Chapter 38: Being Ignored by Others

  But then Yongzheng returned to the Liuchun Garden and called the two women over. Although he was showing them kindness, he didn't want to keep people with unclear backgrounds by his side. The young woman was a clever person and had already figured things out along the way. Although she couldn't guess the identity of this Fourteenth Master for the time being, it was clear that someone who could make Xu family's Third Master kneel down and kowtow upon hearing his name wasn't an ordinary person. At present, the two women were drifting around like duckweed, which wasn't a big deal. Looking at how well Fourteenth Master got along with her own child, she thought he wouldn't mistreat the child either. Based on this point alone, she was willing to be a slave or servant for this lifetime.

  As soon as they entered the house, the young woman led the child to kneel down, "Commoner Tian Li gives her greetings to Master Fourteen, for your great kindness, my daughter and I have no way to repay you, this life is willing to be a slave or servant to serve Master."

  "Speak up." Yu Zhen said softly, "What's going on between you and the Xu family? Tell me about it."

  The young woman stood up, although a bit awkward, but her words were clear and logical, and she quickly explained the situation. Her husband was originally an apprentice at Xu's pawnshop in Shanghai. At the beginning of the year, he was persuaded by someone to borrow 50 taels from the account room to do business with others on the sea. Unexpectedly, the ship encountered pirates in Nanyang, and both the ship and goods were destroyed, resulting in a total loss. When Xu Sanlang came to settle accounts at the end of the year, the original debt of 50 taels had become 150 taels. Her husband was forced to hang himself, and Xu Sanlang wanted to capture her and her daughter to compensate for the debt.

  She carefully sized up the young woman, who was only twenty-three or four years old. Although she was wearing coarse linen clothes, she could still see a few points of beauty. In her mind, she thought that Xu's family might have taken a liking to her looks and that their partnership in business might also be a scam. However, it was now impossible to verify this, and she couldn't help but sigh at the phrase "beautiful women bring calamity." "Not just anyone can be my servant," she said. "Let's start with helping out around the house first. I'll give you two taels as your monthly allowance. This child is quite clever, has he started school yet?"

  Tian Li was startled by Yongzheng's words, thinking that even being a slave would not be enough, and the monthly salary for ordinary servants was one or two taels. What kind of family is this? Seeing his mother stunned, the clever child spoke up: "I haven't attended private school, but my father taught me to recognize a few characters."

  Seeing that the child was not only brave but also clever, Yizheng was very pleased and smiled: "Well, no problem, first study hard, grow up and then help Grandpa." As he spoke, he turned to Haifeng and said: "We haven't set up our own school yet, so let's find a good private school for him first, don't delay the child's education."

  Tian Li's family finally reacted and knew they had met a noble person. They quickly pulled the child to kneel down and kowtowed repeatedly, but couldn't say a word.

  Xu Shi-zhen, the Shanghai magistrate, is thirty-two years old this year. He is a Han Chinese and a jinshi (a successful candidate in the imperial examination) from the 44th year of Kangxi's reign. Since Yongzheng moved into Liu Chun Garden, Xu Shi-zhen has been coming to report on the progress of land acquisition every day at 4 o'clock in the morning. He is well aware that this opportunity is rare and if he can gain the recognition of the Fourteenth Master, he will not have to struggle for twenty years. Therefore, he works diligently every day, doing his job conscientiously and taking all the blame, without daring to slack off even a little bit.

  That day, after reporting as usual, Yinzhen kept him behind and smiled, saying, "Jiangnan has always been a place where talents gather, what famous people are there in Shanghai?"

  Xu Shi-zhen's homework was done very thoroughly, and upon hearing this, he said: "In Shanghai County, there is only Xu Guangqi, the former Minister of Rites and Chancellor of the Wenyuan Pavilion, who has written works such as 'Lectures on the Six Classics', 'The Original Meaning of Geometry', 'The Method of Measurement', 'A Treatise on Sweet Potatoes', 'The Meaning of Gougu', 'Western Water Methods', 'Fixed Law Squaring Numbers', and 'A Complete Book of Agricultural Administration'. If we include the surrounding counties of Shanghai, there are also Xu Jie from Huating, Chen Zi-long, and Dong Qichang from Songjiang."

  Is Xu Guangqi a Shanghainese? What a great guy! Without waiting for Xu Shiying to continue introducing one by one, Yin Ying asked: "Are the descendants of Xu Guangqi still in Shanghai?"

  Xu Guangqi had five grandsons, who have spread out in all directions over the past century or so, but one branch still resides in Shanghai's Old City.

  "Oh, go change into casual clothes, let's go visit." Yongzheng said with great enthusiasm.

  As for the visit of Yin Zhen and Xu Shi-zheng, the head of the Xu family was very cold, even when Xu Shi-zheng made it clear that Yin Zhen's identity, this sixty-year-old old man was still lukewarm, but in terms of etiquette, he did not dare to be careless at all. Yin Zhen was embarrassed for a long time and suddenly thought of an entry point: "Xu Lao is a Catholic, right? The other day, I had already petitioned the emperor to allow missionaries to stay in Shanghai. If nothing unexpected happens, Shanghai will soon become the second port of the Qing Dynasty to allow missionaries to stay after Guangzhou."

  Upon hearing this, Old Xu's eyes lit up instantly. Although there had been rumors in the streets, to hear it from Yin Zhen's own mouth made all the difference. He trembled with excitement as he stood up, making a gesture of kneeling down, "This humble commoner is speaking on behalf of all Catholics in Shanghai to thank Your Excellency, if this day truly comes, I will die with my eyes closed."

  Xu Zongtang was hastily supported by a man, "Director Xu, no need to be too polite. The arrival of Western missionaries not only brings the Gospel of God to you Catholics, but also brings advanced Western civilization to our great Qing dynasty. We should not be self-enclosed and should have the magnanimity to absorb advanced Western culture."

  Xu Lao nodded slightly and said, "The Beile Ye has a broad mind and a magnificent demeanor. Your presence in Shanghai is indeed a blessing for the people of Shanghai."

  Xu's attitude became even more indifferent, and Yin Zhen's anger rose to his head, but he smiled and said: "At present, the emperor is establishing an agricultural college in Jiangning, with the intention of cultivating a large number of agricultural talents to benefit the people. Xu Gong lao is a well-known agricultural expert in China, and I hope that the descendants of the Xu family can inherit his legacy and continue to contribute to Chinese agriculture. Can you recommend one or two young men from your family to go and teach there?"

  This sentence scared Xu Lao so much that cold sweat broke out on his back, and he sighed with a forced calmness, "This is indeed a great event for the benefit of the country and the people. Unfortunately, none of the Xu family's children are willing to study agriculture, it's really a case of having the heart but not the power."

  Yin Zhen remained expressionless and continued, "Overseas trade enriches the country and benefits the people, but it also breeds countless pirates that wreak havoc on the coastal areas. I am currently stationed in Shanghai building a deep-sea fleet to escort maritime trade and protect the borders and the people. I wonder if the Xu family has any young scholars who have studied mathematics or firearms?"

  Xian Yin Zhang mouth creates blessings for the people, closes his mouth to protect the border and pacify the people. With a single-minded step-by-step pursuit, Old Xu cannot help but become frightened, wanting to push it away.

  He was afraid that the next sentence would ask if there were any children who could read and write, after a slight hesitation, he nodded slowly, "There is a person who is obsessed with firearms, but it's not a child of the Xu family. The Beile is eager to find talent, I am willing to write a letter to recommend him to come, how about it?"

  "This is great, but where are you? Should I send a car to pick you up?" Although he spoke with enthusiasm, Xuanzhen was extremely disappointed in his heart, but it wasn't good to express it, so he thought to himself, "Whatever, just pretend and make the best of it, after all, it's worth buying a dead horse for a thousand dollars."

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  I've created a group, those interested can come in and chat, I'm also very bored, haha. 152420686