The ship docked at the pier in the north of the city.
Zhang Yanke jumped ashore as nimbly as a monkey, and turned around and said, "Brother, don't worry, I will never play tricks on you."
Then he greeted Zheng Haizhu with a smile: "Miss Zheng, I feel so happy that we have hit it off like old friends. I beg you to lead the way for my brother. He is not as smart as me. I'll see you later."
After Zhang Yanke and his servants left, Zheng Haizhu said to Zhang Dai, "My brother is really funny."
Zhang Dai warmly agreed: "Yan Ke is indeed a treasure of my family. I have two younger brothers, both of whom are also geniuses with ethereal talents. My younger brother Zhang Min has been frail since childhood, but he has not stopped reading a lot of books; his cousin Zhang Yu, who was blind due to an eye disease, never lost his ambition and taught himself medical skills. Now he is a famous apricot forest expert in Shanyin and Kuaiji counties."
The white head is as new and the top is as old as before, because the knowledge is similar to the three views.
Zheng Haizhu listened to Zhang Dai's detailed description of the family. He considered that this noble prince no longer regarded him as an ordinary servant, so he also treated some prominent officials and celebrities in Songjiang Mansion, such as Xu Guangqi, Gu Mingshi, and Dong Qichang. etc. They each studied Western learning, promoted farming, collected calligraphy and paintings, and other information that could be put on the table, and told Zhang Dai to listen.
As expected, Zhang Dai was very interested in the celebrity circle in Nanzhili, and asked a few questions from time to time.
Walking in this way, Zheng Haizhu stopped in front of a large house and said to Zhang Dai: "Sir, the nunnery at the end of the block in front of you is Jiulian nunnery. Since I want to open a kindergarten, I must look at this place recommended by the people in Diwuya. The house. Say goodbye to the young master now."
"Opening a kindergarten? Miss Zheng will open it with her own money?"
Zhang Dai considers himself not an ignorant person, but he has never seen such a maid, even if she comes from a wealthy family.
Zheng Haizhu did not hide her justifiable pride and said with a smile: "I sold my ancestral home in Quanzhou and I had some money. I feel that Songjiang is a blessed place that allowed me and my nephew to settle down, so I also want to help the people of Songjiang." . The young woman is not a domestic slave of the Han Mansion, but has signed an employment contract with the Han Mansion. The master, his wife, and the eldest lady are all good masters who have good relationships with each other, and are willing to help the young woman do this. After hearing this, Huang Guanren of the government office also He said that he wanted to put an inscription on the plaque for my little wife’s home school. Huang Daguan is a new Jinshi this year.”
"Huang Guanren? But he has a noble name and a plain name?"
"Exactly, the young master knows Huang Daguan?"
Zhang Dai said: "I met Brother Huang during the imperial examination in Hangzhou and we had a very pleasant conversation. I passed by Wuxi Donglin Academy a few days ago and heard that Brother Huang had passed the imperial examination. I thought I might have the opportunity to congratulate..."
Zheng Haizhu immediately understood the implication of the other party's words and followed suit: "Should I help the young master deliver the name card? My wife is good at leading the way. If you don't get pregnant once, you will become more familiar with him the second time."
When young women abandon formality and start joking, they are often regarded as frivolous words by less bright minds.
But Zhang Dai was not a rigid defender of Taoism, and Zheng Haizhu's actions in running a school at his own expense were admirable. Zhang Dai nodded happily and said: "Okay, I will write a greeting note after I return to the inn today."
Then he asked: "Ms. Zheng, what are you going to teach in this private school?"
"Anything that can help the children settle down and live their lives is taught. Writing, accounting, weaving, embroidery, bamboo weaving, carpentry... Moreover, both men and women are taught, especially female dolls."
"Oh..." Zhang Dai was thoughtful.
At this time, people suddenly heard the noise on the other side of the street, and the originally peaceful atmosphere of Shenchu was suddenly disturbed.
A half-grown boy ran over and greeted excitedly: "Go and see, the nun is killing someone! The nun from Jiulian Temple is killing someone!"
This thunderous news quickly disturbed the peaceful atmosphere of the town.
The expressions of horror were quickly replaced by excitement. People turned back one after another, stood on tiptoe to visit for a while, and then ran towards the nunnery.
Zhang Dai was still confused, but Zheng Haizhu had stepped out of the shadow of the eaves, raised his eyes and glanced, and his eyes immediately locked on a young man.
The boy was emerging from the wooden door facing the street. He was wearing a jacket that matched the late autumn season, but his trousers were rolled up above his knees. He bent down and pulled down his trousers, quickly wiped the red marks on his insteps, and then ran like the neighbors around him.
Zheng Haizhu could tell that this young man's family owned a dyeing workshop.
After cotton is dyed, the cloth will shrink, requiring craftsmen to manipulate rolling stones to flatten the cloth to its original size. A half-grown boy is at the age when he is as strong as a calf. This young man should be doing the work of rolling stones at home. The red color on his feet is left by the dye.
As a young man who lives here and loves to join in the fun, he is naturally a qualified source of information.
Zheng Haizhu said briefly to Zhang Dai, "Master and servants, don't go over there, wait until I ask." Then she walked up to the young man and said to him in the local dialect: "Little brother, what happened?"
The young man glanced sideways at Zheng Haizhu and was about to answer when a woman with thick eyebrows and a round face caught up behind her. She grabbed the young man's arm like a hawk grabbing a chicken and scolded: "The vixen kills people and makes them bloody and sticky." What a beauty!"
While the young man was trying to get rid of the woman, he angrily said, "I want you to take care of me! I'm so annoying!"
Suddenly there was a "Huh" sound, and the anger turned into suspicion: "Mom, there is more than one nun in the nunnery, how do you know which one is the murderer?"
The woman's face suddenly changed, and she looked at Zheng Haizhu. Panic and defensiveness flashed for a moment, and then she returned to the self-righteous look common among women in the market, and sneered: "How old are the other two nuns? They haven't locked up yet. Sir, do you have the strength to kill someone? It must be that vixen!"
Zheng Haizhu did not restrain the curiosity in his eyes, and leaned over to ask the woman: "Sister-in-law, is the vixen you are talking about the nun from Jiulian Temple in front of me?"
The woman said "Yeah" coldly, but then gave Zheng Haizhu a sharp look.
In the eyes of women, a good-looking little girl like Zheng Haizhu among ordinary people is as disgusting as those nuns who are still charming and mature.
The ladies from wealthy families are like fairies in the clouds. Men in the dust usually cannot see them. When they meet occasionally, they dare not look at them for fear of being yelled at and scolded by the servants.
And Jingchai wearing a sarong or a helpless woman will seduce the men at the bottom to have provocations, making their plain-looking wives extremely angry.
Zheng Haizhu accepted the woman's malice and watched calmly as the powerful mother dragged her son back to the dyeing workshop and slammed the door shut.
She savored the woman's few words.
There are many ways to kill people. How could the woman know that it was a bloody "killing method" if she hadn't seen it?
She took note of the family.
At this time, the crowd that was crowding the stone street in chaos suddenly dispersed like flies being driven away. Two soap-shirted servants, one holding a pig liver-colored wooden stick in his hand, opened the way, and the other dragged the prisoner with a chain.
