Giant Ship Across the Song Dynasty: My Supplies Come from My Motherland

Chapter 39, The so-called "everything is difficult at the beginning".

"A tea party? What kind of tea party would you attend? Wouldn't that just be humiliating?"

When Cao Wenda came to deliver the money to Lin Zhou, he learned that Lin Zhou had been invited to a tea party. Old Cao almost laughed himself to death after hearing the news.

What kind of place is that tea party? It's a gathering place for the young masters and ladies of Lin'an City. The people who go there, if not exceptionally talented, must at least be very learned. Lin Zhou, a traveling merchant who can't even speak official fluently, going to such a place? That's ridiculous.

"It was Wanyan Hongliu who invited me."

"Go! We absolutely have to go!"

Cao Wenda didn't even listen to what Lin Zhou had to say. As soon as he heard the name Wanyan Hongliu, his attitude changed immediately. He never expected that his little brother could connect with the nobles of the Jin Kingdom so quickly, something he had tried countless times to achieve but failed.

"Brother Cao, wasn't Wanyan Hongliu here for a political marriage? She said so herself. Why hasn't she married yet?"

Cao Wenda looked around and whispered in Lin Zhou's ear, "No one is willing to marry her. She is a princess of the royal family, but she came here not for a marriage alliance but for friendly relations between the Song and Jin dynasties."

"Oh!!!" Lin Zhou slapped his thigh: "She's the kind of person who wants to marry a decent Song family man, and then spread the word that 'Look, the Song and Jin families are one family, our noble lady and your son can also be loving and affectionate.'"

"Hey! That's right!" Cao Wenda clapped his fan in his hand: "That's it! But it's not going smoothly. This marriage can't be arranged, but none of my Han men are willing to marry that Jurchen. As time goes on, it's been delayed. Prince Rui is furious, but he can't force a cow to drink water."

"There must be someone eager to marry her, after all, she is the daughter of a prince, her status is undeniable."

"Wanyan Zongbi is failing," Cao Wenda said in a low voice. "In the past two years, Wanyan Zongbi has been in poor health and is no longer able to control the government. The Jin state is also in turmoil. Once Wanyan Zongbi dies, who knows what the situation will be like? Alright, alright, I won't say any more. You may go."

After saying that, he slapped the 30,000 strings of cash that Qin Hui had taken in front of Lin Zhou: "This is a reward from the master. The master said that you are a very good young man, so don't disappoint him."

Lin Zhou accepted the money, glanced at Cao Wenda, and then took out three thousand strings of cash and handed it over: "Brother Cao, you've worked hard."

Cao Wenda was taken aback for a moment, then reached out and took it, patting Lin Zhou's shoulder imperceptibly: "Do a good job, the master won't let you down, and neither will the officials."

"I know, I know."

Lin Zhou clutched the banknotes in his hand and watched Lao Cao leave with a smile. He had now roughly pieced together the whole story. It turned out that Da Chuan'er couldn't get married because Wanyan Zongbi was about to fall. He would definitely investigate when Wanyan Zongbi died next time he went back. It seemed that these people had a really keen sense of smell.

However, Miss Hongliu probably didn't know the intricacies of the situation; she simply thought it was a joke that she couldn't get married.

But what could Lin Zhou say? He was just someone on a business trip; he should respect other people's fates...

Things have been relatively quiet these past few days. Lin Zhou has been spending his money buying things all over the city—antiques, books, and daily necessities, among other things. His identity as a peddler is a perfect cover; no one cares why a peddler would buy these odds and ends, because that's exactly what he's selling…

Until the morning of three days later, although Miss Hongliu had come to pester Lin Zhou for stories every day, she rarely dressed up so beautifully.

The girl, who was only ten years old, was already quite pretty, and today she was dressed up even more like a blooming peach blossom. Her attire as a noblewoman of the Han Dynasty truly made Lin Zhou's small shop feel more elegant and radiant.

"Hurry up and change your clothes, it's time for the tea party."

"It's your mother's birthday tomorrow, are you going to the tea party today?"

Wanyan Hongliu pouted and said with some dissatisfaction, "Isn't it her who made me go? She said that if I don't get married soon, I'll become an old maid, and she tells me to seduce men every day."

"You asked me to seduce men and you took me with you? Do you hate me to death?"

"I'm taking you!" Wanyan Hongliu glared at Lin Zhou. "If I don't take you, nobody will listen to me there, and my brother won't go either."

"He refused to go, so you called me?"

"Take it!" Wanyan Hongliu slapped out one hundred strings of cash: "I'll buy you for one day!"

Lin Zhou weighed the light-weight banknote in his hand and chuckled, "Alright, then I'll be Miss Wanyan's customer today, and I'll be your follower."

The two chattered and bickered as they strolled to the manor on the outskirts of the city. Since the theme of the day was to appreciate snow and plum blossoms, a top-notch combination that has been popular since ancient times, the manor was naturally packed with guests.

Lin Zhou looked down at his clothes and felt that he looked like a monkey dressed as a human, both in terms of temperament and demeanor. He was completely different from those elegant young men, and could even be said to be out of place.

But every time he saw those people wearing satin jackets, he felt like laughing... When he was a child, there was a quilt at home made of the same material, which made him feel very familiar with it.

"Oh no, I've turned into a golden man."

Lin Zhou looked around at everyone who treated him like he was nothing, and then glanced at Wanyan Hongliu, who was sitting there looking up at him.

"Right..." Wanyan Hongliu said helplessly, "They're ignoring me..."

They're genuinely polite, but they're also genuinely avoiding you. In a sense, how can this not be a form of bullying?

But if we're talking about who's wrong, actually, no one is. Hongliu isn't wrong; she's just a teenage girl, maybe a high school sophomore or junior at most. And those guys weren't wrong? No, they were all around the same age. Is it wrong for them not to want to be traitors?

If no one is wrong, then who is wrong?

It's so hard to guess...

"What are you thinking about?" Hongliu tugged at Lin Zhou's sleeve. "You've suddenly stopped talking."

Lin Zhou, sleeves rolled up, leaned against a pillar: "I'm thinking about how to get them to talk to us."

"No, I'm a golden man. They'll talk to me, but they'll be overly polite, which is kind of boring..."

"No, no, no..." Lin Zhou coughed, pursed his lips, and pondered for a moment: "This has nothing to do with whether or not it's a golden man. We haven't closed the social distance yet, so we need to break the ice."

After standing with his hands on his hips and thinking for a while, he suddenly shouted, "Everyone, look at me! Look at me!"

Lin Zhou's sudden shout drew everyone's attention, and they discovered that it was the little follower of the Jin princess. They didn't have much affection for this kind of traitor, but they couldn't stand his sudden chatter. Although it was somewhat offensive, they didn't dare to offend the Jin princess, as the saying goes, "beat a dog, but look at its owner."

"I've been invited by Miss Wanyan to broaden my horizons today. I'm not very cultured and can't recite poetry or songs, but I have traveled extensively in my younger days." Lin Zhou coughed. "How about I share a few interesting tales with you all today?"

None of the people present had ever seen such a unique little gadget before, and they couldn't help but feel a bit curious. Lin Zhou then walked to a table and said, "The first story is The Ring... It happened in Japan. I heard it by chance when I was a merchant back then, and I'm sharing it with you all today."

After saying that, he picked up a paperweight and slammed it on the table like a gavel.

"I don't want to hear it... I don't want to hear it..." Wanyan Hongliu, standing beside her, covered her ears, her face pale, and she looked like she was about to cry: "Don't talk..."

Her seemingly unrealistic behavior piqued the curiosity of others, leading many to gravitate towards her.