"Fifth brother is usually unfamiliar with eldest brother, but now why do he have time to spend time at eldest brother's place?" What Xia Houyu said was not very polite at all, it was just superficial at best.
All he had to do was point at Lin Xi's nose and tell him to get out and stop coming here to waste his time.
Lin Xi was not in a hurry. With a glance, he had a panoramic view of the layout and furnishings of the entire study.
Even for the books that Xia Houyu deliberately covered with his body, he temporarily remembered the styles and came to appreciate them naturally when he had time.
"If you have nothing to do, why don't you come here to bother me? Although you and I are not brothers, we are still connected by blood. Among the six brothers... you and I are the only ones with the purest blood. In this big Xiahou Mansion, If you and I don't get closer, others will think that we are at odds with each other and take the opportunity to make trouble, but that's not a good idea." Lin Xi's words were sinister and eccentric, but he had a bit of Xiahou Zun's usual style.
Xia Houyu didn't take it seriously either. He had a bookish air about him, a rich and domineering air, but it was quite weak.
The entire Xia Kingdom, except for the Central Plains area, has a strong Confucianism and some ancient rituals are inherited.
In the more remote areas, from the officials and gentry to the common people, most of the people are tough and practical. In the Maritime Province, there are many local gentry who are good citizens when they go ashore, but they are pirates who plunder everywhere when they go to sea.
Naturally speaking and doing things are more direct, without so many twists and turns.
Hearing this, Xia Houyu smiled awkwardly and stuffed a few books into his sleeves without leaving a trace, and his whole person began to look natural.
Later, a servant came in to serve tea and brought some fruits and snacks.
"Is it possible that fifth brother has no money? If so, as the eldest brother, I can lend you some, but... recently I arranged for more people to go to the capital to buy some ancient books, and I don't have much left. More." After chatting for a while, Xia Houyu, who still couldn't figure out Lin Xi's purpose, inevitably opened his mouth to test again.
Although Xia Houzun had never borrowed money from this eldest brother in the past, his reputation for spending money generously and acting chicly was quite resounding, and Xia Hoyu had heard about it.
It is not difficult to understand why he spends money so lavishly and does not have much money.
Although Xiahou Mingde's position is destined to be fat and fat, and it may take up a few points of the world's wealth, Xiahou Mingde is not overly generous to his heirs.
Except for the heir, the boss.
The remaining children only have a measly 10,000 taels of silver per month.
"That's not necessary. When will I need to spend more money in this Maritime Province?"
"If I am willing, you can give me a lot of money." Lin Xi said with a smile.
Xia Houyu rolled his eyes, but did not lecture him like an elder brother.
Instead, he said calmly: "Spending money is also a science. No one in the Binhai Province dares to accept your money. When you leave the Binhai Province, others will still not accept your money? Do you know how much silver a pound of water spinach is? If you don't know, I’m afraid that even if I carry tens of millions of money, I still won’t be able to have a full meal.”
What he said made him look like a scholar.
Moreover... using the unit of silver to settle the settlement using water spinach... Brother Xiahouyu's common sense of life is indeed a negative number.
"Okay, don't say these useless things. I came here just to ask you, eldest brother, if there is any way to speed up the practice of our Xiahou family's magical skills. I went to the beach to ride the waves again today. I'm done. It can stir up a small wave, at this level... I just hit the water with my arm, which is stronger." As he spoke, his brows were full of impatience.
Xia Houyu showed a clear look, and he had some understanding of the purpose of his fifth brother's visit.
"Fifth brother! To practice strange skills, you need to cultivate mystery and expand your influence. You usually have many social interactions outside, and your mystery is not enough. Moreover, most of your influence comes from your father, and not many people really pay attention to you. . If you want to improve your magic skills, you need to start from these two aspects."
"Brother, I have recently been thinking about writing a few overseas travel notes to increase my influence. In the same way... this way, I can also maintain a relative degree of mystery." At this point, Xia Houyu actually took it from his sleeve, He took out several books that he had hidden before, lined them up and spread them out in front of Lin Xi.
There was a look on his face that was both proud, a little uneasy and expectant.
Lin Xi looked at these books.
On the blue book cover, there is a simple and unpretentious title like "Xiahou's Travels Overseas".
"Okay! I'll read a few words first, little brother." Lin Xi picked up the book and entered a state of reading ten lines at a time.
Thinking back to those days, Lin Xi also struggled at a certain point. He was an old reader for more than ten years and had a keen eye. Although he basically didn't write many book reviews, he could tell the quality of the book at a glance.
Of course, it is inevitable that one will have too much ambition but too little skill. He will look to others for guidance on his creations and start by himself, but he will have more than enough ambition but not enough energy. After the first 300 words, he will not understand what he is talking about, and after 2,000 words, he can only stop and stop updating.
Although there seem to be several of these books.
But the font is quite large and the writing is a bit concise.
The sum of several books is only a few thousand words.
With Lin Xi's level, it only took ten minutes for him to get a clear picture.
How should I put it...Xia Houyu's book can only be said to be mediocre.
Some overseas stories that have been circulated in the Maritime Province for a long time have become such a book after a series of reinventions, dispersions, and reorganizations.
From Lin Xi's point of view, Xia Houyu's actions were entirely to cater to the market, at the expense of others.
As the eldest son of the Xiahou family, his knowledge of overseas affairs is actually far beyond that of ordinary people.
If he had written more realistically and told some of the overseas Western world more objectively, it might have been more alluring.
Nowadays, in order to cater to the public's taste, they only talk about some vague things, but they don't talk about new ideas and tricks. There is really no competitiveness.
Of course, Lin Xi couldn't tell the truth.
So he said: "Brother, this book is really excellent. If it becomes a complete volume, it will surely shock the Xia Kingdom and even spread its name to the world. I am lucky enough to be the first to read it today. I am really lucky..."
Xia Houyu blushed and said: "Fifth brother is ridiculous...but fifth brother...you are the eleventh...not the twelfth reader to read my book, actually...it really counts." I have to take the lead. However, for those who are so optimistic about my book, you can be ranked in the top five, and you can be regarded as my close friend."
Lin Xi was stunned when he heard this.
He was so shameless in bragging, yet he was only ranked fifth?
Wait, why fifth again?
"Brother! Let's talk about the mystery!"
"I understand maintaining influence, why do you need to be mysterious?"
