Chapter 2276
"Get up, don't even sleep!" Zhang Jinbao yawned and muttered: "You were supposed to get up early to serve me, but now it's the other way around! Is that ridiculous? They're all so drunk, why don't you go wash up quickly? ! ”
When he returned to the inn last night, he found that all the students were not there. He only left a letter in the room, saying that a local student from Sanya invited them for a night out. Sanya usually does not have a curfew, so there are many places to play at night. Although Zhang Jinbao has not been there much, he also knows that the mentality of young people is like this, and there is no need to worry about local security, so he took a rest without waiting for the students to come back. .
However, when he woke up early in the morning, he found that the students did not bring washing water to the room as they had done a few days ago. He got up and looked at the room where the students lived. He found that all of them were still sleeping soundly, and the smell of alcohol on their bodies showed that These guys must have been quite drunk last night.
After the students were awakened, they hurriedly got up from the bed, got dressed in two or two, hurriedly said "Good morning, Dean" to Zhang Jinbao, and then hurried out to wash up. Zhang Jinbao shook his head and thought that Sanya was indeed a different world from Danzhou. These students were all honest people who performed well in the academy. Unexpectedly, they had only been in Sanya for a few days and they had already learned to sneak out at night to drink and have fun.
When they were sitting around having breakfast, Zhang Jinbao asked them what happened last night.
It turned out that when these students were traveling around Sanya a few days ago, they met several local students. Young people have many topics in common and it is easy to make friends. After some conversation, they became familiar with each other. However, because the people from Qiongxi Academy could not stay in Sanya for a few days, they agreed to host them on a night trip to Sanya before they left. It happened that Zhang Jinbao was going to attend an officially arranged martial arts competition yesterday, so these students came to kill first and then show off, leaving a letter at the inn and sneaking out.
The local young man who was the host hired a sailboat and invited these Danzhou visitors to go fishing. Then the hired cook would cook the freshly harvested fish and shrimp on the boat, and then drink a small meal while enjoying the sea breeze. Drink and talk about various topics.
It is said that this kind of activity was the favorite of some high-ranking officials in Haihan, and later it slowly spread to the people and was imitated. However, wealthy and well-established businessmen generally do not like this way of socializing, because going to sea is not really a pleasant experience for businessmen. However, those young people who are proud of the Haihan lifestyle soon learned this way. A pastime for the upper echelons of society.
Of course, these young people with few overnight worries would not understand that the purpose of Haihan senior officials in arranging such activities was to temporarily leave the work environment and relieve stress. They purely use this as a form of entertainment, and completely copy the arrangements of the dignitaries. There is only sea fishing and eating and drinking, and there will not be any singers, dancers, storytellers, etc. appearing on the boat to spoil the mood.
However, in order to have a good time, there were originally plans to go ashore to other places after the sea fishing activity was over, but everyone chatted happily on the boat and did not return to the port until after dark. However, these people from Qiongxi Academy usually had less social activities and were too drunk to drink. At this time, they could no longer hold on to the next appointment. They were also worried that Zhang Jinbao would inquire about their whereabouts after returning to the inn, so they took the initiative to leave and agreed to meet up next time. See you again.
The group of people sneaked back to the inn and found that Zhang Jinbao had already rested, and they went to sleep peacefully. However, due to the drunkenness, they all failed to wake up on time in the morning, and Zhang Jinbao was caught in the act.
After hearing this, Zhang Jinbao snorted coldly: "If I have spare money to rent a boat for you to go out to sea, I guess the other party is not an ordinary person. Have you ever asked about the other party's background?"
A student responded: "Dean, we have inquired around and found out that the two people who acted as hosts yesterday are in-laws of high-ranking officials. It is said that their families are engaged in business."
When Zhang Jinbao heard this, he thought it was no wonder. Even if the in-laws of high-ranking officials do not pursue an official career, they must still belong to the privileged class in the local area. Zhang Xin, the mayor of Danzhou, married a local woman as his concubine. The woman's family was originally just an ordinary country squire, but now she has become one of the largest grain merchants in Danzhou. This opportunity to make a fortune is naturally closely related to the marriage. There is no need for Zhang Xin to personally provide resources. Someone will naturally find ways to provide convenience for him, and even take the initiative to bring money-making opportunities to his door.
Sanya is the capital city of Haihan State, where senior officials are concentrated, and there are hundreds of them. And there are countless in-laws enjoying the shade under these big trees.
Those who are lucky enough to climb a high branch will usually receive some degree of care. If there are suitable candidates in the family, they can be sent to a certain place to be a moderate official, and then slowly work their way up through seniority. If you are not suitable for this bowl of rice, senior officials will also provide you with some resources so that you can quickly accumulate wealth through doing business.
These young people from wealthy families not only have many connections in the local area, but also have far more property at their disposal than ordinary people. The money they spend on eating, drinking and having fun is just a small amount for them.
Zhang Jinbao saw that the students couldn't figure out each other's true identities and backgrounds, so it was inconvenient to talk about each other. He could only bring the topic back and advised the students to focus on their studies. If they can rely on their ability to study in Sanya in the future, , the academy will also distribute corresponding rewards to them.
In fact, Qiongxi Academy has sent many talents to Sanya over the years, including students taught by Zhang Jinbao himself. However, perhaps because of the technical training route taken by Qiongxi Academy, most of the graduates exported are engaged in technical jobs, so there have been no influential senior officials so far.
This also makes Qiongxi Academy’s high-level connections in Sanya almost non-existent. Every time Zhang Jinbao comes to Sanya, he is busy socializing. In fact, he also wants to get to know more high-level people through various channels and accumulate resources for the development of the academy and himself. . Of course, if the students happened to take a shortcut, he would not object. After all, this was the capital of Haihan. Maybe the young man who drank and chatted with the students yesterday was a junior in the family of a high-ranking Haihan official.
Therefore, Zhang Jinbao did not blame the students for their extraordinary behavior last night. He just asked them to pack their luggage after breakfast and prepare to leave Sanya later.
After about half an hour, someone came to see Zhang Jinbao. The visitor claimed to be Fu Ruifeng's clerk and asked Zhang Jinbao and the students to pack their bags and follow him to the port to board the ship.
Zhang Jinbao said: "Brother, please tell me which pier to board the ship. I will take the students to have lunch later, and you can find it yourself."
The waiter responded: "Dean Zhang, don't go to such trouble. My third young master has ordered that everyone from Qiongxi Academy can wait on the boat first. As for lunch, a banquet has been booked in the city and someone will bring it to the boat. Everyone Just dine on board.”
"How can you be so embarrassed! Third Young Master, this is too polite!" Zhang Jinbao thought to himself that Li Nai really has a way with people. It's no wonder that he can talk and laugh with high-level officials from various countries in the past few days, and he can do it with ease. Who wouldn't like to be like him? What about dealing with people who are easy to get along with?
Zhang Jinbao declined, but the clerk still insisted, saying that this was Li Nai's sincere invitation. If he couldn't invite everyone from Qiongzhou Academy, it would be difficult for him to do business then. So Zhang Jinbao had to ask him to wait for a while and let the students take out their luggage, check out, and set off for the port. When I arrived at the door of the inn, I saw that Fulifeng had specially sent two carriages. One was a caravan used to carry students and luggage, and the other was a four-wheel box carriage officially produced by Haihan. This kind of high-end carriage is generally only eligible for purchase by high-ranking officials. Although Zhang Jinbao is considered a prominent figure in the local area, he has only ridden in this kind of carriage twice with Zhang Xin.
With Li Nai's reputation and social status, having such a carriage is naturally not a super-standard treatment, but for Zhang Jinbao, it is a bit flattering. He said to the clerk: "Isn't this the third young master's special carriage? If it delays his business, how can Zhang afford it!"
The clerk smiled and said: "Dean Zhang, don't worry. Our branch of Furifeng in Sanya has four such carriages. This one is not for the exclusive use of the third young master, but is used to pick up distinguished guests like Dean Zhang. Please Go! ”
Upon hearing this, Zhang Jinbao couldn't help but secretly sigh at Furifeng's wealth. He had heard a wealthy businessman in Danzhou talk about the price of this kind of carriage with glass windows as its distinctive feature. The most basic model alone costs more than a thousand. Yuan, if you want to upgrade to higher-grade wood, larger glass windows, more comfortable seats, better wheel shock-absorbing structures, add roof racks, windproof oil lamps, nameplate badges and other accessories, or even If the whole vehicle is customized, the price will also rise accordingly, even if it costs tens of thousands.
The market price of an ordinary flat-bed cart is only about a hundred yuan, and with a hood it can be pulled along with people and goods. In comparison, this box-type carriage can be called a luxury product.
Of course, even so, the sales of this kind of carriage are in short supply. I heard that there are many wealthy businessmen in the Fuguang area of Ming Dynasty who regard owning such a carriage as a symbol of status, and orders often need to wait several months for delivery. If the whole vehicle is customized, the labor hours required will be doubled, and it is possible to wait for a year and a half.
When Zhang Jinbao got on the car, he noticed that there was a brass badge one inch wide and three inches long embedded in the door. The content was a reduced version of the Furifeng sign. Obviously, this carriage was not an ordinary mass-market product, but an exclusive custom-made one by Furifeng. payment. The two packhorses pulling the cart are also sleek and smooth. It seems that Furifeng attaches great importance to the details of these facades. There are two words everywhere - rich.
After expressing some envy in his heart, Zhang Jinbao got into the carriage, and then the two cars drove slowly along the landscape avenue towards Victory Port, one behind the other.
In the past, when Zhang Xin and Zhang Xin rode in this kind of carriage together, Zhang Jinbao was always trepidatious and did not dare to stare around to avoid offending Zhang Xin. Now sitting alone in the carriage, he could finally raise his head and look at the scene outside through the glass window.
Seeing the envious looks from passers-by on the street, Zhang Jinbao unconsciously sat upright. He suddenly realized that the existence value of this kind of carriage was actually to highlight the status of the rider. Even if he was not the owner of the carriage, he must be either rich or noble in the eyes of uninformed passers-by.
But this experience ended soon. When the carriage arrived at a pier in Victory Port, the man opened the door and asked Zhang Jinbao to get off.
"This is the Third Young Master's ship."
Zhang Jinbao looked in the direction pointed by the man, and he recognized it as an exploration-class sailboat. However, compared with the navy model, it lacked the gun windows on the side of the ship, and it did not look as aggressive.
Because it is equipped with multiple cannons, the naval model of the Discovery-class warship has a capacity of one hundred people. However, after changing to a civilian model, it is obvious that there is no need for so many sailors on the ship, and more space can be freed up to provide relatively comfortable accommodation. living space. Li Nai asked all the people from Qiongxi Academy to take his boat, so that even if the number of people doubled, they could still accommodate them.
At that moment, the waiter had already asked several sailors to disembark, help carry all the luggage of Zhang Jinbao and his party to the ship, and then said goodbye to Zhang Jinbao. Zhang Jinbao took out the banknotes and wanted to reward him as a reward, but the man smiled and refused, waved his hand, and led the two carriages out of the port.
After Zhang Jinbao asked the sailors on the ship, he found out that the guy who had just sent him here was actually a senior steward of Fulifeng Sanya branch. Although he was not a descendant of the Li family, he was still somewhat related to the Li family. relationship, and he was promoted by Li Nai single-handedly. Zhang Jinbao suddenly felt very annoyed, and thought that his attempt to reward the other party just now was really reckless, so he should not offend the other party.
Li Nai arranged two cabins for the academy students on the ship, and Zhang Jinbao was of course in a higher class and enjoyed the treatment of a single cabin. Although this single cabin is only five feet wide and one foot deep, it is fully equipped with tables, chairs, bed cabinets and necessary supplies. There is also a porthole on the side of the ship for lighting and ventilation. This condition is already better than that of other cabins. The boat we came on was much better.
After settling down, there was nothing to do. Zhang Jinbao didn't want to be bored in the cabin, so he went out of the cabin and went to the deck to chat with the sailors on the ship.
These sailors are also well-informed. After Zhang Jinbao chatted for a while, he found that the places they had been to were far better than his own, and their vision and knowledge were no worse than those of the businessmen he usually came into contact with.
Near noon, sure enough, a few restaurant waiters carrying food loads came to the pier, and all the dishes they delivered were hot. There is a small hall on the second deck of the ship, which is usually used as a sailor's mess. Zhang Jinbao and others are arranged to have meals here.
"The third young master said that the wine sold here is average, so he only ordered dishes. If Dean Zhang wants to drink, there will be all kinds of good wine on the ship, including white wine, yellow wine, fruit wine and rice wine. Just give the order and the servant will bring it over immediately." The sailor responsible for receiving them even explained why there were no bottles or jars at the table.
(End of chapter)