sprayed the rice all over the table. But even though he finally turned his head to the side in time, the rice still sprayed all over the floor. Seeing the two big maids Yulan and Yutang beside the Madam with subtle expressions, they called someone to clean up, and the Madam looked even more unhappy, so he could only quickly explain.
"Grandma, mother, I'm just curious... I'm curious where my future brother-in-law gets all that money."
You have to know that this is the capital! The houses in the capital are not like those in the countryside. You can build a yard with thirty or fifty strings of coins. That amount of money is barely enough to build a shed in the capital! Look at him, the second young master of the Duke of Zhao's mansion. He has only saved more than a hundred strings of private money over the years. It is really sad to hear and tearful to see...
Just as Zhu Er was complaining, he saw Zhu Ying smiling at him: "A Shou just made a fortune, now he is rich!"
