My eunuch godfather

Chapter 18 Fellow Villagers

Zhang Kun instructed Xu Xin to book all the restaurants and eateries in Xinzhuang to host a banquet for the villagers, as well as the two hundred river workers who accompanied him.

There wasn't enough food, and the supplies brought from Hejian City weren't enough either, so they urgently purchased another batch from nearby farmers.

There weren't enough seats, so they found an open space and temporarily set up a bunch of sheds.

The yamen runner Hu Si personally whipped his son more than fifty times, took out half of the family's valuables, and ran to Zhang Kun to give him gifts.

"Uncle Hu, you're too kind."

Zhang Kun did not accept the gifts directly, but instead handed Hu Si a pre-written list and smiled:

"These families either had uneducated adults or immature children back then."

I'm throwing a feast for everyone, but I'm a little short on cash. Could you ask them if they'd be willing to help me out?

So vengeful?

Hu Si took the list, kowtowed several times to Zhang Kun, reopening his newly healed wounds, and said respectfully:

"Fourth Uncle, I'll take care of it right away! I'll take care of it right away!"

The villagers who gathered at the restaurant dared not speak to Zhang Kun, but instead surrounded Wang Liangdong and his wife, showering them with praise.

Not long after Hu Si left, his uncle Wang Fusheng, who had gone to the countryside to repair things, rode a donkey back to Xinzhuang.

"Kun'er is truly promising."

Wang Fusheng patted his nephew on the shoulder and said happily:

"To become a centurion at such a young age, he has a bright future ahead of him!"

A hundred households were not uncommon; near Hejian City, there were the relocated Shenyang Zhong and Datong Zhongtun garrisons.

Wang Fusheng had repaired things in the homes of some households, even a hundred or a thousand households, in the two garrisons, but few could match the pomp and circumstance of his nephew.

Some of these centurions, who had long held no real official positions, lived in a standard of living even lower than some small landlords.

More importantly, Zhang Kun is still unmarried.

If you can marry a wife from a good family, then your future will be bright!

The banquet begins.

Zhang Kun was too lazy to deal with the older villagers, so he had his uncle handle it for him, mainly entertaining the original owner's old acquaintances.

Although Zhang Kun wasn't very good at judging people, he could still tell that most of these old acquaintances were unreliable.

In ancient times, most people suffered from relatively poor nutrition during infancy and early childhood, resulting in brain and physical development that was far less advanced than in modern times.

They lacked sufficient education, had limited access to books and the internet, and many never even left their villages in their entire lives.

It can only be said that the wisdom of a few ancient people was indeed no less than that of modern people.

It doesn't matter if they're unusable; as long as they're willing to follow, Zhang Kun, who oversees the river works camp, can support a mere few dozen people.

Moreover, there are a few bright and strong individuals who can be trained to become future helpers.

Halfway through the banquet, Hu Si came over again with the gifts that the families on the list had given to Zhang Kun.

Zhang Kun still refused to accept the bribe, and instead instructed Xu Xin:

"Let's distribute all this wealth; everyone who comes to drink today will get a share."

Apart from the families on the list, all the villagers who received the gifts were overjoyed.

Zhang Kun was having a drink at a restaurant with a balcony when he walked onto the balcony with his wine glass in his hand.

The group of people who had been arranged in advance stood up, holding their wine bowls, and shouted in unison:

"Lord Baihu is benevolent and righteous; even as an official, he doesn't forget his fellow villagers. He's treating us to wine and meat; we toast Lord Baihu!"

"Honoring Lord Baihu!" "Honoring Lord Kun!" "Lord Kun is benevolent and righteous!"

Along with the two hundred river workers who accompanied him, several hundred people in a large group raised their glasses to Zhang Kun in a chaotic manner.

"You're too kind, folks!"

Zhang Kun raised his cup and drank it all in one gulp, then shouted to the villagers below:

"Please be quiet, everyone. I have a few words to say to my fellow villagers!"

Zhang Kun's men immediately shouted:

"Quiet!" "Shut up, all of you!" "Listen to Master Kun!"

"I have arrived in Xinzhuang with some great news..."

Once the villagers had calmed down, Zhang Kun, following his usual routine, gave a brief presentation about the river engineering camp:

The capital city is a good place. Participating in the river works camp can earn you a lot of money and even allow you to rise in social class.

Unlike before, the person who was attached to his hometown has changed from his eunuch godfather to Zhang Kun himself.

Compared to the disaster victims gathered in Hejian City, the reaction from the people of Xinzhuang was much more enthusiastic:

Not to mention that Zhang Kun was from the same hometown, the relationship between people from the same hometown was more solid in that era than in later generations.

The two hundred river laborers recruited by Zhang Kun sat right next to them, wearing armor and carrying swords, drinking and eating meat together.

After the banquet, a tipsy Zhang Kun was helped back to the Wang family home in Zhuangxi by his uncle and Xu Xin.

My consciousness was somewhat hazy, and I vaguely saw a figure that was both strange and familiar.

Suddenly losing control of his body, he fell to his knees with a thud, crying out:

"mother!"

......

The next morning, Zhang Kun, who had a splitting headache, sat up with a very dry mouth and throat.

The alcohol content of various wines in that era was not as high as that of later generations, but they contained more fusel oils, and drinking too much of them would still lead to intoxication.

Zhang Kun walked out of the room and saw a woman hanging clothes in the yard; it was his new mother who had remarried.

The mother turned around when she heard the sound, and the mother and son looked at each other in silence.

Uncle Wang Fusheng yawned as he walked out of the room. Seeing this scene, he quickly came over and said with a smile:

"Kun'er is awake. What would you like to eat?"

"Have a bowl of plain congee to help you sober up."

Zhang Kun smiled at Wang Fusheng, then turned to greet his adoptive mother:

"How has Mother been these past few years?"

"Still the same as always."

My cheap mom turned around and hung the washed clothes on the clothes rack.

"Where's Uncle Li?"

When Zhang Kun suddenly asked about her stepfather, the stepmother froze for a moment before turning around.

His eyes betrayed his panic as he stammered to Zhang Kun:

"Why...why are you asking him?"

"If Uncle Li is alright and doesn't need anyone to take care of him,"

Zhang Kun remained calm and explained to his adoptive mother, "I plan to take my two younger brothers to the capital."

Hearing that Zhang Kun was going to take his two younger brothers with the same mother, the stepmother became even more nervous and said in a trembling voice:

"They...they're both still young, what would they do in the capital?"

"I'm not young anymore. When I went to the capital to make my way in the world, I wasn't much older than them."

Zhang Kun explained to his adoptive mother:

"Take them to the capital. If they can study, let them study. If they can't study, let them practice martial arts so they can help the children in the future."

My son oversees several thousand river works in the capital, but he has far too few capable men under his command.

Turning to Wang Fusheng, he said:

"Not just the two of them, but also your uncle and three cousins. Pick two to come with me."

"OK!"

Wang Fusheng breathed a sigh of relief and smiled at Zhang Kun, saying:

"If you don't mind having too much, those three starving ghosts can all come with you to the capital, saving your uncle a lot of rice."

"Let one of them stay in their hometown."

Zhang Kun smiled and said to Wang Fusheng, "If you and your aunt have another child, send them to the capital."

......

Sun Jing, accompanied by his second son Sun Shoucheng and daughter, arrived at Hejian City.

Upon learning that Zhang Kun had gone to Xinzhuang, Sun Jing sent his servant to the Guo residence to deliver a letter, hoping to meet with the scholar Guo.

Guo, the scholar, refused to see him and even ordered his guards to drive away the servants with sticks.

After the servant reported back, Sun Jing immediately summoned Sun Shoucheng, "Let's go to Xinzhuang!"

Sun Shoucheng paused for a moment, pointed to the sky, and advised Sun Jing:

"Father, it's getting late. Why don't we stay in the city for the night?"

"Let's go now!"

Sun Jing said to Sun Shoucheng in a deep voice:

"The feud between our family and the Guo family is irreconcilable. If we want to protect our family business, we must find a new patron!"

If we miss out on Zhang Baihu, we'll have no choice but to sell our property and move to another place!

Pointing in the direction of the Guo residence, he said, "Zhang Baihu can keep the Guo family in check, but our family can't!"

Sun Shoucheng understood and immediately went out to prepare.