The literary giants of the late Ming Dynasty began by copying books

Wang Wenlong looked Ye Shaoyuan up and down, and saw that he was only fifteen or sixteen years old now, but he was tall and strong. He was dressed in brocade robes, with flowers and treasures on his head. Although he was not very handsome, he was still energetic, but his face was His smile felt somewhat greasy, as if he was pretending.

Wang Wenlong smiled and invited: "Dare you be Ye Zhongshao? Please come on board to meet us."

"Sister Shen, I didn't expect to meet her by chance on the river."

Ye Shaoyuan happily boarded Wang Wenlong's boat, and Shen Yixiu also came out. Ye Shaoyuan looked at Shen Yixiu and said hello with a smile.

"Brother Ye Shi, what a coincidence."

Shen Yixiu also said hello to Ye Shaoyuan.

Li Guoxian, who came out with Shen Yixiu, also saluted Ye Shaoyuan.

"Is this Wang Jianyang?"

Mrs. Ma served tea and everyone sat down. Only then did Ye Shaoyuan cast his eyes on Wang Wenlong, who had been smiling politely and not saying much.

"This is my Prime Minister Wang Jianyang." Shen Yixiu introduced simply.

"Brother Ye Xian, I have long admired your name." Wang Wenlong bowed politely.

"Hello, Mr. Jianyang," Ye Shaoyuan also politely addressed Wang Wenlong as Mr. Jianyang, and then asked, "Where have you been on business recently?"

Wang Wenlong was stunned for a moment, and then he realized where Ye Shaoyuan had been studying in the past two years, and the fact that he became an assistant teacher at the Nanjing Imperial College was not really a big deal among people who were not familiar with him. After all, the Imperial College The teaching assistant is just an eighth-grade official.

As for his writing and running newspapers, in the eyes of ordinary literati, they are nothing more than a business to make a living. In addition, the dissemination of information in this era was not smooth, and the live newspaper performance of "Suzhou Xundao" was only limited to urban areas, and even if During this period of time, Ye Shaoyuan was living in seclusion in the countryside and studying hard. It was normal that he had never heard of the name "Suzhou Xundao".

The person opposite was just a young man, and Wang Wenlong didn't want to show off too much in front of others, so he said in an understatement, "Now I'm on official business at the Imperial College in Nanjing."

Ye Shaoyuan thought that Wang Wenlong was working as a staff member in some official house of the Imperial College. Hearing this, he nodded and said: "Nanjing is the center of the world's literary studies, and Nanjing's Imperial College is a place of nobility, so it is also a good place to go."

Ye Shaoyuan looked at the boat chartered by Wang Wenlong, then pointed at the boats following behind and asked, "Is that also the boat belonging to Jianyang's family?"

Wang Wenlong nodded and said, "I hired him."

Wang Wenlong's family often travels between Suzhou and Nanjing, and they have bought property on both sides. Naturally, they don't need to move too many things when they go out, so they can just hire two boats.

In Ye Shaoyuan's view, Wang Wenlong's family only hired two small boats to go to Nanjing, which was obviously a sign of financial constraints.

"Sister Shen, let's go on the road together, just in time..."

In fact, Ye Shaoyuan has never let go of Shen Yixiu in his heart. However, since Shen Yixiu has married someone else, he can't think more about it. But they met by chance today and feel that Shen Yixiu's husband is a shabby person. Ye Shaoyuan is dissatisfied. , want to reveal his family background.

When Shen Yixiu heard this, he looked at Wang Wenlong. Wang Wenlong could not drive Ye Shaoyuan away, and nodded.

Shen Yixiu was still hesitating, but Li Guoxian, who had been accompanying Shen Yixiu at this time, suddenly interrupted and said: "That's it, the road is more lively."

"Excuse me then, I'll go get some snacks from the boat."

Ye Shaoyuan said politely to Wang Wenlong, then walked to the side of the ship and asked the servant to pack some things.

Shen Yixiu here frowned and said to Li Guoxian: "What did you promise him?"

"This young master of the Ye family is very passionate about your sister. How much will it hurt her if we drive her away?" Li Guoxian teased, and an angry Shen Yixiu hit her repeatedly with a handkerchief.

Li Guoxian then looked at Wang Wenlong. Wang Wenlong knew what she meant and said to Shen Yixiu: "You were family friends before, so you can't have this relationship broken off after you got married. As for me, if your husband is afraid of this, I will protect you." These two beauties are like gods, and I don’t want to go out in the future.”

Suddenly being flirted with by her husband, Shen Yixiu, who had never tried anything with a man and a woman, blushed, but Li Guoxian, who knew how to eat marrow, glanced at Wang Wenlong with spring eyes. Soon after, Ye Shaoyuan walked back to the cabin. His servant brought four sets of exquisite tableware and a small stove to make tea.

At this time, many boats had stopped at Shuimen Gate, blocking the canal and making it impossible for a while. People doing business in the surrounding villages rowed boats through the waterway, and saw three boats, Wang Wenlong and Ye Shaoyuan, approaching. They were together, and the people coming and going were all servants. They knew that this must be the boat of a wealthy scholar, so these business farmers rowed their boats to this side, constantly selling the food on their boats.

Ye Shaoyuan's eyes glanced at the table, but he thought that Wang Wenlong was a bit stingy, not even willing to buy some snacks when he took his wife and concubines to his appointment.

Wang Wenlong's family has taken this waterway between Suzhou and Nanjing five or six times. They have long been used to it. They know that they don't have much appetite when they are on the road, so there are no special preparations on the boat. They just buy some food to eat during normal meal times, and there is only one on the table. There were two plates of leftover candied lotus roots, candied fruits, etc. The whole family didn't touch them very much.

"Jianyang, Sister Shen, what snacks do you guys want to eat? I'll buy some. It's a rare occasion, so don't be polite to me!" Ye Shaoyuan said generously.

At this time, a vendor selling fried river fish pulled the boat to the side of the boat.

Ye Shaoyuan smiled and said: "Jianyang, this is the first time we meet, why not buy some fried fish to go with the wine."

"I just had lunch, but I didn't dare to eat more."

Wang Wenlong waved his hand and smiled.

What Wang Wenlong told was the truth, not that he was disrespectful. It was the twenty-seventh year of Wanli when he arrived in the Ming Dynasty, and now it has entered the thirty-second year of Wanli. Five years later, Wang Wenlong is already thirty years old. Although he doesn’t know whether it’s because of time travel or because he’s in good health, Wang Wenlong doesn’t feel that his energy and physical strength have declined much. It’s even slightly improved compared to his previous life when he ate three meals a day and lived an irregular life. Even his appearance hasn’t changed much. Wang Wenlong judged his own situation. Maybe if he lived to be in his thirties or forties, his physique would still be better than that of a young man in his twenties.

However, the two beautiful wives are not over 20 yet, and Wang Wenlong also consciously wants to take care of his body and control his caloric intake.

"Oh, Sister Shen and Aunt Li, what do you want to eat?"

Hearing this, Ye Shaoyuan couldn't help but feel contempt in his heart. This Wang Wenlong really knew how to find excuses to save money for himself.

"Just buy what you want to eat."

"We have also eaten." Li Guoxian said.

"Okay, then do it my way."

Ye Shaoyuan walked out of the cabin, summoned a nearby trading boat, and ordered a plate of fried river fish, a bowl of stewed roast pork, four braised quails, four bowls of stewed cassava in sugar water, and a plate of sugar water chestnuts, all added together. It cost two bunches of money. Ye Shaoyuan asked the servant to pay, and then couldn't help but glance into the cabin to see how they would react when they saw that he was spending so much.

Although the food sold by boatmen doing business on the river is generally relatively high, it is actually only 20 to 30% more expensive than on land. Ordinary merchants traveling on the canal can also afford it, but not like Ye Shaoyuan. Order so much.

"Jianyang, are there any difficulties in doing things in Nanjing?"

After ordering, Ye Shaoyuan returned to the cabin and sat down, talking to Wang Wenlong first.

"It's not difficult at all. People in Nanjing's official circles are easy to get along with." Wang Wenlong answered honestly.

Ye Shaoyuan nodded and smiled, looking at Shen Yixiu aside.

When he looked closely, he realized that Shen Yixiu's appearance had become more mature and charming over the past year, especially after dressing up as a woman, his every move and smile was charming and gentle.

Ye Shaoyuan couldn't help but want to show himself in front of Shen Yixiu, so he smiled at Wang Wenlong:

"Jian Yang attended the imperial ceremony at the Imperial Academy. Last year, Dr. Zhang and Li Sicheng from the Nanjing Imperial Academy visited my master. We have had wine with me. If necessary, I can introduce them to you."

Wang Wenlong was amused in his heart, but he didn't want to break the young man's self-confidence, so he smiled and said: "No need for the time being."

But in Ye Shaoyuan's eyes, his behavior seemed more and more unconfident, like an incompetent scholar pretending to be in front of his young wives and concubines just to save face.

Ye Shaoyuan looked at the bright Shen Yixiu beside him, and became more and more unconvinced. He couldn't help but think to himself: Why did Yixiu marry such a person?
(End of this chapter)