Xu Ji thought about the scene of meeting his son-in-law countless times.
He already has many sons-in-law, and they are considered to be rich in experience.
He never expected that Zuo Mengeng would give him such a great sense of oppression.
Compared with the other three elegant sons-in-law, this one's aura was as strong as a mountain, making it difficult for him to gain a foothold.
Fortunately, Zuo Mengeng was alert when he was in a desperate situation.
"My son-in-law pays homage to Taishan. Lord Taishui has been busy with military affairs and has not been able to come to fulfill his filial piety. Please forgive me."
Xu Ji finally breathed a sigh of relief, stroked his beard and calmed down, and said calmly: "I am far away in the south of the Yangtze River, and I have also heard of your achievements. I am very pleased to be loyal to the country."
Compared with Xu Ji, Xu Ji's wife Gu is much kinder.
"Zhongheng has come a long way to work hard, and he will go back home and have a rest before talking."
As the saying goes, the more a mother-in-law looks at her son-in-law, the more she likes him.
Originally, Mrs. Gu was worried that Zuo Menggeng, a martial artist, was not worthy of her daughter who was as beautiful as a pearl.
But now after seeing him in person, I discovered that Zuo Menggeng not only had the fighting spirit of a martial artist, but also had an elegant demeanor.
And as a disciple of Liu Zongzhou, how could he be worse?
Especially when she saw Zuo Mengeng being held in high esteem by all the stars, she was even more delighted.
Even big shots like Liu Zongzhou and Li Banghua vaguely focused on Zuo Menggeng, which shows the ability of this new son-in-law.
Only then did Xu Ji react and hurriedly said: "Nian Tai Gong, Mr. Meng An, please come quickly."
Chen Zilong, Song Zhengyu and others were acquainted with the Xu family. They exchanged pleasantries on the dock, agreed to visit later, and then went back to their respective homes.
With Liu Zongzhou here, how could they give up such a good opportunity to seek advice?
While walking along the meandering road, Zuo Mengeng discovered that this place was ten times more prosperous than Linqing.
Linqing is a large city with a population of one million, and the Ming Dynasty has always been very important. Originally, he felt that there was no other place like it in the world, but after looking at it today, he realized that there is a difference between prosperity and prosperity.
The prosperity of Songjiang Mansion clearly shows that the commercial atmosphere is very strong.
Just on the short stretch from the pier to Xu Mansion, there are an endless stream of shops on both sides of the street.
Vehicles of all kinds were all carrying mountains of goods, either heading to or leaving the dock, and there were no empty vehicles in sight.
Zuo Mengeng even saw a waiter running out of a restaurant quickly with a wooden plate with all kinds of food on it. He walked away, and all the people on the road were there.
There is actually takeout here.
Xu Erjue noticed his expression and was very pleased with himself.
"How about it? Is the prosperity of Zhongheng and Songjiang Prefecture more different than that of Linqing?"
Others' ears pricked up, wanting to hear what he had to say.
Xu Ji was even more concerned and regarded this as an inspection of Zuo Menggen.
It's a pity that in front of our eyes, how can people of this era compare with Zuo Menggeng?
Zuo Mengeng pointed to the Huangpu River that was getting further away, and said regretfully: "Songjiang Mansion is built on the seaside, and with this river passing through the city, it is a natural haven. If sea trade is opened, merchants from all over the world will gather.
Then Songjiang Prefecture will become the most prosperous place in the world."
What Shanghai would be like in later generations is something he has in his memory.
Everyone thought he would praise this place, but unexpectedly he actually got involved in sea trade.
But combined with the rhetoric of local geography, everyone had to believe it.
Making money from sea trade is not unfamiliar to Jiangnan people. Unfortunately, the Ming Dynasty implemented a sea ban policy. Although it has been relaxed in recent years, not everyone can afford it.
Whether sea trade is feasible or not, a good port must be a prerequisite.
In terms of seagoing ships in this era, the existence of the Huangpu River definitely makes Songjiang Prefecture full of competitiveness.
The largest sea-going ships of this era also had limited tonnage and could sail into the Huangpu River.
In this way, the effect of sheltering from wind and waves is far better than that of other ports.
Before the later Yangshan Deepwater Port was built, the largest cargo terminal in Shanghai was located at Waigaoqiao, the estuary of the Yangtze River.
For ships of this era, if they wanted to dock and unload cargo properly, it would undoubtedly be better to sail into the nearby river.
Zuo Mengeng looked at the prosperity in front of him with great regret.
If sea trade is opened up and this is used as a base, how much wealth can be created!
Xu Mansion arrived soon.
In later generations, only an inconspicuous two-story building remained of Xu Guangqi's former residence. It looked very dilapidated against the backdrop of modern high-rise buildings.
But today's Xu Mansion occupies a rather vast area, covering dozens of acres.
There is no way, the Xu Mansion has a large population. Even if we advocate simplicity, in order to accommodate so many people, we have to build a lot.
After entering the mansion, almost everyone from the Xu family was here.
Xu Ji invited Liu Zongzhou and Li Banghua to serve tea as guests, and then sat at the main table with Gu.
On both sides of the Xu family station, people greeted Xu Ruolin and their new son-in-law Zuo Mengeng with laughter.
Xu Ruolin couldn't stand being looked at by so many people, but she didn't dare to neglect the etiquette of visiting Gaotang.
"The daughter returns from a long journey and greets her father and mother."
Xu Ji couldn't help but feel a little distressed when he thought that his precious daughter would become someone else's when she went out for a trip.
But when I thought about it, if Zuo Menggeng hadn't sacrificed his life to save her, Xu Ruolin would have disappeared in the civil unrest in Gyeonggi, and she felt that this was a good thing.
Mrs. Gu's eyes were red and she was on the verge of tears. She pulled her daughter over and said over and over again: "It'll be great if you can come back. It'll be great if you come back."
Xu Ruolin hugged her mother and tried to comfort her, so that Gu didn't lose her composure.
Xu Ji looked at Zuo Mengeng and said: "The old man wrote a letter a few days ago and told about your affairs. In this case, the marriage will be held recently, how about it?"
Since it was Xu Guangqi's order, Xu Ji had no choice but to obey it.
Zuo Mengeng naturally had no objection.
"Everything depends on Master Taishan."
But he also had something to clarify.
"I would like to ask Lord Taishan, everyone in the Xu family is a believer. I wonder if this wedding will be mainly Chinese style or Western style?"
Everyone in the Xu Mansion looked at each other.
Because they have never thought about this problem.
There is actually nothing to say about weddings in the West in this era.
Missionaries from the West did not dare to promote Western customs in China.
"This is China, so it's better to have a Chinese wedding."
Before Xu Ji said anything, Liu Zongzhou asserted.
Although this old man has no prejudice against Western religion, he does not want Chinese etiquette to lag behind the West.
Regarding the form of the wedding, the Xu family really didn't have many requirements.
"Zhongheng has his heart. However, we are all Chinese people and we should abide by the etiquette of our ancestors."
Xu Erjue and Zuo Menggeng have a good relationship, so they couldn't help but ask: "Does Zhongheng also know about Western-style weddings?"
Zuo Mengeng said in his heart, I really understand.
He looked at Xu Ruolin and said with a smile: "I originally wanted to follow Xu's faith, so I made complete preparations. I heard that believers will wear wedding dresses when they get married. So I specially prepared one in case of emergency."
Xu Ruolin was so surprised that she asked, regardless of her shyness, "Why didn't I know?"
Zuo Mengeng smiled.
"It's a surprise for you. If you found out too early, what kind of surprise is it?"
As soon as these words came out, the women of the Xu family became jealous and looked at their men with anger in their eyes.
When will their husbands be so interesting?
Xu Erjue and others were suddenly under great pressure and found themselves falling into a pit.
Xu Erjue's wife Yu couldn't help but asked: "But I don't know what this wedding dress looks like?"
When Westerners get married in this era, what they wear cannot be considered a wedding dress, but should be called a formal dress.
Wedding dresses have slowly evolved from dresses, and now they don’t even have a prototype.
When Zuo Mengeng was preparing for the wedding, he thought of the beauty of future wedding dresses, so he drew them and gave them to Wang Xiuqin and others to make them.
Of course, considering the factors of the times, the style of the wedding dress was relatively conservative. But after it was made, it was obvious that Wang Xiuqin and other women in the clothing factory were all jealous.
Women are inherently immune to beautiful things.
And the wedding dress is obviously the king among them.
The entire wedding dress is made of silk, and it is the most luxurious thing Zuo Mengeng has made so far.
Just to give Xu Ruolin an unforgettable wedding, it is rare to be willful.
For this wedding dress, Zuo Mengeng specially brought a female official here.
He asked someone to bring the box over, handed it to the female officer, and took Xu Ruolin to the back hall to try it on.
Good guy, all the women from the Xu family followed.
It wasn't until all the women were gone that the men of the Xu family present let out a sigh of relief.
Xu Yuandu was even more exaggerated, wiping sweat and complaining at the same time.
"Zhongheng, if something like this happens again in the future, you must communicate with us. Otherwise, the family will be uneasy."
Xu Erdou is even more sinister.
“I just hope Zhongheng’s wedding dress doesn’t look good.”
Only Xu Ji chuckled and felt a little more favorable towards Zuo Mengeng, the new son-in-law.
In any case, being able to please Xu Ruolin so much shows that his daughter has a very important position in this person's mind.
In this case, there is no need to worry about life after marriage.
Thinking of this, Xu Ji couldn't help but admire his father's vision.