Hu Yimin 308

  As the iron giant shouted "Give me a crash", a young girl in a red Luo long dress appeared at the bow of the ship, with a cloud-like scarf on her head, a red cloak, and a dragon and phoenix decoration on her hair. Her clothes were embroidered with golden dragon and phoenix patterns, looking like a noblewoman's attire. More importantly, she held a heavy object in her delicate small hands - a dazzling, gemstone-encrusted six-sided eight-treasured purple gold ruyi. The young girl struggled to lift the ruyi and shouted: "The imperial gift of the golden ruyi is here! Whoever dares to block our way will be struck down by it!" This was none other than Hu Dajie, the legendary boss of Rishengchang.

  "Aha!" A group of burly men rushed out, surrounding the delicate red-clad girl on all sides. Their ferocious eyes looked down at the poor creatures on the official boat below, waiting for their master's orders.

  "We, the Daye Shipping Company, attach great importance to giving face. Whoever gives me face, I will give him face; whoever doesn't give me face, I will make him lose face! This waterway originally emphasizes yielding to each other when narrow and wide paths meet. The wider path yields to the narrower one. With the huge Hongze Lake behind you, it's easy for you to retreat, but I have dozens of miles of grain boats lined up behind me. How can I retreat?" After this outburst, even the onlooking boatmen nodded in agreement. No matter whose rank is higher, yielding to those who are not as convenient is the right thing to do. It's only logical that a boat in the narrow canal shouldn't yield to a boat from the vast lake. This whole affair can be attributed to Cui Shangshu being unreasonable. If he had just yielded a bit, the boats would have passed each other long ago and wouldn't have accumulated to such an extent.

  "Give me a crash, several good swimmers are ready to dive down and salvage the Shangfang treasure sword. The emperor's things can't be taken lightly, as for those who don't give me face, let them drown." Hu Dajie said, hugging Jin Ge back to the cabin. A white smoke emerged from the chimney of Tie Da Yu, it seems like they are really going to crash at full speed.

  The so-called Shangfang Treasure Sword is actually a top-level authorization certificate issued in the name of the young emperor, but in reality it was issued by the 9,000-year-old Huang Jin Rong. Others may be afraid of it, but not Hu Dajie from the Empress Dowager's faction. Moreover, she has the golden mace bestowed by the previous emperor, which is naturally more valuable than the Shangfang Treasure Sword. The current emperor doesn't even care about the golden mace, let alone the old emperor who died many years ago. However, there is a reason for everything, and of course, the son's Shangfang Treasure Sword should be afraid of his father's golden mace. Cui Chengxiu was at a loss for words, stomped her foot and said "Retreat", then turned around and left with a flick of her sleeve.

  The official boat hastily backed away, and the rowing boats behind it also retreated. For a moment, they were all in a flurry, even the iron factory's steamship had to back away for a distance. This side cleared a wide waterway, the Iron Clad No. 1 sounded its whistle, churning up layers of white waves as it came over amidst the attention of all the boats.

  "I say that Mr. Hu will definitely invite us over for a visit, do you believe it?" Peng Jingrong said with a smile to Liu Ziguang.

  "Unbelievable! The Minister of War's daughter dares to crash in and still be so polite to us?" Liu Ziguo replied.

  What a beautiful and magnificent big ship, it was only when it came close that its wonderful features could be seen, exquisite, luxurious, advanced, safe. The sailors were wearing white short-sleeved shirts with light-colored dollar signs printed on them, standing proudly at the bow with their chests out, looking like they owned the place, as if they were the biggest shots around.

  As they passed by the Iron Factory's Minglun ship, the Iron Great Crocodile suddenly stopped. The lion with deep internal strength from earlier opened his mouth and shouted loudly towards them: "Are you ships from Riguo Iron Factory?"

  The sailors on this side answered loudly, "That's right."

  The lion turned its head and said something, then continued to shout loudly: "My master invites the two young ladies and Director Liu to come over for a chat!"

  Oh, unexpectedly, he even invited me, and Liu Ziguang was very surprised. He didn't expect my name to be so big that the governor of the central bank would know me too. Looking at his wide eyes, Peng Jingrong smiled slyly, "Nothing special, Hu Yimin is a close friend of mine. Let's go take a look at the famous Iron Armored Crocodile."

  Pulling the sleepy Second Miss out of bed and changing into clothes for receiving guests, the three boarded the Tie Da Biao, the first ship on the Grand Canal.

  The first thing that caught my eye was the clean and shiny teak deck, all visible metal parts on the ship were made of brass, thick and heavy, giving a sense of grandeur and safety. This is an exquisitely crafted steamship, with the steam engine hidden at the bottom of the ship, the chimney disguised as a pagoda, and two jade stone lions placed in front of the cabin door, lying down like the Western-style lions in front of the HSBC Bank in Hong Kong. On either side of the vermilion-painted door pillars hung a string of large red palace lanterns that looked familiar, similar to those in the Kun Ning Palace; above it hung a black and gold signboard with the words "Ri Sheng Chang", giving an overall impression of a floating bank, or rather, a head office.

  Miss Hu had changed into a new outfit, a plain-colored dark flower-patterned jacket and a light blue hundred-fold moon-white skirt, looking noble and elegant. She was standing at the door waiting for them, with eight maidservants standing behind her, fanning themselves, holding incense burners, lined up in a row, full of grandeur.

  Hu Dazhu took a delicate crystal eyeglass from the tray held by the maid, raised it to his eyes and looked around for a moment before putting it down and walking forward, "Rongmei, Weimei, long time no see."

  The three girls chatted warmly for a while, then Hu Dazhu turned to Liu Ziguang and asked with a smile: "Is this the famous Mr. Liu who invented the compound accounting method? I've long admired your great name, it's like thunder in my ears! I'm Hu Yimin, the current shopkeeper of Rishengchang, and now our Rishengchang has started using your advanced accounting method."

  Liu Ziguang smiled bitterly, thinking that later he must advise the young emperor to come up with a patent law to protect his own legitimate rights and interests. For now, he cupped his hands in respect: "At your service, I pay my respects to Director Hu."

  Hui Yimin chuckled and beckoned with her hand: "Come in and talk." She led the three of them into the luxurious cabin, where the floor was covered with thick Persian carpets. The tables, chairs, and stools were all made of golden nanmu wood, inlaid with Hetian jade, and adorned with Suzhou embroidery. On the wall hung a beautiful flower-and-bird painting. Liu Ziguo, who thought he had seen the "Painting of Rare Birds" before, was solemnly admiring the painting, nodding his head in contemplation. Hui Dazhang chuckled and asked: "Director Liu also has a fondness for painting? Just right, help me appraise whether this 'Phoenix's Pride' is a genuine work by Tang Yin?"

  What is the Phoenix Proud Picture? Who is Tang Yin? Liu Ziguang was stunned, but he quickly calmed down and carefully looked at the signature on the painting. A bright red seal presented the three characters of Tang Bohu. Ah, the movie "Tang Bohu Dian Qiuxiang" starring Stephen Chow flashed in his mind. He smiled proudly: "It's actually a treasure from Tang Bohu, the number one among the four great talents of Jiangnan, known for his exceptional poetry and painting skills. No wonder it has an aura that makes ordinary birds surrender. As for its authenticity, would there be fake paintings hung on the walls of Iron Da Yu's mansion? Even if it's a copy, hanging it in this hall makes it real." With these words, he not only identified the authenticity of the Phoenix Proud Picture but also flattered Daye Chang without being obvious.

  Thousands of holes, millions of holes, but no hole in the horse's buttocks. Hu Yi Min's bright eyes shone like morning stars, full of smiles. Ah, yes, the paintings hung in Ri Sheng Chang are certainly not fakes. This Director Liu is indeed eloquent.

  Peng Jingrong was worried that Liu Ziguang would be speechless and lose face, but now hearing him answer so perfectly, she couldn't help but give him an admiring glance.

  Encouraged, Liu Ziguang became complacent and didn't stop there, continuing to boast: "When it comes to the aura of a king, even the ordinary birds in Song Huizong's 'Painting of Rare Birds' have an unstoppable aura of a king, after all, he was an emperor."

  Upon hearing Liu Ziguang's boastful words, Peng Jingrong hastily interrupted him: "What you saw was a copy of the 'Precious Birds and Insects' painting from this dynasty, how could it possibly have the aura of a king? How could it be mentioned in the same breath as Tang Bohu's genuine work?"

  "Yes, yes, I saw the copied one, the copied one, haha." Realizing his slip of the tongue, Liu Ziguang hurriedly followed Peng Jingrong's words to continue. If others knew he had seen the original "Painting of Rare Birds" that would be troublesome.

  "Huh?" Hu's eyes flashed with a hint of suspicion, but he didn't continue questioning.

  Peng Jingrong quickly changed the subject: "Just now, Sister Hu was so majestic, even the official boat of the Minister of War had to give way to you three times."

  "Really, can anyone hit that golden hammer?" Liu Ziguang also asked, his confused eyes shining with admiration.

  "Haha, beating the emperor above and the treacherous officials below, that's what they sing in operas. If it weren't for the Iron Dragon ship and its powerful crossbows, how would the Minister of War have given a golden mace any face? Although it was indeed bestowed by the previous emperor, if one really wanted to use it to hit someone, that would be absolutely impermissible." What Hu Yimeng said was also true.

  "The truth is within the range of the crossbow." Liu Ziguang suddenly came out with a sentence. The two sisters heard that their eyes lit up, speaking with strength is the hard truth, how did this meaning come out of Liu Ziguang's mouth so full of philosophical flavor? This person is not simple, Hu Yimin thought secretly. My family's Liu deputy general speaks really has level, Peng Jingrong smiled complacently.

  "I'm afraid I've delayed your journey, it's really embarrassing. You haven't had breakfast yet, right? It just so happens that the kitchen has prepared some dishes, let's have them together." Hu Dazhu invited everyone to have breakfast together. The Hu family's dining room was renowned throughout the land, gathering famous chefs from all over the world, and could cook dishes from all corners of the globe. It was said that if you wanted to see the best culinary skills in the world, you should look at the Hu family's dining room, not the imperial kitchen. Even ordinary imperial chefs could only do menial tasks like peeling garlic and chopping scallions when they came to the Hu family's dining room.

  Peng Jingwei, who had been quiet for a while, finally got excited, "Sister Hu, what's delicious?"

  "You'll know when you see it." Hu Yimeng smiled and nodded to a maid to serve the meal.

  A huge table was filled with various dishes from all over the country and even abroad, all of which were specialty breakfasts, served in thin, semi-transparent ceramic bowls. Golden ivory chopsticks and a variety of sauces such as soy sauce, vinegar, aged vinegar, rice vinegar, chili oil, fragrant oil, scallion and garlic juice, honey, sugar, etc., were placed in front of each person.

  A young chef was introducing these dishes to everyone:

  Congee, fried dough sticks, pan-fried buns, steamed dumplings and rice cakes of Central Plains.

  Rice noodles from Hunan

  Yunnan's roasted egg and fragrant rice

  Douzhi and Jianbing in Beijing

  Nanjing's duck blood fan soup and roasted wheat gluten

  Jiangnan's crystal steamed buns and soup dumplings

  Tianjin's egg pancake

  Korean kimchi and white porridge

  Sichuan red oil chili noodles

  Tofu fa in Guangzhou, egg tarts

  Chang'an's Roujiamo and Yangrou Paomo

  Western-style beef noodle soup and wontons

  Nanchang's bao mi guo

  Wuchang's hot dry noodles and tofu skin

  Fujian's fish balls, swallow skin soup, small Wonton

  Henan's braised noodles

  There is also the latest addition of Xuzhou spicy soup.

  Even the experienced Peng Jingrong was dazzled by so many varieties, how to choose? "Does Sister Hu spend so much every day?" she couldn't help but ask.

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