The Great Seminary

Chapter 262 Two Sides (Part 1)

The following day, after the Lantern Festival, the hustle and bustle of Jinling City subsided.

Qiuhefang.

The children waited all night for Brother Song San to bring them meat buns and lead them to the neighboring market to see the lanterns, but their wish was not fulfilled.

When they met Song San again, they felt that he had become even more peaceful and approachable.

This emboldened the children to complain even more about him, arguing that he shouldn't have lied to them on the night of the Lantern Festival.

Unexpectedly, Song San did not show any remorse. Instead, he went home and took out his savings for his future wife.

They treated the complaining children to good food, drinks, and fun, making up for it.

After that, whenever someone he knew encountered difficulties and Song San learned of it, he would definitely do his best to help them.

In this way, he quickly squandered his family fortune and continued to work diligently every day.

When using the money they earned, they were extremely frugal, eating only watery soup with little oil and salt.
After taking off the royal blue fine cotton long gowns that 'Xiaoyaoju' had given to the staff, all they wore were patched and tattered clothes.

He spends money lavishly on others without expecting anything in return.

By the time Song San's mother was so angry that she jumped into the river, he was already a well-known 'philanthropist' throughout the entire town.

When his mother was being sent off, Song San, dressed in mourning clothes, knelt before the coffin, gazing at the thin-skinned coffin that the neighbors had pooled their money to buy.

She seemed to want to cry, but no matter what she did, not a single tear would fall.

After all, life and death are among the six desires in Buddhism.

It has already been enlightened by the secret methods of the "Golden Pipa Bone Guanyin Bodhisattva's Flesh Body Extinction and Transcendence Sutra".

How can one become attached to the idea of ​​'receiving alms, attaining liberation, and upholding good conduct'?

After the first month of the lunar calendar, on the third day of the third month, around 10:45 AM, which is the time of day.

The second floor of the "Early Spring" vegetarian restaurant at Zhihai Town Wharf.

A damp, cold sea breeze blew through the window.

However, because the bottom of the restaurant was bricked up to the ground floor and connected to the second floor by an iron cylinder, the wrought iron steam oven with flames rising in the furnace had enough heat.

The shop was still bustling with activity.

In front of a black lacquered square table.

After eating and drinking his fill, Zhang Gui rinsed his mouth with strong tea, then put the pure meatball he was chewing into his mouth with the tea. The meatball was equivalent to a hundred pounds of meat.

He took out a few letters from his pocket and read them carefully for a while, silently thinking to himself:

"That Shan Jiaojiao's 'mind control technique' is terrifying. Using such a method to guide people 'to goodness' is even more terrifying than murder."

It seems that the 'Putuoshan Sect' that Zhen Ciyun joined has a somewhat 'neither here nor there' kind of meaning.

However, religion is something that, unless you understand it as a kind of 'philosophical thought', is not normal.

In the past, the scientific world was dominated by cults, let alone the extraordinary world we live in today.

It was inevitable, it was inevitable.

He turned his head and activated the 'Devouring Raven' divine cluster within his body, drawing out a thin flame from the steam furnace.

He burned the letter in his hand to ashes.

He got up and went downstairs.

The restaurant owner, who ran his business on Zhang Gui's turf, naturally went out of his way to flatter him.
"Your Highness, please enjoy. Today's bean sprouts and radishes were freshly picked from the greenhouse."

Those craftsmen from the True Dragon Kingdom are truly skilled.

Whether it's a large steam furnace or a steam pipe greenhouse, they're all incredibly useful.

If it weren't for your wisdom back then, these barbarians from the outer seas would have had the opportunity to come to our Ming-Song Kingdom and show off their skills.

It's true that no one can enjoy that.

This is truly benefiting the people.

"When spring is the lean season, we in the south are still barely scraping by, while I hear there's another great famine in the north. Steam stoves and greenhouses are just nice-to-haves to make life more comfortable, things that add the finishing touches."

How can this be considered a benefit to the people?

I know Manager Qian meant well, but please don't say things like that again.

Zhang Gui sighed, took out a small gold coin weighing one tael from his sleeve, and tossed it onto the counter.

"Keep the change, and give each of the guys an extra salted goose egg for dinner."

"Tsk tsk tsk, there's no other dragon in the world as humble as you, a first-rank official..."

Zhang Gui waved his hand, ignoring the shopkeeper's flattery, and strode away.

His original plan was to wander around his mother's general store for a while, and then quietly teleport to Fresh Velvet Island.

Then he went to practice with Uesugi Kiryuga, the heir of one of the top three samurai families in Japan.

Unexpectedly, before even reaching the entrance of "Da Gui Grocery Store", they saw several heavily armed cargo ships with "Dragon and Tiger Flags" flying on them.

It slowly sailed into the berth at the dock.

This fleet was personally assigned by Zhang Gui to Lü Zhenduan, the former chief minister of the Dragon Tiger Army and now the governor of the Inner East Sea's "Nine Cities of Heavenly Crafts," for official business trips.

Now that he's back in Zhihai Town, he'll definitely have to see them as soon as possible.

So they simply waited where they were.

As the fleet anchored, the gangways were secured, and gangways were erected on the deck and at the dock, Lu Zhenduan's listless figure finally appeared among the long line of people disembarking.

Zhang Gui stepped forward to greet him.

They saw their own "rice bowl master" appear.

After enduring a long period of rough seas, the group, covered in dust and grime, rallied their spirits and put on a cheerful demeanor.

They bowed with their hands clasped and called out in unison, "Greetings, Your Highness."
"Greetings, General."

"Everyone has worked hard. Go to the yamen to report for duty and then go back to rest."

Zhang Guihui, with the insincere smile of someone in a position of power, approached Lü Zhenduan.

"Old Lu, this trip of yours took quite a while."

"Longhu, let's find a quiet place and I'll start the story from the beginning again."

"How about we go back to the ship?" Zhang Gui suggested.

Although it was a question, before Lü Zhenduan could answer, he activated the divine energy within his body, "Zongheng Ruyi," grabbed Lü Zhenduan by the collar, and leaped hundreds of steps in one bound.

It appeared on the deck of the Ironwood Turtle mechanical ship.

Lu Zhenduan shook his head blankly and gave a wry smile.
"Longhu, I've been tossed around on the ship so much these past few days that I've vomited all my bile."

"Can't we talk on the shore?"

"Alright, Lao Lü."

After the ironwood tortoise-shaped mechanical ship docked, its tortoise feet touched the ground underwater, making the deck as stable as land.

You're just feeling it in your head, so stop being so dramatic.

Tell me quickly what happened.

"On this voyage, the first place I went to was the New World Port City of the True Dragon People on Giant Snake Head Island."

I met their General Sonny Cadet again.

By offering full opening of ports to trade as a condition, we persuaded him to bring the "fish-dragon giant ship" at the appropriate time to help us subdue all the "Tiangong Island Cities" in the Inner East Sea.

My thinking was right. Don't be fooled by how arrogant those savages from the outer seas act when they're in power.

They dared to be so ignorant of the consequences and try to steal our Ming-Song Kingdom's Zhenhai Treasure Ship.

But they are unwilling and dare not actually engage in a direct conflict with a major mainland power.

(End of this chapter)