Zhao Rong saw two trees on his way back.

One is a jujube tree, and the other is also a jujube tree.

They all grow in front of the gate of Zunjing Pavilion.

This Zunjing Pavilion is not far from Zhu Yourong's Yilanxuan. Different from the Shushan Book Tower which has a vast collection of books, the pavilion only collects ancient scriptures and the interpretations of previous books. Its audience is limited to the Confucian and Taoist scholars in the academy. It is not as lively as the book tower, and the visitors coming in and out are sporadic. There are quite a few such pavilions in the academy that focus on a single Confucian and Taoist classic.

However, Mr. Yan had recommended this place before, and Zhao Rong had been here several times. He had indeed found several interesting collections of classics and essays, which benefited him a lot. Now he was returning from Yilanxuan and happened to stop by to return a book.

Before entering the door, Zhao Rong glanced at the two jujube trees outside the pavilion.

When he came to borrow books before, the dates were not yet ripe, but now it was the harvest season, and the date trees were lush and leafy, with towering green shades. The dates hanging between the leaves had green spots and red spots, and each one was as big as an egg. They must have been very sweet.

The counter on the first floor of Zunjing Pavilion was empty. Only three or two scholars were scattered behind the rows of gray wooden bookshelves, reading or daydreaming. The atmosphere in the building was as quiet as the afterglow of the setting sun outside the window. Zhao Rong was not surprised at all. This Zunjing Pavilion had a grand name but was not very popular. The academy only assigned an old servant to work here, who was responsible for daily cleaning and sitting behind the counter to register for book rentals.

Just looking at the rows of bookshelves several people high, Zhao Rong felt melancholy for the wooden ladder under the old servant's feet, and he didn't know who would send whom away first. Of course, it is not ruled out that he is a hidden boss, a sweeping monk or something like that, and just wants to come here to experience a simple life. After all, the most powerful position in the universe is the librarian, and no one can say for sure, right?

Zhao Rong returned the books by himself and walked to the counter. He did not see the tall and thin old servant whom he had met several times before. It seemed that he was absorbed in his current busy work and did not waste a moment. So Zhao Rong took a book return form from the table, registered it, stacked it neatly, and turned to leave.

Passing by the two jujube trees at the gate again, someone did not leave immediately, but slowed down his pace, looked around, and saw no one coming. Zhao Rong rolled up his sleeves, jumped onto the tree, and began to pick jujubes quickly.

"You have grown from immature to mature, from skinny to plump. I can't let you live a life of widowhood anymore. I have to help you." Zhao Rong grabbed a ripe date, took a bite, and his mouth was full of sweet meat. He nodded sincerely while speaking unclearly, "When I go back, I will ask Brother Yushu, Brother Tengying and the others to help me..."

I remember that there was also a jujube tree at the door of my house in my previous life. I used it to provide shade in the summer, pick jujubes in the autumn, shake off the snow in the winter, and fill the garden with flowers in the spring.

Zhao Rongyi ate a date cleanly on the tree trunk, and then started moving around. Adhering to the humanitarian spirit of not wasting food, the crisp dates from the two trees were plucked out like a whirlwind.

After a while, Zhao Rong on the tree trunk hugged the bulging pockets, nodded with satisfaction, then turned around and prepared to jump down. Unexpectedly, when he turned around, he met the expressionless gaze of the tall and thin old servant. He saw that the latter was sitting at a desk on the second floor of Zunjing Pavilion. The window on the second floor just faced the two jujube trees. I don't know how long the old servant in the building stared at them.

"..." The half date that Zhao Rong was biting in his mouth fell.

The atmosphere inside and outside the window was a little awkward for a moment...

In the end, someone managed to leave safely without being chased away in a mess.

In fact, Zhao Rong was ready to hand over all the proceeds from the crime as they stared at each other in the tree. However, before he could open his mouth awkwardly, the tall and thin old servant in the window had turned his head, spread out a booklet at hand and started writing, as if he was continuing his work.

So Zhao Rong tacitly pretended nothing had happened, jumped down the tree, left a basket of dates on the counter on the first floor, and left. This is called "whoever sees it gets a share."

…

Zhao Rong returned with a full load. On the way back, he ate ripe dates while continuing to read the books that Zhu Yourong threw to him.

Unexpectedly, this is a roster of the teachers enrolled in Linlu Academy, which roughly records the personal information of the teachers in the academy. Naturally, it is not too detailed, but it is more than enough to get a general understanding of the "teachers" in the academy, and it is also convenient for future selection of teachers.

"No wonder you suddenly mentioned the matter of becoming my disciple. It turns out you had already prepared for it."

Zhao Rong nodded, then quickly scanned the list and finally found a few names of gentlemen circled in red. He must have been the one Zhu Yourong strongly recommended. However, what surprised Zhao Rong was that one of them was an acquaintance.

"Old Priest? Aren't you going to retire and not accept any disciples?"

Zhao Rong muttered something, then laughed and shook his head after a while.

He found that those whose names were circled by Zhu Yourong were almost all respected teachers in the academy, all similar to the old chief priest, or at least one of the six gentlemen of the academy. Their seniority and status were naturally very high, but the difficulty of becoming their disciple was also quite high... In fact, what Zhao Rong had always wanted to do was to worship Mr. Yan as his teacher and study the classics of Confucianism and Taoism, even though his current goal was to stand out from the current Mo Chi students as a seed scholar.

"She seems to have misunderstood."

Zhao Rong sighed, but thought about it, after all, she meant well, so he quietly put away the roster...

When he returned to Dongli Cottage, the sky was tinged with the last blush of sunset, and Zhao Rong could see from afar the crowded figures in the courtyard with the open door.

"You've come at the right time." Zhao Rong quickly walked into the courtyard, glanced at Yu Huaijin, Xiao Hongyu, Wu Peiliang and a dozen other classmates, then walked alone towards the water tank next to the well.

He bent over with his back to the crowd to scoop water to wash the dates, and said jokingly with a smile: "Tell me quickly, which traitor leaked the military information and spread the news that I had just captured a batch of precious dates, attracting you all?"

Everyone laughed. Yu Huaijin, the leader, glanced at the dates and asked curiously, "Is this a gift from the master? Has Jingzi eaten all the dates from Yilanxuan's tree?"

"That's not the case. I picked them when I passed by Zunjing Pavilion. Normally, no one picks them to eat. It would be a pity if no one eats them when they are ripe, so I accepted them with a smile." Zhao Rong answered truthfully.

Yu Huaijin nodded without asking any more questions.

Zhao Rong picked up a date and rubbed it on his shoulder, then threw one to Jia Tengying, "Brother Tengying, why are you standing there like an idiot? Stop staring at your senior Yu. Go serve the tea. How long have you been waiting? You left so many brothers here alone."

"Oh oh oh." Jia Tengying, who was squatting behind everyone, was stunned. He seemed to have found his backbone and immediately ran to the kitchen.

"It's okay, it didn't take long." Yu Huaijin shook his head.

Zhao Rong nodded and instructed behind her: "Remember, take out our best tea to treat everyone."

Jia Tengying couldn't help but look back, "Our... tea leaves?"

Zhao Rong said without blinking, "It's okay, as long as you have it."

Jia Tengying: “…”

Yu Huaijin, Xiao Hongyu and others couldn't help but look at the bachelor who was getting sex with their roommate for free.

Zhao Rong looked calm and didn't ask them what they came for. He distributed the washed dates to everyone and took a bite himself. While chewing, he half-jokingly said:

"You all came at an inopportune time. Today we only have dates and hot tea to entertain you. The kitchen is closed. Brother Tengying likes to eat steamed buns in the morning, so we can't eat together. As for me, I have a few days off tomorrow and the next few days. My wife and I came here specially tonight and are waiting for me at the residence outside. They should have prepared hot meals. I will go out to eat later. As for Yushu... well, he is a big dog owner, so he can give him a meal and let his servant buy the delicacies... Hey, where is he?"

Zhao Rong looked around and realized that the guy who liked to eat and drink at Dongli Cottage as his second home was not in the yard...