Late Ming sea owl

Chapter 104 Obtaining official status
In early November, the Ganfu arrived at Jiahe Island and anchored in Xiamen Bay, which has a wide harbor and deep water.It is located on the southwest side of Jiahe Island, facing Gulangyu Island, and facing Qade Gate, the south gate of Xiamen City.

This city was built in the 27th year of Hongwu's reign. It was built by Zhou Dexing, Marquis of Jiangxia, on the orders of Ming Taizu.Since then, Xiamen City has continued to be built and renovated, and it has now become the center of Haiphong on Fujian South Road.

After the Ganfu docked, Xu Xinsu was notified by the pilot ship and personally took his eldest son Xu Letian to the port to greet him.

Lin Hai saw Zhu Niang with a big belly from a distance, and quickly got off the boat to greet her.Lun No. [-] got Lin Hai's advice to keep an eye on Wu Lang, so he did not disembark.

He stood on tiptoes and stretched his neck, looking for the longing figure in the crowd, and soon saw Fang Xiu'e helping Zhu Niang forward.

In an instant, their eyes met. When Xiu'e saw Lun Yi looking at her, she quickly turned her head to talk to Zhu Niang.

"I've met Uncle Xu. I've been taking care of you a lot these days. My nephew, I'd like to express my gratitude." Lin Hai took three steps at a time and stepped forward to bow to Xu Xinsu.

Xu Xinsu quickly helped Lin Hai: "My nephew is so polite. This is all my responsibility. Besides, Mrs. Xian has always been strong, and there is nothing that I need to worry about."

Lin Hai was overjoyed when he heard this. It seemed that Zhu Niang and the child in her belly were fine, and he was going to be a father soon.He didn't care to be polite to Xu Xinsu anymore, came to Zhu Niang and said, "I'm back."

"You still know how to come back? You said you would come back in a few months. It's been half a year, and the baby in my belly is almost dead!" Zhu Niang stared at Lin Hai with raised eyebrows, and there seemed to be all kinds of emotions intertwined in her eyes.

She walked all the way with a big belly and still spoke without breathing. She was indeed worthy of the word "strong".This was the case for women from poor backgrounds in this era. It was common for women to work in the fields with a baby in their belly and a baby on their back.

If it weren't for the public gaze, Lin Hai might have received a kick from the air. With Zhu Niang's strength and being pregnant, it would not affect her kicking at all.

If such a kick really came, Lin Hai would definitely stand at attention honestly, unlike the night before they parted, when he grabbed the kicked calf...

"How can there be half a year? There are still three full days left. I am counting the days. You can't even think of deceiving me."

Lin Hai's words made Zhu Niang break her guard. Her inverted sword eyebrows suddenly softened like a snow lion pointing toward the fire.The dense mist condensed in her eyes, and soon wetted her long eyelashes.

"It's good that my uncle is back. Now that you are an official's wife, you have to behave properly. How does it look like to complain about my uncle like this?"

Shi Wusi first said a few words to Zhu Niang, and then asked Lin Hai: "Sister, why didn't you see Zhu Niang and her brother? Is he still on the boat?"

"He went to Haojing to do some errands and won't be back for about half a year. Is my father-in-law always doing well? I brought some ginseng and fried sea rat here..."

Halfway through Lin Hai's words, he heard Qizai's duck voice: "Uncle, I also want to go to sea."

"Do you know [-] characters?" Lin Hai glanced at Qizai after hearing this. The naughty kid had grown a bit taller. It seemed that he had been well nourished in the past six months.

Qizai was speechless when he heard this. Lin Hai noticed that Lu Tiedan's eyes were also a little evasive, and thought to himself: Well, these two losers still don't seem to have made much progress.

However, Tiedan is stronger than half a year ago and is much cleaner. It seems that this kid really listened to his words.

Fang Xiu'e, on the other hand, although she has turned a little whiter, she has lost some weight for some reason. It is said that her food conditions should be much better than before in the past six months.

"Xiu'e, Tiedan, thank you both for your hard work these days while I'm away." Lin Hai greeted the two disciples, who hurriedly saluted him and kept saying that they had done nothing.

"You also said that the past six months are all thanks to the two of them." Zhu Niang said and ignored her father's warning and started to think about it. "The Chinese New Year will be celebrated in two months. If you don't come back after the Chinese New Year, I will do what you said." , take the two of them, dad and Qizai to Guangdong. I told you to never see me or our children again..."

Lu Tiedan was surprised when he heard this. He had never heard Zhu Niang say that she was going to Guangdong, so he turned to look at Fang Xiu'e, who shook her head slightly, as if she didn't know.

Lin Hai looked on amusedly. This kid didn't know that he had missed a good thing.

What he and Zhu Niang had said at the beginning was that if he didn't come back after the New Year, he would betroth Xiu'e to Tiedan, and then take them both to the inland, and then go to Guangdong when the child is older.

But when he thought about it, he couldn't laugh anymore. Zhu Niang was like an eldest sister to these two disciples.Seeing that Lin Hai didn't return after the deadline, Zhu Niang didn't mention anything about his arrangements. She seemed to be afraid that the two of them would be worried.

Lin Hai waited for the wind in the Japanese country and delayed his trip, making Lunshi unable to sleep well in Dongfan. How could Zhu Niang be better off in Xiamen?Even so, she still chose to carry it alone until the end...

Lin Hai couldn't help but feel pity in his heart. If he had known better, he shouldn't have said those words to her on the night of separation, or simply said that he would not come back until after the New Year, so as to save her from worrying day and night.

However, this was a helpless move. Historically, Zheng Zhilong began to plunder the coast of Fujian in March of the sixth year of Tianqi. In his first action, he sent a group of troops to Xiamen to raise flags to recruit troops.

Now that his butterfly wings have begun to flap, no one can say when this day will come.After all, Li Dan's death alone was three months earlier than in history. If calculated according to this time difference, Zheng Zhilong would come to fight against Fujian next month.

The Xu family's father and son were still nearby, and Lin Hai couldn't keep them indifferent. After Wen Yan comforted Zhu Niang for a few words, he said to Xu Xinsu: "Zhou Jing is stubborn. My nephew has always neglected to discipline him, which makes Third Uncle Xu laugh."

"The deep love between an virtuous couple is admirable." Xu Xinsu smiled, twirling her beard, but she admired Lin Hai even more.

Youdao said that a bad wife would not go to court, and Xu Xinsu was good at judging people. In his opinion, Zhu Niang was just a Dan family girl with a hot temper. Although she was somewhat pretty, how could she be worthy of Lin Hai, who was already an official?The better Lin Hai treats his wife, the more it proves that he values ​​love and justice.

Xu Laosan, what matters in this life is friendship!The more affectionate and righteous a man is, the more likely he will be able to attract someone's attention.

"Xian Nephew, your confession and ultimatum have been sent down, as well as the military household registration and the official seal of thousands of households, all in the hands of Mr. My nephew has been on a windy and tiring journey, so he'd better rest at Zhongzuo for a while. After Mrs. Xian gives birth to Lin's son, it won't be too late to go to Ningbo."

"Thank you so much Uncle Xu! When Brother Yilong took his nephew to Zhejiang to donate an official position, they said it would be done in three or four months. Now more than five months have passed. If my nephew doesn't take office again, the court will not blame him. ?”

Xu Xinsu laughed when he heard this and said: "My dear nephew, please be patient. Since ancient times, it has been common for new officials to be delayed for several months before taking office. What's more, with Hong Daozun here, who dares to make irresponsible remarks?"

Lin Hai thought about it. At that time, Wanli Master was very calm when he saw the long-term shortage of personnel in the Six Departments and Jiuqing. He, a little Wu Bian, didn't take up the post. Who would care about such a trivial matter?
So, he felt relieved and said: "In that case, my nephew has been bothering me in Zhongzuo for a few days, and I happen to have some things to trouble Uncle Xu." Xu Xinsu heard this and said with a smile: "But you want to find me to sell goods again? This time I have something to worry about. I won’t give away any profits, so you have to give me a smart price.”

"No, no, no, I don't have any goods to sell this time. I want to buy something from Uncle Xu."

"That being the case, there is no rush. I have already prepared a banquet. If there is no cargo to be unloaded on my nephew's ship, we can ask all the brothers to sit down at the table immediately and we can talk while we eat."

"No hurry, no rush, I do have some things to unload on the ship." Lin Hai waved his hands repeatedly. There were 70 taels of silver on the Ganfu. If Zheng Zhilong suddenly arrived in Xiamen Bay, even if he was unlucky, he would still let go. Feel more at ease in Xiamen city.

The 70 taels of silver weighed 26 tons, which required more than 50 two-wheeled ox carts to transport in one trip.Although Xiamen Port has four-wheeled flat cars with a carrying capacity of several tons, they cannot turn. If Lin Hai wants to pull Yinzi into the city, he can only use a two-wheeled car that can be turned, and the carrying capacity of the two-wheeled car is about half a ton.

Lin Hai was speechless as he looked at the vast queue of ox carts. Before the advent of steam power, land transportation in ancient times was so troublesome. More than 20 tons of supplies are like this. What would it be like if more than 20 troops traveled thousands of miles to deliver food?
After finally loading the silver on the Ganfu onto the ox cart, Lin Hai left a dozen people to guard the ship. The rest followed him into Xiamen City, where Xu Xinsu had already prepared a banquet in the city.

"Po Nu, come here." Lin Hai called Gou Wa to come to him. The latter had been adopted as his adopted son and named Lin Po Nu.

"Dad." Gouwa called Lin Hai daddy.

Zhu Niang's forehead jumped as she listened. How could she go to sea and have an extra son come back?And he looks to be eight or nine years old, as big as Qizai, and the one in his belly hasn't even been born yet!
I heard Lin Hai say to the boy: "This is your godmother, please call me mother."

Gouwa then called her mother, and Zhu Niang realized that she had adopted a son. Well, now she has another son.

She waved, and more than 20 children came huffing and puffing behind her. They were all eleven or twelve-year-old children, both boys and girls.

"Call daddy." Zhu Niang gave the order, and more than 20 children called Lin Hai daddy in unison.

Now it was Lin Hai's turn to be dumbfounded. As a military attache, he had not yet taken office, but he had inherited the fine tradition of Ming army generals accepting adopted sons in advance.

Everyone marched toward Xiamen City in a mighty manner, and Wu Lang also followed Lun Yiyi.

This section of the road connects Xiamen City and Xiamen Port. There are a lot of pedestrians coming and going, as well as many cattle, horses, donkeys, mules and other draft animals. They are all animals Wulang has never seen before. The Dongfan natives were dazzled for a moment. God obsessed.

When Wu Lang approached Xiamen City, he suddenly noticed such a huge building and was stunned for a moment.

The largest man-made thing he had seen before was the Ganfu, and he could not imagine that there was such an existence as a city in the world.

After entering the South Gate, you will find Yakou Street. This is the noisiest place in Xiamen, where many small traders make a living.

Wu Lang felt his head was dizzy. There were rows of shops and vendors selling goods along the street everywhere. There were shouts and shouts. There were people baking flatbreads, selling candy, roasting chestnuts, and selling dog-skin plasters. Straw sandals, hemp rope, mountain products and seafood...

As if Grandma Liu had entered the Grand View Garden, Wu Lang opened his mouth and looked around. He had never seen such a gathering of people, let alone so many unheard of novel items. His eyes were overwhelmed for a while, and his brain went blank due to information overload. .

"Is this the Ming Dynasty?" Wu Lang rubbed his sore eyes and muttered to himself.

Half an hour later, Wu Lang was sitting in the most upscale restaurant in Xiamen City. He was quickly attracted by the table full of food and wine, and his stomach was full in a short time.

At this time, the main dish had just been served, and a bowl of neatly arranged fan-shaped clams was brought to the table.The clam meat slices are white and plump, like water hibiscus, and look very sparkling and lovely.

This clam meat is taken from Zhanggang sea clams in Fuzhou. It was a tribute in the Ming Dynasty. Together with Jiang Yaozhu, it is said to be the most beautiful seafood and has always been valued in the world.

"Xi Shi tongue chicken soup, our signature dish, please use it!" The waiter opened the earthen pot in his hand and poured the steaming three-antler chicken soup into the bowl of clam meat, which had been used before. Boil it in plain water until it is cooked.

The chicken soup poured over the clams was as clear as water, but fragrant and fragrant, which immediately made everyone at the table move their index fingers.It is said to be braised chicken soup, but in fact this three-antler chicken soup is very simple:
First, blanch the old hen, beef and pork tenderloin to remove the dirt, then pick them up and steam them with water for an hour and a half, removing the meat and leaving the soup.Then make chicken breasts, chicken blood water and refined salt into chicken minced balls, put them into the soup and cook for a while, then scoop up the chicken minced balls and you're done.

Zheng Tingqiu was also sitting at Wulang's table. He had eaten this dish last time in Xiamen. As soon as the mussels were served, he quickly swallowed the Yunlin roast goose in his mouth and stared at the waiter's movements with chopsticks in his hand.

When the chicken soup was submerged in the clam meat, the fat man immediately took out his chopsticks, picked up two pieces of clam meat and stuffed it into his mouth. The mellow and delicious aroma immediately filled his mouth.

"You need to eat this Xishi tongue quickly, otherwise you will get old." Fang Xiu'e served Zhu Niang some vegetables, which was actually a reminder to Lun Diyi, who had never eaten this dish.

After hearing this, Lun Shi picked up a piece of clam meat and ate it into his mouth. He felt that Xi Shi's tongue was fresh and crisp, and the fragrance was still lingering on his teeth and cheeks after he swallowed it.

While he was reminiscing, he secretly glanced at Xiu'e. He saw that her mouth was like a cherry and her teeth were like braided shells. Unfortunately, she couldn't see the three inches of cloves.

I don't know what he thought of, but Lun Yi was a little distracted. Fang Xiu'e had already noticed that he was looking at her, so she turned around and glared at him.

Only then did Lun Yi come to his senses and quickly gave Wu Lang a piece of Xi Shi tongue next to him: "This is good, you can try it."

Wu Lang couldn't eat anymore at this time. He had never thought that there were so many delicious foods in the world. He felt like he had lived like a dog in his life.

"Is this what people in the Ming Dynasty usually eat?" Wu Lang turned to Lun and asked, "Compared to you, we Basai people are worse than dogs."

Lun No. [-] laughed when he heard this and said, "Actually, it's not difficult for you to live such a life. You just need to follow my big brother."

Wu Lang was silent for a moment, and finally shook his head and sighed: "I can't leave my ancestors for too long. Although the Ming Dynasty is good, it's a pity that it is not my home."

(End of this chapter)