Time flew by, and the whole town underwent a transformation. Every household was now built with concrete houses, guardrails were added along the riverside, and trees and flowers purchased from outside were planted. The creases on Zhuo Bang’s brow also smoothed out, but Jiang Zhou estimated that the glass might have played a greater role. A little bit, because Zhuo Bang showed him the reply document.

The first paragraph was all about praising Jiang Zhou’s glass, “clear and thorough,” “smooth as a mirror,” “I am very happy,” all of which made Jiang Zhou and Zhuo Bang could feel the joy.

It was probably these pieces of glass that pleased the emperor. He was also very generous and rewarded him with many things. Then he was appointed as the captain, allowing him to freely operate in the town.

At the same time, an imperial decree was issued, roughly stating that there was a talented individual in this place, which could be described as outstanding. The implication was to promote Jiang Zhou so that people would visit the town more.

The emperor’s decree was impactful and effective. It wasn’t easy to earn the emperor’s praise. Everyone wanted to share the blessing and see what kind of “outstanding individuals” he was – what would happen to the imperial examination if they gained a bit of blessing and luck from the man?

So, the first people who rushed to the town were a group of study tour students from the surrounding areas.

Jiang Zhou didn’t know much about this aspect, but Wen Yan knew better and told him, “There is a very famous Minglu Academy in a nearby state. It is a sacred place in the hearts of students studying in the world. It is full of highly talented disciples. I heard that the top three in the imperial examinations are basically from the academy, and there are even contemporary great Confucians among them.”

Wen Yan’s eyes lit up as he spoke about this.

He loved reading very much. He had always enjoyed reading since he was a child. Besides playing with Jiang Zhou, he also read books. If there was a place in his heart, besides his family, books came first.

However, he often sighed and lamented that he wasn’t smart enough. Even though he loved it, he wasn’t as proficient in the Four Classics and Five Books as others to take the imperial examination.

Jiang Zhou often comforted him. In his eyes, his Ah Yan was already very powerful and the smartest person he knew.

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But this time, with people from Minglu Academy coming, it naturally gave Jiang Zhou an opportunity to show off.

The emperor could bring prestige, and so could people from the academy.

Now that he was an official, he issued an order to the people in the town: “Starting from tomorrow, we will receive guests from far away. We are not allowed to stare at them or disturb them. We should treat them as ordinary people and let them do as they please. The stall can be set up, run normally, and show the most natural state.”

His words were now basically the benchmark in the town, and everyone had almost a consensus: if they wanted to make money, they must follow Jiang Zhou.

Therefore, when students came one after another the next day, they found that the people in this town seemed to have not seen them. They were all working normally. Only when passing by somewhere, there was a scholar wearing clean and simple clothes. The man came up and asked, “Do you guys need a guide?”

A few people were not familiar with the town, so they said, “Yes.”

The scholar began to take them around: “Where are you from?”

Someone answered: “Coming from Fencheng, I heard that this place is different from the outside, so I wanted to come and have a look.”

The scholar then smiled: “I heard that Fencheng is a famous hometown of talented people. I think all of you must be talented in literature.”

No one didn’t like hearing flattery and compliments, especially those from the same industry, several students looked at each other and smiled: “It’s just like that. Is there any famous place in this area?”

The scholar said, “Which one do you like? Eating, drinking or just having fun?”

Someone asked: “What about eating?”

“Of course, you have to go to the east of the city to eat. There is a street of delicious food there, as well as Captain Jiang’s hot pot restaurant and homemade restaurant. If you are not so hungry, you can also go to the pier and try Dong Ge’er’s barbecue restaurant.”

The scholar continued: “If you want to have fun, why not rent a small boat on the pier and take a tour on the small river. If you have calligraphy skills, it is better to leave a painting or poem behind. There are prepared pens, inks, paper, and inkstones on the boat. There are also small stalls in the willow shade on the shore that store these. If you leave something behind, as long as they are well-written, they will be transcribed and posted on the notice board for passers-by see your skills.”

Was there such a good thing?

Wasn’t what they pursue as scholars “to become famous all over the world in one fell swoop after ten years of hard work”?

They didn’t expect that there was a ready-made way to become famous here, and they immediately became interested.

The group of people urged to go to the small river.

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As soon as they got on the boat, they felt something different. Ordinary fishing boats were dilapidated and there was a strong smell of fish in the cabin, but these boats were different, they were all clean and tidy, with a wide view. They could accommodate several people without having to improvise. As expected, there were good pens, inks, paper, and inkstones, which could be used as long as they paid a fee.

Outside there were beautiful lakes and mountains, and inside there were boats and tents, several people suddenly became very interested in poetry and even recited a few good poems.

The scholar who was the tour guide just sat there with a smile and didn’t interfere. He only wrote a few poems when he was mentioned occasionally. Although it wasn’t great, it was still passable.

The route around the lake would pass by Jiang Zhou’s inn. The glass house reflected the light of the sun and attracted everyone’s attention: “What is this?”

The scholar replied slowly: “This is a glass house that even the emperor praised.”

Keywords: The Holy Emperor.

Several students immediately became energetic: “Let’s go! Go and have a look!”