Chapter 17 The stingy Zeng Gongliang! (Second update, and third update, please vote!)

Zhang Heng followed Zhang Qu to sell egg-filled pancakes early the next morning. After the egg-filled pancakes were sold out, Shi Shiran took a ride to Zhou's shop in Zhouqiao to open a shop.

Shopkeeper Zhou had been waiting at the door early in the morning. When Zhang Heng arrived, he hurried back to the shop, pretending to be nonchalant and settling accounts with his head lowered.

When Zhang Heng called him, he slowly raised his head and said with a natural smile: "Mr. Zhang, are you here?"

Zhang Heng was also calm and composed, and said with a smile: "Yes, Shopkeeper Zhou, you open very early here."

People in Bianjing like to stay up late. Except for places like the vegetable market and wharf, which have to get up early, there are no other shops that open early.

Along the way, none of the surrounding shops opened so early, but Shopkeeper Zhou's shop opened early, which revealed Shopkeeper Zhou's urgent thoughts.

When Shopkeeper Zhou heard this, he knew that his pretense had been seen through, but he just laughed and said, "Mr. Zhang has given birth to an exquisite orifice. Let's go to Zeng Mansion now?"

Zhang Heng smiled and nodded, already feeling confident.

Today is not a day for rest, but Zeng Gongliang is waiting for him in the house. It can be imagined that Zeng Gongliang is determined to master the sugar method, so there must be a reason for his own affairs.

Shopkeeper Zhou asked Zhang Heng to get on the carriage and drive directly to the Zeng Mansion. Zeng Gongliang also did a good job in saving his face and did not keep Zhang Heng waiting for a long time. He was already waiting for him in the living room.

However, Zeng Gongliang came from an official background after all. Although he had some demands, he took it calmly. When he saw Zhang Heng, he took a closer look.

After taking a closer look, I feel quite satisfied.

Although this young man has dark skin, he has good facial features and a long body. If his skin were whiter and his clothes were more gorgeous, he would be called a young man like a jade.

If such a disciple still has some talent in reading, he might be able to achieve something in the officialdom.

In this way, it seems to be somewhat personal.

However, his main goal now is to obtain the Sugar Method.

"Brother Zhang Shi, do you want to join my family?"

Zeng Gongliang did not mention sugar, but he got straight to the point.

Zhang Heng bowed and said sincerely: "Yes, but I not only hope that Mr. Zeng can accept me, but also hope that my eldest brother and second brother can be accepted together."

Zeng Gongliang stroked his beard and said with a smile: "I have already heard about you from Guiping..."

Having said this, he seemed to have thought of other things and fell silent.

Zhang Heng heard the elegant meaning of Xian, took out the roll of paper from his arms and handed it to Zeng Gongliang with both hands and said: "This is the method of making white sugar, which students learned from ancient books. It is priceless."

If a student puts it in his hands, he will be like a three-year-old child holding gold in his hand and swaggering through the city in Bianjing City, just seeking his own destruction.

I hope the teacher can help the students to uphold it. If the teacher is willing to use this method to create sugar to benefit the world, it will be a blessing for the students!"

Zeng Gongliang took the scroll and couldn't help but smile. He thought that this young man was a smart man. Not only was he not greedy at all, he was also able to give things in such a nice way. He was a talent!

Zeng Gongliang casually handed the scroll to Zhou Guiping without opening it, which would make him look ungraceful. As for whether the secret method recorded on the scroll was true or false... Zhang Heng did not dare to deceive him.

He said to Zhang Heng: "I originally intended to recruit you three brothers, but I am busy with government affairs and may not have much time to teach you.

So I plan to send you to the Imperial College to study, but I will keep an eye on your homework. When the election year comes, I will give you a lot of lessons, what do you think?"

Zhang Heng was overjoyed. He had not expected Zeng Gongliang to teach them all the time, he just wanted to take advantage of Zeng Gongliang's influence.

Because Zeng Gongliang may not be as famous as Fan Zhongyan, Han Qi, Ouyang Xiu, and later Wang Anshi, who is either world-famous, powerful, or the leader of the literary world, but Zeng Gongliang has one characteristic.

He is an evergreen figure in politics.

Zeng Gongliang will soon become the Prime Minister, and then he will firmly occupy the central position for the next twenty or thirty years!

If he can become Zeng Gongliang's disciple and have his care, Zhang Heng will not be afraid that the Pucheng Zhang family will suppress his future. In the officialdom in the future, as long as he does not make mistakes, no one can suppress him.

Moreover, one advantage of having Zeng Gongliang as his disciple is that he is good at getting along with others. Whether he partners with Han Qi, Fu Bi, or later Wang Anshi, he can get along well.

Zhang Heng worshiped Zeng Gongliang as his teacher. As long as he did not get into trouble, Zeng Gongliang would not hold him back. Such a teacher is a good teacher.

If you are like Fan Zhongyan, Ouyang Xiu or Wang Anshi, it will be okay when you gain power. But if you lose power, you will have to go sightseeing.

Therefore, Zhang Heng did not set his sights on Fan Zhongyan, Han Qi, and Ouyang Xiu from the beginning. For him, Zeng Gongliang was the best.

"Teacher, your arrangement is great, and the disciple likes it very much. But this way, I won't be able to serve the teacher at all times."

Zhang Heng said happily.

When Zeng Gongliang saw that Zhang Heng had changed his title to teacher, he also smiled and said: "I am now in my prime as a teacher. I need you to serve me. You brothers should study hard and study hard."

Well, yes, my second son Zeng Xiaokuan is also studying in the Imperial College. If you don’t understand anything, you can ask him."

Zhang Heng smiled and said: "That's great. With senior brother here, the disciple will feel at ease."

Zeng Gongliang arranged these things, but he consciously only gave Zhang Heng three places in the Imperial Academy, which seemed not to match the value of the sugar method. He wanted to give some money, but felt it hurt, so he simply said: "You three brothers

Do you have a place to live in Beijing? If not, you will move to the teacher's house."

Zhang Heng couldn't help but smile, everyone said that Zeng Gongliang was very stingy, and indeed the rumors were true.

It is not an exaggeration to describe this sugar method as priceless. If it were someone else, it would be natural to give him a mansion as a gift when he was accepted as a disciple.

But Zeng Gongliang held it in for a long time, but he just asked them to move to his home. The biggest expense was just a few more dishes and chopsticks.

However, Zhang Heng was not angry. Instead, he had confidence in his heart - a teacher who is greedy for money is easier to coax!

As long as Zhang Heng can continue to provide benefits to Zeng Gongliang, Zeng Gongliang will regard him as a treasure!

Isn't this the best thing?

However, Zhang Heng was reluctant to thank Zeng Gongliang's proposal. Although it was beneficial to live in Zeng's house, Zhang Heng still wanted to be more free. After all, it was not convenient to live under someone else's roof.

So Zhang Heng said: "Teacher Qi, the three disciples already have a place to live, and it's not far from the Imperial College, so I won't bother the teacher."

Zeng Gongliang was just perfunctory at first. Hearing this, he just nodded and said: "Okay, that's it. The results of your brothers' enrollment will be announced soon. I will ask Guiping to inform you then."

With this being said, Zhang Heng said farewell.
Chapter completed!