Chapter 001: What is Ability? (Third Update!)

  The Spring Festival is approaching, and the whole country is jubilant. The people of Henan are even more jubilant - because the north and south have been unified, because Yuan Shikai has taken office as the Grand President in Beijing, and because Yuan Shikai is a native of Henan. A Grand President has emerged from Henan, and Yuan Shikai is indeed a native of Henan. Since the Northern Song Dynasty, Henan had never produced an emperor. Now that the Republic has been established, the Grand President who holds power is also a native of Henan. How can Henan not be even more celebratory and enthusiastic?

  But that's just talk!

  On the second day of the second month of the lunar calendar, according to folk customs, this is the day when the dragon raises its head. With the abdication of the Qing emperor and the unification of the north and south, on this day, every household's joy and laughter exceeded that of any previous year. In every household's kitchen, various steamed buns were placed: mangzhai, liangdai, xikui, she, cihu, and zhu; The head of each household had already rushed to the courtyard before dawn, using the ash from the stove to draw large circles on the ground, and in the center of the circle, a handful of mixed grains was placed, covered with a tile: this is called liangtun, symbolizing a rich harvest, prosperity, and peace for the country and its people.

  After dawn, when the chickens come out of their coop, open the lid of the grain heap again and let the chicks happily eat away at the mixed grains in the heap. For on the second day of the second month, it is a festival for humans as well as domestic fowl.

  Young daughters-in-law love cleanliness. On the second day of the second month, they get up early and finish their chores in the house and kitchen. Then they boil a large pot of hot water to wash their hair, feet, and clothes while singing auspicious harvest songs with rhythmic phrases. The elderly people at home do not care about cleanliness and are not busy washing their hair or feet, but on this day, they take up a bamboo pole and knock on the door frame while chanting in unison.

  "On the second day of the second month, knock on the door head, beat out a full granary..."

  The little kids at home are like the old folks, not particular about cleanliness, not busy washing their heads and feet, but they won't be idle either. Instead, they hold small wooden sticks to tap on tiles, and their mouths are chanting in a rhythmic tone.

  "On the second day of the second month, knock on the tiles, scorpions and centipedes have no claws..."

  Even in the capital, in this city of forty-nine cities where "Eight Banners" sons are everywhere, whether it's a Han person who has "turned over and become the master" or those "who have slipped through the cracks", as long as there are children at home, they will all line up in front of the barber's stall or shop early in the morning to get their children's hair cut, who doesn't want to get a good head start.

  "Hey, Old Man Five!"

  "Ha! Isn't this Second Master Sun? What's going on here..."

  Early in the morning, outside the entrance of Wangji Teahouse on Front Gate Street, two men, one middle-aged and one old, both wearing cotton-padded jackets and holding birdcages with black cloth covers, bumped into each other. After exchanging pleasantries for a while, they finally entered the teahouse, following the elder's lead in making the inviting gesture.

  Tea houses are a major feature of the capital city, where tea is sold, as well as simple pastries and meals. People who play with birds, after walking enough to draw eyebrows and yellow birds every day, come here to rest their legs, drink tea, and have the birds perform songs. Those who discuss business or act as matchmakers also come here. In those days, there were often fights, but friends would always step in to mediate between the two sides; after a few dozen people fought, the mediator would talk and persuade them, and they would all drink a bowl of tea and eat a bowl of noodles, and the conflict would be resolved.

  In short, in this capital city of the four nine, the tea houses scattered all over the city are very important places where people can come and sit for half a day whether they have business or not. As for the guests here, old and young, they are all those who eat imperial rations without working, such as the Manchu Eight Banners, Mongolian Eight Banners, Han Eight Banners, and other banner people who eat imperial rations.

  Although last year's revolution had indeed frightened them, even in their dreams they were beheaded, but now that the north and south have made peace, President Yuan has taken office, and not only are there preferential treatment clauses, but also iron rice bowls for the New Year, which has really let them breathe a sigh of relief.

  So, the bird flew away again, and this tea was naturally opened. As for what kind of person cultivates skills and so on, from the ancestors' generation, they have never cultivated land or worked, now cultivating skills to make a living, cultivating what to plan what! As long as the imperial grain is still being issued, one day will pass, it's just one day!

  Here is the translation:

  Not only can you see the "style" of the men from 49 City here, but also hear all sorts of "news", such as Mongolia's independence was to restore the Qing Dynasty, Yuan Shikai was secretly supporting the Ming Dynasty, some toad became a spirit, how opium was cooked, some powder head butt garden, and so on... In short, just idle away, whatever interesting topic comes up, just chat about it.

  Some tea guests were dozing off, shaking their heads and humming a low tune. Two or three tea guests were intently teasing the birds in the cage. Several others were chatting in hushed tones.

  "Hey, Qing Er Ye, did you read the newspaper yesterday?"

  In a corner where no one noticed, a person sitting drinking tea asked the person next to him.

  "How could you not see it?"

  He wore a very long and dirty grey cotton-padded jacket, with several small pieces of paper for rolling cigarettes tucked behind his ears.

  "76 million US dollars, you know what USD is?"

  The skill of speaking is like drinking tea and taking out a ticket.

  "This is the American dollar, one dollar can be exchanged for 2 taels and 5 mace of silver!"

  "11,704 taels!"

  The people beside the table immediately responded with a sound, and when they spoke, everyone in the teahouse stopped what they were doing and looked over with shining eyes.

  "This Li fellow has now become rich enough to rival a country!"

  "It's not like that, back then even the gentry were only worth this much, but those with the surname Li are all made of silver!"

  "Isn't it?"

  Wei San Ye, who often ran around in Dongjiaomin Lane, said that when he came back, he had chartered a whole ship. It wasn't carrying people, but the cargo was all silver! A big batch of bright and shiny American silver dollars!

  "Oh my, how much is that going to be?!"

  "It's not like that, I heard the American fleet is afraid of being robbed of their silver, so they specially dispatched a large warship to escort it! It's like an armed escort!"

  "How ridiculous!"

  With a serious expression, carrying a small yellow bird cage, behind him followed another person, walking with big strides, carrying a large and tall painting eyebrow cage. The tea house attendant hurried over to pour them a covered bowl of tea. They brought their own tea leaves.

  "Second Master Wen and Fourth Master Sun, you two gentlemen take your time!"

  The tea was poured well, and the fellow made a bow and withdrew. As soon as he sat down, Wen Er Ye responded to someone's greeting and said.

  "That money looks like a lot, but if you bring it back, it's just a matter of exchanging tickets! Morgan & Co. issues exchange tickets, and you can cash them in anywhere in the world."

  These people are not talking nonsense. In the past few days, all newspapers in China have been reporting on either the Grand President or the Tang Cabinet, almost every newspaper is reporting the same news.

  "Chinese people shine abroad, patents sell for tens of millions!"

  All the newspapers, big or small, party papers, people's papers, and association papers, only have one piece of news: a person, a Chinese person, just 22 years old, sold a new type of high furnace to an American company for $76 million. It is said that this high furnace, whether it be Germany, the United States, or Great Britain, none of them have anything more advanced than this, which was designed by a Chinese person. This is the first time in over a hundred years that something like this has happened, and to think that it sold for so much money!

  "11,700,000 taels!"

  When putting down the newspaper, Sun Yat-sen couldn't help but take another look at that number, which was really terrifying, too many, so many that it made people feel unbelievable! It felt like a joke.

  Even the US ambassador to China has sent a telegram mentioning this matter, and the US ambassador here has also confirmed it. Even Britain and Japan are considering whether they can buy that new-type iron smelting furnace from Li Zicheng.

  Moreover, the newspaper also quoted "Yan Liang General Hall" Szeto Mei-tong and his conversation to report, Szeto Mei-tong even called him "the first man of Chinese industry in the future".

  "What is ability?"

  Sun Yat-sen cast his eyes on the newspaper again, and those three characters "Li Zicheng" seemed to be a name that had never been heard of in China's past, but now it was this very name that made Chinese people feel proud for the first time.

  Invented the most advanced blast furnace and sold it at an unprecedented high price.

  I thought to myself that I was only a moment away from Li Zicheng, and now I regret leaving New York a few days early. If I had left a few days later, I would have made friends with him, and the situation in China today would be vastly different.

  What a great difference! When returning from abroad, although it is said that the spirit of revolution was brought back, but the spirit is just the spirit, without silver... That is to say, there would be no silver, which made Yuan Shikai become the president.

  "If we can borrow a few tens of millions from him, then all our problems will be solved!"

  What kind of question is this?

  Thinking of that question, Sun Wen suddenly remembered a report he had seen in the newspaper. Some newspapers suggested that when Li Zicheng returned to China, the President should award him a medal. But what was the real intention behind this? Was it not just because foreigners were comparing him to Edison, but rather because they were thinking of the silver in Li Zicheng's pocket.

  "Premier, a telegram has just arrived from San Francisco saying that Li Zichen and his party have boarded the 'Dongfang Xiwang' liner and are expected to arrive in Shanghai twenty-three days later!"

  Twenty-three days, and another twenty-three days, the telegram from Situ Meitang clearly stated that Li Zichen had no enthusiasm for politics, but was very enthusiastic about investing in industry, with the intention of returning to China to start a factory.

  "Silver! No matter what, I only hope that Li Zongren doesn't lend the silver to Yuan Shikai!"

  With a thoughtful mind, Sun Wen bowed his head to the desk and began writing a letter to his comrades in Japan. Although he was on an inspection tour of Wuchang, he had not forgotten that one aspect of his trip was to inspect industries, while another was to lay the groundwork for future elections. He wrote half the letter, then suddenly stopped, looked up at Hu Hanmin and said:

  "Zhan Tang, perhaps you and I should conclude our inspection as soon as possible and return to Shanghai to wait for this Li Da Caishen!"