He was not a member of our school, and his unfamiliar face easily attracted attention. After a while, someone came over to chat with him.
At first, the local scholars only expressed their reserve and politeness as scholars, and they just said hello by cupping their hands. When a fat scholar lazily asked: "Where is your hometown, sir?"
"Oh, the student is from Lingao County, Qiongzhou Prefecture." Huang Hankun answered cautiously. Although his voice was very low, it immediately aroused the interest of everyone in the room. Huang Hankun was immediately surrounded by a tight crowd, with two hands held by three people respectively, and others holding hands with him. Faces with shining eyes were wandering in front of his eyes.
"Brother Huang, is this Australian ship really iron?"
"Hey, Brother Huang, it is said that Australians can drive away ghosts and gods? Can they make cars and ships move on their own?"
"Uncle Huang, how can we traffic Australian goods?"
"Mr. Huang, my family also sells foreign goods. Can you give the chiefs a word?"
…
Huang Hankun was flustered by the sudden enthusiasm. As soon as these scholars came up, he realized how deep the influence of Kun Ze was. He immediately understood that in front of them, not only could he not show how disgusted Kun Ze was, but You have to show that you are related to Australians everywhere.
As for who among the scholars has the moral integrity of a scholar, it is better for Mr. Huang to find out slowly. There was a smile on his face and everyone bowed in return.
Although he is a scholar in a small county, he is also a powerful person in the county. He has seen all kinds of world with his father since he was a child, and he is not timid about the scenes. There was a burst of shouts of "brother" and "brother", and he immediately became involved with the surrounding people.
There was a lot of noise everywhere. "Ah hum!" A cough suddenly came from behind the onlookers.
"It's noisy and noisy, what kind of behavior is it? It's an insult to politeness, it's an insult to politeness!" I heard a voice. Everyone spread out and Huang Hankun saw that he was a scholar in his thirties, and his clothes were no different from those of ordinary scholars. It's just that his face is more graceful, and there is a touch of arrogance between his eyebrows. At first glance, he looks like a kid from a wealthy family.
"This is Mr. Liang Cunhou from the county school. After becoming an official, he ran several businesses. His family is the most prosperous." The fat-faced scholar whispered in Huang Hankun's ear. It seems that this is the leader among the scholars, Huang Hankun thought to himself.
"Brother, are you from Lingao?"
"Exactly."
"Okay, okay, okay." Mr. Liang said three good words in a row. “Seeing is worth hearing a hundred times!”
Huang Xunkun secretly wondered, he was not a well-known figure, so how could he start talking about this?
Mr. Liang said, "Brothers, please see, does Mr. Huang look like an Australian?"
Voices of agreement immediately rang out from the surroundings: "Brother Liang has a sharp eye", "Absolutely similar", "Except for not shaving his head"...
Huang Xunkun said in a panic: "I am not Kun...an Australian...an authentic Lingao aborigine."
Seeing his panic, Mr. Liang couldn't help but smile: "Don't panic, Mr. Huang. It's just that Mr. Huang's appearance and behavior are really the same as those of Zhen Kun!"
Huang Henkun couldn't understand why he suddenly became the same as "Zhen Kun".
"Although Xiongtai is not tall, he is strong and healthy," Mr. Liang said slowly. "Although his behavior, words and deeds indicate that he comes from a wealthy family of Jin gentry, his skin is dark and his hands are rough. Looking at Xiongtai's expression, Neither humble nor arrogant, there is a sense of heroism between his brows. There is also a vague sense of arrogance..."
"Brother Liang said it well..."
"I do feel that way!"
"Brother Huang must be profound in Kun studies..."
Huang Hankun didn't know what to say for a while, and felt somewhat dumbfounded. How are you similar to Kun Thief? Is it possible that after five years of being under their rule, his spirit and spirit have changed?
Judging from what Mr. Liang meant, he "highly appreciated" the Kun thieves, so naturally he couldn't ruin their interest. I had no choice but to be submissive and humble myself, saying that I had "little knowledge" and only "a little knowledge of Australians".
"Even if you know a little bit, you are better than those of us who are just looking at flowers in the fog. Mr. Ye is a dragon." Someone sighed.
"Yeah, talking about Australians. Just know Ziminglou..."
"This is a glimpse of the leopard. Ziming Tower is just a sensual entertainment for the Australians. How much do they know about their skillful financial management skills?"
…
At this time, a young scholar suddenly squeezed over. Seeing that the clothes were quite gorgeous, he said: "Sir, you have been in a high position for a long time. Australians behave like they are looking at the lines of their palms. Now that the world is in turmoil, everyone wants to find a new way to govern the country and bring peace to the country. I hope that you, sir, will not hesitate to teach me. You have worked hard to come here, sir." , please rest for a day. In this way, tomorrow at noon, we will have a banquet at Yuyuan Building, our restaurant, and I will wash Mr. Huang's dust with all my brothers." After saying this, he bowed.
When everyone heard that there was a free banquet to enjoy, they all cheered.
The fat scholar then introduced that this was Master Lin Zunxiu. His family had opened several restaurants in Guangzhou and owned a wide range of properties. He was generous by nature and had many contacts.
There was noisy chatting and joking here, but outside there were people shouting things like "Kun thieves" and "Murder Yingye". They couldn't hear it clearly. The fat-faced scholar just inferred that they were scholars who were dissatisfied with the Australians. , not worth a penny.
Huang Xunkun wanted to get acquainted with these "loyal and righteous people", but it seemed that there were mostly scholars here who were close to him, as well as Mr. Liang. He couldn't afford to offend him, so he had to calm down and see the situation. Say it again.
Huang Xunkun went to the appointment on time the next day. The banquet was held at a restaurant on the bank of the Pearl River: Zhanxiang Restaurant. Not only is the building majestic, but part of it protrudes above the water, like a waterside pavilion. In summer, when you drink wine in the wind, the river flows under the floor, like a god. .
You can see Haizhushi from this restaurant, so there are constant banquets every day. Huang Hankun also thought of looking for opportunities here. Although he was never turned away by the waiters, he wanted to get a single room close to those dignitaries. Absolutely not.
I didn’t expect that things would go so smoothly after I went to the county to study!
The waiter led Huang Hankun to the hall, where a group of scholars were already waiting to greet him. To his slight disappointment, Mr. Liang was not among them. Then he thought about his identity, and he would probably "arrive soon".
"Young Master Huang is coming here, it's really brilliant. Come, come, please come in, please come in." Mr. Lin comes from a merchant family, so he is very comfortable with matters on the scene. Huang Xunkun returned the gift with his hand. There was a flurry of polite exchanges, and everyone was happily holding hands and entering the door. There is a large piece of glass in front of the wall as a shadow wall, and looking at the windows, they are all worthy of glass. This is a big deal in Guangzhou, but it is nothing shocking to Huang Hankun: not to mention that the streets in Lingao are full of glass windows, and it has been more than a year since all the windows in his home were replaced with glass.
The waiter led them into the gate of the Moon Cave. There were small rooms on both sides of the corridor, each with a name: Inviting Immortals, Leyou... and so on. Lin Zunxiu pulled Huang Hankun and led everyone to the outermost chrysanthemum viewing room. This is the most famous "Water Pavilion" in the restaurant. Now all the windows on three sides are open, and Xiangfei bamboo curtains are hung to block the sun. Only the river breeze blows, which is refreshing.
Two large tables have been set up in the hall, and a cold vegetable and fruit plate has been prepared. Mr. Lin greeted everyone, and the scholars were probably used to Mr. Lin's wealthy family on weekdays, so they were not very polite and called each other to sit down.
Lin Zunxiu invited Huang Bingkun to take the guest of honor seat, and then introduced him to the scholars present. It turns out that most of these scholars were small wealthy households in Guangzhou city, or their families had their own business, or their fathers and brothers were officials of a medium or small scale. For example, the fat scholar who was the most enthusiastic yesterday was named Shi. His family made and sold bamboo and rattan furniture. Everyone called him Chair Shi.
After presenting his head, Lin Zunxiu stood up, pointed at the stacks of rafts and oars on the water, and turned to ask Huang Henkun: "Master Huang, do you have enough scenery here?"
"The great port of Southern China is well-deserved." Huang Xunkun answered in a satisfactory manner.
"How does it compare to Lingao?"
This made Huang Hankun a little embarrassed. In terms of city size and population, Lingao County, where Australians are entrenched, is far inferior to Guangzhou Prefecture in the Ming Dynasty. But when it comes to "civilization" - a word that Kun Thief often talks about - Guangzhou Prefecture is far behind.
"Each one has his or her own strengths," Huang Xunkun said. "It's hard to distinguish between them."
Shi Xiucai laughed loudly: "Brother Huang's words are too slippery..."
Huang Xunkun was a little embarrassed: "I am telling the truth. The prosperity of Lingao is different from that of Guangzhou..."
"What's the difference?" Mr. Lin asked quickly.
What's the difference? Huang Hankun thought that the biggest difference was that in Lingao, the whole environment made people feel comfortable, the ground was clean, the streets were neat, and the people seemed neat and energetic - there were no beggars and dirty coolies everywhere.
"Is Lingao unusually wealthy?" someone asked quickly.
"That's not necessarily the case." Huang Hankun clarified his thoughts, "As for the prosperity of Lingao, it is far inferior to Guangzhou. However, the four words of living and working in peace and contentment are very worthy."
Everyone was a little disappointed, because in their opinion, Guangzhou City deserved to "live and work in peace and contentment."
"What about 'living and working in peace and contentment'?" Voices came from outside the door, and it was Young Master Liang who had arrived.
He was the backbone of this group of scholars, and he was expected to be polite. Once he was seated, Liang Cunhou asked Lingao again what his method was for "living and working in peace and contentment."
Huang Xunkun clarified his thoughts and said: "As the saying goes, the elderly are supported, the young are educated, the poor are supported, the poor are supported, and the widowed, widowed, lonely, and disabled are all supported."
These sentences are all from the "Book of Rites", and everyone here is not a bad reader. Although it was said by an ancient sage, no one took it seriously.
"Isn't this a saint ruling the world?" Someone asked doubtfully, "Maybe there are still people who don't pick up things on the road and don't close their doors at night."
"That's not true. But it's not much different." Huang Xunkun said.
This prompted even more suspicious murmurs. Mr. Liang didn't take it seriously and just asked: "Is this really true?" (To be continued)
