Chapter 79

PS: A new volume, a new beginning!

The winter sun hung listlessly in the sky, and the snow and ice in Chang'an began to melt under such weather. On Zhuque Street, ox carts laden with snow were being transported out of the city one by one.

The heavy snow of the ninth year of Wude had besieged Chang'an for a whole month, and now it was finally beginning to melt. However, a new challenge loomed. If the snow wasn't cleared before it melted completely, Chang'an would turn into a vast mud swamp.

On Zhuque Street, people were busy clearing the snow, and in each坊 (neighborhood), residents were also hard at work. The head of Xinghua坊, where Zhao Chen lived, went door to door early in the morning, pleading with the wealthy households to send more servants to help. Unfortunately, no one was willing to listen.

When it was Zhao Chen's turn, they expected to be turned away as usual. However, to their surprise, this young nobleman, who had recently moved to Xinghua坊, agreed without hesitation. As soon as he heard about the need to clear the snow, he immediately ordered his steward to mobilize all the servants.

With Zhao Chen, who had a military background, leading the way, the other wealthy households, who had previously ignored the head of the坊, quickly sent out all their servants to join the effort, working enthusiastically under the head's direction.

With many hands, the work progressed quickly. While other坊 heads were still pleading for help, the snow in Xinghua坊 was being cleared at a visible rate. In less than a day, all the snow in the坊 was gone.

"I can't understand those people!" In a room at Zhao Chen's residence, Ma Zhou sat comfortably by a roaring fire, sipping a cup of hot tea and talking about the morning's events.

"Most people are selfish!" Zhao Chen stood behind a desk, his expression serious, copying a stele inscription. Without looking up, he said, "They always haggle over every little thing, unwilling to do more than others, thinking it's unfair! Just like this morning, they knew the consequences of the snow melting, but they were unwilling to contribute more!"

As he spoke, Zhao Chen straightened up, took a step back, and looked at the inscription he had just copied. Disappointed, he shook his head, put down the brush, and sat in a chair next to Ma Zhou, saying, "Why? Just because they feel they are doing more than others, they think it's unfair!"

"It's all due to selfishness!" Ma Zhou sighed deeply, looking at Zhao Chen with a bitter smile.

Zhao Chen just chuckled. Everyone has selfishness. If everyone in the world had no selfishness, the world would be a different place!

For example, himself, the Hidden Sect, and Li Er.

The group from the Hidden Sect stayed at Zhao Chen's residence for nearly half a month. Every day, Zhao Chen treated them well, and during his free time, he discussed physics and mathematics with the old man and others. This was also a way for Zhao Chen to verify the true nature of the Hidden Sect.

During this time, Zhao Chen was surprised to find that the old man, as the grand elder of the Hidden Sect, was a true academic master. The old man seemed to have knowledge in all fields, from classics and history to medicine, divination, and the occult, speaking with authority and leaving Zhao Chen, who was ignorant in these areas, amazed.

However, when Zhao Chen talked about physics and mathematics, the old man and the others immediately became like Zhao Chen had been, only able to listen without any chance to interject.

After half a month, when it was finally time to leave, the old man had an open and honest conversation with Zhao Chen. Of course, this conversation was only between Zhao Chen and the old man, and even Li Er and the muscular man Jiang Chao were excluded.

After this conversation, Zhao Chen received a black wooden token. Although he didn't understand what this token represented in the Hidden Sect, he could tell from the old man's expression when he gave it to him that it was significant.

In the spring, the Hidden Sect would send a group of people to Chang'an first. Once the Imperial Academy in Chang'an was established, they would send more people. This was Zhao Chen's response to Li Er.

Li Er ultimately agreed to the Hidden Sect settling in Chang'an, but on the condition that the Imperial Academy, established by the Hidden Sect, must be an official institution. In other words, the professors and assistants must be appointed by the Tang Dynasty and hold official positions.

No problem! After discussing with the old man, Zhao Chen immediately agreed, but with the condition that the appointed professors and assistants must first be recognized by them.

Li Er thought about it and agreed. Thus, the Imperial Academy in Chang'an, co-founded by the government and the Hidden Sect, was decided. Zhao Chen, trusted by both sides, transformed from a low-ranking official in the Physics Institute to the first chief professor of the Chang'an Imperial Academy!

The matter was resolved perfectly, and all parties got what they wanted. They just had to wait for the spring, when the Hidden Sect's people would arrive, to start construction and establish a high-level educational institution in Chang'an, similar to the Jixia Academy.

When the old man and his group arrived, they only had a dilapidated sled, which they had made on the spot after encountering Lao Weichi's grain convoy in Lantian.

However, when they left, they took two large carts full of things, making it look as if they had raided Zhao Chen in Chang'an.

But when Li Er's people tracked them to Luoyang, the old man and his group mysteriously disappeared, leaving the two carts of things untouched.

When Zhao Chen heard this news, he couldn't help but smile. Those things were meant to mislead Li Er. When everyone's attention was drawn to the two carts, the old man and his group had already left when they crossed the Yellow River.

The emperor's heart is unpredictable, especially someone with a strong control like Li Er. Therefore, Zhao Chen trusted the old man of the Hidden Sect more than Li Er, which was why he had been cautious since coming to the Tang Dynasty!

After the Hidden Sect left, Zhao Chen became much more relaxed. He spent his days playing chess with Ma Zhou or practicing calligraphy under Ma Zhou's systematic guidance, which was extremely difficult for Zhao Chen, who had grown up using a steel pen.

Each time Zhao Chen finished a sheet of paper and showed it to Ma Zhou, he noticed Ma Zhou's twitching mouth!

Today was the Minor New Year, the traditional day for worshipping the Kitchen God. After the Minor New Year, the Major New Year would follow, marking the beginning of a new chapter in the Tang Dynasty.

The Wude era would pass like a page in a calendar, ushering in a new era, the glorious Zhenguan era left by Li Er.

On the Minor New Year, every household would make sesame candy, dumplings, and set off firecrackers, creating a lively atmosphere. Zhang Lu had already called on the household to clean the house thoroughly, from front to back, inside and out.

The Kitchen God would report to heaven today, so the house had to be cleaned early, and the Kitchen God's mouth had to be smeared with sesame candy to prevent him from saying anything bad about the household. This was no trivial matter!

Seeing Zhang Lu and the others so enthusiastic, Zhao Chen was delighted and rolled up his sleeves to personally make dumplings in the kitchen. Dumplings were always better when made by oneself, but when Ma Zhou saw Zhao Chen's actions, his face twitched.

A gentleman should stay away from the kitchen, and Zhao Chen was now the chief professor of the Chang'an Imperial Academy. How could he easily go into the kitchen? However, seeing Zhao Chen so busy, Ma Zhou swallowed his words.

Over time, Ma Zhou had become somewhat numb to Zhao Chen's actions. He realized that Zhao Chen could be acceptable in public, but once he returned home, he became a different person.

The etiquette and rules that Ma Zhou believed should be followed were just decorations in Zhao Chen's household. Who else would see the head of a household teaching the servants to make dumplings in the kitchen?

"Whoever makes the dumplings will eat them. Those who don't make them will just watch others eat!" Zhao Chen stood by the cutting board, making dumplings, and noticed Ma Zhou about to leave. He deliberately raised his voice and said to the people around him.

Ma Zhou, who was about to leave, stopped abruptly when he heard Zhao Chen's words. His facial muscles twitched, and he finally took a deep breath and said stiffly, "I don't know how to do this!"

"You can learn!" Zhao Chen, having made a hat-shaped dumpling and praised by the people around him, turned to Ma Zhou with a smile and said, "Brother Ma, if you don't know, I can teach you!"

There was no way to avoid it. Ma Zhou gritted his teeth, sighed deeply, and with a look of determination, washed his hands and joined the group making dumplings.

Flat dumplings, hat-shaped dumplings, boat-shaped dumplings—Zhao Chen made them in various styles, making the people around him stare in amazement. Each one was exquisitely crafted, and just looking at them made one's mouth water.

Ma Zhou, with a negative attitude, made dumplings that were terrible. They would fall apart even before being put in the pot, just by sitting on the cutting board for a while.

However, when he saw Zhao Chen separating the dumplings made by everyone, clearly intending for each person to eat their own, Ma Zhou couldn't afford to be careless anymore!

Before the dumplings were even finished, Cheng Chumo burst in, shouting that the food made by his household's cook wasn't as good as Zhao Chen's, and he couldn't let his stomach suffer on the Minor New Year.

Zhao Chen was speechless. The cooks in Cheng Chumo's household were all trained by him, and although their skills weren't perfect, they were much better than before!

But it was a brother, and you couldn't expose his true intentions, which were to drink Zhao Chen's wine.

Since Cheng Chumo entered, Ma Zhou's gaze had been fixed on Zhao Chen's face, clearly meaning that if Cheng Chumo wanted to eat, he should also make dumplings.

"Cheng Chumo is just a rough man!" Zhao Chen explained to Ma Zhou.

Hearing this, Ma Zhou bitterly withdrew his gaze and silently continued making dumplings.

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