Chapter 80: At the Banquet, Ji Shubai's Eyeballs Almost Fall Out
Near noon that day, Song Jin followed Ji Shubai, changed into new clothes, took a sedan chair, and went to Gao Ce's house for a banquet.
Gao Ce was a juren during the Longqing period. He later took part in the imperial examinations but failed repeatedly. A few years ago, he simply returned to his hometown and became a juren master.
Although this man was not successful in the imperial examinations, he had a smooth financial career and built a courtyard that was unique and spectacular.
Song Jin followed Ji Shubai down from the sedan at the front door. Gao Ce was already at the door leading the crowd to greet them. At first glance, Song Jin suddenly realized something was wrong.
Gao Ce was wearing a round-collared green robe, and he was accompanied by two or three men dressed similarly, all of whom were about the same age. Although Ji Shubai was attending a private party, he was wearing a dark blue robe that she had never seen before. She guessed that there was some particularity in it, but she couldn't tell what it was at the moment.
After paying their respects, everyone entered the courtyard. Ji Shubai ordered someone to present the greeting card, and Song Jin was about to hand over the visiting card. As a result, they saw those people kneeling down with a plop, muttering something like "I am just a country gentleman, fortunate to have your kindness." and "It is an honor for my humble home."
Song Jin's mind was not here. She was thinking about herself, a person without any achievements, should she kneel?
But Ji Shubai had no time to care about her. He reached out his hand to help everyone up and bowed in return. Song Jin was watching from the side, and the people who watched kept shrinking back.
What kind of etiquette is this? There are so many sets of etiquette. Not only has she never seen it before, but Mancao has never seen it in her life. How could she know how to do it?
Before she could step back, Ji Shubai glanced at her, signaling her to hand over the note.
Song Jin hurried forward and handed over the invitation: "I am Lu Jin, and I am grateful to you all for not abandoning me. I have found a job under the name of Lord Lu."
The post in my hand was quickly taken away, and at the same time, a questioning voice was heard.
"Lord Lu?"
"He is a judge in the palace. When he saw me coming out, he said that this person is quite useful, so he asked me to keep him with me."
"That must be a capable person, please come in."
Song Jin sighed inwardly. Saying that she was capable didn't mean he was asking her to demonstrate how capable she was on the spot, right?
Even though he was feeling uneasy, he had no choice but to follow Ji Shubai inside.
Song Jin followed the people walking, but his eyes were looking around. The Gao family was decorated as if it was New Year's Day.
There was a long table in the hall, filled with all kinds of food that were clearly carefully arranged. They were bright red and golden, with many things she couldn't name, and it looked like a New Year's celebration. The brocade screens on both sides were dazzling.
Song Jin was so busy looking that he didn't pay attention to his feet. After kicking the step, he rushed forward. It was not serious, as he just hit Ji Shubai's arm.
Song Jin panicked now, and quickly took a step back. Ji Shubai tilted his head slightly and whispered, "Be steady."
Song Jin smiled awkwardly and nodded.
Everyone sat down and servants brought tea and water one after another. Gao Ce gave a look and someone put a drum stool on the steps. A group of men and women in bright and beautiful clothes came out, holding various musical instruments in their hands. After they sat down, they began to play and sing.
Song Jin actually didn't understand what was being sung specifically. She guessed that it might be a pop song from this world, such as "The West Chamber" or something like that.
What followed was something Song Jin was familiar with, cutting the soup as a gift. She had done this before, and seeing someone else doing it now was a completely different feeling.
After everyone had finished presenting their works, Gao Ce suggested that the servants go and have a rest and drink, so even Qingshan went out as well, leaving only Song Jin sitting next to Ji Shubai, listening to their conversation silently.
In the past, she had heard that scholars and scholars these days made friends through poetry, which was extremely elegant. Before coming, she had done some psychological work for a long time. If that didn't work, she would just bring up a few people from the Qing Dynasty, which would always be able to scare people.
What's the result?
There was nothing to do. They just talked about past events, listened to music, and occasionally asked someone to order an opera. Song Jin didn't understand what they ordered. He just pricked up his ears to listen and picked up his chopsticks to eat.
There was a fish on the table. It looked like it was steamed and had not been cut in any way. It was different from Song Jin's way of steaming fish. She picked up a piece of fish with her chopsticks out of curiosity.
The meat was very tender and had a strong aroma. She didn't know what the seasoning was as she was not very familiar with it.
There was a bowl of dish made from something unknown. Song Jin scooped a spoonful and brought it to his nose and smelled it. It smelled a bit like chicken soup, and also a hint of fish.
She took a bite and found it smooth, with tasty chicken soup and very easy to eat.
The next bowl that Song Jin set his eyes on was a bowl of fish balls. It looked like white balls floating in seaweed soup, and it looked ordinary. But when he ate it, he found that it tasted very delicious. It must be made from fresh fish.
Jiangsu has many waterways, so seafood is quite abundant. After tasting several seafood dishes, Song Jin turned his attention to other meats.
Her chopsticks passed over the drunken shrimps and reached straight into a plate of chicken or bird, but she didn't get any meat and felt someone kick her foot.
This could only be done by Ji Shubai.
When she turned her head to look, it was indeed true.
"The judge asked you, where were you and what did you do in the past?" Ji Shubai repeated calmly.
When he heard this question, he did not help because he did not know what Song Jin was going to make up, so he just reminded Song Jin to answer.
Song Jin took back his chopsticks in a daze, forced his still unfilled stomach to close, and prepared to start chatting.
She cleared her throat twice and said calmly, "I am still young and don't have any extraordinary skills or insights, but my father did go out to sea and saw the cultural landscapes of many places."
"Going out to sea?" The man narrowed his eyes and suddenly seemed to remember something and asked, "Could it be the same as the Wufeng ship owner..."
“Ahem—”
Song Jin was frightened by his calling him the Wufeng Captain, and said hurriedly, "No, no, my father is a serious sailor who has been to many places, and he is different from Wang Zhi."
"Oh——" Several people at the table seemed to suddenly realize something, and Song Jin also heard the people around him breathe a sigh of relief.
"I wonder where your father has been?"
Song Jin sat up straight and started talking: "I have been to Siam and Luzon, as well as many places far away. For example, I always say bonjour when I speak--"
"Wait, help...help the pig?"
"Yes, help the Pig Country."
In fact, Song Jin couldn't quite remember how the Ming Dynasty called France in the 16th century. Now that he had a nickname, it was just right to use it. As for whether it was helping pigs or dogs, who cared?
There is still someone who cares, and that is Ji Shubai.
Although he didn't know which country this "Bonjour when speaking" country was, it was definitely wrong to help the pig. But when he saw Song Jin dancing with joy, attracting everyone's attention, he had to hold back his foot that was about to kick Song Jin, put his right fist to his lips, and fixed his eyes on the table.
It went in one ear and out the other, and I pretended I heard nothing.
"So what are these pig countries like?"
Song Jin's eyes turned, and he glanced at the people singing and playing music below the steps. He suddenly had an idea in his mind, and smiled and said, "In fact, some places are very similar to our Ming Dynasty."
"Oh, what is the similarity?"
Song Jin smiled even more. She had never been to France, or rather she wanted to go but failed. In her previous life, she knew all about France's luxury brands, which she knew clearly, but these were useless in the Ming Dynasty.
But there was one thing she could use.
"In this country of pigs, men in the upper class like to keep mistresses."
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone at the table widened their eyes, even Ji Shubai couldn't help but look over.
He never expected that Song Jin, who was speaking foreign languages to him, would come here and start talking about her mistress. If he had known that he would have tied her up in the county government office, he would not have brought her out.
However, Song Jin knew the bad qualities of men: wine, sex, money and anger, and they could never get rid of the word "lust".
Although they were reluctant to ask because of their status as juren, they all pricked up their ears.
"Speaking of this bunch of pigs, they are also quite wealthy, and their habits are the same as ours, they like to listen to and watch operas."
"The various theaters perform burlesques, comedies, singing, and dancing. They are packed every day and noisy every night..."
Song Jin boasted about life in Paris, but in fact she didn't know much about what Paris looked like in the 16th century. But Paris was far away, not as close as Luzon and Siam, and if she met someone familiar there, her mistake would be exposed.
However, the people of the Ming Dynasty knew very little about Paris, so Song Jin boasted about it a lot, vowing to spread the reputation of her father's wide knowledge, so that she could also be considered well-informed.
Everyone present was fooled by her. They wanted to question her but didn't know where to start. They all stared with their eyes wide open and looked like complete idiots.
"Then... do these people from the Pig Country also eat our food and wine?"
"That's different, of course. But there's one thing they have in common, and that's that they love to eat goose. They love to eat goose liver."
Song Jin talked nonsense about foie gras and made up a few dishes. It seemed that if he kept talking, McDonald's would also belong to Paris. Anyway, these people couldn't tell the difference.
"What about the wine? I heard that the Gentiles also drink that grape wine."
Song Jin said: "That's true. These pig people also like to drink this wine, but there is another kind of wine we haven't heard of here, called cocktail."
"Hahaha - Cocktail, these pig people are interesting too. They are either chickens or pigs. If someone who doesn't know hears this, they would think it's some animal country."
Everyone laughed, and someone asked, "What does this cocktail taste like? It doesn't contain chicken feathers, does it?"
"Of course not." Song Jin had a calm expression as he slowly explained, or rather, lied.
"This wine is actually a new type of wine made by mixing common wines with a special formula. It tastes sweet or sour and is very popular."
Someone asked, "Did your father drink it?"
"Not only have I drunk it, I also know the recipe."
"Then you can also make some cocktail?"
"Of course. I'm not afraid to tell you that the Lu's Restaurant in Changzhou County was opened by my family, and they sell this imported cocktail."
At this point, Ji Shubai's eyes almost fell out.
He didn't know whether there was a Lu's Restaurant in Changzhou County, but this restaurant must be related to Song Jin, and she didn't have a restaurant at all.
They just started making up stories out of thin air.
Ji Shubai regretted it so much that his intestines turned green. Although he knew that Song Jint would tell lies, wasn't it a bit too much to go to this extent?
However, looking at Song Jin again, he was so excited about what he was saying that he almost wanted to roll up his sleeves.
At this moment, she was regretting not bringing Ji Shubai's fan with her when she went out. Otherwise, she should have fanned it hard, making a snapping sound and then shaking it twice. He was truly the reincarnation of a charlatan, very good at deceiving people.
"Mr. Lu is indeed well-informed."
Song Jin enjoyed today's meal very much, but she didn't drink much alcohol. She remembered that Mancao's health was not very good, so in order to avoid being exposed, she restrained herself until the next main dish was served.
She saw a sheep being led into the yard.
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