Red Mansion Huacai

Chapter 121
It was a big deal for Baoyu to transfer to another school. Mrs. Wang told her mother Jia the next morning.Jia Mu didn't care much, but she couldn't stand Mrs. Wang's persuasion, so she asked Baoyu what he was thinking.

Baoyu Xu thought that Li Weijian's small experiments yesterday were indeed interesting, and also thought that the private lessons taught by Confucius were very boring, so she nodded immediately.Therefore, Jia Mu sent Jia Lian to look for suitable scholars outside.

There has been a lot of talk about this practical examination for a long time. It is now May, and many practical scholars from all over the country have rushed to the capital early.Many of them were from poor families. Jia Lian did not spend much effort and found three scholars in just two days.

Some of these three people are from Guangnan, some are from Bashu, and one is a scholar from Shandong.

Li Weijian passed the college entrance examination and was immediately dumbfounded.Two of them had never even learned algebra, yet they dared to rush all the way to the capital to take the exam!After asking carefully, I found out that these two people had a difficult career and failed to succeed in several years.After hearing that the saint had begun to study in autumn, he pawned his property and rushed to the capital with the intention of getting lucky.

Only the Bashu scholar named Ye Dongming, although he was born with a humble appearance, did have some foundation in practical knowledge.If I'm lucky, I can't believe it will be past autumn this time.

Li Weijian immediately broke up with Mrs. Wang. Mrs. Wang discussed with Ye Dongming and hired him as his teacher, spending half a day every day teaching Baoyu practical studies.

This matter had nothing to do with me, so I didn't expect Ye Dongming to turn around and look for him!

This man spoke a Mandarin dialect from Southwest China, and he bowed his head as soon as they met: "Brother Fusheng, his academic attainments are far higher than mine. A sage who speaks well is a teacher. I wonder if a student can become a disciple of a teacher?"

Li Weijian didn't know whether to laugh or cry. After repeated persuasion, he only said that they would discuss with each other and make progress together, and then covered up the matter.Ye Dongming is in his thirties, and his thinking has probably been fixed for a long time. How could Li Weijian be willing to do such a thankless thing?
And what he wants to do is to promote the Industrial Revolution in Dashun. When steam engines are spread all over China, is he afraid that no one will delve into practical knowledge?All he had to do was copy down what he had learned throughout his life before he died and pass it on to future generations.As for accepting disciples, accept them if you find them suitable, and don't force them if you can't.

This side of the room was covered, Ye Dongming sighed and left, and when he turned around, a small official from the inner government sent a message.The post was from King Zhongyong. It said that the Xinjiekou Tower would be completed tomorrow and the water pipelines would be laid out in several alleys. He invited Li Weijian to watch the water delivery ceremony tomorrow.

Li Weijian felt happy, thinking that the tap water could finally be put into use, and he would see how it goes tomorrow.

Turning around, Li Weijian arrived at Xinjiekou before Chen time.At this time, the streets were crowded with people, and many people pointed at the towering water tower, not knowing what it was used for.

Li Weijian met King Zhongyong. At chen o'clock, following King Zhongyong's order, the clerk opened the valve with force, heard a faint gurgling sound, and then tap water gushes out from the faucet more than a hundred steps away.

People from three nearby alleys rushed home and turned on their faucets, and clear water gurgled out.The people all around applauded, saying that it was convenient to drink water like this.

Looking at the water tower with his hands behind his hands, the boom of the Newcomen steam engine kowtowed back and forth, driving the volute pump to send deep groundwater into the water tower. King Zhongyong said: "This plan of resurrection does not require the waste of Master Shui. It's just this Burning coal is not much more economical than Mr. Shui."

Li Weijian smiled and said: "In the opinion of the students, as long as this machine is properly maintained, it will never be able to cheat or slip."

"It is."

Seeing King Zhongyong nod, Li Weijian added: "And the Xishan coal mines are all in the hands of the inner government. The cost is just the left hand instead of the right hand. Doesn't it all go into the inner government's account?"

King Zhongyong was happy and said: "That's why I, against all opinions, spread the water pipes. But how to collect the water fee will have to be carefully considered later."

"What's so difficult about this? By this time next month, the cost will be calculated, plus the profit, and it will be evenly distributed to each household. It is expected that it will be cheaper than before."

The valve used for tap water is okay, but the water meter is a problem.It's not that Li Weijian couldn't make it, it's that the cost of making a water meter is quite high, and some of the gains outweigh the losses.Recalling that when he was a child, there was no water meter at home, and the water bill was estimated by dividing it equally, Li Weijian simply copied this method.

Doctor Liang said worriedly at the side: "Your Majesty, these water pipes are only spread in three alleys. We must prevent anyone from reselling them."

Li Weijian smiled and said: "Mr. Liang is overly worried. No matter how we resell, let's calculate the cost first and we won't lose money anyway. Moreover, these three alleys are just demonstrations. They will be expanded to other places in the future, or according to the length of the pipelines." , or depending on the number of faucets, there is always some initial installation fee.

The capital has a population of one million, which is still a small amount of progress. "

King Zhongyong burst into laughter and pointed at Li Weijian: "The strange way is called the Resurrection God of Cai in the outside world. Sure enough, there is a way to make money." He turned to look at Dr. Liang: "Remember everything? We will follow this in the future."

King Zhongyong was in a very good mood, and immediately pulled Li Weijian and talked for a long time. If it weren't for an edict from Huangmen ordering him to appear before noon, Li Weijian might not have been able to escape for a while.

King Zhongyong followed Huangmen to the Imperial City. Li Weijian immediately got on the carriage and returned to Rongguo Mansion. He bought two newspapers on the way and was attracted by the contents after glancing at them.

In the court, Chen Hongmou used the capital inspection and Qingji debt to rectify the administration of officials and deployed new party personnel on a large scale.Falling into the mouth of the old party means excluding dissidents and uniting the party against those who are different.

Li Weijian watched the fire from across the bank, and there was nothing much to say about it.An anecdote was written in the anecdote at the bottom of the fourth page of the newspaper, but it was the case of a victim who had previously protested against the case of Na Yuelou Ainiang the previous year. The Metropolitan Procuratorate recently looked through the case files and found that there were many doubts in it, and immediately ordered the Ministry of Criminal Justice to Review.

Yan Xiyao, his old mentor, personally appointed a capable person to take over the case, saying that it would be re-tried in the future.Li Weijian was not from the capital, so naturally he didn't know the strangeness of the case. After asking the Ding brothers, he learned that Qingqing was a wealthy girl who fell in love with an opera singer. The two eloped overnight, and were reported by the girl's uncle. Shuntian Mansion The two were immediately arrested and brought to justice.

After a trial, the actor was sentenced to a hundred years of rod and ten years of imprisonment.Na Yue Lou was tortured to extract a confession, and was dragged on the road with serious injuries. He died within a hundred miles of the capital.

As for the rich girl named Ai Niang, she was kicked out of her family and her whereabouts are unknown now.This time, Yuelou's friend traveled thousands of miles from Jiangsu and Zhejiang to the capital, and wrote a letter in blood asking the Metropolitan Procuratorate to re-hear the case.

This matter has nothing to do with Li Weijian and is just treated as gossip.The last article in the fourth edition is related to Li Weijian.

Shi Zhou'an, the chief minister of Prince Zhongshun, drowned yesterday!

Li Weijian smacked his lips as he looked at the twenty-something words of news, pondering in his heart.It was expected that King Zhongshun must have taken care of Zhou An... He thought to himself, wondering if he could use this to make King Zhongshun frustrated again. Well, this matter must be considered in the long run.

............................................................

Outer city, North Xiaoshun Hutong.

Snapped--

Putting down her chopsticks heavily, Granny Qu pointed at the food on the table with a grimace and said, "Here, how can anyone eat this?"

A plate of cold tofu, a plate of fried Chinese toon, and a plate of mixed pickles. The staple food is aged brown rice with gravel mixed in it.

Opposite the Kang table, Fu Qiufang sat upright, eating silently.After a while, she suddenly heard a thump. She frowned slightly and spit out a stone as big as a grain of rice from her mouth.

Aunt Qu said angrily: "I just saw that the chicken gizzards were fried, how come when we get to the girl's side, only the plain ones are left?"

Fu Qiufang remained silent.The situation of the Fu family became increasingly bleak. In the past two days, his brother Fu Shi was still looking for an opportunity to meet with Li Weijian again, but before he could turn around, the case of Yue Lou Ainiang was revealed!

That day, Fu Shi tried the case, and after receiving 1000 taels of silver from his beloved mother-in-law, he beat Na Yue Lou to death and died miserably on the way to his death.Now if it is revealed, not to mention it is an official position, I am afraid that Fu Shi will still be held accountable.Because Fu Shi was anxious, he went out early this morning to find a way out, but he never returned until now.My sister-in-law is a person who dislikes poverty and loves wealth. It's okay for Fu Shi to be at home these days. If Fu Shi is not around, Fu Qiufang's food will definitely be so clear and watery that it's hard to swallow.

Fu Qiufang had nothing to complain about. She was just living under someone else's roof. Who told her to be a woman?If a man is born, it would be better to work hard to be a porter than to suffer here.

As for Fu Shi's previous plan, Fu Qiufang felt it was inappropriate after meeting Li Weijian.Li Weijian's eyes were sharp and he must be shrewd. How could he expect someone with a family background like the Fu family?Not to mention other things, Li Weijian would probably stay away from Fu Shi because of his shameless attitude.

She hurt herself and felt sorry for herself, but she never complained, only that it was her life.

With the help of an oil lamp and careful selection, Fu Qiufang endured the discomfort and ate a bowl of brown rice.Seeing that Aunt Qu was still sulking, she put away the dishes and chopsticks and sat on the kang head doing nvdong.

The family cannot make ends meet, so she can always get some loose money by doing some chores.

It was getting dark outside, and the old servant opened the door. Fu Qiufang turned her head and looked out the window, and saw Fu Shi walking back happily.

Aunt Qu glanced at it and said: "It's not an option to keep doing this. I'll go talk to the master."

After saying that, he got up and went to the main room.

In the main room, Fu Shi took off his clothes, found a cattail leaf fan and started to flap it back and forth.The woman came over and asked with concern: "What's wrong?"

"Hey!" Fu Shi laughed and said, "Thanks to my many friends, I finally found a clear path."

"Master, what do you say?"

Aunt Qu happened to be walking under the wall at this time. When she saw Fu Shi turning his head to observe, she hurriedly avoided it.Fu Shi didn't care about the sweltering heat in the room. He walked over and closed the window. He turned around and said to the woman: "I have been running around for a day and caught up with the guest of honor at Prince Zhongshun's palace. He said that as long as I can show my filial piety, I will be allowed to go to Prince Zhongshun's palace to do it." A long history.”

"Chang Shi? Isn't this just a promotion?" The woman was happy at first, and then worried: "This filial piety... Now that I have pawned more than half of my dowry, the guest of honor has no idea how big his appetite is."

Fu Shi smiled and said, "It doesn't even cost a tael of silver." As he said that, Pu Fan pointed to the west wing outside the window: "Isn't this ready-made?"

"Master is saying——"

Fu Shi nodded and sighed: "I originally thought that I would need some help to find a good in-law for Qiu Fang. But now... Hey, Zheng Yibin said that although Qiu Fang is an outsider, she will not be short on food and clothing. I'll send her over tomorrow morning, and just wait and enjoy the blessings."

The woman said unwillingly: "Zheng Yibin is just the guest of honor of the princess, and has no power. It's a pity that the master planned Li Caishen the previous time."

Fu Shi shook his head and said: "Stop talking, let's get over the current situation first. If I become the royal family's chief historian, I think I will save some face in the court, so the case will be suppressed without any doubt."

The woman then said: "As of now, this is what we have to do."

Aunt Naqu listened to the corner and knew that it was not easy to enter at this time, so she quietly returned to the west wing.

Entering inside, looking at Fu Qiufang, Granny Qu looked a bit wrong.She is Fu Qiufang's nanny. Although she is a bit vulgar, she has always been Fu Qiufang's nanny. She can't bear the thought of going to be Yibin's mistress.

Fu Qiufang raised her head in surprise and glanced at her. Seeing that Grandma Qu had a strange look on her face, she asked, "Why is Grandma looking at me like that?"

"No, it's fine."

Fu Qiufang was already smart, but when she saw his unnatural expression, she felt a thump in her heart and quickly lowered her voice and asked, "Just now, what did you hear?"

"This -" Aunt Qu pondered, not knowing whether she should say it or not.

Fu Qiufang pleaded: "I have lost my parents since I was a child. I grew up on grandma's milk. I treat grandma like my own mother. No matter what you heard, you have to tell me."

Mother Qu was moved, and sighed: "Girl, what can you do if I just tell you?"

At that moment, Aunt Qu told Fu Qiufang what she had overheard. Fu Qiufang was stunned for a long time, and immediately her eyes became red.

"He is so cruel!"

At first, it was just that she delayed Fu Qiufang for a few years by climbing a high branch; then, it was fine that she planned to marry Jia Zheng to become his stepmother one day; but now... now she is actually asked to be the concubine for that Yibin!
Who doesn't know that the princess of King Zhongshun is extremely domineering? Zheng Yibin only went to Jinxiang Courtyard once, but the princess ordered people to destroy Jinxiang Courtyard?

If you find out that you have become a foreigner, how can you still live?

Now that Nanny Qu had spoken out, she had to think about Fu Qiufang, so she thought: "If you want to live, girl, you might as well...run away. No matter where you go, it's better than being beaten to death by the princess."

Fu Qiufang responded with tears in her eyes. Immediately, the master and servant packed up their clothes and put them into soft clothes. Aunt Qu took advantage of the darkness to lure the old servant away. Fu Qiufang picked up the baggage and slipped out of the house quietly.

She knew that there was some chaos outside the city, so she rushed into the inner city after the inner city gate was closed.Fu Qiufang had no friends and no talents, so she wandered aimlessly with her baggage in hand. When the night got dark, she sat down in front of a mansion with her knees in her arms, buried her head in her baggage and cried bitterly.

After a while, the door behind him creaked open, and a young man carrying a whistle stick came out.

"What's going on?" the young man asked in a Shandong dialect.

Fu Qiufang wiped her tears carelessly, stood up and said, "I, I'll leave right now."

No, the young man said: "Huh? I seem to have seen you before... Is your surname Fu?"

Fu Qiufang raised her head and took a closer look at the young man on the steps, vaguely feeling that he looked kind.This young man was none other than Wu Zhong who stayed by Li Weijian's side.

"Yes. Dare I ask...Whose mansion is this?" Fu Qiufang asked tentatively.

Wu Zhong was delighted and said: "Who else could it be? Of course it's the newly bought house by our Mr. Li. It's being renovated now, and I've been left to look after the house at night. Miss Fu hasn't said anything yet, what's going on with you?"

(End of this chapter)