Chapter 433 Welcome Banquet
The welcoming banquet prepared by Shi Yuanzhong was quite grand. Officials either raised their glasses to drink together or whispered to each other, their brows revealing their thoughts.
Zhu Lan sat at the main seat with a smile on his face. Zhu Qingyan, also an imperial envoy, naturally sat at the same table with Zhu Lan. Li Moxu, the grain supervisor, sat at the second seat, and the other Qingzhou officials sat below him.
Hu Ping'an naturally could not participate in such a scene, so he stayed in the inn and waited.
Just as the banquet was getting into full swing, a burst of hearty laughter suddenly rang out, the voice arrived before the person arrived:
"Oh my, it's such a grand occasion. I'm late. I hope you can forgive me!"
Zhu Lan looked in the direction of the voice and saw a middle-aged man in a brocade robe and with a wealthy face walking into the courtyard with a smile on his face.
His feet moved quickly, he clasped his fists and greeted people left and right, his eyes smiling into two slits.
Zhu Lan glanced around calmly and found that the Qingzhou officials sitting below were also quite respectful to this man. Some of the lower-ranking officials even stood up to return the greeting.
"Master Shi, who is this...?"
Shi Yuanzhong quickly replied:
“Your Excellency, this person is not an official, but Mr. Shen Wanxiong, the richest businessman in Qingzhou.
Mr. Shen has a great influence in Qingzhou, so today I took the initiative to invite him here as well."
Zhu Lan suddenly realized and said "Oh", then looked at Zhu Qingyan beside him.
He is not an official, but he is so familiar with officials of all ranks in Qingzhou. This person is definitely not an ordinary person.
"I, the humble commoner Shen Wanxiong, kowtow to the two imperial envoys!"
Shen Wanxiong kowtowed to Zhu Lan and the other two in a very respectful manner, his voice extremely pious.
Zhu Lan smiled faintly, "Since Master Shen is a guest invited by Lord Shi, please take a seat."
Shen Wanxiong was not in a hurry, he stood up and said:
"I am a humble commoner, unworthy of such a noble place. I am honored to meet the two imperial envoys today. It is truly a great honor.
Therefore, I have prepared a small gift, and I hope you two will accept it."
As he said this, he asked his servant to get something.
Zhu Qingyan immediately said, "Master Shen, we are here on a tour under the emperor's order. How can we accept private gifts?"
Shen Wanxiong laughed:
"Your Excellency, the Imperial Envoy has misunderstood! I know that you two are honest people. Please rest assured that this gift will never embarrass you two.
As soon as he finished speaking, the servant brought up an umbrella made of red and yellow strips of cloth, which was covered with words densely written on it.
"The Imperial Envoy has gone through so much trouble to come visit us Qingzhou people and bring us food. This news has spread all over Qingzhou!
This "Umbrella of Ten Thousand People" is a token of appreciation from the people of Qingzhou to you, the Imperial Envoy. I hope you will not refuse it."
Zhu Lan stood up, looking ashamed.
"Our hard work is nothing, it's all thanks to your majesty's kindness. I will accept this 'Umbrella of the People' on your behalf and will bring it back to the capital. Master Shen is very thoughtful."
The two exchanged a few more pleasantries and then sat down.
Zhu Qingyan leaned towards Zhu Lan and whispered, "It's amazing. We just arrived in Qingzhou and the Ten Thousand People Umbrella is ready."
Zhu Lan nodded slightly, a hint of deep thought flashing in his eyes.
At this time, the singing and dancing performance began and the scene became more lively.
After a few drinks, the originally serious atmosphere began to melt away. As the head of a state, Shi Yuanzhong naturally had to take the lead in toasting.
He came to Zhu Lan first with a glass of wine in hand, and the two of them exchanged some polite words in official circles, and then he toasted Zhu Qingyan with a glass of wine.
The third glass of wine is for Li Moxu.
Li Moxu stood up, met Shi Yuanzhong's eyes, and gave him an appreciative look without any expression.
Shi Yuanzhong was the first to laugh and said:
"Sir Li, I offer you a toast. I heard that you are quite famous in the capital. I am glad to see you today. You are indeed very elegant. You will surely be promoted to a higher position and become a noble or a prime minister in the future!"
Li Moxu clinked his cup with his and said with a smile:
"Master Shi, you are really joking. The two imperial envoys are both gifted and talented, and are highly appreciated by His Majesty. If you talk about being conferred a title of nobility or appointed as prime minister, it will never be my turn, hahahaha..."
Li Moxu brought the wine glass to his lips and drank it all, then said with emotion:
"I have admired Qingzhou's scenery for a long time, but unfortunately this trip is in a hurry. I have to return to the capital to report after completing my mission. I have no time to enjoy it. It is really a pity."
"That's fine, that's fine. When Lord Li is free in the future, bring your family along, and I will definitely accompany you!"
When Li Moxu heard this, a trace of embarrassment flashed across his face.
"This... To be honest with you, Master Shi, my wife died early and I never remarried. I have no children and am now alone."
Upon hearing this, Shi Yuanzhong regretted so much that he almost slapped himself in the face: "Look at this humble official's mouth, it really deserves to die!"
Li Moxu smiled and said it was okay. The two talked for a few more words, and then Shi Yuanzhong returned to his seat.
"Zhu Lan..." Zhu Qingyan heard the conversation between Li Moxu and Shi Yuanzhong just now, and her eyebrows were tightly knitted together, as if she wanted to say something.
Zhu Lan raised his right hand slightly, motioning her to go back and talk.
The smile on Shi Yuanzhong's face became somewhat mysterious, and he said to Zhu Lan:
"Your Excellency, how do you feel about this wine today?"
Zhu Lan nodded. "It tastes refreshing. It is indeed a rare good wine."
Shi Yuanzhong raised his eyebrows to show off, "This wine is called 'Spring Breeze Drunk' - it is Mr. Shen's secret recipe. Even the dignitaries in the capital often send people from thousands of miles away to buy this Spring Breeze Drunk!"
Shen Wanxiong immediately waved his hand and said modestly:
"No, no. Speaking of fine wine, the best one in Daliang is undoubtedly Jiangzhou Moutai.
I just spent several years to figure out the recipe, so I can only imitate it a little bit. "
"Really?" Zhu Lan smiled and glanced at Shen Wanxiong who was sitting in the distance. Shen Wanxiong was also smiling at her flatteringly.
"Before I set out, I heard that the Shen family runs the largest winery and rice shop in Qingzhou. Master Shen, your business is really big."
Before Shen Wanxiong could reply, he heard Zhu Lan smile and say:
"Making wine requires grain. There was a famine in Qingzhou this year, and the people had no surplus grain at home, but Boss Shen's winery was doing well...
Wow, you really know how to do business."
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