Chapter 221 Zhenghong flag (11)
Pastor Niu received the invitation.He was very excited when he found out who Uncle Ding was.Coming from America, he admired the rich.He only respects the rich, and never analyzes how the money is made.Therefore, after his uncle made a fortune, if someone suggested that the old man was a hooligan.He immediately retorted: Why didn't you make a fortune?It can be seen that you are not as good as a hooligan!Therefore, he held the invitation card, and the boss was reluctant to put it down for a long time, almost forgetting that Dinglu was a Chinese, a Chinese he looked down on.At this time, a wave of democratic enthusiasm suddenly came to his heart: a rich man with a yellow face can be a friend of a white-faced man!At the same time, he also remembered: he must seize Dinglu, so as to get to know more dignitaries, spy on some important news, report it to the country or the embassy, and improve his status.He hurriedly asked his servants to shine his shoes and iron his clothes, and found a hardcover "The Old and New Testaments" to give to Uncle Ding.
He didn't know why Uncle Ding invited him to dinner, and he didn't want to think about it.I guessed a little more with my eyes, but I didn't bother to discuss it with the pastor.He was happier than Pastor Niu: "Pastor Niu! Pastor Niu! It must be the wing mat! It must be! Hey!" He sucked the taste and swallowed heavily.
His eyes are blessed and his heart is full of suggestions: Pastor Niu is going to the banquet, and he himself would like to be a servant, wearing a red-tasseled official hat, riding a tall and honest white horse, and holding gifts for the pastor.Since he rides a horse, the priest must of course ride in a car. "Yes! Pastor Niu! I'm going to hire a car. I'll be decent! When I arrive at the residence, I'll shout: 'What's the matter'! Listen, my voice still sounds like that?" Normally, he dared not Talk to the pastor so casually.Today, he saw that the pastor was very happy, and as a follower, he might eat some leftovers, or get a reward of two pennies, so he was bold.
"Sedan?" Pastor Niu rolled his eyes.
"Sedan! That's right!" With too many eyes, he quickly added: "Uncle Ding rides in a sedan when he goes out, don't tell him to underestimate the pastor!"
"He takes a car, I take a big sedan! I'm a class above him!"
My eyes didn't think of this trick, and I couldn't think of what to do for a while. "That, that, the sedan chair, no, you can't sit on it casually!"
"Then, just wait and see! I will ask your emperor to give me a big sedan chair, carried by eight people!"
"Yes! Pastor! The pastor should be the chief officer! Don't forget, you have to give me an official title when you wear a red hat! I thank the pastor first!" Eyes are so polite Ann.
The priest chuckled for a while.
After deliberating for a long time, they finally decided: the pastor does not insist on riding in a sedan chair, and he does not need to ride a horse because he has too many eyes. He only needs to hire a decent mule cart.Firstly, he was not sure that he would not fall off his horse, even though he was a very honest horse; secondly, if he did not give in at all, the pastor would overthrow the whole plan, and even his servants would be killed. If he didn't bring it, he would lose the opportunity to have a meal at the Dingzhai or get some rewards.
The banquet time is eleven o'clock in the morning.Pastor Niu wanted to get up late, saying that he didn't value a good meal.However, he still got up early and shaved carefully.He would not think about what precious calligraphy and paintings, or furnishings with high artistic value could be seen in Dingzhai.What he could imagine was to see the piles of gold ingots, silver lockets, and some priceless luminous beads.He was so excited that he cut his chin in two pieces.
Eye Duo borrowed a broken official hat from the second master De who watched the street.The hat was too big, and when I put it on, it kept spinning on my head.He came outside the church very early, and first shooed away a few countrymen and children picking up coal nubs who were resting there: "This is a church, it can't stand! Get out! Master Yang will come out later, are you waiting to eat foreign ham?" Seeing them disperse, he felt that he was indeed dignified and very happy.Then, he called out the pastor's manservant: "I said, do you need to use a broom at the door? Later, the pastor will come out to have a look... right?" Normally, he is very polite to the manservant, so that It's so convenient to have tea and drink at any time.Now that he had put on his cap, and was going to dinner with the priest, he felt it his duty to command the valet.The footman didn't make a sound, but rolled his eyes at the windmill-like hat.
At 10:30, Pastor Niu had already dressed up.He is a little impatient.In his small living circle, the poor church members are what he must come into contact with every day.He hated them, despised them, but had to deal with them.Without them, his rice cooker would be ruined.He felt that this was a punishment from God on him!He envied those civil and military officials in the embassies, all of them were proud, and they looked like Westerners.What kind of Westerner is he?He almost wanted to pray: ask Uncle Ding to be his friend, tell him to enter the circle of nobles and rich people!Then, there is a bastard!At this time, he thought of many cheap "literary works" he had read since childhood.The tales of adventure told in those works, or the romance of a man and a servant, cannot all be false.Yes, the servants married only to find out that the man was a duke in Eastern Europe, and the woman got a huge, huge inheritance!Yes, it can't all be fake!
At this time, the eyes came in to ask for instructions, the car has arrived, can I go to the banquet?Usually, the pastor looks down on him very much, but he has to rely on him to show his great mercy, and God's omniscience and omnipotence.Now, thinking about those cheap romances in his mind, he suddenly felt that there is something cute about having too many eyes, as ridiculous and cute as an ugly but humane dog.He loved that battered officer's hat.He couldn't help thinking: If he gets rich one day, he will have many Chinese servants, all wearing a kind of clothing designed by him, and all wearing red tasseled caps.He looked at the broken hat and clicked several times.The eyes are so flattered, and the legs are a little weak with joy, and they can hardly stand up.
This is a time of high and crisp autumn, and the sky in Beijing is particularly clear and gratifying.It was around eleven o'clock, the frost cleared, and the sun was very warm, but the small northwest wind was so refreshing, which made people feel warm and comfortable.
It's a pity that the roads of that era were very bad: the Yonglu Road was very high, and in some places it was three or four feet higher than the side road.Below the Yonglu Road is often a smelly mud pond.If the car overturned on the Yonglu Road, the driver of the car might have fallen to his death or fell into the stinky mud.The Yonglu Road is relatively flat, but the black soil is also flying. Only when passing the emperor, the street is splashed with clear water, and the road is padded with loess. It is clean for three to five hours.
The saloon hired by the eyes is quite decent.This was reserved on the first day at the car gate ①, and he was afraid that he would not be able to catch a good car temporarily.
He held the hardcover "Bible" respectfully and asked the pastor to get into the car.Pastor Niu refused to enter the carriage, and was willing to straddle the carriage.
"Pastor! Pastor Niu! Please! There is no follower sitting in it, but the master straddles the edge of the cart instead, that's not proper!" Eyes persuaded sincerely.The pastor had no choice but to crawl into the carriage, twisted his eyes and stepped onto the edge of the carriage, light and graceful, very proud of himself.Being a follower of foreigners satisfied his lofty aspirations.As soon as the car moved, the pastor's head and mouth made noises together, and a big bump hit his head.It turned out that when I went to order the car yesterday, several cars lined up quietly, and the eyes couldn't tell that the mule had a limped leg.The mule, with its weak legs, had a great deal of effort to move forward, and the priest swayed from side to side, bewildered, and knocked his head against the hard ground.
"It doesn't matter! It doesn't matter!" The driver hurriedly said with a smile, "Sit still! You'll be fine once you get on the Yonglu Road! Don't think it's a little limping, it's not a big deal to walk tens of miles! It's better to go faster and faster, The more stable it is!"
The pastor covered his head with his hands, moved his eyes quickly, and said nothing.The car got on Yonglu.The pastor's legs couldn't be settled: at first, he fisted his legs, leaned on the car mat with one hand, and covered his head with the other; after supporting like this for a while, he tentatively stretched out one leg.At this moment, the lame mule suddenly turned to the side of the road, and the pastor's legs straightened involuntarily.Eye Duo was proudly pushing up his official hat with his hand, in order to let passers-by appreciate his appearance, when he suddenly felt hit by a cannonball or a hammer on his waist and eyes.It was too late to say it, it was so fast, before he had time to say "Aiya", his body floated up and went straight to the mud pond under the Yonglu Road.He wanted to twist his waist and change the direction of flight, but he just landed in the deepest part of the mud pond.He had no choice but to shout out in all sincerity: Help!
Several passers-by hurriedly pulled him up.Pastor Niu saw that the side of the car was empty, so he hurried forward to fill the vacancy.Everyone looked up and threw their eyes back in unison.They were not happy to rescue the foreign slaves.Pastor Niu urged the coachman to leave quickly.Eyes struggled alone for a long time, and slowly climbed up, covered in mud, holding an official hat, and went home cursing.
There are already several very elegant cars outside the gate of Dingzhai, and the mules are also very decent.Uncle Ding originally wanted to let the pastor enter the back door to improve his status and reduce the prestige of foreigners.However, the women's relatives unanimously demanded to see what the "foreign Taoist" looks like in secret.They are not very familiar with the title of pastor, but vaguely know that it has something to do with religion, so they created the term "foreign Taoist".Uncle Ding thought it was fun, so he allowed Pastor Niu to enter the front door.Although this gave the foreigners a little face, but secretly someone was watching and playing with him like a big horse monkey, so the balance between gains and losses was properly arranged.
A thirteen or fourteen-year-old boy led the pastor into the courtyard.Although Xiao Tong'er was young, he was wearing a long gown that flapped his feet, looking extremely mature, and even a little naughty amidst his maturity.Pastor Niu's yellow eyes wandered to the east and west, and he couldn't help but take a long breath.Look, facing you is a tall and long screen wall carved with bricks, with a large wooden frame hanging in the middle, with black characters on vermilion paper in the center of the frame, two big black characters.He doesn't know how to appreciate the brick carvings, and he doesn't know the two big black characters. He just thinks that the grandeur is extraordinary, and that it is indeed the place where the rich man lives.There are doors on the left and right of the screen wall, and there are obviously courtyards. "Please!" The little Tong'er's voice was neither high nor low, with no emotion.After that, he walked towards the door on the left.The threshold is very high, and the pastor only cares about the carvings on the top of the door, forgetting the bottom.The toe of the shoe touched the threshold and knocked off a piece of skin, which was quite unpleasant.
After entering the second gate, there is a long section of the corridor, covered with square bricks, inlaid with five-colored stones on the edges, and moss grows around the stones.Looking left and right, each has a moon gate.There are some green bamboo leaves exposed on the wall on the left.There is a small rockery behind the right door, covering everything in the hospital. Pastor Niu heard a burst of women's laughter.He looked at Xiao Tong'er, and Xiao Tong'er seemed to wink his eyes in a very experienced and mischievous way, but he didn't seem to wink.
There is another door, which is not very big, but the carving and lacquer decoration are more exquisite than the second door.After entering this gate, there are long corridors on the left and right, enclosing a spacious yard.No human voice could be heard, only a rectangular birdcage hung under the corridor of the main house, and a thrush was singing alone.Near the north house, there are two big crabapple trees, covered with half-red biggonia fruits.A long-haired little white cat was playing with a chicken feather under a tree, when it heard footsteps, it suddenly disappeared.
Along the northwest corner of the main house, the little boy led the pastor to the backyard.There is another piece of bamboo, and there is a small door beside the bamboo forest.The pastor smelled the scent of osmanthus.After entering the small gate, it suddenly became clear that it was a big garden.Pastor Niu estimated that there was at least one mile from the gate to here.To welcome the door, there is a white marble seat, on which there is a slender and exquisite Taihu stone.In the distance is a small earth mountain, here and there are some strangely shaped stones, adding some edges and corners to the earth mountain.The hill is full of small trees and miscellaneous flowers. There is a thatched pavilion at the highest point. You can see the green west and north mountains from the pavilion.In front of the mountain, there is a lotus pond. The big lotus leaves are broken, but there are still a few leaves just out of the water, half rolled and half opened.Walk along a narrow, moss-covered path by the pool to the end of the mountain. There are three flower halls under a tall white pine tree.Outside the door, there are four big pots of sweet-scented osmanthus, two gold and two silver, which are in full bloom. "What happened!" the little boy yelled.Hearing a slight cough from inside, he raised the curtain and invited the guest in.Then, he stood under the big pine, picked the white skin on the tree, and waited for orders.
The wooden utensils in the flower hall are all the color of nanmu, with blue and green as secondary colors.Wooden couplets, green characters of nanmu ground; plaques, blue characters of nanmu ground.All porcelain is blue and white.There were only two red autumn roses in a small vase.Pastor Niu glanced at it and felt very disappointed—there were no gold plates or silver bowls!
Uncle Ding is admiring an ancient inkstone with two Hanlin lords.Seeing Pastor Niu coming in, he turned around and cupped his hands, and said loudly: "Pastor Niu! I am Dinglu! Please sit down!" , this is the Hanlin Hall of the Sound of Rain, everyone sit down! Sit down!"
The two Hanlins, one tall and one short, one fat and one thin, one full and one Han, both had sparse beards.Han Hanlin is a little restrained.Under restraint, he revealed that he dared not refuse Uncle Ding's invitation, and he was really unhappy to sit with the foreign pastor.Man Hanlin is a short and fat man. His ancestors once conquered the whole of China, and he absorbed so much Han culture that he became Hanlin, so he is not as restrained as Hanlin.He feels that he is the proud son of heaven, and his talent is enough to deal with everyone and everything.All people, including those with white faces and blue eyes, were born to be a class or several classes lower than him.He doesn't know the real situation of the world powers, but he does know that foreign guns are very powerful, so he is a little afraid of foreign devils.However, foreign devils are foreign devils after all, no matter how powerful they are, they are still savages, as long as they let them be a little more polite, they can live in peace.Unfortunately, it is necessary to fight hand to hand, and he can also think of countermeasures in fear.He looked straight at Pastor Niu's legs, wanting to confirm that the devil's legs were straight as some people said.If they have straight legs and can't get up again once they fall down, it will be easy to deal with - just poke their knees with a long bamboo pole to knock them down, and you can calmly catch beetles lying on their backs like catching beetles lying on their backs. Just take it easy.Pastor Niu's legs are not like two small pillars.Hanlin was a little disappointed, so he could only admire the ancient inkstone again.
"What kind of stone is the best for the inkstone in your country?" Na Yusheng Hanlin asked in this way to express that he was not afraid of foreigners.
Pastor Niu thought for a while, but couldn't answer, so he clicked twice.After laughing, I thought of a sentence: "How much is this worth?"
"Zhenxiuzhai just delivered it. It's eighty taels, but the price hasn't been given yet. Yu Weng said, how much is it worth?" Uncle Ding asked Na Hanlin while answering the pastor.
"Give it fifty taels, it's worth it!" Na Yuweng was afraid that Lin Xiaoqiu would be indifferent, so he added, "What did Qiuweng say?"
Qiu Weng knew that if he went to buy it himself, he would be guaranteed to buy it with ten taels of silver, but it was inconvenient to save money for the flag officer, so he just nodded.
Beads of sweat appeared on Pastor Niu's nose.He felt he was on the wrong track entirely.Look, people here are willing to pay fifty taels for a broken stone!Why didn't he find a way to come here earlier, instead of fooling around with those poor people with more eyes?He had to make up his mind to win over this group of people, even if it was groveling!It's not too late to stare at them after getting the money!He decides to start wooing them now!As he was making such calculations, he heard a soft but crisp sound.He sneaked a peek inside, and saw that a monk was playing Go together in front of the window.They stared intently at the chessboard, seemingly ignoring his presence.
The monk was in his fifties, and although he only wore a gray cloth robe with a large collar, he had an extraordinary bearing: his head was shaved very brightly, his forehead was extremely bright, and there was no wrinkle on his face that a man in his fifties should have.The Taoist priest's Taoist robe and crown are very exquisite, his face is yellow and bright, he seems to be only in his fifties, but he has a beautiful and long beard, which is completely white.
Pastor Niu couldn't help but get angry.He, like his kindred, knew that there was not, and should not be, any religion worthy of the name except his own.This includes Judaism and Catholicism.As for Buddhism and Taoism... More fundamentally, they are all heretics, and they should be eliminated!Now, Uncle Ding dares to ask the monk to accompany him to have a meal, clearly to tease him and deny his God!He thought of sacrificing that good meal and leaving immediately so that they could not come down.
A little maid came in with a small blue plate of Fujian lacquer, on which was a blue and white magnetic tureen.She lowered her head, gently placed the tureen on the small table beside him, and walked out lightly.
He lifted the lid of the gaiwan, and there were a few pieces of very green and long tea leaves floating in the bowl.He is used to drinking thick black tea with sugar and milk, and he doesn't know the benefits of this kind of clear tea.He felt awkward and wanted to say goodbye even more.
"What's going on!" the boy yelled outside.
Two lamas walked in after him.Their faces were rosy, their bodies were covered in silk and satin, and they also wore embroidered purses and saddlebags. They were all radiant.
Pastor Niu couldn't sit still anymore.He was not only angry, but also a little frightened—would these demons and heretics want to debate doctrine with him?If so, what should he do?His little knowledge can only frighten the eyes, he knows it himself!A fat lama spoke in a low voice, with a smile on his lips all the time, and looked quite cultivated.The other one spoke loudly and was very lively, and when he entered the door, he yelled: "Master Ding! I will sing a few lines of "Zhanzi at the Yuanmen" ① later, listen to it!" "That's great!" said Uncle Ding happily "I'm coming to Jiao Zan, how about it? Ah, good! Let's eat first!" He shouted outside the door: "Come on! Let's eat!" The little boy replied in the garden: "Hey! Everything is ready!"
"Please! Please!" said Uncle Ding to the guests.
When Pastor Niu heard that the meal was served, his anger didn't fade away, and he definitely didn't want to leave.He decided to go first, leaving monks, Taoists, lamas, and Hanlin behind.However, Uncle Ding said: "Don't let it go, Abbot Li is the oldest, please!"
The white-bearded Taoist priest walked out slowly with only a slight air of humility, and the little boy hurried in to help him.Uncle Ding said with a smile: "The old abbot is already ninety-eight, and he is still so tough!"
This surprised Priest Niu, but he also believed that Taoist priests must have some kind of sorcery and evil methods, so that they can live forever.
The monk followed the Taoist without waiting.Uncle Ding also introduced: "Master Yuelang, you have good knowledge, good practice, good at both piano, chess, calligraphy and painting!"
Pastor Niu thought to himself: This meal is probably not easy to eat!Just as he was thinking, the two Hanlins and the two lamas walked out.Pastor Niu frowned, and Uncle Ding's expression turned pale.Just as Pastor Niu was about to leave, Uncle Ding took a step forward: "I'll lead the way!" Pastor Niu really wanted to kick him, but he couldn't bear the meal, so he had to be the runner-up.
The banquet is set in a round pavilion not far from the flower hall.It was originally a pavilion, but glass windows were installed later and it was changed into a warm pavilion.Every time Uncle Ding lost his temper, he would come here to cultivate his character.If there is any anger left, he can drop a few small things.The furnishings here are all foreign style, foreign clocks, foreign lamps, foreign magnets...the floor is covered with foreign carpets.