Chapter 143: Surprised 1/2

Li Qingzhi didn’t go to Li Xiucai’s place to study in the afternoon.

He had too much to talk about with Zhang, the governor .

Regarding Daqi, Li Qingzhi didn’t know much, after all, he had only been in this world for a year.

But he had experienced many things in his past life and read many history books, so naturally, he could give some advice.

Zhang, the governor  greatly admired Li Qingzhi. He took out the two policy essays that he had revised on the way and explained them to Li Qingzhi.

Li Qingzhi realized that the revised policy essays given to him by Zhang, the governor  were indeed more in line with the reading preferences of the people at that time.

In the future, if he had any ideas, he could first write them down according to his own habits, make a list, and then organize them in the style commonly used by people nowadays, and then promote them.

For the former, he actually didn’t need to write it down; it was fine to just draft it in his mind. But if he wrote it down… he could send it to Zhang, the governor  in the future.

“Does Zhang, the governor  know the compiler of the Anjiang Collection?” Li Qingzhi asked.

Zhang, the governor  replied, “Yes, he has some acquaintance with me.”

The main compiler of the Anjiang Collection is the head of the Anjiang Academy, the Confucian scholar who resigned from his official position and returned to his hometown to teach, named Fang.

Fang, the head of the academy, resigned from his official position because the former emperor excessively favored the current imperial concubine, leading to many absurdities. When he resigned, Zhang, the governor  had just entered the officialdom.

For various reasons, the two became acquainted and had a good relationship, although not many people knew about it.

But Li Qingzhi could be considered his savior… Zhang, the governor  told him about it and said, “Zixiao, if you have suitable articles, you can hand them over to me, and I will pass them on to him.”

Although Li Qingzhi had topped the county and provincial exams, he was still somewhat unknown throughout Daqi. After all, he had only been in this world for a year.

If he sent the manuscripts himself, they might not even reach Fang’s hands.

But if Zhang, the governor  passed them on, it would be different.

Li Qingzhi also understood this principle and immediately said, “Thank you, Zhang, the governor .”

Even in modern times, there are many connections, let alone in this era.

He had no background or reputation; submitting directly would likely result in rejection. Zhang, the governor  was doing it for his own good.

Li Qingzhi looked at the two revised essays that Zhang, the governor  had helped him with and said, “Governor, I will transcribe these two policy essays tonight and give them to you tomorrow.”

Zhang, the governor  replied, “There’s no rush for these policy essays. Tonight, I want you to accompany me to the lantern festival in Chongcheng County.”

“Okay,” Li Qingzhi replied with a smile.

As they were talking, Chang Zhan returned.

While Zhang, the governor  and Li Qingzhi were talking upstairs, his two guards had been resting downstairs.

Chang Zhan knew them, and he was pleasantly surprised when he saw them. He went upstairs to find Zhang, the governor . “Zhang, the governor , you’re here?”

“I’m on my way to the provincial capital. I passed by Chongcheng County, so I came over here to take a look,” Zhang, the governor  smiled.

Chang Zhan was overjoyed. “Zhang, the governor , I’m so happy you’re here! Tonight, I’ll show off my skills and make some delicious food for you!”

“Great,” Zhang, the governor  smiled.

When he first met Chang Zhan, Chang Zhan looked bitter and resentful. Now Chang Zhan looked a bit more youthful, and Zhang, the governor  was very happy to see him.

Chang Zhan had stayed at Zhang, the governor ‘s house for a while and cooked for him.

But at that time, there were few ingredients and seasonings available in Zhang, the governor ‘s house, so he couldn’t fully demonstrate his skills.

But now it was different!

Li Qingzhi loved to eat, and he had bought various seasonings and ingredients at home. He could make some of his signature dishes for Zhang, the governor !

Chang Zhan happily went downstairs. As he went downstairs, he even jumped several steps at once.

Zhang, the governor  and Li Qingzhi followed behind him, both unable to help but smile at the sight.

After Chang Zhan went downstairs, he said to Li Laogen, who came in from outside, “Uncle Li, give me your money. Help me buy a chicken, a duck, and bring back a live fish.”

“In this weather, it’s not easy to buy live fish,” Li Laogen said.

Chang Zhan handed Li Laogen half a tael of silver. “Uncle Li, if there are fresh vegetables, buy some for me too. The rest of the money is yours.”

With half a tael of silver, he could buy all these items and still have plenty left. Li Laogen grinned, “Don’t worry, I’ll definitely buy what you need!”

After speaking, Li Laogen ran out.

In the middle of summer, there was no need to worry about the dishes getting cold once they were done. Chang Zhan went into the kitchen and started cooking.

Originally, they were only going to eat pork today, but because Zhang, the governor  came over, he asked Li Laogen to buy some vegetables again. Now, he could cook the pork first.

There was a lot of pork, most of which would be eaten by the female workers, leaving only a piece of pork belly and a piece of lean meat for themselves.

Chang Zhan stewed the pork belly, while he planned to stir-fry the lean meat with vegetables.

When Chang Zhan started cooking, the three children woke up. Li Damao and Li Ermao immediately came to find Li Qingzhi, “Dad, is dinner ready?”

“Dad, let’s eat quickly!”

Zhao Xiaodou stood behind Li Damao and Li Ermao, also looking expectant.

What they were actually looking forward to was not dinner, but being able to go to the lantern festival after dinner.

The lantern festival in Chongcheng County had been held for seven days, but these three children were still enthusiastic about it.

Li Qingzhi was also willing to take them.

“It’s going to be a while before dinner. Why don’t you go play with water first?” Li Qingzhi said.

Li Damao and the others were diverted by Li Qingzhi’s suggestion. “Let’s go play with water!”

There was a large wooden tub at home for them to bathe in. Li Qingzhi brought it out and placed it in the courtyard, filled it with water, and then let them play in the tub. “When playing with the water gun, don’t aim at the adults, understand?”

The three children nodded repeatedly.

The water gun in Li Qingzhi’s mouth was a small toy he bought a few days ago at the lantern festival.

It was made from a section of bamboo, with one end of the bamboo section knocked off and a small hole drilled in the other end. Then a wooden plug connected to a stick was inserted after wrapping it with a piece of cloth.

By placing the end with the small hole into a basin of water, pulling the stick connected to the wooden plug would draw water into the bamboo tube, and pushing the stick back out would shoot the water out through the small hole.

Such water toys were common for Li Qingzhi in his previous life, but they were usually made of plastic. The one he had now was made of bamboo.

Chang Zhan started cooking, and the three children had a blast playing. Before long, Chang Cui joined in too.

The money for Juwei Zhai was managed by Chang Zhan. He would calculate the accounts every day, setting aside a portion of the money as capital for purchasing various raw materials, and dividing the remaining profits into three parts.

The largest portion, sixty percent, went to Jin Xiaoye.

The second portion, thirty percent, was for himself.

The remaining ten percent went to Jin Xiaoshu.

Because of this arrangement, Chang Zhan had quite a bit of money on hand.

He always felt sorry for his niece, so he was happy to spend money on Chang Cui. Chang Cui had a small wooden bucket and some wooden bowls for playing house.

At this moment, Chang Cui contributed by scooping water to play with.

Zhang, the governor, moved a chair and sat under the eaves, smiling as he watched the three children playing.

He couldn’t remember what his son was like when he was young. Was he as happy when he played? It was his fault that his child died without money for medical treatment.

Seeing Zhang, the governor, watching the children play happily, Li Qingzhi took out pen and paper and copied the two articles that Zhang, the governor, had modified.