Chapter 1259 Do whatever you want
Chapter 1259 Do whatever you want
Lu Wan's arrival made He Xi's family's living conditions much better.
At least, for his sake, their family of dozens of people could squeeze into the woodshed, warehouse, and livestock pen.
Lu Wan was staying in the guest room temporarily, but he would sometimes come over to chat with He Xi and others.
"That is to say, only three families of the Wujun Lu clan will be pardoned, and the rest will have to move west?" He Xi teased, "It's over, the Lu clan is over too, there will be no more Lu clan in Wujun."
Lu Wan did not refute him.
In fact, this statement is both right and wrong.
The Wujun Lu family has a long history and too many people. After so many generations, the Lu family is not only in Wujun, but also in other counties, and has spread everywhere.
Many distant Lu clan members never enjoyed the benefits of the Wujun Lu clan, even though they had the same ancestors. But the family was split up, and some Lu clan members who had a hard time were almost as poor as ordinary people, and some even worked as farmhands for the Lu clan. It was impossible for such people to be liquidated.
Therefore, it is impossible for the entire Lu family in Wujun to be destroyed.
But then again, can those Lu family members who have become almost strangers to the Lu clan be called the Wujun Lu family?
This is a philosophical question. Our ancestors thought that all of them were their own children, but the children did not think so towards each other.
Lu Wan didn't intend to dwell on this issue too much, he just leaned in and lowered his voice, saying: "Give it up and live a good life. When Jin conquered Wu in the past, people were also in panic, but it all passed in the end, it wasn't a big deal."
"When Jin destroyed Wu, we were guests of honor. What about now?" He Xi sneered.
Lu Wan sighed and said, "What happened when Wu and Wei and Jin fought? What's the situation now?"
He Xi remained silent.
Even a few years before the fall of the Eastern Wu, they fought well on the battlefield. Ten years before that, they even defeated the Wei and Jin armies several times, which impressed the northerners and won their respect.
But I failed to get their respect this time, and that's the difference.
But in just over fifty years, everything has changed too fast.
"Where is my home?" He Xi asked finally.
"Choose one between Fuhan and Wuyuan." Lu Wan said, "I am not sure either."
"What about the other families?"
"Mostly in Xinqin, Shangjun, Yinping, Wudu, Fuhan, Xiping and even the Western Regions Changshi Mansion, and also in Jiaoguang."
"The Western Regions Chief Secretary's Office is stationed in Loulan, right?"
"Of course."
He Xi sneered, wondering which family was so unlucky to go there.
"What will happen to Jiangnan in the future?" He Xi asked again.
"What else can we do?" Lu Wan shook his head and sighed, saying, "During the Later Han Dynasty, many families migrated south. Whatever happened to them, this group that migrated south will also be like."
He Xi didn't think so.
In the early years, the south of the Yangtze River was a wild and desolate place, and the big families had a strong martial spirit.
During the Eastern Wu period, there was a sense of enjoying peaceful days.
After entering the Jin Dynasty, the Wu clans lived a life of leisure and leisure for 50 to 60 years, and the style of casual conversation prevailed until the migration of scholars to the south. This period of style was unprecedented. If you let the Jiangnan clans of the Later Han Dynasty see this, they would definitely not recognize it.
Every era has different customs.
No one can predict what the future will be like. Maybe it will become a Jiangnan full of the smell of money?
But it has nothing to do with him anymore.
If the He family went to Fuhuan or Wuyuan, they might be forced to pick up their ancestral craft again. After all, Gaozu (He Qi) made his fortune by fighting the Shanyue people. A hundred years ago, even a familiar place like Kuaiji was full of Shanyue tribes, but they had disappeared a hundred years later.
This is probably the fate of the He family.
"The Zhongli family has an old relationship with my family. Where did they go?" He Xi asked finally.
Lu Wan was also preparing to leave, and upon hearing this, he said, "Zhongli Clan is very lucky, and is now in Stone City, being the honored guest of the Admiral Yang Baosong."
******
Lu Wan ended up staying in the Sun family manor for three days, and only left after the wind and snow stopped.
Before leaving, he specially visited the host to thank him for his hospitality over the past few days.
Sun Xi was still sleeping soundly. When he was woken up by the maid, he got very angry.
Only a woman of a docile character and humble origin could tolerate this kind of second-generation dandy temper. If it were a girl from a scholar's family, she would probably yell at him, "What am I doing, old slave?" and then be so angry that she would ride back to her parents' home.
Sun Xi went straight to the west wing, and while watching the earthenware pot that was boiling, he yawned and played with Lu Wan.
Lu Wan didn't take it seriously and sat there for a long time with a smile on his face.
Sun Xi wished that the old man would get out of here as soon as possible, and cursed in his heart, "I don't need your thanks, and I don't need any gifts from you. Don't fucking send me any gifts, just go away."
Several bodyguards squatted beside a makeshift earthen stove, fanning themselves with palm-leaf fans and staring at earthenware jars.
As the water in the earthenware jar becomes less and less, you can vaguely see some things settling out at the bottom.
This method was proposed by the people below.
After filtering, Sun Xi looked at the water (solution) in the jar, wondering what to do.
This water can remove grease, so there must be something in it, but where is it? I can't see it.
Later, someone mentioned the matter of boiling salt, saying that there was no salt at first, but it appeared after the water was boiled dry.
Sun Xi suddenly realized and immediately ordered it to be steamed.
Now it's almost there. The fastest jar has only a little water left, and a lot of solids have settled at the bottom.
Seeing that the boy was just talking to him perfunctorily and his mind was completely on the earthen jar, Lu Wan's curiosity was also aroused. Seeing that Sun Xi ignored him, he asked him about it.
Zuoyou was not as "stupid" as Sun Xi, so he hesitated and said nothing.
Sun Xi sneered and said, "What's wrong with saying it? Do I make money from this? What a joke! I just watch it for fun and want to get to the bottom of it. I'm too lazy to make money from it. Just say it."
Lu Wansui understood the whole story and immediately frowned.
This doesn't seem to be profitable.
The ash itself can remove fat, so why do you have to filter and boil it to get it? Well, he leaned over to take a look, and it was quite complicated. Someone had already used a cloth to cover the ears of the jar and poured the contents at the bottom onto the paper.
Sun Xi rushed over and looked at it with wide eyes.
They range from white to gray, some look like powder, and some are clumps of particles.
"There is such a thing among the plants. Could it be some elixir that took away its vitality?" Lu Wan said in surprise.
"I have seen hemp and reed, and there is absolutely no such thing in them. Are you stupid?" Sun Xi laughed and said, "It must be burned by fire or soaked in water."
After laughing at the old man, Sun Xi also felt a little emotional: "Burning with fire and soaking in water can change an object to this extent. There must be a mystery behind it."
"You can study it in depth, it will be a topic of conversation in the future." Lu joked, "There are people in the Ge family in Jurong who like this."
Sun Xi, the bastard who deserved a beating, sneered again, and said in a very bad manner: "If you like this thing, I'll give it to you. I know what can remove fat, and my wish has been fulfilled. I don't want to play with it anymore."
At this point, he paused and said, "I can only give you half. I will soak the remaining half in water to see if I can remove the fat."
After saying that, he dragged the maid out and left.
A voice was faintly heard in the wind: "I am interested in women again, sleep with me..."
Lu Wan chuckled. This boy was very thoughtful and wanted to prove his point.
Judging from his temper, I'm afraid he would ask someone to boil a can of lard and then play with it backwards.
Anyway, the hemp was burned and the gauze was ruined, and he had already wasted a lot of money, so he didn't need that can of lard.
There are people who have spent all their wealth in order to make elixirs, so what does this matter?
Lu Wan asked someone to bring a piece of paper, took out half of the suspected "pill" (a mixture of potassium carbonate, potassium bicarbonate, sodium carbonate, calcium carbonate, potassium chloride, sodium chloride, silicates, phosphates and other substances, with potassium carbonate accounting for more than half. This substance is weakly alkaline when dissolved in water and produces saponification reaction with oils), wrapped it up and put it in his arms.
******
On the evening of the first day of the twelfth lunar month, Jianye was already in sight.
Lu Wan and his group of more than a thousand people stayed in a fortress in the suburbs, preparing to enter the city tomorrow.
There were faint screams coming from the castle.
The new owner, Jin Zhu, was whipping a farmhand with a whip.
The farmhand was tied to a pillar in the porch, shivering with cold, and when he was whipped, blood flowed out.
Upon further questioning, it turned out that this man had failed to take good care of a newborn sheep, causing it to freeze to death, and was therefore beaten.
"Lord Lu, are you going back to Bianliang?" Jin Zhu handed the horse whip to his attendant and said, "Drag him away."
The family soldiers untied the ropes on the farmhand and dragged him away like a dead dog, obviously not caring about human life.
"That's right." Lu Wan replied.
"I just heated up a pot of wine and came in to warm myself up." Jin Zhu invited.
"That would be disrespectful to refuse." Lu joked.
The two of them came to a fairly spacious room, one after the other, but it was a bit cold and dark, and they had to light oil lamps in broad daylight.
"If I were to manage this manor, could Mr. Lu give me any advice?" Jin Zhu poured a glass of wine for Lu Wan himself and asked.
"This house is surrounded by irrigation canals, so rice can be grown there. It is also close to Jianye, so it won't be difficult to sell it. What are you worried about, my dear?" Lu Wan asked.
"Just growing rice always feels like something is missing." Jin Zhu poured himself another glass of wine and said, "Is there any other way?"
Lu Wan pondered for a moment and said, "There are banana trees in Wujun, and many people grow them, but I don't know if they can be grown in Jianye. The weather has been too cold these years, so I really can't say."
"Banana?"
"It is this material that can be used to weave cloth, and it is very expensive. However, the best banana and ramie can only be found in the south, such as Guangzhou."
"Does this thing like heat or cold?"
"Of course."
"I'm afraid it won't work." Jin Zhu shook his head and sighed, "Is there any other way?"
"Then we can go to the mountains and collect vines to weave cloth and make paper," said Lu Wan.
Jin Zhu nodded slightly, guessing that this was the only way.
We have just acquired the dock and are unfamiliar with everything. It will take two years for it to stabilize.
"Is there a place to hunt nearby?" Jin Zhu asked again.
"Of course there are." Lu joked, "It's a remote place with few people and many wild animals. But you need to be careful, there may be bandits setting up camp in the mountains."
Jin Zhu laughed and said, "When the farmhands I recruited from Guanxi arrive, what will we be afraid of? Bringing hundreds of warriors to go hunting can both train soldiers and catch animals. I want to see which bandits dare to come. I have nothing to do now."
Lu smiled jokingly and said nothing.
After so many days, he had a preliminary understanding of the noble children who came from the north to the south.
What surprised him the most was that no one surrendered, at least not publicly in front of everyone. As for what happened in private, he had no way of knowing because they were not familiar with each other.
Secondly, most of them have martial arts skills. Some have higher skills and some have lower skills, but they can all perform basic skills such as riding a horse, archery, and fighting in armor. Perhaps this is because they are the sons of military meritorious nobles, and we still have to observe how the sons of scholars perform.
The third is that they like drinking, hunting, and having sex with women, and do not like reading. But if you examine their poems and essays, you will find that they are not completely ignorant of them. Some of them can even quote from the classics. It is obvious that they have received education, but they are not proficient in it.
The fourth is to do whatever you want.
Jin Zhu was in a bad mood and whipped the farmhands without caring about human lives. The scholars might also beat them, but they generally did not do it themselves, while the sons of the nobles in the north did it themselves, giving people the impression that they were hot-tempered.
Sun Xi from Jurong is similar. He does whatever he wants and I don’t know if he can stay interested in something for more than a month.
In fact, when Lu Wan thought about it in the end, he felt that they were very different from the scholars on the surface, but they had something in common inside. They both advocated doing whatever they wanted, which was similar to what the scholars advocated: "going beyond the teachings of the Confucian school and following nature."
Don't care about the constraints of etiquette, follow your true nature, do whatever you like, and don't care about what others think.
It's just that scholars like to indulge in alcohol and be unrestrained. They also like to make shocking remarks and behave in a shocking manner. When they have idle conversations, they study metaphysical principles and the mysteries of themselves and the universe. The children of nobles like something else.
The lives of the manor owners are actually the same.
After decades of spring and autumn, you get tired of everything and you always have to find something to do, otherwise it will be too boring and you won't even have anything to talk about during a casual conversation.
On the second day of the twelfth lunar month, Lu Wan returned to Jianye, preparing to go to Shitou City and take a boat north.
(End of this chapter)