Optimus One Pillar of the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 7 Dad’s Richest Gay Friend

Help the drunk middle-aged scholar to sit on a big rock more than [-] meters away from the lake.Wang Daoqiu turned around and wanted to call a carriage for the middle-aged scholar and take him home.

But as soon as Wang Daoqiu turned around, the middle-aged scholar grabbed Wang Daoqiu's arm and said, "My little friend, please don't leave. Come talk to me. I'm depressed, but I can't find anyone to talk to. It's so uncomfortable!"

person!I feel bitter in my heart and feel aggrieved, so I want to find someone to share my bitterness with.Once you express all the pain and grievances in your heart, you will feel better.This is a normal psychological reaction, and Wang Daoqiu knows this.

So when the middle-aged scholar made this request, Wang Daoqiu didn't say anything. He just casually sat down next to the middle-aged scholar, preparing to be a quiet listener.

The middle-aged scholar saw that Wang Daoqiu had agreed to his request, so he opened up his chatterbox. He lowered his head and said: "My little friend is a student from Huzhou. The student from Huzhou is in Hangzhou at this time. I should be here to attend." Are you from the provincial examination this time?"

"That's right! I just finished the exam yesterday. I saw that Xiongtai was wearing a student uniform, and just now I heard Xiongtai walking along, cursing stereotypes all the way. I guess Xiongtai must also have participated in this provincial examination!"

"Brother is smart. I did take part in this provincial examination. This is my fifth provincial examination. I got a lot of questions wrong in this provincial examination. It's pitiful. It's another year of failure!"

Speaking of sadness, the middle-aged scholar lowered his head and stared blankly at the loess in front of him, doubting life alone.

The Ming Dynasty's rural examination was held every three years, and this middle-aged scholar took the exam five times, which means that he has worked hard for more than ten years for this rural examination.After more than ten years of hard work, it's all in vain. It's really worth getting drunk early in the morning.

Thinking of the middle-aged scholar's sorrow, Wang Daoqiu's mind suddenly flooded into the memory of a young scholar.It is about Wang Daoqiu's father Wang Zhaowen in this life. He was a scholar at the age of 22, and then participated in seven consecutive provincial examinations in the next 19 years.In four of the seven rural examinations, he failed to pass the subject examination, the qualifying examination for the provincial examination. He passed the subject examination three times and took the provincial examination, but he still failed every time.

In the end, I couldn't stand it anymore after failing the exam. I couldn't see my parents in my hometown, so I had to sneak home in the dark every time.I didn't dare to go out after returning home, for fear of being asked about the exam.He reluctantly but decisively gave up taking the imperial examinations and went to the town to become a teacher with his former mentor, who was also later his son Wang Daoqiu's mentor.

Thinking of my father's seven painful experiences of failing the exam, I can now use it to comfort this middle-aged scholar who failed the exam.So Wang Daoqiu said calmly: "To tell you the truth, my father was once a student. So why was he a former student? This is because after my father passed the college examination at the age of 22, he passed the examination the next year. He came to Hangzhou to take the Provincial Examination. Then in the next six Provincial Examinations in Zhejiang Province, he continued to take part in seven Provincial Examinations in total. In four of these seven Provincial Examinations, my father failed to pass the subject examination, and in the other three They are all in vain."

"Every time after he failed the exam, he didn't dare to go home during the day, fearing that the villagers would ask him about the exam and he would be speechless. So after he failed the exam, he would secretly go home at night. After returning home, he would also I stayed at home and didn’t dare to go out to meet people. Anyway, when I was a kid, I could count on two hands the days when I saw him going out during the day. I took the exam seven times in a row and failed seven times. In the end, my father couldn’t afford to be hurt. That’s it.”

"So after he failed the seventh provincial examination, at the age of 41, he became a teacher in a private school and gave up taking the imperial examination. And because Hangzhou was so sad for him, in the end he not only He no longer takes the provincial examination, and even the re-examination for our student membership qualifications, which is held every three years, he does not come to Hangzhou to take the exam. Therefore, he was regarded as a scholar. In addition to his reputation as a scholar, he has become a former student member. "

"Hahahahahaha, little friend, your father is such a wonderful man! By the way, little brother, I don't know who your father's surname is. I have been taking the provincial examination for 13 years. Maybe I still know your father. must."

When he heard that Wang Daoqiu's father had failed the exam seven times in a row, he was so sad that he didn't even take the exam for scholar qualifications every three years.The middle-aged scholar couldn't help but forget his own pain and began to gloat about Wang Daoqiu's father.

Everyone is like this. No matter how unlucky he is, as long as he knows that someone is more unlucky than himself, he will immediately get paid.This behavior is unethical, but it is human nature.

Therefore, Wang Daoqiu was not annoyed by the middle-aged scholar's gloating. He just said lightly: "My father's name is Wang Zhaowen..."

"What, your father is Wang Zhaowen? By the way, you are a student in Changxing County, Huzhou, and your surname is Wang. Brother Zhaowen is your father. Hey, why didn't I think of this! By the way, little friend, your little brother Is it called a stone?"

Damn it, the other party also knows my nickname, so it seems that this middle-aged scholar must be the same brother who failed the exam together with his father?

Understanding the seniority of the other party, Wang Daoqiu blushed and followed the feudal ethics of this era.He stood up, straightened his clothes, and bowed respectfully to the other party, calling him "uncle."

When the middle-aged scholar saw Wang Daoqiu's upright attitude, he gave him a big salute. He said with a "haha" smile: "My nephew does not need to be polite. I can't believe it. I can't believe it. What a trick of fate! My nephew, you know, I and I How did you meet your father?" Mu De, who was just a "little friend" just now, is now a "nephew", and the stock has fallen.Wang Daoqiu cursed the middle-aged scholar's snobbery in his heart, but in front of him he still followed the other person's words respectfully and asked, "I wonder how my uncle and my father met?"

"Fate plays tricks on people, fate plays tricks on people. The reason why I met your father is the same as the reason why you and I met. It's just that it was your father who was drunk that day. That was ten years ago. That was me. I failed the first provincial examination. Because I was depressed after failing the exam, I came to the West Lake to relax. At that time, in a secret and uninhabited place, I met your father who had also failed the exam. He was drinking to drown his sorrows here. At that time, your father was still I want... Hahahaha, don’t say it anymore, don’t say it anymore, I’ll save some face for my old friend.”

"Anyway, I persuaded your father to come back from the lake with my kind words. I also gave him a banknote to support him. However, your father refused my banknote on the grounds that he was not allowed to eat. From then on. After that, your father and I became friends. After that, we were inseparable together and failed twice. Six years ago, after we failed again, we also bought food and drinks, got drunk by the West Lake at night, and cursed here. God is unfair and the examiner is blind."

"After we sobered up the next day, your father told me that he seemed to have no hope of taking the provincial examination, and he would not take the exam in the future. Your father also mentioned you to me at that time. Your father said how smart you were. In the future, the hope of your Wang family to take the imperial examination will fall on you. Last year, after you finished the county examination, government examination, and hospital examination, you won a small three yuan. Your father also sent me a letter, which was a good one. Are you showing off? From the words in the letter, I can tell that after you were born in primary and secondary school, your father has high hopes for you to take this provincial examination. How are you, nephew? How did you do in this provincial examination? "

Damn it, after taking the exam, I went to the West Lake to relax, and I actually met my dad, a good friend who failed the exam together. What kind of fate is this!

After understanding the relationship between the other party and his father, Wang Daoqiu felt a little embarrassed.Faced with the other party's inquiry about his test scores, Wang Daoqiu thought for a moment and answered frankly: "My nephew has done all the questions in the three provincial examinations. After the exam, my nephew went back and flipped through the book again. I didn't find anything wrong. So I didn't dare to hide it from my uncle. If nothing happens this time, my nephew will not have to go back secretly at night like my father did when he returned home. "

"Hahahahaha"

Wang Daoqiu talked about the misery of his father returning home after failing the exam, and bluntly said that he should pass the high school this time in the provincial examination.While this made the middle-aged scholar laugh, he also felt something special about Wang Daoqiu in his heart.After all, scholars in this era are all Chinese-style self-effacing when it comes to their academic performance, saying how they are still far behind and how they are not enough.

Anyway, I don’t know what they are thinking in their hearts, but they must be very humble, especially in front of people older than them.But Wang Daoqiu was completely different from those people in his frankness. More importantly, Wang Daoqiu didn't mind sharing his father's bad things with others. This was unimaginable among scholars in this era.

So after listening to Wang Daoqiu's words, the middle-aged scholar felt that Wang Daoqiu was extraordinary. This man was sincere and would have a bright future.

With this thought in his mind, the middle-aged scholar decided to be frank with Wang Daoqiu.So he said to Wang Daoqiu: "My dear nephew, your father has never mentioned me in front of you, right?"

Searching the memory of the young scholar, there is indeed no memory of this middle-aged scholar.So when faced with the middle-aged scholar's questions, Wang Daoqiu didn't reply directly, but just smiled awkwardly at them, which was regarded as acquiescence.

The middle-aged scholar saw that Wang Daoqiu acquiesced, so he smiled and said: "I guess that's it, your father is just like that. Making friends with me is like committing an offense. He always pretends not to know me in front of others. I."

This middle-aged scholar said that his father was friends with him, but he never pretended not to know him in front of others. Why was this?It's impossible that his father dislikes being poor and loves being rich. If that were the case, how could this middle-aged scholar still be friends with his father?And according to the memory of the young scholar, his father was a typical scholar of this era. He emphasized that scholars should have character and the Tao of Confucius and Mencius. It was impossible for him to do such immoral things.

Since there is nothing wrong with my father's moral character, why do I pretend not to know him in front of others despite being friends with him?This question is too difficult, Wang Daoqiu doesn’t know it!So he turned his questioning eyes to the middle-aged scholar.

At this time, the middle-aged scholar, after seeing Wang Daoqiu's confused face, he seemed to feel a sense of accomplishment and laughed "haha" again.

The middle-aged scholar laughed for a while. After laughing, he asked Wang Daoqiu with a serious face: "My dear nephew, have you ever heard of the richest man in Zhejiang, the silk merchant Shen Yishi."

Shen Yishi, isn't that the official businessman in the Zhejiang Weaving Bureau in the Ming Dynasty 1566?The TV series said that in the whirlpool of business and political struggles, he developed his own skills, strategized, and won thousands of miles. He traveled between officialdom, shopping malls, and love affairs like a fish in water, and he was able to do everything with ease and show off his glory.

Now this middle-aged scholar asked himself if he knew the richest man in Zhejiang, Shen Yishi, and then imagined that his father was in front of others, pretending not to know him, then who is this person?
Thinking of this, Wang Daoqiu couldn't help but stared at the middle-aged scholar in shock at his guess, and asked tremblingly: "Could my uncle be the richest man in Zhejiang, Shen Yishi?"

"Of course."

(End of this chapter)