Xishan Guanyin Temple, also known as Huashan Temple, is one of the earliest Guanyin temples in the country, and the incense has always been effective.
Although it has been destroyed now, its beauty is still there and the buildings are still intact.
After Zhao Hao took over Xishan, he inspected the entire island and found that the best-preserved buildings on the island were the Guanyin Temple and several other temples and Taoist temples.
It can be seen that if you want to get things done, you cannot do it without faith.
He ordered Hua Bozheng to clean and renovate the Guanyin Temple and use it as a hall for the Xishan Company to entertain guests.
Unexpectedly, what Hua Bozhen had just packed up came in handy.
The next morning, Suzhou prefect Cai Guoxi, Wu county magistrate Yang Chenglin, Changshu county magistrate Zhang Defu, and a group of prefectural and county assistants were invited to have morning tea on the lake-viewing terrace behind the temple.
As for the culprit, Eunuch Li, he accidentally sprained his foot when he escaped from the weaving office over the wall. We could only send breakfast to his room.
When the officials of the city followed Hua Bozhen and climbed onto the platform made of bluestone, they saw a young man in snow-white clothes holding the railing and gazing at the beautiful scenery of lakes and mountains.
Seeing Zhao Hao's back, the officials couldn't help but blush. They had tried every means to prevent the father and son from entering Suzhou. They didn't expect that in the blink of an eye, they would have to rely on their protection. It was really shameful.
Hearing the footsteps, Master Zhao turned around, smiled and bowed to Cai Guoxi and the others, saying: "Welcome, gentlemen, to Xishan Island for inspection and guidance."
Cai Zhifu and his men couldn't help but smile awkwardly. In this situation, in front of this person, it was difficult for them to act like superiors.
After all, even the clothes they wear are not their own.
The prefect was fine, his fish belly white Hu gauze Taoist robe was only slightly too loose.
When Zhao Hao saw the persimmon calyx pattern embroidered with gold thread on the robe, he knew that the robe belonged to Hua Bozhen.
In fact, all of these people's clothes belonged to Hua Bozhen. On Xishan Island, only the master of the Hua family could produce so many clothes with excellent workmanship and fabrics.
But the problem is that Hua Bozhen is tall and fat, and his clothes are all oversized.
Chen Tongzhi and the two county magistrates were either thin or short, and the wide robes covered them, as if they were stolen. No matter how good the quality of the robes, they could not look good in human form.
Seeing Master Zhao take off his sunglasses and look at them with a smile, Cai Guoxi and the others couldn't help but feel their ears burning and wanted to find a crack in the ground to crawl into.
Yes, Master Zhao intended to strike them down.
Who asked these guys to come to Xishan Island and cause trouble for him without even saying hello?
Let’s see how they can put on airs in front of me in the future.
~~
But since he has already taken them in, there is no need for Master Zhao to be a bad guy anymore.
After enjoying the embarrassment of Prefect Cai and others for a while, he warmly invited all the gentlemen to take a seat.
Cai Guoxi and others all breathed a sigh of relief, feeling that the pressure brought by this Mr. Zhao was almost catching up with that of Lin Zhongcheng.
After everyone sat down, the guards served them fragrant tea and a variety of exquisite breakfasts.
Hua Bozhen put a lot of effort into preparing this breakfast.
He specially invited the chef from Longting to come and bring a full set of ingredients and cooking utensils. He started working at four o'clock in the morning and finally served a delicious breakfast for the young master and the distinguished guests.
The guards opened the food boxes and brought out a variety of steaming hot breakfasts, including thin glutinous rice porridge, fish fillet porridge, eel noodles, shrimp wontons, meat dumplings... and dry foods including Wuxi steamed buns, red bean paste rolls, black rice cakes, pan-fried dumplings, and pot stickers.
The gentlemen couldn't help but swallow their saliva in shamelessness.
They haven't had a proper meal since they arrived on the island the day before...
The food at Jiangnan Company is really hard to describe.
~~
Jiangnan Company was still in its start-up phase, and it was all about hard work. Apart from miners and cement workers, the people on the island were soldiers, so the food was sufficient as long as it was large in quantity, and no particular attention was paid to its appearance, taste or smell.
So Mr. Zhao always brings Qiaoqiao with him every time he goes to the island, because he really can’t stand the dark food on the island.
Hua Bozhen was able to eat with gusto, which earned him the unanimous respect of Jin Ke and others. They thought that he was born into a wealthy family, but he could share the joys and sorrows with everyone, which was very rare.
Zhao Hao couldn't help but guess that maybe he was a British in his previous life.
Later, I learned that Hua Bozhen drank too much when he was young, which caused taste disorder. Therefore, his mouth is many times more insensitive than that of ordinary people, and he can only barely distinguish the degree of sourness, saltiness and bitterness... He put a spoonful of sugar in his mouth, but he couldn't taste it!
How can such a mouth enjoy delicious food? It only has the function of eating.
Very British indeed.
~~
The tastes of the adults have long been spoiled by Suzhou delicacies and private chefs. Where can you eat the big pot meals on the island?
Judge Zhang privately met with Hua Bochen several times and said that the Lord of the Prefecture was so hungry that he was talking in his sleep and had even started to name the dishes.
This is how we have this high-quality breakfast.
Master Zhao held the cup of hot milk and admired the gentlemen eating happily like hungry pigs rushing to the trough, and could not help but smile knowingly.
Cai Guoxi was the head of a prefecture after all, so he had to be decent. He only ate a basket of soup dumplings, a bowl of fish porridge, a plate of fried dumplings, and two black rice cakes.
He scooped up the fresh meat dumplings gracefully while thanking Zhao Hao:
"It is really rude of you to come here uninvited. I am deeply grateful for your hospitality."
"My grandfather's words are too kind. I often tell my subordinates that our Jiangnan Company can gain a foothold in Xishan and achieve some achievements, all thanks to the care of my grandfather and the support of my parents. Our company has not been able to repay them, and I have always felt deeply regretful."
Who doesn't know how to say nice things? Young Master Zhao added sugar to the milk and said with a smile, "This time, my husband and his parents are going on a tour to the west, and the first stop is our Xishan Island. Our company is really honored!"
"As soon as I received the news, I rushed back from Chongming." He raised the white porcelain cup and smiled, "You must give me a chance to entertain you all this time."
Upon hearing this, Prefect Cai felt relieved, thinking to himself, this Young Master Zhao doesn't seem as difficult to deal with as the rumors say.
“Mmm…”
"Hehe..." The adults also felt relieved and wanted to say a few words of thanks, but their mouths were full of food and they could only make sounds similar to pig squeals.
Young Master Zhao doesn't know yet that he has been rumored to be a terrifying ghost in the officialdom of Jiangnan.
After all, Duke Wei and Lord Xu were at the top of the food chain in Jiangnan officialdom. Although Mr. Zhao was not an official, he had Duke Wei on his left foot and Lord Xu on his right foot.
Any official who has a little knowledge of his deeds would feel inferior to him.
Not to mention anything else, even the Er Xu who was pouring night fragrance on Xishan Island was someone they couldn't afford to offend...
What's more, Master Zhao also has the cement that everyone covets.
If Master Zhao hadn't been so terrifying, they would have used all their tricks to take over the Jiangnan Cement Factory.
However, now is obviously not the time to talk about cement. After all, that thing is only useful if you are an official, and it is unclear whether you can continue to be an official at the moment. Distant water cannot quench immediate thirst.
Therefore, Governor Cai pondered for a moment and suppressed his desire for cement, deciding to do something practical first.
ps. I am very sorry to everyone. I have a lot of chores at home today. I am exhausted and my eyes hurt. I can't write anymore. I can only post two updates first. I will write the remaining one tomorrow morning.