Confucian and Taoist scholar

Chapter 130 Sharing
Li Zhao said with a smile, "People come and go in Hongjiang for so many years, but no one has ever seen the Hongjiang God. In addition, due to our Anguo ban, who is so fearless as to become a god here? Brother Lu, don't worry about these things."

Lu Zheng nodded slightly and said, "Just curious."

Li Zhao smiled and said, "Brother Zhang is a local and is very familiar with this place. Today is Qixi Festival, so it will be lively for a few days. Let him take us around to satisfy Brother Lu's curiosity!"

Li Zhao paused and continued, "It's almost noon. We found a local boatman and ordered a fish feast. Brother Lu, you've arrived just in time. You can enjoy a feast."

Li Zhao then asked the guards to row the boat to the booked boatman.

Lu Zheng felt a little stuffy in the cabin, so he went outside.

Li Zhao and others also stood by the boat, admiring the scenery outside.

Zhang Bo stood aside and said, "It's not the busiest time yet. In the afternoon, there will be more boats coming here. At night, boats of all sizes will be hung with lanterns, and people will be setting off lanterns on the riverside. It will be an even more beautiful sight. There's also a market on the riverside. You can take Brother Lu there in the afternoon."

"Okay." Lu Zheng smiled.

Li Zhao grinned and said, "When we get to the market later, if you guys want to buy anything, I, Li, will treat you!"

"Brother Li must be made to bleed today!" a student laughed.

Li Zhao smiled and said, "Take it easy. At least leave me some money for the trip back."

The other students smiled when they heard this. This is how they usually have fun and treat each other.

Of course, I don’t spend money lavishly, I always have a plan in mind.

Lu Zheng looked at Li Zhao and asked, "How long have you been studying here?"

Li Zhao said, "We must return to the academy on the tenth of this month, or at the latest on the fifteenth. Brother Lu, do you want to go back to Kaiyang County with us?"

"As for me, it may take a while, so I won't be able to accompany you back." Lu Zheng said with a smile.

Li Zhao put his arm around Lu Zheng's shoulders and said with envy, "Brother Lu is the best. He doesn't need to go to school, but he can go anywhere. It would be great if I could be like you."

Lu Zheng couldn't help but laugh and said, "Brother Li, if you work hard and pass the imperial examination, I think you will get what you want."

"Hey, it's not that easy to pass the imperial examination. With my limited literary talent, I don't know how long it will take me to learn." Li Zhao shook his head.

Li Zhao hurriedly said, "Brother Lu, please don't talk about this while we're out having fun today..."

Seeing this, Lu Zheng didn't want to say anything more to spoil everyone's fun.

The group quickly arrived at a small pier on the river by boat.

There were several simple boats parked at the dock, and boatwomen were cleaning the fish on the boats.

Zhang Bo waved to the woman on the boat, called out to her, and asked her to prepare the meal.

Upon hearing this, the woman quickly responded respectfully.

Li Zhao whispered to Lu Zheng, "Don't be fooled by this humble place. This family's fish banquet is even better than those in restaurants. Brother Zhang has taken us there several times before! We finally managed to reserve a table today. But since this is our first time inviting Brother Lu to dinner, we really shouldn't be in a place like this. Let's go to a big restaurant in the county tomorrow and set up a table there. It's a proper way to welcome Brother Lu!"

"It's fine here. You know I don't care about this kind of thing. Let's not be extravagant." Lu Zheng said.

Li Zhao nodded and said, "Okay, we are all brothers, let's not talk about that!"

Everyone got off the boat and went ashore.

At a place by the river, the attendants brought by Zhang Bo were already waiting there. They had set up a place to rest, boiled hot water, and laid out exquisite fruits and cakes.

The boatman and his children also came out to greet them and greeted them respectfully.

When the man saw Lu Zheng, he was stunned for a moment, then bowed respectfully and said, "Mr. Lu, the scholar!"

Zhang Bo, who was standing by, couldn't help but exclaim, "I haven't even introduced Master Lu to you yet, and you actually recognize him?"

The man smiled and said, "Not long ago, I went to Kaiyang County and had the honor of meeting Mr. Lu."

That time, he saw Lu Zheng at a dock, and he was fortunate enough to obtain a piece of literary treasure, which he still carefully kept at home.

Lu Zheng looked at the man, smiled and said softly: "I remember you."

The man became more and more delighted when he heard this, and his expression became a little excited.

"I see." Zhang Bo said with a smile, "Brother Lu is my honored guest. I must prepare better food today."

"Of course, of course!" The man nodded repeatedly, "Please wait a moment, my dears!"

Zhang Bo nodded, asked everyone to sit by the river, and asked the servants to serve tea.

Zhang Bo brought a plate of fruit and handed it to Lu Zheng. "Brother Lu, try some. These are fresh fruits. These are lychees, grown at home... They're only found in the south, but someone in my family is good at growing fruit trees. They've managed to grow two lychee trees, and they produce a good crop every year. It's a rare treat, so give them a try, Brother Lu."

Seeing this, Lu Zheng was slightly surprised. Litchi was indeed not produced in Anguo. It was indeed rare for Zhang Bo to have such a tree in his home.

Lu Zheng reached out and took two, peeled one and gave it to Qingwan first, but Qingwan didn't eat it, so he put it in his own mouth.

These lychees tasted not much different from the ones I had in my previous life, but they tasted better.

Zhang Bo's eyes lit up and he said, "Brother Lu, this doesn't seem to be the first time you've eaten this fruit?"

Looking at Lu Zheng's technique of peeling the fruit, he was even more skilled and graceful than him.

Lu Zheng smiled slightly. "This is the first time I've eaten lychees in my life, but I've read some books and know a little about them. You can't eat too much of them, as they can easily cause internal heat..."

Everyone suddenly realized what was going on. No one cared about the first few words Lu Zheng said, which actually had another meaning.

A few people were enjoying the scenery and chatting by the river. After a while, the boatman brought in plates of food.

There are fresh and fragrant milky white fish bone soup, thin fish sashimi, and special flavored cured fish cubes...

With more than a dozen ways to prepare it, it can indeed be called a full fish feast.

Li Zhao sat next to Lu Zheng and introduced the characteristics of each dish to him.

Lu Zheng tasted every dish and found them to be delicious.

Li Zhao said with a smile: "It seems that it is quite suitable for Brother Lu's taste. By the way, Miss Qingwan, don't you want to eat these?"

Li Zhao couldn't help but look at Qing Wan who was still hiding in Lu Zheng's chest pocket.

Zhang Bo, who was standing by, said, "How could they, as spirits of plants and trees, eat hot food? They should drink the morning dew."

Lu Zhengdao: "She also eats dew and some fruits, but she likes spirit stones the most."

"Spirit stones? That's right. How could fairies need spirit stones for cultivation? Spirit stones are not cheap and not easy to maintain." Li Zhao couldn't help but say.

He had no spiritual stones on him, only some ordinary money.

Lu Zheng smiled and said, "It's not bad. I have killed some monsters and ghosts, so I have some spirit stones."

As he spoke, Lu Zheng took out a spirit stone and handed it to Qing Wan, letting her absorb the spiritual energy herself.

Li Zhao glared at Lu Zheng, "Brother Lu, I'm afraid you've gained a lot along the way. If I had known earlier, I should have let you treat us!"

Li Zhao thought to himself that Lu Zheng was living in poverty like before, but he could take out these spirit stones so easily, so his family background was much richer than theirs.

Lu Zheng smiled and said, "Sure."

Li Zhao waved his hands and said, "Forget it. Brother Zhang is treating at noon, and I'll treat you in the afternoon. Tonight, we'll all go to the flower boat party, and it's free... Tomorrow, tomorrow I'm going to give Brother Lu a good meal!"

"Yes, but I won't invite you to a place like a brothel." Lu Zheng said.

Li Zhao leaned back and said quickly, "I dare not go. My father has already warned me this time. If I go to a place like that again, he will break my legs... I have almost never entered a place of prostitution! They can testify for me."

The others listened and nodded with laughter.

Zhang Bo said, "Brother Lu's deeds at Mingyue Tower were reported to us a few days ago. Now, many county middle school students are afraid to go to such places, for fear of being criticized and scolded... Of course, there are still some shameless people who go to those places secretly."

Li Zhao chuckled and said, "We were staking out people outside a few days ago and caught a few acquaintances. We mocked them."

Lu Zhengxin thought that these people really had no fun finding fun...

If Dean Xiao knew that this is how these people came out to study, I wonder what he would think.

Li Zhao couldn't help but come to his senses when he saw Lu Zheng's slightly strange look.

He coughed dryly and said, "We were just squatting there playing, we weren't watching all the time. We still haven't fallen behind in our daily homework. We still have to go back and ask the dean to check it."

Lu Zheng shook his head, stood up and said, "I'll go find the boatman to make some more food. You guys take your time eating."

Zhang Bo said, "Just have a servant go and give the order. Why does Brother Lu have to go in person?"

Lu Zheng explained, "I brought some ingredients and I'd like you all to try them."

When everyone heard this, they immediately became interested.

Lu Zheng went to the boat, borrowed a stove, used fish soup as the base, and then cut some dragon meat into thin slices and put it into the pot.

After a while, a special meaty aroma filled the air, which was very pleasant.

The boatman smelled the scent and his eyes lit up.

Lu Zheng took a bowl, scooped out a few slices of meat and handed it to the man.

"The meat of this monster is a great tonic. Just one piece per person in your family will be enough. If you don't take more, don't accuse me of being stingy."

The man was surprised to hear this, thanked him repeatedly, and carefully took the bowl.

Lu Zheng took the remaining pot of meat out.

When Li Zhao and his companions saw Lu Zheng personally bringing the pot, they stood up curiously.

"What's that smell? It smells so good." Li Zhao took a closer look. "What kind of meat is this?"

"This is the meat of a demon beast. I'll let you taste it, but don't eat too much. I'll scoop it out for you."

Lu Zheng put down the pot and personally scooped broth for everyone, even the guards and servants next to him had a share.

Li Zhao was curious, so he picked up a thin piece of meat and tasted it. His eyes lit up immediately and he felt that it was indescribably delicious.

After tasting the meat, the other people were also shocked.

Zhang Bo was surprised. "I've never tasted such delicious monster meat before. What kind of monster did it come from?"

"It's hard to say. Just eat, everyone. It's not that you can't eat meat." Lu Zheng said with a smile.

Seeing Lu Zheng also eating meat with a bowl, everyone didn't have any doubts, but they were very curious. Unfortunately, Lu Zheng didn't want to say it clearly.

So everyone held their bowls and savored the food slowly, without saying a word. They were really enjoying the delicacy and didn't even have time to talk.

(End of this chapter)