Chapter 116 Chapter 116 Lord Tang’s Banquet, Lord Tang…
At Lord Tang’s banquet, Lord Tang is the protagonist.
It’s just that Xue Fenglin was born with outstanding looks, and he always attracted attention wherever he went. Even though Lord Tang did not allow him to sit in the seat of honor next to him, he still became the subject of discussion among the officials attending the banquet.
"That young prefect over there must be the prince in the capital, right? I only heard about him before, but now that I see him, he is indeed as handsome and elegant as the rumors say."
"Since you are the prince, why don't you seek an official position in the capital, but instead be sent to a rural place like ours?"
"I heard that he participated in the imperial examination and won the fourth place in the first class. He was appointed by the current emperor to serve as an official here!"
"The emperor specially sent him away. Does he not like him?"
"I don't think so. I heard from my friends in the capital that His Majesty let him choose for himself. If he didn't want to be sent out, he could stay in the Hanlin Academy as an editor. I don't know what Magistrate Xue was thinking. He chose this fifth-rank official position, so he was sent out. Before he came here, His Majesty even arranged a marriage for him!"
"That person should not be underestimated! Judging from the situation, he might return to Beijing someday."
"Isn't it? After all, his father is still a close minister to His Majesty. To recruit him back is just a matter of saying a few nice words. We really need to make friends with this guy!"
…
Xue Fenglin has a special identity and his father is a marquis. Even Prefect Tang, who was displeased with him, was wary of him and specially invited him to a banquet, not to mention the minor officials under Prefect Tang.
Soon, Xue Fenglin was surrounded by flatterers, but Li Yuran, the person he wanted to talk to, was sitting somewhere else with a haughty look on his face, and it seemed that he had no intention of interacting with him.
Li Yuran was born into a merchant family. He passed the exam and became a prefect through his own studies. Compared with those playboys from aristocratic families, he also suffered a lot and felt that he was not the same kind of person as Xue Fenglin.
He was good at general affairs, and using his merchant background to manage Jianzhou well, he felt quite a sense of accomplishment.
Others went to meet Magistrate Xue, hoping to take the opportunity to get to know the powerful people in the capital, but he refused to go. Because compared to being promoted to an official position in Beijing, Li Yuran prefers his current official position.
Li Yuran did not go to find Xue Fenglin, and Xue Fenglin would not put on airs. After dealing with those flatterers, he went to talk to Li Yuran in person.
"I have heard of Lord Li's name before. It is really an honor for me to meet him today." Xue Fenglin took the initiative to bring a glass of wine and sat next to Li Yuran.
Li Yuran was stunned. He didn't expect that Xue Zhizhou would take the initiative to talk to him, and he was so humble. He had a question mark in his mind.
He thought that he was just a small prefect of Jianzhou, and there was nothing he could do to make this prefect Xue famous.
With this question in mind, Li Yuran simply asked.
Xue Fenglin smiled when he heard this and said to Li Yuran: "Although Lord Li's official position is not prominent, I know Lord Li's achievements in Jianzhou."
"Jianzhou and Sarawak are neighbors, with similar natural environments and people from the same origin. However, Sarawak has been poor for a long time, while Jianzhou has been thriving in recent years. As the parent official of Sarawak, I respect Lord Li in my heart, and I would like to ask Lord Li how he has boosted the people's livelihood in Jianzhou."
Xue Fenglin's words were sincere and also concerned people's livelihood. When Li Yuran heard this, he was shocked and his impression of Xue Zhizhou changed all of a sudden.
In addition, he has done a lot in Jianzhou over the years, and he is indeed somewhat proud of it. After being praised by Xue Fenglin, Li Yuran no longer regarded Xue Fenglin as a playboy from the capital who was not of the same kind as himself, but felt a sense of mutual respect for him.
Taking advantage of Lord Tang's banquet, Xue Fenglin and Li Yuran chatted about the people's livelihood in Sarawak and Jianzhou.
Xue Fenglin was good at chatting, and he started by talking to Li Yuran about the affairs of Jianzhou for a long time. After praising him for a while, Xue Fenglin suddenly mentioned the two cities jointly building an industrial chain.
This idea was inspired by Shen Xuan, and Xue Fenglin spent a long time thinking about the implementation part based on the coastal conditions of Sarawak.
The proposal was unprecedented and indeed very bold, but it seemed feasible, which made Li Yuran both surprised and excited.
Li Yuran came from a merchant family and had a relatively keen sense of economics.
He subconsciously felt that the bold plan proposed by Xue Fenglin had potential, but putting it into practice was a huge gamble. After all, a lot of resources need to be invested in both people's livelihood and finance.
Sarawak is still a very poor place, so it is not afraid of any disturbance. But Jianzhou has finally recovered. If he takes a detour, he will probably be seriously injured again!
Li Yuran hesitated and didn't dare to agree to anything now. When Xue Fenglin saw this, he stopped forcing him.
He has already brought up this matter with Li Yuran today, which is a step forward. From the other party's point of view, this proposal involves many things and needs to be handled with caution. It is not something that can be decided overnight!
Lord Tang is the prefect, so the banquet cannot be badly prepared.
Mrs. Tang took great pains to prepare a banquet for Lord Tang. The dishes used are all the best from Pengzhou, mostly seafood, and the ones selected are the biggest and best, so they are bound to be praised frequently.
When the meal was almost over, someone stood up and praised, "Lord Tang's banquet today really opened my eyes to the world. Take abalone for example, I eat it quite often, but this is the first time I've seen abalone as big as a rice bowl!"
After this person finished speaking, others began to praise other dishes. However, what received the most praise were the tea and snacks served before the meal.
Especially the candies of various shapes and colors, as soft as cotton, it was the first time I saw them. Adults who like sweets will immediately ask Lord Tang for the recipe.
Lord Tang's face lit up, but he stroked his beard and said, "This snack was prepared by my wife. But this candy is called cloud candy, but my family doesn't have a recipe, so we bought it from outside."
When the gentleman heard that the cloud candy was available for sale, he became even happier and immediately went to find Lord Tang to find a place to buy the candy.
After this lively occasion, the banquet officially ended and the officials returned home with their families.
Li Yuran and his wife got on the carriage together. After the carriage started, Mrs. Li suddenly said, "Sir, let's go to Xuanji Cloud Candy Shop on Pengzhou Street. My parents, my grandfather and my wife all like sweets. I want to buy some cloud candy as a specialty to bring back."
Li Yuran had also tasted the cloud candy, and it did have a special taste. He agreed with his wife's thoughtful thoughts, so he nodded and asked the driver to drive towards the busiest downtown street in Pengzhou.
"Sir, do you know who owns this Xuanji Cloud Candy shop?" Mrs. Li smiled mysteriously and said to Li Yuran.
"Why do you ask this? Is it someone you know?" Li Yuran asked in some confusion.
"You have seen this man today. He is the husband of Mr. Xue, the governor of Sarawak." Madam Li shared with Li Yuran some gossip about the news she learned at the banquet today, saying, "Mr. Xue is also a powerful man. He actually planted fruit on a large piece of sandy land in Sarawak and opened a sugar factory to make sugar for sale."
"I heard that the fruits in Sarawak have not grown well this year, so we can only import materials from outside. Therefore, the production of the sugar factory cannot be increased, and we can only open a store in Pengzhou. Even so, this cloud sugar can earn more than 300 taels of silver a month, which is more than 3,000 taels a year!"
"If the fruits in the fields come out next year, we will have to produce them in large quantities and open a shop in the capital. Wouldn't it be possible to make tens of thousands of taels of profit this year?"
Li Yuran was stunned, only then did he realize that the cloud candy praised by everyone at the banquet was actually the property of Xue Fenglin's family!
He had previously heard Xue Fenglin paint a rosy picture for him, saying that he would develop an industrial chain in Sarawak and Jianzhou, set up a one-stop factory, and sell products throughout Dajin and Nanyang. I also feel that although this matter has great profits, it also involves great risks.
However, after hearing what his wife said, he realized that Xue Fenglin was not just talking casually, but had already practiced it himself and achieved certain results.
At this time, the carriage just arrived at the busy street and stopped in front of Xuanji Yunduotang's shop.
When Mrs. Li lifted the curtain of the car, she found that there was a long line at the door. Many of the carriages looked familiar, as if they had come from Lord Tang's residence with them.
"Why are there so many people? Isn't that the car of Lord Liu and Lord Wang? Are they here to buy cloud candies too?" Mrs. Li couldn't help but complain.
Li Yuran also lifted the car curtain and took a look at the shops outside. Then his eyes flashed, he gritted his teeth, and suddenly said, "Let's not buy it yet. Let's set off for Sarawak."
"Huh? Why go to Sarawak?" Mrs. Li opened her eyes wide in surprise, not knowing why her husband suddenly made such a decision?
"Let's go to Sarawak to buy candy." Li Yuran finally made up his mind and spoke.
He wanted to have another good talk with Magistrate Xue. It seemed that the joint construction of Sarawak and Jianzhou was indeed likely to succeed!
"How did the conversation go today?" Shen Xuan asked.
They had been acting separately since they entered the Tang family today. The men were having a meal in the front hall, while the officials' wives were in the back garden, so the two of them were unable to meet each other.
It was only after the banquet was over and they got into the carriage together that they had time to talk.
"Seventy percent sure." Xue Fenglin thought for a moment and said, "I see that Lord Li is quite confident. If he puts in a little more effort, it might work."
After all, it is a major matter of cooperation between the two states, and it cannot be decided in a short time. It’s great to have such progress today.
"Only 70%?" Shen Xuan felt a little disappointed when he heard that. Today, he met Yun Duotang at Lord Tang's banquet, and thought that it was divine help, and the matter was most likely settled.
Xue Fenglin smiled when he saw it, and put his arm around his waist and said, "Why? You think 70% is not enough? Cooperation between the two states is easy to say, but it requires money and effort, and if it goes wrong, it will hurt your bones. Do you think everyone has so much money? It's good that no one refused."
"That's because they have no vision." Although Shen Xuan knew that Xue Fenglin was deliberately teasing him, he still said with some indignation when he heard it.
"Of course. What if everyone in the world has the same vision as me and comes to snatch you? I would be very scared." Xue Fenglin said.
Before he finished speaking, his hand had already quietly touched the part of Shen Xuan that he was not prepared for and explored.
"Stop it, we're still in the car!" Shen Xuan blushed and quickly grabbed Xue Fenglin's arm.
"The driver can't see us, and there are only you and me in the carriage. What are you afraid of?" Xue Fenglin has never been so obedient in this matter. Without stopping his actions, he leaned close to Shen Xuan's ear and whispered.
Shen Xuan felt ashamed, but after being husband and wife with Xue Fenglin for so long, he had figured out her whole body.
Just a few casual fiddles with his fingers made him feel weak all over and he even felt like he couldn't stop. Although she still had the intention of refusing, her body was already half-heartedly responding to Xue Fenglin.
Her eyes were slightly wet, and her eyelids were stained a bright pink.
Xue Fenglin saw this, swallowed his saliva, and a burning fire ignited in his heart.
Shen Xuan has a slender waist, but perhaps because he had done a lot of farm work in the past, the fleshy parts are not skinny, but rather plump and firm muscles, and feel great to hold in the hands.
Xue Fenglin considered himself not to be a lustful person. He had met many famous courtesans in the capital before because of banquets he had attended.
But no matter how those people tempted him, they never aroused the slightest desire in him. It was only when facing Chen Xuan that he could not control himself like an impetuous teenager, wishing he could execute him right there and then! Make him cry more beautifully!
Shen Xuan bit his lower lip, his whole body trembling slightly, and hummed softly.
Xue Fenglin saw his condition like a strong medicine, which made him make up his mind and prepare to go into battle right away!
Just when the two were in a critical moment, suddenly a shocking shout came from far behind the carriage.
"Xue Zhizhou! Xue Zhizhou? Please go slower..."
Shen Xuan: “…”
Xue Fenglin: “…”
The two of them stood there, listening to the voices outside the carriage still calling out "Xue Zhizhou, Xue Zhizhou". The expression on his face changed constantly.
Finally, Shen Xuan gritted his teeth, pushed Xue Fenglin away and said, "Driver, who is behind you? Stop the car first!"
The driver then stopped the carriage and let the carriage behind catch up. Xue Fenglin lifted the car curtain with a sullen face and asked, "Who is that person?"
"It's the residence of Lord Li in Jianzhou!" The coachman behind didn't know why Xue Fenglin looked so unhappy, and answered with a trembling voice.
Xue Fenglin: “…”
Hearing that it was Li Yuran, Xue Fenglin finally put his composure in the carriage, and then he gritted his teeth and said, "I don't know why this Li Zhizhou came to see me at this time! It really ruins the mood!"
"What else could it be? It must be the serious matter of the union of the two states!" Shen Xuan said speechlessly: "You'd better go and take a look!"
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