Insufficient balance

  As the fishing boat sailed on, they encountered more and more sailing ships. In addition to those small single-masted boats, they also saw several large three-masted ships. David said these were all deep-sea cargo ships.

  The boat sailed for three and a half hours, and with David's loud shout, the shadow of land was finally seen in front, a black shadow appeared from the direction of the bow. Liu Fei's heart finally dropped a stone, and he didn't end up going to Australia after all! This British deputy captain is still somewhat capable, able to navigate with just an old alarm clock and the sun.

  After that, things became much simpler. They found a sailboat to lead the way and, after grinding for more than half an hour, they entered the freshwater harbor. Before entering the port, they also encountered a naval ship, a small steamer, which was less than half the size of Liu Ye's fishing boat, with a very thick smokestack. With Liu Daguang on board, the naval ship shouted a few times from a distance and acted as a pilot ship, leading Liu Ye's fishing boat to dash into the harbor, stopping at a dedicated dock for the navy.

  Liu Fei and David did not disembark, only letting Liu Dagui go down to explore the way. Before long, Liu Dagui led several Qing soldiers to the dock, among whom two leading Qing soldiers followed Liu Dagui onto the ship. They saw Liu Fei, and the Qing soldier knelt on one knee, paying respects. Liu Fei did not understand the etiquette, nor could he make out what they were saying. Anyway, according to Liu Dagui, it was a battalion commander surnamed Huang, who was short, dark, and thin, responsible for inspecting ships in the freshwater harbor.

  Liu Ye knew that the fishing boat couldn't take everything away, so it could only be left here. However, the goods on the boat were very important and needed someone to watch over them. So he called Liu Da Gui aside and asked if he could entrust this task to Huang Ba Zhang for a few days. This Huang Ba Zhang was just a dock inspector, but seeing that the third son of the governor had already gone pale with fear, and then seeing David, the foreigner in military uniform, he immediately kowtowed and promised to help watch over the boat, guaranteeing that as long as he was there, the boat would be safe.

  Having taken care of the safety issues with the ship's anchorage, Liu Ye took out a few changes of clothes from the cabin, hid the items that shouldn't belong to this era, checked the electricity on the ship, locked all the cabins, and brought David down the ship with Dawei.

  From Tamkang to Taipei, there were no cars or trains, not even horse-drawn carriages. They could only take a buffalo cart arranged by Huang Pu-tai. Liu Er, Da Gui, and Da Wei carried their sons on their backs, accompanied by a Qing soldier who drove the cart. The group of four and a half people proceeded to Taipei along the rugged yellow earth road.

  There aren't many people on the road, and there are almost no cars. After leaving Danshui Port, both sides of the road were fields, where many farmers were weeding. Liu Gui said they were removing weeds. Besides rice paddies along the roadside, there were also many things like corn and water caltrops. Da Gui said those were sugarcane and hemp.

  From time to time, you can see farmers sitting by the side of the road resting. There are both men and women, all very thin and dark-skinned, wearing clothes that are mostly indistinguishable in color, with patches upon patches. Liu Wei originally wanted to go over and greet them, chat with them, and gain a deeper understanding of this era. But when these farmers saw Liu Wei, the fake foreigner, and David, the real foreigner, they all stood up on their own initiative and walked away, as if afraid of catching bird flu.

  After walking for two and a half hours, I finally arrived in Taipei City, no, it should be called Taipei Prefectural City. From a distance, the Taipei Prefectural City looks relatively new (because it was built just last year, that is, 1884), the city gate is not like the existing Zhengyangmen in Beijing, not only are they different in size, but also in shape. The north gate of the Taipei Prefectural City is a bit like a very high temple, with a watchtower in front and a large circular hole below, which is the city gate. On top of the city gate, there are a few words that Liu recognized after half a day, roughly recognizing it as "Cheng'en Gate".

  The Taiwan Governor's Office was right in the center of Taipei City, and after entering through the Cheng'en Gate, it wasn't far along the main street. The ox cart didn't go directly to the office entrance, but instead went along the wall to a side door. Liu Ye got off the cart with Da Gui and Da Wei and they once again coordinated their story before leading them to the office entrance.

  The gatekeeper heard that the third young master had returned from Beijing and hurriedly rushed in to report. Liu Mei was already waiting in the shade inside the door. Before long, a group of about ten people poured out of the courtyard, all dressed in clothes similar to opera costumes. The leader was the gatekeeper and an old man, followed by women of all ages.

  Although he had already inquired about the approximate members of his family from Liu Dagui, hearing and recognizing were two different things. Since no one recognized him, Liu Ye simply didn't recognize them either, but stood up and waited for Dagui to introduce them. At this time, Dagui had already run up to greet them, first asking the old man who was leading the way to please come in, then standing up and whispering in his ear, pointing at Liu Ye and Dawei as he spoke.

  Liu's expression seemed calm, but his heart was already boiling with anxiety. He feared that this great noble might suddenly turn against him, and David was still okay to talk to, being a foreigner, he wouldn't be burned at the stake as a monster after all. The great noble had already conferred with the old man and followed behind him, walking towards Liu.

  "Liu Fu greets Third Young Master." The old man didn't turn his face away, but instead gave Liu Ye a salute and asked after his well-being, which made Liu Ye feel greatly relieved.

  "Uncle Fu, don't be polite, something unexpected happened at sea this time, and I forgot many things." According to the script, Liu Mou pretended to have amnesia.

  "It doesn't matter, just now the master told me that it's really heaven's blessing to let Third Master return safely." Liu Fu seemed not to suspect anything and took Liu Mei to recognize the old, middle-aged and young women behind them, among whom were Liu Mei's mother Chen Shi and aunt Wang Shi, and the rest were all maidservants.

  It was unclear whether it was the family rules of a wealthy household or the presence of outsiders, but the mother and son's reunion was not very emotional. They just exchanged a few words of comfort, then busied themselves with arranging accommodations, bathing, and other tasks. David followed Liu Mei around, while others, intentionally or unintentionally, avoided him. David didn't have any opinions on this, anyway, he didn't understand these customs either.

  Under Liu Mei's insistence, David and he lived in a small yard that was originally for temporary residence of monks and Taoists. Because it was far from the residential area inside the mansion, Liu Mei took a liking to this place. There was only one reason, which was to be far away from the crowd and have less contact with people.

  The main house has five rooms, the east and west wings each have three rooms, with a toilet and kitchen. In the courtyard, there is also a well and two large trees. Liu Fu had already sent someone to start cleaning up the house and moving furniture. Liu Mei and David were led to another courtyard to bathe and change clothes. Liu Mingchuan had already learned of his son's arrival and sent someone back to inform him that there would be a family banquet at night to calm his nerves.

  The lanterns had just been lit, and it was only 6:30. The family banquet began, and Liu Yi saw Liu Mingchuan for the first time at the dinner table. Following Liu Dagui and Liu Fojiao's instructions, he paid his respects to the old man. The old man asked a few casual questions, then invited Liu Yi and David to take their seats, and the banquet officially began. At the main table in the central hall were only three people: Liu Mingchuan, Liu Yi, and David. Liu Fu stood behind Liu Mingchuan, serving him. In the side hall was another table with Madame and the children. Liu Yi didn't know what to say, so after toasting Liu Mingchuan and David, he could only lower his head and eat fiercely. Liu Mingchuan also didn't ask any questions, eating a bit here and there before leaving his seat.

  Liu Ye didn't know if he had let his guard down or if it was always like this, anyway he couldn't figure it out so he just stopped thinking about it. Taking advantage of the fact that David hadn't eaten all the food yet, he quickly grabbed a few mouthfuls. David, having lost his wife and father-in-law, had converted his grief into appetite, and with his sleeves rolled up, he swept everything off the table.

  Liu Mingchuan hadn't left for long when Liu Fu came to the table, whispering an order: "The master wants Young Master to go to the study." Well, let's just see then. It seems it's not good to ask questions at the dinner table; most of the important ones will be asked in the study anyway. Following Liu Fu as he wound his way through the corridors and courtyards, they finally arrived at Old Master's study. Upon entering, it was actually just a room with various bookshelves, flower stands, and treasure chests on the walls, and a large desk by the window where Old Master sat sipping tea with his white face and goat-like beard.

  "Spring garden, sit." Seeing Liu Fu bring up the door and leave, Liu Mingchuan put down his teacup and said.

  "It is...". Chun Cui was Liu Mo's courtesy name, and Liu Mo had heard it from Da Gui, remembering it all along without daring to forget, hastily answering while sitting on the chair by the desk.

  "Uncle Fu told me about the incident where you were shipwrecked and rescued, it's a blessing to be saved, regardless of whether it was by foreigners or not." Liu Mingchuan spoke slowly, took another sip of water, and continued: "But your injury has affected your head, have you forgotten everything that happened before? What about your studies?"

  "Yes, father. The child has been unconscious for a day and has forgotten many things. She didn't even recognize Da Gui." Liu Fen quickly got off the donkey.

  "Alas, it's all Father's fault. He shouldn't have called you to come all the way to Taiwan. Now your studies are unfinished, what do you plan to do with yourself in the future?" Liu Mingchuan said to himself.

  "Father, the child and David have already discussed it. We will open a foreign firm in Taiwan to sell Western medicine. His Western medicine is very effective, I've used it before and it's truly amazing, the medicine cures the disease." Liu Fen quickly rattled off the nonsense she had prepared, whether it would work or not depended on this time.

  After a long silence, Liu Mingchuan finally spoke up: "Doing business is not impossible, but be careful not to use your power and influence to bully others. With just one person following you, I'm not at ease, let Fu Shu help you too."

  After saying a few more empty words, Liu Fei was finally released. It's estimated that he felt guilty and thought it wasn't right to his son. Liu Mingchuan didn't interrogate him strictly, not only did he agree to let his son do business with the foreigners, but also gave Liu Fei 3000 taels of silver as capital. Of course, sending Fu Shu to follow along was also to grasp the overall direction at all times, after all, with the involvement of foreigners, it's easy for big things to happen.