On the last night before going home, Jinghong suffered from insomnia.
It was rare that he began to adapt to the new environment in the past two days, but thinking that he would be able to return to the county government office to reunite with his parents and family one day, Jinghong tossed and turned on the bed and couldn't sleep.
Zhu Hao did as usual. After finishing writing, he went to the door and sat down.
Now there is no wall for him to ride on, and he cannot secretly observe what is going on in the palace. He can only wonder whether he will live here in the future. The courtyard where he currently lives is the duty room of the palace guards. Even if few people come at night, there is a sentry outside.
It's easy to be spotted when you go out.
"Why aren't you sleeping yet? Oh, by the way, what happened to the story about Alibaba and the Forty Thieves?" Jinghong pretended to be concerned, got up from the couch and walked to the threshold on Zhu Hao's side.
Sitting down, I couldn't help but ask about the story he had in mind.
Zhu Haodao: "In the end, the forty thieves found a way to find where Alibaba lived. Alibaba, his wife, and the maid escaped by chance and fled away from home. The forty thieves occupied the city."
""
Jinghong was speechless.
Obviously the ending of this story was very different from what he imagined. After a long silence, he asked, "How is this possible? Alibaba is so brave and smart, why?"
Zhu Hao looked at the starry sky and said quietly: "One fights forty, what's the use of being brave and smart? Isn't this the ending you want?"
Jinghong shook his head repeatedly: "How could this be the ending I wanted?"
Zhu Hao smiled: "The story has either a good ending, a bad ending, or an open ending, allowing the listener to imagine.
"It's not a true story anyway. It's just a story I made up. If you think Alibaba finally defeated the Forty Thieves, you don't have to keep asking me about the result, right?"
"If you ask me what the ending is, I can only tell you that anything that is different from what you imagined will always have two sides, and stories are no exception."
After hearing Zhu Hao's words, Jinghong felt restless.
I am just an eight-year-old child. What do you tell me about things that have two sides?
When you are talking about great truths, should you consider whether my little brain at this age can accept such complicated things?
"I think the real ending of the story must not be like this!"
Jinghong said seriously to Zhu Hao, but he did not argue and knew that Zhu Hao would not tell him a good story, so he got up and went back to the couch to lie down.
Zhu Hao continued to look up at the bright stars, trying to find his own one among the thousands of stars.
Early the next morning.
Zhu Hao got up and packed up before it was fully light. After putting his things away, he went out without waiting for Jinghong to leave the palace.
As the official of the Palace Guards Department, Lu Song did not have much night duty, and Zhu Hao did not see him that morning.
When they were leaving the west gate of the palace, several guards on duty looked at him curiously, but knowing that it was a holiday, they did not stop him and allowed Zhu Hao to leave.
When he came to the street outside, it was already three o'clock in the morning. Seeing the farmers in Anlu who got up early in the dark and came into the city to catch the morning market as soon as the city gate opened, Zhu Hao quickened his pace to go home.
As expected, the old lady Zhu Jia went to the city last night and moved into the east wing. She got up early this morning and got dressed, just waiting for her grandson to come back and ask about the situation in the palace.
Zhu Haoshang didn't have a chance to talk to Zhu Niang and Aunt Li, so he was called into the hall alone by the old lady.
"I am studying with the prince now, and I don't know what his real name is. We are all used to calling him Zhu San. It is not clear whether he has any brothers or sisters."
"As for teaching, we call him Mr. Sui, which means Gongyan. In addition, there has been some tension in the palace in the past two days, probably because of the previous fire."
The information Zhu Hao brought out was not much, and it was much the same as last time. Zhu Jia was not very satisfied and asked again and again.
Zhu Hao adhered to the principle of not harming the palace and did not worry about the identities of Zhu San and Zhu Si. If asked about the relevant content, he said he did not know. The old lady was at a loss to deal with such a smooth and sophisticated child.
"Grandma, I found out one thing. It seems that the palace is going to change teachers. I heard what the guards said, so it may not be accurate."
Zhu Hao finally gave out information that satisfied Zhu Jiashi.
Zhu Jiashi frowned and thought for a long time, then got up and went out.
After Zhu Niang sent Zhu Jia away, she quickly entered the main room, took her son's hand and asked: "Xiao Hao, when you enter the palace this time, no one will make things difficult for you, right?"
Zhu Hao grinned and said: "No, mother, I eat and live well in the palace, and I have started to study. I have learned several chapters of The Analects of Confucius. If you don't believe me, I will recite it to you?"
Zhu Niang said: "No, as long as you are safe, you are very hungry, right? Have you had breakfast? I will ask your aunt to prepare something delicious for you."
Because Zhu Hao came back, the courtyard became busy again.
Zhu Niang encountered some troubles in her business, but in order not to distract her son, she never told Zhu Hao, but Zhu Hao still noticed a clue.
"Mom, is there something wrong with our business?" Zhu Hao asked.
Zhu Niang smiled bitterly: "The output of the salt fields has plummeted. It hasn't rained recently, but at the end of July, the weather is cloudy and sunny, and the harvest is good without summer."
Zhu Hao thought to himself, of course, the annual output of the salt field cannot be measured by the output in summer. That is when the sun shines most intensely. Maybe it is because money is made too quickly at that time. Zhu Niang thinks that it should be like this all year round, but in fact once
In autumn and winter, the sun salt industry will usher in the off-season and may even experience no harvest.
"Mom, what's going on with the loose salt we sell?" Zhu Hao asked.
Zhu Niang shook her head and said nothing, which meant that the retail business was still unsatisfactory. After experiencing too many things in the past, the shop's neighborhood business was actually unsustainable.
Zhu Hao thought about it carefully.
In fact, it would be fine to return the shop to the Zhu family. It won't make any money anyway, but the salt-drying business outside the city must be firmly controlled. In this case, it is necessary to recruit a lot of helpers, and the specific handlers cannot be allowed to change their minds.
After breakfast, Zhu Hao found Yu San.
When Yu San saw Zhu Hao's smiling face, he felt relaxed for no reason. In his eyes, this little shopkeeper had many ideas and was worthy of a special trip.
"Little Third Brother, I have something to discuss with you, but please don't tell my mother. This is our secret, okay?" Zhu Hao stepped forward, looking mysterious.
Yu San was inexplicably nervous and asked, "Brother Hao, you know I don't have much ability, so don't scare me."
Zhu Hao said: "How can I scare you? I have something good for you. I got a few storytelling books from the palace. They are all very good storytelling books. If we open a bookstore in the city, do you think it will be good?
No future?"
Yu Sanyi looked puzzled: "Bookstore?"
He looked over with confused eyes, as if asking, little ancestor, what kind of trouble are you going to make?
Zhu Hao took out a cloth bag from his arms and opened it. Inside was some scattered silver, which was all the pocket money given by Zhu's mother, which he had saved through hard work.
"I've saved a little money here, but it's useless to keep it in my hands. Why don't I use it to do some small business? Isn't there a large open space on Wangfu West Street? You go and buy it, build a wooden shed, and find a storyteller with a loud voice, the third brother.
, it seems you are also literate, you can step in if necessary!
"In the beginning, when people come to listen to the book, we don't charge any money. When the business is on track, we charge one penny per person, and two to three pence for the positions near the front. As for the place near the table at the front, we can arrange several rows of seats and put a few tables.
Tea and dried fruit snacks are provided. Those who have money and leisure can drink tea and listen to books.
"There are about ten talks a day in the bookstore, and the latest one can even be postponed until the second watch. Anyway, there is no curfew in Anluzhou City, which can enrich the nightlife of the people in the city. Third brother, you can take care of everything, okay?
?”
Zhu Hao wanted to get Yu San to do business with him.
Yu Sanwei said: "I'm afraid it won't be easy, it will cost a lot of money."
Zhu Hao said: "I have calculated that we may need one tael of silver a month for the venue. After all, we don't need a house, and adding tables, chairs and benches, it shouldn't cost more than three taels. Recruiting a storyteller and paying monthly wages can give
He gets a commission from the tea. As for us, you don’t have to contribute money, you are just responsible for your efforts. If you make money, we will pay 30/70, I will give you 70/30, and I will give you an extra four cents of hard-earned money every month. What do you think?"
Originally, Yu San did not want to enter into a partnership with Zhu Hao. Firstly, he had no capital, and secondly, there was no benefit in running errands for others.
But he heard that he could get shares without having to pay any money, and he would also receive a fixed salary. He had no reason to refuse such a good thing.
"It's possible, but it may not be possible."
Yu San didn't dare to finish his sentence.
Zhu Hao smiled and said: "Anyway, I only have these five taels of silver. Once I spend it, I'll be done with it. I'll just think of it as a thought. Of course, the most important thing is to say it's good and someone will come to support it! As long as I open up my reputation, I'm afraid people in the city will
Everyone will come to support us, and we will attend every day and night."
The reason Zhu Hao opened a bookshop was because he was too bored in the palace.
With Lu Song's relationship, it's actually not too difficult to leave the palace at night. For Lu Song, it's just to prevent him from entering the palace and doing evil things. If you want to leave the palace, please do it.
Although Zhu Hao has the conditions to escape at night, there must be fun activities outside for him to kill time.
There is another bigger reason. There is indeed a lot of open space on Wangfu West Street.
Zhu Hao inquired that there was a fire here in the last years of Hongzhi, and a large area near the west gate of the palace was burned to a white ground. The wealthy families were afraid that people would be burned to death here, and the feng shui would be bad, so they chose a place to rebuild. The poor also had concerns.
If you build a house here, if the palace expands and expropriates your house in the future, you will have to worry about it again, so you might as well avoid it early on.
Yu San originally had a lot of clever ideas, but when he heard Zhu Hao's words, he became excited and his eyes gleamed.
Zhu Hao said: "I don't need to go back to the palace today, so I will accompany you to organize the arrangements. You first find a tooth to choose a place, and then find a craftsman to build a shed, make tables, chairs and benches. After everything is done, I will tell you how to arrange it."
Zhu Hao thought about it and decided to do it.
It enriches the daily entertainment life of local people in Anlu, allows you to have some fun, and maybe make money, so why not?
If it were those cliche stories, naturally not many people would listen to them, but Zhu Hao wrote many wonderful stories during this period.
People in this era have a lot of free time but not enough entertainment items. If there is a place where they can listen to books and have fun, even if they spend one or two cents a day, I think they will flock to it.