Aspirations

Chapter 22 The quality of beautiful jade, waiting for you to come to know

"I have also seen restaurants and inns in Quanzhou where good times are always present. They are gorgeous, tall and eye-catching." Zhang Hou took the wine jar from Shen Bao and took out the gold card. The seal at the bottom of the wine jar and the gold card The seals are the same, obviously written by the same person, "Brother Shen, don't talk nonsense, the good times are not necessarily the property of any prince, even if it is, don't make it public, be careful that the misfortune comes out of your mouth."

"What are you afraid of? Strange thing, just now Brother Zhang hangs an inscription, which is admirable. Why don't you dare to speak when you mention the lord?" The situation has surpassed my generation, and as soon as I enter the rivers and lakes, the years will remind me. In the chat and laughter of Huangtu, I can't win a life of drunkenness... Come, I won't return today if I don't get drunk."

Xia Xiang grabbed Shen Bao's wine jar: "Wine is for fun, just enjoy it, don't drink too much."

Zhang Hou also said, "That's right, Brother Shen, I have to find a place to stay later, so I shouldn't drink too much."

"I can have one more person in my room. If Brother Zhang doesn't dislike it, you can share the same room with me." Xia Xiang and Xiao Wu each lived in a room. Although the room was not luxurious, it was big enough, "It's just a little rough, not a room. "

"You and I are not classmates, but it is rare to have the same roommate." Zhang Hou laughed, "As long as my little sister is arranged, I will be fine with everything."

"By the way, I don't understand one thing. Brother Xia and Brother Shen, how can there be a VIP card that is always in good times?" Zhang Hou was puzzled. Based on his observations, Xia Xiang and Shen Bao were not from rich families. A person's family background is far less good than his family background, and it is impossible to afford a VIP card that is always in good times.

"Haha, Brother Zhang, I don't know, Shen Bao has a beautiful jade card that is always in good times." If it wasn't for Shen Bao's beautiful jade card, he could get a [-]% discount and three free orders at Hao Jingchang, and Xia Xiang would not come to Haojingchang and stay at Taiping Residence. Eating is too expensive.The dishes used in the Taiping residence are all silverware.Even if it is just two people sitting opposite each other, they have to pay for one bowl, two plates, five fruit and vegetable dishes, and three or five water and vegetable bowls, which cost as much as tens of taels of silver.

It is no wonder that the consumption is so high, and each piece of silverware used is worth hundreds or even thousands.The utensils used are so expensive, and the ingredients are also carefully selected. Haojing is often in Taipingju or Fanlou, which is the most expensive restaurant in Shangjing.

"Beautiful Jade Card?" Zhang Hou was quite surprised, looked at Shen Bao secretly, and asked the question in his heart, "I don't know where Brother Zhang got the Good Fortune Jade Card?"

Xia Xiang saw Zhang Hou's doubts and knew that Zhang Hou decided that Shen Bao's financial resources were not enough to buy the beautiful jade card with good times, and immediately smiled: "When Brother Shen said he had the beautiful jade card with good times, Zhang and I Brother Shen thinks the same way. Guess what, as expected, Brother Shen's beautiful jade card was not bought by himself, but a gift from someone."

"Who made such a generous move?" Zhang Hou was not surprised, not because he was surprised by the value of the Jade Card itself, but the person who was qualified to have the Jade Card must be rich or expensive, but he gave it to others. Shen Bao is just a commoner, not a powerful person.

Shen Bao's eyes were blurry, and he stretched out a finger and shook it in front of his eyes: "Brother Xia, Brother Zhang, this is a secret, you know, I know, he knows, heaven knows, earth knows, and it cannot be shared."

Zhang Hou nodded and said, "Yes, yes."

On the way to Beijing to take the exam, Shen Bao rescued an old man who stumbled and fell into the water in the Hutuo River while passing by Zhending Mansion.After the old man was rescued, he jumped into the rolling Hutuo River again while Shen Bao was not paying attention.Only then did Shen Bao know that the old man did not fall into the water, but threw himself into the river.

Shen Bao is also interesting. The second time the old man threw himself into the river, he went to the river again to save him.After rescuing the old man, he did not ask the old man why he threw himself into the river, nor did he persuade him, so he just sat beside the old man and did not leave.The old man was also stubborn and jumped into the river for the third time.Without saying a word, Shen Bao jumped into the river for the third time to save people.Repeat this for a total of seven times.

After rescuing the old man ashore for the seventh time, the old man hugged Shen Bao's arm and cried.Shen Bao didn't speak, and waited quietly for the old man to finish crying before asking: "Old man, no matter how big the grievance is, you are a person who has died seven times. You are not afraid of dying seven times, but you are still afraid. what?"

The old man burst into tears, grabbed Shen Bao's hand and shook it vigorously: "You are really a good young man, old man, I am not dead, I want to live well. I have lived for a long time, and I have never seen one who can't die after jumping into a river seven times. People, if you don't deserve to die, you can't die again."

Shen Bao was relieved, bid farewell to the old man and was on his way, but was stopped by someone——a pretty girl, about fourteen or fifteen years old.The maid said that her wife asked Shen Bao to go over and see her.Unknown to Shen Bao, he went in, and followed the maid for a dozen steps along the river bank. When he looked up, there was a BMW car not far away.

The horses are four large jujube red horses, and the carriage is made of Hainan Huanghuali wood.The doors are set at the back, and the curtains are drawn down.There are pillars on each of the four corners of the roof, and a large drapery is supported on the four pillars.Plum blossom patterns are embroidered on the drapery, silk tassels are hung around the perimeter, double hulls and two wheels, and white copper chariots, green oil chariots, Zhulitongjiao, and Zhusi nets, which are extremely luxurious.

Just by the car and the four tall horses, you can know that the people in the car are either rich or rich.

Due to the years of battles in Daxia, there is a shortage of horses.After the capital was settled in Beijing, all the land in the north returned to Daxia, and horses produced in Mongolia began to continuously supply the Central Plains and the South.However, horses are under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of War in Daxia, and the people are prohibited from raising horses, and they are not allowed to take advantage of the victory.Horses are war preparation materials controlled by the imperial court. Like salt, private sales are not allowed.Even the ministers of the DPRK and China usually travel by donkey carts, mules or ox carts, and rarely have horse carts.

Shen Bao wondered in his heart that this person did not know who he was. Not only did he travel in a horse-drawn carriage, but he also traveled in a four-horse cart. Officials below the third or fourth rank only dared to ride a donkey carriage.Rank [-] and above, and only a horse-drawn chariot.I believe that even when the first-rank official of the dynasty and the prime minister of the state, Pingpan, was nothing more than a four-horse cart.But even Hou Pingpan's four-horse cart is far from the unparalleled luxury of the BMW in front of him.

Regardless of whether the car body is all made of precious huanghuali wood, or the most famous Hainan huanghuali, it takes at least half a year and a lot of manpower and material resources to transport it from Hainan to Beijing. It is only four jujube red horses. Red, fat and sturdy, with shiny hair, and exudes a compelling heroic and extravagance all over the body, one can tell that it is extraordinary, and it is a thousand miles of horses that cannot be bought with money!
Whose lady is so pompous and rich?Shen Bao came to the car and gave a respectful salute.The car body made of brocade wraps the car body tightly, and the appearance of the person inside cannot be seen clearly.

"I take the liberty to invite Lord Lang to come here because I want to ask Lord Lord, why did you rescue Lu Dongdong seven times in a row?" The woman in the car lightly opened her red lips, her voice murmured like running water, ding dong and melodious, like the sound of heaven.

It turned out that the woman saw what had just happened clearly and knew the old man. Shen Bao thought for a while and replied: "God has the virtue of a good life. Since I have encountered it, I will do my best to save him. Whether it is once or seven times, he To die, I can't stand by and watch."

"What if he's the damned one? Do you want to save him too?"

"It's his business to be damned, and it's my business to save him. The two have nothing to do with each other." Shen Bao wondered, what relationship did he have to save Lu Dongdong, who was thrown into the river, and the woman in the car, "If I'm not there, he will die. He died. I was there, and he threw himself seven times, even seventy times, and I would save him."

"Your Majesty has good intentions, but it's a pity that he does bad things with good intentions." The woman in the car said lightly, "You and I met because of Lu Dongdong, so it's fate. Linger, I will give you a beautiful jade card. Things don't change."

"Yes, ma'am." Ling'er responded.

The curtain moved slightly, and a beautiful hand as smooth and white as jade and delicate like an orchid stretched out from the car, holding a piece of beautiful jade.Ling'er took it, turned around and handed it over to Shen Bao.

"It's this jade." Shen Bao held a square jade card high in his hand. The style, size and shape of the jade card were exactly the same as Zhang Hou's gold card, and even the seal of "good times is always there" was exactly the same. The quality of the jade was like suet. , milky white like oil, it is the finest suet jade.

As far as mutton fat jade is concerned, it is not unusual. Although it is expensive, it is not rare.However, the mutton fat jade held in Shen Bao's hands is of the same color, without a trace of impurities, and the luster is as moist as fog, and the thinnest part is almost transparent.

Jade is natural, unlike gold and silver that can be crafted, so flawless jade is the rarest.

"Good jade, high-quality jade." Zhang Hou held it in his hand, played with it a few times, and sighed again and again, "No matter the material or the carving work, it is impeccable. No wonder the beautiful jade card, which is always in good times, dares to bid [-] yuan. Jade is also worth more than ten thousand crowns."

"Is this true?" Shen Bao instantly sobered up most of the time, and stood up in shock, "This jade is worth [-] pieces? Brother Zhang, don't joke around, [-] pieces are a lot of money..."

"[-] guan, I want it." Zhang Hou still had the brush, and took the paper, "First write the IOU, and within one month, the [-] guan money will be delivered to you."

"Let's forget it." Shen Bao put away the beautiful jade card and hid it, looking cautiously for fear of being snatched away, "It's rare for a little lady to have a heart, how can you sell it for money to humiliate my reputation?"

Xia Xiang didn't speak for a while, he was full of doubts, the little lady sent the beautiful jade card to Shen Bao, maybe because she valued Shen Bao's righteous deed of saving lives, and she rescued him seven times, but the little lady knew that Lu Dongdong fell into the water, why did she see death? Stand idly by?Taking a step back, the little lady doesn't know how to use water. With her power, asking others to save her is just a matter of effort. Why is she indifferent?Could it be that there is something unknown?

Could this little lady be the one who is always behind the scenes?Xia Xiang was both excited and full of anticipation. He was very interested in the people behind the scenes who were always in good times. He wanted to know who she was and why she was able to build a huge business empire in just three years.

Of course, the deeper idea is that he wants to talk about a business with this gifted and intelligent little lady.

In the afternoon, the sun slanted westward, and several people walked westward along the street, facing the sun, which was a bit dazzling.Xia Xiang and Zhang Hou walked in front of the others, walking side by side, watching the bustling streets and talking about their experiences on the road.

After Haojingchang came out of Taipingju, at the invitation of Xia Xiang and Shen Bao, Zhang Hou also decided to stay at Quanyou Inn.Even though they had a VIP card that allowed them to stay at any inn in Shangjing, they still decided to stay at the Quanyou Inn unanimously.Shen Bao didn't stay at the inn where the good times were always there, and it was also out of the idea of ​​saving.Although the Meiyu Card can be discounted, the price after the discount is still much higher than that of the Quanyou Inn.

Before Shen Bao's sake, he rode on Zhang Hou's horse, led by Xiao Wu.Shi'er didn't ride a horse either, Anbu drove behind Xia Xiang and Zhang Hou.She didn't lead the horse, she believed in the horse and let the horse follow.

Shi'er's eyes are full of curiosity and novelty, and he exclaims and exclaims from time to time. He is very interested in candied haws, jewelry, rouge, flower arrangements, cloth, etc., and it's not enough to ask, but to touch it.After touching it, I bought a box of rouge, a hairpin, and finally bought a bunch of candied haws. I held it in my hand and ate it while enjoying myself. Only then did I calm down a little.

Before the age of 笄, the white and tender water is like a breeze, bringing the fresh and pleasant atmosphere of the south.She disguised herself as a man, her clothes didn't fit very well, it was a little too wide, but it even more brought out her youthful yet graceful figure.

Through the conversation, we learned that Shier was Zhang Hou's sister.

Zhang Hou went to Beijing to take the exam, and when he had to come, Zhang Hou naturally refused.When I don't want to be weird, my children will dress up as men, go out first, and wait for him to appear on the only road that he must pass.From the moment Zhang Hou saw Shi'er, he knew that even if he drove Shi'er away, she would return.Instead of letting her walk alone, it is better to walk with him all the way, or to take care of each other.

Shi'er is the younger sister of a compatriot of Zhang Hou, and the two brothers and sisters are deeply in love and have never been separated since childhood.

In addition to reading the books of sages, Zhang Hou also likes Taoism as much as Cao Shujun, but apart from cultivating Taoism, he does not forget the imperial examinations, unlike Cao Shujun, which cannot coexist with the imperial examinations.Zhang Hou likes to be convinced of bigu. Because of his handsome appearance, outstanding intelligence, broad and profound knowledge, good at writing articles and superhuman talents, his fame has been shaken for a while.

Zhang Hou was originally born in a family of officials and eunuchs, and his father had been an official to the doctor Yinqing Guanglu.

"Brother Xia, I went to Beijing to take the test three years ago and got the jinshi." Zhang Hou walked with his hands behind his back, looking left and right, as if he was talking about other people's affairs, "Later, I disobeyed the emperor's order and refused to accept the edict, so I threw the edict away. Go home. Today, three years later, I will come to Beijing again, just for the champion.”

Xia Xiang was extremely shocked. The imperial examination in Daxia, since the current sage established the rule to take the exam every three years, every three years, only more than [-] Jinshi were admitted.Taizu Taizong Dynasty, is a yearly examination.During the Taizong Dynasty, there was once a person who was a jinshi in the second grade of high school.The following year, he went to Beijing to take the exam again, and he was a top-ranking high school student.

Daxia treats literati quite favorably. Jinshi High School is not ordered by the emperor, and can take the exam again next year.But at that time, the exam was taken every year, but now it takes the exam every three years, and the difficulty is not the same.Taking the exam once a year is not too long for students.The exam is held every three years. If you don’t pass the exam in high school, you will come back after three years, and the average person will not dare to be so confident and daring.After all, being a scholar is the ultimate goal of every scholar to study and become a scholar.

No one can guarantee that they will be able to go to high school again after three years of high school this year.Examinations are held every three years, and the examiners may change people.

Xia Xiang had been surprised by Zhang Hou's hanging inscription before, and now he heard that he was not accepted in high school, and even more determined that Zhang Hou was an extraordinary person.

Xia Xiang sincerely admired what Zhang Hou did and did not do, and asked in awe, "Why did Brother Zhang refuse to accept the edict?"

"Haha, it's also my selfishness. In the Great Competition, my nephew Zhang Ping won the first prize, and I was ashamed of Zhang Ping, so I gave up the jinshi." Zhang Hou smiled proudly, "I think I have everything from Zhang Hou's disciples. Xiao, how can I be subordinated to Zhang Ping? If I am the top student in high school this year, I will return to my hometown in fine clothes and be proud of myself in front of the people, and I will be ashamed."

Seeing that Xia Xiang's face was calm and silent, Zhang Hou smiled and asked, "Brother Xia, do you think I'm acting like a gentleman?"

Xia Xiang shook his head and smiled, with a simple and honest smile: "To be honest, Brother Zhang, I think your approach is not good enough, and there is something to discuss."

"How?" Zhang Hou was quite surprised. He thought that Xia Xiang would agree with his approach, "If Brother Xia is replaced by the younger generation, what will Brother Xia do?"

"Aspiration is not old, talent is not sooner or later, so what's the harm in staying in for a while? You have to work hard, and you can surpass it in the future. If you had been in the imperial court for three years, how much would you have done for the country and the people." Xia Xiang sighed with emotion, which was also what he really thought in his heart. In his opinion, it was a good thing that his nephew was the champion of high school, and he was willing to settle down. Under the nephew of the clan, there is nothing wrong with it, why should you be angry and not be ordered?It's too conceited.

Hearing Xia Xiang's words, Zhang Hou thoughtfully lowered his head and said nothing. Xia Xiang thought he had figured out something, but after a while, Zhang Hou suddenly laughed and said, "If I can't be famous in the world, how can I serve the court? I insist that what I did is not wrong, if I succumb to you and Shen Bao this year, I will not be ordered, and I will come back in three years."

"Really?" Shen Bao was swaying on the horse's back, very drunk, and when he heard Zhang Hou's words, he suddenly became a little sober, "Brother Zhang, why don't I make a bet with the three?"

"Bet? Okay, I will accompany you to the end." Zhang Hou asked without asking what to bet, and immediately agreed.

Xia Xiang smiled and said, "What are you betting on?"

"Get out, get out!"

Zhang Hou opened his mouth to answer when suddenly there was a loud noise in front of him. The three horses rushed forward like a gust of wind. In the bustling and bustling streets of the city, as if they were no one, they ran rampantly, facing Xia Xiang and the others. hit.

"Ah!" Shi'er was frightened on the spot and forgot to dodge.

(End of this chapter)