usatvline Chapter 1601 Scholar Zhu Visits
Chapter 1601 Scholar Zhu Visits
Once the Lantern Festival is over, it will be time to prepare for spring plowing.
The year's plan starts in spring; this is of paramount importance to the entire country, and everything else must take a backseat.
Zhu, the scholar who won the bid, brought his son to the door to discuss buying oxen and farm tools.
Scholar Zhu was quite polite; when he visited Sun Shan, he brought several local specialties from Shenxi Village—golden bamboo baskets.
Zhu Xiucai said honestly, "Sir, I wove these baskets. If you don't mind, you can use them to carry things."
Zhu Xiucai's eldest son, Zhu Dalang, glanced at Sun Shan nervously, feeling that the gifts his father had brought to visit were really inappropriate.
Even if you don't give gold or silver jewelry, you should at least give delicious food.
What did Dad give as a gift? A bamboo basket, to be honest.
Even the most expensive basket costs twenty or thirty coins. How dare they send such a meager gift to my door? Zhu Dalang was truly ashamed.
Instead, Zhu Xiucai scolded Zhu Dalang, saying that Magistrate Sun was a man of high moral character, not swayed by worldly desires, and practical in his ways, and that delivering a few baskets to his door would be the most useful thing to do.
What could Zhu Dalang do? He had no choice but to bite the bullet and go to the magistrate's house. If Magistrate Sun blamed him, he would have to take the scolding and beatings for his old and frail father.
Sun Shan smiled and took the bamboo basket. It was obviously a set, with different sizes. The smaller one was particularly small and cute, with a delicate and beautiful design, perfect for the chubby girl.
Sun Shan agreed, saying, "I never imagined that Scholar Zhu had such excellent skills. His weaving is exquisite and interesting, and it feels silky and delicate to the touch. I could never learn such skills."
Scholar Zhu replied happily, "Sir, I have no special skill, it's just a matter of practice."
From a young age, Zhu Xiucai studied while weaving bamboo baskets, intending to become a bamboo basket craftsman if he failed his studies. Later, he clearly succeeded in his studies, but he never forgot his craft.
As the saying goes, "When you drink water, don't forget the well-digger."
Sun Shan had always admired Zhu Xiucai, a man who was both literate and skilled, and he treated Zhu's master with a smile.
Zhu Xiucai said earnestly, "Sir, the weather is getting warmer, and spring plowing will begin in a few days. We need to buy oxen and farm tools. In a few days, my son and I will go to Chenzhou Prefecture to buy farm tools and oxen."
Sun Shan nodded: "Thank you for your trouble, Scholar Zhu."
Zhu Xiucai hesitated for a moment before saying, "Sir, even if the farm tools are not readily available, we can order them in advance. It won't take too long. However, oxen are always in short supply. If we can't buy them all this time, we'll have to wait until next time."
He paused, then added, "Sir, don't worry, I will complete the task as soon as possible and it won't take too long. At the latest, I will buy back all the oxen listed in the plan before the summer plowing season."
The Great Qian Dynasty not only lacked horses, but also oxen.
Yuanlu County purchased a fairly large quantity this time. It was right after the Lunar New Year and the spring plowing season was in full swing, so the sales of oxen were particularly smooth, often resulting in a shortage of supply.
Sun Shan, being a man of the world, naturally understood Zhu Xiucai's predicament.
He nodded understandingly: "Buy as much as possible before spring planting, or buy enough before summer planting. Scholar Zhu, I trust you completely."
Although this was Zhu Xiucai's first time doing something for Sun Shan, the fact that he was able to write such a practical tender document proved that he had a very good attitude.
If he misjudged the situation, Sun Shan would simply pretend he never said those words.
Zhu Xiucai bowed gratefully, saying, "Thank you for your understanding, sir. I will definitely buy the oxen and farm tools as soon as possible."
Sun Shan exchanged a few more polite words with Zhu Xiucai.
Scholar Zhu suddenly asked, "Sir, I heard that during the Lantern Festival, a gang of scissors appeared in the city and even injured your daughter with scissors. I wonder what this is...?"
He looked at Sun Shan with a puzzled expression.
Sun Shan: .....
Has the whole county already heard about Little Fatty's injury? Has it spread to even the smallest villages and alleys?
What could Sun Shan say? He could only answer definitively: "There was indeed a group of hair clippers. But my little sister at home is fine, just a little frightened."
It's best not to talk about the injury everywhere, lest the rumors get more and more outrageous.
As the rumors spread, they might say that Little Fatty was abducted and sold into a brothel, or perhaps buried in the ground.
The gossip among the people of Yuanlu is only divided into mild, moderate, and severe!
When Zhu Xiucai heard that Little Fatty was alright, he couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief for Sun Shan.
Everyone in Yuanlu County knows that Madam Sun is a jealous and vicious woman who has only given birth to one big, fat daughter for Lord Sun over the years.
That's bad enough, but they even prevented Lord Sun from taking a concubine and having children. That's truly despicable.
Unfortunately, since Lady Sun had been kind to Lord Sun, and as the saying goes, one should not abandon a wife who has shared hardship, especially since Lady Sun's family was powerful, influential, and wealthy, there was no way for her to abandon him.
Miss Sun is now Lord Sun's only bloodline, and she can find a husband in the future to continue Lord Sun's bloodline.
If something were to happen to Miss Sun, how could Lord Sun not be heartbroken?
Zhu Xiucai looked at Sun Shan with sympathy through his old, weathered, and cloudy eyes.
Then he said, "Lord Sun, I have woven a set of bamboo trinkets for Miss Sun to cheer her up. I hope you won't find them too tacky."
She paused, then added, "I knitted this myself; it's smooth, has no thorns, and won't hurt your hands."
After saying that, he took a set of twelve zodiac animals woven from bamboo.
There were twelve in total, each one lifelike and vivid, but the one that attracted Sun Shan's attention the most was a large water buffalo.
big buffalo
Zombies, hehe
Sun Shan looked at Zhu Xiucai with gratitude: "Zhu Xiucai, you're so kind."
Seeing that Sun Shan liked them, Zhu Xiucai was even more pleased and said, "Sir, I'm glad you like them. These are for the young lady to play with."
Then he added, "If you want anything else, Miss, hehe, I can make that up too."
Sun Shan knew that the bamboo weaving craft in Shenxi Village came from the Zhu family, but he thought they could only weave some daily necessities like bamboo baskets. He was amazed to find that they could also make such an "intangible cultural heritage" craft.
It's hard to believe that Zhu Xiucai, despite his advanced age, is so skillful and clever, creating such lifelike zodiac animal figures.
What moved Sun Shan even more was how much he cared for Little Fatty.
What merit does his eldest, fat daughter possess?
Sun Shan then asked, "I wonder if your son also possesses your skills?"
Scholar Zhu & Elder Zhu: ......
Which pot does not open which pot.
This is the pain of Zhu Xiucai and Zhu Dalang.
Zhu Xiucai was a model student in both literature and the arts, renowned throughout the surrounding villages. But what about Zhu Dalang? He couldn't match his father's academic achievements, nor his skills.
A tiger father and a dog son, a prime example of "bad reviews" in the surrounding area.
Scholar Zhu shook his head sadly: "Sir, I am truly ashamed. My son is not even as good as me. Alas, it is my fault for not teaching him properly. The Zhu family has no successor."
Zhu Dalang hung his head and said in shame, "Sir, I am incompetent and have not learned my father's good skills."
Sun Shan: .....
I should have kept quiet and asked; I ended up touching on someone's sore spot.
Every family has its share of troubles and worries.
In the future, we should ask less questions and pretend not to hear so that we can get along better.
Sun Shan smiled awkwardly but politely: "Everyone has their own unique talents. If I don't shine here, I'll always find another place to shine. Hehe..."