Gifts will be given only when you ask for them. As the Heavenly Official of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, he holds the power of life and death for officials all over the world. It is understandable that more gifts are given in front of Li's house. After all, Mr. Li's neighbor Zhu Xiluo did not punish Li for this. Yutang.
In comparison, the small six-rank hundred households, and they are military attachés, naturally give fewer or no gifts. Some people may have lower official positions, but the power in their hands is closely related to people. In that case, There will also be differences, such as Li Bai, the head of the private school in Songjiang Prefecture, who controls the fate of all scholars in Songjiang Prefecture.
After all, it is only limited to Songjiang Prefecture and has a limited population. It is incomparable to Li Yutang, but the situation in front of Li Baimen is better than 99% of military attachés.
It is said that Li Yutang has more talents to send gifts during the twelfth lunar month, but Li Bai only ushered in the peak gift-giving period after the 20th of the twelfth lunar month. Although there was no queue in front of the door, it still took a while to deliver the gift to Li Bai. Compared with the Li family mansion, the people who gave gifts were all officials, and the identity of the gift giver in Li Mansion was It was a lot of chaos. There were officials in official attire. These people were all from Songjiang Prefecture and had studied in Songjiang Prefecture private schools. Li Bai was also their school principal. Even if you become famous today, you can't forget your mentor. These people are here to express their gratitude. , the gift should naturally not be light. After all, the price of buying and selling officials in the Ming Empire was not low.
There are also some scholars who wear scarves. These are students of Songjiang Prefecture private schools. Some have achieved fame and some have not yet achieved fame. However, it is a fine virtue of the Chinese nation to give gifts to their mentors during festivals. , this is also a manifestation of respecting teachers and an affirmation of the hard-working gentlemen. The more gifts someone receives, the greater his contribution to the cultural undertakings of the Ming Empire. There were many famous people in the past. Well-educated gentlemen do not accept gifts during festivals. After all, not all scholars are rich, and there are also some who have had one meal but not another. The gentlemen do not want to burden them, but they just don’t know what to say. First of all, gentlemen who have not received gifts are incompetent, have false appearances, mislead others, and have no talent or learning. Therefore, they feel ashamed and embarrassed to accept gifts.
This is undoubtedly not a kidnapping of a selfless educator, but scholars need to have face. For this reason, gentlemen have also embarked on the road of receiving gifts during festivals. For this reason, some gentlemen even pay for it themselves in order to make their face less ugly. The purpose of hiring someone to give you gifts is just to show others the illusion that you have everything you need.
Of course, there are only a minority of scholars after all. Songjiang Prefecture Private School is a government-run private school, and those who can enter are either rich or expensive. This makes many people lose their way to enroll and progress. Various rules and regulations mean that scholars only account for a thousand percent of the local people. First, there are not many people. Even if these people give gifts, they won't get much. Li Bai's main source of income is naturally the sales certificate. Of course, some people who go to school through the back door also give a lot of gifts. Therefore, it is not surprising that there are some wealthy businessmen with bloated bodies and gorgeous clothes among the gift-givers. Of course, there are also some ordinary people in rags who have sold everything for the sake of their children and want to study in private schools.
The sun is shining brightly today, and the mood of plum quality and plum culture is also like today's weather. Even the haze of being burdened with huge debts and requiring a lifetime of unpaid work can be offset by the beautiful sunshine. The dark clouds disperse, today is It was the day when my master got rich, and so was I.
An official came over and threw a tael of silver into the hands of the two of them. The official asked, "You two, my teacher is in good health. I specially purchased a Korean ginseng plant from North Korea to supplement my teacher's health." Replenish the body."
Every year, there are so many scholars who buy certificates from Li Bai. Mei Zizi and Mei Liang don’t know which scholar is lucky. They are in high school, so they don’t know this official. However, the good upbringing of the Li family allows them to raise him. They had become aware of pretending to be grandsons whenever they were in front of officials, and the two of them kept their postures very low.
"My lord, I am in good health. I was blessed with two ladies yesterday." Mei Wenhua gave an affirmative answer and discussed it with facts.
"Well, my mentor visited two people in one night." Hearing this result, the official looked worried. "In the past, my mentor needed three or four ladies to serve him every night. Today, the number has been reduced by nearly half. This is because there is something wrong with his health." ".
The official was a little anxious and rushed in without being informed, "Teacher, teacher, why are you in such bad health? The student is very worried."
What a touching picture of the deep love between master and disciple. It can be seen that Li Bai taught a conscientious student.
After a cup of tea, the official came out, his complexion improved a lot, as if he had been suffering from constipation for many years, "God bless me, my teacher is in good health, but he is weak and his kidney function has declined. He only needs the student's daily supply." One Korean ginseng plant is enough. As long as my mentor lives a long life and his body remains in the prime of life, Korean ginseng is not a problem."
Looking at the officials leaving, many scholars showed envious eyes. After all, his today is the tomorrow he longs for. As long as he can obtain fame and become an official in the court, even if Li Bai suddenly eats ginseng, many of them are willing to do so.
Next came a student from a private school in Songjiang Prefecture. I have to say that he was dressed like a scholar, which made this average-looking person look a bit more pretty. When the scholar came to the door, he saw that the slave of the gentleman's family was also half of his mentor, so he behaved well. He cupped his fists and bowed, "You two gentlemen are very polite. As the festival is approaching, Xuette came here to pay homage to you. I wish you good health, a happy family, and a big fortune next year."
After all, most of the guests in the Li Mansion are scholars, and they have heard too many pleasing blessings. They have long been tired of hearing about plum culture and plum quality. However, after hearing the last blessing, the originally frowning brows relaxed a little, "Master "Thank you for your blessing. This blessing of yours is also what my master likes to hear most. Please wait a moment, and I will inform him right away."
"I'm sorry to bother you two." Seeing that Mei Zhenzi and Mei Liangliang were talking but not doing anything, the scholar understood, and two pieces of silver fell into their hands.
"Sir, please wait a moment, the young one is very quick."
Maybe it was Mei Wenhua who ran so fast, or maybe it was the scholar's auspicious words that made Li Bai so happy. In short, the scholar was quickly invited into Li Mansion and stayed for a longer time. He was smiling when he came out. Looking at each other's faces, it was obvious that the two educated people had a common topic and had a great time chatting with each other.
The scholar came out and was quickly picked up by another scholar. Maybe this scholar was shy and could not take his husband's opportunity to ask for and accept bribes as a matter of course. He did not support it in his heart, but he could not be less polite. Without talking too much with Mei Zhenmei Wenhua, he let the two of them go in to report without paying for the errands.
The original one tael for travel expenses has become two taels, and now it has become one tael again. It is easy to go from frugality to luxury, but it is difficult to go from luxury to frugality. But mosquitoes are also meat, and one tael of silver can be used for anything. Dogs don't mind The family was poor, but the two of them didn't mind the lack of money. After receiving the money, they would go in and pass it on.
"Hey, two brothers, please wait a moment." An uncle with a big belly, gorgeous clothes, and a big jade pendant hanging around his waist ran over. It was obvious that this man was not a person who likes to exercise. After a few steps, he let The visitor was panting, sweating on his forehead, and needed help from his servants.
When he came to the front of Mei Wenhua and Mei Zhen, he stood still with the help of his servants, "Two young brothers, please enter the hall. I would like to ask to see the principal of the school, Li Baili."
As soon as the middle-aged man finished speaking, the servant took out twenty taels of silver ingots and carefully handed them to Mei Zhenliang's hands, "Please make it easier for you two."
There is no problem if they make twenty taels today, but earning twenty taels at a time is something they never expected. Staring at the silver ingots in their hands carefully, they felt the weight of twenty taels. The two of them felt very heavy, with tears shining in their eyes, "There is still a future in being a servant in the Li family."
"Uncle, please wait a moment, I'll be there soon," Mei Su was interrupted before she could finish her words.
"Wait a minute, it will be great if you have money." The scholar took a step forward, looked at the middle-aged man who was obviously dressed as a businessman with disdain, and then turned to the two of them, "I came first, and I should be the next one to give gifts."
The Ming Empire was a court ruled by law, and the Songjiang Prefecture Private School was also a place with rules. Everything was in order, first come, first served. This was fundamental.
Looking at the huge sum of twenty taels in their hands, Mei Zhenzi and Mei Liang were a little embarrassed. They looked at the middle-aged man, then at the scholar, and finally their eyes rested on the scholar's face: "This young master, Why don't you pay another twenty taels, and the boys will inform you first."
"What, why do you want me to pay another twenty taels?" I am here to give a gift, so I should not spend any extra money. One tael more is acceptable, but paying another 20 taels is too much. I have never heard of the recipient of the gift directly setting the price, which makes scholars very worried. unhappy.
"This young master," the servants around the middle-aged man looked down upon him, "my master is very rich."
"I don't care who your master is, I am still a scholar, the kind with a certificate." Scholars were very angry. Scholars, peasants, industrialists and merchants, the first class people, were despised by the bottom class people. This was unacceptable. What happened to Fu Da Fu? Wait a moment, as if something suddenly occurred to him, the scholar looked at the middle-aged man carefully and said, "You are Fu Da Fu."
Recognizing himself, the middle-aged man was not surprised. His expression didn't change much, and he nodded more naturally, "The old man is Fu Da Fu."
"The richest man in Songjiang Prefecture"? The scholar asked tentatively,
"Haha" Fu Dafu touched his beard, "I am ashamed to be the richest man in Songjiang Prefecture, but it is difficult to find someone richer than me in Songjiang Prefecture."
The scholar was rude in a hurry and said, "I don't know if the richest man in Songjiang Prefecture is here in person, but it's the students who are being rude, so the rich people should be invited first."
The status of businessmen is low, but the wealthy businessmen are another matter, and they are still at the level of the richest man. Scholars who are not officials do not dare to provoke them easily. If they offend them, it is easy for them to spend some money to kill themselves. A small person How dare the scholar touch the tiger's beard?
"Thank you, sir." Fu Dafu didn't think it was a big deal as he had known the result for a long time. After all, he had been a frequent visitor to the prefect, but it was his predecessor's.
The guests and hosts enjoyed themselves, and after a while, Li Bai sent Fu Dafu out with a smile. The same smile remained on Fu Dafu's face, and a square object was exposed from his sleeves, with the three words "Scholar Certificate" written on it, well, Fu Dafu There is also the idea of letting one's own children enter the court and become officials. Of course, the talent certificate is the basis. Today next year will be the candidate, and the year after tomorrow will be the number one scholar.
People came in and out, and just as night fell, the last gift-giver also walked into Li's house. However, compared to the other gift-givers, this person was obviously much shabbier. His body was thin and his clothes were very poor. Ordinary, of course, the minimum running fee of one tael of silver is also paid in full.
However, within a few minutes of this person entering, he heard Li Bai's roar, "Li Shanlan, you have the nerve to take out the red envelope of five taels of silver. Who are you trying to kill? I tell you, as long as I stay in Songjiang Mansion for a day, you can't get it." It doesn’t matter if you come first in the exam every year, you have a talent certificate. If I don’t allow it, you will always be white. Get out.”
"Giving gifts with five taels of silver. I don't know that our Li family starts with a hundred taels of silver. We deserve to be kicked out." Mei Zizi and Mei Wenhua gloated. They looked at the person who was kicked out and spat, "Poor , just don’t read.”
The moonlight in the sky stretched Li Shanlan's figure very long, but a crow flew over the moon and blocked all the light, and Li Shanlan's figure disappeared into the night.
