Among the sixteen prefectures of Huai'an, Fengcheng can be regarded as a prosperous place.

It is precisely because of this that Zhuang Ming came to Fengcheng in person and spent several months of hard work to lay the foundation of Zhuang's trading house here.

It is precisely because Fengcheng is a prosperous place that the forces can be described as intertwined, with major families, many celebrities, and entangled interests.

Even Zhuang Ming spent a lot of effort and wits and courage to take root here under the joint confrontation of various families, so that everyone was willing to cooperate with him and seek common interests.

The moon hangs high tonight.

On the streets of Fengcheng, the lights are bright.

Street vendors, shops on both sides.

The passers-by and the noisy sounds all show the prosperity of this city.

"Within the Dongsheng Dynasty, in addition to the most powerful capital in the world, if you talk about prosperous places, they are listed as ten cities, and Fengcheng should be one of them. ”

Zhuang Ming sat in a wheelchair, looking at the night of Fengcheng, and smiled.

Yin Ming pushed the wheelchair, and Qianyang walked on the left side.

The little maid Frost Spirit is on the right side, looking left and right, and she is in a good mood.

"Childe, Childe, look, Gao Yuelou has arrived. ”

Frost Spirit pointed to the restaurant ahead.

The restaurant is luxuriously decorated, with about five floors, and lanterns are hung under the eaves extending from each floor.

There was laughter and laughter inside, and the guards in front of the door stood upright.

People come and go, all dressed luxuriously, and their manners are extraordinary.

——

And at the time of Zhuang Ming's arrival.

The atmosphere was strange again.

This young man who has stirred up the storm in Fengcheng has experienced ups and downs recently.

"Zhuang Ming is here?"

"It's him, I didn't expect that King Chen actually invited him to come. ”

"I heard that King Chen has unsealed all of Zhuang's firms. ”

"It seems that the war has been turned into a jade silk. ”

There is no shortage of people talking about it in the dark.

Someone else came forward and was quite enthusiastic.

Zhuang Ming's expression was as usual, and he said a few polite words.

These people were also on the boat last time, when the Zhuang family firm was seized by King Chen, and its future was worrying and it was in danger of collapse.

At that time, although these people didn't dare to mock or fall into the well, they didn't dare to say much to him, for fear of being remembered by King Chen and suffering from the pond fish.

This time, the attitude is completely different from the previous one.

Even more enthusiastic than before.

Zhuang Mingben is also a person who is very deep in the city, and his joy and anger are invisible, but on the surface, he is still talking and laughing with this crowd.

——

"Previously, Prince Chen ordered a thorough investigation of all kinds of violations of the Dongsheng Dynasty, but he only seized the Zhuang firm, which was clearly aimed at Zhuang Ming. ”

"This move is not ruthless, and the general commercial bank can't resist it, so it also collapses. ”

"The prince's meaning is clearly to kill him. ”

Now that his shops and warehouses have been unsealed, and, listening to this rumor, the government seems to be more generous to Zhuang's firm than before. ”

"It's really a strange thing, how did a mere businessman change his mind? What qualifications does he have to make Prince Chen change his mind? Although the Zhuang family firm has strong financial resources, how can the prince bribe with gold and silver? Secondly, if the prince seals up the Zhuang family's firm, he only needs to kill Zhuang Ming and order someone to take over, and the entire Zhuang family firm is in the prince's pocket, so why reconcile?"

"What kind of means did this young man use?" The old man stroked his beard slightly, looked down, and muttered: "In a short period of time, such a change is simply turning decay into magic. ”

"Yes, the situation of the inevitable destruction has been reversed. Another middle-aged man said with emotion: "It is rumored that Mr. Thirteen is very wise, but the prince ordered that under the pressure of the government, it was an unsolvable dead end, but he was able to turn things around and live a life." ”

"However, I heard that there have been many things in the Sixteen Mansions of Huai'an, there have been many things in the past two days, there are thieves and bandits, killing many people and seizing a lot of things, but I don't know the specifics......"

"What's the matter?"

Everyone didn't know the true intention of King Chen to come to Huai'an, so they didn't know what the connection between these things was.

What's more, how can the king with a different surname in the dignified court be a mere businessman and an ordinary person, and in this way, he can be forced to compromise?

If this thing was really done by Zhuang Ming, even if there was no evidence, as long as the prince had any suspicions, he could use trumped-up charges to arrest Zhuang Ming and take him to prison, and no one dared to object.

Among the twists and turns, outsiders don't know, but they can only sigh that Mr. Thirteen of Zhuang's firm really has the wisdom to turn things around and bring the dead back to life, so that King Chen's murderous intentions have disappeared and changed his mind.

——

"The prince is here. ”

With this voice, the crowd looked upward.

I saw King Chen walking slowly, majestic and solemn, with a hidden posture of a dragon and a tiger.

When they saw this, they all bowed respectfully.

It was Zhuang Ming, sitting in a wheelchair, and he also bowed his hand, showing a respectful look in front of the public, giving King Chen enough face.

King Chen's gaze swept over everyone and stayed on Zhuang Ming for a moment.

Originally, King Chen was in a bad mood, but at this moment, he saw Zhuang Ming's expression respectful and bowed his hand, although he also knew in his heart that this young man was bold and not necessarily respectful in his heart, and he was only doing superficial work, but seeing such a move, his heart was also slightly relieved.

"You're welcome. ”

King Chen waved his hand and said: "Sit down first, the last time on the Bailing Lake, Lord Zhao held a banquet to entertain you, and your enthusiasm for this king made this king grateful...... Therefore, this time, it is the king himself who has set up a banquet to entertain everyone. ”

Zhuang Ming's expression was as usual, and he secretly speculated in his heart.

This King Chen is not a good type.

This feast must have a purpose.

It's just that, for the time being, it shouldn't be for yourself.

After all, King Chen's side must still be in the end.

And by his side, there are Qianyang and Yin Ming here, and there are young dragons guarding him in secret, so he is not afraid.

——

Tonight's feast is different from the previous one.

They sat down, and the wine and food were served one by one.

There was also a singer, Yingying stepped forward and danced gently.

The music sounded, light and joyful.

"Wine and food, delicacies from the mountains and seas......"

Zhuang Ming looked at the dishes on the table in front of him, which looked extremely exquisite.

This banquet, in the name of the prince, invited the upper class of Fengcheng.

Therefore, these dishes are mostly precious ingredients, and various cooking methods are also extremely complicated.

The so-called "color, flavor, and flavor", especially in the aspect of "color", have almost achieved the extreme.

At this time, King Chen stood up again, raised his glass and drank it at an old man, and then spoke.

"I heard that Lin Lao has been praying for his family recently, meditating and abstaining, not eating meat, and thanking God, so your old table is for vegetarian food, please rest assured to eat. ”

When the old man heard this, he looked stunned.

And everyone looked.

I saw that in front of the old man, in addition to a few dishes, there were also chickens, ducks and fish, which were no different from the dishes in front of everyone.

The old man picked up a piece of fish, put it in his mouth, showed a satisfied look on his face, and said with a smile: "Good cooking, this fish itself is made of beans, and its meat quality and taste are no different from real fish, and it is a little more fragrant." ”

——

Frost Ling glanced at the old man a few times, and behind Zhuang Ming, he said softly: "Childe, that old man, is one of the great Confucians in Fengcheng, I heard that he is very disgusted with our Zhuang Firm, and his disciple before also wrote a sentence 'Zhumen's wine and meat stink, and there are frozen bones on the road' to mock you." ”

Zhuang Ming chuckled lightly and nodded, "I know." ”

On Bailing Lake that day, among the boats next door, this old man had a very happy conversation with King Chen.

After boarding the ship by himself, King Chen came to the building ship where he was.

In the eyes of those scholars, it is themselves who are ordinary people, messing up their Yaxing who talks about poetry and songs.

At that time, the old man was also quite dissatisfied.

"What is a meditation and abstinence, not eating meat and fish, grateful for God's grace, hypocrisy is very ......"

There was a scholar in the corner, who seemed to be quite dissatisfied, and muttered: "The taste of meat is no different from that of real fish, so don't you eat fish? Such a vegetarian meal is much more expensive than ordinary chicken, duck and fish, and it is obviously extravagant and wasteful." ”

"If you really meditate and quit your mouth, wouldn't it be enough to make coarse tea and light rice?

"The old guy is obviously reluctant to delicate the mountains and seas, but he is afraid that people will chew the root of his tongue, so the cook will spend a lot of work and waste energy to make these many things, which is really duplicitous. ”

The voice was very low, and it was in the corner, and no one could hear it clearly.

But Zhuang Ming had a young dragon in his sleeve, and Qianyang and Yin Ming beside him, but he could hear it clearly, and his heart was interesting, so he glanced over there, and immediately revealed a different color.

The scholar is about 20 years old, dressed plainly, but looking at his dress, he must not be an ordinary family, after all, this banquet is different from the last time, this time can go to the banquet, regardless of all walks of life, there is a characteristic, that is, the family background is good.

"There are faint traces of dust on this scholar's body. ”

Zhuang Ming quietly retracted his gaze and said secretly: "It seems to be a trace of trying to cultivate true qi, but it has not yet been introduced, it is probably just meditation and calming the mind, and there is a vague sense of qi, but even the true qi has not been condensed, most of it is due to the incomplete Dao inheritance in the mortal world." ”

Within the Dongsheng Dynasty, there was also a saying of cultivating the Tao and cultivating qi, but it was mostly used to calm the mind and calm the mind, which was basically incomplete, or it was just a basic breathing exercise.

Therefore, the hermits in the deep mountains, who have left their names in history, are actually mostly elegant in temperament, rather than having magical powers.

On the contrary, in the market, there are many people who practice martial arts, and they can protect themselves and walk the rivers and lakes.

Of course, there are many people like this scholar who have learned the breathing and breathing exercises, which are conducive to meditation and recuperation.

Zhuang Ming retracted his gaze, but he didn't care much about it, but from the words just now, he just admired this scholar a little.

"Ladies and gentlemen......"

King Chen picked up the wine glass, saluted everyone, his face was sad, and said: "Dongsheng Dynasty, north of the Huai River, there has been a drought, and the disaster is serious, I am afraid that from this time on, the number of people will increase day by day, and there will be people who will lose their lives due to the scorching heat and various problems of food every day, such a cruel thing, I am afraid that until the snow season, I am afraid that many people will die of hunger and cold." ”

He sighed and said, "From this day forward, this king should pray for the blessings of the people, and until next year and today, he will be fasting vegetarian." ”

Zhuang Ming's gaze slanted over the scholar in the corner, and a smile curled up at the corner of his mouth.

I could only hear the scholar muttering quietly again.

"Another hypocrisy. ”

"Pray for the blessings of the people?"

"Is this a deception?"

"You're stealing food at home, who knows?"

"You just don't steal it, these so-called vegetarian chicken, duck and fish meat, the meat is chewy and delicious, where is the difference?"

"This so-called vegetarian diet is more expensive than eating chicken, duck and fish directly, wasting manpower, financial and material resources, it is better to be thrifty and spend some money to help the victims, pretending, eat a bird!"

——

The scholar was quite disdainful, but his face was as usual, nestled in the corner, and few people cared about him.

But King Chen's words are quite popular.

Everyone present, no matter what their thoughts, all agreed.

After King Chen's words fell, an old man got up and gave a salute.

"The prince is really benevolent, praying for the victims of the disaster, and abstaining from the desire of the tongue, which is really beyond the reach of my generation. ”

"The prince is benevolent!" As the old man spoke, everyone also got up and echoed.

"Just do your best, I only hope that the heavens will have mercy and no more calamities, and the king alone prays for the idea of meager manpower, which is useless. King Chen smiled bitterly and sighed.

"Don't be arrogant. The old man said: "You should be the king of the world, the hero among the people, under one person, above ten thousand people, that is, the sky has a spirit, and you should respond." ”

"I hope so. ”

King Chen raised his glass and drank it all.

Everyone responded, drinking the wine in their glasses.

And King Chen drank the wine, but his face was embarrassed.

In the crowd, someone asked at the right time: "Lord, do you still have any orders?"

When King Chen heard this, he couldn't help but sigh again, and said: "I'm ashamed to say that this king has a banquet today, with good wine and delicious food, but he can't help but think of the victims in the Northern Regions, facing famine, and really have a bit of a shameful thought of 'Zhumen wine and meat stink, and there are frozen bones on the road'......"

After finishing speaking, he took a deep look at Zhuang Ming.

Zhuang Ming's expression was flat and did not respond.

Only then did King Chen retract his gaze and sighed: "This king's prayer is just mental strength, but the victims of the disaster in the Northern Regions need relief...... Now that the imperial court's disaster relief funds have not arrived, this king has a cheeky banquet, which is actually to raise donations for the victims of the disaster in the northern regions. ”

After speaking, he threw his wine glass, made a big salute, and bowed down.

"For the victims of the Northern Regions, this king is cheeky, please be generous!"

“......”

“......”

“......”

Everyone looked at each other, and the scene was silent for a while.

Zhuang Ming reached into his sleeve and gently stroked the young dragon's head, his eyes condensed slightly.

And at this moment, he heard the scholar in the corner murmuring.

"This guy looks like usual, with a greedy look between his eyebrows, and he looks like he wants money to die. ”

"I'll bet three copper coins, this stinky and shameless king with a different surname, he himself is the victim of the Northern Regions in his mouth. ”

"This guy must be called a fundraiser, but he is actually collecting money. ”

"The silver taels collected today are ironclad into his pocket. ”

"The more I think about it, the more it must be, but it's a pity that no one took the bet, otherwise I could have bet on another pair of leggings. ”