"Oh?"

Wu Shanggong raised his eyebrows in some surprise, and some short hairs always liked to mention the past, but this Wang girl didn't seem to be like this. However, Wang Jiaojiao didn't pay attention to her expression, and still said to herself:

"When I was a child, my family was not wealthy, but my parents were just one child, and they always tried their best to meet my various requirements. One winter, just like the little girl just now, she put on new clothes before the New Year. I was so happy that I felt like the happiest girl in the world as I walked down the town road - until a roadster drove past me. ”

The memories of the short-haired people always carry some strange words, and Wu Shanggong is also used to this, so at this time, just smile and listen.

"That was the first time I saw a convertible, and there was a beautiful blonde woman in it, wearing something on her body and on her head, which I had never seen before, and I reacted exactly like the little girl just now: I bit my fingers stupidly, and I felt as if the sky was opening again...... Wu Shanggong, can you do me a favor? ”

“……？”

"Sister Hu has always hoped that we could accept students, and today I suddenly have this interest. When you rest later, please send someone back to inquire about the family situation of the little girl just now. Ask her parents again, and if her parents agree, bring her here. ”

Wu Shanggong frowned, although Wang Jiaojiao was her employer and had always treated her very well, Wu Shanggong felt that at such a time, he should always say one more word:

"Your request is not difficult to do. But, Miss Wang, do you think this will really be a good thing for that little girl? ”

Wang Jiaojiao smiled:

"Maybe, maybe not...... But in any case, her future will no longer be ordinary, will it? ”

"Then she has to be happy."

It is rare for Wu Shanggong to contradict his employer like this, and Wang Jiaojiao is also rare not to be angry because of this. Instead, he smiled quite confidently:

"She must have been happy - in her eyes, I saw my former self."

…………

The benefits of being powerful are reflected here--it was not yet evening, and when it was only time to rest at noon, the little girl in red was brought to Wang Jiaojiao.

The status of girls in the Ming Dynasty is very low, although this little girl's family has some money, and her parents love her very much, but after hearing that it was the nobles of Qiongzhen who took a fancy to their own girls, they still did not hesitate to send their daughters out. Of course, there is also the credit of Wu Shanggong personally negotiating. With her demeanor and qualifications, she dispelled the parents' worries about meeting a liar in just a few words. In other places, it may be more difficult. But here in Tianjin Port, the fame of Qiongzhen Shorthair has long been so loud that it cannot be increased, as long as the true identity is proven, the local people are not resistant to "follow the master of Qiongzhen".

As far as the girl herself is concerned, she was suddenly told that the nobles of Qiongzhen had taken a fancy to her and was taken away from home for some reason, for a girl who was only seven or eight years old, it was impossible to say that she was not afraid. Soon, however, the unique way of communicating with foreign countries of the Joan Navy. The little girl unconsciously gave up her nervousness and fear, and replaced it with curiosity and excitement.

- The little girl was brought into the line at noon. When people saw that "Assistant Wu" brought a little girl over, they didn't ask about the identity of the origin, but first asked if they had eaten. When he heard that there was none, he brought them to the table and brought them a large wooden plate with one meal per person - the convoy had a special catering cart with a stove to ensure that they could eat hot food on the road. The grades are all the same. Whether it is the "real shorthair" in the delegation or the guard company in charge of the guards, they all eat the same thing.

So the little girl also got a standard meal. According to Qiongzhen's standards, this is just a very ordinary simple meal: one meat, two vegetables and one soup, rice and steamed buns are casual. Wu Shanggong was also used to this, and he picked up the plate and ate it quickly, but the little girl was quite at a loss, even if she saw that everyone else was moving, she was still stupidly staring at the set meal in front of her.

"What, isn't the food appetizing?"

Wu Shanggong next to her quickly noticed her abnormality and asked in a very kind tone. has been in the palace for many years, she is very attentive to these small details, after all, no one can be sure whether the yellow-haired little girl who was scolded and punished today will become a palace lady in one fell swoop tomorrow, planting more flowers and less thorns is the survival instinct of the palace lady. And this is the one whose employer has clearly said that he will accept him as an apprentice, of course, he must be treated politely.

The girl was a little shy at first, but then she was finally softened by Wu Shanggong's attitude, and she whispered that she just couldn't believe that such a good meal was for herself. Wu Shanggong looked at the dishes, and didn't think there was anything special: the meat dish was braised lion's head, the two vegetables were fried green vegetables and three fresh dried shreds, and a tomato egg soup was added, the color was red, green, and green was attractive, but there was nothing particularly surprising.

But after thinking about it, Wu Shanggong smiled dumbly, and said that he had been used to enjoying the happiness with the short hair in the past few years, and he had forgotten what the Ming Dynasty was like - the Ming Dynasty of this era, even if the landlord's family was actually very thrifty, even if the little girl's family had a little industry, it was impossible to see meat every day. Not to mention that in the north, women have always been discriminated against, and in some places women are not even allowed to serve at formal banquets.

So Wen Yan comforted a few words, and told the little girl that these are her examples, and everyone is the same here. I also showed my dinner plate to the girls. This really calmed the other party, so that the little girl put down her doubts and ate lunch with peace of mind.

Later, when Wu Shanggong took the little girl with a mouth full of oil to see Wang Jiaojiao, he secretly wondered in his heart - this seven or eight-year-old girl actually ate all the adult meals, and there was nothing left.

The so-called people take food as the sky, and in the process of foreign exchanges, the trick of inviting people to eat has always been tried and tested, even if it is a prisoner or war criminal who was originally in a hostile state, after a good meal, the confrontation psychology can basically disappear for the most part. For this little girl under the age of ten, this method is equally effective.

After filling her belly, the fear that had been haunting the little girl's heart basically disappeared, and with full of envy for the delicious and delicious food and drink of the "Southern Shorthair", the girl followed Wu Shanggong to meet her future teacher......

Wang Jiaojiao's new acceptance of a student did not cause much trouble in the delegation, although everyone felt that this Miss Wang wanted to do it a little, but she had done a lot of abrupt things before, so there was nothing surprising. Except for Hu Wen, who asked a few words out of the sensitivity of the director of the Women's Federation and the sense of responsibility of the deputy head of the group, the others didn't care about the sudden addition of a local girl to the team.

They are more concerned about other immediate problems - such as poor roads and poor accommodation...... These are the things that cause the most headache for modern people.

In the Ming Dynasty, the transportation of bulk goods between Tianjin and Beijing was mainly by waterway, from Tongxian to the Baihe River in Tianjin, which is the so-called North Canal. The North Canal was already quite clogged. However, in the past year, the amount of goods shipped from the port of Tianjin to Beijing has far exceeded that of previous years -- all of them are from the south, and it is obvious that there will only be more and more of them in the future. In addition, the goods are still under the banner of royal tribute, which has been personally cared for by Wang Chengen, and the carriage and horse shop that cooperates with the Qiong Navy is also willing to spend money...... Under the combination of several factors, the government has more or less organized manpower along the way to dredge, so that the navigable capacity of the North Canal has been greatly improved compared with the past.

The official road from Tianjin to Beijing is basically along the North Canal, and the owner of the carriage and horse dealership who originally cooperated with the Qiong Navy also specially prepared boats for the nobles of Qiongzhen, but Guo Yi and others refused after just one glance - the ships that can still sail in the canal in winter are all small and short, and people can basically only sit and lie down in them, and their bodies are not straight. Not to mention that most of the movement of these boats depends on the water along the river, and the speed is pitiful. It's better to ride in your own carriage comfortably and quickly.

But the so-called "comfort and speed" is only relative, although the carriage in which the delegation rode was already using the best technology of the era, the strong jolting and vibration were still unbearable for the passengers, and on the first day of the trip, from time to time a carriage suddenly stopped, rushed out of it one or two people, ran to the side of the road to vomit. In this regard, everyone can only comfort themselves with a movie line: "If you vomit, vomit, you will get used to it." ”

The roads are difficult to walk during the day, and accommodation at night is also a big problem. As Chen Tao reminded them: although there are post stations along the official road, the sanitary conditions are by no means tolerable for modern people. Even in the cold of winter, fleas and bed bugs are still active between the beds, and even if the delegation changes the bedding they carry at night, it will not help.

After tossing and turning day and night, all the members of the delegation were out of spirit by the next day. Originally, there were a few comrades in the team who often traveled between Beijing and Tianjin in modern times, and on the first day, they could still sit on horses, look around and look for landmarks, comparing the differences between modern and ancient, but now they are also wilting and hurrying away, and they no longer have the energy to care about other things.

Fortunately, this section of the road is not long after all, the straight-line distance between Beijing and Tianjin is 120 kilometers, and it is only an hour's drive in modern times. After changing the delegation's convoy, no matter how slow the speed is, there are still more than ten kilometers per hour. In winter, the days are short, and these people are very lazy, only walking for three or four hours a day, but no matter how much they procrastinate, two days before and after, in the evening of the next day, the towering Beijing city tower in the distance is still presented in front of everyone. (To be continued......)