My father Liu Xuande

Chapter 418 The Cao Family Proposes Marriage
The decline of sashimi in Han Chinese cuisine is largely attributed to the invention of the iron wok.

New cooking techniques, such as using iron pots, oil, and seasonings like scallions and ginger, have led to the emergence of cooked fish dishes that are less fishy but taste better than fish soup, thus significantly reducing the competitiveness of sashimi.

"Gentlemen, how does this dish taste?"

Looking at the silent gentry and powerful families of Xiapi, Liu Feng asked with a smug expression.

Upon hearing Liu Feng's voice, Cao Bao was the first to come to his senses and immediately replied, "It is truly the most delicious thing I have ever tasted in my life."

Chen Yu nodded in approval, saying, "Having eaten this dish today, I fear I will never taste meat again."

When the scholars and powerful families of Xiapi saw Cao Bao and Chen Yu leading the way in praising the dish, they naturally followed suit, praising this ordinary stir-fried shredded pork to the skies.

Liu Feng was very pleased and then introduced the sesame oil, iron pot and coal stove to everyone present, while also giving a brief introduction to the cooking techniques for stir-frying.

Then, Liu Feng changed the subject and said to Cao Bao, who was full of envy, "Uncle, this set of items is the gift I brought this time. Please don't find it offensive."

Upon hearing that Liu Feng had actually given him the entire set of items, Cao Bao was overjoyed. However, remembering his daughter's words, he suppressed his joy and pretended to decline, saying, "I have heard that a gentleman does not take what others cherish. This item is so precious, how can I accept it? Please keep it for yourself, General Zuo."

"Although this is the first finished product, it is not unique."

Liu Feng laughed and said, "Besides, I have come here to ask for your daughter, my uncle. I made a promise to you worth a thousand pieces of gold in the past, and I have come today to fulfill that promise."

Upon hearing this, Cao Bao was overjoyed, while Chen Yu and the others around him were so jealous and envious that they could no longer keep a smile on their faces.

It should be noted that Chen Yu also has a legitimate daughter, and last year he even tested his nephew Chen Deng, hoping to marry his daughter to Liu Feng.

Chen Deng flatly refused, and he knew very well that unless Liu Bei personally asked, the Chen family might be able to ask for a concubine, but to ask for a principal wife would be presumptuous and arrogant. At that time, Chen Yu was clearly aiming for the principal wife, so how could Chen Deng give him a pleasant look?

For a moment, Cao Bao was so happy he couldn't stop smiling, but he still had to force himself to remain calm and nodded stiffly in agreement, saying, "If that's the case, then Uncle will have to accept it."

Having said that, Cao Bao, still not satisfied, clicked his tongue and continued, "In the blink of an eye, several years have passed. The young master's generous words when he came to my mansion are still ringing in my ears. Only my loyalty has remained unchanged to this day."

The scholars, including Chen Yu, all wore expressions of disdain; this flattery was utterly inept. The powerful clans present, however, beamed with delight and showered Cao Bao with even more blatant praise.

Chen Yu, partly out of jealousy and partly because the bidding by these powerful figures was too underhanded, turned to Liu Feng and asked, "General Zuo, this item is quite rare. I wonder where we can purchase it so that we may also be able to emulate your refined taste."

Cao Bao was naturally displeased by Chen Yu's interruption, but he had become more magnanimous and did not hold it against Chen Yu. Instead, he chimed in, "That's exactly right. What virtue or ability do I have to monopolize this thing? I beg General Zuo to have pity on the people of Xiapi and not hesitate to give me your guidance."

Liu Feng glanced at them approvingly, then reassured them, "I understand your intentions. This item has already begun mass production in Pengcheng and will soon be available in shops across the country, which will surely satisfy your wishes."

Cao Bao and Chen Yu immediately rose from their seats and knelt down, leading all the scholars and powerful figures of Xiapi to follow suit.

"We express our gratitude to General Zuo for his kindness."

Liu Feng feigned surprise, rose from his seat and bowed back, saying, "Why do you all do this? Please rise quickly."

Cao Bao and the others bowed again and said, "Thank you for your kindness, General Zuo."

For a time, both host and guests were delighted.

From then on, the officials of Xiapi all knew that Liu Feng had come to marry Cao Bao's daughter.

After the banquet, Liu Feng arranged for many powerful and influential families to board the ships, and then the fleet headed straight for Xiapi.

That night, Liu Feng stayed at Cao Bao's residence in Xiapi City.

The next day, Liu Feng invited Cao Bao to discuss the timing and specific details of the wedding ceremony.

Although Cao Qing was a concubine, Liu Feng's principal wife position remained vacant, naturally elevating Cao Qing's status. Moreover, she was Liu Feng's first concubine, and strictly speaking, her position was even above Mi Yue's. Furthermore, Liu Feng had already decided to make Cao Bao his heir, so he was very meticulous, specifically coming to Xiapi to set the time and ceremony.

Seeing Liu Feng's serious attitude, Cao Bao was naturally overjoyed, beaming with smiles, and couldn't help but feel that he had made the right choice back then.

Liu Feng and his son truly possessed the qualities of Emperor Gaozu, and Liu Feng was especially grateful for kindness shown to him; what more could he ask for?

The rare and precious items that Liu Feng had displayed at the post station were all betrothal gifts for this plea. In addition, there were also a large amount of snow salt, frost sugar, antiques, and even twenty bolts of precious Shu brocade, showing his great sincerity.

Cao Bao naturally had no objections and agreed to all of Liu Feng's requests, cooperating with Liu Feng in everything he did.

"Uncle, there is one more thing I need to tell you."

Liu Feng's solemn demeanor made Cao Bao's heart tighten.

"What is it you wish to say, my dear nephew?"

Cao Bao immediately stated, "I will do anything I can to help."

Liu Feng laughed and said, "I knew my uncle would help me."

Liu Feng then recounted the matter of the government bonds in detail.

In fact, Liu Feng had no choice. There were too many places to spend money these days, and in this chaotic world, the loss of currency was particularly high.

Fortunately, Liu Feng managed to preserve most of Xuzhou, Yuzhou, and Yangzhou, and a large amount of currency was saved.

However, of these massive amounts of coins, besides some returning to Liu Feng's hands through taxes and trade, a large portion was hoarded and stored by powerful clans and wealthy families.

The hoarding of currency is one of the biggest problems with metal currencies. It can lead to a cash shortage in the entire national social system, and there is no good way to solve it.

The best solution is naturally to replace it with fiat currency, but fiat currency needs to be implemented gradually.

Corvée labor was a persistent problem throughout the feudal era, extremely difficult to solve. Liu Feng simply set a grand goal and then gradually worked to address and resolve the issue.

Compared to fiat currency, this thing is far more complex and terrifying than corvée labor, and it is also much more dangerous.

There are many opportunities to remedy mistakes in corvée labor, but when fiat currency makes a mistake, the difficulty and effectiveness of remediation are much greater.

Therefore, at this stage, Liu Feng is developing encrypted paper money similar to the Tang and Song dynasty's Jiaozi, while also trying to dig out hoards from powerful clans and wealthy families.

Frosting sugar, snow salt, sesame oil, and even modern coal stoves, iron pots, and cooking methods, besides their inherent value, have an unexpected advantage: they force powerful clans to bring out their hoarded metal coins to purchase these supplies.

It was the effects of frosting sugar and snow salt that enabled Liu Feng to amass a large amount of money, which in turn gave him the foundation to select elite troops and distribute military pay to the entire army.

However, this alone was not enough, since not all aristocratic and powerful families were willing to buy sugar and salt. The public bonds that Liu Feng offered were another means of payment.

"An annual interest rate of 5%?"

Cao Bao muttered to himself, "Isn't this interest rate too low?"

Liu Feng sneered inwardly. As expected of my Uncle Leopard, if it were a member of the Mi family sitting opposite me, he would never have asked such a question.

Cao Bao regretted asking the question as soon as he did, and could only awkwardly say, "Nephew, please don't be offended. I'm not concerned about the interest rate, but I'm worried that such a low interest rate might not attract wealthy people to buy."

Liu Feng smiled and shook his head: "Uncle, this public debt is secured by the taxes and land of the General of the Cavalry, the General of the Left, and the four southeastern states. Although the interest rate is low, in these chaotic times, who else but my family can provide such a large loan? Who else can offer such generous collateral?"

Upon hearing this, Cao Bao nodded repeatedly, his mind suddenly clear.

Indeed, as Liu Feng said, in this chaotic world, even trade is difficult to conduct, communication between most of the feudal lords is difficult, and tariffs are extremely heavy.

In other words, Liu Feng's territory has now expanded, making him a target of both Cao Cao and Yuan Shao's efforts to win him over. Furthermore, his trade with Gongsun Zan of Liaodong and Jiaozhi has allowed him to provide them with much-needed supplies, effectively giving him a trade monopoly.

As a result, a large amount of money flowed into Liu Feng's hands.

"I have set a quota of 200 million coins for Xiapi, and the sale will continue until all the coins are sold."

Liu Feng instructed Cao Bao, "For those who wish to purchase, Uncle can record their names and family backgrounds; for those who do not wish to purchase, do not force them."

Cao Bao didn't understand, but that didn't stop him from nodding in agreement: "Don't worry, my dear nephew, your uncle will definitely follow your example and act accordingly."

Liu Feng laughed, surprised that his future father-in-law could actually use idioms.

Subsequently, Cao Bao excused himself and left under the pretext of hosting a banquet.

Liu Feng also had to attend to official business. Although he had returned to Xuzhou, documents were still delivered to his desk via waterway. Moreover, those who received this treatment were usually important matters, and he always hoped to finish them as soon as possible and send them back to Wuzhong.

Now that Cao Bao had taken his leave, Cao Bao was happy to have more time to deal with government affairs.

However, Liu Feng was unaware that after Cao Bao left, he did not go to the kitchen, but instead went to Cao Qing's residence in the backyard.

After listening to Cao Bao's account, Cao Qing almost sighed in despair. Fortunately, from what he said, Liu Feng didn't seem angry.

Seeing his daughter's reaction, Cao Bao asked cautiously, "Qing'er, did I say something wrong?"

“I was not wrong, Father, please do not worry.”

Cao Qing shook his head, reassuring Cao Bao before continuing to ask, "Father, how much of the family's wealth can be used now?"

"Qing'er, why do you say that?"

Cao Bao looked surprised, but then, as if remembering something, he smiled and teased, "Qing'er, don't worry. Your dowry has already been prepared by your father. The abundance of your dowry will certainly not disappoint you."

Upon hearing this, Cao Qing knew that his father had misunderstood, and had to explain, "I remember your kindness, Father. But the reason I brought this up now is not for the dowry. There is another reason."

"Oh?"

Cao Bao's eyes widened, and he asked with even greater confusion, "But Qing'er, you were the one who took care of counting and managing all the valuables in the house. I didn't know anything about it."

Cao Qing sighed and explained helplessly, "It is true that I was in charge of inventorying and cataloging the family's wealth, and I know how much my father spends on things. But what I want to know now is whether my father will have any major needs in the coming year?"

Cao Bao suddenly realized, and after thinking for a moment, he shook his head and said, "I'm afraid it can only be used for your dowry. I won't hide it from you, but about 90% of the family's wealth will go into your dowry."

Cao Qing was shocked, never expecting her father to be so generous to her.

Cao Bao smiled and waved his hand: "I only have one daughter, you. What's the point of having more wealth? It's better to pave the way for my son. Besides, even if only a tenth of it is left, it will be enough for me."

Cao Bao wasn't exaggerating; in the past two years alone, he has received hundreds of millions in dividends from sugar sales.

Liu Feng gave out these dividends in full. Cao Bao was, without exaggeration, a billionaire, with several new money storage facilities in his home.

If Liu Feng were to marry Cao Qing at this time, he might be able to recover a significant amount of losses.

Although according to etiquette these assets belong to Cao Qing personally, Cao Qing was a concubine, not a mistress. Even if she died, if she had children, the dowry would belong to them; if she had no children, the dowry would have to be returned to the Cao family.

However, the disparity in strength between the two sides was too great. If Liu Feng asked to borrow, could Cao Qing refuse?

When Cao Cao was rising to power and suffering a series of defeats, he borrowed all of Lady Ding's dowry.

Cao Bao is only taking 10%, which is indeed very generous to Cao Qing. But even this 10% is a huge sum of money, amounting to tens of millions, so he is not shortchanging himself.

Cao Qing's bright eyes welled up with tears, and Cao Bao's heart softened: "My dear child, why do you have to do this? I am doing this willingly."

Then, Cao Bao deliberately changed the subject, asking, "What exactly did Qing'er mean by what she just said?"

Suppressing his emotions, Cao Qing bowed deeply to Cao Bao and said, "Qing'er humbly begs Father to grant my request."

Why is that?

Cao Bao was taken aback and quickly stepped forward to help Cao Qing up. Seeing the slight blush on the other's fair forehead, he felt a pang of heartache and said, "Just say what you have to say. Why go through all this? How could your father refuse?"

Cao Qing then spoke up, "I would like to ask Father to use all the money he has prepared to buy government bonds as part of my dowry."

Cao Bao was greatly surprised upon hearing this and asked in bewilderment, "Why is that?"

Helpless, Cao Qing could only explain, "Father has prepared a very generous dowry for me, which includes a lot of valuables. However, after I enter the Left General's mansion, my happiness will depend on the Left General's favor. Since we can't use these valuables for the time being, why not use them all to buy government bonds? This will not only earn the Left General's gratitude for our Cao family, but also win the Left General's favor for Qing'er."

After hearing this, Cao Bao suddenly realized that Cao Qing had put in a lot of effort and nodded in agreement, saying, "Qing'er is absolutely right."

Immediately, Cao Bao couldn't help but sigh, "It's a pity that Qing'er is a woman, otherwise her achievements would surely surpass those of her father."

Cao Qing lowered her head and remained silent, a blush spreading across her delicate face, revealing a unique and captivating beauty.

(End of this chapter)