Zhu's family knew about his family affairs. He had been herding cattle for others since he was a child. It wasn't until he joined the rebel army that he started to pick up a pen and start reading. Even his books are not very well read until now, and Empress Ma often uses this to push him against him.
No one taught him how to write when he was a child, and when he started his own business, no one dared to teach him how to write. Therefore, Lao Zhu has no brushwork or rules at all when he writes. Everything is drawn as he pleases.
If Han Du said something like Lao Zhu's calligraphy, he would inevitably be taught a lesson by Lao Zhu. But now that he said this, it made Lao Zhu a little happy. At least Lao Zhu didn't think that Han Du was flattering, but carefully savored his words.
"Tell me, if you come today, why do you want to see me?"
Han Du followed Lao Zhu flatteringly and smiled, "The emperor is really discerning, and I can't hide my concerns from the emperor's eyes."
Faced with Han Du's flattering words, Lao Zhu just smiled and waved his hand to indicate to the old eunuch to put away his words.
Han Du told Lao Zhu about the matter.
Unexpectedly, when Han Du mentioned Zhou Huai, Lao Zhu was surprised and said: "Zhou Huai? I know this county magistrate."
"Oh? The emperor has heard of him?" This surprised Han Du. How could Lao Zhu, a small county magistrate, know about this? And since it caught Lao Zhu's eyes, why is Zhou Huai still just a county magistrate? It's long past time for him to become famous.
Unless Lao Zhu has a problem with Zhou Huai and doesn't like him.
If this is the case, then Handu will have to reconsider whether Sanwazi should build a racecourse.
Lao Zhu raised his hand to take the ginseng tea handed over by the old eunuch, sat on the chair and raised his head and said: "Zhou Huai's political achievements are good. He has governed Jurong in the past few years and made the people of Jurong very popular. I once thought that If he was promoted to an official, what do you think he would say?"
"What should I say?" Han Du quickly answered Lao Zhu's words.
"He said that when he serves as an official, he should benefit the country. He will leave traces when he steps on the stone, and he will not leave until the people in the county can have enough food and clothing. Before the people have no worries about food and clothing, he is willing to stay here Jurong will be the county magistrate."
When Lao Zhu spoke, the smile on his face could not be concealed. Obviously, he was extremely satisfied with people like Zhou Huai and agreed with Zhou Huai's approach, so he allowed Zhou Huai to remain the county magistrate of Jurong.
"Since he wants to take care of the people, why doesn't he want to be promoted? If he is promoted, wouldn't he be able to take care of more people?" There are some things that Lao Zhu cannot say, and Han Du has to say them himself. That's how chatting happens. Sometimes you deliberately continue the conversation to avoid killing it.
If Han Du chatted with Tang Ding to death, it would be nothing, and Tang Ding wouldn't care. But if he and Lao Zhu chatted to death, and it was obviously Han Du who brought up the topic, but it didn't end without satisfying Lao Zhu, then Lao Zhu wouldn't be happy.
"I asked him personally." Lao Zhu leaned forward, raised a finger, and gestured towards Han Du: "He said that he had to solve the problem of food and clothing for the people of a county before he dared to agree to be promoted. . Otherwise, he will be terrified!"
Han Du was stunned for a moment. He didn't expect Zhou Huai, who didn't talk much, to have such eloquence. What he said was neither humble nor arrogant, but also cautious and very beautiful.
Naturally, I am even more looking forward to Lao Zhu’s joy.
"It's good to be afraid. If all the officials in the world were as afraid as him, I don't know how happy I would be." Lao Zhu smiled and slapped his thigh with his palm.
After feeling happy, he looked up at Han Du and asked, "By the way, what do you want to do when you mention Zhou Huai?"
"Your Majesty, it's like this. Don't you want to build a horse farm? Didn't I go with the Ministry of Industry..." Han Du smiled awkwardly and gestured with his hands, "Isn't there some misunderstanding, sir?" It’s better to speak to the Ministry of Works. Didn’t Zhou Huai give the people below him a guide to encourage them to work? Therefore, I thought if the horse farm could be built by the people below Zhou Huai.”
"It's a good thing, why not? You have done Zhou Huai a favor." Lao Zhu raised his eyes to look at Han Du while drinking ginseng tea, and agreed without thinking.
However, Lao Zhu did not think about it carefully, but there were some things that Han Du still wanted to make clear to Lao Zhu: "Your Majesty, my horse farm is a bit big and requires a lot of manpower, maybe one or two thousand people..."
One or two thousand people gathered near the capital, and they were all strong laborers. Without Lao Zhu's approval, it would have been possible for him to be impeached and to rebel. The idiot Sanwazi didn't understand, and Han Du couldn't understand. He had to come to Lao Zhu to eliminate this hidden danger. This was also the purpose of Han Du asking to see Lao Zhu.
If Lao Zhu doesn't agree, then at most Han Du will just reject San Wazi, which is not a big problem.
As for why Zhou Huai didn't remind Sanwazi, maybe in his opinion, since he was the one employed by Han Du, Han Du should solve this problem, and Han Du was also capable of solving it.
"You need so many people? How big do you want to build this racecourse?" Lao Zhu frowned and put down the bright yellow jade-like tea bowl.
The exquisite tea bowl shimmered under the light, making Han Du's eyes warm. If just such a bowl could be passed down to future generations, its value would be enough for the whole family to eat and drink for a lifetime, and it is not the kind of frugal food.
Han Du retracted his thoughts and quickly replied: "It's not big, but I want to finish it quickly, so I can only rely on manpower to do it."
Lao Zhu lowered his head and thought for a moment, seeing that Han Du had to hand it over quickly.
For the sake of the navy's military power, he nodded and agreed: "I understand."
Han Du was overjoyed when he heard this, "Thank you, Your Majesty."
...
After returning, Han Du sent someone to notify Zhou Huai and asked him to lead the way to Sanwazi and those people to issue a certificate, so that they could come to the racecourse the next day.
Early the next morning, Han Du took several craftsmen with him and came to the racecourse early. After Sanwazi and others arrived, they told the craftsmen how to build according to the drawings, and explained everything to them in detail. Then, these craftsmen and the people brought by Sanwazi went to work separately.
Han Du called Sanwazi in front of him and asked: "Do you have a famous name? I can't keep calling you Sanwazi, Sanwazi, right?"
"In response to the Marquis, the younger one's surname is Xu and he is the third child. The Marquis should call the younger one Xu San. Of course, Sanwazi is also fine."
"Xu San?" Han Du nodded, looked at Xu San and said, "Xu San, how much is your daily salary? Please tell me the amount."
"Master Hou, there's no rush... Wait, it's not too late to wait until the kids are finished..." Xu San suddenly became nervous when he heard Han Du's words. , a little embarrassed to open his mouth towards Han Du.
Han Du smiled and patted him on the shoulder, "It's natural to get paid for working. What are you afraid of? Besides, if you don't get paid for working, what will you eat? Just tell me."
Xu Sanxiao smiled, pinching the hem of his clothes with nowhere to rest his hands, hesitating for a long time before saying: "Master Marquis, then, what about the young one?"
"Tell me." Han Du waited quietly.
"Let the Marquis know that when the young people used to do it, they usually paid fifty cents a day for each person. Of course, the Marquis will take care of the young ones, and the young ones can make the decision for them, just forty cents a day for each person, how about it? "
"Forty coins?" Han Du smacked his mouth twice, and Xu San was frightened. The forty coins he charged was really the lowest price. At this price, he still had to go back and appease the others. After all, if they make less money, those people must be resentful.
Unexpectedly, judging from Han Du’s intentions, the price is too high?
Xu San suddenly became a little panicked. He didn't know whether he should agree or not if Han Du offered a lower price. If he agrees, how will he explain it to others? If he doesn't agree...does a commoner like him have the qualifications to bargain in front of the Marquis?
"If it's less, I'll give you eighty coins." Han Du said lightly.
"If the Marquis thinks it's too high, then... what? How much did the Marquis say?" Xu San couldn't believe his ears. After he came to his senses, he quickly waved his hands and refused: "No, no No, Lord Marquis, this is too much, too much, just forty coins." There was too much money, and Xu San did not dare to take it.
Han Du waved his hand to stop Xu San's movements, and said in a tone that left no room for doubt: "I will give you eighty coins, so you can take it with confidence. However, this money is not given to you in vain. You must Do the work well for me and be practical."
"Don't worry, Lord Marquis, I will keep a close eye on you and nothing will go wrong." Faced with Han Du's request, Xu San assured him by patting his chest without any hesitation.
Even if Han Du gave him forty coins, he would do the work beautifully. Now that he has received twice as much money, he will naturally have to put in twice as much effort.
As soon as the construction of the racecourse began, Han Du devoted himself wholeheartedly to it. Not only did I not feel tired at all, but I felt an inexplicable excitement as I watched the racecourse being built bit by bit.
In his previous life, he didn't even have the opportunity to enter a racecourse. Now he had the opportunity to watch a racecourse being built in person. How could Han Du not be excited?
After working at the racecourse for another whole day, Han Du returned home full of energy in the afterglow. As soon as I walked into the lobby, I saw a rather unexpected person sitting inside, drinking tea by himself.
"How did you come?"
Fang Xiaoru didn't show any emotion when she saw Han Du coming in. She just glanced at Han Du and continued to drink his tea.
Han Du was not surprised and sat down next to him, poured himself a cup of hot tea and took a sip. The throat that seemed to be on fire suddenly seemed to be moistened by sweet rain, which was extremely refreshing.
Nice romance
Fang Xiaoru then put down the tea cup and said calmly: "I heard that you have so much money that you have nowhere to spend it, and you dare to throw hundreds of thousands of it into the dirt. Aren't we very poor? Come to you to get it. Two cents to spend."
Han Du smiled when he heard this and gently touched Fang Xiaoru's arm with his elbow. "Stop teasing me. Are you going to be short of money?"
Fang Xiaoru is the minister of the East Palace, a fifth-rank official. Although he has never served before Zhu Biao, as long as he has this official position, he can receive his salary from the East Palace on time without anyone saying anything. The salary of a fifth-grade official is ten guan per month.
Fang Xiaoru's income is not only salary, don't forget that he also has another identity, that is, a doctor of the academy. According to the college's salary standard, he can get 50 guan per month.
As a result, Fang Xiaoru's total monthly income is sixty guan.
Also, Fang Xiaoru lives in the academy and does not need to rent a house by himself. This saves him the biggest expense. Even pens, ink, paper and inkstones, a major expense for scholars, can be completely saved. Therefore, although living in the capital was not easy, for Fang Xiaoru, he lived a very comfortable life.
Not only do I teach and educate people every day, I also go back to Jiaofangsi to watch dances and listen to music in my spare time.
Of course, when Fang Dacai went to Jiaofangsi, he was naturally different from ordinary landowners and old wealthy people.
Use money. Not only does it cost nothing to get in, but it also doesn't cost anything to have tea. In fact, if any Zhangtai saw Fang Xiaoru sitting on his tea table, he would directly send his maids out to send all the others away and invite Fang Xiaoru in respectfully.
Countless people prostrated themselves in the pomegranate skirt, without Fang Xiaoru even needing to lift a finger. He only had to stop wherever he went, and Zhang Tai would prostrate himself under his blue shirt.
Han Du looked like he didn't believe that Fang Xiaoru would be short of money, and shook his head with a smile.
Suddenly he reacted, looked at Fang Xiaoru with wide eyes and asked: "Are you talking about the academy asking for money?"
Fang Xiaoru crossed his arms, leaned back on the chair, and said with a smile: "Your reaction is not considered stupid."
Dumb? Haha, are you talking about me? When did Fang Xiaoru have such confidence?
Han Du squinted his eyes and glanced at Fang Xiaoru, and suddenly realized that this guy was deliberately irritating him. The doubts on his face immediately disappeared, and the smile returned to his expression.
"The academy is short of money and all you have to do is come to my house for what?"
Han Du has always used money to subsidize the academy. If the original plan is followed, the academy will not be short of money.
Fang Xiaoru said this, or he saw that he had spent 300,000 yuan to build a racecourse, and he felt unbalanced and came to see if he could get some money from himself.
Fang Xiaoru snorted and said with a smile: "I'm asking you to get money just to scare you. It seems to be of no use. But have you ever thought about it, such a big academy can't live on your charity alone. You can help One, two, three years, can you still support the whole life? Even if you can support the academy for the rest of your life, what will happen to you after that?"
"This..." Han Du nodded repeatedly and had to admit that Fang Xiaoru was right.
In this world, no one can take care of anyone for a lifetime, whether it is a person or an academy. If the academy wants to develop and grow, it must first support itself.
"Do you have any ideas?"
Fang Xiaoru let go of his hands as if frustrated, and said with a little helplessness: "What can I do? Isn't it because there is no other way that I came to find you, a good boy?"
Han Du didn't pay attention to Fang Xiaoru's teasing. Instead, he pondered and thought seriously. After a moment, he raised his head and said to Fang Xiaoru: "If the academy wants to support itself, it must have its own financial resources."
Fang Xiaoru nodded and waited quietly for Han Du's next words.
Everyone knows that the academy needs money to survive, but not many people know how to get the money.
Not only Fang Xiaoru, but also Xue Xiang and Mr. Jin in the academy had no idea about this, so Fang Xiaoru had to ask Han Du to find a solution.
Han Du thought for a moment, looked up and looked outside the house, and said, "It's getting late today. Let's go to the academy with you tomorrow to see if there is anything we can do."
Fang Xiaoru had no objection to Han Du's proposal. Anyway, he just told Han Du the academy's requirements. The rest was Han Du's business. What did it have to do with him?
Don't forget, Han Du is still the deputy judge of the academy. These should be Han Du's worries.
The next day, Han Du and Fang Xiaoru came to the academy. As soon as he walked into Daming, Han Du subconsciously turned back and glanced at the houses on both sides of the gate.
He raised his finger and asked, "Are these houses not for sale?"
Fang Xiaoru took a look and asked doubtfully: "What? You want to sell these houses? Of course not. If you don't nod, who would dare to sell these houses?"
It's okay if it's not sold, Han Du feels relieved.
However, there is no idea of selling these houses now. This thing is a one-time deal, so if you want to sell it, you will naturally have to sell it for a high price.
Although the reputation of the Academy is now as good as that of the Imperial College, Han Du feels that it is not enough.
So, there is no thought of selling these houses now.
"After being reminded like this, don't tell me, this is really a solution. You don't even know what the house opposite our academy has become." Fang Xiaoru said with some joy while touching his chin.
Han Du glanced at the other side of the gate in a strange way, and asked with a smile: "What? When there was a fire here, the house opposite was also burned. Didn't everyone think it was ominous? Why did the price increase?"
"The fire happened when did it happen? Since our academy was built, no one has mentioned the fire anymore. Instead, everyone wants to get closer to the academy and get a taste of culture."
Fang Xiaoru and Han Du explained, and then said excitedly: "What? Sell it? If so, I will prepare it now."
"Why sell it? This is the property of our academy and must not be sold." Han Du said decisively, turned around and walked towards the academy without turning his head.
Seeing Han Du's straightforward refusal, Fang Xiaoru didn't understand what medicine he was selling in his gourd. 'It's obviously just some houses, how come it has become the property of the academy? '
Han Du's thoughts are different: selling is a one-time transaction; renting is a long-term business.
As the reputation of the academy grows, more and more people will come to study in the academy. The threshold for entering the academy will become higher and higher.
There will certainly be no shortage of students in this world who fail to get into academies, and there will certainly be no shortage of people whose families are landlords and rich. At that time, as long as he gave a little hint and asked him to rent the house in the academy at a high price, and give his son a chance to study in the academy, why not?
