Chapter 63 Guess
Chapter 63 Guess
Zhang Xijun lived in a small courtyard in the village.
This small courtyard was originally the residence of an elderly person from the Wang clan in Wangjia Village. However, the elderly person passed away a few years ago due to old age and frailty and could not survive the winter, so the courtyard became empty.
Although no one lives here, the yard is still well preserved. After Zhang Xijun and Li You came to Wangjia Village, Wang Rong had someone clean it up and arranged for them to stay here.
The yard was fully equipped with furniture, it was just dusty and just needed to be washed and wiped. As for quilts and kangs, Wang Rong had also made arrangements for them, so these were not a problem.
At first, Zhang Xijun and Li You lived in this courtyard. Later, Li You became Wang Jinwu's apprentice. Not long after Wang Jinwu accepted Li You, he took Li You to live in his own home, so this place became Zhang Xijun's residence.
In Wangjia Village, Zhang Xijun was a complete outsider, and unlike Li You, Li You was just a half-grown child, the only son of Li Hu. Now that he had become Wang Jinwu's apprentice, he had become half a member of Wangjia Village.
Zhang Xijun was a wise man, and he knew very well the purpose of Zhu Shencui placing him here. Moreover, not long after arriving at Wangjia Village, Zhu Shencui left. Except for someone sending him some food, rice and firewood regularly, ordinary villagers in Wangjia Village never took the initiative to communicate with Zhang Xijun, and always kept a vague distance.
Of course, because of Zhu Shenzhu's instructions, the people of Wangjia Village did not restrict Zhang Xijun's actions in the village. As long as Zhang Xijun did not leave the village, there was no problem. Even Zhang Xijun's daily movements in the village, asking people about things, and talking to people were not restricted. In this case, Zhang Xijun still had considerable freedom.
However, Zhang Xijun seldom wandered around the village. He lived a very regular life. He went to bed early and got up early. After getting up in the morning, he would take a walk around the neighborhood and return to the yard for breakfast when it was almost time.
After breakfast, Zhang Xijun reads in the house. In the afternoon, he goes out for a walk and then goes back to make dinner.
After dinner, Zhang Xijun would continue reading for a while. After dark, he would go to bed early, and then another day would come.
This kind of life routine was very ordinary. Over time, everyone in the village knew his habit and gradually became familiar with it.
Today is the same, the afternoon sun is very bright, winter is about to pass, and there is gradually a hint of spring in the air.
In the room, Zhang Xijun was half lying on the kang, with a pot of tea on the table in front of him and a book in his hand.
This is a volume of "Book of Wei". "Book of Wei" was listed as one of the Twenty-Four Histories in later generations, but there is no such saying now. After all, the Ming Dynasty is still alive and well.
However, as a historical book, "Book of Wei" has always been an important historical book in all dynasties. But compared with "Records of the Grand Historian", "Book of Han", "Book of the Later Han", "Records of the Three Kingdoms", "Old Book of Tang", etc., "Book of Wei" is not read by many people and is not highly regarded.
This is mainly because "Book of Wei" is slightly different from other historical books. Due to historical reasons, "Book of Wei" is the first historical book in the official history of all dynasties to record the historical events of foreign ethnic groups. Moreover, the historical evaluation of the content of "Book of Wei" has been mixed. There are those who praise it, but there are also many critics. The views of both sides are completely different. Therefore, among the scholars, there are not many who truly study "Book of Wei".
He looked at the volume in his hand intently. The content of this volume was the biography of Gao Yun, a famous official of the Northern Wei Dynasty. Gao Yun was also known as Gao Linggong. He had a rough life in his early years, but he was rarely "extraordinary". He was highly regarded by Cui Xuanbo of Qinghe, and later became a secretary under the general Du Chao, which created his legendary life step by step.
Gao Yun experienced five dynasties, served in three provinces, was both civil and military, and held a high position, but he also had a good end. This person's experience is particularly rare in history. Looking at the description of Gao Yun's experience in the book, Zhang Xijun couldn't help but feel a sense of what a real man should be like, and admired him very much.
As he was absorbed in reading, he heard a knock on the door. Zhang Xijun turned his eyes away from the book, got off the kang, pushed the door open, and walked out of the courtyard gate without asking who was outside. He just walked up and opened the door.
"Master Zhang!"
"Sixth Master!"
"Haha, Happy New Year."
"Happy New Year to you too, Sixth Master."
Zhang Xijun thought it was someone from the village. After all, he had lived in Wangjia Village for some time, and the village would send people to send him things from time to time. This had become a habit. But he didn't expect that when he opened the door today, he saw Zhu Shenzhui, whom he hadn't seen for a long time, which surprised him.
But he was also relieved after being surprised. After all, it was Zhu Shenzhui who arranged for him to live in Wangjia Village. He had begged Zhu Shenzhui to take him away from Yangtou Mountain and it was Zhu Shenzhui he had taken refuge with. He had thought that Zhu Shenzhui would take care of him after he went down the mountain, but who would have thought that he would stay in Wangjia Village for so long.
Zhu Shenzhui smiled and handed over the New Year gift in his hand. This gift was part of the New Year gifts he brought from Pingyang City. Since it was not appropriate to come to Zhang Xijun empty-handed, and since it was not the end of the first month of the year, this method was the most appropriate.
After saying thank you and taking the gift with both hands, Zhang Xijun quickly invited Zhu Shenzhui into the house to talk.
Zhu Shenzhui smiled and nodded, then followed Zhang Xijun into the yard, and the two went to the main room one after the other.
After entering the house, Zhang Xijun said to Zhu Shenzhui ashamedly that he lived alone now, the house was not well cleaned, and it was cold now. If Zhu Shenzhui didn't mind, they could sit on the kang together. There was a fire burning in the house, so it would be warmer there, and they could have a cup of tea. Zhu Shenzhui naturally didn't mind, he nodded with a smile and took off his boots and got on the kang.
After sitting down on the kang, Zhang Xijun made another pot of tea and placed it in the small red stove on the kang table where charcoal was burning. Seeing the book next to it, Zhu Shenzhui subconsciously took it, flipped through it casually, and looked at Zhang Xijun meaningfully.
"A volume of the Book of Wei, a pot of tea, and a beautiful lady to accompany you, this life would be perfect."
"Sixth Master, you are joking. I am just an ordinary man. How can I be so free? If it weren't for you, I would probably still be worrying about two meals a day, let alone this rare leisurely life." Zhang Xijun smiled bitterly and shook his head. Seeing that the water in the pot had boiled, he raised his hand to take it down, fiddled with the charcoal fire inside with tweezers, and then made tea for Zhu Shenzhui.
Although the tea is ordinary tea, Zhang Xijun's skill in brewing tea is good. It looks very artistic when he makes it smoothly.
Picking up the tea and taking a sip, Zhu Shenzhui put down the teacup and asked about Zhang Xijun's recent situation, his words showing concern.
Zhang Xijun said that he lived a good life in Wangjia Village. Such a quiet life was what he had dreamed of before. Moreover, the people in Wangjia Village treated him very well. His life was good and regular. Is there anything better than this in the world?
At this point, Zhang Xijun joked with Zhu Shenzhui, pointing at himself and saying with a smile that he had gained some weight these days and looked much better than before.
As soon as these words came out, Zhu Shenzhui couldn't help but laugh. Not to mention, Zhang Xijun's complexion was indeed good. He had seen Zhang Xijun's miserable appearance when he was in Yangtou Mountain. Now Zhang Xijun was fatter and whiter, and wearing an ordinary robe, he looked more blessed.
Zhu Shenzhui and Zhang Xijun chatted casually, and Zhu Shenzhui carefully observed Zhang Xijun's expression while chatting, but he could not see anything after a long time. Since he came here, except for the moment when Zhang Xijun opened the door and saw him, he looked calm and indifferent.
When he spoke, he was neither hurried nor slow, and he was cheerful and cheerful yet neither arrogant nor humble. Such a Zhang Xijun made Zhu Shenzhui feel a little uneasy. Can this man really be used?
But since he was here, Zhu Shenzui thought it would be a good idea to use him. At least Zhang Xijun was different from the others. He was a man with some abilities. And judging from his initiative to join him at Yangtou Mountain, Zhang Xijun was also a man with decisiveness and vision.
In this case, then no matter what, we have to use him. Otherwise, wouldn't it be a waste to leave him alone? Besides, Zhu Shenzhui is not a stingy person. He has always respected talents. He is not like some leaders who only like to use stupid people who are worse than themselves. They feel that once they use people who are smarter and more capable than themselves, their position will be threatened.
Zhu Shenzhui's plan is ambitious and has just begun. If he doesn't even dare to use people like Zhang Xijun at this time, how can Zhu Shenzhui accomplish anything?
"I came here today to discuss something with Master Zhang." After taking another sip of tea, Zhu Shenzhui said this.
Zhang Xijun raised his hand to pick up the teapot and refilled Zhu Shenzhui's cup, saying, "Sixth Master, you don't have to be so polite. If you have any instructions, just tell me."
This attitude satisfied Zhu Shenzhui. He smiled and asked, "Master Zhang, I think you should be clear about my identity, right?"
Zhang Xijun nodded: "Not long after Sixth Master left, I knew his identity. Although I thought Sixth Master was extraordinary, I didn't expect that he would be a member of the royal family. This surprised me."
By placing Zhang Xijun in Wangjia Village, Zhu Shenzui had no intention of really hiding anything from Zhang Xijun, including his own identity.
After all, Zhang Xijun is not an ordinary peasant, and there are so many people in Wangjia Village. Unless Zhang Xijun is locked in the house and not allowed to contact anyone, he will know some things sooner or later.
Zhu Shenzhui had expected this. After hearing Zhang Xijun's frank admission, he nodded slightly and continued, "I asked you to stay in Wangjia Village for so many days. Do you have any complaints?"
"I dare not." Zhang Xijun bowed to Zhu Shenzhui and said, "I understand the meaning of Sixth Master's arrangement. Besides, my status is not suitable for showing up in public. I am very grateful to Sixth Master for being able to spend these leisurely days in Wangjia Village."
Waving his hand, Zhu Shenzhui said: "There is no need to say these words. You are a smart person. To be honest, I have wronged you these days."
Zhang Xijun smiled but said nothing. He continued to sit there and listen to Zhu Shenzhui continue.
Zhu Shenzhui did not beat around the bush and immediately told Zhang Xijun about the Liu family's affairs, and also told him about Kang Youfu's situation. After spending some time talking, Zhu Shenzhui asked Zhang Xijun directly that he needed someone to go to the Pingyang Prefecture Salt Shop as the second manager.
Although the position of the second shopkeeper is not as important as Kang Youfu's, it is equally important, so he asked Zhang Xijun if he was willing to go.
Zhang Xijun did not agree immediately as Zhu Shenzhui had imagined, nor did he pretend to ponder. He looked at Zhu Shenzhui meaningfully and asked, "If I am right, then the matter of the Liu family was done by Sixth Master, right? Was the Kang family also arranged in advance by Sixth Master?"
(End of this chapter)