Chapter 1593 A different kind of party
Since Zhenhai Gate left Danzhou City, the location has been very close to Danzhou Bay. Standing on a slightly higher ground, you can see the scene in the bay. The Fengming Villa mentioned in the notice is located not far from the coastline of Danzhou Bay. However, there are actually no tall hills in this place, so the name of this "village" is somewhat unworthy of its name. Of course, Xun Pengcheng could understand this. After all, naming it "So-and-so Villa" would sound more elegant and imposing. If it were named Zhangzhuang, Lizhuang, and Wangjiazhuang, it would obviously not be in line with the style of the cultural circle.
Since he had the confidence to use the title "Mountain Villa" when naming it, the scale of the building was naturally not small. Xun Pengcheng had not taken a few steps out of the city gate when he saw a tall archway standing next to the road ahead, and the archway Below is a flat stone road about ten feet wide. The road condition looks even better than the official road, but the road is not long. Twenty or thirty feet away is the very conspicuous gate of Fengming Villa.
There were several people standing under the archway. When Xun Pengcheng walked up to him, one person stood up and asked proactively: "Are you here to attend a poetry club gathering?"
Xun Pengcheng nodded and said: "Exactly."
The man asked again: "Do you have an invitation from the poetry club?"
Xun Pengcheng responded: "There is no invitation. I came here because I saw the street notice. Do I need an invitation to participate?"
The man responded: "That's not true. My master posted the notice in the hope that more talented people will participate. However, since you don't have an invitation, you still need to register before you can enter. Please forgive me."
Xun Pengcheng thought to himself whether you meant "talented" or "wealthy". This is probably worth studying. People without money may not be able to enter the gate of this villa. Although Xun Pengcheng came on foot and did not bring any entourage, he was dressed in an improved version of Haihan style custom-made in Sanya. The material was high-grade silk produced in Zhejiang, and his deerskin sandals were also the most famous shoes in Sanya. Shop for the new styles that will be released this summer, and you can’t buy this outfit without spending two or three hundred bucks. Anyone who knows a little bit about things will naturally not treat him as an ordinary person.
The person in charge of greeting Xun Pengcheng obviously had some discernment. He was very polite to Xun Pengcheng from beginning to end and led him to the side. There was also a special table set up here, and there was a person sitting with a pen. It seemed that he was responsible for registration. Guest status.
Xun Pengcheng asked: "What needs to be registered?"
"Just tell me your name and where you are from."
Xun Pengcheng thought that this was simple, but he still had an extra thought. Instead of directly reporting his real name, he changed his name to Cheng Peng and claimed that he came from Sanya to visit Danzhou. If something happens here, using a false name will give you a better chance of getting out. If the other party still asks for identification number plate to prove it, then he is not going to go in.
Fortunately, this registration seemed to be just a formality. After the other party completed the registration, they arranged for a boy to take Xun Pengcheng in. Xun Pengcheng felt a lot more relieved when he saw that the registration process was also very loose and he didn't have any special precautions.
This Fengming Villa has white walls and green tiles, and a large entrance. It does look like the residence of a wealthy family. The rockery courtyard in the courtyard is very exquisite and rare even in Sanya. There are already a dozen guests in the main hall of the villa, all of them are young men. Judging from their clothes, they must be Confucian scholars, but they are all quite ordinary clothes, and Xun Pengcheng's rather elegant clothes are particularly conspicuous among them. .
These people who arrived before Xun Pengcheng seemed to know each other. When Xun Pengcheng came in, these people were chatting in twos and threes. However, Xun Pengcheng had been working as a field reporter in Sanya for such a long time, so he was not afraid of strangers. He immediately walked up to talk to them, hoping to learn more about the organizers and content of the event from their conversations.
These people didn't seem to be too surprised by the appearance of the stranger Xun Pengcheng, nor did they reject his joining, and they soon started chatting with each other. Xun Pengcheng relied on his conversation experience accumulated in the past two years, and it didn't take him too long to figure out where the literati who attended the party came from.
What surprised Xun Pengcheng was that these men were not famous figures in the local cultural circles. Most of them were just current students of local academies in Danzhou. And listening to the content of their conversation, it seemed that they were not discussing poetry and songs, but just chatting about local current affairs in Danzhou. Xun Pengcheng inquired about the organizer of the event, but found that the organizer seemed not to have shown up yet. However, these students were not in a hurry. They just advised Xun Pengcheng to be calm and they would see the organizer later. However, Xun Pengcheng believed that these people had reservations about themselves, because they all considered themselves members of the Haifeng Poetry Society, but they deliberately did not talk about the real content of the gathering, which was obviously something that was not convenient for outsiders to know.
There are tea and cakes for your own use in the hall, and there are two large bookshelves lined up against the wall for reading. Everyone can sit or stand, chat in a low voice, or read books by themselves. If you have other needs, you can Tell the servants here. Although no host has come out to say hello so far, the atmosphere is quite relaxed. Although the content of the event did not seem to be a poetry meeting, Xun Pengcheng saw that almost all of the people gathered here were scholars, and his uneasiness was relieved a lot.
Xun Pengcheng saw that he could not get any more information from these poetry club members, so he was not in a hurry to avoid leaving traces. Then he walked to the bookshelf on his own and looked at the books placed on it. What was a little different from what he imagined was that the books placed on the bookshelf were not collections of classics and history or collections of personal poems, but some reference books related to vocational education. Xun Pengcheng randomly picked out a book and read it, and he knew all the words in the book. , but the content is incomprehensible.
Seeing this, a person next to him took the initiative to chat and said: "This "Shipbuilding Notes" is written by Master Zhang from the Shengli Port Shipyard. The shipbuilding technology described in it is quite difficult to understand. Since you can understand this book, you can read it later." Can you explain it to us? ”
Xun Pengcheng thought to himself that if I could understand this book, I would have gone to work in the shipyard long ago. Zhang Tiangui of Shengli Port Shipyard is respectfully called "Master Zhang" in the industry, and Xun Pengcheng also knows it. However, even people in the industry may not be able to fully understand such highly professional writings, and he is even further behind.
However, Xun Pengcheng was embarrassed to admit that he didn't understand the content at all. He just responded vaguely: "I can't fully understand Master Zhang's secret book. How dare I explain it randomly and mislead my disciples!"
The man didn't think there was anything wrong with Xun Pengcheng's statement. He shook his head and replied: "Your Excellency is right. Master Zhang's skills can only be learned by his own disciples... Then it is better to read the "A Brief Analysis of Hull Design" next to him. ", written by Director Sun of the Ministry of Shipping. This book is only available to teachers in various colleges and is no longer easily available on the market. You may find it useful." Come on, I don’t want to talk nonsense with this guy anymore, so I won’t talk to him anymore. The other party didn't realize anything was wrong, and said a few more words. Seeing that Xun Pengcheng didn't respond, he just thought he was reading a book and didn't hear anything, so he took out a copy of "A New Examination of the Nautical Charts of the South China Sea" from the bookshelf. I walked to the side and sat down to study.
Xun Pengcheng knew that his knowledge was limited, and if he wanted to show off as an expert here, he would be exposed immediately. He stopped reading the book, lest anyone come over to talk to him about these knowledge that he didn't understand at all.
After waiting for a while, a few more people came, but they were all like Xun Pengcheng. They were not invited by the host, but after seeing the notice, they couldn't restrain their curiosity and came to join in the fun. Xun Pengcheng paid attention to the clothes of these people. They should all be people with good economic conditions. It is said that two of them also brought servants, but according to the party rules, the servants could not enter the venue and could only wait outside.
After waiting for about a cup of tea, the arrogant event organizer finally showed up.
Xun Pengcheng had also guessed the identity of the organizer before. At first, he thought that since this was a poetry society's literary gathering event, the organizer must be a local virtuous elder or a well-known local literati. . He had heard that Yan Mingjun, the former magistrate of Danzhou, stayed in Danzhou to preside over cultural affairs after surrendering to Haihan. Perhaps he convened this gathering.
But later, Xun Pengcheng felt that the poetry society was acting strangely, and the way it was organized was not what local leaders should do. Moreover, judging from the fact that it dared to publicly post notices in Danzhou City, it might also have something to do with the local government. Unexplainable relationship. Of course, no matter who the organizer is, after entering the villa in person, Xun Pengcheng added another identity to him, that is, a rich man.
But Xun Pengcheng saw that this person did not look like a famous scholar in the mixed cultural circle, nor did he look like a schemer full of bad intentions. However, he did have an expectation that the image of this person fit very well, that is, he was a rich man. This man was about forty or fifty years old. He looked like the Maitreya Buddha in the temple. He greeted everyone with a smile on his face as soon as he came in. He was shaped like a big wooden barrel, and he looked even fatter in a white silk robe. Xun Pengcheng I estimate that this man probably weighs two hundred pounds.
"I just had something to do, so I've kept you waiting for so long!" The fat man bowed his hands and apologized to everyone in the hall.
The people from the Haifeng Poetry Club were obviously familiar with the fat man, and they all returned the favor and said, "You're welcome, Mr. Zhang!" "It's just a short wait, Mr. Zhang, don't worry about it!"
The fat man's eyes moved around the hall, and he had obviously noticed a few unfamiliar faces. He immediately greeted: "It seems that there are new friends joining us today. Let me introduce myself first... I, Zhang Jinbao, am the owner of this room, too." The organizer of this gathering.”
Xun Pengcheng couldn't help but asked: "Excuse me, Mr. Zhang, the street notice said that this gathering was for the Poetry Society to meet friends through literature. Why was it that no such event was arranged after we came?"
Zhang Jinbao followed the sound and looked at Xun Pengcheng. A person behind him immediately stepped forward and whispered a few words in his ear. Zhang Jinbao nodded and said, "Is this Brother Cheng's first time here? It's okay if you have questions. We will arrange for everyone to sit down. Let me explain how this activity works. ”
Since Xun Pengcheng came here out of curiosity, of course he had to find out the answer. And it didn't look like there was any danger in this place. He didn't intend to leave in a hurry. He immediately followed everyone and took a seat in the decorated venue in the hall. . However, the arrangement of the venue was somewhat different from Xun Pengcheng's impression of the poetry club's layout of sitting together. All positions were facing one direction, and in this direction was a wall. When Xun Pengcheng arrived, he noticed that there was a large rectangular black wall on this wall, which was almost exactly the same as the "blackboard" commonly seen in Haihan official educational institutions. And the seating arrangement of this venue is indeed more like a classroom.
But he was content with what he had come. Xun Pengcheng randomly found an empty seat and sat down, wanting to see what kind of medicine was sold in this golden gourd.
After everyone sat down, Zhang Jinbao walked to the front of the venue, stood in front of the blackboard, and said in a deep voice: "Since there are several new friends today, I will explain the reason for this opportunity. As everyone said, As you can see, the Haifeng Poetry Club is not actually a literary club that recites poems in the traditional sense, and the gatherings of the Poetry Club have little to do with literature. But don’t think that this is just a gathering of idlers. The members of the Haifeng Poetry Club are all. He is the leader in various local academies and will definitely be the leader in all walks of life in the future! ”
When Xun Pengcheng heard this, he felt that things were getting more and more interesting. If this golden treasure was not a boast, then he must have some great plan by organizing the top students from various academies.
Someone asked aloud: "Since it has nothing to do with literature, what is the meaning of the notice saying that we will make friends through literature? Isn't this deceiving people?"
Zhang Jinbao responded: "Since the Danzhou assassination five years ago, the government has established regulations that any meeting involving more than ten people must be made public first, otherwise disciplinary measures will be taken if found out. What we have discussed Although it's not illegal, I don't want to be too ostentatious, so I set up a poetry club and posted a public notice in the name of the literary society, and specifically stated that there would be a participation fee to prevent anyone from trying to cause trouble, but it was not necessarily a scam. , maybe if you sit for a while, you will understand the significance of arranging this gathering.”
The man added: "Since it's not illegal, why not make it public?"
Zhang Jinbao said: "Although it is not illegal, if it is written truthfully, the government may not allow this party to continue. So I can only pretend to be a literary party, and I hope this dear friend can forgive me. If you don't want to stay and waste time, you can come and go here. Do it yourself.”
When Xun Pengcheng heard these words, he was relieved of his worries. Since you can leave at any time, of course you need to find out what is going on in this place. Zhang Jinbao said that the government may not allow this gathering to be held, so there must be some content that would make the government jealous, but it would not violate the law.
(End of chapter)