Chapter 22: A Mid-Autumn Night in the Moonlit Pavilion

  In the blink of an eye, another Mid-Autumn Festival has arrived under the bright moonlight.

  The former Li family villa, today's Wohu Villa, has undergone earth-shaking changes in just one year.

  A year ago, there were only thirty or forty farming households here, plus Zhao Xing and his mother living in a separate courtyard. Now, many farming households who came from other counties to seek relatives have built houses on the outskirts of the village with the help of their fellow villagers from the original Li family's courtyard, and have settled down in this place.

  Although there was no land, Zhao Xing's winery expanded after its opening and needed many helpers. The wages paid by Zhao Xing were enough to support a family. At that time, the nine states were already in chaos, and many refugees who had lost their homes often sought a place like Li Jia Bi Yuan but could not find one.

  According to the statistics made by Zhao Xingrang and Zhang Wangcai a few days ago, in one year, Wohu Village has added more than 100 households. Later on, it may be difficult for this place to accommodate more residents, after all, the land is limited, and Zhao Xing's various industries are still in the foundation-laying stage, and it is difficult to solve the problem of more refugees for the time being.

  Let's not bring up those heart-wrenching issues that Zhao Xing can't solve at present.

  But this year's Mid-Autumn Festival at Wò Hǔ Zhuāng was exceptionally lively, all thanks to Zhao Xīng's enthusiasm for fun and games. Every household made round sugar cakes according to Xǔ Wǎn Tíng's recipe, with the words "Flowers bloom, moon is full" engraved on top using a stencil written by Zhao Xīng himself!

  The courtyard where Zhao Xing lives is now located in the center of Zhuangzi, with people coming and going, making it very lively. Let's take a look at who's at Zhao Xing's house tonight? There's Zhao Xing and his family of three, Guan Yu and Jia Yu from Pan Huan Zhuang, General Zhou Cang and Pei Yuan Shao, Li Jin Si and Li Jin Wu, two brothers, Xu Man Tang who came back from Jin Yang with Zhao Xing's aunt (now mother-in-law), plus a young girl Xu Wan Lin, and a pesky kid Li Tie Niu who can't be driven away, as well as the steward Zheng Bo.

  Fourteen people, had to be divided into three tables. The women sat under the osmanthus tree in the backyard, drinking the new fruit wine from the Xu family's winery, chatting about domestic trivialities; Zhou Cang, Pei Yuanshao, Xu Mantang, Zheng Bo, and Li Tie Niu were playing a game of six-sided chess in the front yard, with Li Tie Niu finding no one to play against, he actually asked the lively and active Xu Wanlin to join in, the six heads old and young gathered together, but also harmonious.

  The remaining five people were naturally the monarchs and ministers of the future Great Han Empire "Xinghe" dynasty, discussing current events in the middle courtyard.

  "Does Brother Xing think of a good courtesy name for himself?", Li Jin Si, the youngest among them, asked on behalf of everyone.

  Everyone thinks that in the future, they can no longer be called "Xiao Xing, Xing Ge, Xing Di, Xing Er" and so on. However, Zhao Xing's father passed away early and did not give him a courtesy name. Zhao Xing is a person who likes to come up with names everywhere, from people's names to wine names, to various tools, toys, and store signs. Everyone knows that if they want someone else to give him a courtesy name, it's hopeless, so Li Jin Si asked this question.

  "I wish to take 'Guo Chang' as my style name, what do you gentlemen think about it?"

  "Excellent!" said Jia Yu.

  "Good!" Guan Yu also said.

  "He's got presence!" Li Jinwu added.

  "Matching 'Xing' echoes, it can be seen that Xing Ge's mind is broad and profound!" Li Jin thought the most, and counted as a summary.

  "I wonder what Guo Chang's plans are for the future? Is he going to continue being a wine merchant, or does he want to get involved in officialdom? Now that the emperor is openly selling official positions, with your current wealth, I reckon you can afford to buy the position of 'San Gong'!" Jia Yu said half-jokingly and half-seriously.

  "Before answering your question, sir, I'd like to ask you a question. When do you think the world became chaotic?" Zhao Xing replied after a moment of contemplation.

  "Judging from what I've seen on my travels so far, within five years, the world will surely be in chaos!" Jia Xi replied with a furrowed brow but also with confidence.

  "I share the same view as Mr., and I even think that within three years, the world will be in great chaos!" Zhao Xing said.

  Jia Xian slightly nodded and asked, "In that case, what countermeasures does Guo Chang have?"

  "It seems that this is going to test me." Zhao Xing had a plan in his heart, with an unfathomable expression, and slowly replied: "Nine words - dig deep holes, accumulate grain widely, and claim the throne slowly!"

  Everyone who heard this was solemn, and their eyes couldn't hide the excitement. Joking aside, if Zhao Xing shouted such words outside now, it's likely that the Party County Guardian would arrest him as a rebel by tomorrow! At the same time, it also means that everyone present has become a boatman with Zhao Xing, and as long as one of them goes out to inform on the others, the other four will probably have to flee to the ends of the earth immediately.

  "How is this 'digging a hole' to be understood?" Guan Yu asked somewhat puzzled.

  "This cave is actually a hidden soldiers' cave!" Jia Yu responded solemnly from the side.

  "I, Guo Chang, believe that the world is not just for one family or one surname, but for the toiling masses! The great sage Mencius once said, 'The people are the foundation, the people are above, the altar of the land and grain are next, and the ruler is light.' In the past, Chen Sheng and Wu Guang rebelled against the cruel Qin dynasty with a single sentence: 'Are kings, princes, generals, and ministers born to be called?' It shocked the world! Now I want to follow their example, but I don't want to become another Xiang Yu who took his own life at the Wu River, nor do I want to follow the example of Emperor Gaozu who shared a laugh with others while eating. I don't know if you gentlemen are willing to help me create eternal peace for the people of the world!?" Zhao Xing said this, stood up tall, picked up the long spear beside him, his face stern and determined, holding the spear towards the sky, exuding an unspeakable solemnity.

  "Jia Yu is willing to assist the master!" Jia Yu said with a serious face.

  "Guān Yǔ is willing to live and die with his lord!" A fierce glint appeared in Guan Yu's eyes.

  "Brother Xing, from now on, wherever you point, I'll hit!" Li Jinwu had the air of a victorious general.

  "In this life, I swear to follow Guo Chang, my brother, to the death!" Li Jin's face was full of determination.

  "Alright! Heaven and earth bear witness, Zhao Xing makes a vow here. This life will never betray those who follow me. Whether loyal or treacherous, the punishment will not extend to family members, and the law will not be applied to women and children. If I break this vow, may it be like this table!" As soon as he finished speaking, Zhao Xing thrust the long spear in his hand into the round table in front of him with great force. The spearhead pierced through the tabletop, revealing a few points of cold light!

  The people in the front and back yards suddenly heard the sound of breaking wood, and they all came to the middle yard following the sound. However, they only saw five people of different ages holding cups and inviting the moon, chatting and laughing happily, but they were all unclear about what was going on, so they each returned.

  Later, some busybodies privately inquired about the cause of that shattering sound on that night from the parties involved and surprisingly came up with many strange and absurd answers.

  According to historical records:

  The response of Chancellor Jia Xian during the "Xinghe era" of the Great Han Empire was: The Emperor at that time was gesticulating with his hands and feet, his eyebrows flying and his face flushed as he told stories, accidentally kicking over a chair beside him.

  The five-star general Guan Yu of the Great Han Empire's "Xinghe Era" replied: My second brother was grieving at that time because he lost his father at a young age and couldn't reunite with his family. His son wanted to take care of him, but his parents didn't wait for him, and my second brother, who cried to the point of heartbreak, overturned the table, showing how agitated the emperor was at that time.

  The response of Li Jingsi, a cabinet minister during the "Xinghe era" of the Great Han Empire, was: My elder cousin was threatening me at that time. He said that if I didn't marry and have children within three years, he would castrate me and send me to serve as an eunuch under Zhang Rang in the palace! As my elder cousin spoke, he made cutting motions with his chair leg, and his voice sounded like this: "Drip!"

  The answer of General Li Jinwu, a five-star general in the Han Empire during the "Xinghe Era", was: Guo Chang argued with us at that time, saying that there is no Chang'e and Jade Rabbit in the Moon Palace. As long as ordinary people work hard, they can reach the sky and hold the moon one day. When he said this, he even stood on the table and made a strange flying motion, but accidentally fell off! Oh, right, he also said something about "going down to the Five Oceans to catch turtles"! Do you know where the Five Oceans are? It's said that the king turtles there have shells as big as pots!