"Pedal, pedal, pedal"
There was a sound of hurried running, and the ground under everyone's feet seemed to tremble slightly as the person ran.
"Bang!"
The door of the mansion was suddenly pulled open from the inside.
As the door opened, a burly and extremely strong woman walked out. As soon as she appeared, she stared at Zhu Li and his group with her dark eyes.
When Zhu Li saw the person coming, he immediately felt a sense of familiarity, and the smile on his face became even more intense. This person was none other than Tan Erhu's wife, Zhao.
Zhao Shi didn't see Zhu Li at first glance, and her expression became suspicious. When her eyes finally fell on Zhu Li, a hint of excitement appeared on her face, and she exclaimed: "Aha, young master Zhu Li, it's really you, ah, no, it's the envoy."
"Haha, Sister-in-law Tan, are you living well here?" Zhu Li was also happy and greeted warmly.
When Zhao suddenly saw Zhu Li, she wanted to change her words to show respect, but when she saw the other party, she was still as temperamental as before. The trace of deliberateness that had just emerged was instantly thrown to Java by her.
She strode forward, grabbed Zhu Li's arm, and dragged him into the courtyard, saying happily, "Haha, big brother, thanks to you, the head of my family is now an official."
"And my little girl has also entered a private school. Now she is learning calligraphy from a clean-looking scholar, well, a respectable scholar. This Shuozhou is really not easy. In short, everything is good."
"But you are finally back. The Lord of Heaven even mentioned you and was worried about you."
... ... .
When a sincere person is happy, his whole body is filled with joy, and his mouth is like a faucet without a control, talking non-stop about all sorts of things.
However, her joy was very contagious. People who listened to her were not only not annoyed, but felt closer to her. As she talked incessantly, even Guo Qizuo and others smiled.
Being dragged by Zhao into the gate, he saw several familiar faces. The old lady with gray hair was Yue Pengju's mother. The old lady looked radiant and looked more energetic.
Seeing this person, Zhu Li did not dare to neglect him, and hurriedly stepped forward to bow and saluted, and said with his hands clasped, "Greetings, Madam Yue."
Madam Yue was obviously not a simple person to raise such an outstanding person as Yue Pengju. She naturally stepped aside to accept Zhu Li's gift and said with a smile, "You are too polite, sir. Please don't embarrass me. I have been grateful for your care and I haven't come to thank you yet."
"It's my duty, it's my duty." Zhu Li said politely.
Next to Madam Yue was a woman who was about the same age as her, dignified, elegant, peaceful and simple. She should be Song Yun's wife. Zhu Li also bowed deeply to her with great respect.
Mrs. Song came from a scholarly family and was very humble and polite in her dealings with others. In just a short moment, she won the favor of Zhu Li and others.
Standing on the right of Old Lady Yue was an extremely beautiful woman, about 26 or 27 years old, and it was none other than Yue Pengju's wife, Liu.
In her arms, she was holding a big fat boy, who should be Yue Pengju's second child.
Next to Old Madam Song was a woman, about 29 years old, pure and pretty, with a maid's bun. Although Zhu Li saw her for the first time, he could tell who she was.
This person should be Song Fujin, Yang Zaixing’s sweetheart.
Next to Song Fujin was a young woman, about twenty-one or twenty-two years old, elegant, beautiful, dignified and quiet. She must be the unfortunate Song Fuyin.
Zhu Li hurriedly bowed to these ladies one by one. These people were all old friends with whom he had worked before. Although Zhu Li had never even met some of them, it did not affect the friendship between them.
In addition to a group of women, there was also a young girl and a young boy.
The girl was about ten years old, about the same age as Zhu Ning'er. It was vaguely visible that she was the daughter of Tan Erhu, the girl named Tan Tan. As for the boy, he was a very strong young man about seven or eight years old, holding a bow on his back. He was Yue Yun, the son of Yue Pengju.
Seeing the youthful, lively, delicate and fair-skinned Tan Tan, Zhu Li really wanted to ask Tan Erhu, is this your biological child? Why doesn't he look like his parents at all
"Miss Tan Tan, do you still recognize your uncle?" Zhu Li looked at Tan Tan with a smile and teased.
Tan Tan was not afraid of strangers, not to mention that her family had lived with Zhu Li for a period of time. Upon hearing this, she immediately said happily: "Uncle Zhu Li, are you here to see me?"
"Yeah, yeah." Zhu Li nodded quickly in response like a chick pecking at rice.
"Haha, that's great. Let me tell you, I can write my own name now. Our teacher even praised me for my beautiful handwriting." Tan Tan said proudly, as if she still remembered the jokes Zhu Li had made when teasing her in the past, laughing at her for not being able to write her name.
"Oh, so awesome! Could you please write it for me?" Zhu Li encouraged.
"Yeah, okay."
Tan Tan quickly found a branch and started writing on the ground in front of everyone.
She was seen holding her breath and concentrating, writing with sharpness, calmness and force, and although the words were not yet visible, her writing was full of momentum. Even Guo Qizuo, Guo Chongtao and Yan Keqiu nodded secretly when they saw her expression.
Zhu Li looked at him and nodded as well, and asked curiously, "Ms. Tan Tan, which private school did you study in?"
Upon hearing this, Zhao said quickly, "Six Essentials Study."
"Six Essentials Study?" Zhu Li looked up at Zhao in confusion, but unfortunately Zhao didn't know his intention. Zhu Li had no choice but to look at Guo Qizuo again.
Guo Qizuo understood and explained, "Since the envoy decided to establish a private school, I have naturally not dared to slack off. With the promulgation and implementation of the policy, many scholars have flocked to Yunshuo. Now, countless private schools have sprung up in various counties and prefectures."
"There are three very famous private schools in Shanyang City, namely Dongting Academy, Liuyao Academy, and Qiuxi Academy. There is a very famous teacher in Liuyao Academy, named Jing Hao. He is not only good at calligraphy, but also good at painting. He is a very talented person. I believe Miss Tan Tan must be his student."
"Yes, yes, my wife's husband is Mr. Jing." Zhao quickly confirmed.
Jing Hao, Zhu Li was shocked when he heard this. The name Jing Hao, perhaps contemporary people cannot feel his greatness, but in later generations, he is a painting saint-level figure, and his calligraphy is priceless.
According to later records, in the late Tang Dynasty, among the experts in ink-wash landscape painting, there was a saying that there were Sun Wei in the south and Jing Hao in the north. Jing Hao was the representative figure of northern ink-wash landscape painting.
Jing Hao once said: "Wu Daozi's landscape paintings have brushes but no ink, while Xiang Rong has ink but no brushes. I should adopt the strengths of both and develop my own style."
He not only said this, but also did it.
Therefore, his landscape paintings "have brushwork and ink, and water-stained ink marks", and the remaining works are all treasures in later generations.
Isn't it a waste of talent for a great painter to become a private school teacher? Zhu Li secretly kept this in mind.
While Zhu Li and Guo Qizuo were talking, Tan Tan had already written his own name. The strokes were straight and horizontal, with a sharp edge. Although the strokes lacked strength, they had the flavor of a master's writing.
This scene made everyone amazed. Seeing her daughter being so powerful, Zhao, who was standing next to her, was so happy that she couldn't close her mouth.
"Haha, you're awesome, your handwriting is great, keep it up." Zhu Li praised faithfully. Tan Tan's handwriting was indeed very good. At least at her age, the handwriting Zhu Li could write was not even good enough to serve as a foil for the young lady.
Tan Tan was extremely happy to receive Zhu Li's praise.
He jumped and trotted to Yue Yun's side, took Yun Xiaolang's arm with both hands, and shook it vigorously, saying, "Brother Yue Yun, did you see that Uncle Zhu Li praised my good handwriting? Do you want to learn calligraphy with me?"
Hearing this, Xiao Yueyun put on a cool face and snorted, "Poetry and prose are minor arts. A real man should learn the skills of riding a horse on the battlefield and defending his country."
This little fellow's words made even Yan Keqiu's face turn black. This was a complete contempt for pure literati.
Upon hearing this, Tan Tan snorted coldly, obviously unhappy. It would be strange for her to be happy since she failed to show off. She turned her head away and ignored Yue Yun.
Zhu Li found this scene very funny. This little Yue Yun hadn't even grown all his hair yet, but he was still a real man. So he teased him and said, "Riding a horse on the battlefield to defend the country, young man, you have such an ambition. I wonder if you have learned this skill?"
Seeing Zhu Li questioning his ability, Yue Yun's stubborn temper came up, and he said very arrogantly: "Alang taught me archery, and I have practiced it to the point of never missing a shot. He also taught me the Thirty-Six Moves of the Sky-Burning Hammer, and I have also mastered it. Many people in the academy are no match for me, but..."
As if he realized something, his arrogant look suddenly turned into depression.
"But what?" Zhu Li asked curiously.
Yue Yun puffed up his cheeks, wanting to say something but stopping himself. However, he was an honest child, and finally said, "It's a pity that a good sledgehammer is too expensive. I can't afford it. I can only use a short stick instead."
"Hmm" Zhu Li nodded after hearing that.
As the saying goes, the poor are good at literature and the rich are good at martial arts. This is exactly the case. The smelting technology in ancient times was relatively poor and the best weapons were very expensive. If Zhu Li had not been lucky enough to meet his master Wu Dao, given his background, he would not have been able to afford a steel spear at that time.
Yue Yun's current living conditions are much better than Zhu Li's at that time, but when it comes to conditions for practicing martial arts, they cannot be compared with the latter at all.
Wu Dao took out one weapon after another, so that Zhu Li always had a weapon at hand. Not only that, there was also a supply of medicinal baths and the assistance of the Classic of Mountains and Seas. Yue Yun Chongtian, after honing his martial arts every day, could only take a medicinal bath.
Although Yue Pengju worked in Fanyang and had a salary, he still had a family to support. As soon as he arrived in Shuozhou, he handed over all the gold that Zhu Li had given him to Guo Qizuo without leaving a single penny. This man's upbringing was so good that it was speechless.
However, everything has two sides. Yue Yun's situation can guide him to strive for progress. If a boy feels that everything comes easily, it will ruin him instead.