Volume 3: The Richest Man in the World Chapter 22 Steam Engine
Guang'er slipped away to get the goldfish, but Cai Qiaozhu didn't take it seriously. Since someone was following him, she just ignored him and went back to the house to put away some trivial things.
Unexpectedly, after a while, Guang'er came back crying and shouted as soon as he entered the door: "Mom! They bullied me! They bullied me!"
Cai Qiaozhu's heart skipped a beat and she asked, "What's wrong?"
Guang Er shouted, "They won't give me any fish!"
Cai Qiaozhu frowned and said, "It's not a big deal, why are you crying? Don't you think about how old you are?" However, she still asked Lian Qiao who followed her, " What happened?"
Lian Qiao also had an indignant look on her face, so she told the whole story of what had just happened.
It turned out that Yao'er had just run to Ritianju. Wu Chengjian and Ye Youyu were not there, and the wet nurse was feeding Yao'er complementary food. Yao'er ate porridge while looking at the big goldfish. When he saw Guang'er coming, he opened his mouth and called out "Brother".
Guang'er didn't hesitate and asked someone to take the biggest goldfish away. Yao'er was ignorant and started crying when he saw someone trying to take the goldfish away.
So all the old women and maids in the yard started to persuade her.
"They all just persuaded Young Master Guang to give in to his younger brother, and none of them persuaded Young Master Yao to give in to his elder brother. What is this? What is this?" Lian Qiao said indignantly. Originally, the two children were fighting over something, Guang'er was older and Yao'er was younger, so it was okay to persuade the elder brother to give in to the younger brother, but Ritianju and Lirongyuan were one family to the outside world, and they still divided the host and the guest inside. When Guang'er went to Ritianju, Lian Qiao felt embarrassed to persuade Young Master Yao, but the other servants persuaded Young Master Guang in unison, and the atmosphere made Lian Qiao uncomfortable.
"Enough, enough!" Listening to Lian Qiao's description, Cai Qiaozhu became a little annoyed: "It's not a big deal, why are you talking so... so..." She couldn't find a suitable word for a moment, "You cry and make a fuss over a goldfish, what a disgrace!"
"Young Lady!" Lian Qiao said aggrievedly, "You didn't see the expressions of those people when they spoke. They...they..."
Cai Qiaozhu asked: "What happened to them?"
Lian Qiao couldn't say what was wrong. The servants all had kind smiles on their faces, but the looks and expressions made Lian Qiao feel that the atmosphere was wrong. But if she really wanted to describe it, she couldn't say it. There were some over-the-top words that she couldn't say, and in the end, she almost cried.
"Alright, alright." After all, this was her personal maid, so Cai Qiaozhu couldn't just blame her: "Even if the subordinates couldn't do something at the moment, it was all for Yao'er's sake. Yao'er is still young after all."
After being scolded by Cai Qiaozhu, Guang'er dared not make any more trouble, and Lirongyuan became peaceful.
But this matter made Cai Qiaozhu feel a little upset.
It wasn't a big deal, but it wasn't the first time something like this had happened.
This year, there have always been some trivial things that make people upset.
At night, Ye Youyu came with Dongxue. Not only did they come, they also brought the big goldfish and put it into the pond of Lirongyuan. When Guang'er saw it, he clapped his hands happily and went to watch.
Cai Qiaozhu heard the noise and came out and asked, "Aunt San, what are you doing?"
"Sister-in-law." Ye Youyu said, "I was away this afternoon. Chunrui and Xiaqing were both out. The people below were ignorant and messed things up."
Cai Qiaozhu said, "What are you talking about? Two little kids are making a fuss, so why are you joining them? Guang'er is already so old, he should be studying and learning how to do business, but he's still making a fuss over a fish. If his father were still alive, he would have been beaten for this. We in the Wu family can't spoil our children like this."
He called Wu Liu and said, "Pick up the big goldfish and release it into the Pearl River."
Guang'er almost cried: "Mom!"
Cai Qiaozhu shouted, "You dare to cry! What did your grandfather tell you before he died? He told you to study hard and learn business, but now you are making a fuss over a fish. Go ask the old people in the house what your father and uncle did when you were your age. If you dare to cry, your uncle will beat you with a stick ."
Guang'er bit her lips and dared not cry.
Ye Youyu was full of wisdom and could use both kindness and severity to treat his servants, but he lacked experience in dealing with the affairs of the sisters-in-law and their children, and didn't know whether to persuade or stop them. The atmosphere in the Ye residence was different from that of the Wu family, so the tricks that the Ye residence had seen were not applicable to the Wu family.
The matter was not made a big deal. It was a very small matter in the Yu family. Wu Chengjian was not the type to handle everything himself, and another big thing happened recently, so the matter did not reach his ears.
Cai Qiaozhu's move into Lirongyuan was not a big deal to the outside world, but it was a big change for the Cai family in Daxing Street. Cai's mother had been planning to buy a new house in Xiguan and expand it, wanting to move there to be closer to her daughter, but Wu Guoying had made such an arrangement. After all, this was the Wu family's business, and they could not interfere.
But on the third day after Cai Qiaozhu moved in, the Cai family still had people coming. Cai Shiqun and his wife came with their sons to congratulate Cai Qiaozhu. Wu Dacheng opened the side door and let the Cai family in. Cai Shiqun took his two sons to Shanggong Garden to meet Wu Chengjian, while Cai's mother went to Lirongyuan to talk to her daughter.
Guang'er took her grandmother to look around the yard. Mother Cai was very satisfied, knowing that these scenes were what her daughter liked. When she heard that these arrangements were arranged by Haoguan himself, she felt much more relieved.
When asked how she and her son were living in the new courtyard, Cai Qiaozhu said, "It's much more spacious, but I'm not used to it yet."
"I just got here, and it must be like this." Cai's mother said, "Businessmen in the Thirteen Hongs are all trying their best to squeeze into Xiguan, but the only two families who can jump out and establish their own business in Henan after making a name for themselves there are the Pan and Wu families. Now all the businessmen in the Bay of Guangdong are looking up to the Pan and Wu families."
Cai Qiaozhu nodded: "Yes, so my daughter understands my father-in-law's idea, and this idea is correct."
The mother and daughter talked for a long time before Cai Shiqun brought his two sons to Lirongyuan. They had just gained a lot of benefits from Wu Chengjian, so their faces were full of joy. Although Cai Shiqun inherited part of Cai Shiwen's industry, the scale of the new Cai family could not be compared with the old Cai family. At present, it was close to the last among the Thirteen Hongs and was almost a vassal of the Wu family.
However, for Ye Dalin, the fact that the Ye family became a vassal of the Wu family was a humiliation, but for Cai Shiqun, the fact that the Cai family became a vassal of the Wu family and was included in the list of protected merchants was a pleasant surprise. Therefore, although Cai Shiqun was a generation older than Wu Chengjian in terms of kinship, he was very flattering to him.
The family stayed together for a long time before leaving. Cai Qiaozhu saw her parents and brother off and was heading back to Lirongyuan. As she had nothing to do, she just walked. She happened to be at a higher place and saw some movement at the gate from afar, so she stopped to take a look.
It was quite far away, so the sound could not be heard, but one could vaguely see Wu Dacheng opening the door himself to welcome the guest in. One could vaguely make out that it was the Ye family's sedan chair. After the sedan chair stopped at the door, one could see Wu Dacheng opening the door himself to welcome Ye Dalin out. It was too far away to see his expression, but from Wu Dacheng's slightly bent back, one could guess that he must be smiling at the moment.
Xingchenghang is an ally of Yihehang, and Ye Dalin is one of the largest merchants in the Thirteen Hongs. It was nothing for Wu Dacheng to open the main door when he came in person. However, Cai Qiaozhu suddenly remembered that her parents had only gone through the side door when they came just now. No one, including Cai's father, Cai's mother, and Cai Qiaozhu, thought much about it. There were not many rules for visiting relatives, especially since the Cai family was a small to medium-sized family and they didn't pay much attention to it. However, this comparison made Cai Qiaozhu feel unhappy.
She knew in her heart that in Wu Dacheng's eyes, the Cai family relied on the Wu family to get rich, while the Ye family was basically an equal ally. It was human nature for Wu Dacheng to treat Cai Shiqun and Ye Dalin differently. But this human nature was even more annoying.
Cai Qiaozhu returned to Lirongyuan in a depressed mood. All the way, she told herself not to think too much and not to be suspicious. However, no matter how hard she tried to comfort herself, the depression could not be dissipated.
On the day when Guang'er and Yao'er made a big fuss about the goldfish, Charlie came back and told Wu Chengjian that the equity transfer of the East India Company in London was going very smoothly. The Lord also expressed his willingness to mobilize some righteous gentlemen to initiate a proposal in the House of Lords to restrict the East India Company's opium smuggling in China. In front of such national events, Guang'er and Yao'er's little matter was simply a trivial matter that was not worth mentioning, so Ye Youyu and Wu Qi, who knew a little about the inside story, did not dare to disturb him with this matter at this time.
Charles said to Wu Chengjian: "Lord Ellot said that the bill can be proposed, but if it is really to be passed, there will be great resistance. Great Britain, from top to bottom, is very dissatisfied with the trade deficit with the Qing Empire. Although some nobles are not good at applauding the export of opium in public, before finding a better way to reverse the trade deficit, they may not issue a strong ban on the East India Company's behavior because of the slogan of justice. Therefore, the lord still hopes that the Qing Dynasty can open more customs to allow more goods from Great Britain to enter China."
Wu Chengjian did not comment at the time. The Thirteen Hongs were the beneficiaries of the one-port trade. As a merchant, he should actually extend this monopoly. However, this closed state with only one window was not good for the entire country, and the one-port trade policy was not necessarily sustainable. The country is stable only when the family is stable. If the country is closed for a long time, if the national strength weakens and is attacked by others, the Wu family may not be able to remain unscathed.
However, no matter how the interests are decided, as long as Qianlong is still alive, this will never be possible.
Then he asked about the steam engine - this time when Charlie returned to England, Wu Chengjian asked him to buy a few steam engines specially.
The steam engines had already arrived at the port. After Wu Chengjian inquired about it, they were moved to Wujiayuan the next day. Looking at these rough and ugly lumps of iron, everyone from Wu Qi to Xia Qing thought that they were new toys that Hao Guan liked, but they didn't understand what was so interesting about them.
Under the operation of a British technician, one of the steam engines began to run with a rumbling sound. The sound was strange and noisy, which made Xia Qing step back a few steps.
Wu Chengjian stared at the running steam engine in a daze for a long time, and did not even explain to his family what it was.
Ye Dalin was invited to Wujiayuan for these two things.
