Chapter 81

In the fourth year of the Yingli era, on the second day of the fourth month, the "Qing Yuan" in Liangxiang County once again echoed with the joyous sounds of drums and music, as the third wedding of the year officially began.

This wedding, like Wang Feng's in the first month, followed the customs and practices of the time. The穿越者们 (time travelers) were already very familiar with the wedding procedures, so the ceremony went smoothly. Wang Xiaojun led the wedding procession out of Liangxiang early in the morning, and with a band playing, they entered Youzhou City, bringing the young lady from the Han family back to "Qing Yuan."

After entering the main gate of "Qing Yuan," the newlyweds went through a series of elaborate procedures before finally arriving at the wedding hall. Wang and Han bowed to heaven and earth, then turned to face the elders on both sides for the second bow. On Han Qingwen's side were her parents, while on Wang Xiaojun's side, the immortal Fuyaozi was invited to represent the groom's family. Although Fuyaozi was from the Later Zhou dynasty, his fame had long transcended national boundaries, making him a household name. Therefore, when the guests learned that the groom's elder was the venerable Chen Tuan, the atmosphere became even more enthusiastic. All the guests, except the time travelers, vied to come forward to catch a glimpse of this living immortal.

Fuyaozi showed no signs of discomfort in this situation, maintaining a calm demeanor as if he did not see the guests below, and calmly accepted the newlyweds' bows. After the second bow, Wang and Han bowed to each other, completing the wedding ceremony and were then sent to the bridal chamber, where a series of rituals awaited them.

After all the necessary procedures were completed, when the newlyweds came to toast the guests, a hint of fatigue was already visible on Han Qingwen's face. Although Wang Xiaojun did not feel physically tired, the complicated process made him feel somewhat annoyed. However, as the main characters of the wedding, they had to endure. They went around toasting and thanking the guests, and Wang Xiaojun was predictably forced to drink heavily by the single men in the time travel group. If it weren't for Wang Feng and Zhang Weixin blocking the drinks, he might have been drunk before the toasting was over.

While Wang Xiaojun was being forced to drink, Fuyaozi and his disciple Yuxuzi were chatting and sipping wine, enjoying themselves. However, Fuyaozi's mind was not on the wine but on observing Han Qingwen. It was not her beauty that caught his attention, but her facial features. As he observed, Fuyaozi couldn't help but frown slightly and let out a light "hmm."

Yuxuzi, knowing his master's expertise in physiognomy, asked, "Master, is there something amiss with the young lady from the Han family's destiny?"

Fuyaozi shook his head and said, "No. The young lady from the Han family has a very good destiny, one of great wealth and honor, and she is quite a match for Xiaojun."

"If so, why did you frown, Master?" Yuxuzi asked, puzzled.

"I frowned not because of any problem with the young lady's destiny," Fuyaozi explained, "but because I see from her face that she is destined to have no children."

"Destined to have no children?" Yuxuzi was surprised and muttered to himself, "She is Xiaojun's senior disciple. If she has no children, I must advise my junior brother to take several concubines early to ensure the continuation of the family."

Fuyaozi shook his head again and said, "Your junior brother Xiaojun will not lack descendants. From his face, I see that he will have many children and a prosperous family."

"That's good, that's good," Yuxuzi said, relieved to hear that his junior brother would have a large family.

Unlike Yuxuzi, Fuyaozi did not feel relieved. He was confident in his ability to read faces, but today this confidence made him feel strange. The contrast between Han Qingwen's destiny of having no children and Wang Xiaojun's destiny of having many children was stark, and this contrast could not be explained simply by Wang Xiaojun taking many concubines. However, the reason for this was something Fuyaozi could not yet understand.

The lively wedding banquet continued until late at night, and after the guests left, "Qing Yuan" finally became quiet. Wang Xiaojun, the leader, naturally went to the bridal chamber with his new wife, while the other team members who had had enough to drink went to sleep, and those who hadn't had enough returned to their rooms to continue drinking. Only Zhang Weixin and Xu Shaowan did not return to their rooms but came to Fuyaozi's room, intending to ask the master to stay in "Qing Yuan" for a few more days so they could serve him. Although Fuyaozi preferred a quiet life, he could not refuse the disciples' filial piety, so he agreed. Zhang and Xu were very happy to see the master agree to their request and immediately busied themselves, serving Fuyaozi until he went to sleep, then respectfully left the room.

The next morning, upon hearing the news, Wang Xiaojun led all the time travelers who had taken the master as their teacher to pay respects to the master. From then on, all the daily needs of Fuyaozi were personally taken care of by these disciples, and no servants were allowed to interfere.

Seeing his junior brothers take such good care of the master, Yuxuzi was very pleased. However, because he still had matters to attend to at Yuxu Palace, he decided to leave after three days and return to Yuxu Palace. However, he left Qingchen to serve the master in his place.

The time travelers who had taken the master as their teacher had a good relationship with their senior brother. When they heard he was leaving, they all tried to persuade him to stay. However, Yuxu Palace was being managed by only Qingfeng, and Yuxuzi was still worried, so he politely declined their offers and left "Qing Yuan."

After seeing Yuxuzi off, everyone returned to their posts and continued their work. Among the four committee members, Xu Shaowan went to discuss the training of the bodyguard squad with Qian Yuanshan and Zeng Zhilin, while Li Junwu went straight to the flintlock assembly room to help Zhou Lei and others assemble the guns, hoping to equip the bodyguard squad with guns as soon as possible to start the firearms training. Wang Xiaojun, on the other hand, pulled Zhang Weixin back to his residence, intending to take advantage of the free time to have Zhang Weixin explain "Dream of the Red Chamber" to him, to prepare for his new wife, the young lady from the Han family.

Whenever this topic came up, Wang Xiaojun felt a headache. Although the young lady from the Han family had only been married for a few days, she and Zhong Ziqi, who were close friends, spent their days together, either playing chess, cards, or whispering in the room. Naturally, Han Qingwen heard from Zhong Ziqi about Wang Feng telling her "Dream of the Red Chamber," and she immediately became interested in the novel. As a result, Wang Xiaojun had an additional task every night, just like Wang Feng—telling the story of "Dream of the Red Chamber" to his new wife.

Although Wang Xiaojun had once mocked Wang Feng for not reading, when it came to his own turn, he found that he had read no more books than his younger brother. To tell the story of "Dream of the Red Chamber" well to his wife, he had to seek help from Professor Zhang. Thus, listening to "Professor Zhang" tell "Dream of the Red Chamber" became a daily routine for both him and Wang Feng. Today was no exception, and Wang Feng, who shared the same predicament, followed closely behind, ready to receive a classical literature education with his older brother.

The three of them entered the living room of Wang Xiaojun's residence and found seats. Zhang Weixin took a sip of the tea served by the maid, cleared his throat, and began like a storyteller, "Ladies and gentlemen, it's time for the novel broadcast. Today, we continue with 'Dream of the Red Chamber.' Last time, we left off with Grandma Liu's second visit to the Grand View Garden. Today, we continue. It is said that Grandma Jia heard that..."

Just as Zhang Weixin was about to start the story of Grandma Jia inviting Grandma Liu to chat, there was a knock on the door, followed by a voice asking, "Is Old Wang here?" The voice belonged to Liang Ziyue. Wang Xiaojun responded and opened the door, inviting Liang Ziyue inside.

After Liang Ziyue sat down, Wang Feng joked, "Liang Zi, why are you so free today? Did you come to listen to Professor Zhang's storytelling? Could it be that your wife has also become interested in 'Dream of the Red Chamber' and is forcing you to tell her the story, or she won't let you into the bed?"

Liang Ziyue seemed to have something on his mind and did not respond to Wang Feng's teasing. Instead, he said seriously to Wang Xiaojun and Zhang Weixin, "Old Wang, Old Zhang, I have something I want to discuss with you in private. Do you have time?"

Wang and Zhang, seeing his serious expression, also became serious. Wang Xiaojun said, "Of course, we have time. You look so serious. Could it be that there's a major issue with the personnel review?"

Liang Ziyue shook his head and said, "It's not about the personnel review. I want to talk about an issue within the team."

"What issue within the team?" Wang Xiaojun and Zhang Weixin asked almost in unison.

Liang Ziyue organized his thoughts and said, "You know, before I came through, I was a detective, so I have a keen eye for detail. Because of this, the team assigned me the task of personnel review. Out of habit, I not only observe people outside the team but also everyone within the team.

We have been in this era for almost a year, and I have observed all the team members for almost a year. From this, I have noticed some issues that could negatively impact the team's future development. As a team member, I feel it is my duty to report this to the committee. However, considering that making this public could cause unnecessary conflicts within the team, I want to discuss it with you two first to see how we can handle it better."

At this point, Liang Ziyue paused, looked at Wang and Zhang, and saw that they were listening intently. He then continued, "I have noticed several issues, but the two most important and difficult to resolve are as follows.

The first is about the team's decision-making. When we first came through, we held a general assembly and elected a committee, appointing leaders and members of various functional groups. At that time, the committee's role was limited, and many major decisions had to be made by the general assembly, with elections held every six months or a year. However, as time went on and everyone's workload increased, the frequency of general assemblies decreased, and most decisions were made by the committee or an expanded committee meeting including the leaders of the functional groups. Members without relevant positions gradually became marginalized in the decision-making process.

Currently, because the team has just established its foundation and the distributable benefits are still limited and fairly distributed, no one has expressed dissatisfaction with this phenomenon. However, this does not mean that these marginalized members will always be content. Once the team's business grows and the distributable benefits become more substantial, the situation may change. If these members become dissatisfied with the distribution of benefits, they may question the decision-makers, leading to distrust within the team. If this distrust is not effectively resolved, they may demand more decision-making power. If these demands are not met, in extreme cases, it could lead to the team's split. On the other hand, if team members do not feel uncomfortable with the concentration of decision-making power, it may become more centralized, eventually leading to a situation where one person makes all the decisions, thus completely destroying the team's decision-making system.

The second issue is about the formation of cliques and factions within the team. This issue has existed since we came through. Although it was somewhat resolved through Old Wang's efforts, I have noticed that this factionalism has resurfaced and seems to be getting worse. On the surface, everyone still works together and completes tasks assigned by the team. However, I am certain that over time, the lines between factions will become clearer, and the ideological differences between factions will become more pronounced, leading to inevitable conflicts. This could result in internal friction, affecting the team's development. If the conflicts escalate, it could lead to the team's split. In this social context, the consequences of a team split are clear to everyone.

As I mentioned earlier, discussing these issues openly with the committee or the general assembly could cause unnecessary conflicts, so I came to you two first to discuss it. I hope we can find a solution without involving the committee or the general assembly. This way, we can eliminate the unstable factors without causing conflicts to erupt prematurely. That's all I have to say. Do you agree with my views? Are you willing to work with me to solve these two problems?"

After speaking, Liang Ziyue stared intently at Wang Xiaojun and Zhang Weixin, waiting for their response. Although Liang Ziyue raised two issues, the one he was most concerned about was the second. With his shrewdness and insight, he knew that the person responsible for the increasingly clear factional lines was Zhang Weixin. Although he did not fully understand Zhang Weixin's motives, he could deduce that Zhang Weixin was not trying to break up the team. Today, he came to Wang and Zhang not to express opposition or to accuse them, but to test them. He wanted to observe their reactions to the issues he raised to understand Zhang Weixin's motives. The first issue was more of a pretext, a setup to avoid giving the impression that he was directly challenging them, which could lead to mistrust and prevent them from being honest with him.

Although young, Liang Ziyue had rich social experience and was very observant. He had already sensed that Zhang Weixin was planning something around Wang Xiaojun, and Wang Xiaojun's status seemed