258. Wanmin Sugar Industry Begins in Kaifeng (Part 1) (Page 1/2)
The sensation caused by Cui Xian spread throughout the capital seven days later.
now.
The proclamation was sent into the sky with the Kongming lantern.
The Zheng family banquet ended abruptly.
The guests felt unsteady on their feet, their minds still reeling from the aftershocks of the "First Poem of Mid-Autumn Festival" and the "Proclamation to the World."
Someone muttered, "The next thing to happen in Kaifeng is going to be a complete upheaval!"
The dozen or so envoys turned ashen-faced, skipped the pleasantries, and quickly left.
I think it will start tomorrow.
What awaits Cui Xian is an even more massive and unprecedentedly tough battle!
Cen Hongchang, Zhou Xiang, and other officials, their official robes billowing in the wind, made their escape extremely fast.
"It's all over... I shouldn't have come tonight!"
"Is this madman trying to kill us?"
The low murmurs of cursing drifted in the wind, as if if they lingered a moment longer, the sparks from that manifesto would splatter onto their official hats.
The once bustling courtyard was soon mostly empty.
A group of scholars surrounded Old Lady Cui and refused to leave, their expressions urgent and humble.
"Madam! Open the official gazette! Tonight!"
"The headmaster's 'Prelude to Water Melody,' that manifesto, and those 'four key lines' must be published!"
"Yes, yes, we'll help with the proofreading! It's due tonight!"
Old Mrs. Cui had a headache from the noise.
Upon hearing that this group of people were willing to help with the work for free, his cunning businessman nature was instantly activated: "In that case—all of you, wait outside the Cui family's official newspaper office! Page splitting, engraving, proofreading, inking—there's plenty of work tonight."
After a brief pause.
She actually put on airs and swept her gaze over the group of hot-blooded scholars: "In a moment, be quick and efficient."
The scholars were overjoyed upon hearing this, as if they had received some incredibly prestigious appointment.
Cheers echoed as they swarmed out of the Zheng residence and headed towards the official gazette office.
beside.
The Lin family, the Chen family, Cui Boshan, Cui Zhongyuan and others were greatly shocked by what they saw.
Old Cui raised an eyebrow smugly.
That look in his eyes clearly said: You saw that? That's what you call skill!
Keep learning, there's no end to learning!
Unfortunately, human joys and sorrows are not shared.
Zheng Qizhen felt a chill run down his spine.
He looked back at his own house—
Well, the banquet is over, but the lights are still on and the place is bustling with people.
Cui Xian’s entire family, his brothers, and his brothers’ entire families.
Even the village head of Hexi Village, Uncle San, Wu Qinglan, a large group of heroes from Nanyang... a total of about a hundred people.
The side rooms and guest rooms are fully occupied.
They showed no sign of leaving.
Do you really think my house is yours?
This is outrageous! This is outrageous!
The one on the dragon throne seems to have his eye on the Zheng family.
In such a critical moment, it is of course necessary to keep a low profile.
But Cui Xian stayed at the Zheng family's house and refused to leave, and the things he did became more and more outrageous.
These are hardly guests.
These are firecrackers I kept in my pocket!
Zheng Qizhen forced himself to find Cui Xian, his forced smile more like a grimace: "Headmaster... you see, the case of the vandalism of your house has been settled by the Provincial Surveillance Commissioner. The compensation is six thousand taels."
"Our Zheng family will generously sponsor another two thousand taels!"
He handed over a stack of silver notes, his words full of pleading: "Your family is so wealthy and powerful... shouldn't your men have a place to settle down?"
The subtext is practically overflowing: Please, please move out!
Cui Xian looked at the silver note with a sincere expression: "How can I accept this? Taking two thousand taels for nothing is not the act of a gentleman."
Zheng Qizhen was overjoyed; there was hope!
But then Cui Xian changed the subject, smiling as he said, "How about this? I recently came across some icing sugar, which is of decent quality, so I'll use that to offset this favor."
Upon hearing the word "icing sugar," Zheng Qizhen's mind immediately started working.
This thing is precious, and there are very few top-quality ones on the market. Even if you buy it, you won't lose money.
He immediately put on a hearty and generous expression: "The headmaster's teaching and nurturing of students is of immeasurable merit. How could I dare to accept your generous gift? That would be improper!"
“In that case—since this icing is a token of the headmaster’s goodwill, our Zheng family must not treat it unfairly.”
"We'll buy it at market price... no, at double the market price! We'll take as much as the headmaster has on hand!"
Zheng Qizhen estimated that the other party probably only had a few dozen kilograms of this rare item, icing sugar.
Consider it doing someone a favor.
Get rid of this "demon pill" Choi Hyeon as soon as possible!
However.
As soon as he finished speaking, the surroundings fell silent.
Old Cui, Lin, Chen, and others all looked over, their eyes burning with desire.
A pound of icing sugar costs five taels of silver.
Double the price —
Ten taels!
Good heavens!
Thank you to the generous and gullible top donor!
Zheng Qizhen felt a chill run down his spine from being stared at so intently, and suddenly realized that he seemed to be...
I've been fooled again.
Ever since I started dealing with Cui Xian, I've been getting tricked every day.
It's different when it's different.
However, Old Cui gave him no time to back out.
"Oh, Patriarch Zheng, you're too kind. I can't accept this."
"I will personally go and urge them to deliver the icing sugar!"
It's hard to imagine that the two sentences above were uttered at the same time.
And before the words had even finished,
Old Cui's hurried figure had already stepped out of the Zheng family and disappeared without a trace.
After the time it takes to drink two cups of tea.
The head of the bodyguards, Dashan, led a dozen or so Cui family bodyguards, who laboriously carried in several large ceramic jars.
The lid was lifted, and the whole courtyard was filled with light—
The pure white, delicate icing was piled high.
"Good heavens!"
"hiss!"
Exclamations of surprise echoed throughout the courtyard.
Zheng Qizhen's eyes widened in disbelief: "This...this is...?"
Choi Hyeon, ever understanding, explained, "This is icing sugar."
Zheng Qizhen almost choked.
It feels like my heart, liver, spleen, lungs, and kidneys are all twitching.
How could I not know this is icing?
But is that the point?!
The point is, why the hell do you have so much frosting?!
Just then.
Old Madam Cui suddenly wiped her eyes with her sleeve, her voice choked with emotion, and thanked Zheng Qizhen, saying, "Lord Zheng, you are truly noble!"
"Not only did they buy 1,000 catties of sugar frosting at double the price, but they also gave an extra 2,000 taels of silver to help the Cui family get through this difficult time."
"On behalf of my whole family, I thank you!"
The courtyard fell silent instantly.
Zheng Qizhen: "..."
He opened his mouth, looking at Old Cui, who had a "touched" expression on his face.
Then look at Choi Hyeon, who is "helplessly rubbing his forehead and smiling bitterly, feeling very embarrassed, but just not saying no."
Finally, my gaze fell back on the thousand pounds of frosting.
My head is buzzing.
Twelve thousand taels of silver, gone just like that!
Such a huge sum of money would be painful even for the head of the Zheng family!
However, Zheng Qizhen had no choice but to grit his teeth and accept his fate.
He could not allow Cui Xian to continue living in the Zheng family's house.
The sky lanterns have already been launched, and from now on, the eyes of the entire Liang Dynasty, and even His Majesty, will be focused on Kaifeng.
The Zheng family absolutely cannot be forced into this vortex!
at last.
Zheng Qizhen, trembling, counted out twelve thousand silver notes and handed them over.
"Headmaster... take care."
These words were practically squeezed out from between his teeth as a gesture of dismissal.
That night.
(This chapter is not finished, please click the next page to continue reading) 258. Wanmin Sugar Industry Opens in Kaifeng (Part 1) (Page 2/2)
Cui Xian supported Old Cui with one hand and the village head with the other.
He brought his parents, older sister, younger sister, and a group of brothers including Pei Jian, Su Qi, He Xu, and Yan Siyuan.
Along with his four older brothers and their entire families.
And the heroes from Nanyang.
He had nearly 20,000 taels of silver notes in his pocket.
More than a hundred people left Zheng's residence and marched in a grand procession through the streets of Kaifeng.
The Zheng family.
It was empty in an instant.
Looking at the empty house and the remnants of the banquet in the courtyard, Zheng Qizhen's first thought was not hatred.
Instead, he breathed a huge sigh of relief.
I'm so tired.
All he wanted to do right now was get a good night's sleep.
·
The full moon hangs high in the sky.
The long street, washed by the silver light, was empty and desolate, with only the footsteps of a hundred or so temporarily homeless people echoing in the air.
The night breeze carried a slight chill, but no one felt cold.
Old Cui seemed dazed.
Mrs. Chen held her daughter Cui Ying tightly in her arms.
Cui Boshan and Cui Zhongyuan's steps were unsteady.
Pei Jian was still savoring the scene of "Brother Xian defeating the whole world for me," his mouth stretched to the back of his ears in a wide grin.
Su Qi silently recited "We share the same moon, though we are thousands of miles apart" in her heart.
Yan Siyuan, Qi Huaiming, and a few others followed at the back, whispering excitedly and admiringly, "Awesome!" and "Who else can compare?"
Cui Xian walked at the very front.
The young man's back was ramrod straight.
The night wind billowed his wide robes.
The moonlight stretched his already long shadow even longer.
No one spoke.
That night, one shock after another came without pause, one after another.
The people who were hit still need time to calm down.
But, as it turns out, when you're with Choi Hyeon, you simply don't have time to calm down.
He can always make your blood boil and your heart race with just a few words.
Choi Hyeon, who was walking at the front, suddenly turned around.
He faced the crowd, spread his sleeves, and leisurely continued walking backwards.
His face was full of arrogance and unrestrained spirit.
He has always been a calm and composed person, and rarely has he been so emotionally expressive and almost unrestrained.
Therefore, everyone looked over in surprise.
Cui Xian's gaze swept across the familiar faces of his grandmother, sister, mother, father, brothers, Master Wu, Su Qi, and others.
Then she spoke up.
His voice wasn't loud, but it was like a pebble thrown into a still lake, clearly echoing in everyone's ears:
"Everyone, do you remember—"
"The dreams we talked about before."
Upon hearing this, everyone froze in shock.
The heart pounding in my chest was pounding against my ribs at an inopportune moment, making my eardrums buzz.
A strange, burning realization is sprouting and growing wildly in everyone's heart, following each step.
Those things, once deeply buried, now crystal clear, each carrying its own name and warmth—
Dreams tremble with a resounding tremor.
Interestingly, Choi Hyeon had discussed the topic of "dreams" with two different groups of people at different times and in different places.
One time was five years ago, at the Cui family's house in Nanyang.
At the time, everyone was talking about what kind of person they wanted to be ten years from now.
One such instance was that summer, at the Cui family residence in Kaifeng.
At the time, everyone was talking about wishing for peace and prosperity in the world.
And now.
Cui Xian's words ignited the passion in the hearts of both groups.
Dreams clattered together at that moment.
Old Mrs. Cui looked at her two sons and two daughters-in-law.
Pei Jian, Li Heyu, and Cui Yu patted each other on the shoulder.
Su Qi, He Xu, and Yan Siyuan exchanged glances.
Of course they remember!
So tonight, it's not just Cui Xian who's "shining in Kaifeng".
And then there's this group of people who haven't been noticed yet, but who are "shining brightly with dreams in their hearts."
……Is it right?
Yes!
Cui Xian's eyes shone brighter than the Milky Way.
He looked at everyone and chuckled, "Those were just dreams, so distant that I don't even know where they came from."
But at this moment—
"The road is already under our feet."
"Starting tonight, we will turn our dreams into reality."
"What we want to revolutionize is not just the sugar industry."
"More importantly, it enables millions of people to live with their heads held high and enjoy life—"
"A transformation in the way of life."
"Sweetness will not be limited to sugar."
"What will be lit will not only be lamps."
"We want the days to come to have a new flavor and real light."
at last.
He stopped and turned toward his relatives, friends, teachers, and brothers.
Reaching out to the hundred burning hearts before me, my smile is exceptionally radiant:
"So--"
"Gentlemen, do you dare to come with me?"
"To turn this dream into... the path beneath our feet?"
The night wind held its breath.
In the silence, only the rumbling of thunder echoed in the chests of a hundred men.
Choi Hyeon's words were far too harsh and overly confident.
Like a pot of liquor heated to its highest temperature, poured over one's head.
Everyone felt their blood rush to their head, their faces burn, and a thousand words choked in their throats, leaving them speechless for a moment.
Just as this extreme silence was about to burst—
"Brother Xian!"
A loud shout erupted from behind the crowd, and Gao Qi stepped forward, his face flushed red: "Stop pumping me up! I can't take it anymore!"
"Just tell me directly, how do you want to do it? I, Gao Qi, will be the first to go through fire and water with you!"
He hadn't finished speaking.
Another figure swept in like a whirlwind, grabbed Pei Jian by the neck, and gritted his teeth, saying, "Damn it, you really deserve to die, Pei Jian!"
"Taking advantage of Gao Qi and my absence, you hogged the spotlight at the banquet, didn't you? How could I, Zhuang Jin, have such a shameless brother like you!"
In the heat of the moment, Pei Jian shamelessly laughed triumphantly.
This sudden burst of laughter was like a needle, gently piercing the almost frozen, overly intense emotions.
Everyone was taken aback at first.
Then, with a loud "boom".
The pent-up excitement, passion, and pride, mixed with laughter, finally erupted.
Some people burst out laughing.
Someone stomped their foot.
Someone punched their companion hard on the shoulder.
Old Cui shook his head and laughed, cursing, "These mischievous monkeys."
Lin and Chen looked at each other, their eyes glistening with tears.
Yan Siyuan and the others jumped and shouted even louder.
Finally, someone started it, and everyone responded enthusiastically.
"Dare! Of course I dare!"
"Follow Brother Xian!"
Turn your dreams into a path!
Tonight, they don't even have a "home".
Yet they stand tall and proud, daring to fight for their dreams.
Amidst the clamor and uproar, Cui Xian looked at the crowd before him.
The carefree and exuberant look on his face gradually settled into a deeper and gentler smile.
"good."
Cui Xian uttered only one word, yet it was more powerful than any lengthy discourse.
Then, he turned around and faced once again the road that led to the unknown, but which was bound to be glorious in the end.
"Then—"
Let's go!
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