Chapter 6: Those Things in Yan State

  When Zhu Ziming took over the book and was about to turn around, he glanced at the cover of the book and said in a daze: "Eye dirt?"

  "Hmph..." All I saw was that in front of the tea table, countless people directly spat out the tea they had just drunk, forming strings of water droplets, very magnificent, followed by continuous laughter.

  Chen Juren's face was covered in black lines at this moment, and his mouth twitched violently: "It's Yan Shi!"

  "Oh......" Zhu Ziming chuckled and said: "This name is well chosen, well chosen!"

  At this time, Lin Zhixia was already holding her belly and laughing in pain. This sister's husband is really troublesome.

  Chen held his fist tightly and wished he could punch this kid a few times. He said with hatred, "Young man, can you read or not?"

  "Illiterate..." Zhu Ziming curled his lip and said, since he still looked down on himself.

  Chen Juren did not understand: "Then what did you buy books for?"

  Zhū Zǐ Míng saw the disdain in his eyes and felt somewhat indignant. The books I've read, you probably won't be able to read them even after several lifetimes.

  "He can't read? Who would believe that......" Lin Zhixia lowered her head and pouted, thinking that her brother-in-law would say he wanted to buy it for himself, but all she heard was him saying slowly: "The wall of our toilet at home has run out of toilet paper......"

  "Hmph......" The crowd burst into laughter again, the thunderous sound of their laughter echoing throughout the entire Wind Elegant Building. When did Lingyun City produce such a treasure? It's really going to be the death of us!

  "How interesting, how interesting, it's really interesting!" In the center of the tea table, a handsome young man with clear eyebrows and white teeth was tapping his fan and laughing.

  Behind him stood two burly men who were not smiling, the two men were upright and unyielding, their piercing eyes scanning the surroundings with an air of constant vigilance, it was clear at a glance that they were two skilled masters, and the young master must also be a remarkable person.

  "Ah..." Chen Juren, who was almost in a rage, took a deep breath to suppress the urge to fight with this kid. His face was already bright red, and he pointed at Zhu Ziming, his voice trembling: "You little scoundrel... you're too... impudent!"

  "Cough, cough..." Realizing that Chen Juren had gone crazy, Zhu Ziming felt a bit guilty for teasing him too much and smiled awkwardly. Then he opened "Yan Shi" and flipped through it casually, saying seriously: "Chen Juren, this book of yours is..."

  "Do you still know how to read?" Chen Juren hummed, and if he continued to haggle with him, he was afraid that his old life would really be lost, so he thought of opening it up a bit.

  "A little knowledge is a dangerous thing," Zhu Ziming said with a smile: "The book is good, but it lacks something."

  Chen Juren was taken aback, his eyes gleaming with curiosity, and he suddenly forgot his anger, hastily asking: "What?"

  "What's lacking is freshness, it's written a bit dull!" Zhu Ziming nodded: "Yes, it's indeed a bit dull, there's nothing attractive about it."

  Dull? Mr. Chen knew that his books were all written with reference to various historical books, so did those handed-down historical books all lack interest?

  "Please enlighten me, young man," said Chen Juren with a bow.

  Seeing his good attitude, Zhu Ziming didn't mind wasting some words and smiled: "The history of Yan State, I think anyone from Yan State would know it. Since they already know it, reading your book without any highlights would naturally be uninteresting."

  Highlight? Chen Juren thought for a moment and immediately understood the meaning. Many historical books record the history of other countries, which are unknown to the people of Yan, so they are willing to read them. Their own history of Yan is well-known to everyone, and if they don't come up with some new ideas, how can they be accepted by others?

  This young man indeed has some brains, and Chen Juren did not dare to underestimate him again. He said seriously: "Please, young sir, give me a few pointers!"

  Some people were stunned by the conversation between the two. Chen, who had just been infuriated to the point of being half-dead, suddenly changed his tone and became polite to him. Did this evil-minded young master still have some talent?

  Everyone couldn't help but size him up at this moment, wearing a white shirt with rich floral patterns, white long boots on his feet, sword-like eyebrows and starry eyes, handsome face, dark complexion, straight figure, not like a scholar, but rather like a young master of a wealthy family.

  At this moment, everyone perked up their ears, wanting to know what Zhu Ziming would say next.

  "History books are indeed records of the history of various countries in the Central Plains, and biographies of figures. However, many history books focus too much on orthodoxy, writing only about who was born when, who died when, which high-ranking official was promoted, and which one was demoted. It's really quite dull and uninteresting. We should abandon the old and establish the new, writing more things that people want to know, and piquing their curiosity."

  Nowadays, literati love to read poetry and songs, who still loves to read history books, let alone Chen Juren's history book is written about the State of Yan, people from the State of Yan will not even take a glance.

  "In your opinion, how should this history book be written?" asked Mr. Chen with piercing eyes.

  Zhu Ziming thought for a moment, and then a sly smile spread across his face: "As for this... I suggest that Chen Juren reads more folk stories and pays attention to some gossip news. For example, write about how many concubines the high-ranking officials in the court have, the romantic history of a certain emperor, or how a certain official hooked up with a widow from their hometown..."

  Under everyone's astonishment, Zhu Ziming chuckled and said: "I'm just saying if, if, but this isn't entirely impossible either..."

  "Lang Tu Zi, his mind is full of dirty things," Lin Ziyun spat.

  "Of course, if Mr. Chen can write history books from your perspective, rather than following the usual pattern, it would be even more amazing! This book will definitely be a hit!" Zhu Ziming exclaimed, and that was all he said.

  The Eight Trigrams, must be fire? Everyone was confused at this time, and the black-faced young master had talent and learning, but his words were so strange that people couldn't understand what he meant.

  Chen Juren suddenly seemed to not truly understand the essence of it, but after careful consideration, he explained history from his own perspective, which means explaining history to people from his own point of view.

  At this thought, Chen Juren's dull eyes suddenly brightened, and he respectfully bowed his fist to Zhu Ziming: "Young Master is highly talented, I admire you!"

  "Mr. Chen is being too kind, I'm just expressing my own views," Suddenly, Zhu Ziming smiled and said: "Why don't I give your book a title instead?"

  "The essence of this book is what you think, sir. Please tell me, and I will certainly use the title of this book," said Chen Juren politely.

  He spent his whole life studying for the imperial examination, but never had a chance to serve the country, and was ridiculed as an old man who only knew how to read books. Who could understand the bitterness in Chen's heart? Now he seems to have found a new starting point in life, writing this book well, so that people will no longer dare to look down on him, and hopefully also leave his name in history.

  "Just call it 'Those Things in Yan Country'."