Volume 4: The World of Great Conflict Chapter 0421 Time is running out
As A Da entered the inner courtyard of the Wu family, Nan Yi saw Wu Jingyuan in person for the first time.
Nan Yi stepped forward and bowed, "Hello, Mr. Wu."
"Good, good, good, you are indeed a handsome man." With his hands on the dragon-headed cane, Wu Jingyuan's face was full of smiles. "When Zaisheng told me, I was unlucky. After seeing you today, Nan Yi, you are indeed extraordinary in appearance."
"Mr. Wu, you flatter me. I am just an ordinary person."
"Haha, don't be so modest , Yizi, come and sit down." Wu Jingyuan waved his hand, stepped forward and sat on the armchair on the left, then showed the armchair on the right to Nan Yi.
The style of Wu Jingyuan's hall is a fusion of Lingnan and Hui style, and is somewhat similar to the layout of the old villa in Nanyi.
There is a long table in the middle, with a New Year picture pasted on the wall, a Western clock in the middle of the table, and a pair of candlesticks on both sides; the Eight Immortals Table is next to the long table, with an armchair on each side.
Nan Yi walked forward and sat on the armchair on the right. Without any instructions, the housekeeper A Da placed the fruit basket that Nan Yi had just brought on the table, and then busied himself making tea for the two of them.
"Yizi, tea please."
After Ada finished making the tea, Wu Jingyuan picked up the teacup in front of him and said.
"Mr. Wu, please."
Nan Yi picked up the teacup, looked at it for a moment, and then put it back on the table.
"I heard from Zaisheng that you are planning to open a Sichuan restaurant on Juelu Street?" Wu Jingyuan took a sip of tea, took out two walnuts from his right pocket and started playing with them in his hands.
From the moment he came in until now, Nan Yi has never seen Wu Jingyuan's hands idle. Even when he was holding the dragon head crutch just now, the fingers of both hands were moving non-stop.
At this moment, Wu Jingyuan was playing with walnuts. Nan Yi observed carefully and found that Wu Jingyuan's movements of playing with walnuts were a bit unnatural and his fingers were not flexible.
Judging from the patina on the walnuts, this pair of walnuts has been played with for many years. Logically, Wu Jingyuan's fingers are frequently moved, so they should be very flexible and cannot be so stiff.
This made Nan Yi think of a disease - Parkinson's disease.
With this guess, Nan Yi paid attention to the position of Wu Jingyuan's left shoulder joint. Although the clothes Wu Jingyuan wore were very loose, the tremor of his shoulder would still be transmitted to the clothes.
Wu Jingyuan's left shoulder has an unnatural static tremor, which is one of the early symptoms of Parkinson's disease. Although Nan Yi does not have the conditions to discover other symptoms to make a more accurate judgment, this one is enough.
As for a person, his greatest enemies are himself and time. A person can defeat everything else, but he cannot defeat himself and time. Wu Jingyuan is not young anymore, and the probability of him getting Parkinson's disease and stroke is already very high, so it is not surprising that he really got it.
"Yes, boy, I'm new here, so I'm going to open a Sichuan restaurant to test the waters in England."
"Be careful. You young people tend to act hastily. Yizi, you are very patient." Wu Jingyuan praised.
"Mr. Wu, you are too kind. Others say that I am too old and lack the vitality of young people." Nan Yi said modestly and asked, "Mr. Wu, what is Ah Sheng busy with? I came here, but why didn't he come out?"
"He said that he didn't have a lot of ingredients last time at your place, so he didn't show off his cooking skills. Since you're here today, he wants to show you his cooking skills. He's busy in the kitchen and will be here soon."
"Is that so? He is too polite."
Nan Yi nodded, picked up the teacup and took a sip, waiting for Wu Jingyuan to speak again.
It was similar to what Nan Yi had thought, but also slightly different. Wu Jingyuan's next topic was not too tentative. He first told Nan Yi about the glorious history of the Wu family.
It is said that Wu Bingjian had a trademark called Wu Haoguan. With the help of this trademark, the Wu family's business was smooth both in the East and the West.
The name "Haoguan" was also mentioned, which appeared in Marx's works; before the opening of the Panama Canal and the Pan-American Railway, Boston, the center of Britain's trade with China, had another nickname, called Haoguan, which symbolized wealth and commercial credit.
The first merchant ship launched by the State of Xian was also named Haoguan.
I also talked to Nan Yi about the reasons for the Wu family's decline, which were relatively high-level reasons.
It is said that the trade pattern was changing at that time. The capital from the United States promoted the development of India's modern sugar industry, which led to a decline in Europe's demand for Chinese sugar.
In addition, tea cultivation in Assam is also on the rise. Tea is no longer exclusive to China. The United States has its own tea source base. In China's foreign trade, tea as a hard currency is no longer so hard, and its price has plummeted.
In addition, after the Opium War, the Five Ports were opened to trade, Shanghai began to rise, and the Thirteen Hongs lost their monopoly. In such a period of drastic changes and changes, Wu Bingjian also passed away...
"After the ancestor passed away, other forces that had been eyeing the Wu family came forward, and the Wu family was caught up in a struggle for the head of the family. Due to internal and external troubles, the Wu family fell into decline." Wu Jingyuan spoke at length in one breath, making his breathing a little disordered. He took a sip of tea to calm down, and then he felt better.
Talking about the glorious history, Nan Yi understood Wu Jingyuan's intention, but what was the purpose of talking about the history of the Wu family's decline?
Nan Yi guessed that Wu Jingyuan had more to say, so he was waiting to listen attentively.
"The Wu family has fallen into decline, and the unworthy descendants can only live in a corner. I have always hoped to restore the glory of the Wu family, and I have been working hard for this hope. It's just a pity that my ability is limited, and I can only barely maintain the Wu family to its current state.
The rise of the Wu family can only depend on their generation.
We Chinese have an old saying: rely on your parents at home and rely on your friends when you go out. If Zaisheng wants to achieve something, he will definitely need the help of his friends. Yizi, you are Zaisheng’s friend, you must support each other and help each other in the future.”
"Huh? Wu Jingyuan didn't even try to be witty and said it so bluntly?" Nan Yi thought to himself.
Before coming here, Nan Yi thought that Wu Jingyuan's words would be confusing and he would have to think about and savor every word carefully, but he didn't expect...
It’s so straight, so damn straight, it’s just short of blatantly letting Nan Yi be Wu Zaisheng’s assistant.
"Mr. Wu, Zaisheng and I get along very well. I have decided to settle down in London and develop my career there. I live close to you. If Zaisheng needs me in the future, I will definitely do my best to help."
"Yizi, you are so thoughtful. If you need anything from the Wu family, you can ask for it."
"Yes."
When the conversation reached this point, Wu Zaisheng popped up and then they started eating.
At the dinner table, the three of them chatted about cuisines from various places. Wu Jingyuan told Nan Yi and the others about "Dream of Red Mansions", mainly about the various dishes mentioned in it, which ones he had eaten, which ones he knew the essence of, etc. Basically, there were no nutritious topics.
After saying goodbye and leaving, on the way back, Nan Yi pondered over every word Wu Jingyuan had said before, but he couldn't figure out what he meant. Nan Yi had already figured out what he wanted to do, and there seemed to be nothing else.
"Too fast!" Nan Yi thought, "Wu Jingyuan's intention to recruit me was exposed too quickly. This is not in line with the style of an old fox. Wu Jingyuan, time is running out? Time is running out for me?"
Once people are over fifty, they know their destiny. They know their own affairs and whether their body is doing well. They have a clear idea of what is going on. If they are about to die, they will naturally have a premonition.
Wu Jingyuan may have sensed that his time is up and he can no longer do things according to the routine. Everything must be done quickly.
Speed leads to chaos, and chaos presents opportunities to take advantage of.
"That's good. Things can be over sooner and I can get out of this sooner." Nan Yi stood by the stream, picked up a flat stone, and skipped it on the water casually, and he won the championship.
Well, he was the only one participating in the competition.
As Nan Yi left the Wu family and returned to Downton Abbey, in a hidden place above the valley, several people wearing ghillie suits, carrying long gun bags, picked up two steel pipes with a diameter of about 70 mm on the ground, and quickly disappeared into the night.
