Chapter 54 One Headache After Another

  Zhou Bu Yi walked on the main street, thinking about where to go to get some money, but saw many things that couldn't be seen even in Jingnan or Xiangyang. Zhou Bu Yi picked up a round-headed pen placed in front of a store, looked at it up and down, opened the clip inside, and asked: "Boss, what's this for?"

  The boss was a dark-skinned middle-aged man who walked out and said: "Young friend, haven't seen one before, have you? This is called a fountain pen, used for writing."

  Originally, the tip of a brush pen was very difficult to make and modern craftsmanship couldn't produce it, nor could it refine that kind of hard metal material. However, after replacing the nib with an absorbent round head, not only was it less troublesome, but it also became easier to write on bamboo slips.

  The only drawback is that modern ink does not flow freely and requires grinding, so craftsmen added a valve to Liu Zong's design. It works by pressing the valve every few dozen characters, although it's a bit of a hassle, it can still be used.

  "Drawing?" Zhou Bu Yi opened his own belt and started drawing on it, exclaiming in surprise: "Hey, it seems to work quite well! Although there's no ink, it feels much smoother than a brush."

  "That's for sure." The middle-aged man said with a sense of pride: "This is the invention of our state pastor, in the past, I used to hold that brush unsteadily and could only read but not write. Now it's fine, look at those price tags, they were all written by me myself."

  "Governor Zhou?" Zhou Bu Yi put down his pen and walked on the main street, frowning in thought.

  Liu Zhong governed Yi Province for several years, being dull and weak. The Battle of Fu Castle was a shocking victory, the massacre in Jiang Province shocked the world. He forcibly implemented the four categories of imperial examination, the land decree and price limit decree opened up new paths for ancient and modern times. Now he has come up with these seemingly small things that will have a significant impact on society. His writing is excellent, yet without losing the dignity of the ruler. What kind of person is this Liu Zhong?

  What a pity! The clan system is the most fundamental characteristic of this era. You go against the heaven, even if you have great talents and strategies, it's all in vain.

  However, in any case, relying on your four subjects and these small inventions will have a significant impact on history, and history will remember you.

  I hope you can go further."

  "No doubt about it."

  Zhou Bu Yi was just thinking, when suddenly a shout of surprise woke him up. He lifted his head and saw Xiao Fu Rong holding a string of sugar gourds standing in front of him.

  "Zhou Bu Yi, how is it you?"

  Zhou Bu Yi looked up and down at Xiao Fu Rong, "I also want to ask you the same question, how is it? Did Hua Tuo that old man cure your father?"

  At first, Zhang Zhongjing said that he could only save Ye Wu's life, but just as he was about to leave, an old man named Hua Tuo came because the epidemic of cold damage in Jiangdong was spreading. Hua Tuo was not good at treating internal medicine and specially came to ask for Zhang Zhongjing's help. As soon as he saw Ye Wu's illness, he said that he could use acupuncture to eliminate the remaining poison.

  Zhang Zhongjing wrote a prescription for treating typhoid fever to Hua Tuo and then left for Jiangzhou, while Zhou Buji was also unaware whether Yu Wu Tie's illness had been cured or not.

  Xiao Furong chuckled and said, "Look at me like this, can my father's illness be any worse? He's so energetic and has started bragging again, I couldn't take it anymore, that's why he came to Chengdu. By the way, where are you living now?"

  "Don't mention it." Zhou Bu Yi waved his hand and said: "Following that old man Zhang Zhongjing, there's no good day to live."

  "Why don't you come to where I live then."

  "Is it clean?" Zhou asked cautiously.

  "Of course."

  "Alright."

  "But." Xiao Furen looked at the shiny wooden sign in her hand: "I still want to eat a string of sugar gourd."

  "Then go buy it."

  "The money was all spent, and then a dead person gave me two silver coins, which I used to buy two strings of sugar gourds, and that's all gone."

  Zhou Bu Yi's face turned black with anger, he patted his forehead and asked in a low voice: "Who did you buy it from?"

  "Hey, it's that older brother."

  Xiao Furong pointed to a nearby vendor selling sugar gourds, Zhou Wuyi casually pulled out a black cloth from his pocket, picked up some stones on the ground and wrapped them in it. He whispered a few words into Xiao Furong's ear, who nodded while listening, then tucked the package into her waist and sashayed towards the vendor with a flirtatious air.

  Xiao Furan walked past the vendor, successfully attracting his attention. With a clatter, the black bag fell to the ground, making a short "ka" sound. The vendor's eyes were immediately fixed on the black bag, and he slowly picked up the sugar gourd tree and moved towards it. Meanwhile, Zhou Wuyi, who was behind him, casually plucked three strings of sugar gourds.

  Xiao Furong ate sugar gourd while saying: "You really have skills, unlike me, I had no choice but to disguise myself as Flying Female Knight."

  "That's because you're crazy, if you were even a little normal, two silver coins' worth of sugar gourd would be enough to burst your belly."

  At this time, Xiao Furan finished eating the last sugar gourd, and Zhou Bu Yi inadvertently saw the expression on her face, murmuring: "It seems I was wrong, you can't be starved to death."

  It's still that little vendor from just now.

  "Ah, be careful!" Xiao Furen shouted sharply, startling the vendor into taking a step back.

  "Ah!" Zhou Buyi behind was suddenly knocked down by a vendor and fell heavily on the stone ground, with red blood slowly flowing out of his forehead.

  "Ah!" The peddler shouted loudly, panicked and flustered, pulled the sugar gourd tree but couldn't pull it out, and ran away with his tail between his legs.

  "Son, what's wrong with you? Don't scare me!" Xiao Furan rushed over and shook Zhou Buyi's body, Zhou Buyi tightly grasped the wooden leg of the sugar gourd tree and "struggled" to say: "Now, this whole tree of sugar gourds is yours."

  ………

  Liu Zhang and Wang Fu confirmed the details of the exam, everything else was easy to say, mainly because the craftsmen were varied and the exam was a bit troublesome. However, Wang Fu had already thought of it beforehand and also drew on his experience in Jiangzhou, so it wasn't a big problem.

  "These silkworm-raising and embroidery girls, send more people to keep an eye on them, don't let those dissolute scholars cause any trouble." This is related to the reputation of the four sciences and official careers, so Liu Zhang had to remind.

  "Don't worry, sir, the examination venues for men and women are different."

  "There is. Liu Zhang thought for a moment and said: "This time we were too rash, the craftsmen are varied and numerous, which increased a lot of difficulties. Next time when the four departments recruit officials, we will recruit people according to the needs of the workshops and farms in terms of quantity and type. This way it is convenient for management, also convenient for setting exam questions and arranging positions."

  "Farm?" Wang Fu wondered.

  Liu Zhang nodded and said, "That's right. I plan to open a farm in the western suburbs of Chengdu where there are fewer people. Otherwise, how can we arrange for those who raise silkworms and grow vegetables? In addition, with the increasing number of workshops, the west city is also not enough. We will establish a new city in the south, specifically as a production base. These are all long-term projects, no need to rush, as long as we develop in this direction."

  "Yes."

  "Moreover, staring at those Hao people, moving their land is like moving their mothers, they will not be reconciled."

  "Yes." Wang Fu responded with a painful voice, probably the current Chengdu County Magistrate is the busiest and most annoyed county magistrate in the entire Han Dynasty. Managing commerce is more troublesome than managing agriculture, let alone Chengdu being in a transitional period. If it were someone else, they would have thrown in the towel long ago.

  At this time, Liu Zhang saw Xiao Furan walking in from the main gate, still holding a long tree trunk with needles and bare branches. His head suddenly became dizzy, he rubbed his temples and waved to Wang Fu: "You go down."

  "Yes."

  "Hey, Lord Wang." Xiao Furan greeted the emerging Wang Fu with a wave, who awkwardly smiled and hastily left, Liu Zhang shook his head and also headed inside.

  "Hey mister, where are you going?"

  "I'm going to copy the book, you go play with Liu Xun." Liu Zhang said without turning his head back, while Liu Xun, who was writing a poem beside him, gave Liu Zhang a resentful glance.