Nanyang Storm 1864

Chapter 129 Returning South
Early in the morning of February 1866, 2
A caravan of mules and horses, stretching as far as the eye could see, set out from the mansion outside the front gate. Guarded by more than a hundred strong servants, they marched out of the capital and headed towards Tianjin.

This cold season
Zheng Guohui did not ride a horse, but got into a warm sedan chair. The maid serving him was Dongmei.

There were not many things brought with them. Apart from some special products from the capital and the northern frontier, such as bear skins, tiger skins, and deer antlers, most of the rest were Zheng Li's dowry, including the dragon and phoenix wedding bed, which was disassembled and shipped together to Jiangnan.

Living in the capital is just a temporary stay, while Jiangnan is the permanent place.

Add to that so many slaves and servants, and all kinds of bedding, luggage, and valuables. It was so much that the yard of the Qianmen mansion was almost emptied, filling up a total of 150 to 160 carts.

Zheng Guohui did not bring back the silver earned by Nanfengtang. In the past two days, he asked someone to exchange it for 2.5 taels of silver notes and delivered it directly to Mr. Harvey Simmons, the head of the Wanguo Tongbao Company, and received a receipt.

Nanfengtang received the order;
Within the next three months, as long as you can collect 100,000 taels of silver, you should hand it over to a certain company and get back the receipt.

This certain company is a white glove of the Wan Guo Tong Bao Trading Company.

All matters in the capital have been dealt with.

When the mule and horse convoy marched out of the city, Zheng Guohui lifted the curtain of the sedan chair, looked back at the majestic city walls of the capital, and felt a lot of emotion in his heart.

How sad it is that such a majestic city was left undefended and allowed to be invaded at will by the armies of foreign powers.

In the face of this catastrophic catastrophe for the nation, Zheng Guohui felt that his own power was extremely insignificant. He sighed deeply and retreated back into the sedan chair.

The space in the warm sedan is not big and can only accommodate one person lying comfortably.

This is also the reason why Zheng Guohui did not squeeze together with his wife. It takes two days to get to Tianjin. Why should they squeeze together? There are carriages and sedan chairs available.

Zheng Guohui lay on the soft bedding and cushions, watching Dongmei take off his shoes and put them under the quilt.

He took the kettle from the charcoal stove, brewed a new cup of tea, handed it to him with both hands and said, "Master, please have some tea." His voice was as clear and melodious as that of an oriole.

Dongmei had already tied her hair into a bun, her skin was as delicate as snow, and her cheeks were slightly red.

Zheng Guohui took the teacup, took a sip, frowned and said, "This tea doesn't taste right!"

"What's wrong... Master, is the tea off-flavor?"

"Try it yourself."

"Oh!"

Dongmei took the teacup obediently, took a small sip, and didn't taste anything unusual. After hesitating for a moment, she took another sip.

Then he looked over with a puzzled look. Zheng Guohui pointed at the teacup and said, "If you drink it again, you'll definitely be able to taste it."

How much can a cup of tea have?

After drinking a few sips, Dongmei didn't taste any strange flavor. The clear tea fragrance lingered in her lungs. It must be good tea, right?
Zheng Guohui patted the quilt with his left hand. Dongmei blushed and crawled over like a docile kitten. She rested her head in Zheng Guohui's arms and whispered softly, "Master, you can't do this in broad daylight!"

Zheng Guohui did not dare to go too far. These days, ladies of noble families valued reputation more than life, and the same was true for these maids from prominent families.

He sniffed the pleasant scent of lilies in Dongmei's hair and whispered, "Is the master's tea delicious?"

"Delicious, this is the best tea." Dongmei's voice was as soft as a mosquito, and her beautiful face was already covered with red clouds.

She was not a lady, but just a lowly greenhouse maid. She did not dare to refuse any request from the master, no matter whether it was excessive or not.

Fortunately, the master did not go too far and just hugged her.

Lying in the wobbly carriage, Dongmei fell asleep in a short while.

The maid in the greenhouse couldn't sleep well. As long as the master and the mistress made any movement, they had to rush forward immediately, serve tea and water, and hold a pot to collect urine. After sex, they also had to help clean themselves and rinse their mouths.

In order to go on a long journey, he got up early in the morning at four o'clock, called the maid to pack up the valuable items in the room, and after putting them away one by one, he was already extremely tired.

Zheng Guohui looked at Dongmei who was sleeping soundly in his arms, bent down, gently kissed her forehead, and a doting smile appeared on his face.

the next evening

The mule and horse convoy arrived safely at the Haihe River wharf in Tianjin. While the crew and servants were loading their belongings, Zheng Guohui and his wife boarded the ship and entered the luxuriously decorated aft cabin. "Husband, is this the large Western ship? Ah..." Zheng Li entered the cabin and was immediately captivated by the exquisite Western-style carvings everywhere.

Looking more closely...she suddenly screamed and covered her face with her hands in shame.

The two pretty maids, Ruqin and Siqi, who came in later, also noticed something was wrong and screamed and covered their eyes.

This was because there were quite a few naked little angels and naked women in the Spanish galleon, and they were portrayed so vividly that the shock to Zheng Li was too strong and she could not accept it no matter what.

"It's extremely filthy. I absolutely cannot live in this cabin. I'm afraid it will pollute my eyes." Zheng Li said firmly.

Zheng Guohui spread his hands and said helplessly, "Madam, this is Western culture. If that's the case, you can ask someone to put it on so that we can just turn it off and forget about it."

"Stick it on, stick it on, I'm going outside to get some fresh air."

"Ma'am, I'll accompany you."

Zheng Guohui quickly followed the lady, then waved his hand, meaning that the two pretty maids, Ruqin and Siqi, should cover it, and then walked out the door together.

Came outside

Looking at the busy crew and servants who were loading a large amount of cargo onto the ship, the maid on board lived in the front cabin, where the conditions were better.

The bodyguards had to squeeze into the large cabin on the 4th floor with the crew members, and some crew members slept on the gun deck on the rd floor, right between the two guns, sleeping directly on the deck.

The first and second floors are both warehouses, which can carry 800 tons of cargo when fully loaded, with an astonishing carrying capacity.

When the deck was filled with cargo, the large sailing ship had slowly left the Haihe Wharf and was heading towards the estuary.

It will take time to transfer the goods to the warehouse, but the return date cannot wait.

Before dusk falls

The large sailing ship "Guangming" had entered the sea. After sailing for about half an hour, it turned south, lowered all the sails, and began to speed towards the south.

Silent all the way

4 days later
The Guangming sailing ship slowly approached the Tongzhou wharf. The people at the wharf had already received the news. The carriages and horses sent by the Zheng family were so long that they could not see the beginning or the end, and they quickly rushed to the wharf.

Zheng Guohui helped his pale-faced wife off the boat and took her into a carriage. Other family members and maids followed and got on the carriage at the back, then headed towards the old house.

The old house had been well prepared. The original lintel was remodeled and raised to a quadruple lintel, and the flying eaves and beams were spectacular.

After entering the gate, the hall is divided into two parts. There are no buildings inside, but there are exquisite garden landscapes and a longevity screen wall, with a moon-shaped gate on each side.

On the left is the moon-shaped gate of the old house, and on the right is the location of the second room. All the buildings inside have been rebuilt and it is now Zheng Guohui's new house.

As the whole family rushed in, the maids and servants got busy and began to rearrange the furniture and furnishings.

Zheng Guohui arranged for his wife to rest in his original side courtyard so that she would not be disturbed by the noise, which would have made it difficult for her to rest well.

He refused the clan's request to hold a large banquet, and said that he would go to the clan temple to burn incense and worship after two days of rest, and it would not be too late to welcome him then.

At night
In the lobby of the old house
Three tables were set up for the banquet. All the relatives in the clan, the third uncle who was going to the capital, and several elders of the clan, as well as the close relatives of the Zheng family, were seated full to celebrate Zheng Guohui's return after his wedding.

The original meaning of the title was that we would have to hold another wedding banquet at home in Tongzhou.

Tongzhou's family had already slaughtered pigs and sheep. When Zheng Guohui came in, he saw rows of slaughtered pigs and sheep hanging by the side of the yard, as well as sausages, salted duck, salted chicken, salted goose, and mountains of various vegetables, all with big red wedding characters on them.

At the banquet, several elders debated for a while and finally decided to hold the wedding on the 26th day of the twelfth lunar month, which was an auspicious day and should be celebrated with great fanfare.

Zheng Guohui's objection was futile and he could only obey.

When he returned to his new courtyard drunkenly, Zheng Li seemed speechless. Naturally, she served him sobering soup and various stews, and cleaned him up properly.

(End of this chapter)