The person who laughed was Secretary of State Seward, who stared at Huang Qiang with a playful face, as if he was not smiling. After a while, Seward picked up the quilt with ice cream in front of him, shook it in front of him, and said with a smile: "What is in the cup is not hot food, but cold food, which can be eaten directly." As he spoke, Seward picked up a spoon and scooped a spoonful of ice cream into his mouth, looking intoxicated.

Huang Qiang's face suddenly turned red, and he was angry.

This Yankee, too arrogant!

Li Zhen was also very unhappy when he saw Xiward laughing at Huang Qiang.

In the past, when Lin Zexu was the governor of Liangguang, he also encountered consuls from Britain, France, and the United States using ice cream to ridicule Lin Zexu in Guangzhou. It's just that Lin Zexu of course didn't let it, and invited the British, French, and American consuls to a banquet, and used the dishes handed by China to fight back, making the foreigners suffer a big loss. Now, what Lin Zexu once encountered fell on Huang Qiang's head, which made Li Zhen very disdainful of Xihuade's behavior.

Li Zhen suppressed the anger in his heart and said with a smile: "Your Excellency Xiward, the person next to me is named Huang Qiang, and he is a very powerful soldier. He can only fight on the battlefield, and he does not understand the American eating habits, nor does he know how to use knives and forks, please forgive me. ”

After finishing speaking, Li Zhen picked up the knife and fork and ate the steak served elegantly.

Li Zhen's skillful movements, as well as Li Zhen's elegant posture, made Xiward's brows tremble.

Did China's president grow up abroad?

The fluency of English, as well as the proficiency of the knife and fork at this time, and the demeanor on display, all made Seward feel incredible. Seward put down the knife and fork in his hand and asked, "President Lee, I have a question in my mind for you, and I don't know how to open it. ”

Li Zhen said lightly: "Please speak!" ”

Lincoln glanced at Seward and motioned with his eyes, asking Seward not to trouble Li Zhen.

Zuo Zongtang, Zeng Jize, Huang Qiang, Rong Hong and others were all nervous, and seemed to see the tense situation.

At the same time, Rong Hong is also responsible for translating for Zuo Zongtang and others.

Rong Hong's English is very good, and the translation speed is extremely fast, so that Zuo Zongtang and others know the conversation between Li Zhen and Xihuade in the shortest possible time.

Seward was still full of spring breeze, and said unhurriedly: "President Li has made outstanding achievements in establishing China with the strength of one person, which is admirable, and can be called the first person in China in the past and present. However, when I observed President Lee's demeanor, words and deeds, not only could he speak English fluently, but he was also proficient in eating with a knife and fork, and President Lee's demeanor was so elegant that he was definitely not a layman. Dare to ask President Lee, in which country did you grow up? ”

Li Zhen smiled: "I have never spent a day abroad!" ”

"Impossible!" Seward said.

Lincoln also shook his head and said, "President Lee, this joke is not funny. ”

Li Zhen explained: "The world is full of wonders. It's not surprising that I'm familiar with some of the basics of English and foreigners. Besides, it's entirely possible that I was taught by someone else, or that I was born with it. ”

Lincoln, Seward and others pouted when they heard this.

Both of them were inclined to have someone specifically teach Li Zhen, otherwise Li Zhen would not be so powerful.

Li Zhen changed his words and said: "I am not used to eating foreign food when it comes to Chinese food. ”

He put down the knife and fork in his hand and ordered, Lincoln stopped pestering Li Zhen's English, and asked the waiter to serve the food. The waiter immediately went to pass the word, and soon there were Chinese dishes on the table. These are almost all court dishes, full of color, flavor and flavor, and at first glance they are dishes made by authentic Chinese chefs. After Li Zhen looked around, he nodded with satisfaction and said, "Mr. President has a heart, and he actually found a real chef to cook." ”

Lincoln smiled: "This is the first chef I invited from Chinatown, naturally he is extraordinary, President Lee will give it a try." ”

Li Zhen smiled and said, "Okay, bring the chopsticks, of course you have to use chopsticks to eat Chinese food." ”

Lincoln had already prepared and asked the attendant to hand over the chopsticks, which were placed in front of everyone. Li Zhen picked up the chopsticks and tasted a bite of the dish, praised it, and exclaimed: "This tastes good, everyone should use the chopsticks, this is a good thing, it is rare to eat authentic Chinese food outside." Li Zhen's eyes looked at Xihuade again, and said with a smile: "Mr. Xiward, please!" ”

Seward was not easy to refuse, so he picked up his chopsticks and prepared to pick up the dishes.

Beforehand, Seward had already learned, but he was still not used to playing on an improvised basis.

He caught the dish, and when he just lifted the chopsticks, the caught dish fell on the plate. Seward did not believe in evil, and once again stretched out his chopsticks to pick up vegetables. This time he couldn't clinch it at all, and the situation made Seward's cheeks burn. At this time, Li Zhen took the initiative to help Siward, sandwiched the dish into Siward's bowl, and said with a smile: "Your Excellency Siward, you can't hold the dish is a surprise to the two countries, Americans are used to using knives and forks, while Chinese are used to using chopsticks, and it is better for you to use chopsticks to eat, it is better for you to use knives, forks and spoons to eat." ”

"Yes, yes!"

Xiward was secretly ashamed in his heart, thinking that he shouldn't have laughed at Huang Qiang just now.

As soon as this thought arose in his mind, Li Zhen continued: "Just like Huang Qiang blowing ice cream with his mouth just now, he has never seen ice cream at all, how can he know that the smoke is not because it is hot?" His Excellency Seward doesn't use chopsticks, and he doesn't know chopsticks, he hasn't used them before, and both are the same. ”

Brush!!!

In an instant, Seward's face was like the bottom of a black pot.

Li Zhen's face was as usual, and he didn't even look at Xihuade again. At this time, Xiward can be regarded as a thorough understanding of Li Zhen's temper, this guy is definitely not a person who can swallow a bad breath, and belongs to the master who will repay him. Xiward fought against Li Zhen twice in a row, and was counterattacked by Li Zhen twice in a row, and he lost his temper in his heart. He glanced at Li Zhen, calmed the anger in his heart, and thought to himself that if he pulled down his old face and Li Zhen's fighting anger, wouldn't it be a shame?

Forget it, don't fight, so as not to be ashamed.

Seward put down his chopsticks, picked up his knife and fork, and ate slowly.

Li Zhen did not chase after him, stopped at the right time, and beckoned Zuo Zongtang, Rong Hong, Huang Qiang and others to eat. A cadre of people is waiting to eat the food of their own country, and they are very happy in their hearts. After the banquet, Lincoln settled the people brought by Li Zhen, and then said to Li Zhen: "President Li-, you have come from afar, first rest in San Francisco for two days, go to Chinatown, see the situation of the Chinese here, and then we will leave for Washington, how about it?" ”

Li Zhen smiled and said: "Mr. President, thoughtful, thank you!" ”

Lincoln smiled and said, "You're welcome, I'm leaving, President Lee will rest early." ”

With that, Lincoln turned to leave.

After a short time, Huang Qiang walked in and said, "President, there is a person named Tang Huaide outside. This person said that he was a businessman in Chinatown and wanted to meet the president. ”

"Please!"

Li Zhen perked up and nodded.

ps: the second shift;