The disgraced official I took care of was actually Zhu Houcong's childhood friend.

Under the old man's guidance, Zhou Chu's calligraphy improved rapidly.

Sometimes, Zhou Chu would look at his own small regular script and feel somewhat dazed.

Did you really write such beautiful small regular script?

Compared to Zhou Chu, Lu Wei's talent is much inferior.

Even so, his calligraphy is far superior to that of his peers.

Not only in calligraphy, but also in writing, Zhou Chu's help led to rapid progress.

In his previous life, Zhou Chu was a PhD in history and had a deep understanding of classical Chinese literature.

But it wasn't until this era arrived that I realized...

Every scholar in the academy has studied more deeply than I have.

However, Zhou Chu is only nine years old, so he can be taught while learning.

As a result, Zhou Chu's learning efficiency far exceeded that of studying alone.

After all, if you learn something with a purpose and then present it as a teacher, you won't forget it even if you want to.

It's like it's etched into my mind.

He was even very familiar with various military strategies.

Interception, flanking maneuver, blitzkrieg, etc.

However, at present, military strategy is still only at the stage of theoretical discussion.

Zhou Chu knew very well that the real battlefield was ever-changing.

However, Zhou Chu didn't take it to heart.

How could I possibly have the opportunity to lead troops into battle?

And so, Zhou Chu quickly spent the most comfortable year since arriving in the Ming Dynasty at the Lu family home.

Throughout the year, there was a daily supply of mutton and venison.

Zhou Chu's height suddenly increased to over 1.7 meters.

Keep in mind that Zhou Chu was only ten years old at this time.

After Zhou Chu had practiced standing meditation for six months, Lu Song taught him his family's traditional martial arts.

The Lu family had been Jinyiwei (Imperial Guards) for generations, so their family martial arts were naturally swordsmanship.

Lu Song had two knives made in the style of the Embroidered Spring Knife, and had the two men practice their swordsmanship.

With the solid foundation laid earlier, Zhou Chu could clearly feel how abundant his qi and blood were.

Every strike and movement was like a surging thunderbolt.

Winter was just around the corner when an unexpected event occurred.

The Lu family's property was raided.

The reason was that Lu Song accidentally offended the adopted son of the powerful eunuch Liu Jin during his investigation.

Before her home was raided, Madam Yang summoned all the servants, returned their indentures, and sent them home.

Zhou Chu naturally also obtained the contract of indenture.

Before Yang could even say anything more, she was arrested and imprisoned.

Lu Wei and his wife Lu Song were imprisoned together.

Lu Wan'er escaped unscathed.

Because she is too young.

Lu Song was, after all, a centurion of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

Through the efforts of his colleagues.

Lu Wan'er was announced to have died young.

As for Zhou Chu's eldest son, whom he had never met, he seemed to have escaped unscathed.

I heard he was following a feudal lord in another region.

Liu Jin's godson's reach isn't that far.

Zhou Chu, along with Lu Wan'er and his travel expenses, asked his uncle to help him rent a small courtyard, and they settled down.

"From this day forward, your name will be Mu Yunjin, and you will be my cousin. Do you understand?"

Lu Wan'er, or more accurately, Mu Yunjin, was not in a state of shock at this moment.

She was just a five or six-year-old child when the Lu family suffered such a great tragedy.

However, it is clear that Mu Yunjin's mental maturity is far beyond that of an ordinary child.

She quickly realized what was happening, wiped away her tears, and nodded.

Zhou Chu then went to his cousin and gave him twenty taels of silver, asking him to go to the government office to get a new indenture for Mu Yunjin.

No one else can do this.

But my uncle is different.

He had worked in the brokerage firm for many years.

Not often, but occasionally they would go to the government to obtain indentures.

The authorities knew what he did.

So as long as you give them money, they'll turn a blind eye.

Although the imperial court had explicit regulations regarding indenture.

However, the enforcement at the lower levels is not so strict.

After all, this was no longer the Hongwu or Yongle era.

In this era, corrupt officials run rampant.

With money, there's nothing you can't do.

My uncle was very efficient; in less than half a day, Mu Yunjin's indenture was processed.

Having rented a house and signed a contract, Zhou Chu didn't have much money left.

That year, Yang gave Zhou Chu a considerable amount of money intermittently.

However, Zhou Chu took half of them home.

The remaining half is used to frequently buy alcohol for his alcoholic teacher.

Although the drunkard said he wouldn't accept it.

But when it comes to teaching, he is very dedicated.

That woman would bring him wine every day.

But what others do is their business.

Zhou Chu knew that he should also be filial to his father.

Zhou Chu couldn't help but sigh when he thought of the drunkard.

I can no longer go to the academy myself.

I wonder if this old man will continue to live a life of debauchery.

This year has been dedicated to teaching myself and Lu Wei.

The old man is in much better condition.

However, Zhou Chu couldn't care less about that at the moment.

With a beautiful woman by his side, the old man won't have any major problems.

The first thing to consider now is how to make money.

Zhou Chu had many ideas for making money.

For example, in the production of white sugar.

But even a common man is innocent; possessing a treasure is a crime.

If people knew that I had a recipe for making white sugar, and that what I made was far better than what was available on the market.

Then I will never have a peaceful day.

They didn't even know how they died.

I wanted to open a shop and do some simple business, but I didn't have any capital left.

You can copy books or write letters for others, but this kind of work is unstable.

It can be done as a part-time job.

Left with no other choice, Zhou Chu went to his cousin again to ask him to inquire which shop needed workers.

Upon hearing this, my uncle immediately perked up.

"There really are shops hiring."

My uncle said with a mysterious look on his face.

"Do you remember when you first came to the brokerage, the first woman who wanted to buy you?"

As soon as his uncle said that, Zhou Chu couldn't help but remember.

After all, only a year has passed.

“I remember, my uncle mentioned the concubine of the Shen family.”

Zhou Chu said.

Next, the uncle explained the Shen family's situation to Zhou Chu.

The patriarch of the Shen family was originally a poor and destitute man.

The matriarch of the Shen family accompanied him from being penniless to becoming extremely wealthy.

But men, once they have money, their minds change.

After years of hard work and exposure to the elements, the matriarch of the Shen family has long lost her youth.

So the master of the Shen family took several more concubines.

The woman who had previously visited the brokerage firm was the most favored.

However, from then on, the Shen family was in turmoil.

Servants were frequently beaten to death.

Three months ago, the matriarch of the Shen family passed away.

The matriarch of the Shen family only gave birth to one daughter, who was originally the eldest daughter of the Shen family and was showered with love and affection.

But later, those concubines had many more children, many of whom were boys.

As a result, this young lady naturally fell out of favor.

Although he had fallen out of favor, he was still doing alright.

But with the death of the matriarch of the Shen family, where would this young lady find a place in the Shen family?

These days, she has taken the initiative to ask for a shop and a estate, using the excuse of running a business, and no longer wants to return to the Shen family.

This shop sells fabrics, and it's one of the most inconspicuous shops in the Shen family's business.

Master Shen, wanting some peace and quiet, agreed.

Although all the concubines in the Shen family were vicious, this eldest daughter was kind-hearted.

Otherwise, they wouldn't have chosen this path.

"A couple of days ago, this young lady asked me to inquire if there was anyone suitable, as her shop is short-staffed."

Uncle looked at Zhou Chu and said.

"This is it."

Zhou Chu urgently needs money.

The money I have left can barely last a month.

Soon, Zhou Chu met the eldest daughter of the Shen family.

To be honest, looking at her outfit, you really can't tell she's a rich girl.

This confirms what my uncle said earlier.

This young lady did not have a good time in the Shen family.

"Old Sun, do you know anyone suitable?"

Shen Qing's eyes lit up when she saw her cousin.

After taking over the shop, she realized that she had oversimplified things.

As the eldest daughter of the Shen family, she had never been involved in business.

Once you actually start doing it, you realize it's completely different from what you imagined.

This shop was never doing well to begin with.

Otherwise, it wouldn't have ended up in her hands.

The original manager was one of those concubines' people.

After she took over, she was immediately transferred.

Left with no other choice, Shen Qing had to take on the role of manager herself.

There wasn't even a waiter.

She had absolutely no experience in finding a place to recruit people.

However, she did know Zhou Chu's cousin.

Her mother used to take her to the dental clinic often.

We got to know each other after a while.

So they turned to him for help.

Zhou Chu looked at Shen Qing's helpless expression.

I thought to myself, isn't this exactly what a college student looks like when they first enter society?

Clear and foolish.

“Since Miss Shen has spoken, how can I not help? This is my cousin Zhou Chu. He was originally a page in a wealthy family. He is very capable, literate, good at accounting, and has beautiful handwriting.”

My cousin praised Zhou Chu to the skies.

“My cousin could earn a lot of money even if he just copied books or wrote letters for others, but Miss Shen urgently needed someone, so I had to persuade him to come over.”

This is the art of speaking.

Originally, it was Zhou Chu who needed to find work.

In his uncle's words, it became that Shen Qing owed him a huge favor.

They praised Zhou Chu as someone rarely seen in heaven and hard to find on earth.

Shen Qing's eyes lit up as she listened, and in the end, she looked at Zhou Chu as if he were a precious treasure.

Although Zhou Chu was ten years old at the time, he looked like he was thirteen or fourteen.

Moreover, it looks excellent.

"How about this, I'll give you one tael of silver a month, meals included, and you'll work as a waiter first. If you do well, I'll make you the manager, with additional pay. How about that?"

Shen Qing is also desperately short of manpower.

A waiter's monthly salary is usually between 300 and 500 coins.

Shen Qing, after all, lacked social experience.

"it is good."

Zhou Chu nodded.

"Old Sun, you've really helped me a lot."

As Shen Qing spoke, he turned around and went to the shop to get a bolt of cloth, which he handed to Zhou Chu's cousin.

"I'm glad I could help Miss Shen."

My uncle didn't stand on ceremony and took the cloth directly.

"You must work hard under Miss Shen's guidance."

After receiving the cloth, the uncle pretended to give Zhou Chu some instructions.

"Don't worry, Uncle."