If it weren't for the introduction by Shopkeeper Hua, Zhang Shou would have found it hard to believe that the man he called Mr. Hua Si was actually a young man under 30, with no hair on his face and a slight beard. You know, in this day and age, whether in government or business, old people are more trustworthy than young people, so young men are busy growing beards, as if growing a beard makes them look older and more dignified.
Therefore, it is extremely rare to find a man who is over thirty and still has a fair complexion and no beard, because even if he wears an official hat and robes, he will not look like an official in the eyes of outsiders... As for what he looks like, please tell me about Chu Kuan, the Chief Seal of the Imperial Household Department, who is over forty but still has a fair complexion and no beard
Zhang Shou, who is now an official at the age of not even having his hair cut off, has no intention of growing a beard to look old. He intends to continue to look young! So when he sees a man who is at least seven or eight years older than him, or even ten years older, but still has smooth hair above his lips and chin, he naturally feels very special. However, he forgets that he is even more special in the eyes of others.
After receiving the letter from Manager Hua, Fourth Master Hua sent someone to deliver the letter as fast as possible, and at the same time sent someone to Suzhou to gather the stewards of his family and other wealthy merchants, and then he immediately took a boat from Huai'an to the north. In his opinion, if he could meet Zhang Shou in Cangzhou, that would be the best, but if he was called back to Beijing, he could always find a way to meet him to negotiate when he arrived in Beijing.
However, even though he had prepared himself mentally, he did not expect such a coincidence to happen today. Seeing such a handsome young man with outstanding manners who even a young man like him would be jealous of, he still felt that the twenty years or so he had always been proud of had been wasted.
Therefore, after the greetings, he smiled and started the conversation with this: "Dr. Zhang, don't look at my young age. I am the eldest grandson of the family. So since I was five years old, my grandfather has brought me with him to meet guests, check accounts, and hold negotiations... I have been influenced by this since I was a child. So after my father passed away early, I was able to take charge of the family business at a young age thanks to the trust of the old grandfather."
"In fact, the so-called Fourth Master is not quite accurate, but since I am already the head of the family, it is not appropriate for people to call me Young Master. My Fourth Uncle cannot overshadow me as the head of the family, so everyone calls me that. Dr. Zhang, if you like, you can call me Hua Si or Ah Si, that's what my grandfather called me."
Shopkeeper Hua knew that the Fourth Master, the head of his family, could be said to have many faces, arrogant, gentle, rude or fierce. As long as he wanted, he could show any face. But this was the first time he had seen such a humble Fourth Master. Although he was the uncle in terms of seniority, he did not dare to act like an elder in front of the heir that the old man had devoted himself to teaching, so he simply avoided him.
God knows whether the Fourth Master would forget his contributions and even feel jealous and resentful because he was seen pretending to be a grandson by his father
Zhang Shou was used to seeing people who pretended to be a grandson first and then turned against him, so he treated Hua Siye's face as normal.
Shopkeeper Hua left, but he did not let Ah Liu leave. Instead, he said with a smile, "Master Hua, you are too polite. You are older than me, and you are also much more experienced and knowledgeable than me. Although you are the host and I am the guest today, it is said that the guest should follow the host's wishes, but not everything can be done casually."