Chapter 1930 Exchange of Addresses
Seeing that Zhou Man was grateful for his life and was willing to recognize Shangzhou as his hometown, Lord Lu completely let go of his worries and started a happy conversation with Zhou Man.
After he left, he couldn't help but turn around and say to Master Zhen, "She's so smart and thoughtful. No wonder everyone from His Majesty to the Crown Prince and the other ministers like her."
Master Zhen smiled and nodded, then asked, "Master, what about the Xia family in Hongtian Village..."
"Zhou Man has been attending literary gatherings these past few days, saying he's back home to visit his family. He hasn't expressed any resentment when mentioning the Xia family. So, we don't need to get involved." Lord Lu paused and asked, "Did the family members occupying the old house of so-and-so move out?"
"We've moved. We started moving yesterday. No matter how much stuff there is, we should be done by tomorrow."
Lord Lu nodded in satisfaction. "It would be best if they could resolve the issue peacefully. Even an honest judge would struggle to judge family disputes. It's inappropriate for outsiders like us to interfere in such family affairs."
Lord Zhen said, "Who says it's not true? The husband says he is right and the wife says she is right, but they are both right. How should we judge?" No matter how they judge, people will complain. Sometimes they think they are fair, but maybe both sides will blame them.
The two adults huddled together and whispered a few words, then got in the car and left.
Before getting in the car, Lord Lu looked back at Mr. Zhuang and his four disciples who had escorted them outside and were now surrounded by people in the restaurant. He nodded and said, "It is true that the young are to be feared."
Lord Zhen nodded sympathetically. He had just listened to Bai Shan and the others' papers with the scholars downstairs. Even the doctoral students who were sitting with them had left the stage, but he was still able to catch seven or eight of them, which showed his ability.
He is only about sixteen years old this year. He is so young, which shows his bright future.
Although Zhou Man was a woman, she was no less capable. No wonder she was not only an imperial physician, but also an editor in Chongwenguan. Her abilities were not limited to medicine.
Zhou Man and the other two who were surrounded in the middle felt that today was another tiring day. They had paper and pen in front of them. When they discussed papers with others, they would ask for the source if they didn't understand something. After writing it down, they would briefly summarize their views and then go back to find a book to think about it.
By the time we left, the literary and poetry gathering had come to an end.
More than a dozen students and scholars crowded up to ask Bai Shan and Bai Erlang for their addresses so that they could communicate through letters.
In fact, they wanted to ask Zhou Man's address, but because she was a woman, they were a little hesitant. But when they heard that the three of them lived together, they thought that if they knew the addresses of Bai Shan and the other two, they would also know Zhou Man's address.
So he pestered Bai Shan for the address.
Bai Shan gave it to them. He also wanted to have a good relationship with them and see if he could borrow some books he had not read from them.
He thought he had read enough books, but after this trip he realized that even the Chongwenguan did not have enough books, not to mention that he had not read many of them yet.
Bai Shan not only gave them his address enthusiastically, but also wrote down their addresses enthusiastically. As soon as he returned to the inn, he circled the list. Man Bao pointed out: "This Mr. Wen has a copy of 'Yao Shun Records' in his hand. I have never seen or heard of it."
Bai Shan asked as he circled, "How did you know?"
"He said so himself. He said there's a section called Records of the Yellow Emperor's Hundred Grains after the Records of Yao and Shun. I'd like to borrow it, but I'm not familiar with it and it's not easy to ask." Books are precious possessions. Apart from the three of them who would open their books to each other, one has to be careful when borrowing books from others. Only if they have a very good relationship with them will they ask and test the waters; or they can take out books of equal importance for exchange. Otherwise, it's generally not possible to borrow books.
Manbao said, "Write it down first. When we become more familiar with each other through correspondence, we can exchange books with him."
Bai Shan drew a circle and recorded the information of the people whose names and addresses he had exchanged. Then he put down his pen, leaned back in his chair, and let out a sigh, "Are we going to Hongtian Village tomorrow? Are you going, sir? We don't have many days of vacation left, and I want to go home."
Bai Erlang had wanted to go back a long time ago. He came here to have fun, not to study. However, he ended up learning more from his study tour than he did in Chongwenguan.
Why is he here?
Bai Erlang looked at Manbao.
Manbao counted on his fingers and said, "It's almost there, almost there. We'll set off early tomorrow morning. Our carriages are fast, so we should be there around 9:00 PM. As long as Xia is willing to cooperate, we should be able to finish it in one day."
"What are you going to do with those two plots of land?"
Manbao chuckled and said, "The plot that the clan leader rented first will be used directly to set up a clan school. I urge them to open the clan school as soon as possible. However, I want the rent for the two plots of land this year. I will go back to check on the fields. After the summer and autumn harvests, I will ask my eldest and fifth brothers to collect the rent."
Bai Shan raised his eyebrows, and Man Bao said, "Let's take a look at how the house and the clan school are doing."
"Why do you insist on letting them run a clan school? What if they raise talented people and turn against you in the future?"
Bai Shan glanced at him and asked, "How many years have you been studying?"
Bai Erlang took out his fingers and started counting. Bai Shan said, "Don't count. Not counting the enlightenment your uncle gave you before you went to school, it's been eleven years, right?"
Bai Erlang immediately said: "No, it's twelve years!"
Bai Shan was too lazy to argue with him for a year or two, so he said, "Okay, twelve years. When can you take the civil service exam? Three more years, or five?"
Bai Erlang counted on his fingers again and said in confusion, "Three years should be fine, but I'm not sure. Besides, aren't you planning to go to Gaochang for study? Five years, maybe? It won't be so stressful."
Bai Shan and Man Bao burst out laughing.
Bai Shan simply sat cross-legged on the chair and said, "That's a total of seventeen years. It's because we have so many books and good teachers that we can have such a smooth sailing. For them, it would take at least seventeen years, and at most a lifetime. What are they afraid of?"
Man Bao said, "After seventeen years, I might not even be an official anymore. Besides, I didn't harm them. What grudge could they hold for seventeen years?"
Bai Erlang looked at her, then at Bai Shan, and hesitantly asked, "You guys are so kind? You actually came up with such a great plan for the Xia family?"
Bai Shan suppressed his laughter and nodded, "That's right, we are beautiful and kind-hearted."
Manbao nodded repeatedly and blinked at Bai Erlang.
Bai Erlang believed that the two of them were foolish and said angrily, "Tell me, what's the secret behind this?"
Bai Shan shook his head and said, "Our tempers are getting better and better, but why are yours getting worse and worse?"
Manbao said, "You've been getting more irritable lately."
Bai Erlang glared at them. Anyone would be angry after staying up all night for three consecutive days of intensive study.
Bai Shan finally stopped teasing him and explained with a smile, "The Xia family isn't that wealthy. They want to run a clan school, and it won't be very prominent at first. After three to five years, I'm afraid they won't be able to provide enough. By then, their attention will naturally be diverted, so they won't have to bother Manbao."
The next update will be around 6 o'clock
(End of this chapter)
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