You are unlucky and I am tough

Just after noon, a group of scholars who received the invitation arrived. Some of them came in carriages, and some rode horses. They stopped directly at the door of the old scholar's house.

As soon as Zheng Tu got off his horse, Cheng Wanpeng and Cheng Caijun, who were welcoming guests at the door, hurried over to greet him.

"My humble abode is truly honored by the presence of all of you fellow students who have come from so far away." Cheng Wanpeng said as his eyes swept over the unfamiliar faces behind Zheng Tu.

Zheng Tu smiled and introduced, "These are my good friends. They heard that Chengjia Village has produced four scholars, so they came to congratulate us."

The blue-robed scholar directly presented a gift. "I heard that Chengjia Village is blessed with outstanding people and beautiful scenery, and is blessed by the God of Literature. We are so shameless to come and disturb you. I hope you two brothers Cheng will not despise us."

"Of course not." Cheng Wanpeng knew Zheng Tu's identity and kept a low profile. "I'm very happy that you are willing to come."

The people behind also presented gifts one after another. While they were greeting each other at the door, Zhao Xiuwen and Cheng Mingli also came out.

There were several people who didn't know Zhao Xiuwen at all, but after introducing themselves to each other, they immediately put their arms around Zhao Xiuwen as if they were old friends.

A group of scholars were invited into the central courtyard for tea. After sitting for a while, someone suggested that it was still early and they wanted to wander around the village.

A scholar who had been here before suggested, "Why don't we go to the waterfall pond we visited last time? Bring some tea and snacks and sit in the viewing pavilion. The blue sky, white clouds, green mountains and clear water are better than looking at the four directions of the world in the courtyard."

Cheng Wanpeng heard that he was disgusted with his small family, and he forced a smile.

Cheng Mingli also frowned slightly. That was the Wei family's territory, so he had to ask first if he wanted to go there.

Just as he was about to speak, Zhao Xiuwen said with a smile, "Are you going to the pond we visited last time? It just so happens that I've already told the Wei family about what happened last time. If you want to fish, you can pay 34 cents per person and fish as much as you want, but you need to bring your own fishing gear."

Wei Qinglang came to him last night and told him about this, saying that if he wanted to entertain those scholars, he could bring them over.

Zheng Tu smiled and looked at the person beside him, "That's good, Brother Lin. Didn't you say you wanted to compete last time?"

The scholar surnamed Lin said happily, "I'll ask someone to buy a fishing rod right now. Brother Zheng, I want to bet you that painting of winter plum blossoms that you won last year."

Zheng Tu said indifferently, "Then I'll make a bet with you."

"The fish we catch can be brought back and the chef can make fresh fish soup." The others were also very interested.

After sending someone to buy fishing rods, a group of scholars went to the peach forest, chatting and laughing. On the way, they enjoyed the pastoral scenery, strolled through the peach forest, and then arrived at the waterfall viewing pavilion.

Peng He was playing by the pond, throwing stones. When he saw someone approaching, he ran over and asked, "Gentlemen, would you like to fish? Thirty cents each."

Cheng Mingli quietly pulled Zhao Xiuwen over, "Brother Zhao, what is this...?"

Zhao Xiuwen whispered, "Brother Wei and Madam Cheng guessed that today's guests would come here, so they arranged for someone to guard here."

Cheng Mingli nodded in understanding and said that as long as the Wei family agreed, it would be fine.

When they arrived at the pavilion, the servant who followed them placed tea and snacks on the table and then left.

Chengjia Village is close to the county, and the carriage runs fast. Soon the fishing rods were bought back, and a group of scholars started fishing by the pond.

It was impossible for Zhao Xiuwen and his friends to just accompany these few guests, so they went back to continue entertaining other guests after a short while.

After that, he brought two more groups of scholars over. There were nearly twenty scholars gathered in the viewing pavilion. Fortunately, the pavilion was big enough and the stone benches under the guardrails could accommodate people.

Scholars from three academies gathered together to chat and socialize with each other.

Guests came one after another. In addition to some scholars, there were also business partners of the old scholar's family, and several teachers from Cheng Mingli and Cheng Wanpeng academies.

The person who came from Yunhe Academy was a hall master. He learned from Cheng Caijun that Chengjia Village was holding a banquet today, so he asked for an invitation and came to deliver the admission letter to Zhao Xiuwen.

The teachers from the other two academies looked a little disappointed when they saw Zhao Xiuwen accepted the admission letter from Yunhe Academy.

Just after noon, County Magistrate Shen arrived.

The old scholar, who had received the announcement at the gate, went out with his men to greet him. County Magistrate Shen got out of his sedan chair and said with a smile, "No need to be so polite. I just came here to ask for a drink today."

As he said this, he asked his attendants to present a brocade box, "This is just a small gift, not a token of respect."

The old scholar took it and looked at it. It turned out to be a set of top-quality four treasures of the study. He hurriedly expressed his gratitude.

County Magistrate Shen exchanged a few words with Zhao Xiuwen, whom he hadn't seen last time. Then, he looked for something in the crowd and asked, puzzled, "Isn't Wei Qinglang from your village here?"

"Brother Wei is at home and hasn't come yet." Zhao Xiuwen said, "If the county magistrate needs anything, I'll go find him."

County Magistrate Shen waved his hand. "It's nothing serious. I haven't been to his house yet, so I'll go with you."

Zhao Xiuwen nodded and gestured for invitation.

Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, County Magistrate Shen turned around and left, heading towards the inconspicuous courtyard opposite.

The guests looked at each other, curious about who County Magistrate Shen was talking about and why the County Magistrate had to come to visit them in person.

Just as County Magistrate Shen entered the Wei family's door, another low-key and luxurious carriage stopped at the door of the old scholar's house.

Cheng Wanpeng, who was in charge of welcoming guests at the door, felt his legs go weak when he saw people getting off the car and he almost fell to his knees. He was supported by the housekeeper.

The people who got off the car were Prefect Zhu and his two sons. They had clearly only given invitations to the two young masters and had no hope that they would come, but they didn't expect that even the prefect would come.

There was another round of chaos and all the guests in the courtyard came out to greet them. Cheng Lizheng, who had just finished inspecting the threshing ground, also caught up.

Prefect Zhu exempted everyone from the kneeling ceremony and said in a gentle voice, "There is no need to be formal. I have come here uninvited. I hope I will not disturb your interest."

As he spoke, he asked someone to deliver a gift, which was a long rectangular box, and it was impossible to tell what was inside.

The old scholar was flattered and said repeatedly, "It is an honor for us to have the prefect and the two young masters here. Please come in and take a seat!"

Prefect Zhu nodded, raised his foot, and looked around the crowd, but did not see the person he wanted to see.

He paused, turned around and said, "Li Zheng Cheng, I would like to go look for Wei Qinglang from your village first. Could you please lead the way?"

Cheng Lizheng was stunned for a moment, then nodded quickly, "Please come this way, sir. It's the small courtyard across the street. County Magistrate Shen just passed by."

The two brothers of the Zhu family also looked at each other. It turned out that their father suddenly proposed to go with them to Chengjia Village because he wanted to see someone else.

The two of them followed without any prior arrangement.

The guests looked at each other again, and were looking for the man named Wei Qinglang. What kind of ability did this man have that made the county magistrate and the prefect ask to visit him one after another?