At the Ninghe County Yamen, on this day, as soon as the chief constable Zhang Yingqi arrived at the yamen early in the morning, he was called over by the county magistrate Gong Lianzhong.
"Yingqi, I've known you for so many years, but I didn't expect you to have connections in Beijing!
"You're so good at hiding it. You've never mentioned it before."
"Ah?" Zhang Yingqi was stunned. "Sir, you know that my family is from Ninghe County, and our ancestors have never left here.
"Forget about the capital, I don't even know anyone in Tianjin!"
Gong Lianzhong was also puzzled after hearing this.
Indeed, he was able to use Zhang Yingqi as the head of the police force because he had conducted a detailed investigation into his family situation before.
And seeing that he looked confused, he didn't look like he was lying.
Gong Lianzhong placed the document he had just received on the table and said, "This is a document just sent from the Honglu Temple in the capital, specifically asking you to be responsible for receiving the guests of the Western delegation."
"Honglu Temple? Westerners?" Zhang Yingqi was even more confused. "Sir, I have never met anyone from the Honglu Temple in my life!
“We often see Westerners here, but he doesn’t know me, and I don’t know him either!
"Could it be a mistake?"
"It's clearly written here. Captain Zhang of Ninghe County, who else could it be besides you?"
Zhang Yingqi pondered for a while, and in order to dispel Gong Lianzhong's suspicion, he said, "Sir, if I really had connections there, I would have written my name directly. Why use the general name 'Captain Zhang'?"
"That's true." Gong Lianzhong nodded. "But no matter what the reason is, you should hurry up and get ready. They're arriving today, so you have to entertain them well."
Although those Western countries are just small countries to Da Qi.
There are even more Westerners in Tianjin than in other places.
Gong Lianzhong and Zhang Yingqi were also ruthless in handling disputes between Westerners and locals.
But this time it’s different, after all, they are members of a diplomatic delegation who have come from afar to visit.
The first difference is in identity.
What's more, he was introduced by the Honglu Temple.
If the treatment is not good, at the very least it will seem as if they do not take the Honglu Temple seriously.
To put it in a bigger picture, if it is elevated to the level of two countries, it will be extremely serious.
"Yes, Master Gong, rest assured, I will make sure it's arranged."
After receiving the order, Zhang Yingqi started to get busy.
The official documents were sent expedited. If the envoys came from the capital, it would take about two days.
According to the time written in the official document, he should arrive this evening.
There wasn't much else to do after arriving, except to eat and rest.
The rest can be discussed the next day.
So Zhang Yingqi quickly found a restaurant and booked a private room.
Then I went to find an inn with a nice environment and booked a yard.
In the evening, Zhang Yingqi and several of his men were waiting at the gate of the county town.
Because it is close to the pier, Ninghe County has always been very lively.
At this time every day, there are so many people returning from the harbor and the market that it is impossible to tell which ones are from the capital.
Just as Zhang Yingqi was looking around, he suddenly heard a childish voice.
"Uncle Zhang!"
Zhang Yingqi subconsciously looked in the direction of the sound and saw a carriage window open. A little girl leaned half of her body out and waved at him with a smile.
"Sunny?" Zhang Yingqi recognized him immediately and quickly stepped forward to greet him. "Are you here with your parents?"
"No, my parents are too busy lately, so I came here with my master." Qingtian said with a smile, "But my parents told me to take good care of Uncle Zhang!"
"Is your family all right? Have you found any relatives to go to?"
Qingtian thought for a moment and said, “Except for my fourth aunt, everyone else is pretty good.
"We found our hometown village, and the only relatives we have are my cousin's family."
"That's good too." Zhang Yingqi thought of Guo and felt that her miserable life was probably her own fault.
However, he was still thinking about the Western delegation, and he thought Qingtian was young, so he didn't ask any further questions.
"Are you going into town? Are you stopping by to rest or are you here to have some fun?
"No matter what happens here, you can come to the county government office to find me."
After hearing this, Qingtian asked in confusion, "Uncle Zhang, aren't you here to pick us up?"
"Of course not. I didn't know you were coming." Zhang Yingqi laughed, thinking it was just the innocent words of a child. "I have something to do here. You two should go into the city and find a place to stay first. I'll come see you when I'm done. Okay?"
After hearing this, Qingtian was even more confused and turned to ask in the carriage, "Master Lu, didn't Mr. Hu from the Honglu Temple say that he would help contact Uncle Zhang to receive us?
"Why did Uncle Zhang say he didn't know we were coming?"
Zhang Yingqi was stunned when he heard this outside. After a while, he reacted and asked, "Qingtian, the Honglu Temple said that it was you who would come to the market? Didn't they say that it was the Western delegation?"
Qingtian leaned against the window again and said, "Yes, Master and I are here to buy things with Martina, a lady-in-waiting under Queen Beatrice."
"Oh, so it's you!" Zhang Yingqi clapped his hands, "I'm waiting with my men!
"I was wondering why a Westerner would specifically ask me to accompany him. It turns out it was you, little girl, who did this."
"Since I'm coming to Tianjin to buy things, the first person I think of is Uncle Zhang." Qingtian said with a smile.
"Okay, let's go eat first, then I'll take you to the inn. Have a good rest tonight, and you can go to the market tomorrow."
Tianjin is close to the sea, and Ninghe County is right on the coast, so many of the dishes that night were seafood that Qingtian had never seen before.
Madam Lu first peeled a shrimp and put it in Qingtian's bowl.
I had eaten this at Cen Mansion before on this sunny day.
However, the live shrimps transported from the seaside to Beijing and then taken home for cooking are naturally not as fresh as those eaten directly at the seaside.
The shrimp meat is firm and chewy, and has no fishy smell when you bite it. Instead, it is full of sweetness.
"Master, this shrimp is so delicious!" Qingtian was very satisfied after taking a bite.
"If you like to eat it, Master will peel it for you."
"No need, Master, I can learn to peel it myself." Qingtian picked up a shrimp and imitated what Madam Lu had done just now, removing the shrimp head and then peeling off the shrimp skin.
Although her technique was not as proficient as Madam Lu's, she had indeed learned it quite well.
"Master, look, I can peel them too." Qingtian put the shrimp he had peeled into Madam Lu's bowl. "You don't have to take care of me, you have to eat too!"
"Okay, I'll eat it too." Madam Lu smiled from ear to ear. The shrimp tasted sweeter than honey.
After eating the shrimp, she reached out and took a crab and started to help Qingtian peel the crab roe and crab meat.
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