The First Bureau of Dongchang was larger than the Second Bureau. It was not only the "Jiangbei Bureau" responsible for the Qing Dynasty, but it was also the headquarters of Dongchang and the place where the factory supervisor worked.
Located on Changping Road, it is a very grand European-style granite building. There are more than 20 steps, and eight huge Roman columns on top, each illuminated by a strong light. Two cast-iron lions
Lying on both sides. Two rows of guards stood upright on the steps, bayonets on their shoulders glowing coldly.
"Tsk, tsk," Xiang Xiaoqiang got off the car, looked at the grandeur in front of him, and secretly admired, "if there were a blood-red 'swastika' flag hung on both sides, the atmosphere would be perfect."
"Brother Xiang, please."
Li Zhien smiled and waved his hand.
"Ah," Xiang Xiaoqiang nodded and smiled, "Brother Li, please."
There were already a dozen cars parked in the open space in front of the building, as well as two military vehicles. People in military uniforms and people in civilian clothes were scattered in twos and threes in the corner, talking softly. The air was cold and solemn.
Although the building was within easy reach, the two of them still had to go through three checks before they could get in. Especially since Xiang Xiaoqiang had no ID, Li Zhien not only had to show his ID at each checkpoint, but also had to sign to vouch for him.
The conference room on the top floor is quite large. The marble floor and walls are four to five meters high, almost like a chapel. Six large fireplaces are burning in a circle, and the firewood is crackling. Just like this, it still makes people feel cold.
ice cold.
There is a large long table in the middle of the room, covered with a green velvet tablecloth, with several bright lights shining directly on it, like a large table used for gambling in Las Vegas. There is tea on each seat. There is only this in the whole room.
There was light around the table, and the surroundings were dark except for the dark red firelight from the six fireplaces.
There are many pairs of sofas scattered around. Before all the people attending the meeting have arrived, those who have arrived first are resting or chatting quietly on these sofas. In the darkness, the bright spots of a few cigarettes flicker on and off.
…
"Brother, please come this way."
Li Zhien gently walked in with Xiang Xiaoqiang, reminding him to pay attention to his steps.
"Okay, you're welcome."
Xiang Xiaoqiang agreed, his eyes having trouble adapting to the darkness for a while, wondering how a bird meeting could be like entering a movie theater.
"Shh," Li Zhien whispered hurriedly, "Don't raise your voice and speak softly... There are already many adults here. Brother Xiang, let's just find a corner and sit down."
The two of them found an inconspicuous place to sit down like little shrimps with their tails between their legs. Li Zhien looked around, leaned over and said to Xiaoqiang in a low voice:
"Brother Xiang's true identity is only known to our Dongchang people. Other officials don't know. When there is a meeting later, Brother Xiang doesn't have to show it. Just say he's from our Dongchang... What do you think?"
The second half of this sentence was said in a consultative tone. Xiang Xiaoqiang understood that in their eyes, he was still an allied member. Although his position was low, he had no right to give orders to him.
"Brother Li, don't worry, I understand."
A fat head on the sofa behind him turned around, looked this way, and shouted:
"Come on, young man, just in time, the tea is gone, come and help your governor pour tea!"
When Xiang Xiaoqiang heard the word "Du Gong", he immediately jumped up.
He was excited, "Director of the East Factory? This is a good opportunity!"
A clear male voice chuckled in the darkness:
"Without bothering anyone else, Ji Mo will serve you the Marquis' tea with his own hands."
The fat man was probably talking happily, so he held him down and laughed:
"Sit, sit, let's chat, let them do things like pouring tea at a young age."
After that, he reached out and grabbed Xiang Xiaoqiang's lapel, pointed at the teapot on the coffee table and shouted:
"Why don't young people have good eyesight? Come on, refill this pot of water quickly!"
Li Zhien saw that the man behaved rudely and treated Xiang Xiaoqiang like a servant. He couldn't help but lose countenance. He was worried that he wouldn't be able to get off the stage. He was about to rush over and take over the job when he saw Xiang Xiaoqiang respectfully agree and turn around to hold him in his arms.
The teapot on this table ran over, bent down and said:
"Two adults, this is the tea on our table. It has not been touched. It has just been brewed and is still hot. The younger one will pour it for you two adults."
Xiang Xiaoqiang's well-spoken Mandarin clearly attracted the other party's attention. The man called "Du Gong" raised his head, looked at him sharply in the darkness, and asked with interest:
"Oh, how many games is it?"
Xiang Xiaoqiang looked at the fat "Master Hou" next to him, smiled slightly and said:
"Return to the Governor, from the Second Bureau."
"How many places in the second game?"
"Return to the Governor, Fifth Office."
"Oh..." The Governor pondered for a moment and then said softly, "That place in Jiang Meilu."
Suddenly, he remembered something, glanced at the fat man, then stared at Xiang Xiaoqiang, and asked word by word:
"So, you are..."
"Back to the Governor, my subordinate is...Xiao Xiang from the Fifth Division."
The man's eyes seemed to light up, he looked him up and down, nodded and praised:
"Well, good, as expected. Well done, young man."
When Xiang Xiaoqiang heard this, his heart suddenly warmed up. Since he came here to rescue people with all his life last night, from Jinyiwei to Dongchang, everyone has been interrogated and interrogated, and no one has said a word "good" or a word "thank you"
It’s not until this point that I heard the word “good job”.
He bowed to Xiaoqiang and said with a humble smile:
"The Governor praised me."
The man smiled and said:
"How do you say this? It's a foreign monk who knows how to recite sutras. It's just... haha, it's a pity, it's a pity."
"Duke," Xiang Xiaoqiang understood what he was regretting and said with a smile, "This is nothing to be regretful about. As long as the Du Gong is willing to show his love, I... I will not be interested in becoming a foreign monk."
"Huh?" The Governor's eyebrows formed a big knot.
Xiang Xiaoqiang's legs were actually weak from nervousness at this time, but he knew it would be a pity to give up this opportunity, so he quickly turned his mind around, took a deep breath and said:
"Although I grew up in a foreign country, there is a Chinese poem that I have been familiar with since I was a child."
The Governor stared at him thoughtfully for a moment and then said:
"Which one?"
Xiang Xiaoqiang brewed up his emotions and said softly and slowly:
"I traveled to the North Sea with the wind for a few days, and returned to the head of the Yangtze River. My heart is like a magnetic needle, and I will not rest until I point to the direction."
The Du Gong knew that this poem was Wen Tianxiang's "Yangtze River", which was written when he escaped from being captured by the Mongolian Yuan Dynasty for the first time, went through all kinds of hardships, and returned south to the Song Dynasty. He nodded and said:
"Hmm. So what?"
Xiang Xiaoqiang gritted his teeth, risked his life, and continued to say:
"If the Governor had grown up overseas, he would have known how pitiful the situation of the local Chinese people was without a strong and unified motherland. Although they were well-off and had no worries about food and clothing, they were always inferior to others and looked down upon by others. They were like children wandering outside, thinking about them day and night.
…”
"Well, cough." The Governor glanced at the fat man beside him and coughed lightly at Xiaoqiang.
Xiang Xiaoqiang felt that the governor must have listened, so he said softly:
"The word 'Yangtze River' in this poem, I would like to change it to... to 'Indian Ocean'."
"Well."
The governor remained unconvinced in the darkness.
Xiang Xiaoqiang said again:
"Last night's incident on the Yangtze River, the Governor can temporarily regard it as a letter of determination for my subordinates."
"Well."
…
"Hey," the fat man next to me couldn't stand it anymore, "let me ask, what on earth are you two doing?"
The governor laughed, patted Xiaoqiang and said:
"Okay, you go ahead."
Then he turned to the fat man and smiled in a low voice:
"Master Hou is unaware that we are here to hold this meeting today. It can be said that it is because of this boy."
Then she whispered a few words in his ear.
"oh?!"
The fat man couldn't help but look in Xiaoqiang's direction in amazement.
When Xiang Xiaoqiang returned to his seat, Li Zhien immediately grabbed him excitedly and lowered his throat and said:
"Brother Xiang, I really belong to you. I didn't expect you to be able to talk to the factory governor! Ah, yes, could it be that the factory governor asked you to come by name?"
They all spoke in very low voices just now. Li Zhien couldn't hear a few words here, so Xiaoqiang said humbly:
"No way, the factory supervisor just asked me a few questions because he heard that I had a different accent. He couldn't say anything at all."
"Brother, tell me," Li Zhien said with a smile, "What did the factory supervisor ask you?"
"When he asked me which bureau and department I was from, there was some kind of 'Master Marquis' sitting next to me. He was probably an outsider. So I followed Brother Li's teachings and just said that I was from the second bureau and the fifth department for the time being.
The factory supervisor also said a few more official words such as 'Do a good job'... Well, there's nothing wrong with saying that, right?"
"Well, well," Li Zhien was relieved at this time, "Yes, that's what I should say. That's very good, that's very good."
"Oh..." Xiang Xiaoqiang's heart started to itch again, "Brother Li, who is the person named Hou next to the Governor?"
"Whose surname is Hou?"
"Hey, that's the fat... quite rich one."
"Chi..." Li Zhien almost burst out. He suppressed his laughter, patted Xiaoqiang's shoulder and whispered, "Brother, you heard the governor call him 'Master Hou', haha, he is really awesome. Brother,
Listen carefully, his surname is not Hou, his surname is Zheng, his given name is Zheng Gongyin, his title is Changping Marquis, he is the son of the current Yanping County Prince, and the uncle of the current Holy Emperor."
Ah, holy shit, they are all big guys...
At this time, all the lights in the room were turned on, the chattering in all directions suddenly stopped, and everyone knew that the meeting was about to begin.
Only then did Xiang Xiaoqiang see clearly that there were more than 20 people sitting scattered in the room, some in military uniforms and some in civilian clothes. Everyone began to nod and greet people a little further away who had not seen them before.
At this time, a girl wearing a dress and two pigtails came to Xiang Xiaoqiang. In full view of everyone, she stretched out a large notebook in front of him and said in a sweet voice: