Republic of China: Guandong Ginseng King

Chapter 472 The Second Miss of the He Family

Zhang Xiulan came with his son Zhang Shihuang. He only had one son, who only knew how to eat, drink and have fun.

Zhang Xiulan is now at home on sick leave and doesn't know when he will be reinstated, so he wanted to take the opportunity to take his son out for a walk.

If he could find a job for his son and give him some official position, the Zhang family wouldn't have to worry about their future.

Just now, Zhang Xiulan was busy explaining to Qu Shaoyang and did not give Zhang Shihuang a chance to speak.

At this time, Zhang Shihuang came forward and greeted Qu Shaoyang.

Zhang Shihuang was younger than Qu Shaoyang, so he called Qu Shaoyang "brother".

Qu Shaoyang also called him "good brother" enthusiastically, giving the Zhang father and son enough face.

Qu Shaoyang was so busy chatting with Zhang Xiulan and his son that he naturally ignored the Chen Yunzhe brothers.

But those two were family members, so they didn't care and just watched with a smile.

After a few greetings, Qu Shaoyang welcomed everyone into the city and all the way to the general's mansion.

At the general's mansion, Chen Xiuyun, Tianzhi, Xinyuan, Wanyu, and several other younger children, including Zhenbang and Zhenye, were already waiting outside the mansion.

Seeing Qu Shaoyang and others walking in from afar, Chen Xiuyun and others hurried forward to greet them.

Such courtesy made Zhang Xiulan very happy.

Especially the kids like Zhenbang, they were well-behaved and sensible, they came forward and called grandpa obediently, making Zhang Xiulan so happy that he couldn't stop smiling.

"Okay, okay, you are all good children. Grandpa has brought gifts for you all. I will give them to you later."

Zhang Xiulan hugged the children one by one and said with a smile.

"Grandpa, you came to Jilin City, and it's our turn to honor you. Why would we ask for gifts from you?

If grandpa has time, he will stay in Jilin for a while longer.

I often heard my father say that my grandfather was an excellent martial artist, skilled in archery and horse riding, and was especially good at horse riding.

Grandpa can give us some pointers when he's free. We're just worried about not having a good master. Grandpa is definitely better than my dad."

Zhenbang and Zhenye supported Zhang Xiulan on the left and right, talking as they walked.

"Yes, yes, Grandpa, you should stay here for a while.

I will go fishing for grandpa when the river thaws. The fish caught in the Songhua River are the freshest." Zhenye echoed.

"Oh, Shaoyang, how come you are so lucky? All of your children are very rare.

Look, these guys are so eloquent, how did they teach them?"

Zhang Xiulan was so fooled by those boys from the Qu family that he almost lost his way.

Zhang Xiulan has only one son. Zhang Shihuang is not doing his job properly and is also smoking opium. His wife and concubine have only two girls at home, and he has no offspring.

Zhang Xiulan is already this old, but he still doesn't have a grandson, so whenever he sees naughty kids from other families, he likes them very much.

The children of the Qu family are smart, clever, and well-mannered in their speech and behavior. Everyone who meets them likes them, and Zhang Xiulan is no exception.

"Godfather, please don't praise them. These naughty boys are just pretending to be nice and clever because they see you coming.

On ordinary days, they are very naughty, and they want to tear down the roof of the house."

When Qu Shaoyang heard this, he hurriedly explained with a smile.

"Hey, Tao, these kids are naughty and smart, please don't make them stupid.

Boys, it’s not good to be too literary, you have to be smart and have the guts to speak out and take risks.”

Zhang Xiulan burst into laughter upon hearing this, and couldn't help but give some instructions to Qu Shaoyang and his wife.

Qu Shaoyang and his wife smiled and welcomed everyone into the house.

In the front hall, Doctor Chen, Liu Dongshan and Qu Laokouer were waiting. Hearing the noise, they hurriedly stood up and went out to greet them.

Relatives are still relatives. They are all in-laws. We haven’t seen each other for a long time. When we meet, we feel especially close and exchange pleasantries.

Qu Laokouer and others were about the same age as Zhang Xiulan, and they had a lot to talk about when they got together. For a while, the room was filled with laughter and was very lively.

When relatives and friends gathered together, a grand reception was inevitable. In the evening, the Qu family set up six or seven tables to entertain the guests.

With fine wine and delicious food in front of them, everyone raised their glasses to celebrate, clinked glasses, talked and laughed, and the atmosphere was festive and lively.

After the banquet, Qu Shaoyang escorted Zhang Xiulan and his son to the guest house to rest, then turned around and went to the study to discuss matters with the Chen brothers.

The imperial court signed a treaty with Japan and opened Andong as a commercial port.

Moreover, the Ji'an Railway has been built for more than half, and it is estimated that it will be completed this summer, and trains will be able to run by autumn.

In this way, Andong will soon become another trading port in Northeast China with railways and ports after Dalian.

Qu Shaoyang meant that after the spring, the Eastern Road Office would be moved to Andong, and Chen Yunzhe would be appointed as the general manager of the port.

Relying on Andong's geographical advantages, develop the economy of Andong and even the eastern region.

In particular, various industries should be vigorously developed, local national capital should be supported as much as possible, and the entry and development of Japanese capital should be suppressed.

“In the Andong area, the tussah silkworm breeding industry is very developed.

In the past, compradors from all over the country would come to buy silk cocoons and sell them abroad at high prices, making huge profits from them.

However, after working for a whole season, silkworm farmers make very little profit, and sometimes even owe money to compradors.

I think we can open a few silk reeling factories in Andong, hire workers to reel silk ourselves, and gradually reduce the control of foreign capital and compradors over tussah silkworms."

In the past decade or so, the export volume of tussah silk has been increasing, surpassing the export volume of ginseng and ranking third after soybeans and bean cakes.

With the continuous growth of tussah silk exports, tussah silk production in Niuzhuang, Gaiping, Xiuyan, Andong, Fenghuangcheng, Kuandian, Huairen and other places in the southern and southeastern parts of Fengtian developed rapidly.

As the main production area of ​​tussah silk, Dongbiandao area naturally cannot miss out on such a profitable industry.

“In addition, we must vigorously develop heavy industries, such as chemical industry, metallurgy, steel casting, mechanical processing, etc.

Taking advantage of Anton’s convenient conditions, they all developed early.”

Qu Shaoyang has been thinking about this matter for a long time.

Whether it is Jilin Province or Dongbiandao, if they want to stand firm in the turbulent situation in the future, they must focus on developing industry.

Northeast China is rich in mineral resources and can fully support a good industrial system.

We should seize the opportunity to develop Northeast China while Japan and Tsarist Russia have not yet exploited the Northeast so deeply, and lay a solid foundation for the future.

"Well, as for the silk reeling factories, I have built two in Andong and Kuandian, and have handed them over to my family to manage."

Chen Yunzhe was a man with a very keen business sense. He was the first to start selling soybeans, pig bristles, etc.

How could he not get involved in such a profitable business as tussah silk?
At present, the Chen family already has two large-scale mechanical silk reeling factories and makes a lot of money.

“As for chemical engineering, metallurgy and so on, a large number of technical talents are needed.

Right now, we still lack the foundation and talent." Chen Yunzhe raised a very realistic question.

"Well, I understand this, and this year I plan to open an industrial school in Jilin City.

We will select a group of hardworking and studious children aged 14 and above from all over the country to study relevant knowledge. In the future, these people will be the cornerstone of our industrial development. "

No matter what time, education comes first. Without sufficient talent reserves, nothing can be accomplished.

Qu Shaoyang understood this point very well, so he not only wanted to run a normal school, but also an industrial school.

"Brother, there is something I need to remind you of. In the past two years, there have been more and more cases of Koreans entering the country to cultivate the land, and they often have disputes with the local Han people.

You have to pay more attention to this matter. Those Koreans who have crossed the border to cultivate the land must be strictly controlled.

Now that they are here, they must obey our management and try not to let them have any involvement with the other side of the river.

Since the war between Japan and Tsarist Russia, Tsarist Russia withdrew from the peninsula, and now Goryeo can be said to be under the control of Japan.

I’m afraid these little Japanese will take this opportunity to cause trouble.”

After talking about building factories and opening commercial ports, Qu Shaoyang turned to talk to Chen Yunhan about the issue of defense of the East Road.

"After a while, Xiaozhi will lead people to survey Changbai Mountain, Tumen River and other places to determine the boundaries.

I am afraid that Japan will know the news and cause trouble again, and then I will need my second brother’s help.”

"Don't worry, I will personally lead the Dingbian Army when the time comes. If anyone dares to show off their power, I will let them know how powerful I am.

Little Japanese, the imperial court is afraid of them, but I am not." Chen Yunhan rolled up his sleeves and patted his chest when he heard this.

"Second brother, Shao Yang only told you to help, but he didn't tell you to fight.

Look at you, with your sleeves rolled up, if someone doesn't know you, they would think you are going to fight someone.

You are at least a fourth-rank garrison commander, so please pay attention to your image."

When Chen Yunzhe saw his brother's attitude, he couldn't help but hold his forehead. This second brother really worries about him all the time.

"Brother, it's okay, my second brother is a man of temperament.

Besides, there are only three of us in this room, what are we afraid of? " Qu Shaoyang was happy to hear that.

"That's right, he's my brother-in-law, we've known each other for many years, doesn't Shaoyang know my temper?
Why should I pretend in front of him?
I don’t mean to say that being an official is like wearing a mask, being pretentious all day long and making one feel anxious.”

Chen Yunhan leaned on the chair and complained about everything.

It's rare for Lang, Uncle and I to get together, so naturally they have a lot to talk about.

But there was no point in just chatting like this. At the dinner party, everyone didn't drink much to take care of Zhang Xiulan.

At this moment, they were craving for wine, so they simply asked someone to prepare some wine and food. The three of them put a small table on the kang in the study and drank and chatted.

After drinking too much, the three of them simply went to sleep in the study.

Qu Shaoyang's younger brother is getting married. No matter whether he is his biological brother or his sworn brother, others will definitely come to congratulate him for Qu Shaoyang's sake.

Therefore, officials from various places arrived in Jilin City one after another.

He Houqi, the governor of Binjiang Province, learned that his father-in-law had come to Jilin City, so he also brought his wife and children to come.

In fact, at this time, He Houqi's original wife, Zhang Xiuying, Zhang Xiuluan's daughter, had passed away.

But his second wife was Zhang Xiulan's niece, and the relationship between the two families remained good.

Ho Hau-kei's eldest son, Ho Chak-lim, is one year younger than Chun-bong and is seventeen this year. His second daughter, Ho Chak-man, is fourteen years old and his third son, Ho Chak-lin, is twelve years old.

Since giving birth to He Zelin, Zhang Xiuying had been in poor health and passed away a few years later.

He Houqi knew that his father-in-law missed his children, so he brought all three children over for Zhang Xiulan to meet.

Zhang Xiulan was very happy to see his grandson and granddaughter.

Although he couldn't help feeling sad about his daughter's untimely death, as a grown man, he couldn't cry. He just hugged his children and loved them in every way.

The three children of the He family were very sensible. They surrounded their grandfather and asked him about his well-being. After a short while, Zhang Xiulan was very happy.

However, there were a lot of people in the room, and they were all adults chatting, so after a while, the children found it boring.

When Qu Shaoyang saw this, he asked Zhenbang, Zhenye, Jialing and others to take the three siblings of the He family out to play.

The children were of similar age, and Zhenbang had been a leader among the children since he was young, so he quickly became familiar with the three siblings of the He family.

There are more than ten children in the Qu family, plus Chen Yanchuan's siblings, and Han Jintang and Han Xiu's cousins.

There are such a large group of children, and fortunately the general's mansion is big enough for them to make as much noise as they want.

The three siblings of the He family are relatively quiet, but the children of the Qu family are wild.

With their guidance, the three siblings of the He family gradually relaxed and joined in the fun.

February 26th is the wedding day of Zhang Tianzhi and Liu Xinyuan.

Everyone had discussed it beforehand. Liu Dongshan and his wife bought a villa for the two brothers to get married, and Wanyu married out of the general's mansion.

Early in the morning of the 26th, Tianzhi and Xinyuan each set out with their wedding processions to the General's Mansion and the Zhao family respectively to welcome the bride.

The general's mansion was decorated with lights and Qu Zhenbang had been waiting outside the gate with his brothers and sisters since early morning.

Seeing the wedding procession approaching, Zhenbang hurriedly asked people to light the firecrackers at the door.

Immediately afterwards, Zhenbang ordered his younger brothers and sisters to step forward and stop the wedding procession, asking their uncle for a red envelope, threatening not to let them enter the house today if they didn't give him one.

Zhang Tianzhi had anticipated this and had people prepare a lot of red envelopes in advance. At this time, someone took them out and distributed them to the children.

Since the children had received red envelopes, it was difficult to stop them, so they could only move aside and let Zhang Tianzhi lead them in.

All the rules for welcoming the bride were followed according to local customs. Zhang Tianzhi overcame many difficulties and, with the help of everyone, finally got his wife and put her in the bridal sedan.

Doctor Chen and his wife, and Qu Laokouer and his wife, went to see the bride off as guests from the bride's family.

The wedding procession was so huge that the dowry alone stretched as far as the eye could see. The people along the way were all amazed when they saw it.

On the other hand, Xinyuan's wedding procession also went very smoothly. The Zhao family had been in business for many years and had a rich financial situation, and they gave their daughter a lot of dowry.

The Liu family's house was also decorated with lights and colorful decorations, with guests coming in an endless stream and servants busy running around.

Qu Shaoyang and his wife, along with brothers Chen Yunzhe and Chen Yunhan, were all at the villa to help entertain the guests.

The wedding procession arrived at the gate one after another. According to the order of age, Zhang Tianzhi and his wife entered first, followed by Liu Xinyuan and his wife.

The two couples bowed to the heaven and earth in the front hall and thanked the guests. Then Zhang Tianzhi and Wanyu were sent to the east wing, and Liu Xinyuan and Zhao Yinglan were sent to the west wing.

In the front yard, all kinds of delicacies from land and sea, fine wines and delicious dishes were served one after another, the guests took their seats, and the banquet began.

Qu Shaoyang sat together with Zhang Xiluan, He Houqi, and several deputy governors, prefects, and provincial governors.

Zhang Xiulan is a veteran, and even though he does not hold any official position now, the people present all respect him very much and toast to him one after another.

"Foster father, Brother He, it's a rare opportunity for us to get together. I have an unwelcome request, and I hope you will agree."

After three rounds of drinks, Qu Shaoyang poured wine for Zhang Xiluan and He Houqi and said with a smile.

Zhang Xiluan was very happy today. Without thinking, he said directly, "Shaoyang, if you have anything to say, just ask. As long as your adoptive father can do it, I will definitely do it for you."

Qu Shaoyang glanced at He Houqi and said, "Godfather, your daughter-in-law has taken a fancy to He Jiawen and wants to marry her to my son Zhenbang. What do you think, Godfather?"

(End of this chapter)