Poets, painters, and writers are often considered the same category, but in fact the latter are completely different from the former two.

For example, poets have always sought inspiration from wine and women since ancient times. What should they do when their creativity is exhausted and they encounter difficulties in creation? They should quickly find ways to make themselves high, sublimate their realm in the ecstasy, and pursue the fleeting inspiration.

But writers, especially those who write novels, have a hard time. They can’t drink alcohol. What’s the point of writing when you’re drunk? They can’t do any health care either, because long-form writing is a physical job, and you have to conserve your energy…

Especially at Wu Cheng'en's age, he still had to work hard on his papers, so how could he have the energy to do anything else? He could only make do with the painter couple and live together.

So he could only look for inspiration in life. For example, when he was treating schistosomiasis, he saw that those men with big bellies looked like they were pregnant, so he added the plot of Tang Monk and his disciples drinking water from the Zimu River to the 81 trials. Since there was the Zimu River, what was the use of men? So he came up with a country of women.

Therefore, the process of writing a novel is more like solving a math problem, which is monotonous, boring and tedious, and cannot be compared with the coolness of a painter... He drinks wine with his butt naked, twists his body and creates cool freehand paintings, and two at a time.

After listening to his complaints patiently, the painter Fang asked, "I agree with what you said, but what about the 'worms in the stomach'? Are you going to let Sun Wukong turn into a worm and get into the stomach of the Bull Demon King?"

"That's so boring." Wu Cheng'en retreated tactically, letting himself go like a monkey, and said, "I want him to get into Princess Iron Fan's belly."

"Puff..." The painter spit out a mouthful of tea, almost spraying it on Zhao Hao. "Ahem, come to think of it, Rakshasa is Monkey's sister-in-law!"

"Hmm." The writer scratched his head and said, "So when you fight other monsters, it's all 'take my stick'. When you fight Princess Iron Fan, it's 'take your uncle's stick'."

"Hahahaha!" Xu Wei laughed out loud, "You old slut, just thinking about this line is going to piss me off to death."

As he spoke, he played two roles at the same time, pinching his throat and shouting: "Sister-in-law, sister-in-law..."

"Ah, where are you?" Then he imitated a female voice and said in panic.

"I'm inside you..."

"Uncle, please spare me. I will agree to anything you say..." Xu Wei pressed his head with both hands, panting.

"Sister-in-law, I'm about to come out, open your mouth."

"Okay, hurry up, I can't stand it anymore..." Xu Wei said, pounding the couch and stamping his feet, laughing so hard that he almost died.

"Alas, he still won't stop with only one egg left. He should have cut off all of them." Wu Cheng'en sighed helplessly, "He is writing a serious book, but he makes such a filthy association. It is true that if he has Buddha in his heart, everything he sees is Buddha. If he has shit in his heart, everything he sees is shit."

"The question is, are you serious about writing books?" Xu Wei wiped his tears and asked Zhao Hao breathlessly, "Can you tell me, isn't his Journey to the West too serious?"

"Uh..." Zhao Hao was watching the fun from the side. After hearing this, he thought about it and asked a question that had troubled him for many years: "Mr. Sheyang, who did the Rakshasa woman have the child of Red Boy?"

"Huh?" Wu Cheng'en was stunned and asked in confusion: "Bull Demon King, what do you mean?"

"Why doesn't Red Boy have horns? Can he also have Samadhi True Fire, which neither of them can? Why doesn't the Minotaur return home? Why is the palm leaf fan of the Rakshasa woman a pair with that of the Taishang Laojun?" Zhao Hao asked, "And the fire of the Flame Mountain must be from the Taishang Laojun's alchemy furnace, right?"

"Oh my god, this is quite interesting." Xu Wei's eyes lit up as he looked at Old Wu: "You are a hermaphrodite."

"Oh my god, this is quite interesting..." Who knew that Old Wu also said the same thing, and then quickly picked up the pen to write down what Mr. Zhao said. "This makes the story even richer."

"Wait, you haven't written it yet?" Zhao Hao asked in surprise.

"Ah, didn't I tell you that I'm still thinking about it..." Wu Chengen smiled with an 'I understand you' expression, "Okay, stop pretending, I know you're reminding me again. How about this, we create together and sign together?"

"Well..." Writer's assistant Mr. Zhao was distracted for a while, but he still resisted the temptation: "I haven't lived enough."

"Hahaha, who says it's not true?" Xu Wenchang laughed, "Just based on the part about the battle in Chechi Kingdom, it's enough to accuse him of alluding to the late emperor and chop off his head."

After a pause, the lonely painter emphasized: "But I just like this tune!"

The part about Chechi Kingdom was suggested by Master Zhao when he was stuck in the prison of the Nanjing Ministry of Justice. As a result, Wu Chengen wrote the most blatantly ironic part. Zhao Hao regretted it very much after reading it. He was afraid that his dream of becoming the publisher of Journey to the West would not be realized.

Unless you publish underground publications and publish anonymously...

~~

The three of them chatted until dark, and then Master Zhao reluctantly went back to his study to work.

"Mr. Zhao, we have to speed up." Xiao Zhuzi, who had been waiting for him for a whole day, helplessly pushed him behind the desk.

The class will start on the first day of March, and his lecture notes are not finished yet.

Although he had the magical talent to copy the books he had read in his previous life, it was obviously useless to just copy and write management books for the future. The people who listened to his lecture this time were not the genius disciples who stood at the forefront of human wisdom, but a group of group managers who were at most savvy in writing and had limited comprehension.

It was necessary to rewrite it in a language they could understand, and to select and transform an appropriate management system based on the actual situation of the Ming Dynasty. This was very laborious, not much easier than what Wu Chengen had done.

Having said that, if Master Zhao hadn't been subconsciously avoiding work, he wouldn't have taken so long to come back.

Alas, I am burdened with literary debts, and even the fragrance of a beautiful lady is no longer attractive...

Mr. Zhao rubbed his face vigorously, took a sip of strong tea, and continued to pick his brains.

Zhang Xiaojing was even more anxious than Zhao Hao. First, classes were about to start, and second, she would be returning to Beijing with the princess in March. Before leaving, she had to finish the work at hand... Although Zhao Hao asked her to stay, she didn't dare not go back. How could her parents face it?

So, under Xiao Zhuzi's constant persuasion, Master Zhao finally got into the groove. The two of them worked late into the night, writing without stopping, and they didn't even bother to ring the gong until midnight.

It was late at night and the two were working passionately when they suddenly heard three crisp "pa pa pa" sounds coming from the main room, which were clearly audible in the quiet night.

"Uh, what's that sound?" Little Zhuzi raised his head blankly.

"Maybe my dad was too absorbed in trying cases during the day, so he dreamed about banging the gavel at night." Zhao Hao laughed and patted his belly, saying, "Patting your belly when you sleep, that's reasonable, right? What do you think?"

"I thought it was a mosquito." Xiao Zhuzi blushed and said in a mosquito-like voice, "Spring is here. Maybe the mosquitoes that hibernated in the corners have revived."

"Yeah, that makes sense." Zhao Hao nodded, and the two continued to work.

But the atmosphere became uncontrollably charming. Young Master Zhao, whose mind was distracted, could no longer think, so he sighed and said, "Xiao Jing, let's kill mosquitoes too."

"Damn it, where did this mosquito come from..." Zhang Xiaojing's face turned red as if blood was about to drip out, and she was held in his arms without knowing it.

"No, not before the wedding, or my father will beat me to death..."

"Don't worry, don't worry, no need to cross the line..." Zhao Hao buried his head deeply. Even if Jesus came, he didn't want to get up.

"No, don't, stop..." Xiao Zhuzi's voice became smaller and smaller, and finally became a whisper. Forget it, we are about to part, let him have his fun.

Under the window, two shadows were pressed together.

~~

Because Chu Liuxiang had limited vacation time, as soon as he broke off the engagement with the Wang family, he immediately started the wedding process with the Zheng family.

Although they were in a hurry, the Zheng family was a wealthy family, and they could not skip the three books and six ceremonies. They had to complete the steps of accepting the bride's proposal, asking for the bride's name, accepting the marriage proposal, accepting the bride's betrothal gift, asking for the date, and welcoming the bride. No matter how tight the time was, they had to complete them step by step.

This time, Chu Liuxiang's betrothal gift was prepared by someone ordered by Master Zhao. It was unclear whether it was generous or not, but it must be impolite.

It included a load of gift cakes, a load of various delicacies from the sea, two pairs of three kinds of chicken, a piece of pork connected in half, a pair of large fish, two pairs of coconuts, four kinds of Beijing fruits and four kinds of raw fruits, as well as red bean ropes, red envelopes, betrothal money, gold ornaments, dragon and phoenix candles, and a couplet inscribed by Mr. Zhao Erye.

Each of these things has a story to tell, and each has its own particularities. How can the Chu family be thorough in getting them all by themselves?

The Zheng family's return gifts were also very particular, with a pair of tea leaves, fruit, lotus root, taro and pomegranate, which meant "a happy marriage", as well as cypress, ginger, tea fried dough and sponge cake, which meant "a happy marriage and great fortune". There was also a pair of trousers and shoes, which meant "a long life and a long life together".

In addition, only one person will receive the betrothal gift and betel nut, and the other half will be returned to the man's family, which means "one man to the end".

Oh, by the way, there is also the snow-white He Wei scarf, proving that it is original to my daughter’s and is not second-hand.

Of course, this was just a return gift. On the day before the wedding, the Zheng family sent over the dowry. The exquisitely crafted mahogany and rosewood dowry boxes filled three entire rooms.

The neighbors who were watching the fun were all stunned. They said that the Chu family's ancestors were very lucky to have married into such a wealthy family.

From now on, won’t I have to eat brown sugar eggs every meal? Maybe I can even eat a bowl of it?

In fact, the Zheng family is not a particularly wealthy family, but Zheng Ruozeng wanted to compensate his daughter for marrying down, and secondly, with the strong publicity of the group, this marriage has attracted much attention in Jiangnan. He had to hold up the scene, but ended up emptying half of the family's assets...

The wedding day on the eighth day of the third lunar month was extremely lively and grand. Officials and gentry from all over the county came to congratulate, and the top executives of the Jiangnan Group who were attending a training class in Kunshan also came, and naturally everyone was given a big red envelope.

Oh, by the way, the biggest red envelope was given by Mr. Zhao Er. A total of two thousand taels of silver as a gift, Chu Liuxiang's family was completely rich now.

But this is exactly what Mr. Zhao wants. He intends to make this wedding a grand event and make the Chu family prosperous. So that the whole Jiangnan region will know that joining the Coast Guard is a high status and that escorting ships is a great contribution!

P.S. Only two updates, go to bed early...