At the Songjiang wharf, the foreigner's freighter was unloading, and piles of machines were dumped on the wharf, and the whole unloading took 5 days. For 5 days, Deng Zixuan accompanied Sheng Huaixuan to inspect the machinery and equipment, and then registered it in the register. It was not a joke for the officials and people of the Qing Dynasty to run a machine factory of this scale for the first time, so Sheng Huaixuan had to do it himself.

Sheng Huaixuan can say that he doesn't understand anything, and everything naturally falls on Deng Zixuan. After the easy inspection, Deng Zixuan was ready to go back to the official residence in the city to take a good rest, and Wan'er was alone in the empty room these days, which made him feel uneasy, although he was accompanied by Sheng Huaixuan's two wives, but this was very different from her husband by her side.

"Brother Zixuan, is you missing your mother, look at your anxious appearance, I'm afraid I can't wait!" Sheng Huaixuan took the report registered by Deng Zixuan and said with a smile. Deng Zixuan said unabashedly: "Do you think I can rest assured if I leave the flower-like lady at home?" We have never been separated since we got married to our mother, Brother Sheng makes you smile! "Since ancient times, a man of anger has become a red face, the hero is sad to pass the beauty pass, and it is not an exaggeration for the virtuous brother to be a person in temperament, but you and I have to delay for a day!"

“weishenme？ The machinery and equipment have been inspected, the remaining payment for the foreigners has been delivered, and the foreigner technicians we hired have also been settled. Besides, the machinery and equipment have to be transferred to the factory, and the installation will have to wait for at least half a month. Deng Zixuan was surprised. Sheng Huaixuan smiled and said, "Virtuous brother! I know you've been tired these days, if it's not for the virtuous brother, the Qing Dynasty can't find a talent who understands foreign languages and is very familiar with foreigners, to be honest, it's a pity that you don't contribute to the imperial court, Lord Zhongtang is very sorry. ”

"Brother is mistaken! , is it so difficult that I am not contributing to the court now? Isn't it working hard for the Qing Dynasty? But now I'm concerned about why we're delaying here for a day? "Deng Zixuan is aggressive. Sheng Huaixuan still smiled: "Okay, I can't talk about you." Lord Zhongtang attaches great importance to such a big matter as the machine factory, but he is too busy to come to inspect, so he entrusts the governor of Jiangsu, Lord Ding Richangding, to come and inspect, and will arrive tomorrow morning, do you say we can go back? ”

Hearing Ding Richang's name, Deng Zixuan felt a little disgusted in his heart. This bear is understandable in his heart, but his ability is far from being good. Sheng Huaixuan saw Deng Zixuan depressed and said: "Brother Xian, I don't know anything about the machine factory, I wouldn't be blind without you, Brother Xian must sing this play." Frankly speaking, I can't get used to Ding Richang, but now he is the confidant of Lord Zhongtang, and he can't be offended! Suddenly, Deng Zixuan remembered his brother-in-law, and his eyes lit up and said: "Brother, you are far away, how can I not be unreasonable, little brother!" ”

Early the next morning, Deng Zixuan and Sheng Huaixuan stood on the dock, and Sheng Huaixuan was sweating profusely in official clothes and hats on a hot day. "Brother, what do you say is good about being an official, you still have to cover it on such a hot day, beware of the prickly heat. It's still not an official, wow! How good it is to be free and free, and not to suffer this foreign sin! Seeing Sheng Huaixuan's uncomfortable appearance, Deng Zixuan teased.

Sheng Huaixuan wiped the sweat on his head while fanning him with a folding fan, with a painful expression on his face. "When will Lord Ding arrive?" Sheng Huaixuan shook his head. Deng Zixuan stretched out his head to look at the river, although the river was densely covered with ships, there was no shadow of the official ships. "Brother Sheng, follow me!" "What are you going to do?" Sheng Huaixuan was dragged by Deng Zixuan and staggered.

After a while, they got into a warehouse near the dock, and Deng Zixuan ordered Sheng Huaixuan's subordinates to guard the door outside, and then blasted the people in the warehouse out. "Hurry up and undress!" "What are you going to do?" "Okay, don't pretend, or you're going to get heat stroke!" Deng Zixuan stripped Sheng Huaixuan's clothes in three times and divided them by two, leaving only one trouser.

"Ahh It's so comfortable! Sheng Huaixuan closed his eyes and seemed to be relaxed. Deng Zixuan was a little amused when he saw Sheng Huaixuan's strange appearance, "Okay, it's almost comfortable, hurry up and put on the official robe!" Then Deng Zixuan put the official robe directly on his naked body. How is this good! "Don't be pretentious, Master Ding doesn't know when it will arrive, so you won't feel hot!"

Sheng Huaixuan really came to the spirit from the new standing on the dock, and Deng Zixuan actually opened his shirt to reveal his chest. "No wonder you don't want to be an official, at this moment, it does reflect the benefits of not being an official, the virtuous brother is still shrewd, if you weren't like this, I'm afraid I would have suffered from heat stroke." Sheng Huaixuan had the spirit, and his mouth was also sharp. "Brother Sheng, at this moment, even if I am shirtless and bare-belly, no one will accuse me, this is the benefit of the grass people. However, being an official has the prestige of being an official, and each has its own strengths! The two teased, and the sun saw that the rod was high, and another hour passed.

"It's coming! Lord Ding is here! One of his subordinates shouted in surprise. Sure enough, an official ship went down the river, and from a distance, a group of people wearing official hats and official uniforms appeared on the bow of the ship. Soon the official ship docked, and a group of officials hugged Ding Richang ashore. "My subordinates meet Lord Ding!" Sheng Huaixuan knelt on one leg and made a move. "The grass people meet Lord Ding!" Deng Zixuan also knelt on one leg. "Brother Sheng, please get up, you are all your own people, you don't have to be formal!" Ding Richang stepped forward to pick up Sheng Huaixuan and looked very affectionate, and he didn't pay attention to Deng Zixuan at all.

"Brother Sheng! Lord Nakado was very satisfied and asked me to come and inspect it. Brother Sheng built the machine factory so quickly, this is a great achievement, congratulations! Ding Richang took Sheng Huaixuan's hand and praised him. The officials in the back also slapped their whiskers one after another, and the scene was very lively. After being polite, Sheng Huaixuan hurriedly introduced: "Lord Ding, this is my cousin Deng Zixuan, who is my interpreter, specializing in dealing with foreigners. I heard that it was my cousin Ding Richang who said: "I am a big Qing Dynasty with many talents, and my younger brother actually understands foreign languages at a young age, and his future is limitless!" "Thank you, Lord for your love!" Deng Zixuan had to be pious, but in his heart, he arranged that this Lord Ding was too bad-looking.

At this time, a subordinate raised a parasol, and it was not difficult to see that Ding Richang was also hot enough. Then he lifted a small sedan chair from the boat, and Ding Richang hurriedly got into it. The group arrived at the machine factory. Ding Richang pretended to inspect the machinery and equipment stacked on the site, and Sheng Huaixuan accompanied him to introduce them one by one. "The foreigner's machine is exquisite, good! Very good! Walking to a machine tool, he stopped and pretended to look at the sign, "Not bad!" That's great! There were English letters on the sign, and Deng Zixuan scolded in his heart: Damn, can you understand, what kind of big-tailed wolf is pretended. After a turn, Ding Richang's forehead was sweating.

It was too hot, and due to the mess in the machine factory, there was no place to rest at the moment. At this time, Sheng Huaixuan was still chattering endlessly, Deng Zixuan saw that Ding Richang was uncomfortable, and he was already absent-minded and said: "Lord Ding, the inspection is not for a while, my lord is tired of saddle horses, it is better to go to the subordinate mansion to rest." The house is in the city, and my cousin is temporarily living in the house, so please enjoy it. Sheng Huaixuan came to his senses and said: "Yes, I live in my cousin's house, the house is very elegant, not as good as our ・・・・・・." ”

"It's all your own family, it's better to be respectful than to obey your orders, and the official will bother!" After speaking, Ding Richang said to the accompanying officials: "You go to the inn to rest!" After speaking, he hurriedly got into the sedan chair, he was so hot that he couldn't wait, and it was estimated that he would take off his official hat to cool off when he got into the sedan chair. Entering the official residence, Ding Richang immediately untied his clothes and washed them, and then changed into civilian clothes and entered the living room. At this time, Deng Zixuan and Wan'er, Sheng Huaixuan and the two ladies were waiting in the living room. When Deng Zixuan introduced Wan'er, Ding Richang was a little confused and said: "Deng Gongzi is suave and suave, Mrs. Zun is beautiful and beautiful, and he is a good pair of golden boys and girls. ”

After the lady went down, the food and wine were served. Ding Richang began to inquire about the machine factory again, Sheng Huai announced the report, and Deng Zixuan played the role of a listener. When it comes to shares, Sheng Huai preached: "My cousin also has shares in the machinery factory, and he has helped me a lot in raising money, otherwise the machine factory would not be so smooth!" ”“haha！ Brother Ling understands foreign language and has a lot of money, Jiangnan is really a treasure Tianhua, hidden dragon and crouching tiger! Deng Gongzi is concerned about the imperial court, which is commendable. ”

"Lord Xie Ding has a good reputation, and the grass people admire Lord Zhongtang. Now in my Qing Dynasty, only Lord Zhongtang is the mainstay, and it is an honor for the grass people to serve Lord Zhongtang. "Deng Zixuan's whiskers are in place." haha！ Deng Gongzi is very good at talking, and it is comfortable to listen to. "Someone!" Deng Zixuan shouted, only to see the next person bring up two vases, Deng Zixuan continued: "Brother Ling often praises the virtues of Lord Ding, and the grass people have long admired him. This is a vase of the Song Dynasty, please smile and accept it, and hope that your Excellency will not refuse. Ding Richang carefully examined the vase and confirmed that it was genuine.

Ding Richang is a veteran of officialdom and quickly understood its meaning and said: "Deng Gongzi! As the saying goes, no merit is not punished, presumably Deng Gongzi has something important to discuss, if you have a request for me, please be open and honest, as long as the old man can do things are not ambiguous! After speaking, he looked at Sheng Huaixuan, Ding Richang thought that Sheng Huaixuan had a request for him, and it was not easy to open his mouth and let his cousin speak for him. Sheng Huaixuan was stunned. Deng Zixuan said: "Lord Ding is hot-eyed, he is really a young and capable minister, since this is the case, the grass people are not hypocritical!" ”

Deng Zixuan continued: "My lord, don't hide it, my brother-in-law Sheng Huaiyin has been in Changshu County for many years, Sheng Huaiyin is an official and diligent in government, and the people of Changshu County have a good reputation. I heard that Wang Jie of Songjiang Prefecture is leaving, can you be accommodating? Ding Richangxiang pretended to be surprised and said, "Brother Sheng, isn't Sheng Huaiyin your cousin?" Sheng Huaixuan was not shocked and said: "My lord, this! What the hell is going on? "My lord! Brother Sheng doesn't know about this matter, and I am a virtuous person who does not avoid relatives! Deng Zixuan hurriedly explained.

There are no three hundred taels of silver here, and Ding Richang misunderstood even more: "What a virtuous person does not avoid relatives!" Brother Sheng, you don't have to feel guilty, I like to make my cousin talk quickly. Yes, it's time for my cousin to move his nest. Brother Sheng, don't worry, I recommend it to Lord Zhongtang, there is no problem! Sheng Huaixuan is hard to argue. Soon after the journey was tiring, Ding Richang went down to rest. Sheng Huaixuan said angrily: "Brother Xian, you should tell me beforehand, Lord Ding has already misunderstood me!" ”

"Brother Sheng! At the wine table, I had an idea, and I couldn't help but blurt out. Besides, Sheng Huaiyin is my brother-in-law, and it makes sense for me to recommend him. Don't worry, Lord Ding is counting on you to make great achievements on his one-third of an acre of land, and he will not tell Lord Zhongtang directly about the promotion of officials, so you can trust your brother! Deng Zixuan patted his chest and promised. Sheng Huaixuan thought about it carefully and was relieved, Deng Zixuan's goal was achieved.

Because Sheng Huaixuan wanted to take root in Shanghai for a long time, he bought a house in the city. After Sheng Huaixuan moved away, Deng Zixuan transferred the Deng family class to the mansion in the city as a whole. Because Deng Zixuan has to be busy in the machine factory for at least three months, the children's studies can not be delayed, and he has to lead the children to participate in the installation of the machine factory, linking theory with practice, so that the children are familiar with the mechanical principles and operations, and they will have a long-term internship in the machine factory in the future.

Children are generally thirteen or fourteen years old, and have become half-grown children who can do manual labor. In addition, the children will be tested by practice to observe which of them is suitable for machinery, who is suitable for smelting, and who is suitable for chemical industry. The children of the Deng family class will become engineers or natural scientists in industrial manufacturing. Therefore, now Deng Zixuan has to teach each of them according to their strengths. Especially in the future, these children will have to take the lead in weapon manufacturing, so Deng Zixuan has to walk on two legs and discover the children's strengths as soon as possible, so as to plan their future direction.

Then the intense and heavy installation work began, and Deng Zixuan took his children to the machine factory every day. Fortunately, the children were able to communicate with the foreign technician in English simply, which virtually accelerated the installation process. Deng Zixuan led the children to work in the factory in the morning and returned to the house in the afternoon to attend classes. Two months have passed, half of the mechanical equipment installation has been completed, and the various processes are basically on the right track, Deng Zixuan does not have to go to the machine factory every day, and the children are still the same. It just so happened that Deng Zixuan used this time to compile new textbooks for mathematics, physics, and chemistry, so that children could march towards the depth and breadth of science.

That morning, a horse-drawn carriage stopped in front of Deng's house. I saw Sheng Huaiyin and his wife Jin'er get out of the car, and the next person informed Deng Zixuan and Wan'er to hurriedly go out to greet them. "Second sister, why are you here, don't tell me in advance!" Wan'er flew to Jin'er's side, and the sisters were a mess of affection. Deng Zixuan knew the purpose of his brother-in-law's visit, because Sheng Huaixuan had been successfully promoted to the Taoist platform of Songjiang Mansion. Simply greeting Deng Zixuan, he politely welcomed Sheng Huaiyin into the house.

As soon as he sat down, Sheng Huaiyin stood up and said, "Brother Zixuan, I don't thank you for your kindness, Huaixuan told me." In the future, if my brother uses me, I will help you with all my might, please don't be polite, brother. "What's going on?" Wan'er was confused. "Sister, you don't know yet! It was recommended by my brother-in-law in front of the governor, and your brother-in-law has been promoted to the Taoist platform of Songjiang Mansion, and we have already moved into Songjiang Mansion! Jin'er smiled. Yikes! It's great that we sisters can see each other often! "Wan'er is overjoyed.

Deng Zixuan said with a smile: "The building near the water gets the moon first, and there are people in the court who are good officials." It would be a fool not to take advantage of such haode conditions. Brother-in-law, I need a little favor from you right now! "Brother, please speak!" "I have a couple of fishing boats and no docks to dock at. Therefore, I want to build a wharf to dock fishing boats on Jinshan Island off the coast of Jinshan, Jinshan Island is a desert island and no one lives, what does the second brother-in-law think? Sheng Huaiyin let out a sigh and said with a smile: "What's so difficult about a small island, I'm giving it to you!" ”