Chapter 9

Wang Xiaojun hastily wiped his face, threw his things aside, and went to find Zhang Weixin to understand the situation. When he arrived at Zhang Weixin's room, he saw Wang Feng, Zeng Zhilin, as well as Zhou Lei and Liang Ziyue were already there. Zhang Weixin introduced the situation from yesterday and this morning, then said with some concern: "Although the Zhong family has taken good care of us and seems to be doing good deeds like kind people, they don't seem to have any ulterior motives. However, I always feel that it's not that simple. At least, they don't seem to really trust us. This morning, we felt as if someone was monitoring us outside the door. Later, Young Master Zhong came and seemed to have talked to that person outside the door."

"Right, I also heard Young Master Zhong talking to someone, but it was a bit far, so I couldn't hear what they were saying," Wang Feng immediately confirmed.

Wang Xiaojun nodded, thought for a moment, and said: "This is probably a normal precaution for this family. After all, we come from an unknown place and dress strangely. It's impossible for them to have no guard up. However, as the saying goes, 'Do not have the heart to harm others, but do not lack the heart to guard against them.' This applies to the Zhong family, and to us as well. I think, whether the Zhong family is genuinely kind or has other intentions, we should try not to stay here for too long."

"Hmm, Xiaojun is right, I agree," Zeng Zhilin echoed.

"But we are now penniless. How can we live if we leave here?" Wang Feng expressed his concern.

"We all have hands, feet, knowledge, and skills. We won't starve to death," Liang Ziyue said indignantly.

"Let's see if this works," Zhang Weixin, seeing that Wang Feng and Liang Ziyue were not getting along, thought for a moment and said, "Although we don't have money that can be used in this era, we do have some rare items, like the bottle of premium Wuliangye and the set of high-end glassware that Xiaojun brought."

"But in this era, although good wine is rare, a bottle of wine can't sell for much, right?" Wang Feng asked, puzzled.

"The valuable part is not the wine, but the glass bottle and the set of glass cups," Wang Xiaojun patted his cousin's shoulder and said.

"That's right," Zhang Weixin added, "In this era, the price of good glassware far exceeds that of gold and silver."

"With this money, we can buy our own house to live in. And it will be like our first pot of gold. Making money from money is much easier than starting from scratch," Zeng Zhilin said.

"But how do we sell the glass bottle? We can't just hawk it on the street," Wang Feng asked again.

"This might have to be handled by Mr. Zhong. If that doesn't work, we can sell the bottle to Mr. Zhong. Weixing, I think we should wait for a suitable opportunity and then you and the Zhong family can negotiate," Wang Xiaojun thought for a moment and said, "When the time comes, call Old Fan and Song Feiyang. They are both good at marketing. And Zhao Dawei, who used to be good at persuading clients in an investment company. With these people, we should be able to get a good price from the Zhong family." Zhang Weixin nodded and went out to find Fan Wucheng, Song Feiyang, and Zhao Dawei to discuss.

After everything was settled, Zhong Shiwén came to invite everyone to the main hall for tea. Only then did he have the chance to carefully observe these people. He saw that they were both men and women, with two of them slightly older, and the others around twenty to thirty years old. They were dressed as strangely as the two people from yesterday, and all had short hair. Fortunately, the three women had long hair, so he guessed that in their place, men had short hair and women had long hair. However, these women, although all beautiful, did not wear skirts but wore pants like the other men. He didn't know if this was a custom from overseas or for some other reason. But he couldn't ask them, after all, men and women should be treated differently. In fact, Zhong Shaozhuang was completely wrong. These women in their time would wear skirts in summer. Today, they didn't wear them because their skirts were too short for this era. At least, they all showed their calves, and some were even mini-skirts, which would be quite shocking in this era. Therefore, before they left, the men vetoed the idea, and although the three women were somewhat unhappy, their protests were in vain, and they had to change into long pants.

After a few pleasantries, Zhang Weixin told Zhong Shaozhuang about the plan they had just discussed. Zhong Shaozhuang was somewhat surprised and asked: "Why does Mr. Zhang talk about leaving? Is it because I have not treated you well, or have my servants offended you?"

Zhang Weixin quickly explained: "It's not for that reason. Your family has treated me and my companions with great care, and the servants have been very attentive. I am very grateful. The reason we want to leave is that it is too much trouble for Mr. Zhong and you to have all of us stay here. It's really not right to continue to impose on you."

Zhong Shaozhuang naturally tried to persuade them to stay, but Zhang Weixin insisted on leaving. In the end, they couldn't agree, so Zhong Shaozhuang said they would wait for his father to return and make a decision. Zhang Weixin had to agree.

After some more casual conversation, Zhong Shaozhuang called his sister to chat with the three women. The appearance of the classical beauty naturally drew a lot of praise from the "strange monks" — of course, behind their backs. It wasn't until around five or six in the afternoon that Mr. Zhong returned from outside. Everyone quickly stood up to greet him, and Mr. Zhong warmly welcomed them and instructed Zhong Fu to prepare a banquet. After some pleasantries, Zhong Shaozhuang told Mr. Zhong about their plan to sell their treasures to raise money and leave. Mr. Zhong strongly opposed this.

If it were just Zhang and Wang, he might not have been so insistent. But he had been listening to their conversation in the next room for a while and felt that these dozen or so people were all extraordinary, with knowledge and insight. If he could use his hospitality to win them over, they would be valuable helpers and greatly benefit his plans. So he tried his best to persuade them to stay, while Zhang Weixin insisted on leaving.

Seeing Zhang Weixin's firm attitude, Mr. Zhong, fearing that pressing too hard would create a rift, thought for a moment and said: "Since you are determined to leave, I will not force you. However, I think Mr. Zhang's plan to sell treasures to raise money is not a wise one. I believe there are other ways to achieve your goal."

Zhang Weixin, seeing that the other party was no longer insisting, felt relieved but was also cautious when he heard that his plan was not sound, and asked: "What is wrong with it? Please enlighten me."

Mr. Zhong stroked his beard and said: "Mr. Zhang mentioned that you have a precious item from overseas and plan to sell it in the county or city to get some money to live on."

"Exactly."

"Let's not talk about whether you can successfully sell the item. Even if you get the money, where do you plan to settle down and how will you make a living? After all, no matter how valuable the item is, it will eventually run out."

"I haven't thought about that yet. But I believe that with money, finding a place to live and doing some business to make a living should not be difficult."

"Mr. Zhang is mistaken. Do you remember the scene when you three first arrived at the village entrance? If I hadn't spoken up, you might not have been able to find out what you wanted to know. Although I am not a great talent, I believe that in this Youzhou region, there are few people who can have a calm conversation with you without being put off by your unusual appearance and background. If others can't interact with you normally, how can you find a place to live and start a business?"

"Indeed...," Zhang Weixin was at a loss for words, as this was their first time traveling through time and they had no relevant experience.

Seeing his hesitation, Mr. Zhong pressed on: "Moreover, if you want to sell the treasure to raise money, it will be difficult for you to succeed on your own. You might end up losing both the treasure and your lives."

Hearing this, Zhang Weixin had no response, and Wang Xiaojun was also startled, thinking: "Mr. Zhong's words do have some truth. We have been so focused on the smooth journey these past two days that we have overlooked many things. First, we are not accepted by most people in this era. Unless they have enough insight or a broad mind, they will avoid us. Second, we are essentially illegal in this era. If we try to sell treasures or start a business, we might be arrested by the authorities as fugitives or spies. Whether we can survive in the government offices is uncertain."

With this in mind, he stood up and bowed to Mr. Zhong: "Mr. Zhong, your words are very wise. We have indeed been negligent. Thank you for your reminder."

"Mr. Wang, there is no need for such formalities. Since I have taken you in, I naturally want to help you." Mr. Zhong, seeing that Mr. Wang Xiaojun was finally speaking, knew that the situation might change. He had observed that although Mr. Wang Xiaojun spoke little, Mr. Zhang, who seemed to be in charge, followed his lead. The others were clearly not decision-makers and did not express their opinions on staying or leaving. The key to this matter seemed to be Mr. Wang Xiaojun.

"However, we are a large group, and our origins and appearance are very different. Even if Mr. Zhong does not mind, others in the village will talk, and it might spread to the outside, which could be detrimental to Mr. Zhong. Moreover, although Mr. Zhong's family is wealthy, we cannot stay here indefinitely. I believe we are all knowledgeable and skilled, not just bookish scholars. If Mr. Zhong can help us find a place to live and work, allowing us to support ourselves, that would be the greatest help. We will be very grateful, and if we succeed in the future, we will repay you." With that, Wang Xiaojun bowed deeply.

Mr. Zhong quickly helped him up, saying that Mr. Wang was too polite, but he felt more confident. He knew that although these people still insisted on leaving, they lacked the means to support themselves and still needed his help. They just didn't want to be dependent on him for too long, as they were young and had some pride. However, since they didn't want to stay in his house, where could he arrange for them to go? As he thought, he saw his mischievous daughter and had an idea. He said to Wang Xiaojun: "I am not keeping you here for selfish reasons, but because I admire your talents and want my son and daughter to learn from you. Since you feel it is inconvenient to stay here, I will not force you. I have a place where you can stay temporarily, but I'm afraid you might not want to go."

"Mr. Zhong, please tell us. How do we know we won't want to go?" Wang Xiaojun, seeing a glimmer of hope, asked quickly.

"Not far from here is the Yuxu Palace, a spacious place. The common people usually only pray and make wishes in the front hall, while the back hall is a quiet place. The abbot, Daoist Yuxu, is my good friend. If I ask him to let you stay, it shouldn't be difficult. You would just need to temporarily become Taoist priests to avoid suspicion. Once you adapt to life in China, I will help you obtain legal status. Then, whether you want to farm, do business, or take the imperial exams, it will be much easier. What do you think?" Mr. Zhong suggested tentatively.

Becoming Taoist priests!

Wang Xiaojun was stunned by this suggestion. Making a group of modern atheists become Taoist priests was quite imaginative. He had thought of many possible jobs for the near future, but never considered becoming monks. However, thinking about it now, it seemed to be a promising career in this era. He turned to look at the others, and their varied expressions showed that they were also stunned. This decision could not be made rashly and needed a team meeting.

So, Wang Xiaojun said to Mr. Zhong: "This suggestion is unexpected. I cannot make this decision alone and need to discuss it with everyone."

"Of course, of course. This is not something to rush. You can take your time to discuss it and let me know when you have a decision." Mr. Zhong clearly understood their concerns and changed the topic, "The banquet is ready. Let's eat first and talk later."

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