ATPnovel Chapter 38, This is like something out of a world classic.
Chapter 38, This is like something out of a world classic.
Lin Zhou had read books, but he hadn't studied history. His knowledge of the Jin and Song people came from movies and TV series.
In his understanding, the history of the Song Dynasty did not include the Jingkang, Taiping, Shaoxing, and Jingtai periods; it only included the period before and after Yue Fei.
Before Yue Fei, the Song Dynasty could still survive if they took a chance. But after Yue Fei, the Song Dynasty was doomed to a quick death.
But when he was actually in this world, he realized that the few words in the book were actually a jigsaw puzzle pieced together by millions of people.
The Jurchens weren't as wicked as imagined, nor were the Song people as weak as thought. There were indeed different classes, but the difference between ordinary Jurchens and ordinary Song people wasn't significant. In the eyes of the superior Jurchens and superior Song people…
They're all dogs.
They're not even as good as dogs.
"Isn't this just common sense? It's the same in the capital. Those lazy, poor people deserve to starve to death. We don't have that much food to feed them. Life is better now. In the past, many people would starve to death during the winter."
When such words came from the mouth of a teenage girl in the manner of "it should be this way," Lin Zhou knew that this was not a simple matter of opinion, but a set of values based on her upbringing.
Resources are scarce, so people who can't create value should just die. This is a kind of simple value system, and at least in the present, it's impossible to argue whether it's right or wrong, because people really do starve to death in the winter in Dajin.
"Don't talk about these things, they're boring. Tell me about your experiences at sea." Miss Red Willow fiddled with a bar of soap in her hand, looking at Lin Zhou with anticipation. "I've never seen the sea in my life."
His brother, who had been carrying a music box, had long since disappeared. He said he was going to see what else was prepared for his mother, but judging from his furtive manner with the music box, it was almost certain that he had gone to find his mistresses.
As for Hongliu, she probably doesn't have many friends, or rather, she doesn't get along with those delicate young ladies in Lin'an City.
As for why she was hanging out with Lin Zhou, Lin Zhou thought she was probably a masculine type. But the young men in Lin'an City were either indulging in romance or spouting classical allusions. It was rare for her to meet a wild man like Lin Zhou who neither indulged her nor let her go. So he had to hold on to her tightly.
The women of the Jin dynasty possessed an air of vast wilderness and mountains, lacking the affected mannerisms of those sheltered young ladies. In fact, they had a certain charm reminiscent of modern girls.
"At sea," Lin Zhou clapped his hands, launching into a tirade: "I boarded a ship when I was twelve. The first ship was called the Going Merry. We traveled between Borneo and Ryukyu. Back then, pirates roamed the waterways. Once, we were chased to an island by the biggest pirate in the area. There was a giant ape on that island, hundreds of feet tall! We called that island Skull Island, and that giant ape was the island's guardian..."
"One hundred feet..."
At this moment, Miss Hongliu's mind was filled with images of the giant ape taller than the city wall, and as Lin Zhou narrated, she automatically conjured up a battle between these colossal creatures that were unstoppable by human power.
"That was something we couldn't get involved in. We boarded a ship while the giant ape was fighting the monster, and fled south, riding the monsoon for eight thousand miles before finally seeing land again, but..."
Upon hearing the word "nothing," Miss Red Willow trembled, her round face peeking forward: "Another monster?"
"This time it's different. We found a lot of ants on the road, and when we bent down to take a closer look, guess what? They weren't ants at all, but tiny people. These people were no bigger than ants, but they were actually holding bows, arrows, swords, and axes, ready to fight us."
At this point, Miss Red Willow took a deep breath and involuntarily covered her mouth, exclaiming, "And what about that ant-like kingdom?"
"Yes, we have them..."
Lin Zhou's nonsense continued until evening. Miss Hongliu seemed to realize she had been there too long, and if she didn't leave soon, she might have to squeeze in with this guy tonight. She quickly got up and pinched Lin Zhou's mouth shut: "Alright, alright, stop talking! Save it for tomorrow!"
"Fine, I won't tell you then. Why are you pinching my mouth like that?" Lin Zhou shoved her hand away. "But Miss Hongliu, do you have nothing better to do than come here every day to listen to my stories? You have to pay for that."
"I'll give you as much as you want."
"Fine, fine, it wouldn't be right to take your money anyway."
Miss Hongliu chuckled, turned and walked out. At the door, she turned back and said, "Remember to continue tomorrow."
That night, after taking a bath, Hongliu lay in bed and began to dream. Her dream was a jumbled mess of strange and wonderful things, with a giant monkey one moment and an ant-man the next. The agonizing anticipation of the next chapter made her wake up early, hastily inform someone, and rush to Lin Zhou's shop.
Before the shop door was even open, she pounded on it repeatedly. Her golden, noblewoman's attire was so striking that even the patrolling city guards dared not approach her to question her.
"Here it comes, here it comes, here it comes, it's killing me, it's freezing cold."
Lin Zhou came downstairs grumbling, and as soon as he opened the door, he saw Hong Liu walking over. He couldn't help but roll his eyes: "Seriously, Miss, even other girls don't go out with their lovers this diligently. What's going on here?"
"Hurry up!" Hongliu grabbed Lin Zhou's belt. "Go and light the brazier, then continue the story."
Lin Zhou had no choice but to light the charcoal fire first, then go to wash up before starting today's storytelling session again.
No joke, the density of information Lin Zhou possesses is something that Miss Hongliu could never match, even if all the people she's met in her life were combined. From gods and demons to strange tales and local customs, Lin Zhou can make things up even if he doesn't know them, and he can make them all seem plausible.
How could Miss Hongliu not be captivated by this?
"You scared me to death... Are you trying to scare me on purpose? What hollow man, what flying head technique from Southeast Asia...?"
As the story begins to veer into horror, Miss Hongliu can't help but clutch Lin Zhou's clothes, and the fierce wilderness girl is equally terrified by the supernatural things.
"How can you be scared if you don't experience it yourself?"
Lin Zhou sighed and said, "Want to hear more? I have more, like creating zombies, ghosts in empty buildings, and a pair of embroidered shoes."
"Ahhh!!! Stop talking!!!" Miss Red Willow covered her ears, her face pale. "Don't say it!"
"You're no good either," Lin Zhou said, pulling a handful of dried fruit from the small dish in front of her. "This is nothing."
"Have you been having nothing to do lately?"
"I've been quite free these past few days. My stuff is expensive, and not many people can afford to buy it. I rely on big customers like you to patronize my business." Lin Zhou poured Hong Liu a cup of tea. "Then why don't you come with me to a tea party?"
"Tea party? You? Me?"
Lin Zhou pointed at Hong Liu and then at himself: "I can't understand what those people are saying. You want me to go with you? Wouldn't that be like pulling a millstone naked?"
"No need to be naked... Why can't you be serious?"
"I mean, it's embarrassing to spin around like that." Lin Zhou looked up at the roof beam. "At least you know the names of the ci (a type of Chinese poetry) titles. I can't even recognize all of them."
"I can't always be the one embarrassing myself, can I?"
Miss Hongliu's words made Lin Zhou both laugh and cry: "No, Miss. You are the daughter of Prince Rui, considered among the elite of the Jin people. Who would dare to make things difficult for you?"
"It's just... not difficult." Hongliu scratched her head lightly: "They don't really pay attention to me. They either say things I don't understand or they just exchange a few polite words with me."
"Wait a minute, at your age you should be attracting a lot of attention, right? Aren't there any flies buzzing around you with interest?"
"Here you go, do you want it?" Hongliu's face suddenly turned cold: "Would you bear the name of a traitor for a woman?"
"Wait...wait a minute, we're not that close yet, this question is way too advanced for you."
"See, you won't want it either."
Lin Zhou was somewhat amused and exasperated: "This has nothing to do with Han Chinese or Jurchens, it's just... my situation is rather special."
"It's all special, just because I'm a golden man."
"Then why don't you just not go? Why go even though you know you're being ostracized?"
"Jin and Song are a land of fathers and sons, brothers. I came here for this very reason."
"A marriage alliance?"
"Hmm..." Hongliu lowered her head and then raised it again, silently glancing at Lin Zhou: "It's a joke that no one dared to accept the marriage proposal. So I can't go back to Jin Kingdom either, because everyone thinks I'm a disgrace."