"Just wait if I ask you to, why are you so anxious!"
Among the five Dichao employee leaders, there is a father and son from the Zhili area.
My father was a young scholar. Unfortunately, because of an article that violated taboos, he was reported as slandering Emperor Daoguang. The whole family was imprisoned together and was executed in the autumn.
Luck can be said to be good or bad.
Before Qiuhou asked for help, Emperor Tongzhi came to power and granted amnesty to the world.
It is a pity that except for the scholar father and the son who was born with a strong body and was nicknamed "Niu Dan", none of the wife and children in the family survived the prison sentence and died in prison.
Of course, as a scholar who "innuendoed" and framed Emperor Daoguang, his family's "amnesty" was not a direct acquittal, but he was sent to California, the United States, to work as an employee of the imperial court.
To put it nicely, they call the local employees, but to put it badly, they are "slaves who build the railways."
Fortunately, I have some writing skills, and my son is strong and can help me with the work. In short, my life is slightly better than that of the lowest-level employees.
I have been reading for a few more years, and my brain is smarter than that of a simple "mud-legged" person. I have learned English, and I can have general conversations with no problem.
The other four people are also very similar. They are all "re-education through labor prisoners" who have committed crimes in China. Most of them have some writing skills or are talented in language and behavior. They can speak English and are quite prestigious among the employees in China.
.
Niu Dan took the lead in hunting down several species of jaguars as the local employees fled to Texas.
The employees of Dichao considered him a "tiger-fighting hero" and attended the luncheon together which did not agree with his status.
The kind of laborers who were captured purely as laborers were all the "sick Chinese" described by a group of fighting writers. They were the most confused people in their lives. They only knew how to build roads if they were afraid of being whipped.
This is not their fault, but they were born under the rule of Lafayette, in feudalism, and their families had no money for them to study. They really had no choice.
Everyone present, except Niu Dan, knew that Tom Smith was here to stage a show.
The dinner party at Dichao came last, and the coffee table was the biggest.
The longer you wait, the more important the coffee will be.
After about six people arrived and waited for more than two hours, according to the understanding of these local employees, it was an hour.
Tom slowly entered the private room.
Among the six people present, except Niu Dan, they all warmly welcomed Tom as he came in and stood up to bow to Tom.
Niu Dan also bowed, but his movements were obviously slower and stiffer. He must have learned from his "elders".
After the six of them bowed to each other for a few seconds, Tom returned the favor slowly and apologized verbally.
As a superior, how can you respond to your subordinates in a hurry? Isn't this wrong?
"I'm really sorry for keeping you waiting for so long. I'm sorry."
"No, no, we have just arrived. We only took a sip from the plate of tea. You arrived at the right time."
"Then let's sit down and talk?"
"After you."
"It's okay, it's okay. You guys should sit down first."
That's right, Niu Dan was ready to sit down as soon as he could. This was the first time he had made such a comfortable and high-end Taishi chair, so of course he wanted to sit on it for a while.
Just as Niu Dan was about to sit down, he was kicked hard by his scholar father. Only then did Niu Dan remember what his father said before eating and did not dare to sit down.
After Tom slowly took his seat, the other six employees sat down. The meal had just begun.
"Sir Tom, your Mandarin speaking is really good. It's better than the other officials I met in my hometown."
"No, no, it's just out of interest. I've learned a little bit, but it's definitely not as good as those of you who have read poetry and are famous."
"I don't think so. I have decided that if you take part in the imperial examination, you will at least be the number one scholar."
"Much praise, much praise..."
There was nothing on the empty Eight Immortals table except a few small teacups.
The seven of them were not in a hurry except for the eggs, and started chatting and complimenting Tom.
“Before serving the food, I’ve been sitting here for so long. Let’s take a bite of the pasta, which is soft and soft, so that it will soothe the stomach. The dishes that follow will also be appetizing.”
"My lord is right!"
Tom clapped his hands, and seven women carefully selected from Chinese people from all over the United States, wearing "super high-cut" cheongsam made by Tom based on his past life memories, walked in carrying seven bowls of noodles.
"This bowl of yours is extraordinary. When I was serving as a disciple to the county prince, I saw a bowl given by the emperor on the altar in the county prince's study. I felt it was not as good as yours."
This bowl is also very particular. Most of the bowls were specially obtained by Tom from the French. But Tom's bowl is even more extraordinary. It was smuggled out from the official kiln of Dichao. It is a serious "tribute".
After the former master recognized him at a glance, he seized the opportunity and flattered him first.
Tom didn't reply. He picked up a bowl of noodles with chopsticks and ate it with the noodles.
Each person's bowl contains not much noodles, only one or two chopsticks, but the noodles inside are very particular.
Tom's bowl of noodles is cooked soft and refreshing, and has been cooled in advance. Together with the fat but not greasy beef noodle sauce, it goes straight into your stomach in one bite, and finally comes with a mouthful of the noodle soup that is just the right temperature. It is really heart-warming.
.
At the beginning, the noodles cooked by Tom, the employee leader, were cooked so well, but the noodles only had chopped green onions and side dishes, and no meat.
The other five Dichao employee leaders who had just arrived in Texas just boiled the dough in plain water without even adding any salt.
Not to mention the salt, the noodles are only put into the pot with warm water on one side. To put it bluntly, it is just a lump of dough that has been warmed on the other side.
The noodle soup is freshly boiled water.
On the table, apart from the seven bowls of noodles, even the teacups had been removed.
“As soon as I eat this noodle, I feel at ease.”
"Use your chopsticks and eat together. Don't leave any soup behind. That's bone soup, good stuff."
"Eat this bowl of noodles and we will be good brothers from now on."
During the Manchu and Qing Dynasties, although the emperor had explicitly prohibited "blood-based alliances" from worshiping brothers of the opposite sex.
However, green forests all over the country still practice "family-style" alliances in various ways, and there are various initiation "rituals". Anyway, they don't make alliances based on blood, so it's not a "violation", right?
Everyone among the five except Niu Dan knew that this lump of dough and this bowl of boiling water were his tickets to enter the "Chinese senior circle" of Hero Company, and this meal was the "entry ceremony".
This side,
Eat, have to eat,
Even if you don’t want to eat, you have to eat.
If you still don't eat it, you won't be able to eat it in Texas in the future.
Looking at the lump of dough in front of them, and then at the empty table, the four of them also moved their chopsticks, gulping down the dough, and swallowing the boiling water without risking blisters.
But Niu Dan doesn't understand. Looking at the dough that has obviously not been cooked very much, I really can't eat it, let alone drink boiled water.
Father Niu Dan winked at Niu Dan, trying to force him to eat the lump of dough and drink the bowl of boiling water.
Tom also watched with great interest this strong man who was hailed as the "Tiger Fighting Hero" by the employees of the Western Dynasty.
"What, is the noodles not delicious?"
"It's not a question of whether it tastes good or not, it's not a question of whether it's cooked at all. How do you eat uncooked noodles?"
"Oh, you want to eat cooked noodles right away? Then why do you think so? Eating, especially eating good food, must be your own responsibility."
"I am very capable. We met several big bugs along the way. I rushed up and killed them with my brothers. The big bug I could hit with one slap immediately fainted!"
"Then you are really good at what you do, but I didn't see it."
"What do you think? I told my father before I came here that if I follow you, I will have good food to eat and a good wife to beg for. I can do anything you want from me!"
"Okay, come here, please remove the bowl and serve me a bowl of noodles. It's enough."
A bowl of shaved noodles with plenty of beef noodles was brought out again, but it was still placed in front of Tom, not in front of the eggs.
"I have about ten bodyguards outside the door. You go out and pick one. If you hit one, this bowl of noodles will be yours. From now on, you will eat whatever I eat."
"good."
Niudan's father has nothing to do with this. Once this kind of thing is brought to the public, no one else can interrupt unless the "green forest boss" tells you to say it.
About a minute or two later, Niu Dan came in with a bruised nose and a swollen face, stretched out his bloody right hand and made the sign of three.
"I killed three people in a row by myself."
"This bowl of noodles is yours."
Regardless of the blood on his body and the bruises on his face, Niudan ate the noodles from the bowl.
Lao Da's noodles are cut with a knife, medium thick and thin on the edges, shaped like a willow leaf; smooth on the outside and stringy on the inside, soft but not sticky, and the more you chew, the more delicious it becomes. It's a pity that American pigs can't do it, otherwise the pork noodle soup would be better.
"Is it tasty?"
"delicious…"
"Want something better?"
"Is there anything better?"
"This is just a bowl of noodles. Follow me and make sure you enjoy the spicy food."
"I still need a wife."
"Haha, I will give you a wife now."
Niu Dan raised his head and looked at Tom, with a long noodle hanging from his mouth. This honest look amused Tom, who had been fighting between life and death for a year.
Tom felt more at ease with this group of Korean employees than with the average Dixie people. With their unique looks and the fact that they had just arrived in the United States, it would be difficult for them to collude with the Yankees whose language and culture were completely different.
Tom waved his hand, and a Chinese female waiter in cheongsam came over. Tom gave a few instructions, and the female attire left. After a while, a chef in white clothes and a fourteen or fifteen-year-old man came with him.
The girl came in.
"Lao Xi, this is the brother who will hang out with me from now on. His name is Niu Dan, and his father is also here."
"Your daughter is already a grown-up. I think you don't like the hard work of the mining gang, and I don't like it either. It's been said that my cook's son-in-law is a coal digger. It would be embarrassing."
"Today, I will act as a matchmaker and marry your daughter to Niu Dan. You can look at your birthday and horoscopes. You can decide the date. I will definitely support you when the time comes."
"The matchmaker you mentioned has a good relationship. I'd like to thank you on behalf of this bastard."
"We have no problem here either."
"Then the matter is settled. You must call me when the time comes."