Ten miles away from the north entrance of Hukou Town, a team suddenly appeared on the road, including literati, servants, craftsmen, porters, and some strong men carrying weapons.
Walking at the front of the team were seven or eight men wearing civilian uniforms. The younger ones were about thirty years old, and the older ones were about fifty years old. They seemed to be in good spirits.
Among these seven or eight civil servants, the middle one is the newly appointed minister of the Ministry of Industry, Chang Bingkun.
This person is similar to what Hang Baiqiu described, with a medium build and a slightly thin face. His appearance gives the impression of being upright and upright.
As Chang Bingkun was walking, a big man in front of him came back and said with cupped hands: "Mr. Chang, the village guide just now said that if you go straight ahead from here and walk another seven or eight miles, you will reach Hukou Town!
"
"I know..." Chang Bingkun said, raising his hand slightly, and the big man left immediately.
Chang Bingkun kept walking, looked up at the height of the sun, turned to the people around him, and said with a smile: "Master Xie, we have managed the time well. There is still a while before noon. When we arrive in town, it will be just enough."
We've settled in..."
The Mr. Xie next to Chang Bingkun is the oldest among the civil servants. His name is Xie Yuanran. He is fifty-two years old and serves as a member of the Ministry of Industry. He has a very close relationship with Chang Bingkun.
This time the imperial court sent Chang Bingkun to lead a team to Taishan. The first thing that came to mind was to call Xie Yuanran, because Xie Yuanran had been in the position of Yuanwailang from the third grade for eight years, and many people around him had been promoted, and even their official positions had been
He has surpassed him, but Xie Yuanran is the only one who is as stable as a mountain, with no sign of promotion at all.
As a good friend of Xie Yuanran, Chang Bingkun was anxious in his eyes, so he wanted to take advantage of this opportunity to let Xie Yuanran achieve some results so that he could move his official position higher after returning to Beijing.
Xie Yuanran also looked at the sun, stroking his beard and nodded: "Master Chang still has the foresight. If he hadn't decided to set off an hour earlier, he would definitely not be so calm now."
"That's right, Lord Chang still has the foresight!"
"Master Chang is so wise!"
Immediately, a group of officials around him agreed.
Chang Bingkun shook his head helplessly and said with a smile: "You guys...when you have time to talk about this, you might as well think about what we, a bunch of people, will eat for lunch!"
Xie Yuanran immediately said: "Yes, yes, think about it, everyone thinks about it..."
Just as a group of officials were having a heated discussion about what to eat for lunch, a stern shout suddenly came from the front of the team: "Stop, who is coming in front?"
Chang Bingkun, Xie Yuanran and others heard the sound and looked forward. It turned out that there were several strangers on the road ahead.
The leader of the strangers stepped forward and said: "Cheng Jiu, on the orders of Mr. Chai Yanchai, I am here to welcome Mr. Chang and his party!"
After saying that, Cheng Jiu asked someone next to him to hold Chai Yan's identity badge to the other side, and at the same time said: "Master Chang, please look at this, this is my master's badge!"
The guard of the team took the badge from the stranger, then immediately ran to Chang Bingkun and others, bowed his head and handed it over with both hands.
Chang Bingkun took the waistband and looked at it, then handed it to Xie Yuanran beside him, and said softly: "No problem, it's true."
Xie Yuanran nodded after seeing it, and then gave the guard the badge, signaling him to return it to him.
After handing back the waist badge, Chang Bingkun said to Cheng Jiu: "Then I'll help this brother!"
Cheng Jiulang said: "Master Chang and all of you, please wait here. The carriages and horses prepared by my master will arrive in a moment."
"Oh? Is there a carriage? That would be great!" Xie Yuanran, the oldest, didn't think much about it and subconsciously became happy.
But after the words were spoken, Xie Yuanran felt strange, turned around and whispered: "Mr. Chang, this...isn't something quite right..."
Chang Bingkun also felt that something was wrong. He wondered if he had heard something wrong or had misunderstood the other party's words.
"Brother, Mr. Chai...has he really prepared carriages and horses for us?" Chang Bingkun asked.
Cheng Jiu replied affirmatively: "Yes, Mr. Chang!"
Chang Bingkun suddenly said to himself: Oh, it's really...
After thinking for a while, Chang Bingkun finally made up his mind and said to the guards on the side: "Let everyone take a rest."
Then, the guards shouted loudly to the team behind them: "Your Majesty has ordered, rest where you are!"
Soon, the people in the team were sitting, squatting, drinking water, wiping sweat, and they all felt relaxed.
After about waiting for a cup of tea, the noise of wheels and horses came from the road ahead, and Chang Bingkun and everyone immediately turned their attention.
"Master Chang, you have been waiting for a long time. The carriage has arrived!" Cheng Jiu said.
Chang Bingkun waved his hand and said: "No, no, it's already very fast."
The next moment, more than a dozen horse-drawn carriages and ox-carts appeared in front of Chang Bingkun and others, very neat and orderly.
Cheng Jiudao: "Mr. Chang, you can get in the car now."
Chang Bingkun nodded with satisfaction and said to Xie Yuanran: "Master Xie, you and I can ride in the same car."
"It's not what I asked for." Xie Yuanran agreed.
Under Cheng Jiu's guidance, Chang Bingkun and Xie Yuanran boarded the first carriage, and then other officials boarded the carriage one after another.
Although the craftsmen and porters could only walk, they put their belongings and luggage on the oxcarts and started walking empty-handed. It was not a little relaxing.
As for the guards protecting Chang Bingkun and other officials, some were walking on both sides of the carriage, while others were sitting on the handlebars next to them, their expressions still vigilant.
After walking for a while, Xie Yuanran suddenly said to Chang Bingkun: "Mr. Chang, who would have thought that the people from Wude Division would actually prepare a carriage for us... Haha, unexpected! What a surprise...
....."
Xie Yuanran, who has been an official for many years, has an inherent understanding that there is no need for people in Wudesi to please ordinary officials like this. Instead, he and Chang Bingkun must deal with it carefully, otherwise they will suffer if they accidentally anger each other.
I can't walk away!
Chang Bingkun shook his head and smiled, saying: "Yes, I really didn't expect it. It seems that Master Chai is very special!"
Xie Yuanran smiled and said: "Yes, I was a little worried all the way here before, but now I am looking forward to what kind of person he is, hahaha..."
Chang Bingkun nodded, suppressed his smile and said, "Let's wait and see!"
After a stick of incense was burned, the motorcade arrived outside Hukou Town and then slowly stopped.
As soon as the car stopped, Cheng Jiu came to the car where Chang Bingkun was riding, raised his hands and said loudly: "Mr. Chang, my lord is in front. I would like to ask Mr. Chang to step over and say something!"
After hearing this, Chang Bingkun couldn't help but turned to look at Xie Yuanran, only to find that Xie Yuanran was looking out through the gap in the curtain.
"Master Xie, what are you looking at?" Chang Bingkun asked hurriedly.
Xie Yuanran did not move his head, and continued to look outside, saying, "It's strange, what are they cooking with two big pots?"
These words immediately aroused Chang Bingkun's curiosity, so he looked out through the gap in the door curtain and said in surprise: "Hey? There are really two big pots..."