"Hehe, the county king wants to run the academy of the subordinate officials naturally knows, it is also a coincidence, that day when the county king announced this matter during the lecture, I did not go to the class, but in the evening I took the time to find the skillful Liu, hoping to dig him to the armory prison, but I didn't expect to hear from him that the county king was going to run the academy, and even he pushed the matter of the armory supervisor in order to participate in the recruitment of the academy." Shen Kuo said with a smile at this time.

"Hahaha~, Skillful Liu is very decisive, just heard me about the college, he refused the recruitment of the ordnance supervisor, but this is a right choice for him, now Skillful Liu has become a lecturer in the two departments of the college, and it is very likely that he will become a professor in the future, and his status will be countless times higher than that of a craftsman." Zhao Yan didn't expect that the skillful Liu also had an intersection with Shen Kuo, so he laughed and said at the moment.

"It's normal for people to go to higher places and water to lower places." Shen Kuo also sighed with some emotion at this time, as a scholar, he also has an indescribable sense of superiority in the face of craftsmen, but he usually has more contact with craftsmen, and he can understand their joys, sorrows, and sorrows, so compared with ordinary readers, Shen Kuo is still very kind to craftsmen.

When Zhao Yan heard the sentence "People go to high places, water flows to low places", he couldn't help but move in his heart, and after thinking about it for a moment, he suddenly asked: "Brother Cunzhong, life is just a few decades, you are older than me, and you have more experience, I don't know what your plans for your future life are?" ”

Hearing Zhao Yan suddenly ask this somewhat strange question, Shen Kuo couldn't help but be stunned for a moment, and at the same time glanced at Zhao Yan with some suspicion, but finally replied: "The king of the county, the lower official has passed the year of his establishment, and the blessing of the ancestors has entered the officialdom, and now it is not easy to become the weapons supervisor." So if there is no accident, the lower officials should have been fighting in the officialdom, and they will go wherever they can in the future, at least to find a place for their children and grandchildren. ”

Shen Kuo's answer was also expected by Zhao Yan, and at that moment, he saw that his face became very solemn and said again: "Brother Cun, as a person in the officialdom." Presumably you know better than anyone else the deceit in the officialdom, even if it is a few ministers in the political hall, they are walking on thin ice every day, and if you are not careful, you may fall into a catastrophe, not to mention a middle and low-level official like Brother Cun, so don't look at me as a prince, but I also stay away from officialdom, unless it is absolutely necessary, I don't want to have too many entanglements with officialdom. ”

Heard what Zhao Yan said. Shen Kuo couldn't help but glance at him in surprise, and at the same time, he was even more puzzled in his heart, and couldn't help asking, "County King, what do you mean by this?" ”

"Hehe, in fact, what I mean is nothing more than to remind Brother Cun that officialdom may not be your only choice, and now there is another opportunity in front of you, I hope Brother Cun can consider it!" Zhao Yan said with a light smile.

Hearing Zhao Yan's words. Shen Kuo suddenly came to his senses, and looked at Zhao Yan with wide eyes at the moment. He was very surprised and said, "What does the king of the county mean...... Academy? ”

"Hehe, Brother Cun is really thorough, the college is actually a microscopic transformation, and the lecturers of various disciplines in the college are almost recruited, and they can be recruited at any time, but the college still needs a talent who is fully coordinated. This person not only needs to understand the content taught in each discipline, but also needs to be able to manage the operation of the entire academy, such a person I thought about it, and finally found that only you can meet these two points. Seeing that Shen Kuo had already understood what he meant, Zhao Yan explained with a smile.

Heard Zhao Yan's words. Shen Kuo was silent, he also agreed with Zhao Yan's previous summary of officialdom, although his utilitarianism was a little heavy, but what he was most interested in in his heart was still those miscellaneous studies, that is, Zhao Yan's mathematics, physics, chemistry, etc., but these things could only be used as interests in the past, and being an official was his career.

But now Zhao Yan has given him another choice, that is, to take interest as a career, although Zhao Yan's academy has just been created, but with the fame that Zhao Yan has accumulated before, it is almost foreseeable that this academy will shine. If you can enter the academy at the beginning of its establishment and become an important figure in the academy, then it is almost certain that you will leave a name in history.

Of course, although there are many advantages to entering the academy, it is also necessary for Shen Kuo to take a certain risk, after all, he is only speculating on the development of the academy, in case there are any problems encountered in the development of the academy, then he will be empty in the bamboo basket, in addition, he has been in the officialdom for so many years, and it is not easy to survive to his current position, if he goes to the academy, he will naturally give up his current official position, which is definitely a very huge decision for Shen Kuo.

It was precisely because of the above that Shen Kuo couldn't make up his mind for a while, and finally had to raise his head and say to Zhao Yan: "King Jun, this matter is very important to me, so I'm afraid I need to think about it before I can give you an answer!" ”

Shen Kuo's answer was also expected by Zhao Yan, after all, no matter who this matter was, it had to be seriously considered, so Zhao Yan didn't ask any more, and said with a smile at the moment: "Okay, then I won't bother, and when Brother Cun has made a decision, you can let someone tell me at any time!" ”

Seeing Zhao Yan's resignation, Shen Kuo was not detained, his mind is very messy now, and he really needs to be quiet by himself. After sending Zhao Yan away, Shen Kuo locked himself in the study, carefully considering the gains and losses of going to the academy, but the more he thought about it, the more he felt that he couldn't make up his mind, on the one hand, his interests, and the possibility of higher achievements in the future, on the other hand, it was the official position he had earned after many years of hard work, which made it really difficult to choose.

Shen Kuo, who was in deep thought, couldn't feel the passage of time at all, and before he knew it, the sun was setting outside the window, and the smell of food wafted from every house, but everyone in the Shen Mansion knew that whenever Shen Kuo locked himself in the study, it was a very important issue to consider, so even when it was time for dinner, no one dared to disturb him.

I don't know how long it has been, the changer on the street has begun to beat the drum of the second watch, Shen Kuo still did not wake up from his contemplation, but at this time, the door of the study opened, and then a slightly chubby woman walked in with a tray, it was the previous Mrs. Ye who had high blood pressure, and now after the treatment of Zhilugu and other doctors, her condition has stabilized a lot, and she usually began to pay attention to diet and exercise, and her complexion is much better.

After Mrs. Ye came in, she gently put the tray in her hand on the table, and then called in a low voice: "Husband, it's not early, and you haven't eaten for almost a day, I made you some supper, hurry up and rest early, it's not too late to think about anything tomorrow!" ”

Hearing Mrs. Ye's words, he finally interrupted Shen Kuo's contemplation, and at that moment he raised his somewhat confused eyes and glanced at Mrs. Ye, and after a while, he remembered where he was, and at the same time found that it was already dark outside, which made him a little embarrassed and said: "It turns out that it is so late, but it makes Mrs. worry!" ”

Shen Kuo said that he also felt very hungry at this time, Mrs. Ye helped him set up the meal, and then served Shen Kuo to eat, as for why Shen Kuo locked himself in the study, Mrs. Ye did not ask, after all, she is a traditional woman, and outside affairs have always been handled by Shen Kuo, as for the last time she cried, it was Shen Kuo who did too much, and the guide had no money to buy rice at home, so she cried regardless of her identity, and she was usually a very gentle and virtuous woman.

Shen Kuo gobbled up the supper, and when he was full, Mrs. Wei packed it up and let her subordinates take it, and she planned to go back to rest with Shen Kuo. However, Shen Kuo in the study looked at the busy Mrs. Ye, and his face also showed hesitation, and finally waited for the next person to leave, and suddenly said: "Madam, there is something I can't decide, so I want to hear your opinion!" ”

Mrs. Ye couldn't help but be stunned when she heard her husband's words, if she remembered correctly, this should be the first time that Shen Kuo took the initiative to discuss things by herself, but she was as careful as a hair, and she quickly found the confusion in her husband's eyes, and immediately smiled and said: "Husband has something to make up his mind, although I am a woman and have no knowledge, but it is better than my husband holding it in my heart alone." ”

Whether or not to go to the academy is not only related to Shen Kuo's personal future, but also to the fate of the family, so he wanted to listen to his wife's opinion, and now that he heard Mrs. Ye's consent, he didn't have anything to hide at the moment, so he told him the reason why Zhao Yan came to him today, and the fact that he really couldn't make up his mind.

After listening to Shen Kuo's story, Mrs. Ye also showed a contemplative look on her face, she was born in a family of eunuchs, and she has been well-educated since she was a child, plus she has been married to Shen Kuo for many years, and she knows her husband better than anyone else, so she can understand the difficult choices faced by Shen Kuo better than anyone else.

I saw that Mrs. Ye pondered for a long time, and suddenly raised her head and looked around at the study where she was, and then smiled at Shen Kuo and said: "Husband, this is your study, the bookshelves around are full of books, and now the concubine wants to ask Husband, how many of these books are Confucian classics, and how many are all kinds of miscellaneous studies that you tried your best to collect?" ”

"Huh? This ......" Shen Kuo heard Mrs. Ye suddenly ask this question, and couldn't help but look around his study, only to see that the bookshelves around him were filled with all kinds of books, but as a reader, there were very few Confucian classics on the shelves, most of them were books related to various miscellaneous studies, and many of them were his notes and experiences.

Looking at the dense books around him, and then seeing the expression on his wife's face that seemed to be smiling but not smiling, Shen Kuo suddenly understood what his wife meant, and nodded solemnly at the moment: "I see, I understand what Madame means!" (To be continued......) R1292