This morning, Zhao Jun finally met his students and attended his first class. At noon, led by the village chief and the party secretary, he strolled around the village and chatted with several villagers about the tea making methods of the Song Dynasty.
Zhao Jun has always been willing to teach the villagers who are eager to learn and ask questions, in order to demonstrate his knowledge.
After all, he is the only volunteer teacher in Nini Village Primary School now, and he will most likely be the principal of the village in the next two years. If his knowledge is not profound enough to be admired by all the villagers, how can he teach and educate people in the village?
Therefore, he tells everything he knows.
In the afternoon, except for Yan Shu who stayed in the back garden to continue taking care of Zhao Jun, the others went back to their respective places. Some went back to handle government affairs, while others went back to discuss some matters.
Fan Zhongyan left the palace in a sedan chair and headed towards his residence in Fan Mansion, Daguan Lane, Liangmen, outer city.
After leaving the palace, you will arrive at the inner city of Bianliang.
The Northern Song Dynasty had been at peace for more than 30 years since the Battle of Chanzhou. Although there were some domestic turmoil, the economy was prosperous and the culture flourished. Bianliang had a population of over one million, with markets connected to each other and streets lined up one after another. There were three lakes, six rivers, and countless arch bridges and boats in the city.
The streets are bustling with people, some setting up stalls in front of the streets on both sides, some walking through the streets and alleys, and there are groups of merchants, common people, peddlers, and hawkers. You can even see exotic customs, such as the Liao people, Dali people, Tibetans, Uighurs, Arabs, Persians, and so on.
According to historical data and unearthed records, the total population of Bianliang during the Northern Song Dynasty was over 1.5 million, among which there were a large number of foreigners, such as the Persians, later known as Jews, who were said to have reached 100,000.
The streets along the way are extremely prosperous, with numerous signs and crowds of people. Various hawking sounds can be heard everywhere, and people from all over the world shuttle through the downtown area, creating a prosperous scene.
"Cooked pancakes, fresh cooked pancakes."
"Cold pancakes, come and have some cold pancakes, and some wontons."
"Sir, here are some spices from the Western Regions. Take a look. There are also incense balls. They smell delicious when you hang them on your body."
Fan Zhongyan's sedan passed through all kinds of people, passed several city gates, arch bridges, and rivers, and arrived at Daguan Lane. The lanes outside the city were much quieter, and servants were standing at the door of Fan's mansion, watching at the street corner.
"Jiajun is back."
When a servant saw Fan Zhongyan's sedan chair, he hurried over to greet it.
Before Fan Zhongyan's sedan chair came close, the bearers said to him, "Master, the chief steward is here."
"Um."
Fan Zhongyan nodded.
The housekeeper hurried over, the sedan chair not stopping, and reported to him from outside the curtain: "My lord, just now Mr. Fu came over, but when he learned that you were not at home, he went back. Before he left, he told me to wait for you at the street corner and to report to him as soon as you returned."
"Oh? Is Yan Guo back?
Fan Zhongyan was reading in his sedan chair. Upon hearing this, he immediately put down his scroll and said to the housekeeper, "Send someone to the residences of Yongshu and Yanguo and ask them to come over. Tell them that I have something to discuss with them."
"Yes, Jiajun."
The housekeeper first welcomed Fan Zhongyan into the mansion, then called over several other servants and hurried out of the mansion to report the news.
Who in the capital doesn’t know that Fan Xiwen is battling with the prime minister Lu Yijian?
Some time ago, Fan Xiwen was demoted from the high and mighty prefect of Kaifeng to a small secretary and supervisor. For a time, he was criticized by everyone, and many people wrote letters to impeach Fan.
As a result, just when everyone thought that the Lu Party was about to win a great victory, the core forces of the Lu Party at the lower level were purged in the blink of an eye.
The situation changed so quickly that all the officials were unable to react.
Now that Fu Bi, a general of Fan's party, has come back, everyone knows that the two sides are likely to start fighting again.
Therefore, many people are paying attention to Fu Bi's movements.
Soon, the servants of the Fan Mansion went their separate ways and went to the residences of several important members of the Fan Party to invite them.
After returning home, Fan Zhongyan went to the backyard first, took a bath and changed his clothes. After he washed off the dust on his body, he went straight to the middle hall, asked someone to light a small stove, boil water on it, and then started to make tea for himself.
From the Tang Dynasty to the Song Dynasty, tea gradually became popular. From royalty and nobles to peddlers and hawkers, everyone loved to drink tea. Like firewood, rice, oil, salt, sauce and vinegar, tea became one of the necessities of life for the people.
After waiting for about two quarters of an hour, the impatient Ouyang Xiu arrived first. Before he even showed up, his voice could be heard, "Xiwen, hahahaha, that's really refreshing."
Ouyang Xiu came in and went straight to Fan Zhongyan's desk. He picked up a cup of boiling hot tea. Before Fan Zhongyan could stop him, he raised his head and took a sip.
"Pah, that's hot."
Ouyang Xiu stuck out his tongue, threw the cup on the table, and said happily, "It feels so good! I've been walking with a lot more energy these days."
Fan Zhongyan said helplessly: "Okay, Uncle Yong, please sit down first and wait for Yan Guo and the others to arrive."
"Uncle Yong, what makes you so happy?"
Several more people came in from outside the door, they were naturally Yu Jing, Yin Zhu, Cai Xiang and others. Among them was a man in his thirties with a thin face who strode in with great vigor and decisiveness.
"You're here."
Ouyang Xiu looked at the crowd and then saw the thin man, and laughed loudly, "Yan Guo, you are finally back."
That person was Fu Bi.
The members of the Fan Party are actually not very old. They are generally between 30 and 40 years old. The reason why Fan Zhongyan is the head is because Fan Zhongyan is the oldest and has the highest official position, and his status in the court is also relatively important.
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