Chapter 420 I am Xu Wei
Li Tian held Duoduo in his arms and listened to the Duke's wife chattering.
Xylose was burning in the room, occasionally making crackling sounds and sending sparks flying.
"...Qingzhi is a very carefree person. He only cares about having enough food, drink and clean clothes. But this is the Bo's Mansion! He is also a great Mohist master. This world only cares about clothes and not people. We have to show the proper pomp and circumstance."
"Also, be careful at home. I have been a housekeeper for many years and I know people's minds very well. If you treat them too badly, they will complain constantly. If you treat them too well, they will think you are weak and can be bullied...
I know you have a kind heart, but being kind has to be done in a proper way, right? If you don't do it in the proper way, you will indulge those people..."
The Duke's wife told Li Tian all her experience as a housekeeper without reservation.
"Finally, there are the guards at home. This is the most important thing. To be honest, every year there are waves of thieves coming to the Duke's Mansion. Not long after I got married, thieves sneaked in and stole a few incense burners that the old Duke liked, which made the old Duke very angry.
Later, I quietly investigated and found that the guards were not only lazy that night, but also drank alcohol. I sent a jar of wine to each of them, plus a year's salary, saying that the Duke's Mansion could not afford to support so many people, and they should find their own way to make a living!
Good fellow, those people refused to leave, crying and shouting that they knew they were wrong. I was soft-hearted, but the old Duke sent a message, saying that managing a family is like commanding an army, and that only by using thunderbolts can you show your compassion. After those people left, the guards really became much more diligent. "
The Duke's wife took a sip of tea and saw Li Tian holding the cat in her arms, almost curled up in the chair, blinking her eyelashes, looking at her expectantly.
"Forget it, just treat it as a story!" The Duke's wife was also amused. At this time, someone came to tell her that Jiang Qingzhi had asked someone to invite Old Zhu for a family dinner today.
"Let Qingzhi make that thing from last time..." The Duke's wife thought for a moment, "the one made with fermented black beans and bacon, and pork belly...a great dish to go with rice. Let him make one."
Li Tian's eyes lit up, "Sister-in-law likes that too?"
"I have never liked fermented black beans because I think they are too smelly. But when I steamed them with bacon, pork belly, and taro, and I don't know what seasoning Qingzhi used, the taro is soft and sticky, and the pork belly has the salty and fresh taste of bacon and taro, and with the fermented black beans, oh my! I can't stop eating it. By the way, let Qingzhi put more taro, and I will use taro as the staple food today."
"I can't stand what my sister-in-law said." Li Tian ordered: "Ask the chef to make another clay pot rice, and use the dried seafood."
"Is it delicious?" asked the Duchess's wife.
"Sister-in-law, you don't know that dried seafood smells fishy, but it tastes fresh when cooked... What do they say? It's so fresh that my eyebrows fell off."
When Zhu Xizhong arrived, the two women had already arranged the meal.
The whole family had no need to be shy and just gathered together to eat.
"Da Lang can also teach?" The Duchess's wife couldn't help but laugh when she saw her son was late.
"Everyone can learn," said Jiang Qingzhi.
"I'm hungry!" Zhu Shitai couldn't wait to sit down. He first took a piece of pancake, put a few slices of braised pork in it, and then put some beef slices in it. After rolling it up, he ate it in big mouthfuls.
"Slow down! Slow down!" The Duke's wife looked distressed, but Zhu Xizhong smiled and said, "I used to eat very slowly at home, and I wanted to eat a few bites and run away. But recently, my appetite has increased a lot. Why is that?"
"Dad, Mom!" Zhu Shitai said after swallowing the food, "Eating in school is not so particular. There is only so much food, and if you eat slowly, you can only eat leftovers."
"Qingzhi." The Duke's wife frowned. "Since it's difficult, why don't you ask for help? Go back and get some food from the mansion."
"Sister-in-law, it's not that I didn't do it, I did it on purpose." Li Tian smiled and said, "My husband said that in the past, the Mohists traveled around the world wearing straw sandals and had simple clothes and food, similar to ascetic monks. Although it is not necessary to do so now, as a disciple of the Mohist school, you must not be arrogant. So I let the kitchen cook according to the number of people every day."
"We have to practice every day, and the teacher has to practice with us. After the practice, people are so hungry that their chests are sticking to their backs, and they have to scramble for food." Zhu Shitai had finished the burrito and was working on the braised lamb.
"Fighting for food?" The Duke's wife looked at Zhu Shitai, who looked as if he hadn't eaten in ten days, "Then why are you so slow to go home?"
Zhu Shitai swallowed the food. "My second uncle said that filial piety is not just about words, but comes from the heart. In the eyes of parents, children will always be three or five years old, and they will worry about their food, clothing, housing and transportation. If I eat too fast and eat too much, I am afraid that my parents will worry..."
The Duke's wife looked at Jiang Qingzhi, raised her glass and said, "At the beginning, many people said that letting Dalang study with Qingzhi would be a hindrance to the Duke's Mansion. I also murmured, but your elder brother said that Qingzhi has no other skills, but his ability to teach his disciples is unparalleled in the world. I don't believe it.
Your elder brother said that in terms of intelligence, the one I admire most in the world is Your Majesty. Your Majesty can even give the two princes to Qingzhi to teach, do you think you are smarter than Your Majesty? Now it seems that I am wrong. This glass of wine..."
Jiang Qingzhi raised his glass, Zhu Xizhong raised his glass...
The laughter continued to spread, and Hu Zongxian hurried to find Xu Wei.
"Fan Gu has become alert and is now hiding at home. He has also brought over a dozen guards from somewhere and is keeping a tight watch on him."
"Tsk!" Xu Wei stopped and said, "Go find Mo Zhan and the others."
Later in the evening, they met in the front yard, and Xu Wei asked, "How is the Fan family's house?"
"It's quite big." Sun Bu Tong went to inspect it personally. "There are more than ten rooms in the front yard, where servants and guards live. The back yard is even bigger, where Fan Gu's family lives. There are seven people in Fan Gu's family, and they live in scattered places..."
"Here's a map." Sun Bu Tong took out a piece of paper with a floor plan of the Fan family's house on it.
"It's a good painting." Xu Wei praised, "Who came up with this idea?"
"My uncle taught me this," Sun Bu Tong said proudly. "The method of making maps is a family heirloom of our Sun family, passed down to sons only, not daughters."
"It's found in both Mohism and martial arts." Mo Zhan opened his mouth, and Sun Bu Tong was stunned.
Xu Wei looked at the house and scratched his head. Hu Zongxian said, "It's impossible to succeed unless you force your way in."
"Breaking in and killing people..." Xu Wei shook his head. He was a heretic, but not a madman. "Breaking in by force is not possible. What does Fan Gu like?"
Mo Zhan said, "Fan Gu likes to listen to storytelling."
"Storytelling?" Xu Wei asked, "Is there any way to make people unable to recognize me?"
Sun Bu Tong smiled and said, "Mr. Xu doesn't interact much with the outside world. He only needs to do something with his face. Ordinary people won't be able to recognize him."
……
Fan family.
Fan Gu was over thirty years old, with a fair face and no beard. He was dressed in a Taoist robe and looked free and unrestrained. When he spoke, the corners of his mouth were slightly raised, as if he was mocking others, or looking down on ordinary people with arrogance.
Most people would instinctively feel uncomfortable when they first saw this person. "Brother Fan's plan is not bad, but I don't know why Jiang Qingzhi was able to kill that good fighter. Afterwards, our people went to get information, but the Jinyiwei blockade was very strict, so we don't know."
In the study, the man sitting opposite Fan Gu wondered, "Jiang Qingzhi has never been known for his strong martial arts. It is said that he needs someone to protect him when he fights in battle. Could it be that the expert is just a person with a false reputation?"
Fan Gu raised the corner of his mouth, as if mocking the man, "That good fighter was once surrounded by more than ten horse thieves in the northwest. He killed seven and chased five."
"Tsk! This is a living god of death!"
The man scratched his head, "Did Jiang Qingzhi hide his martial arts skills?"
Fan Gu shook his head, "How dare I hide my martial arts skills in battle? That would be courting death."
"Then why was he able to escape this inevitable death?"
"I do not know either."
Fan Gu finally showed annoyance in his eyes. "At that time, Jiang Qingzhi was the only one there. It was a rare opportunity... Could this be God's will?"
"But Jiang Qingzhi was unharmed. That's impossible, right?"
The two smiled bitterly at each other.
Later, the man said goodbye, and Fan Gu only saw him off to the second gate, bowed and said, "Tell them that I will go to the south after the new year."
The man nodded, "I'll be gone for three to five years, and come back after Jiang Qingzhi and the Mohist School have declined."
Fan Gu's eyes were dark, "I never thought that I, Fan Gu, would escape one day."
Life at home was quite boring, so Fan Gu called the steward and asked, "Are there any new book reviews out there recently?"
The steward said, "There's been a guy telling stories in a teahouse these days. What he's telling is... Romance of the Three Kingdoms. I heard there's a huge turnout."
"He is a listener, ignorant and incompetent!" Fan Gu raised his lips, "He was paid to come here."
"Yes."
In the afternoon, a fat white man was brought in, accompanied by a helper man who looked a little indifferent.
"How many years have you been telling stories?" Fan Gu asked.
The fat man was inside the house, and the man who was accompanying him was searched and waited outside with a wooden box.
"I have been telling stories for three years."
"It's been three years. What did you say before?" Fan Gu asked.
"I have said that..." The fat white man listed more than ten books as if they were his own treasures.
"How do you think the Romance of the Three Kingdoms should be told?" Fan Gu asked in a probing manner.
"Golden swords and iron horses, heroes and heroes."
"Interesting, let's get started!"
Fan Gu smiled.
The fat white man turned around and said, "Bring me my gavel."
The man outside the door looked at the two guards, who nodded. The man then opened the wooden box, took out a gavel and sent it in.
"Without this thing, I can't speak clearly." The fat white man laughed.
He slammed the table with the gavel, and with a bang, the two guards outside the door were startled.
"It is said that the world will eventually unite after a long period of division, and will eventually divide after a long period of unity... There is a poem to prove it, the rolling Yangtze River flows eastward, and the waves wash away all heroes..."
As the fat white man talked, Fan Gu gradually became addicted to it.
The two guards were quite alert at first, but soon they were also listening attentively.
"... Zhang Fei was furious and said: We personally went to the bloody battle to save this guy. But this guy is so rude. If I don't kill him, I will never be able to calm down."
The fat white man suddenly raised his eyebrows, "Mr. Fan, do you think Dong Zhuo should be killed?"
Fan Gu was so obsessed with listening that he said, "He deserves to be killed!"
"So... kill!"
The fat white man turned and left.
Fan Gu was startled, "You are..."
He looked up and found that the accompanying man had appeared in the room without him noticing.
In his hand was a knife that was still dripping with blood.
Where are the guards?
A cold wind blew, bringing with it a smell of blood.
The knife flashed, and Fan Gu leaned back in his chair, holding his throat, pointing at the fat white man, "You..."
The fat white man smiled and bowed, "I am Xu Wei!"
(End of this chapter)
