Bringing the Railway to Daming

With the Ming Dynasty placing such importance on scientific research and development, the canteen of the Academy of Natural Sciences was naturally built to be exceptional.

After getting their food from the cafeteria, Liu Pingan and Tu Susu went directly to a private room to eat, which was both elegant and comfortable.

The two ordered a rather substantial meal, with white rice as the staple food and two meat dishes, one vegetable dish, and a soup.

However, considering their family backgrounds, the meal was quite simple, so they weren't really focused on it.

After sitting down, Tu Susu asked directly, "What do you want to say? Don't keep me in suspense."

Liu Ping'an hesitated for a moment, then said, "My mother found out about us a few days ago and asked me about you. I told her everything."

Tu Susu was slightly taken aback, then smiled and said, "I've already said it. Neither of us is married, and it's not shameful for us to date each other these days... Could it be that you don't like my background?"

As she continued speaking, Tu Susu seemed to realize something and finally showed a hint of worry.

She knew that Liu Ping'an was the eldest son of the Duke of Ningguo, but that wasn't what she cared about when she was with him, so she hadn't thought about it much in the past.

Now that things have come to this, it suddenly occurred to me that her family was just an ordinary small landlord and merchant family, which was not a good match for the Duke of Ningguo's family. Moreover, Liu Ping'an's mother was the Grand Princess of the Ming Dynasty (the emperor's elders were all called Grand Princesses), and it was very likely that she would dislike her because of her poor family background.

“That’s not the case,” Liu Ping’an explained. “My mother has no dislike for your family background; she just doesn’t know what kind of person you are. Therefore, she would like to invite you to our home for a meal during the Mid-Autumn Festival so that she and my father can meet you and get to know you better.”

"Should I have dinner at your house during the Mid-Autumn Festival?" Tu Susu hesitated. "Isn't that a bit inappropriate? After all, our relationship isn't officially confirmed yet."

Although Tu Susu was previously engrossed in her studies and had little contact with the outside world, she was, after all, over twenty years old. Through exposure to her surroundings, she had come to understand certain customs and knew what it meant for a woman to visit a man's home for a festival.

Liu Ping'an did not insist and immediately said, "If you feel it is inconvenient to go during the Mid-Autumn Festival, you can go before the Mid-Autumn Festival. You know my sister, and she can invite you and accompany you to visit.

Tu Susu felt it would be better to tell her family about this, but now it seemed too late.

She hesitated slightly, but quickly made a decision, saying, "Then let's go see Uncle and Aunt before the Mid-Autumn Festival. You can choose the date."

"How about the thirteenth? Neither of us has any experimental tasks that day."

"Okay, then let's go on August 13th."

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Before we knew it, it was August 13th.

Tu Susu, posing as Liu Ruoxue's friend, was brought to the Ningguo Duke's Mansion by Liu Ruoxue—this was naturally done for Tu Susu's reputation, so that even if her marriage to Liu Ping'an did not go through in the future, her reputation would not be damaged by this visit to the mansion.

Zhu Huilan naturally instructed the kitchen to prepare a fine feast to entertain her.

At the dinner table, Liu Kuan, as the Duke of Ningguo and the head of the family, only asked Tu Susu a few common questions such as "Are your parents in good health?" and then said nothing more.

Most of the time, it was Zhu Huilan who was talking to Tu Susu. Liu Ruoxue and Liu Ruoyue would occasionally chime in, while Liu Pingan, Liu Chang'an, and Liu Le'an didn't say anything.

As for Liu Ding'an, he did not ask for leave to come back for the meal because of the strict management of the Naval Academy.

Through conversations before and after the meal, Liu Kuan and Zhu Huilan gained a better understanding of Tu Susu's personal and family situation, and were generally satisfied with her. They tacitly approved of Liu Ping'an's relationship with Tu Susu.

Therefore, before Tu Susu left the Ningguo Duke's Mansion, Zhu Huilan specially took off a jade bracelet from her wrist and put it on Tu Susu's wrist to show her approval.

Tu Susu understood this intention and accepted it after a little politeness.

The next day.

Zhu Yuanzhang met Liu Ruoyue near Taiping Street, and they planned to go to the "Jinling Cinema" to watch "The Legend of Yue Fei".

To be honest, Old Zhu has quite a few grandchildren still living in the capital. However, apart from Zhu Xiong Ying, he isn't particularly close to his other grandchildren, but rather to his two grandsons, Liu Ruoyue and Liu Chang'an. That's why he bought two movie tickets and had one delivered to Liu Ruoyue so she could watch the animated film with him.

After Liu Ruoyue got into Old Zhu's carriage, Old Zhu asked with a smile, "I heard that a distinguished guest came to your residence yesterday?"

Liu Ruoyue was not surprised, but said, "Nothing can be hidden from Grandpa—we do have a distinguished guest. My eldest brother's girlfriend at the Academy of Natural Sciences is very likely to be my future sister-in-law, your future granddaughter-in-law."

"Could you tell us about that woman?" Old Zhu asked, quite gossipy.

"Grandpa doesn't even know about my future sister-in-law?" Liu Ruoyue joked.

Zhu Yuanzhang looked speechless. "Although I know a woman came to your residence yesterday, how would I know what you talked about? Do you really think my eyes and ears can see into everything?"

Liu Ruoyue chuckled and immediately began introducing Tu Susu to Old Zhu.

After listening, Zhu Yuanzhang stroked his silvery beard and laughed, "She sounds like a good woman. Most importantly, she's a good match for that boy Ping An. Good."

Liu Ruoyue said, "Grandpa must come to the wedding banquet next year when my eldest brother gets married."

"Of course."

The two chatted idly for a while and soon arrived at a nearby Jinling Cinema.

When Lao Zhu got out of the car, he found that this five-story cement and concrete building in the capital city occupied a considerable area, though not too large.

Liu Ruoyue explained, "The first to fourth floors are all cinemas—the first to third floors are three large cinemas, each capable of accommodating more than 200 people; the fourth floor has three small cinemas, each capable of accommodating dozens of people."

"As for the fifth floor, it is the office of this cinema."

Old Zhu asked, "How do we get in?"

Liu Ruoyue said, "Just show your ticket to their ticket inspector, and then you can go in and wait to watch the movie."

"Okay, you lead the way, and we'll just follow."

Liu Ruoyue smiled and said, "Grandpa, we can buy some snacks and drinks nearby first, so we can eat and drink while watching the movie—just like people in later generations."

After saying that, he went to buy some snacks and drinks.

Knowing that Zhu Yuanzhang's teeth were not in good condition, she specially bought two soft foods, and also bought warm tea as a drink.

After that, she led Zhu Yuanzhang to queue for tickets and enter the cinema.

When Zhu Yuanzhang saw that there were dozens of people in the ticket check line, and people were constantly joining, including men, women, young and old, some of whom looked like families, and others who came alone, he gained a deeper understanding of the popularity of animated films.

While waiting in line, he also overheard many people discussing the animated film.

"Master, is this cartoon really that good? It cost us three strings of cash, don't waste it."

"How could an animated film about Yue Fei not be good? And this is the fourth installment already. I've always heard my colleagues (similar to colleagues, not officials) discussing the first three 'Legend of Yue Fei,' but I couldn't get a word in edgewise, which was quite embarrassing. So when I finally found a discounted ticket for this movie, of course I couldn't miss it."

"Alright, we've already bought the tickets, so we can't refund them—as long as you and your son are happy."

"..." (End of this chapter)