Red Mansion Huacai

Chapter 361 Practical Learning Society

There were two lumps of pink secret meat on the plate, one on the left and one on the right. Zhuan'er picked up a piece with a bitter face and swallowed it whole. After chewing it for a while, his eyes suddenly lit up and he said, "This is delicious."

Liang Er didn't talk much. After seeing Zhuan Er saying this, he picked up a piece and ate it. Then he praised again and again: "Young lady's cooking skills are becoming more and more refined. I'm afraid that even the imperial chefs in the palace can't compare to her."

Xing Xiuyan smiled without saying anything. After the two maids had eaten the food on this side, she reached out and pointed at the food on the other side and said, "Try this one."

The two maids agreed, and Zhuan'er tasted it first, and her face turned bitter after chewing it for a while. Liang'er didn't show any emotion, but she chewed a little slower.

Zhuan Er said with a bitter face: "It's a bit salty, and I can't taste anything else... Oh, and it also has a meaty smell, it's really unpalatable!"

Xing Xiuyan smiled but said nothing. The secret meat on the left side was made from the pure meat of a six-month-old pig, with plenty of auxiliary ingredients, so it naturally tasted better, and was not much worse than the steamed lion's head with rice flour; the one on the right side was made from an old pig that had been collected, the meat quality was not as good, and the auxiliary ingredients were only salt and a little pepper, plus there was more rice flour and less meat, so it tasted hard and difficult to swallow, wasn't it?
Just at this moment, a shopkeeper came in and handed over a piece of paper: "Miss Xing, please have a look. This is today's shopping list."

Xing Xiuyan took a quick look and saw that the prices were pretty much the same, so she put them down and said, "Please pay attention to the purchase, shopkeeper. Most of the people who come to order lunch boxes from us are officials, so even if the taste is a little worse, the dishes can't be bad."

The shopkeeper said hurriedly, "Don't worry, sir. I will definitely not make any mistakes."

Xing Xiuyan nodded and said, "Now that the menu has been decided, I won't come to your house every day in the future. I may come to check on you every now and then. Please pay more attention to it, shopkeeper. I've told my wife that you will definitely get your share of the dividends at the end of the year."

The shopkeeper immediately smiled and said, "Of course, of course. Please say good things about me to my wife."

The shopkeeper left, and Zhuan'er swallowed it with difficulty. He stared and said, "Sister, are we not coming here anymore?"

Liang Er said, "If you tell the gods, you will be so angry that you will die. The girl has already said that she will only come to inspect every few days in the future. How can she not come?"

Zhuan'er was immediately delighted and said, "That's good, that's good. It's much more comfortable outside than in Rongguo Mansion, and I don't have to pay attention to other things."

Xing Xiuyan ordered: "You guys take the newly made ones and press them into cans, and then you have to go to Haidian again."

Zhuan'er's eyes rolled, and he was determined to bring Xing Xiuyan and Li Weijian together. He quickly said, "Last time, Liang'er went with my sister, so this time it must be my turn."

Xing Xiuyan hesitated, fearing that the girl would talk nonsense in front of Li Weijian again. Zhuan'er immediately said, "Don't worry, sister, I will keep my mouth shut this time, even if Master Li asks, I won't say anything."

Xing Xiuyan felt a little soft-hearted when she heard this, and nodded, "That's it, remember not to break the rules."

At that moment, the master and his two servants came out of the shop. Zhuan'er waved from afar and called two rickshaws, one for Xing Xiuyan alone and one for the two maids. After they told the destination, the two rickshaws headed for the outer city.

After half an hour, we arrived near the steam engine factory. We could see smoke billowing in the distance and the air was filled with the smell of coal smoke.

The land that Li Weijian bought in the outer city was a bit cramped. It was fine for just a steam engine factory at first, but when more than 20 factories were built, it was a bit too crowded. Since the beginning of this year, factories have been relocated. Some moved to Tianjin, some moved to Tongzhou, or some moved to the southwest outside the city. Originally, Li Weijian wanted to move the factory to the northeast outside the city because of the monsoon, but it was too close to the imperial city and it was difficult to use the upstream water source, so he had no choice but to move it to the southwest.

The master and his two servants went in, and the manager came up to them. Xing Xiuyan gave them some instructions, and the manager then found a craftsman to take care of it.

The three of them sat for a while, and in just two quarters of an hour, the manager brought over a hundred tin cans. He then said, "Miss Xing, we have already made several thousand cans of various colors, and they will all be packaged in a few days. The craftsmen below are feeling uneasy, wondering what Master Li will order them to do next? It's not good to leave them idle."

Xing Xiuyan said, "I will ask Madam later and come back to tell her when I get the news."

The manager agreed and respectfully escorted Xing Xiuyan out.

When the master and his servants came out, they were in a dilemma. They were afraid that a rickshaw would not be able to hold more than a hundred cans. However, Shuntian Prefecture had a new rule that ordinary horse-drawn carriages were not allowed to enter the inner city. While they were thinking, they suddenly saw a familiar carriage coming. Zhuan'er hurriedly said, "Sister, it looks like the carriage of the Bo's Mansion."

Xing Xiuyan agreed, and watched as the carriage approached. The curtains were opened, and Xiaoluo came down first. She caught a glimpse of Xing Xiuyan and said happily, "Auntie, it's Miss Xing!"

Baoqin came down from inside and caught a glimpse of Xing Xiuyan. She hurriedly came up to her with a smile and asked, "Sister, why are you here?"

Xing Xiuyan also smiled and said, "My Lord has given me a task, and I just hurriedly made some canned food. I was just having a hard time figuring out how to send it to my Lord's house, when Sister Qin happened to come."

Baoqin said angrily, "Sister, why are you so polite? I am younger than you, so I should be called your younger sister."

Xing Xiuyan smiled and said, "I'm used to it." But she thought in her heart, what counts between sisters is not age, but the order in which they entered the family.

Baoqin glanced at the pile of tin cans on the cart, rolled her eyes and smiled, "It happens that I have nothing else to do today. If you are not in a hurry, you can wait for me for a while. After I check the accounts, I will take you to Haidian Garden."

Every two or three days, carriages and horses would travel between the Bo Mansion and the Haidian Garden, delivering things or messages. Xing Xiuyan had originally thought of using the carriages and horses to take herself and the canned food with her, and now that Baoqin was going to Haidian, she naturally wanted to do it. She smiled and said, "I have nothing to do now, sister, just go and do your work, I will wait here."

Baoqin laughed and said, "How can I let you bask in the sun? It's hot and stuffy in the factory. Why don't you go to the carriage first? I'll have someone stop it under the shade of a tree."

Xing Xiuyan agreed and got into the carriage to wait. Baoqin went into the factory and it took her three quarters of an hour to check the accounts. At this time, Xiaohe had already sent a letter to Bo's house. Hongyu was worried and sent a few Beishan guards over. Then they hired another carriage and went to Haidian.

Little did they know that just as they were leaving the city, Baochai led Ying'er out of the machinery factory nearby. With her face covered by a veil, Baochai stopped and turned around, saying to the steward who had sent her out, "Staff Chen, please stay. I will go back home and think about it. If I have made up my mind, I will come back to find you, steward Chen."

Manager Chen smiled and said, "Miss, please do as you please. However, this machine cannot be made overnight. The news has not spread yet. If you place an order, you can get the finished product in 20 days at most. If there are too many orders in the future, you may have to schedule it, and then you will have no time."

Baochai nodded and said, "I saved it. I'll take my leave now."

"Slow down girl."

Baochai nodded slightly and led Ying'er to the carriage. Manager Chen bowed and went back to the factory. As the carriage rumbled on, Ying'er pouted and said, "It's just a steam engine that drives some delicate machinery, but they asked for three thousand taels! My God, how can it be so expensive? Miss, this is the business of Fourth Master Jian anyway. Why don't you go and talk to Fourth Master Jian? Maybe -"

"Stop talking nonsense!"

After being scolded harshly, Ying'er immediately pursed her lips and said, "I, I am also thinking about the girl."

Baochai shook her head and said nothing. Thinking back to the past, when she first met Fourth Brother Jian, he stared at her vaguely, and that look... was like stripping her clothes off, which made her unbearable. Later, by some strange coincidence, Daiyu married into the Bo's house. How could Baochai go to look for Li Weijian again?
Sister Bao was filled with bitterness. The evil thought she had that day at the Dicui Pavilion had brought disaster to this day. It was truly the law of nature that always pays back.

Thinking carefully, it was not that my mother doted on my brother too much, and my brother was a bad temper. Even if I didn't want to marry Li Weijian, I would ask for his consent today. How could Li Weijian refuse? Unfortunately, my mother and brother had done something too extreme, and even Bao Sister couldn't turn back.

After a long moment of bitterness, Sister Bao suddenly came to her senses. How could she blame her mother and brother alone for this? She was probably also looking down on Fourth Brother Jian's family background.

Never mind. Now that things have come to this, I don’t ask for their support or help, I just ask them to do their job impartially.

The carriage went all the way to Sanyanjing Hutong. Baochai and Ying'er got off the carriage and entered the second gate. They saw Aunt Xue who seemed to have just returned and was talking to Tongxi and Tonggui.

Seeing Baochai come in, Aunt Xue said happily, "My child, you are back at last. Is everything going well with the machine?"

Baochai was sweating all over, and she didn't even bother to wipe it off. She hurriedly told Aunt Xue the key points: "I have seen the mechanic with my own eyes, and I have taught him all his skills without keeping anything to myself. But we have to figure out how to make the encapsulated dishes ourselves."

"What's the price?"

"Three thousand taels."

Aunt Xue frowned and said, "It's not cheap... If you calculate, wouldn't it cost five thousand taels to start the factory?"

Baochai said, "I'm afraid it will cost about six thousand taels... Mother forgot to calculate the money for buying fish, meat, fruit and vegetables."

Aunt Xue wanted to persuade her, but seeing Baojie's determined face, she knew her daughter had made up her mind and was afraid that she would not change it. So she said, "I had a good talk with your aunt today. Your aunt really cares about your marriage and future. This time, she finally spoke out."

Sister Bao didn't change her expression and asked, "What did my aunt say?"

Then Aunt Xue happily picked up an invitation from the table and said, "Look, it's an invitation from the Cheng'en Marquis's Mansion."

Baochai took it and looked at it for a few seconds. It was indeed a blank invitation from the Cheng'en Marquis' Mansion, inviting the holder to attend the Practical Learning Society organized by the Cheng'en Marquis' Mansion three days later.

Baochai could not help wondering, "A practical learning society? How can a girl like me go there?"

Aunt Xue smiled and said, "My son, this practical learning society was originally only attended by practical scholars. Unexpectedly, Princess Yongshou heard about it a few days ago and made an agreement with the wife of Marquis Cheng'en that she would definitely attend in three days. Marquis Cheng'en's wife knew that it would not be appropriate for Princess Yongshou to attend alone, so she quickly sent out invitations and invited the wives of high-ranking officials and dignitaries."

Sister Bao immediately understood that the invitation in her hand was from her cousin Wang Yunping. Wang Yunping was still waiting to be married and had already been engaged, so naturally she could no longer show up in public.

Aunt Xue continued, "Your cousin can't go, but you can. I heard that in the Practical Academy, apart from the newly-appointed scholars, there are also noble children. If you go there, you might find a good match."

Sister Bao wanted to refuse, but facing Aunt Xue's earnest gaze, she sighed in her heart and finally replied, "I understand." Suddenly, the figure of Li Weijian flashed through her mind. It was a pity that she had already seen such an outstanding man. How could any other man catch Baochai's eye?
............................................................

Quiet garden.

The carriage drove straight into the garden. Baoqin met Qingwen, Xiangling and others, and became very friendly with them. Then they went to Qingyin Pavilion.

Daiyu had just had a nap and was now dressing herself in front of the mirror. When she heard Baoqin and Xing Xiuyun coming, she dressed up and came out to meet them.

Baoqin greeted them with a smile, and then she talked to Daiyu about the family affairs. The family of Bo was simple, and the little girl was fair and tender, and looked very cute; Fu Qiufang was out of confinement, and she had been wandering around Huifang Garden these days, wishing to make up for what she had lost in the past few days; Hongyu was very considerate, but she had a quarrel with Lin Zhixiao and his wife. When Baoqin asked, Hongyu just shook her head and said nothing.

As for the rest of the people, Aunt Zhen's health had improved. In such a hot day, she still wore fine cloth clothes, but she said that silk clothes were a bit cold. I think it was because she had lost too much strength in the past few years and couldn't make up for it in a short time. Li Wen and Li Qi were bored at home and insisted on coming to Haidian. Liu scolded them, so she had to invite Tanchun and Xichun to her house to chat the next day.

Lin said a lot of things, and Baoqin's voice was full of emotion, so those boring little things made Daiyu and others smile several times.

After he finished speaking, Daiyu said, "Other matters are fine, but Hongyu's is a family matter. Let the master look into it later. We shouldn't interfere."

Baoqin smiled and replied, "Madam is right. Sister Fu also said so."

Daiyu turned to look at Xing Xiuyan and said with a smile, "Miss Xing is too straightforward. She has already made the cans in just a few days?"

Xing Xiuyan smiled and said, "These are just some tricks from the kitchen. I'll get it right after trying a few times. Madam will ask Master Bo to taste it later. If there are any deviations, I can go back and make some changes."

Daiyu looked at the clock and said, "Fourth brother will be back in a little while, so Miss Xing might as well stay a little longer and save herself the trouble of running back and forth."

Xing Xiuyan responded with a smile.

At this moment, a maid came in and said, "Madam, the master has returned from court."

Baoqin's ears twitched immediately, and Daiyu said with a smile: "I can't stand the heat, sister, go and meet him."

Baoqin stood up and bowed, smiling, "Thank you for your consideration, madam. I won't be polite then."

After saying that, he stood up and left, his face full of unconcealable joy.

Qingwen, Xiangling and Xiuying all covered their mouths and laughed. Considering that Baoqin had not seen Li Weijian for some time, no one tried to snatch him away at this moment.

At this time, Daiyu took a sip of warm tea and whispered to Xing Xiuyan: "What do you think? Since you have made up your mind, you can't just wait and rely on it... Do you want me to mention it?"

Xing Xiuyan just smiled and whispered, "Just let it go, and there's no need for Madam to mention it."

Daiyu sighed, "The person in charge is not anxious, but I, who am just watching the fun, am extremely anxious. It's strange."

After a while, Baoqin's silver bell-like laughter came from far away, and soon she and Li Weijian entered the room together. The girls stood up to greet each other. Li Weijian nodded frequently. When he saw Xing Xiuyan was there, he nodded and said, "It's hot and humid today. I've been sweating in the duty room. I'll go wash up first. If Miss Xing is not in a hurry, you can wait a little longer."

Xing Xiuyan said, "Master, just go ahead. I'm not in a hurry."

Li Weijian took a stroll in Qingyin Pavilion, then went to the back to take a bath, changed into a gauze dress and returned - if Xing Xiuyan was not there, he would have to wear that inappropriate clothes.

After re-entering Qingyin Pavilion, Li Weijian started talking to Xing Xiuyan first.

Xing Xiuyan spoke clearly and logically, describing one by one the attempts she had made in the past few days, and then presented two canned foods.

Li Weijian found a dagger and pried them open, tasting each one. The pork was just okay, perfect as a roadside dish. But the one supplying military supplies made Li Weijian frown.

He was picky, "The meat tastes bland, and there's too much flour in it. Also, if you want to save money, why do you have to use lean meat? Wouldn't it be better to just grind up the heart, liver, spleen, lungs, tendons, and brain all together?"

Xing Xiuyan blinked and did not argue, saying quickly: "I was wrong, I will try again later."

After everything was done, Xing Xiuyan was about to get up and leave. Zhuan'er was anxious watching from the side, but he couldn't say anything even though he wanted to help. Baoqin, who came with him, said coquettishly, "Fourth brother, I'll stay for one night and go back tomorrow, okay?"

Li Weijian smiled and said, "My words don't count. Why don't you ask your wife?"

Baoqin looked at Daiyu pitifully again, and Daiyu laughed and said, "I have come here from dozens of miles away, how can I send you away right now?"

Baoqin immediately laughed and said, "The wife is still the best."

Daiyu glanced at her angrily, and then said to Xing Xiuyan, "In that case, I will send a carriage to take Miss Xing back to the city."

Zijuan was sent away to see her off, and there was no mention of Xing Xiuyun riding Daiyu's carriage back to the city.

As soon as Xing Xiuyan left, Li Weijian tore off his gauze dress, exposing his chest and slumped in the chair, letting Xueyan fan him, and said, "The Saint has decided to move north on the 22nd of this month, and a garrison will accompany him. Tsk, this northern tour will probably cost three million silver coins."

Daiyu said, "The Northern Tour has been suspended for more than ten years. Now that it has been resumed, the Saint will naturally appease the various Mongol tribes. It is worth it no matter how much money is spent."

Li Weijian said with a smile: "Sister, you are very knowledgeable, much better than those ministers in the court."

Daiyu said angrily, "We were talking about something, but you are teasing me again."

Li Weijian chuckled twice, pulled out an invitation from his sleeve, and said, "Marquis Cheng'en personally sent me the invitation when I was in the government office. I'm afraid I can't avoid going to that stupid practical school." He paused and said, "By the way, Marquis Cheng'en also specifically said that you can bring your female relatives with you. If you find it boring, why not--"

Before he could finish, Daiyu shook her head and said, "Why should a woman like me get involved in such a serious matter? Fourth brother, just go by yourself when the time comes." After a pause, she asked, "Did you say whether the Prince of Jin would go or not?"

Li Weijian sighed and said, "Do you even need to ask? He is the grandson of Marquis Cheng'en. He can go even without an invitation."

Daiyu was speechless. She was not as good as Li Weijian in handling the affairs outside.

After a long while, Li Weijian said, "It would be great if the King of Jin did something bad in the next few days. This way we can avoid it."

A prophecy!
That night, a tofu shop in the inner city of the capital caught fire, and a family of five was killed in the fire. Afterwards, an imperial censor impeached He Shunxing for allowing his subordinates to forcibly demolish houses, causing the family of five to be killed in the fire. Later, another imperial censor dug up the story of Tao Fuji forcing people to jump off the building, and the Crown Prince and the Prince of Jin were in a state of panic.

The sage was furious, and immediately called the Crown Prince and Prince of Jin to Qingxi Book House to reprimand them. Then the Crown Prince returned to the West Garden and smashed his pen washer.

Li Weijian was secretly delighted when he heard this! The business of reforming the capital is of course profitable, but not everyone can do it. If it were Li Weijian, he would have calculated the cost and just used silver to make people happy and move away. But the Crown Prince and the King of Jin only wanted to make money, so the subordinates they released would inevitably get some benefits, which is why such troubles occurred.

He couldn't help but think to himself that the Crown Prince and the King of Jin might be even more disgusted with each other after this incident, and they might even suspect that the other party was the one who tripped them up. In this case, the King of Jin might not have the time to go to the Cheng'en Marquis's mansion to attend the Practical Learning Society, right?
Li Weijian had a good plan, but it failed.

That day came suddenly. Just as Li Weijian arrived at the gate of Marquis Cheng'en's mansion, Prince Jin excitedly led people to greet him.

"Lord Jingling! Haha, what a coincidence! I heard that Lord Jingling had arrived just as I entered the room."

"Your humble servant greets the King of Jin." Li Weijian hurriedly saluted.

Before he could complain, the King of Jin grabbed Li Weijian's arm and pulled him inside, saying, "The revolver made by Jingling Bo is good, but there is one thing: the range is too short. I thought about it and made a long-handled revolver, but the barrel was too long and the range was short. Later, I calculated that the barrel of about one foot is most suitable, and the range can reach fifty steps. I am puzzled, and I happened to run into Jingling Bo, so I hope Jingling Bo can help me solve my doubts."

"Oh, this..."

Without giving Li Weijian time to explain, the King of Jin, who was impatient, said, "There is one more thing. I looked through the military books of the previous dynasty and saw records of stone mines. I thought to myself that these stone mines are too heavy. If they were replaced with cast iron shells, lit and thrown out, and ranged thirty or fifty steps... wouldn't they be able to defeat cavalry?"

Hmm? Isn't this a grenade?

Li Weijian looked serious, looked at the fourteen or fifteen-year-old Prince Jin and said, "Your Highness has a good idea. I will ask the craftsmen of the Military Academy to try to make it. If they can make it, I will submit a petition to ask for credit for Your Highness."

"Really? Hahaha, then I'll take it seriously. Haha... uh..." King Jin suddenly stopped laughing, loosened his grip on Li Weijian's hand, looked at Li Mengqing who was walking out from the side garden and said, "You, why are you here too?"

Princess Yongshou rolled her eyes at him and said teasingly, "Li Xiaoer, if you can come, why can't I?"

(End of this chapter)