Chapter 944 We got to eat cantaloupe!
The proposal to build the Heavenly Pivot was approved in the imperial court, and after the grand court assembly, the news spread.
This is indeed a great thing.
Firstly, it was because this was a great way of praising Emperor Wu.
If one's own ruler is powerful, then the people under his rule naturally share in his glory.
Secondly, the construction of the Heavenly Pivot would require a lot of people to do the work, and the work would naturally be paid for by vassal states. Wouldn't that benefit the people of Chang'an and its surrounding areas?
After the autumn harvest, there's not much farming to do; people mostly just wait for the New Year.
Now that we need to recruit workers to transport copper ore, isn't this giving people an opportunity to earn some money?
Moreover, this Tian Shu will take at least a year and a half to build, which means a steady stream of money. How could everyone not be happy?
In short, for the next two weeks, the whole of Chang'an was talking about this matter. The influx of people brought by the pilgrimage of all nations was further amplified by the release of this news, making Chang'an even more bustling.
When Li San Niang returned home on her day off, she heard her sister-in-law Li say, "I haven't seen your elder brother for seven or eight days. In the last few days, your elder brother hasn't even come home. He must have gone straight to Wuhoupu."
If he hadn't sent someone back with a message, I would have doubted whether he was still in Chang'an.
Thus, the fact that Brother Li, a member of the Imperial Guard, is so busy shows just how popular Chang'an is right now.
The maternity ward has seen a surge in patients and women giving birth recently, and the number of beds in the ward is now insufficient.
"I imagine these days must have been quite lively."
Sister-in-law, I'm going to the West Market. Is there anything you'd like me to bring back?
I should be back in the afternoon.
Sister-in-law Li instructed Li San Niang to buy some good mutton, as she wanted to make a nourishing mutton soup for Brother Li and send it to Wuhoupu.
As Li Dasao had suggested, Li Sanniang and Qiuxiang got into the carriage, and Lao Shiyi cracked the whip and the horse trotted off.
The reason why Li San Niang insisted on going to the West Market on her rare day off was because she had an appointment with Xing Yu and the others.
Or rather, Li San Niang did not have an agreement with Xing Yu, but rather these extraordinary people had an agreement with Du Qing Hui!
Yes, it's Du Qinghui!
Logically speaking, unless by imperial decree, Du Qinghui should be in charge of the overall situation in Jiangnan East Circuit.
However, Du Qinghui did come to Chang'an and wandered around the great city of Chang'an under Emperor Wu.
Li San Niang had previously asked Qiu Xiang to send a letter to the Bad People, asking Mr. Bu Ke if he knew about this matter.
Only then did she learn from Mr. Bu Ke that Emperor Wu knew about this matter and had tacitly allowed Du Qinghui to contact these extraordinary people.
Therefore, Li San Niang naturally had to attend this dinner party, as she was genuinely curious about such a legendary figure as Du Qinghui.
Of course, she was even more curious about Du Qinghui's motives in organizing this gathering. What was his intention?
After all, not long ago, Li San Niang had climbed a mountain to watch a military exercise and was even subjected to artillery fire at a fixed point.
Upon arriving at "Laoxianglou," she had barely stepped off the carriage when she saw Xing Yu, his wife Xing Niangzi, and Xing Dalang and Xing Xiaolang all waiting in front of the door.
After exchanging pleasantries for a while, Li San Niang was led by Xing Niangzi to a private room on the third floor.
As soon as she entered, the first thing she saw was a man with a handsome beard, dressed in a scholar's robe, and holding a paper fan, standing in front of the window. "Military Advisor Lü?"
The man was somewhat surprised by Li San Niang's words, but he gave a very elegant bow and said, "Doctor Li?"
Lu Yunting was initially surprised, after all, he was quite famous in Jiangnan, but how many people in Chang'an knew him?
When Lü Yunting called out "Doctor Li" again, it must be because he saw that Li Sanniang knew her, so it must be that Li Sanniang, the Doctor Li, who was related to the Bad People, had come. That's why he called out "Doctor Li" to Li Sanniang.
Li San Niang naturally returned the greeting. She went inside and saw Du Qinghui sitting cross-legged on a low couch, wearing martial arts clothes and leisurely eating melon seeds. He had taken off his shoes and socks.
When Li San Niang saw Du Qinghui's face, she was quite taken aback.
She had always thought that General Du, who could command the entire Jiangnan East Circuit and lead troops into battle, should be a strong man with a full beard, broad forehead, bright eyes, tall like Brother Li, and with a robust physique and a potbelly.
As it turned out, the man in front of her, happily cracking sunflower seeds, had no beard. Although he was not short, appearing to be over six feet tall, he was thin, which was quite different from the image of a military general that Li San Niang had imagined.
Why didn't you grow a beard?
Du Qinghui paused for a moment while cracking melon seeds. He put down the seeds with a sigh, stood up from the low couch, and gave Li Sanniang a proper bow before speaking: "You and Xing Yu are really interesting. Why do you always ask me why I don't have a beard?"
Only then did Li San Niang realize that her words had been somewhat abrupt. She returned the greeting with an embarrassed expression, just as she heard Lü Yunting, who was standing at the window, laugh and say, "Doctor Li and Master Xing are both straightforward people. That's why they only thought about asking about the beard as soon as they saw the general, haha."
With Lü Yunting's interjection, Li Sanniang finally felt less embarrassed.
"Third Sister, come and try some! These are salted melon seeds, fried with salt. Let's eat as many as we can, or there won't be many left once everyone is here."
Li San Niang really didn't expect Du Qinghui to have such an appearance. In fact, she had already activated her X-ray vision before even entering the house, and she could see that there were four people on the roof of the house, each in a corner.
It's unclear whether these four people are Emperor Wu's men, Du Qinghui's men, or Emperor Wu's men, but Du Qinghui knows he is being monitored.
Moreover, she also saw the dagger hidden on Du Qinghui's leg, the soft sword at his waist, and the sleeve dart on the inside of his upper arm.
As for Lü Yunting, he really didn't hide anything on him, and he truly looked like a proper strategist.
After Li San Niang sat down and ate almost a small handful of melon seeds with Du Qinghui, and discussed whether they would be able to have braised pork for lunch, the door finally opened again.
When the Ding brothers entered, they were somewhat bewildered to see Li Sanniang eating melon seeds on a low couch with Du Qinghui. After all, when the two brothers went to Jiangnan East Road to see Du Qinghui in the past, they had never sat at the same table with her before.
The Ding brothers had barely sat down and exchanged a few words when the door opened again, and this time Shi Le'an and Jiang Yijun came in hand in hand.
The two got engaged some time ago. It wasn't that they deliberately kept it a secret, but both of their families were well-known in Chang'an, and the upper-class noble families all knew about it.
As for how Li San Niang knew that?
That was naturally because Jiang Yijun had sent her an invitation to her wedding with Shi Le'an next year.
Shi Le'an, Du Qinghui, and Lü Yunting had met before in Jiangnan East Road and were quite familiar with each other. After exchanging greetings, they all found seats and sat down.
Xing Yu and Chang Siyuan were the last to enter the house. Xing Yu closed the door and picked up the teapot on the round table inside to pour tea for everyone.
"Come, have a cup to quench your thirst. Would Third Sister and Miss Jiang like some fruit syrup?"
Although it's late in the month, it's still quite hot. I'll have someone bring up two cantaloupes in a bit; you should try them. They're a real gem, brought back from the Western Regions with great effort."
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