"There happened to be a lot of friends gathered together today, and the master must give me some face no matter what." As he said this, he stepped forward to grab Meng Xinzhu's hand, but Xiao Zhao had already grabbed his hand and twisted it gently.
"Oh my, sir, don't be angry, I don't mean any harm! I just want to treat you to a casual meal."
Hongde Longqiu signaled Xiao Zhao to let go, and Lin rubbed his sore wrist and said, "Young master's follower is very skilled!"
"No need to eat, we have other things to do!"
"Sir," Mr. Lin was really persistent, "Sir, please submit to me no matter what. A simple meal won't make anything worse."
Hongde Longqiu suddenly spoke, "Where are you going to have a casual meal?"
"Xinghua Tower."
Xinghualou is the most famous restaurant in Yuedu. It brings together famous chefs from all over the country. It has a complete range of dishes, first-class taste, and the prices are naturally high.
Meng Xinzhu stayed in the private room as if on pins and needles, with a fake smile and greeted the literati introduced by Lin. Uncle Jiuhuang and his wife were confused about the situation. They wanted to ask this goddaughter, but they were used by Hong Delong Qiu.
The look in his eyes warned him not to talk too much. Although they were used to chatting with the emperor's nephew, the old couple still knew how to behave. After a while of greetings, Meng Xinzhu put his hands on the table and leaned against Hongde Longqiu who was sitting next to him.
He said without moving his lips basically: "Is there any way to escape?"
Hongde Longqiu smiled and picked up the tea cup, "Yes, but with conditions!"
"What conditions?"
"Starting tonight, light the lights in the Bamboo Garden!"
Meng Xinzhu looked at him with wide eyes and squeezed out a few words through her teeth, "You, take advantage of others' danger!"
"It doesn't matter if you don't agree. Anyway, it's you who caused the trouble. Then it depends on whether you have the ability to solve it yourself."
"It's you who came here! And you dragged me into the water!" Looking at Hongde Longqiu who had a wicked smile on his face, Meng Xinzhu frowned, "Okay, you're cruel, but it's just a meal and a conversation, it's not that difficult.
Die for me, young master! I will send soldiers to block it, and the water will come and the earth will cover you!"
Hong Delong Qiu smiled and said nothing. He really wanted to hear what Meng Xinzhu would say today!
"Mr. Zhu, what do you want to eat?" Mr. Lin said enthusiastically, "There are famous chefs from all over the world here, and there are all kinds of dishes that you can name. Mr. Zhu, please take a look at the menu!"
"Oh?" Meng Xinzhu opened the menu, looked at it, and said casually, "Sure enough, there are many dishes. Since it is Mr. Lin's treat, you can make the decision."
Looking at a table full of chicken, duck, fish, and fresh seafood, Meng Xinzhu couldn't help but frown. Although there was no shortage of these meat dishes during his days in the palace, Eunuch Chen knew his own taste and would always prepare some light stir-fries.
The greasy food left Meng Xinzhu with no taste at all. In her opinion, it was not as refreshing as the soup noodles at the noodle stall.
After the food and wine were served, everyone raised their glasses. Meng Xinzhu frowned. He had always had a good drinking capacity, but since he came out of the palace in the morning, he had only eaten one bite of noodles and vomited them all. Drinking on an empty stomach was very harmful to his stomach.
Seeing her hesitation, Hongde Longqiu took the wine glass from her hand and drank it for her on the pretext that she didn't know how to drink.
"You did this voluntarily, and I didn't agree to your conditions!"
Hongde Longqiu raised the corners of his mouth and smiled.
"Master Zhu, we all heard from Brother Lin that the people are the key to the rise and fall of the world," said the dear brother who could no longer remember his name. "It really makes us wait..."
Only now did the Tenth Emperor's Uncle and his wife roughly understand what was going on. They both looked at their goddaughter with some surprise. It turned out that she not only held some novel gadgets in her head, but also pretended to be concerned about national and civil affairs. The two looked at each other, very interested.
Listen carefully.
It's the same old thing again! Meng Xinzhu shook her head. After a while, she didn't know who was talking about her arguments about hermits and righteous men. She had no intention of listening. She couldn't eat the food and couldn't listen to the words. It was really uncomfortable to stay here.
Everyone was a little surprised by her silence. There were several literati here who did not participate in the last political discussion in the teahouse. It was only after hearing the talk from Lin and others that they thought of meeting this strange person. They always felt uncomfortable meeting him.
They all felt that he might not be as talented as others said, it was just a coincidence, and the atmosphere in the private room was a bit dull for a while.
Lin had to stand up and said, "Everyone, Mr. Zhu is not a pushy person. When I asked Mr. Zhu for advice last time, he refused. Mr. Zhu, today we are gathered together to ask for advice. Mr. Zhu,
You might as well speak freely."
Meng Xinzhu took a deep breath and said, "Since you are so enthusiastic, how can Mr. Zhu ruin your enjoyment? Just now, this young master praised the people as the key to the rise and fall of the world, but I don't know what you think the people are the key to?"
Everyone looked at each other and talked a lot, most of them centered around what she had said before, about being stable, about being rich, etc. Meng Xinzhu smiled after hearing this, these men of letters were not without talent, nor were they.
Without knowledge, they are just too old-fashioned, too conservative, too careful, always following the steps, for fear of saying something wrong and being laughed at by others. In fact, they are too pedantic and uncivilized. If they could have the wild imagination of modern people, I am afraid the scene would be different.
Big difference.
After everyone finished speaking, they all looked at Meng Xinzhu. Hongde and Long Qiu nodded. He thought what these people said was good. He didn't know what this beloved concubine would have to say.
"Master Zhu, what do you think?"
Meng Xinzhu looked up at everyone, stood up, and continued to fan, "It's just one word."
"Another word?"
Meng Xinzhu smiled and said, "That's right, one word - food!"
After hearing what Meng Xinzhu said, everyone laughed and said she was joking. The key to the rise and fall of the world is the people, and the key to the people is food. Doesn't it mean that the rise and fall of the world depends on the word "eat"?
Meng Xinzhu still smiled, standing in front of the window, looking at the bustling passers-by on the street, "Everyone has enough food and clothing, but of course they don't understand the key to 'food'." She turned around and pointed to the food and wine on the table, "Enjoy it.
With these, how can you understand the tragic situation of "the wine and meat smell of wine and meat in the rich families, and the frozen bones on the road"! How can you understand the pain of "the hungry women on the road, abandoning their babies in the grass", or even the pain of "exchanging children to eat"! And
How can we understand the helplessness of "The meal in the morning is the root of the grass, and the meal in the evening is still the bark of the wood"!"
Hongde Longqiu stared at Meng Xinzhu, has she seen all those scenes?
"How many people in this world can live without eating the fireworks of the world? Life is inherently cruel. When a person can't even afford food and clothing, and can only run around all day long to fill his skin, what else can he do to protect the family and the country?
, to talk about grand ambitions. If a king cannot feed his people, how can the people return to him?" Meng Xinzhu walked slowly, "As the saying goes, 'If you have food at home, you will not panic; if you have no food in your hands, you will starve to death and run away!
'For a country, 'food' is the most important thing! If the people have food, they will be naturally safe. If the people are safe, the country will be stable. If the country is stable, all industries will prosper. If all industries prosper, the country will be strong. If the country is strong, it will be hegemonic!"