When Zhu Hao got everything ready and went home, it was already dark.
When he came back, he found that the store was closed, which was inconsistent with Zhu Hao's business strategy as explained to Zhu Niang.
Zhu Hao analyzed before that in order to paralyze the Zhu family and make them think that their money is earned by selling rice grains and official salt, they must ensure normal business, and even find some "fake customers" to come to the door to give the illusion of a busy business.
Arrive at the back courtyard.
Seeing Butler Liu standing outside the main hall, Zhu Hao's heart sank. When he entered, he saw the old lady Zhu Jia sitting in the middle of the hall, lecturing Zhu Niang who was standing in front of him with a respectful look on her face.
Aunt Li was not even qualified to enter the hall, so she could only stand by the moon gate and visit the main room.
"... The third child's family is not trying to make things difficult for you because of your mother. Everything is for the sake of the only son left by the third child. Do you want to remarry in the future? If you can't marry your husband, you must educate your son well...
"If you don't want to go back, my grandson won't be able to study with the older children at home. So I might as well go back home with you, and let you continue to take care of the shop. Just don't live in the city. People will think that I am the Zhu family."
Falling apart.”
In Zhu Hao's view, the old lady's visit this time was to continue to put pressure on her daughter-in-law, but this time she did not act very forcefully, and she just used Zhu Hao as a breakthrough point to carry out her heart-breaking plan.
As Zhu Hao analyzed before, if the big one can't be cured, the small one can't be controlled? Since Zhu Hao is now eight years old and has not yet enlightened, the Zhu family has reason to take the child back.
Will you really give me a chance to study after you bring her back, and won't everything be in the hands of the old lady? How can you, Mrs. Zhu, not be submissive?
Zhu Niang said: "Mom, in fact, my daughter-in-law has found a husband for Xiao Hao. Yesterday, he was initiated into the school and had a formal apprenticeship ceremony."
This statement surprised Zhu Jiashi.
Zhu Jiashi said: "Really? I don't know which gentleman in the city he is? I would like to thank you very much!"
Is this a thank you?
He obviously wants to knock on the door, knowing that this is an internal matter of my Zhu family, but he dares to get involved. Are you tired of living? Jin Yiwei also dares to mess with it?
Zhu Niang said hurriedly: "He is a gentleman who passed by Anlu. He has an extraordinary background. He has contacts with the prince's tutors. His profound knowledge is admirable... My daughter-in-law also heard that he was a scholar."
When Zhu Jiashi heard Zhu Niang say that she "had contacts with the royal family's professors", she frowned and her eyes suddenly became sharp, obviously she took it very seriously.
But after hearing this, his face became indifferent again.
"Third daughter-in-law, are you worried about your son's education? Even if you accept disciples as a Juren, I have never heard of anyone accepting unenlightened children... After passing the Juren exam, you can already choose officials and perform their duties, and you will be able to demean your nobles.
Teaching a child?”
Zhu Jiashi's attitude was tough, "Besides, how can someone with unknown origins teach my children casually? Maybe they are interested in the Zhu family's background and have other agendas."
"But, mother..."
Zhu Niang still wanted to argue.
Unexpectedly, Mrs. Zhu Jia raised her hand: "I've told you all the good and bad things. If you are still stubborn, you can find another teacher for your child... Let me say this for my mother. As long as the Zhu family speaks in the city, don't say anything about you.
Find him a husband, even if you are looking for someone to teach him how to read, or you want him to become an apprentice and learn a trade, don’t even think about it!"
Originally, she was still trying to be reasonable with Yan Yuese.
It's already quite unreasonable up to this point.
In Zhu Hao's view, his grandmother was such a strong person, and it was unreasonable to have everyone and everything firmly in her hands.
"My mother came to the city today, but she came to check the accounts. I came to you to take a look... Now that the things are done, it's time to leave the city. My dear, you'd better think about it..."
After the old lady finished speaking, she got up and left.
When she saw Zhu Hao at the door, Zhu Jia's face was indifferent. It seemed that she didn't have much affection for her grandson, or maybe she was angry with Zhu Hao because her daughter-in-law kept contradicting her.
…
…
The night is dark.
The room was as bright as a candle.
The family ate around the newly purchased candlestick. The food was very good, but Zhu Niang and Aunt Li could not cheer up.
"Mom, it's better to use candles when I study in the future. It's much better than tung oil lamps. It's great to make money."
Zhu Hao wanted to liven up the atmosphere at the dinner table.
Zhu Niang looked at her son and sighed softly: "Xiao Hao, you must have heard what your grandmother said, right? If your mother continues to fight against the family, then you are not even qualified to study. What will happen in the future?"
read?"
"Mom, if you can't find a local teacher, you can find someone from other places. It's not like there are teachers only in Anlu. Even if you send me to a private school, it's fine. I can study with my peers and encourage each other.
, maybe it can promote academic progress."
Zhu Hao had an optimistic expression on his face, which made Zhu Niang feel even worse.
Aunt Li asked: "Madam, do you want to... do it for Master Hao?"
Zhu Niang made no comment.
If it was just for herself, she would have to persevere even if she gritted her teeth, but when it came to the future of her child, the mother hesitated.
Zhu Hao said sternly: "Have you forgotten our agreement before? It's not the end of the month yet, and my grandmother just stopped by to put pressure on my mother. If she gives in, then what will our previous efforts be? Our salt-drying method is
Aren’t you going to leave it to your family? How can you be worthy of your father’s spirit in heaven?”
Zhu Niang shook her head: "In order for you to have books to read, I will go through any hardships. I don't want you to hang out in the market at a young age...Look at how you have been getting involved with Uncle Zhong and the others recently. Those who are close to Zhu
The red is close to the black, so are you going to be a peddler and a pawn from now on? And...if you don't return to the Zhu family, how will you inherit your father's military position? This step will have to be taken sooner or later..."
Zhu Niang thinks very far.
Even if Zhu Hao really found his husband and started studying, it would still be a small probability event to get ahead by studying and taking the imperial examination.
In the end, it is most likely that he will inherit the military position. Zhu Hao's father died for the Ming Dynasty. It can be said that he has a good foundation. There should be no problem in taking over, but the premise is that he must obey the family arrangements, because this military position is accurately said to be brought by the Zhu family.
It's for Zhu Hao, not Zhu Niang.
"Master Hao, my aunt thinks... what your mother said makes sense."
Even Aunt Li was shaken this time.
In fact, Aunt Li is most afraid of returning to the Zhu family, because she is just a concubine. If the Zhu family insists on assigning someone to her, she has no way to refuse.
But Aunt Li cares about Zhu Hao's future very much, even if she knows it is dangerous to return to Zhu's house, she will never look back.
Zhu Hao sighed.
He finally figured it out. Now the two women were beginning to be paranoid, and words of persuasion were of no use. They could only break free from the restraints by their own practical actions.
"Mom, aunt, no matter what you think, at least postpone it until the end of the month. We can't give up voluntarily, so just give me a chance and fight for it."
Zhu Hao said in an eager tone.
Zhu Niang asked in confusion: "Xiaohao, what do you mean by striving for...?"
Zhu Hao couldn't explain it. You can't say that I want to work hard to become a book boy in Prince Xing's mansion, right?
Willing to be humble!
Zhu Niang would not agree even more.
"Mom, I'm currently studying the Four Books and Five Classics with Mr. Lu. If you don't believe me, I'll recite a paragraph to you? I've also learned how to write. Three to five hundred words are no problem. If you don't believe me, I'll write a few words for you to see..."
Zhu Hao couldn't care less about eating. Now he just wanted to make Zhu Niang feel at ease.
Zhu Niang had already bought a pen, ink, paper and inkstone, and after hearing this, she immediately took it out. Then Zhu Hao splashed ink and wrote down Tang Bohu's "Song of Peach Blossom Temple" on the white paper under the watchful eyes of Zhu Niang and Aunt Li. He just wrote it deliberately.
It was so sloppy that Zhu Niang couldn’t see many flaws.
At the end, Aunt Li said happily: "I said that Master Hao is a good scholar. In just two days, he actually knows so many words and writes so well... It's a shame that your mother is always worried about you running out to play. Look,
Come on, you really want to study."
One sentence revealed what the two of them had said secretly.
Zhu Niang must have complained to Aunt Li, thinking that her son had been wandering around the market recently, always running out for a whole day, and her future would be ruined if this continued, so she thought about letting him return to the Zhu family, at least with some restraint.
"Mom, no matter what choice you make by the end of the month, at least let me study with him for a few more days while Mr. Lu is still in Anlu, okay?"
Zhu Hao begged with an innocent smile.
If she didn't even agree to this condition, Zhu Niang felt that she was ashamed of her son, so she nodded: "Then you study hard, if you can impress Mr. Lu and let him stay in Anlu for a long time, my mother will never let you go back to the Zhu family.
"
…
…
Zhu Hao felt that time was pressing.
It is almost late June, and the time left for me is only about ten days. If the plan does not work out, I will probably be imprisoned and tied up back at the Zhu family. It all depends on the Zhu family's face whether they want to go out...
At this time, he not only hated his small body and could not be independent, but also hated the Zhu family for being aggressive.
He had already "prepared" for the worst.
"If I really want to go back to the Zhu family, I would rather sell the secret recipe of sun-drying salt to Su Dongzhu, exchange it for a sum of money, and take my mother, aunt, and sister away. At worst, I can make a comeback elsewhere."
Although I knew this plan was crazy, because two widows with children couldn't travel far, and it was difficult to get government road signs.
But he knew that Su Dongzhu had a strong network and might be able to handle this. After all, the sun-dried salt method he possessed was tantamount to an inexhaustible mountain of gold and silver, and no one disliked it.
The next day.
At dawn, Zhu Hao went to the hill outside the city again to check the traps and other things he had set up by himself. After making sure that there were no problems, he returned to the city and went to the Flower and Bird Market to wait for the child from Prince Xing's Mansion.
After noon, Zhu Hao raised his head and looked at the sky, thinking that it would be lunch break in the palace by now. Unexpectedly, after waiting for another half an hour, he still didn't see the young man coming out.
"If he doesn't come, all our efforts will be in vain."
Zhu Hao could only wait.
Waiting until the sun gradually set in the west, Zhu Hao felt that there was little hope, but he saw two children trotting towards him one after the other.
They didn't seem to come out of the palace gate, and it's hard to say where they came from.
But according to Zhu Hao's observation, there were no royal guards following him, and no one was paying attention in secret. This shows that... they acted without telling the adults this time.
This is a big step forward from the completion of Zhu Hao's plan... But I don't know who the person who followed him was.