The waiter in the teahouse obviously knew these bannermen and immediately greeted them: "Gentlemen, you are here early today! Or should I have a pot of Longjing and a pot of incense tablets as usual?"
The man named Lao Yu waved his hand: "Two more plates of cakes, hurry up."
"Come on!" the waiter agreed, "You guys, please come in!"
After they entered, the waiter saw Li Yu standing at the door. Seeing that he was dressed in a special way, he said, "Sir, please sit inside. Our shop is famous for its tea in this area. Scented tea.
Fragrant slices and Longjing are all available."
It is said to be Longjing, but of course it is not the Longjing of later generations. In the Qing Dynasty, green tea was called Longjing, which was just ordinary tea.
Anyway, you’re here, let’s go in and take a look.
Those bannermen were regular visitors, so they went straight to a table by the window and sat down. Li Yu, obviously for the first time, stood in the lobby and looked around.
His move immediately attracted the attention of others. A thin man with a melon-skin hat on his head took the lead in grabbing him: "This brother, at first glance, he must be an outsider. Are you coming to the capital to find a job?"
Well! When I came up, I was regarded as a Beipiao!
"Yes." Li Yu didn't need to hide it. The other party should be a dental dealer who specializes in introducing people to work.
Guapimao stretched out his hand to the table next to him: "Sit over here!" He continued while pulling up a stool, "See, brother, he is tall and well-dressed. Is he from the Tianjin Concession?"
Li Yu followed his words and said: "Yes, the concession is now full of foreign soldiers, so they have no choice but to come to the capital."
Guapimao hammered the table angrily: "These foreign devils have robbed our land and not only want so much money! Li Hefei betrayed his country and sought glory. It's really a shame!"
"Li Hefei" refers to Li Hongzhang, who is from Hefei, Anhui.
Ordinary people say this. It seems that Cixi has indeed succeeded in passing on the contradiction.
After all, when she aggressively declared war on the Eleven Kingdoms, Li Hongzhang, as the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, immediately launched the mutual protection of the southeast, which was actually an act of resistance. Based on Li Hongzhang's understanding of the West, he would never agree to a war with foreigners.
The first person named in the "list of culprits" handed to the Qing court by the coalition forces was the Empress Dowager Cixi. It was only then that she recalled Li Hongzhang in fear and made him the governor of Zhili and the minister of Beiyang again.
Sign a contract with a foreigner and then take the blame for her as a "traitor".
I have to say that Cixi's political skills were really good.
Nowadays, although Li Hongzhang died with hatred last year, the public's hatred for him is still overwhelming.
Li Yu responded casually: "Yes, Tianjin is still the hardest hit area, and it was ruined by those foreign devils!"
"Hey!" Guapimao put away his grief and anger and said, "Since my brother is from the concession, and he doesn't look like he is a servant who looks after the home, I wonder what his intentions are?"
intention……
Li Yu is a little unsure. In fact, he doesn't know what he can do now. As a time traveler, his consciousness is of course ahead of others. But he doesn't understand politics. Even if he does, he must
I can't beat those old guys; secondly, I don't understand military affairs. I haven't even fought a few times since I was a child. How can I lead troops to fight!
Seeing that Li Yu didn't answer, Guapimao continued, "Maybe if you have any special skills, please tell me."
Specialty!
"I'm better at studying for tests!"
There is absolutely nothing wrong with that. After all, Li Yu is a top 985 Applied Physics student, and his postgraduate studies are at Peking University. This is indeed worthy of bragging!
Seeing Li Yu with shining eyes, Guapimao was stunned, "Exam? Are you going to the Imperial College?"
Li Yu immediately shook his head: "I'm good at mathematics, physics, oh, by the way, and English!"
"That's it!" Guapimao clapped his hands, "I feel that it will take a while for Xiong to come out of the concession. I heard that there are many new schools in Tianjin that specialize in studying foreign things. It seems that Xiong is knowledgeable.
people!!"
Li Yu blurted out just now, but he didn't expect that he would actually have an explanation, so he continued: "I still need to ask a question or two."
"There is indeed a way out..." Guapimao deliberately slowed down his tone and tapped his fingers on the table a few times.
Li Yu immediately understood and said: "Of course there are intermediary fees. I wonder how the capital collects them?"
Seeing that Li Yu was a sensible person, Guapimao said directly: "According to the rules of the capital, for ordinary work, one usually receives one month's wages as intermediary fees, no more than one tael of silver."
Li Yu immediately felt a little troublesome. Not to mention money, he rarely used banknotes. Now he was penniless, so he had no choice but to say: "To tell you the truth, I have lost all the money I have..."
"
Upon hearing this, Guapimao's expression changed, and Li Yu immediately added: "But I brought some good things from the concession!"
Only then did Guapimao's expression soften: "That's okay, please take it out to enjoy."
Li Yu fumbled in his schoolbag and took out the gel pen, "This is a Western product. It's called a gel pen. It doesn't need to be dipped in ink, and you can write on the paper very smoothly."
"oh?!"
It was obviously the first time for Guapi Ma to see this thing, "Is it so magical?"
"That's it!" Li Yu took the opportunity to deceive, "Foreign ministers use this to sign their signatures!"
"Did you use this to sign that contract?" Guapimao couldn't help but look at the thin thing in Li Yu's hand.
"It's necessary! Use this!" Li Yu said decisively.
"Bring it to me and let me see!"
Guapimao took out a piece of paper from his arms and took the gel pen. Li Yu was afraid that he wouldn't be able to use it, so he took off the cap of the pen for him.
Guapimao held the gel pen in the same posture as a brush and lightly drew on the paper, "Hey! It's really good, so thin!"
At this time, Li Yu also transformed into an unscrupulous businessman: "Look at what you said, I can still deceive you! This is an authentic signature pen for the nobles of England, and I usually treat it as a treasure!"
In fact, this is the most common gel pen that costs one yuan a piece, but this thing only existed in the 1980s, so it must have been a lot ahead of its time.
Guapimao was indeed quite satisfied, "Tell me, what's the price?"
"Foreigners sell this for at least one silver dollar," Li Yu said.
Guapimao thought about it and said: "A silver dollar, if exchanged at Henghe Bank, is seven silver coins, almost a thousand cash. Well... OK, I'll take this job!"
Li Yu breathed a sigh of relief, the trick was successful!
"Then please give me some advice."
Guapimao played with the "treasure" in his hand and said: "I heard that a group of high-ranking officials' children have gone to Tongwen Hall now. It is said that there will be some exams in the future. I don't know the details. But now Tongwen Hall is indeed short of people.
Someone like you who understands Western things will definitely be recruited. If you can be a reading companion or tutor for an official, you will be able to rise to great heights."
"Tongwenguan!" Li Yu's heart brightened, this pen is really worth it!