The rise of the poor

Chapter 2317 Great Ambitions

Zhu Ping'an arrived in Yingtian City and immediately went to pay his respects to Zhao Wenhua. After impeaching two former governors of Jiangnan who had fallen from power, Zhao Wenhua's influence in Jiangnan could no longer be described as merely "hot"; the term "uncrowned king" would be more appropriate.

Now that every move in Yingtian City is under Zhao Wenhua's control, and with Zhao Wenhua feeling triumphant, this face must be given to him.

Before Zhu Ping'an even arrived at Zhao Wenhua's residence, he saw a long procession of carriages and sedan chairs, with countless officials, gentry, and wealthy merchants lining up, each carrying heavy gifts: gold and jade jewelry, antiques and paintings, precious medicinal herbs, fine tea and wine, silk and spices, etc., piled up in carts and stretching for more than two miles.

It must be the group that came to pay their respects to Zhao Wenhua.

Sure enough, Zhu Pingan followed the procession to Zhao Wenhua's residence, which was also where the procession had originated.

The steward of Zhao Wenhua's mansion greeted guests at the gate, accepting all who came. He checked the gift list and, after confirming that everything was correct, beckoned his servants to put the gifts into the mansion's treasury. He accepted the gifts openly and honestly, and even recorded them in the accounts.

The clerk at the door kept rubbing his wrists; his hands were aching from recording so many gifts. He had filled two notebooks with gifts since morning, and his hands were sore from receiving so many gifts.

Most of the people queuing at the entrance had given gifts, exchanged a few pleasantries with the manager, and then left; they were not qualified to pay their respects to Zhao Wenhua in person.

Of course, their goal is to give gifts. Once the gifts are given out and recorded in the accounts, their goal is achieved.

Only a very small number of people were welcomed into the Zhao residence, either because they had deep connections or because they received generous gifts.

Zhu Pingan narrowed his eyes slightly. How many gifts must Zhao Wenhua have received? And why is he so blatant about accepting gifts, even keeping a record of it? Doesn't he care about keeping it a secret at all?! It seems Zhao Wenhua has become too arrogant.

Zhu Pingan twitched the corners of his mouth and climbed the steps.

Zhao Wenhua gave me a special pass back then, a key card stamped with Zhao Wenhua's private seal. Let's see if it works today.

"Hey, who are you? I've known for a while that something's off about you. If you want to see my master, go and line up at the back." The servant at the door saw Zhu Ping'an and quickly pointed at him, ordering him to join the queue. Even though he was just a servant, he was still treated with utmost respect by all the officials and gentry who came to see the master. So he felt quite superior to Zhu Ping'an.

The steward at the gate recognized Zhu Ping'an and immediately scolded the servant, "Zhao Er, are you blind? This is Governor Zhu of Zhejiang, a student of the master, one of his own. The master gave Governor Zhu a special pass, so he can enter the mansion to pay his respects at any time. There's no need to queue. Governor Zhu, the master specifically instructed me that if you come to pay your respects today, I should take you directly to the study to pay your respects."

"Thank you for your trouble, Manager Zhao." Zhu Ping'an bowed and thanked him. He hadn't expected that he wouldn't even need to use his travel pass; he could get through by simply scanning his face.

"You're too kind, Lord Zhu. Please come with me." Steward Zhao gestured to Zhu Ping'an.

"Please." Zhu Ping'an also gestured, and then followed Steward Zhao into the mansion under the envious gazes of everyone.

Zhu Pingan and Steward Zhao arrived at Zhao Wenhua's study. Steward Zhao went in to announce their arrival, and Hu Zongxian came out of the study to welcome Zhu Pingan in.

Inside the study, Zhao Wenhua was writing calligraphy at his desk when Zhu Pingan entered, just as Zhao Wenhua finished the last stroke.

"Hahaha, Zihou is here! Better late than never. I just finished washing up. Come and see how my calligraphy looks!"

Zhao Wenhua smiled and waved to Zhu Pingan, signaling Zhu Pingan to comment on the characters he had just written.

"Greetings, Master Zhao. Your student has come to read your masterpiece." Zhu Ping'an bowed and stepped forward to examine the calligraphy written by Zhao Wenhua. On the fine Xuan paper on the table, the ink of the four large characters "Great Ambitions" was still wet.

Zhao Wenhua's character is questionable, but to be fair, the four characters "大展鸿图" (meaning "great ambitions") are indeed well-written. The handwriting is flamboyant and elegant, and one can tell from the characters that Zhao Wenhua is extremely proud of himself.

However, just seeing those four words made background music start playing in my head, and I almost started swaying.

Zhu Pingan gave a thumbs up, smiled slightly, and joked, "It would be even better with a silver arowana in the pond."

"What do you mean?" Zhao Wenhua was stunned for a moment, a little confused, wondering what Zhu Pingan meant.

"What kind of fish is a silver arowana?" Hu Zongxian was also completely baffled; he had never heard of such a fish before.

It's normal not to know what it means. Silver arowanas are ornamental fish introduced from the Amazon River. It would be strange if you knew what it meant.

Zhu Pingan smiled slightly and casually remarked, "Great ambitions unfold, fish and dragons transform; a golden carp is no ordinary fish in a pond, it will become a dragon once it encounters wind and clouds."

"Hehe, Zihou, you flatter me." Zhao Wenhua couldn't help but chuckle and waved his hand modestly.

"Lord Zhu's description is quite accurate. Lord Zhao's calligraphy is like a dragon soaring into the sky, flowing and leaping, splashing ink to form clouds, spraying water to turn into mist, and exuding a sense of pride."

Hu Zongxian also joined in flattering Zhao Wenhua, praising Zhao Wenhua's calligraphy as being like a dragon soaring into the sky.

"You two are praising me so much I'm almost dizzy," Zhao Wenhua couldn't help but chuckle.

“Come on, everyone gets a share. Here’s a piece of calligraphy for you, and here’s a piece of calligraphy for you.” Zhao Wenhua said, and then picked up his brush and wrote another piece with the same content, “Great Ambitions”. He gave one to Zhu Pingan and the other to Hu Zongxian, and smiled as he encouraged the two of them, “Let’s work together to achieve great things and transform ourselves.”

"Thank you very much, Master Zhao/Lord Zhao." Zhu Pingan and Hu Zongxian accepted the calligraphy presented by Zhao Wenhua with both hands.

"When I get back, I will definitely hang it in my study to constantly remind myself and never forget Lord Zhao's encouragement to work together to achieve great things and transform the world."

Hu Zongxian carefully blew away the ink and treasured the calligraphy given to him by Zhao Wenhua.

“That’s right, Merlin’s awareness is correct. Now is the time to make great strides, and we must not slack off.” Zhao Wenhua was very arrogant towards Hu Zongxian, his smile widening as he looked at Zhu Ping’an.

Uh

It's my turn to take the picture.

Zhu Ping'an understood without feeling guilty. He was quite adept at being hypocritical, and if he wanted to achieve something, he had to flatter Zhao Wenhua. So, Zhu Ping'an carefully put the calligraphy away, patted it lightly through his clothes, and smiled as he said to Zhao Wenhua, "Thank you for your generosity, Master Zhao. Now my Zhu family has another heirloom."

"Hahaha, no, no, it's not that bad."

Zhao Wenhua, beaming with joy at the occasion, was extremely pleased with himself, constantly being flattered by Hu Zongxian and Zhu Pingan. (End of Chapter)