Twenty-seven, Green Mountain looks at me as I should be

  "Give it a try, if you don't give it a try, how will you know whether it's possible or not?"

  Yu Guozhen's answer made Zhang Yu somewhat disappointed, but thinking about it, if Yu Guozhen had absolute confidence, why would he still run hundreds of miles to Wujiang to find skilled craftsmen!

  Thinking of this, Zhang Yu secretly remembered this matter and didn't say much.

  Those few artisans' homes were not far from the Return Home Courtyard. After chatting for a while, they heard them asking to see him again. This time, only the youngest one came, Yu Guozhen remembered that his surname was Jiang and his single name was Quan. Seeing Yu Guozhen, he bowed: "Young master, I am willing to go to Luzhou, but I still have a son, I don't know if I can bring him together?"

  "I've said it before, as long as you're willing, that's fine. Has your son brought it? Let him come see me."

  Jiang Quan smiled and said: "Here, here, just waiting outside... A rough family's child, no home education, forgive the young master for being rude."

  He called his son over, an eight or nine year old boy who looked silly and restless, always moving his hands and feet. Jiang Quan told him to pay respects, so he knelt down and kowtowed, but not to Yu Guozhen, instead he buried his head in front of Zhang Pu.

  "Ah, let's kowtow to this young master. From now on, this young master will be our host." Jiang Quan made a few awkward bows: "Young master, this child is a bit silly."

  Yu Guozhen was also a playful person, so he pretended to be serious and said to the young man: "What's your name? You kowtowed incorrectly. I think you're too stupid, I'm afraid you won't be of any use."

  "The little servant called Jiang Youzhong, seeing that the old master had a beard, naturally gave him a bow. The little servant's mouth was still quite clear: 'Isn't the young master the son of this old master?'"

  Yu Guozhen's forehead was covered in cold sweat, while Zhang Yu burst out laughing: "Guozhen, this isn't me taking advantage of you on purpose, who let you be so young!"

  "You stinky brat, let you talk nonsense!" Jiang Quan was a bit panicked, waving his hand to hit Jiang Youzhong. The little guy dodged around him while shouting: "Obviously it's you who taught me at home, the one with the long beard is older and has higher seniority, should offer greetings first, the one without the long beard is younger and more hot-tempered, must offer heavier greetings or else will be found trouble..."

  "You still dare to say!" The father, who had been holding back until now, was furious and slapped him twice. He wanted to teach his son a little trick of the common people, so that he could suffer less in this world, but this shout might just make things worse!

  Jiang Youzhong was a bit silly, but his movements were very quick. He ran around his father like a small dog, not letting him hit him: "I didn't do anything wrong, why are you hitting me? It's all because of what you taught me, if anyone should be hit, it should be you yourself!"

  Yu Guozhen couldn't help but smile, thinking that this father-son duo was quite interesting, and with them around, there would probably be even more fun to come.

  "Haha, this kid is really interesting. Guo Zhenxian, do you want him? If not, I'll take him as a little servant." Zhang Pu also burst out laughing.

  "If Mr. Xi Ming can bear to see them separated, I have no opinion." Yu Guozhen smiled and replied.

  Having heard this, Zhang Yu knew he had to intervene and stopped Jiang Quan: "Alright, you can also stop clinging to your son, Guo Zhen has some instructions for you!"

  Yu Guozhen nodded to Gao Erzhu, and Gao Erzhu took out a small string of money: "You take it, go back and tidy up, and wait for orders here every day."

  "Thank you, young master, thank you, steward." Seeing that the small string of coins also had two or three hundred copper plates, Jiang Quan was overjoyed and felt that this host family he had invested in was indeed generous. He pulled Jiang Youzhong: "Quickly thank the young master and Steward Lord."

  Jiang Youzhong looked at Yu Guozhen and Gao Erzhu with a silly expression: "Both are young... Dad, who should I salute first?"

  This guy is so silly that it's hard to cry or laugh, Yu Guozhen looked at him and smiled at Jiang Quan: "Forget it, don't bother him, this silly kid will tire you out later."

  "This kid is just not good at socializing, but he's actually very clever." Jiang Quan's face was a bit embarrassed, he also hoped to leave a good impression on the new master, as an artisan like him had heavy taxes and labor duties, if there was a master who protected him, these would be much lighter: "Young Master, don't look at his appearance, but he learns my skills quickly, in the future his skills will surely surpass mine."

  "Oh, really?"

  "You dare not boast... you stinky brat, where is that water cart you brought out with you? Bring it out and let the young master take a look!"

  Jiang Youzhong covered his pocket with some vigilance: "That's mine, I spent a lot of effort to make it!"

  "The young master doesn't want your broken trinkets, he just wants to see your craftsmanship!"

  Hearing his father say this, and clearly he would be beaten again if he disagreed, Jiang Youzhong could only pull out a small wooden water cart from his sleeve.

  Yu Guozhen took a look at the waterwheel, although it was just a child's toy, but it was indeed made very delicate, more importantly, it was actually movable, if you use water to flush, then it will rotate. This proves that the child in front of him is really talented in mechanics!

  Yu Guozhen was not surprised at all, this nation has never lacked talent, whether it is literary talent such as poetry and song lyrics, or practical talents like mechanical engineering!

  "Well done...... However, Yuzhong, do you know why this waterwheel can rotate? Do you know what else this waterwheel can be used for?"

  Yu Guozhen's question made Jiang Youzhong raise his head. His eyes were not big, but the small eyes were very spirited: "Do you know?"

  "Slap!" He immediately got a slap on the head from his old man: "How dare you talk to the young master like that!"

  "Hehe, if you want to know, I'll teach you when we get back." Yu Guozhen burst out laughing, feeling extremely pleased.

  Jiang Quan is nothing to worry about, although he's a skilled craftsman, he's already over 40 years old and his potential isn't that great. But Jiang Youzhong is different, at the age of 8 or 9... he has strong malleability.

  "I don't believe you... Young Master, do you really know why the waterwheel moves?" Even after being slapped by his father, Jiang Youzhong only changed his address, staring straight at Yu Guozhen with an extremely childish provocation.

  "Heh heh, it's not just me who knows, even the little maid in our house knows. If you really want to learn, follow your father to Luozhou."

  "Dad, I want to go to Luozhou!" Jiang Youzhong immediately turned to his father.

  Jiang Quan's face lit up with a smile, he thought that Yu Gongzi was teasing his son, why would the waterwheel turn... isn't it just the water pushing it to turn?

  "Is there anyone else at home?" Yu Guozhen asked again, "Why don't you all go to Lu state together? If you have apprentices who want to go, bring them along too. I'll pay their wages, half of what I'm paying you."

  "It's all gone, there's nothing left at home. When his mother gave birth to him, she was already gone. I've been bringing him up by eating the leftovers of others, where would I have the energy to raise an apprentice?" Jiang Youzhong said with a stuffy nose.

  Although it is said that a skilled craftsman will not starve to death, such a craftsman can only barely make ends meet.

  After sending the father and son away, Zhang Yu smiled and said: "Yu Xian-di, seeing your style of doing things today, you are indeed a practical scholar who is good at dealing with worldly affairs."

  He was talking nonsense, Yu Guozhen made a perfunctory remark, and the topic of their conversation returned to current events. However, Zhang Yu was speaking eloquently and passionately, while Yu Guozhen kept nodding in agreement, occasionally interjecting with a sentence or two, which made Zhang Yu even more excited and enthusiastic.

  He was in the midst of an enthusiastic conversation when a soft, alluring voice suddenly echoed from outside: "Mr. Zhang's grandiose and eloquent speech reminds me of Zhuge Liang's Longzhong Plan."

  With this voice, Xu Fo walked in with a smile, followed by a little maid. As soon as the little maid came in, she caught everyone's attention because of her delicate and beautiful appearance. Although she was only thirteen or fourteen years old, she was already no less than Xu Fo.

  "Is this... Wu Jiang's unfinished sea of peach blossoms?" Zhang Pu joked with a smile.

  "Mr. Zhang!" Xu Fo's voice was tinged with a hint of annoyance as she drew out the last word: "You're being rather flippant, aren't you?"

  "Ah, haha, yes, I was too careless..."

  "If it's at a drinking table, let Mr. Zhang be penalized to drink, but since there is no wine... then let Mr. Zhang be penalized to write a poem for my poor daughter, how about that?"

  "Of course, of course!" Zhang Yu, being the great talent of Fu She, found writing poetry to be no difficult task, just a trivial matter. However, his gaze suddenly shifted, looking at Yu Guozhen: "Or... perhaps I could ask Brother Yu to do it for me?"

  "I'm a layman and don't understand poetry." Yu Guozhen smiled slightly, Zhang Yu showed off his artistic talent, but in Yu Guozhen's eyes, this seemed somewhat frivolous.

  After he said "I don't understand poetry", Xu Fo smiled and glanced at him with an unbelieving expression, while the little maid also raised her eyebrows, looking at him straight in the eye for the first time after entering, but there was a hint of coldness in her clear eyes.

  It seems I won't be writing poetry... it's a crime, after all.

  Yu Guozhen smiled wryly, this was the end of the Ming dynasty, he also had the heart to copy a few poems, but in front of such a master as Zhang Yu, and facing Xu Fo, who obviously spent a lot of thought on poetry, whose poem could he copy? Except for Nalan Xingde, who had not yet been born, it seemed that no one's poem was worth copying.

  Nalan Xingde, as a Manchu, was actually very good at writing poetry, which is related to his complete acceptance of Han culture. When copying his poems, Yu Guozhen didn't have much psychological pressure, but he knew that even if it's just copying poems, one has to consider the occasion and circumstances, otherwise, they will inevitably be exposed.

  "Haha, Gu Zhen is too modest, but today I was the one who was rude. Let me make up for it by composing a poem for this young lady... However, to compose a poem, I must first know her name, only then can I start writing."

  Xu Fo Xi said: "My daughter's surname is Yang, with a single name Ai..."

  "Mother, my original surname was not Yang. Now that I've left the Zhou family, I should naturally restore my original surname." Zhang Yu was just about to compose a poem using the name Yang Ai, but the young girl spoke up, her voice extremely pleasant, yet with a hint of heroic spirit: "My original surname is Liu, and as for my name...I like the lines from Xin Qiji's poem 'I see the green mountain so charming, I suppose the green mountain sees me in the same way'...from now on, my name will be Liu Rushi."

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