Chapter 2, The Summer of Fishing

Is it fun? On the side, supporting Zhang Yuan, the little servant Wu Ling pouted and thought to herself: Then why don't you blind yourself!

Zhang Yuan slowly walked over and said, "Xiao Wu, let me fish."

Zhang Yuan understood Zhang E's temperament; she would not give up until she achieved her goals. In the past, Zhang Yuan would have simply watched, as he was not afraid of the light when he closed his eyes after removing the blindfold, and he would still have a fine fan to show for it. However, the current Zhang Yuan was no longer the same as before; he seemed to have changed fundamentally and would not allow himself to be manipulated.

Zhang Yuan took a step back

Wuling wanted to remind the young master, but he remembered that the young master had forbidden him from speaking. He could only tightly press his lips together, watching the fishing float move incessantly, feeling anxious inside. The young master, however, remained calm, his hands steady, seemingly unaware that the fish had already taken the bait.

Zhang Yuan replied: "No."

The group of carefree youths in the dining class is filled with endless laughter and joy

Zhang E is not the kind of rough and uncouth person. Moreover, we are all of the same clan, so it would not be good to forcefully remove Zhang Yuan's eye mask and create a conflict. He closed his folding fan and then with a "whoosh" opened it again, saying to Zhang Yuan: "Jiezi, take off your eye mask and let me have a look, and I will give you this folding fan. This is the fan you have been wanting, made by Shen Shaolou from Suzhou"

How is it, Jiezi?" Zhang E urged.

Zhang E shook her bamboo folding fan, squinting her eyes as she looked up and down at Zhang Yuan. She was very interested in the blue cloth eye mask that Zhang Yuan was wearing and asked, "Jiezi, does Lu Yungu think your eyes might go blind?"

Zhang Yuan and the librarian furrowed their brows. This young master Zhang, whose full name is Zhang E, courtesy name Yanke, is sixteen years old and ranks third among his cousins. This is the ranking of the younger generation of the Western Zhang family (Zhang Yuan belongs to the Eastern Zhang family and does not participate in the ranking of the Western Zhang family). The Eastern Zhang family is poor and weak, but it is still a prominent clan; its poverty is only relative to the Western Zhang family. The Zhang Yuan family has servants and maids, and their basic needs are met, but compared to Zhang E's family background, it is like heaven and earth apart. The Western Zhang family is wealthy, and the affluence of Zhang E's family is unparalleled in the Western Zhang clan.

Wow, it's a shad, and this shad is quite large, measuring over 4 inches in length

Zhang Baosheng purchased a Xuande bronze furnace for fifty taels of silver. Zhang E took it out to play with, finding the copper color old and not very shiny. She intended to place it in the charcoal fire for refining, but unexpectedly, it melted. She merely rolled her eyes, as if nothing had happened

Wuling quickly got up, helped the young master sit on the large round stone, reattached the fishing bait, and handed the fishing rod to the young master. Then he stood aside and thought: "The young master's temperament is even more impatient than mine; if I can't catch anything, he certainly won't! Moreover, since the young master can't see the fishing float on the water's surface, how can he know if a fish is on the hook? Perhaps I should remind him later"

Although Zhang Yuan's mother, Madam Lü, dotes on him, their family circumstances cannot be compared to those of Zhang E's mother, Madam Wang. Zhang E receives as much silver as he desires, while Zhang Yuan's mother only provides him with six coins of silver as pocket money each month. It is said that six coins of silver can sustain a family of three for half a month, which is not insignificant. However, since Zhang Yuan associates with the extravagant Zhang E, he naturally feels that even a little more than half a tael of silver is quite meager

Wuling responded with a sound, stuck out his tongue, and thought to himself: "The young master has become a deity; he even knows what I am thinking!" He then pursed his lips and squatted to the side, watching the young master fish with his eyes covered.

Wuling stepped out from the arch of the bridge and glanced towards the opposite bank, then quickly ran back to report to Zhang Yuan: "It is the troupe from West Zhang, with more than ten people, coming this way. Uh, Young Master Zhang San is also among them. Could it be that they are here to enjoy the coolness as well? There are so many pavilions and towers in West Zhang—"

Zhang Edao: "That's not fun"

Zhang Cai and Wu Ling are not very literate, and it is indeed a challenge for them to read; their writing is filled with mistakes, and even Zhang Yuan himself finds it exhausting to listen

The voice of the duck is Zhang E, and the sixteen-year-old Zhang E has already entered the voice-changing period, speaking in a deep and hoarse tone that is not very pleasant to hear

Young Zhang Yuan did not know much about the clan uncles and clan brothers of the West Zhang family. He only knew that his great-grandfather and Zhang E's great-grandfather were biological brothers. Zhang E's great-grandfather, Zhang Yuanbian, was the top scholar in the imperial examination of the fifth year of the Longqing era, while his own great-grandfather remained merely a shengyuan until old age. It was from that generation that the distance between the West Zhang and East Zhang families began to widen

Just at that moment, the young master raised his right hand holding the rod, and with a soft "whoosh," a small gray-black flat fish leaped out, swaying gently in the air, its tail flicking continuously.

The young master was focused on his fishing rod, occasionally giving his wrist a gentle shake, causing the bait and the book in the water to move as well. After a while, the float made of goose feathers on the water's surface began to dip repeatedly, indicating that a fish had taken the bait

For some unknown reason, the melodious sounds of silk and bamboo from across the high wall quickly fell silent, whereas in the past, there would be a lively performance of music and song for quite a while. Young Xinu Wuling felt somewhat bored, worried that the young master would have to return to listen to his reading if there were no more tunes to enjoy. Looking back, the young master was sitting there, gently tapping his knee with a folding fan, seemingly lost in thought.

Zhang Yuan recalled that last year, he accompanied Zhang E to the Daguantang in Xicheng for a visit. At a fan shop, they saw a folding fan made by the renowned Suzhou craftsman Shen Shaolou. Zhang E immediately purchased one. Although Zhang Yuan longed to possess such a masterfully crafted fan, he could only hold it in his hand and sway it, feeling quite proud. Unfortunately, his financial situation was tight, and he could only watch enviously, unable to afford it. The folding fan made by Shen Shaolou was priced at 2 taels and 8 coins of silver, which was far too extravagant.

Young master, let us return first

Wuling Mangdao: "Third Young Master, my young master cannot be exposed to light, as instructed by the renowned physician Lu."

How about this, Third Brother? Let us play a game of chess. If you win, I will give you the eye mask. If I win, you will find two people each day to read to me. What do you say?

The young master now seems quite thoughtful and appears to be eager to learn and reflect deeply

As this person spoke, he quickly turned down to the bridge, followed by a cacophony of footsteps, laughter, and an enticing fragrance. It was the group of performers from the "Culinary Troupe," all handsome youths around the ages of fourteen or fifteen.

Zhang Yuan stood still and replied, "Much better, thank you for your concern, Third Brother"

Xia Xinu went to help Zhang Yuan in Wuling. Wuling was somewhat afraid of that Young Master Zhang, as he was unpredictable in his moods. He often teased Zhang Yuan in the past, and on one occasion, for no apparent reason, he slapped Wuling across the face, only to toss him half a tael of broken silver, claiming it was disaster relief money, before laughing and leaving. Although Wuling was a household servant and had received half a tael of silver, he still felt humiliated.

Zhang E enjoys enticing others, often using money to achieve his ends, and he has found this method to be consistently effective. He does not mind allowing others to gain tangible benefits; what he desires is for them to change their original intentions and submit to him under his inducements

Seeing Zhang Yuan silent, wearing an eye mask, he seemed a bit inscrutable. He approached and said: "Jiezi, let me see your eyes; I can tell at a glance if they can be healed." He reached out to remove Zhang Yuan's eye mask.

As for Zhang E's father, Zhang Baosheng, Zhang Yuan knew that Zhang Baosheng was a scholar who passed the imperial examination in the twenty-fourth year of the Wanli era. He was skilled in calligraphy and painting, had a keen eye for appreciation, and socialized widely across the world. Dong Qichang and Chen Meigong were among his close friends. He was a leading collector in Shaoxing Prefecture, amassing a vast collection that included Qin bronze, Han jade, Zhou ding, Shang yi, Ge kiln lacquerware, factory boxes, Xuanzhu, famous calligraphy and paintings, Jin tablets, and Tang qin, leaving nothing uncollected. However, his only son, Zhang E, was a complete prodigal. Although he was exceptionally intelligent, he was also very playful. Zhang E's playfulness was not the typical mischief of an ordinary youth.

Young Master Wuling made a face and continued fishing. He was impatient, and as soon as a fish bit the bait, he would lift the fishing rod, which is why he never caught any fish. Angrily, he cursed the fish on hetushu.com, kicking his feet incessantly, causing small stones to fall into the water, which scared all the fish away

The burning of the Xuande furnace was witnessed firsthand by the young Zhang Yuan. In the past, Zhang Yuan would follow this cousin, who was more than half a decade older than him, around all day. He greatly envied the extravagant demeanor displayed by Zhang Ao and wished he could be born into the wealthy family of the West Zhang.

Zhang Edao: "Being blind isn't really a big deal; after all, there is a blind master in the dining class, and his performance on the sanxian is truly exceptional"

Just as I was thinking this, I heard the young master say: "Xiao Wu, do not make a sound"

Zhang Yuan let out a sound of acknowledgment, placing his hand on Wuling's shoulder as they just stepped out of the stone arch. Suddenly, a voice with a distinct quack from the bridge called out: "So it's you, Jiezi. I heard that you have an eye ailment, but I have been too busy to visit you. Please don't take offense. Is your eye any better now?"

At the beginning of the year in Hangzhou, Zhang E saw a family raising goldfish at the Beiguan Street Market. Five small goldfish, colorful and adorable, caught his eye, and he wanted to buy them. The owner refused to sell, but he insisted and eventually paid thirty taels of silver to acquire them. In the Wanli period, thirty taels of silver, when calculated based on the price of rice, would be equivalent to twenty-five thousand RMB four hundred years later. On the boat back to Shaoxing, all five goldfish died one after another; he discarded each one without any sense of loss.

The shad fish was lively and jumping around in the bamboo basket, which delighted Wuling. He quickly pinched off another piece of the curved worm to hang on the fishing hook, allowing the young master to continue fishing

Wuling was overjoyed, chasing after the fish, and praised, "Young Master is truly impressive; even with his eyes covered, he can still catch fish"

However, I heard the young master say: "Someone is coming from the direction of West Zhang, let's see who it is"