Yan Liqiang and his party had just arrived at the gate of Lu's Fortress when he saw the Lu family's butler waiting at the gate with two rows of Lu family servants. When they saw Yan Liqiang's carriage coming, Lu's butler personally led the way and welcomed the carriage in...
Although it was snowing, the road from the gate of Lujiabao to the Lu family mansion was swept spotlessly clean, revealing the bluestone ground beneath the road. On both sides of the road, every few meters there stood a servant of the Lu family with his head held high. Such a scene was truly grand.
"Who is that person?" Yan Dechang in the carriage pointed at Steward Lu who was leading the way and asked Yan Liqiang.
"That man is the steward of the Lu family, named Lu Qi. He is an elder of the Lu family and very capable. He is also trusted by the old man of the Lu family. Lu Wenbin and several other stewards in Liuhe Town are all under the steward Lu!" Yan Liqiang explained, "Old Master Lu knew that you were coming, so he made a grand arrangement!"
Yan Dechang shook his head. "I'm just a blacksmith. How can I deserve the Lu family's treatment? The Lu family is so grand because of you. This is the saying that a father is honored by his son!"
"No matter what I am, I am still your son!"
Yan Dechang laughed...
The carriage stopped at the gate of the Lu family compound. Yan Liqiang and Yan Dechang got off the carriage. Even though it was still snowing, all the important figures of the Lu family, from Mr. Lu down, including Mr. Lu's sons including Lu Payne, and a little grandson, were already waiting at the gate.
Looking at the two live deer on the carriage that followed Yan Liqiang, the people of the Lu family looked at each other and all smiled. According to the tradition of Ganzhou and the Northwest, this pair of live deer is not something that can be given casually. Only when the man of the in-laws who are going to get married formally comes to the door for the first time, will they give a pair of live deer. Of course, this is also the style of the wealthy families. Ordinary small families who can't afford a pair of live deer will give a pair of live fish, which has auspicious meanings. Among the pile of gifts sent by the Yan family this time, there is a pair of live deer, which means that the marriage between the Yan family and the Lu family is settled. The people of the Lu family are of course happy, especially Mr. Lu, who can get rid of a big thing in his heart.
"Mr. Yan, I've heard a lot about you!" As soon as Yan Dechang got off the carriage, Mr. Lu came over with a happy face and laughed loudly. He enthusiastically grabbed Yan Dechang's hands and said, "I've wanted to meet Mr. Yan for a long time. Mr. Yan gave birth to a good son. Hahahaha..."
"Thank you, old man. Thank you for sending me the elixir last time I was injured!" The old man's enthusiasm made Yan Dechang feel less reserved. Yan Dechang said simply, "I am just a rough man, a blacksmith. Don't be too polite to me, old man. No one has ever called me Mr. Yan like that before. It makes me uncomfortable when you call me like that!"
Old Master Lu smiled, "Hahaha, fine then, I'll just call you my father-in-law, and you don't have to call me Grandpa anymore. I'm only a few years older than you, so if you don't mind, you can just call me Brother Lu!"
"Okay, then I will call you Brother Lu from now on. We are family now. Being too polite will only make things awkward!"
"Father-in-law is right. This family is too polite and it makes them feel distant!" Grandpa Lu smiled and pointed at Lu Pei'en and the men next to him and introduced them to Yan Dechang. "This is my eldest son Shun'en. This is my fifth son Zhong'en. Father-in-law should have met my sixth son Pei'en. This is my seventh son Xu'en. I have nine children. Except for Beixin, the other daughters are already married. The farthest one married to Ganzhou City. We seldom see each other once a year or two. Except for Shun'en who stays at home, the other sons are away all year round to take care of the family business. Zhong'en runs Oujie coal and a restaurant in Pingxi City. Xu'en is in another county and looks after two mines and a pasture. He rarely goes home..."
Following the introduction by Mr. Lu, several men of the Lu family greeted Yan Dechang respectfully one by one. Yan Liqiang had more or less seen all of Lu Peien's brothers except Lu Xuen, but it was the first time he met Lu Xuen. Lu Xuen looked quite young, about 20 to 30 years old, and had some similarities with Lu Beixin in his features. He was a handsome man with a neat figure and a amiable look with a smile on his face.
When he saw Lu Xuen, Yan Liqiang was a little surprised, because he felt that Lu Xuen was a man of perfect spirit and energy, but somewhat hidden. He had already advanced to the level of Dragon-Tiger Warrior, and had condensed his energy deep into his bones, and it seemed that he wanted to advance to the level of a martial artist.
"This is my eldest grandson Shaolin. Shaolin's life was saved by Li Qiang that day!" Grandpa Lu touched his eldest grandson's head lovingly.
"Lu Shaolin meets Grandpa Yan and Uncle Liqiang!" Lu Shaolin stepped forward solemnly and bowed deeply to Yan Dechang and Yan Liqiang. After not seeing them for several years, the child whose life was saved by Yan Liqiang that day had grown up a lot.
"Grandpa, it's still snowing. Let's not talk here. Let's go inside!" Yan Liqiang looked around and laughed, "I brought two new water-fire machines from the manufacturing bureau to the Lu family this time. One can saw wood and the other can grind grain. I'll have someone bring them down later and demonstrate them to you..."
"Okay, okay, okay, let's go in and talk about it. I've heard Payne talk about the magic of the water fire machine a long time ago. I didn't expect that the manufacturing bureau has already been able to make it. It's just right that we can see it today and let the people in Lujiazhuang see it..."
As Mr. Lu said this, a group of people from the Lu family welcomed the Yan father and son into the mansion. The remaining servants of the Yan family carried the things that Yan Liqiang had sent from the car one by one. The two steam engines were a bit heavy, but after the servants of the Lu family rushed forward, they were easily lifted off the car.
Yan Liqiang and his son and the Lu family came to the hall of the Lu family. Naturally, they drank tea and chatted about the past. With Yan Liqiang and Lu Pei'en there, there were so many things to talk about, from lotus root coal to water lighters, from Yan Liqiang's past in the Imperial Capital to the old days at the Lu family. The scene was full of joy and there was no need to worry about dull silence. Yan Dechang was a bit straightforward, while Old Man Lu was experienced. As the two of them chatted, they became more and more compatible.
They had been sitting in the living room for less than half an hour when the Lu family's housekeeper came in and said that the water and fire machine had been prepared in the yard. The Lu family was very excited and came out to watch together.
The Lu family's yard was crowded with people. Although there was a little snowflakes flying around, it could not dampen the enthusiasm in everyone's hearts.
The steam engine was emitting hot air, driving a circular saw blade to rotate rapidly. Several servants of the Lu family found a few pieces of wood that were as thick as a man's arms and pushed them onto the saw table. With a sharp whistle, wood chips flew everywhere. In the blink of an eye, the wood was cut into two pieces. Compared with manual cutting, the speed was more than a hundred times faster...
The servants and maids of the Lu family, who were seeing this scene for the first time, were stunned for a moment, and then they shouted loudly. Even Mr. Lu and Lu Pei'en were surprised. Although Lu Pei'en had seen the water lighter when it was turned on, it was the first time he saw the water lighter driving the saw blade to saw wood...
"If we tie a rope to this rotating wheel, I wonder if it can be used for mining to pull the mined ore out of the mine?" Lu Xuen suddenly asked.
"As long as it's modified, it should be possible..." Yan Liqiang replied.
"This thing is incredible..." Mr. Lu stared at it for a while and commented excitedly, "One of these can saw wood faster than dozens of people. As long as you have one of these, you can open a sawmill and make money..."
(End of this chapter)