HLnovel Chapter 578 Striving and Fighting
Chapter 578 Striving and Fighting
Chapter 578 Striving and Fighting
An hour later, Wang Wenzhou returned to Hanshan Square, his head covered in sweat and his clothes soaked through.
Empress Zhou rolled her eyes at Wang Wenzhou. For some reason, this rascal was so proud that he wouldn't let her wipe his sweat.
Wang Wenzhou looked at the students and said loudly, "I have finished my run. If anyone does not believe me, they can ask the representative you sent."
The students were all convinced; just by looking at Wang Wenzhou's current appearance, they knew he must have just done a lot of exercise. Moreover, if Wang Wenzhou had cheated, Hou Fangyu and the others would have already confronted him. But now, Hou Fangyu and the other representatives who had been monitoring Wang Wenzhou's running were all standing there silently, lost in thought.
Wang Wenzhou smiled slightly and said in a serious tone, "Many of you already know me. A few years ago, I was a fat man weighing over 300 pounds. Being fat is a blessing, and no one would dislike being fat. But in order to serve the country, I insisted on running every morning, and over time, I became what I am now."
Many Nanjing students nodded in agreement; Wang Wenzhou had indeed been as fat as a pig in the past. Although the Ming Dynasty did not value plumpness as beauty, among the common people, it was true that being fat was a sign of good fortune.
Wang Wenzhou continued, "Like you all, I am also a student of the Ming Dynasty. I am a top student of the Nanjing Imperial Academy."
"Pfft..." Wang Wenzhou's classmates burst into laughter. "Don't exaggerate! If you were a top student from the Imperial Academy, we'd all be top scholars!"
Wang Wenzhou, without blushing or skipping a beat, continued his nonsensical ramblings with a straight face: "Not only that, I also come from the Xinjian Earl's Mansion. Even so, I still worked hard and struggled to get to where I am today. Through my efforts, my son is already the Duke of Loyalty and Righteousness of the Great Ming Dynasty."
The students knew about this, but they didn't understand why Wang Wenzhou would say such a thing.
Wang Wenzhou continued, "I'm working so hard, how can you not work hard? By joining the army, you're not only protecting your country but also bringing honor to your families. But can you endure this kind of hardship?"
Hou Fangyu clenched his fists and shouted, "Yes!"
Then the students shouted in unison, "We can!"
Hou Fangyu now genuinely admires Wang Wenzhou. Like Wang Wenzhou, he is also a second-generation official, but in the past, he couldn't have imagined that Wang Wenzhou could run 50 li (approximately 25 kilometers). Yet, he just witnessed it with his own eyes. Just as Wang Wenzhou said, Wang Wenzhou's success today is largely due to his own hard work. We're both human; if you, Wang Wenzhou, can do it, how can I, Hou Fangyu, not?
Wang Wenzhou nodded and said with a smile, "Alright, go and participate in the physical fitness test. After all, you are all students and are dedicated to serving the country, so I can't be too harsh on you. As long as you can run a lap around Hanshan City by your own efforts before dawn tomorrow, or even just climb it, I will consider you qualified."
"Huh?" The students were very puzzled. Why would Wang Wenzhou be so kind?
Wang Wenzhou continued, "To be honest, when I first started running, I couldn't run very far either. The key is perseverance. As the saying goes, 'Where there's a will, there's a way.' I'm having you run not only to test your physical fitness, but more importantly, to see if you can persevere in the face of difficulties."
Many students were meeting Wang Wenzhou for the first time today. They had previously had a very bad impression of him, but after seeing him today, they were amazed by his actions and began to admire him.
Wang Wenzhou said with a smile, "Facing difficulties head-on is tough. As someone who's been there, I can teach you a method: how to find joy in hardship. When you feel like giving up, think of this: if you're feeling miserable, think of 25,000 in bed; if you're feeling tired, think of going to a brothel to drown your sorrows. Without six-pack abs, how can you make a goddess cry? You need a good body to seduce a good girl!"
After Wang Wenzhou finished speaking, he hugged Empress Zhou and Li Mei. The two girls blushed to their necks. You rascal, you are so improper.
"Haha!" The students burst into laughter. They all knew that Wang Wenzhou was a womanizer. Of course, most students were fond of this kind of thing; romance, wine, and women in brothels were exactly what scholars and gentlemen were supposed to do.
"Alright! Go take the test!" Wang Wenzhou waved to the students.
Led by staff, the students went to participate in the physical fitness test.
"Phew..." Wang Wenzhou let out a deep breath, hugged Empress Zhou and kissed her, and said with a wry smile, "Sister-in-law, I'm exhausted! My legs are weak, I'm afraid I won't be able to sleep with you tonight!"
Empress Zhou rolled her eyes at Wang Wenzhou. "You rascal, what else can you do besides sleeping with girls?"
Wang Wenzhou, holding his two babies, got into the sedan chair, ready to return home to rest.
On the way, Empress Zhou, like a curious child, lifted the curtain of her sedan chair and looked around. Actually, in the past two days, Empress Zhou wasn't as curious about Hanshan as she had been when she first arrived. The key was that if she didn't pretend like this, her nemesis Wang Wenzhou would strip her naked. Empress Zhou was quite helpless; when she was with her nemesis Wang Wenzhou, as long as there were no outsiders, she could forget about wearing clothes.
"Hmm?" Empress Zhou suddenly frowned, pointed at a group of people on the road, and asked in confusion, "Wang Wenzhou, why is the funeral procession in Hanshan so strange? Why are they all carrying weapons?"
Wang Wenzhou peeked out and saw over a hundred young men, dressed in mourning clothes, approaching menacingly. Each of them was carrying a weapon.
Wang Wenzhou frowned. This was no funeral procession; it looked more like a group fight.
"Tap tap!" Wang Wenzhou knocked on the sedan chair and ordered, "Stop the sedan chair."
The sedan chair stopped, and Wang Wenzhou waved his hand and shouted irritably, "Hey you, the leader, get over here."
The one walking at the front, carrying a large machete, quickly handed the machete to the person next to him when he saw the adult calling him, and hurriedly ran over.
"Student Zheng Yu greets Principal!" Zheng Yu walked to the sedan chair and respectfully greeted Wang Wenzhou.
Empress Zhou looked at Zheng Yu thoughtfully. She was no longer surprised that the young man from Hanshan kept calling Wang Wenzhou "Principal." In fact, she admired Wang Wenzhou's approach: establishing so-called labor camps to reform criminals and turn them into useful members of society.
Wang Wenzhou asked, "What are you doing? If there's a conflict, you should fight it out. Fighting like this is a violation of public security regulations and you'll be punished with caning."
"Sir! We're not going to get into a fight. We just want to go back to our hometown to seek justice for my grandfather and the villagers who died," Zheng Yu said quickly.
"Hmm?" Wang Wenzhou frowned and asked, "What exactly happened? Why didn't you report it to the authorities?"
"Principal, we reported it to the authorities! But Lord Li Hechen said that the government can't handle this matter!" Zheng Yu said, feeling aggrieved.
After Wang Wenzhou left Hanshan, Li Hechen and his uncle Li Jinshui were transferred away from Hanshan by the newly appointed prefect, who had mixed up the background. After Wang Wenzhou returned to Hanshan, he transferred the uncle and nephew back. Now, the official business of the Hanshan government is handled by the uncle and nephew.
Wang Wenzhou was furious upon hearing this and said coldly, "The government should serve the people. If the people have something to report to the government, how can the government shirk its responsibility? Jian Fengyu, send someone to inform Li Hechen to come see me right now!"