Volume 2: Residence in the Capital Chapter 253: Don’t Be a Protagonist
For Ge Yong and those middle-aged and elderly officials, the Twelve Rains' play was a good entertainment activity during the New Year. And for the students of Jiuzhang Hall and Banshan Hall, who were watching this kind of folk art for the first time, besides Zhang Chen, it was something worth bragging about to be able to watch a play performed by the Twelve Rains in Tingyu Cottage during the New Year's Day and be in the same room with a group of high-ranking officials.
When leaving the Ge Mansion, the poor students and the rich students had similar feelings.
But when the cool breeze blew, most people sobered up immediately. They had enjoyed the beauty and the show, and had eaten the delicious food and wine, and their appetites and eyesights were all satisfied. But as the saying goes, desires are hard to satisfy, and the next big thing was naturally the turn. Therefore, when they saw Zhang Shou beckoning Zhang Wu, Zhang Lu, and Qi Liang over, a large group of people actually rushed forward.
Seeing this, Zhu Ying, who was lagging behind, pulled Wu and said, "Aunt Wu, it looks like Ah Shou will be entangled by these people tonight. Shall I take you home first? As for Ah Shou, my second brother will take care of him!"
Mrs. Wu and Zhu Ying were already as familiar with each other as a family. Seeing that, she did not refuse but said embarrassedly: "Okay, Yingying and I will go back in the same car. As for Ah Shou..."
Zhang Shou saw so many people gathered around him and knew that he couldn't leave today. So when he saw Zhu Ying and Wu together, he shouted, "Yingying, please see my mother off. I won't be going back tonight."
Zhu Ying didn't ask you where you live or anything stupid. There are so many young masters. Even if not all of them are doing well at home, even if they book an inn outside, they will not be afraid of having no place to talk. They will not have to discuss important matters in the cold wind at night. So, she smiled and waved her hand, winked at Zhu Er, and asked him to stay, and then took Wu's arm to the carriage.
Seeing this scene, many people could not hide their envy. If Zhu Ying was not beautiful and of noble birth, there would not be so many people chasing after her in the past two years. But just as beautiful flowers often have thorns, Zhu Ying's extremely hot temper also made people only admire her from afar and could not even have the heart to blaspheme.
Those who had such thoughts have all died. For example, Zheng Huai'en, the son of the king, who was rejected but still wanted to make trouble.
Moreover, Zhu Ying never looked up to the Lu Shangshu family and Qin Guogong family, who were of equal status to the Zhu family of Duke Zhao, and even looked down on the two mistresses who were both good wives and mothers. But now, Zhu Ying was so attentive to Zhang Shou's mother Wu, who was not even from a small family. How could everyone not drop their eyebrows?
After watching Zhu Ying leave, everyone immediately put away their sighs and focused their attention on Zhang Shou.
Beauty is good, but in comparison, a consort and two grooms, plus the Lu Zhaichang of Jiuzhang Hall, who was praised by the emperor as a prodigal who turned into a genius, and Zhang Zhaichang of Banshan Hall, who was just exposed as having uncovered the Linhai Camp in the past and was personally praised by the emperor for his righteousness, are their role models. Besides, those who don't care about their future didn't come today, and those who came are unwilling to be salted fish in the future!
After Zhang Shou looked around at everyone, the cold wind blew his head cold, and he had to think urgently about where to talk. At this time, Zhang Chen took the initiative to suggest: "Young sir, why don't you go to my house. My father doesn't care about anything anyway, and my mother never cares what I do. The place is big, and it can easily accommodate dozens of people."
As soon as he finished speaking, Lu Sanlang said angrily: "Zhang Chen, don't you just want to say that you are the only son in your family, so you can be the master of the family? Are you trying to show off that you are the only son? Humph, my father is not easy to talk to, and my two brothers are not easy to deal with, but my mother has already prepared a future wedding room for me. It is more suitable for everyone to talk there, without outsiders!"
Zhang Chen immediately glared at Lu Sanlang. Why do you like to argue with me?
But Lu Sanlang didn't take Zhang Chen's angry look to heart. Isn't this nonsense? You are the head of Banshan Hall, and I am the head of Jiuzhang Hall. If I lose my momentum in front of you, won't I be suppressed by you in the future? Besides, the students of Jiuzhang Hall are far inferior to those noble children of Banshan Hall in terms of their origins. I have to fight for them all!
Qi Liang saw Zhang Wu and Zhang Lu looking at each other, and as if because of the status issue at home, neither of them interrupted. He remembered that this time the two hall masters continued to stay in the capital, and it was him and Deng Xiaodai who went out to work, plus Zhang Wu and Zhang Lu, this personnel configuration was really subtle. After such a pause, he, who was always a peacemaker, actually forgot to speak up to dissuade Lu Sanlang and Zhang Chen from fighting at the gate of Ge's house.
Zhu Er was eager to try, and wanted to say that his family could actually accommodate dozens of people, and his grandmother and stepmother would definitely not say anything. But when the words came to his lips, he finally decided to wait until the end to see how Zhang Shou would resolve the dispute. The palm and the back of the hand are all flesh... Well, no, he had to see who Zhang Shou favored between Zhang Chen and Lu Sanlang!
As expected, Zhang Shou immediately resolved the dispute with one final word: "Stop arguing. I have a good place."
As soon as these words came out, Zhang Chen and Lu Sanlang turned their heads to look at Zhang Shou, and then said in unison: "Could it be the Imperial College?"
Zhang Shou was amused by their tacit understanding, and said nonchalantly: "During the period of the Imperial College's closure, not only you students, but even I, a doctor of the Imperial College, cannot enter, so you don't have to guess. However, there should be no one to serve there, and there is no food supply, so when you go there, please bring tea, snacks, etc."
How could there be a place that could accommodate so many of them without any food or shelter?
Not only Lu Sanlang and Zhang Chen were puzzled, but everyone else was also puzzled. Zhu Er had a vague guess. When a large group of people got on horses, some got on cars, and some got on cars. As for the poor students of Jiuzhang Hall who had neither horses nor cars, their rich classmates were kind enough to give them a ride.
So, the group occupied the entire street. When they arrived at the place, the poor students could only vaguely see the neat walls with the help of lanterns in the night without moon but only starlight, and thus concluded that it should be a mansion. However, the children of the rich and powerful had a much sharper vision, and even at night, many people could still tell which street it was.
Lu Sanlang, who had been keeping an eye on all directions and listening to all directions, blurted out: "Isn't this the former Luwang Villa?"
The poor students still seemed confused, but Zhang Chen, as the only son of Duke Qin, suddenly came to his senses: "Lu Wang's Courtyard? Is it the Lu Wang who died in the tenth year of Yongchen? The emperor's younger brother?"
The nobles who were originally wondering in their hearts now understood everything. Even though many of the students in Jiuzhang Hall were people like Yan Fang who were not familiar with the ways of the world, they could understand the clear and unambiguous statement of the emperor's brother. Qi Liang couldn't help but shout, "Young Master, this place is..."
"I spent fifty strings of cash to buy it." Zhang Shou thought it was a joke when he said this, but he did go to the inner court to handle all the formalities after he and Ah Liu looked at the house that day, and got the first land deed and house deed in his life. At this time, facing the shining eyes around him like searchlights, he did not want to explain the deeper reasons.
"Because we just got it, there is no shortage of furniture and utensils inside, but there are no servants and no food. Everyone should be self-sufficient and have enough food and clothing. I think most people should bring small heaters."
Although some people were sighing in their hearts, if there was really no preparation in Luwang Villa on such a cold day, then wouldn't the house be cold and the stove be cold too? In such a big place, what's the use of a small stove?
However, when Ah Liu unlocked the door and pushed it open, everyone followed Zhang Shou in and entered the untitled hall with amazement and envy. As soon as they pushed the door open, they felt a warm feeling coming towards them.
This time, not only were the others shocked, even Zhang Shou was surprised, and instinctively turned around to look for Ah Liu. However, when Ah Liu saw his gaze, he uttered a few words very innocently: "It wasn't me."
Zhang Shou was relieved. Ah Liu was not a god, so he would not have thought that he would come here during the New Year, so he would not have lit the ground dragon in advance. When he brought Zhu Ying to see the house, he found that the whole house was well maintained, so he had an idea. Maybe the people in the inner court thought that he might come to live here, so they lit the ground dragon in advance?
But how much charcoal would that take? He came here on a whim today, what if he didn't come?
Yes, it is inferred that so many students would go to the Ge Mansion to wish him and Ge Yong a happy new year. As long as the emperor sent someone to convey the appointment, he would definitely keep someone to discuss it, and the possibility of them coming here is very high.
Thinking of this, Zhang Shou simply waved his hand and told everyone to sit down. Ah Liu then quietly went out and came back into the house soon after, reporting that the stoves on both sides of the corridors in front of the gate of the villa had been lit, enough for the servants to warm themselves up while waiting. There was fire on the stove and water in the teapot, so there was no need to worry about the tea supply inside and outside. He became more certain of his judgment.
At this time, Lu Sanlang stood up with a smile, asked Qi Liang to move the square table in the hall, and put out all the things including the braised food, cakes and soups that he had just bought on the road. Zhang Chen was a beat slower, but he immediately pulled Zhang Wu and Zhang Lu to help. As for the others, except for Zhu Er who came up to help quickly, they couldn't help at all.
Although there were at least 40 or 50 people, there were still plenty of chairs in the room. The round and square tables could only accommodate three or five people, but it was enough. However, everyone was embarrassed to eat and drink in front of Zhang Shou at first, but Zhang Shou took the lead, so everyone just sipped the soup and took some food to fill their stomachs.
To be honest, no one was full during the dinner at the Ge Mansion because of the theater...
"Okay, let's discuss the candidates who will follow Xiao Qi and Xiao Deng to follow Wang Dayin to Xuanfu." Zhang Shou didn't have a good dinner because he and Zhu Ying slipped out to talk about love. What's more sad is that he couldn't eat and drink without manners in front of a large group of students who looked like they were listening to instructions. So, he could only eat a bowl of sweet tofu pudding that he bought on the road .
After he finished speaking, he looked at Qi Liang and said, "Xiao Qi, have you discussed everything with Lu Sanlang before? How do you decide on the candidate?"
Qi Liang wanted to ask Zhang Shou for his opinion, but he didn't expect Zhang Shou to directly ask about the result of his discussion with Lu Sanlang . He hesitated for a moment, and finally said, "The first few days of Wang Dayin's appointment as the governor of Xuanda will be the most difficult, and Xiaodai and I don't have enough experience in specific matters, so I discussed with Lu Zhaizhang and felt that the first batch should be selected from the most experienced people in Jiuzhang Hall."
Seeing that Zhang Shou didn't say anything, Qi Liang wasn't sure whether what he said was right or not, but he could only bite the bullet and continue: "So, the supervisors who have experience as accountants will be given priority, and the supervisors who have experience in warehouses will be given priority, and among them, those with more practical experience will be given priority. However, the best soldiers and generals cannot all be concentrated in the first batch, and it is more valuable to have the old bring up the new."
Zhang Shou nodded slightly in satisfaction. Seeing that Lu Sanlang, who was to his left, was full of pride, he deliberately squinted at Zhang Chen. Zhang Chen, who was to his right, didn't notice Lu Sanlang's gaze at all. He was discussing something urgently with Zhang Wu and Zhang Lu with a sullen face. He knew that the Zhang trio had discussed it, but they probably didn't consider the details at all.
Therefore, he naturally expressed his appreciation for Qi Liang and Lu Sanlang's discussion. "You and Lu Sanlang have thought it through very carefully. You two have been in Jiuzhang Hall for so long, you should have a clear understanding of everyone's situation. I remember that Lu Sanlang you spent several months making a handbook for Jiuzhang Hall students, right? Don't keep us in suspense. How many people did you and Xiao Qi select in the first batch?"
Seeing that everyone's attention was focused on him, especially Zhang Chen's look which clearly contained a hint of disbelief, Lu Sanlang immediately became very proud.
He stood up happily, coughed first, then picked up a palm-sized manual, flipped through it and said seriously: "As the head of the dormitory, it is natural for me to know the situation of my classmates." I think you, Zhang Chen, are not as meticulous as me!
"There are more than 20 people in Jiuzhang Hall, and 19 of them have experience as accountants. The most experienced one is Yan Fang, and he has a straightforward personality. I think he will definitely get along well with Wang Dayin, so he must go in the first batch!"
Yan Fang was stunned. He had always remembered Zhang Shou's kindness in giving him the book, so when Jiuzhang Hall recruited students, he applied without hesitation. Even though his application paper was copied by someone, Zhang Shou still accepted him. He was even more grateful for this, and he was the first person to test the code.
In terms of study progress and monthly exam results, he was indeed among the best, but considering that he was much older than the others and came from a humble background, he did not have many delusions after he and others were commended by the emperor. He was also not like some of his classmates who were smarter than him, who would go to the head of the dormitory, Lu Sanlang, to make themselves known to him whenever they had nothing to do.
But even so, Lu Sanlang actually called his name first!
He was just wondering how to start the conversation when Zhang Shou nodded to him, "This first candidate is a good one, let's decide. What about the next one?"
