Chapter 291

"... Mountain vegetables and mountain fruits are also fine, just like medicinal herbs. But if this kind of thing only relies on picking, it ultimately depends on luck. If you can imitate the Han people's garden methods and plant them carefully, it will be much more convenient! Not only can production increase, but you can also select the best and remove the inferior, improving quality. Take the peach I ate yesterday, for example; the one you sent me should have been carefully selected, but to be honest, the taste is not even as good as what the peddlers sell in our ordinary streets! Even my guards frowned while eating it! Why?"

"Because wild peaches grow naturally, and there is no guarantee of good or bad taste; it all depends on luck. If you encounter natural disasters or heavy rain, there is even less hope. But if you learn the art of gardening, you can choose the land for intensive cultivation, select seeds to cultivate excellence, have standard methods for dealing with disasters, and know the urgency of the market! Offer bamboo shoots in spring, sell mushrooms in summer, sell hazelnuts in autumn, and transport honey in winter! The four seasons will not be lacking, and profits will triple! You can pick a few businesses with high profits and high demand to focus on developing, for example—never mind, let's not talk about it for now."

Wang Yang stopped speaking and drank tea to moisten his throat.

"Speak, speak, how can family not speak! After the Han envoy said that after submission, Han and barbarian are one family? How can family hide things? Han envoy, don't keep people in suspense! After you finish speaking, I will give you a few jars of fine wine! And give you a few female slaves like mountain sparrows; I definitely won't let you speak in vain!"

"Young Master has come from afar, planning to eliminate soldiers, turning disaster into fortune, and giving my Wenyang tribe a chance to be reborn! Your deep kindness and thick favor, everyone in our tribe is grateful! I hope Young Master will not abandon us and will continue to give us guidance!"

"That is true. The Han envoy has broad learning and high insight. After submission, whether it is the court side or the business here, we will have to rely on the Han envoy to carefully mediate. Han envoy, rest assured, we are not people who do not repay kindness, but we are truly laymen in business matters, so we will have to trouble the Han envoy to give us more pointers."

The barbarians were listening with great interest. Seeing Wang Yang stop, they urged him one after another.

Wang Yang smiled:

"Han and barbarian are on good terms, so we are one family. In business, we are partners, and I have to rely on you to provide more good goods! What kindness or lack of kindness, that's making it too formal. Actually, it's not that I don't want to say it, but I'm thinking of waiting until we drink tonight to talk about it. Because my alcohol tolerance is not good, so to prevent making a fool of myself, I will talk more then, and wouldn't that mean I can drink less? You are not allowed to force me to drink!"

Guo Shao's face changed slightly, and he looked at Wang Yang, his wariness deepening.

The barbarians were stunned, and then laughter shook the sky!

They had originally thought that Wang Yang was deliberately keeping them in suspense, hiding things and not speaking, wanting to put on some airs, or waiting for them to promise more generous gifts before he would be willing to speak clearly. They didn't expect it to be such a reason! And the words were said so pleasantly; how could there be any feeling of looking down on them? The barbarians immediately felt a great sense of goodwill toward Wang Yang! Compared to the "down-to-earth" warning when the three big bowls of wine were placed earlier, the mood was no longer the same.

The happy atmosphere in the hall reached a climax. Da Da Damu patted his chest and promised that he would drink all the wine Wang Yang couldn't drink! He even called for people to bring wine and food, wanting to drink heartily with Wang Yang on the spot! Tuoshan reminded them, and Da Da Damu then remembered that this was Zou Ye's residence and it was not appropriate to drink. The barbarians discussed it a little and said they would go in to ask Zou Ye for instructions. They said it was asking for instructions, but in their conversation, they had already decided on the matter of submission, even Leluoluo was the same, as if they were just going in to go through the motions.

Wang Yang waited outside, counting the time in his heart. The few people entered the inner room and stayed for less than five minutes before coming out, letting Wang Yang enter the room, saying that old Zou Ye had invited him to talk. Tuoshan and the others were neither surprised nor stayed, directly saying goodbye and leaving, saying they would set up a bonfire banquet in the evening to entertain Wang Yang. Wang Yang smiled and sent them off, everyone was happy, and then he lifted the curtain and entered.

A thick medicinal smell mixed with a scent similar to rotten wood rushed toward him. The bamboo curtain brought a breeze when it was lifted, making this scent even thicker. Although the room was not small, it was almost filled with bamboo racks. The racks against the wall were built in three layers. Except for the bottom layer, which held dozens of bamboo slips tied with hemp rope with rounded corners, the rest were all kinds of medicinal herbs. At first glance, it looked like a raw medicine shop. In the middle of the medicine shop was a bed, lonely and sunken in the pile of medicine like a moldy cake.

A withered and thin old man lay on the bed, covered with a faded brocade quilt, on which one could vaguely distinguish the old Han-style patterns. His head was tilted to one side, his shoulders were as narrow as two withered leaves, and his white hair was spread out on the pillow like messy grass. The hair was as dry and hard as broken reeds after autumn. In a trance, one could actually see a bit of a wild and vigorous heroic spirit. But as soon as one looked at it for a second time, one would know that it was just a messy hairstyle pressed out by long-term bed rest, plus a few strands of empty hair sticking up in the folds of the neck, which together created an illusion.

Especially when the maid wiped the medicine dregs from the corner of his mouth for him, the handkerchief inadvertently pulled lightly, and those hairs immediately withered, revealing a scalp covered with age spots.

There was also a scroll of books by the bed. Wang Yang glanced at it; it seemed to be the Book of Songs.

There were only two maids in the room, one wiping the old Zou Ye's mouth and the other guiding Wang Yang to sit on the right side of the bed.

After the old Zou Ye's mouth was wiped clean, his turbid eyeballs slowly turned toward Wang Yang.

He looked at people very slowly, and every movement seemed to be pulled by an invisible thread. His gaze swept over Wang Yang's face and clothes bit by bit, and then swept back bit by bit. It was as if he wanted to tear Wang Yang's outline into pieces and slowly piece it back together. It was very focused and also appeared a bit dull.

Wang Yang sat calmly, letting the old Zou Ye's gaze comb through him several times, and then naturally stood up, respectfully bowing to the old Zou Ye: "Langya Wang Yang, I have met Zou Ye."

"Good, good... good."

The old Zou Ye opened his mouth, his voice hoarse and astringent, as if his throat was blocked by old medicine dregs. When the two maids heard the old Zou Ye speak, they both retreated to the side.

The old Zou Ye paused for a while, as if there was nothing left to say. Wang Yang neither asked questions nor intended to pick up the conversation, but stood quietly, bowing slightly to indicate he was listening.

The old Zou Ye looked at Wang Yang and showed a smile, but the corners of his mouth pulled upward extremely slowly, and it was difficult to have any more curvature:

"The Langya Wang clan, the name is well-deserved."

Just these few words, the Han pronunciation was very correct, even better than what Leluoluo said.

Wang Yang bowed again, his voice as clear as a spring: "Zou Ye is too kind, I dare not accept it."

"Young Master is an imperial envoy. Why do you need to pay respects to a rotten person like me who is half-buried in the ground? Sit down quickly."

This was polite, but it was hard to answer. If he was too humble, he would lose the status of an imperial envoy; if he was not humble, then the previous respect would all become superficial.

Wang Yang smiled: "I am a junior, and I am also a guest. It is the proper duty for a guest to pay respects to the host, and for a junior to pay respects to an elder." After speaking, he sat down, neither humble nor arrogant.

The old Zou Ye looked Wang Yang over again and asked: "What book is the Young Master reading recently?"

Wang Yang said truthfully: "I am reading the 'Zhou Shengzi Essential Theory'."

"Hmm..." The old Zou Ye dragged out the tail sound for a long time, as if he was trying hard to recall, or as if he was chewing on a distant memory. After a while, he continued: "We also have this book in our tribe, but it is written too deeply, and I cannot understand it. I have been reading the 'Book of Songs' in recent years, but I am also becoming more confused the more I read..."

Wang Yang thought for a while and decided not to tell the old Zou Ye that the "Zhou Shengzi Essential Theory" he was reading was bought from their tribe, but instead followed the topic of the Book of Songs:

"The way of poetry is subtle, and with the evolution of word meanings and sentence structures that are different from today, it is inherently difficult to understand. If you are not doing academic research, it is better to take its general meaning."

The old Zou Ye said slowly: "The Han envoy has a profound family learning. I would like to ask, there is a sentence in 'Xiaoya' called 'Blowing the sheng and beating the reed, holding the basket and sending it.' What does this 'holding the basket and sending it' mean?"

"In ancient times, baskets were used to hold currency and silk. 'Holding' means to hold, and 'sending' means to give. Put together, it means giving gifts to guests."

"Why use a basket to send gifts instead of giving them directly by hand?"

Wang Yang was startled: "There are many angles to explain this..."

The old Zou Ye's eyelids were half-drooped:

"I heard that there is a saying that ancient gifts must be held in bamboo baskets. Even if it is as light as a bundle of silk, it is solemnly placed in the basket, not just to fulfill the decoration of etiquette, but also to make the gentleman stay away from bribery and cultivate a sense of shame."

Wang Yang looked at the old Zou Ye and responded simply: "There is such a saying."

The old Zou Ye gently rubbed his fingers on the surface of the brocade quilt and said as if very casually:

"Ancient gentlemen did not talk about profit. I heard that the scholars and officials in the Han lands today are also like this. But why is Young Master Wang so concerned about business matters? With your family background, whether it is business or money, it probably doesn't matter, right?"

So that's it.

"Why doesn't it matter? A poor family that suddenly becomes rich still wears hemp shoes; a noble clan that falls into decline cannot sell its carriages. The better the family background, the more money is needed. Ordinary people's food, clothing, housing, and transportation are enough. In high families, there are many eyes watching, fearing to lose the family reputation. Besides, it is not like ancient times now. The so-called 'vermilion gates are easy to rot, while gold and silver last forever.' How many noble families have been abandoned by their in-laws because of poverty? And how many powerful families have intermarried with commoners for money? (This is what was called 'marriage and officialdom losing their class' at the time, which was not only despised by people, but if one was an official, one could also be impeached.) The Grand Historian said long ago: 'A family with a thousand gold is comparable to the ruler of a city, and those with ten thousand are equal to the king in joy.' Times change, and if one is still confined to ancient meanings and does not know how to adapt, one will surely be abandoned by the current world. The way of the 'I Ching' is: when in a dead end, change; when you change, you get through; when you get through, you last long. How can only the 'I Ching' be like this?"

Wang Yang looked at the old Zou Ye with deep meaning.

The old Zou Ye's expression did not change at all, and after a moment of silence, he said:

"Talking with the Han envoy is truly beneficial. 'Xiaoya' is still too difficult for me. I still like to read 'Zheng Feng' and 'Wei Feng,' men and women, mulberry fields and Pu river, which allows this withered bone of mine to recall some youthful times. There is a poem in 'Wei Feng' called 'Mang Zhi Chi Chi,' which is very moving. There is a sentence in it: 'The banquet of the topknots, laughing and talking happily. The oath is sincere, not thinking of its reversal.' I wonder how this sentence should be interpreted?"

Wang Yang pondered:

"Children talk about joy and banquets, smiling faces are before their eyes. The oath is still in the ears, but the gentleman's intention has already changed."

"Well interpreted! The oath is still in the ears, but the gentleman's intention has already changed. The Han envoy is indeed able to speak in chapters. The change of the human heart is worse than the change of floating clouds, so there are so many infatuated men and women in the world, which shows that oaths are hard to believe."

This time it was the old Zou Ye who looked at Wang Yang with deep meaning.

"If you want an oath to be reliable, there are two ways. One is called 'one heart.' I wish to get one person, and we will not separate until our hair turns white. If both feelings are like rocks, even if the rivers flow backward, this ambition will not change. The second is called 'common interest.' If profit and loss depend on each other, and fortune and disaster depend on each other, then even if it is not the ultimate feeling, it can last from beginning to end. One heart can be met but not sought; as for common interest..."

Wang Yang looked at the old Zou Ye and smiled slightly:

"Sometimes, it is also something that can be met but not sought."

Neither of them spoke again, their eyes met, neither avoiding nor yielding, as if they both wanted to see something in the other's eyes. After a moment, the old Zou Ye said: "You all go down."

The two maids lowered their heads and exited the room.

"If the Han envoy doesn't mind, can you help me sit up? I feel like my butt is about to go numb from lying down." The old Zou Ye no longer talked about the Odes, and his tone was more casual.

"How dare I not serve."

Wang Yang stepped forward and carefully helped the old man up, like helping up an old tree hollowed out by insects. At this time, the old Zou Ye's fingers wrapped around Wang Yang's wrist like withered tree branches, and his drooping, loose eyelids suddenly lifted, revealing a strange smile in his eyes. He only heard him whisper in Wang Yang's ear:

"There is no such thing as a 'pro-war faction' or a 'pro-peace faction,' and there is no 'great army surrounding and suppressing,' right?"