Fox Road Travel Notes

As expected, Chen Zican and Wang Heming were not the only ones attending the county government banquet at noon.

Sun Shangshu, who has become an official, Liu Jinshi, who lives in seclusion, and several well-known squires from Handan are all sitting in the back hall.

They are all powerful people in Handan City. Their influence is so intricate that local officials dare not offend them easily.

A noble young man from the capital of Qiu Ma has come to the city with a large number of servants. There is no way he can escape their eyes and ears.

But at first, it didn't attract much attention.

Until that day, Chen Zican and Wang Heming went to the county government to visit.

Zhou Fengji walked over to greet each other, and the three of them chatted happily...

A banquet was held for good luck every week, and the banquet was dispersed late at night...

When this news was sent to Sun Shangshu and Liu Jinshi's study at a reasonable price, they were shocked.

To be able to make this unlucky county magistrate go from depressed to excited like this, he is definitely not an ordinary person.

To them, the government is like a sieve with ventilation on all sides.

Early the next morning, they knew the identities of the Xi brothers.

The Xi family in the south of the Yangtze River is known as the "Half Dongting". They have been married for generations and are as rich as the country.

What's more important is that from the end of the Ming Dynasty to the present, tens of thousands of troops have been marching across Hunan for more than ten years.

In troubled times, what is more enviable and fearful than having food in the barn and soldiers in hand?

Jin Zhijun, the Grand Sima of the Ministry of War, is a close friend of Kang Hou, the chairman of Xijiajia.

Hong Chengchou, who was so powerful, relied heavily on Xi Jiabao.

This time, because of the Xi family's meritorious service in the Sui Dynasty, a special order was summoned, and his children were allowed to study in the Imperial College and be directly promoted to the upper house...

Information was placed on the desk one by one, and Sun Shangshu and Liu Jinshi, the children's in-laws, gathered together to discuss countermeasures.

I heard that the Xi family brothers came here to give Zhou Fengji a hand on orders from Jin Shangshu.

Then, this County Magistrate Zhou is about to make a comeback.

His career in the future is limitless, so his attitude towards him must be changed.

Naturally, the attitude towards disaster relief also needs to be changed.

After all, it is better to provide help in times of need than to add icing on the cake. This good man cannot be left to the Xi family alone.

Anyway, they have gained enough benefits from this natural and man-made disaster.

Why not be a good person this time? As long as the family remains standing, are we still afraid of natural and man-made disasters?

Besides, although Sun Shangshu has passed away, there are still more than a dozen officials in his family.

Two of them were serving in Huxiang, where the war was in chaos and the situation was precarious.

It would be much more assured if a force like the Xi family could become a foreign aid.

The discussion was settled, and the two of them went to the county government office to visit Magistrate Zhou early the next morning.

He expressed his concern for the current disaster, concern for Zhou Fengji's career, and admiration for the Xi brothers and family...

Zhou Fengji had been in officialdom for several years, how could it be that he was in vain?

It was immediately clear that these local snakes were coming for Jin Shangshu and the Xi brothers.

So he boasted about his friendship with Jin Shangshu from the same hometown and the Xi family's wealth and power.

Finally, he revealed that Chen Zican wanted to hold a charity sale for disaster relief and sell several famous paintings.

When they heard that there was such a great thing that could not only make friends with the Xi family, but also sell favors to Zhou Fengji, and pick up the slack at the same time, both of them expressed their willingness to support him.

So Sun Shangshu and Liu Jinshi invited several friends and squires to invite the Xi brothers to a banquet in the name of County Magistrate Zhou.

Wang Heming was originally a person who was charming and good at dancing.

Chen Zican is also good at making jokes and adjusting the atmosphere. Naturally, the wine was filled with joy and joy.

Finally, Chen Zican made an agreement with everyone that the Xi brothers would host a banquet at home in the past two days to invite everyone back.

By then. I will take out several ancient paintings collected at home and invite everyone to appreciate them.

Whoever likes it will buy it, and the one with the highest price will get it.

Moreover, whoever provides the money and materials will be used to provide relief to the victims in whose name they are.

Not to mention these squires, even County Magistrate Zhou did not expect that the Xi brothers were so generous and did not take fame and fortune seriously, and they burst into tears of gratitude.

And this group of predators who prey on the common people are eager to fight when they smell something fishy.

Now, seeing such a good thing with both fame and fortune, how can future generations be willing to do so?

The next day, those who drank together last night all came to visit in person and each gave a generous gift to congratulate the Xi brothers on their move.

Chen Zican found it troublesome and pushed Wang Heming out to deal with it.

Until evening, Wang Heming, who had been busy all day, came to Chen Zican's room.

I saw him half lying on the bed, with his feet crossed, holding a ruler in his hand, listening to Kou'er's endorsement.

Seeing Wang Heming come in, Kou'er was distracted and heard Chen Zican say: "Wrong again! Extend your left hand -"

Kuan'er quickly hid his hands behind his back and said pitifully: "Master, this hand has been beaten eight times..."

"Then change hands!"

"This hand was beaten eight times..."

Kou'er burst into tears.

"You can't hit this one, and you can't hit that one either. You should memorize it carefully and don't make any mistakes, right?"

"Master——"

"Kuan'er has to put the soles on your shoes at night. If you hit me again, you won't be able to hold the needle!"

Chen Zican scratched his head: "Anyway, I must finish memorizing this paragraph today, and I must do it word for word!"

"If you make another mistake, Master, I will be beaten even if I don't wear shoes for the rest of my life!"

Looking at Chen Zican, who had a heart of stone and showed no mercy, Kuo'er said helplessly: "Then, how about beating the heart next time?"

"Huh? That's okay."

"Well, how about playing with your shoes on?"

Kuan'er forced out a flattering smile.

……

Wang Heming was listening to the conversation between the master and the servant. He couldn't help it anymore and burst into laughter holding his belly.

Chen Zican rolled his eyes at him: "What are you laughing at? When you were a child, you never got a slap on the wrist for your endorsement?"

Wang Heming wiped away the tears from his laughter: "I've been beaten before, but I've never been beaten by something so funny."

"Zican, what do you want Kuo'er to carry?"

Chen Zican said lazily: "Isn't it the Jade Planting Technique passed down to me by your sister Qiaorong?"

"This, I had a hard time cheating."

"It can both strengthen your body and beautify your skin. If you don't let me practice it quickly, wouldn't you be at a loss?"

Wang Heming shook his head and said: "Haste makes waste."

"Those formulas are all five-character and seven-character rhymed verses."

"It's so obscure that I can't even understand it. How can I remember it?"

He moved a chair and sat down next to him: "This way, Kuan'er, you memorize one sentence and I will explain it to you."

"When Miss Tianwang passed down the exercises, I was also there and copied them over. I still remember most of them."

Sure enough, this time Wang Heming patiently explained and taught Kou'er some memory tips from time to time, and Kou'er quickly finished memorizing this paragraph.

She was originally smart, but she just didn't find a learning method that suited her.

Chen Zican clicked his tongue in amazement and said to himself: "This ancient man really did a lot of research on reciting a line!"

Because books were expensive and printed in small quantities at that time.

Most readers borrow it and copy it by hand, then read it carefully sentence by sentence.

Therefore, the breadth of knowledge cannot be compared with that of later generations, but the depth is far beyond it.

He also taught Kou'er a posture, explained the method of breath observation, and asked her to practice on her own.

Taking Wang Heming to the wooden frame with the pointer hanging on it, Chen Zican observed it carefully for a while and wrote down the data on paper.

Then he raised his head and said to Wang Heming: "There may be clouds tonight."

"If God is not kidding, it will be in these two days."

"Brother Wang, you are from a noble family. This banquet requires more attention from you."

"We have to do it like we are a family!"