eurekapd Chapter 127 The Blood in My Body Cooled Down
Chapter 127 The Blood in My Body Cooled Down
A month later, although Zheng Hao had already passed the provincial examination, the metropolitan examination was approaching. After attending the celebration banquet hosted by the Zhen brothers and Peng Zhizhi, he resumed his previous life.
Now that he is a successful candidate in the imperial examinations, the teachers at the prefectural school are also successful candidates and cannot teach them, so Zheng Hao no longer goes to the prefectural school.
But every other day, Zheng Hao would bring his own writings to Mr. Zhou's house for him to review.
On the last occasion, he brought the article to Mr. Zhou's house.
Zhou Zicheng took Zheng Hao's article. Zheng Hao stood beside him. After about an incense stick's time, Zhou Zicheng looked up at Zheng Hao and shifted his gaze from the article.
"Literature is primarily based on spirit, and the purity or turbidity of spirit has its own inherent qualities, which cannot be forced. You are not yet twenty, yet your writing already possesses a pure spirit..."
Zhou Zicheng lowered his head and read Zheng Hao's article again, saying, "The whole article is not just about fancy words and beautiful writing. You can see solid knowledge in everything you say. Now, you can be said to have learned everything. The next step is to see if you can reach the point where there is no falsehood in your words."
Zhou Zicheng's words, though seemingly critical, did not merely point out the article's shortcomings; he pointed out both its strengths and weaknesses.
Faced with his teacher's praise, Zheng Hao, unlike a young man, remained calm and composed, saying, "Thank you for your comments, sir."
Looking at Zheng Hao's mature appearance beyond his years, Zhou Zicheng felt both gratified and helpless.
After a moment, he shook his head slightly and continued, "You will face many formidable opponents in next year's imperial examination. Have you considered not waiting three years before taking the exam?"
Without hesitation, Zheng Hao said, "Even if the road ahead is difficult, I will go."
"it is good."
Zhou Zicheng said, "My students have no reason to fear others."
"They are child prodigies, and you are exceptionally talented. It is still uncertain who will win or lose."
After saying that, he looked at Zheng Hao and said, "You will be traveling in a few days, so I will not send anyone to see you off. Go back now."
Zheng Hao bowed and said, "Yes."
Taking his article, Zheng Hao turned and left Mr. Zhou's study.
After boarding the oxcart, even when alone in the carriage, Zheng Hao remained as virtuous as a gentleman, not leaning against the carriage wall at all, and sat upright with his back straight.
With his eyes half-closed, Zheng Hao recalled what Mr. Zhou had just told him.
"You will face many formidable opponents in next year's imperial examination. Have you considered waiting three years before taking the exam?"
After the provincial examination, Zheng Hao heard about the reputations of the top scholars from various prefectures from the two Zhen brothers.
Unlike previous years, this year's provincial examinations featured many descendants of high-ranking officials and scholars, as well as disciples of great Confucian scholars. These individuals shone brightly in their respective prefectures and will surely be heading to the capital for the metropolitan examination next year.
This not only means that this year's top scholar in the provincial examination is more difficult to obtain than it was three years ago, but also that even those from humble backgrounds who originally had excellent grades may fail to pass the examination when competing with these well-off scholars who are supported by the government.
In this situation, the best decision is to avoid the provincial examination next year and wait three more years. It doesn't matter if the ranking in the provincial examination is lower. If it is the palace examination, and someone who was originally at the second-class level falls to the third-class level because of these geniuses, that would be a real regret for life.
Some well-informed candidates, upon receiving this news, dared not gamble with their future and decided to wait another three years to take the next provincial examination.
And what about Zheng Hao?
He had no intention of changing his mind. Although he had lived in Yueming Prefecture since childhood, there were too few people to compare himself to. In addition, Zhen Cheng, who could fight him at first, was later slightly inferior to him. Without others to compare him with, Zheng Hao was not clear about his true strength.
Without a firm grasp of the situation, why didn't Zheng Hao wait three years before taking the plunge? Given his meticulous and calculating nature, he wouldn't have done something so unpredictable.
After all, there is a big difference between the first-class Jinshi, the second-class Jinshi, and the third-class Jinshi.
However, we must not forget Zheng Hao's true nature. Although he appears cautious and composed on ordinary days, in his previous life, he rose from a penniless soldier to become the regent who ruled the world. If he didn't have a crazy streak in his bones and only sought stability, how could he have reached that position?
In this life, he acted cautiously and prudently, but only because of Gu Lin's existence.
In front of Uncle Gu, Zheng Hao always remembered to disguise himself. He could not reveal the madness and violence that were ingrained in his blood, because that would frighten Uncle Gu.
In the imperial examination three years later, he would indeed not encounter any more powerful opponents, but Zheng Hao's long eyelashes trembled slightly, and he lifted his eyelids, his dark eyes looking at the carriage door in front of him.
He didn't want to wait, nor was he willing to wait. He was seventeen this year, and Uncle Gu was twenty-five. Once he understood his own feelings, he naturally wouldn't marry any other woman or man in the future.
But in Uncle Gu's eyes, he was just a junior. If he waited another three years, Uncle Gu would be a few years older, and all the women and men he knew would be married and have children. At that time, if Uncle Gu happened to meet a man he liked, would he marry him?
Although Gu Shutong had said he would not get married, Zheng Hao dared not gamble on even the slightest possibility.
If one day Uncle Gu ran up to him and said he had met someone he liked and wanted to marry her, Zheng Hao didn't know if he could remain rational.
When the oxcart arrived at the Gu family's residence, Zheng Hao composed himself before stepping out of the carriage.
Stepping into the house and walking into the lobby, Zheng Hao saw a young man with his back half turned to him, waving something in his hand, seemingly doing something.
He walked toward the other man and came to his side. He saw that the wooden table in front of the man was filled with various wooden boxes.
A large wooden box was placed in front of his chest, while seven or eight other small wooden boxes were scattered on the table.
Gu Lin lowered his head slightly, muttering to himself as he took out various bottles and jars from the small wooden box and packed them into the large wooden box.
Zheng Hao was standing close enough to hear Uncle Gu saying, "Antidiarrhea medicine, wound medicine, peppermint oil, digestive pills..."
The other party is counting the medicine.
Suddenly, the young man's fingers, which were counting the medicines, paused: "Where's the medicine for colds?"
He muttered to himself, leaning slightly forward, and rummaged through several wooden boxes, but couldn't find the medicine he wanted.
Gu Lin frowned slightly. This shouldn't be the case. When he went to the clinic to buy medicine earlier, he told the apprentice that he wanted medicine for colds.
He watched as the other person put the cold medicine into the wooden box.
Suddenly, a slender, jade-like hand and a white porcelain medicine bottle appeared before him, and a clear voice rang in Gu Lin's ears.
"Uncle Gu, the medicine for colds is here."
Gu Lin turned around and saw him there, but there was no surprise on his face.
He reached out and took the medicine bottle, saying, "Should I say goodbye to Mr. Zhou?"
Looking down at Uncle Gu's slender, pale fingers moving the medicine bottle, Zheng Hao nodded slightly: "I've already told Mr. Zhou about the departure date."
The young man removed his finger from his sight, and Zheng Hao shifted his gaze to the medicine bottles on the table, asking, "Uncle Gu, are these medicines for my trip to the capital in a few days?"
Gu Lin nodded: "Yes..."
He continued counting the medicine bottles; the large wooden box was already half full. Gu Lin said, "This is only part of it; there's more."
Although these medicines were a token of Uncle Gu's goodwill, Zheng Hao really couldn't use that many.
He parted his lips slightly, about to speak, but then saw the young man in front of him, his lips half-open, and said, "I'm going with you on this trip. In case I catch a cold and can't find a doctor along the way, we should prepare more medicine."
Zheng Hao froze, his usually quick-thinking mind failing to process what was happening.
After a long pause, he seemed to find his voice and asked, "What do you mean by that, Uncle Gu?"
After placing the tranquilizer into the large wooden box, Gu Lin turned to Zheng Hao and said, "I will be going with you to the capital."
Upon hearing the other person repeat the same words, Zheng Hao's fingertips twitched slightly, and a surge of joy suddenly welled up in his chest, almost completely eroding his reason.
But when his gaze fell on the slightly pale face of the young man in front of him, Zheng Hao's mind gradually calmed down, and at the same time, his rationality returned.
Instead of directly persuading Uncle Gu to stay in the prefectural city, Zheng Hao asked, "Why did Uncle Gu suddenly decide to go to the capital?"
He thought that the other party couldn't have gone to the capital because of him. If it really was for him, it would have been decided from the beginning, not at the last minute.
Unexpectedly, the young man in front of him parted his lips slightly, interrupting his thoughts.
Gu Lin said, "I think that no matter what the results of your provincial and palace examinations are next year, with your abilities, you will at least be on the list, or at the very least, you will be a third-class Jinshi. So I was thinking if we could go to the capital in advance to look at houses and shops. If you can stay in the capital, we will have a place to stay. If you are assigned to a post outside the capital, we can discuss it further."
In any case, houses and shops in the capital will not depreciate in value. If Zheng Hao stays in the capital, they can live there themselves. If he is sent to a post outside the capital, he can rent out the houses and shops. No matter what, he will not lose out.
With Yu Ge'er, Lin Xiaoyao, Yu Ercheng and others now all capable of handling things independently, unlike when there was a shortage of manpower in the county, even if Gu Lin leaves for a few months, it will not have any impact on Haoyunlou.
Moreover, Gu Lin's decision to go to Beijing was not entirely due to this matter.
Following shower gel and soap, bath oil has also become very popular in Beijing.
However, because bath oil was a tribute to the royal family, even though many noble families knew its wonderful uses, they could not obtain it.
Many people then sent invitations to the Fang family. This Fang family was not Fang Jiyue's family, but the Fang family of his elder brother who had married the daughter of a high-ranking official.
Fang's eldest sister-in-law asked Fang's eldest brother to write a letter, saying that many noble ladies and gentlemen in the capital had inquired about bath oil, clearly very interested in it. However, since bath oil was a tribute item, they couldn't use it, so they asked her if she had any other good things.
In response, Fang's sister-in-law naturally told the truth, stating that the bath oil was developed by a master craftsman hired by her husband's younger brother, and that it had taken a long time to develop, so it was uncertain whether they could develop any other good products in the near future.
However, the allure of bath oil to the young men and women was too strong. They pestered and coaxed Fang's sister-in-law, who, not wanting to offend them, said she would write a letter to the master craftsman to see if he knew of anything similar to bath oil.
At the same time, the letter inquired whether the master craftsman could go to the capital, stating that profit sharing was not an issue and that they would certainly treat the master craftsman well.
After reading the letter, Fang Jiyue handed it directly to Gu Linren so that he could make his own decision.
Fearing he would be put in a difficult position, Fang Jiyue said, "My sister-in-law and her family are reasonable people. If you don't want to go, I will refuse on your behalf."
Gu Lin accepted the letter directly.
In fact, when Gu Lin saw the Fang family opening up the markets in Beijing and Jiangnan with their soap and shower gel, he had already had some ideas. Now that he saw the letter from the eldest sister-in-law of the Fang family inviting him, Gu Lin was even more tempted.
He had no shortage of recipes for bath products, and he didn't even hesitate to offer bath oil as a tribute, because he guessed that people in the capital would enthusiastically embrace it.
Sure enough, as he expected.
Gu Lin's purpose in making this trip was to personally go to the capital to discuss with Fang's eldest sister-in-law and see if a win-win situation could be reached.
He told Zheng Hao about it.
Zheng Hao was not disappointed by Uncle Gu's trip to the capital, not entirely because of him.
Zheng Hao never doubted Uncle Gu's good intentions towards him.
He thought for a moment and said, "Uncle Gu already has a new formula that can replace the bath oil. If you want to continue cooperating with the Fang family, just send them a letter of divorce. This time, Uncle Gu is going to the capital to bypass the Fang family and take charge of cooperating with Sister-in-law Fang herself, without continuing to take a share of the profits."
Hearing Zheng Hao's words, Gu Lin nodded, revealing an expression of appreciation.
Gu Lin said, "In the past, I sold the formula to the Fang family and only took a cut. The Fang family was honest and trustworthy. Plus, I had a continuous supply of formulas, so they didn't dare to cheat me."
“However,” Gu Lin changed his tone, “if I only care about stability and don’t care about the size of the business, I can continue to sell the formula to the Fang family. But I am unwilling to be controlled by others and let the Fang family monopolize the business.”
Gu Lin said, "I want to open my own shop. The formulas for the shower gel, soap, and bath oil have all been bought out by the Fang family, but I don't care. As for the rest, I can sell them myself or to other merchants and the Fang family."
Zheng Hao listened attentively. After Gu Lin finished speaking, he said, "I will achieve good results in next year's palace examination so that Uncle Gu will not have to be so wary of the Fang family."
Gu Lin was slightly surprised after hearing this, then smiled and said to him, "I'm telling you these things not to force you to achieve great success."
“I know that in the capital, you could throw a stone down and it would blast out a bunch of princes and nobles. We don’t have any powerful backers, so how could we dare to open a shop there?”
Gu Lin laid out his entire plan: "If Sister-in-law Fang agrees to cooperate, we can open a shop in the capital smoothly. If not, after you finish the imperial examination and your official position is confirmed, I will set off for Jiangnan. Jiangnan does not reject merchants from other places, so I will set up the headquarters there and then open a branch in the capital when the time is right. In this way, we can make money and we don't have to worry about those high-ranking officials abusing their power and coming to our door to seize the formula."
Gu Lin's words seemed to have arranged everything, but Zheng Hao's blood ran cold.
He lowered his head slightly, his dark eyes, hidden beneath his eyelids, were as dark and thick as ink that could not be dissolved.
Zheng Hao spoke, his voice slightly hoarse and strained: "Uncle Gu wants to go to Jiangnan?"
Unaware of Zheng Hao's odd behavior, Gu Lin said, "I've long heard of the fame of Suzhou and Hangzhou. In the past, I was too busy with many trivial matters to go. Now that Xiao Yao and the others are looking after the restaurants and shops, I can go to Jiangnan with peace of mind after you finish the imperial examination and settle down."
"so"
Zheng Hao said, "Uncle Gu is leaving us... to go to Jiangnan?"
When Zheng Hao asked this question, his expression and tone were unusually calm, unusually calm, as if the turbulent emotions in his heart were all fake.
[This is such a humble Zheng, he doesn't even dare to say "I" when asking questions, instead saying "we," he's starting to turn dark.]