Rise From the Humble

  Chapter 220 Zhang Juren Visits

  In order to erect a monument, an inscription must be written, because it is to inspire the younger generation of Xiahe Village, and the inscription must be particularly good. The village elders and village leaders were not satisfied with the inscriptions provided by the inscriptions, so they came to Zhu Ping'an's family early in the morning to tell Zhu Pingan and his family about erecting a flagpole.

  So I couldn’t continue to eat breakfast, Zhu Ping’an’s family was surrounded by village elders, village leaders and neighbors who heard the news and went to the place where the monument was erected in the center of the village.

  Because of the erection of the monument and the flagpole, Father Zhu couldn’t drive the ox cart. As usual, he let his eldest brother Zhu Pingchuan take over to drive the ox cart. Now almost all the towns learn or rely on the Zhu family’s ox cart.

  The center of Xiahe Village is an open space specially set aside by the village. If there is any important event in the village that needs to call everyone, the village chief will call everyone here. There is a towering tree in the middle. This tree was planted by the ancestors of the ancestors. It has a history of more than 300 years. The branches of the tree are very many, winding and uneven, covering the sky Block out the sun. Every summer, the villagers like to come here to enjoy the shade, especially the women in the village like to bring a stool and sit under the tree, and sew shoe soles together in small groups, embroider flowers and so on.

  Now, under the big banyan tree, there is a stone tablet about ten feet high standing there, and there is a stone platform around the stone tablet.

  In the middle of the stone stele is engraved a line of words, "Zhu Ping'anli, a Xinhai En imperial examiner in the 30th year of Jiajing", with blank spaces on both sides waiting to be engraved with inscriptions to inspire younger generations.

When Zhu Ping'an and others arrived under the big banyan tree, dozens of people from the village rushed over after hearing the news. Normally, there was no fun in the village, but now that there was such a great event for the whole village, they naturally embraced it. The children came to watch the excitement, and they used Zhu Ping'an as a model to instill in their own children the idea of ​​learning from Zhu Ping'an, and the scene was very lively for a while.

  About shortly after Zhu Ping'an and others arrived, a villager came to say that Zhu Ping'an's family had come again.

  Before the villagers made it clear, a sedan chair wobbled over there. Followed by two carriages, the cart is full of things.

  The scene was so grand that everyone in the village looked there, and soon the sedan chair arrived in front of Zhu Ping'an and the others, and a middle-aged man in a brocade robe got off the sedan chair.

  This is Zhang Juren, who is at home with Ding You. He is in the next town. He is in his forties. Because Zhang Juren's wife is from Kaoshan Town, Zhang Juren is also very familiar with Kaoshan Town. This time, Zhang Juren's wife left her natal family, and Zhang Juren came together. I heard that 13-year-old Zhu Juren happened to be from Kaoshan Town. So just pay a visit.

"Hehehe, I came here uninvited. I hope I haven't caused trouble to Mr. Zhu and your village." Zhang Juren is a former county magistrate, and he speaks eloquently. As soon as he got off the sedan chair, he arched his hands with a smile on his face and offered to Zhu Ping'an. greet.

   "It's a great honor for Zhang Juren to come to our Xiahe Village." Murozheng is also a well-rounded person. He has met Zhang Juren before, and he is also worried that Zhu Pingan doesn't know Zhang Juren. So as soon as Zhang Juren finished speaking, he took the initiative to welcome Zhang Juren.

  After hearing Muramasa's words, Zhu Ping'an also knew that the person who came was a Juren surnamed Zhang. It seems that he has quite a face in Kaoshan Town, otherwise the villager would not know him.

   "I have admired Zhang Juren's name for a long time, and it is an honor for our entire Xiahe Village to have Zhang Juren come to our Xiahe Village." Zhu Ping'an also cupped his hands and stepped forward, although he had never heard of Zhang Juren at all.

  Before Zhang Juren came, his uncle Zhu Shouren was in front of fellow countrymen and Zhu Pingan. They all still had an arrogant attitude, seeing Zhang Juren at this moment. Uncle Zhu Shouren immediately put his legs together, very respectful and dignified. It's like a primary school student meeting a teacher. Uncle Zhu Shouren wanted to go up to say hello, but he was afraid of being left out, so he was embarrassed.

   "I came in a hurry and didn't prepare any generous gifts. I hope Mr. Zhu will not be disgusted." Zhang Juren cupped his hands and said, and a servant next to him handed an envelope to Zhang Juren.

"Mr. Zhu is already a human being before he has lost his crown. It is really gratifying to congratulate. Brother Yu is not respectful. I would like to congratulate you with 50 taels and some fruits and vegetables. I hope that Mr. Zhu will not be disgusted." Zhang Juren handed the envelope to Zhu Ping'an , said words of congratulations.

  As for the fifty taels of silver, I will give it if I say so. The surrounding villagers took a breath and stared at the envelope in Zhang Juren's hand, especially the uncle Zhu Shouren.

  Zhu Ping'an smiled and declined, "You will not be rewarded without merit."

   Zhang Juren insisted on giving, and made a look of being angry, "Mr. Zhu thinks it's too little?"

  Zhu Pingan shook his head and gave way.

   "You and I will support each other in the future, Mr. Zhu is like this, but he looks down on me, Mr. Zhang." Zhang Juren insisted on putting the envelope in Zhu Ping'an's hands, his tone a little excited.

  Zhu Pingan couldn't shirk, so he had no choice but to accept it.

   Zhang Juren was satisfied at this point, and then chatted with Zhu Pingan and the village elders for a long time. When he heard that Xiahe Village was about to erect a monument and flagpole stone for Zhu Pingan, Zhang Juren became more interested. Because Zhang Juren had also experienced clansmen erecting monuments and flagpole stones for him, he still has some experience. Zhang Juren talked about his experience endlessly, which benefited the village elders, village leaders and others a lot.

   After the style of the stele and the flagpole stone were simply trimmed, it was time to write the inscription and find a stonemason to carve the stele.

   "Brother Zhu Xian was young and promising, and he was famous all over South Zhili. The inscription raised his hand. It is also a blessing to encourage the backward."

I heard that when the monument was erected and the inscription was still missing, Zhang Juren also admired Zhu Pingan for writing the inscription himself. Zhang Juren also wanted to take the opportunity to see how Zhu Pingan's literary talents were, because he heard that Zhu Pingan was the last one on the list, but he heard People say that Mr. Zhao's arrest of his son-in-law and the reversal of the Luming Banquet make people a little curious about Zhu Ping's literary talent.

   When it came to the inscription, the uncle Zhu Shouren was a little ready to move, as if he had prepared it in private.

   Originally, Zhu Pingan was also asked to write the inscription, but now Zhang Juren is also here. It would be embarrassing if Zhang Juren was left out in the cold.

   "It's rare that we have two Juren in Xiahe Village, why don't we both leave calligraphy to encourage future generations." After the calculation was completed, the village official came out and suggested.

   "With Brother Zhu Xian here, I'll forget it." Zhang Juren smiled and shook his head.

   "The stele needs inscriptions, there are stone pillars on both sides, and calligraphy is also needed, and the ancestral hall also needs calligraphy, Zhang Juren should not refuse."

The village is inviting again, and finally Zhang Juren compromised and said, "I think the sides of this monument are left blank, and the stone pillars are also the same. It is to encourage future generations. Why don't we all write one or two couplets? How many pictures can we choose? It’s good to use it as a reference in the future if necessary.”

Zhang Juren's proposal was in the arms of his uncle Zhu Shouren. Seeing Zhu Ping'an's inscription on the gold list and erecting a stele, his uncle Zhu Shouren was also very envious. If he could engrave the inscription he wrote on the stone tablet, wouldn't he be immortal as well? …

Zhang Juren suggested that the village official would naturally not object, and Zhu Ping'an had no objection either, so the village official arranged for a few juniors to carry a few tables and chairs, set up pens, ink, paper and inkstones and put them under the banyan tree. Those who could read also followed Zhu Ping'an and Zhang Juren to the table, ready to splash ink.

  (end of this chapter)