Republic of China: Guandong Ginseng King

Chapter 495 Finale (Part )

Qu Shaoyang was overjoyed, but after waiting for a long time, he saw no movement from the stone gate.

This shouldn't be the case. The jade pendant is indeed embedded inside. This should be the key. Qu Shaoyang was puzzled and could only look around.

At this time, Zhenbang came forward and carefully looked at the hole and jade pendant on the stone door.

"Dad, let's press it together and hold it hard.

If there is no response, try pushing it up, down, left, and right to see if it works.”

Qu Shaoyang thought it was right, so the father and son pressed the jade pendant hard from the left and right.

Sure enough, it was different. When they pressed hard, the jade pendant sank inwards.

Immediately, a very unpleasant creaking noise came from under the stone door.

"All of you stay away. What if there are traps inside?" Qu Shaoyang turned around and instructed Qu Jiang and the others.

Everyone retreated as instructed, and then they saw the stone door opening little by little at a very slow speed.

Fortunately, no bows, crossbows, arrows or the like were shot out from inside. Instead, some light came through the crack in the door.

Everyone was very curious and didn't know what was behind the stone gate, so they waited patiently.

After about a quarter of an hour, the stone door was finally opened to more than two feet wide.

Through the crack in the door, everyone could clearly see a very soft light emanating from inside.

It was not the dazzling light emitted by electric lamps or torches, but rather a hazy and dreamy feeling.

"Zhenzong, Zhentang, you two come and hold the doors until they are all open.

Third brother, fifth brother, please follow me in and be careful."

Qu Shaoyang couldn't wait to see what was behind the stone gate, so he called his two sons to come over and open the door.

He brought his men and carefully checked through the two-foot-wide gap in the door.

When everyone walked into the stone gate, they were stunned.

No one expected that at the end of this fork in the road, behind the stone gate, there was actually a very spacious cave.

This cave must have been artificially excavated. Unlike the outside world, there are no stalagmites and stalactites of various shapes. On the contrary, the stone walls are very smooth, and there are four stone pillars thicker than humans.

On top of the stone pillar, there were several beads the size of a human fist.

It is these beads that emit the hazy and soft light that allows people to see clearly what is happening inside the cave.

At this time, everyone looked towards the ground of the cave and saw large and small wooden boxes piled on the ground.

Some boxes are more than one person long and half a person tall, while others are about the same size as the ones you use to store clothes at home, and some are even smaller.

"Be careful, open the box and have a look."

All the boxes were unlocked, just closed.

Qu Shaoyang found a medium-sized box, gently pried open the lid with the knife in his hand, and then saw the golden things inside the box.

"Hey, Gold."

Yes, there is gold in this box, but not gold ingots, but some gold objects that look like bowls, plates, wine glasses, wine jugs and the like.

But no matter which one it is, it's all golden and looks like new.

"Oh, there is gold here too, a box of gold cakes." Qu Jiang exclaimed on the other end.

He has been in charge of the gold mine for so many years, how could he not recognize gold? The quality of this gold is very good at first glance.

At this time, everyone opened the boxes one after another. More than ten of them were full of gold, including gold bars, gold bricks, gold ingots, gold cakes, and various gold utensils.

In addition, there are many jewelry and various kinds of gemstones and jade.

Those particularly large boxes were filled with weapons, including the scimitar that Qu Shaoyang had picked up before, straight swords, and maces, the kind with four edges.

In addition, there were some spears, spears, halberds, lances and even some weapons that Qu Shaoyang couldn't name, which were strange in shape.

There were also some boxes filled with a lot of armor, which looked exactly like what Qu Shaoyang saw in his dream.

“This is probably a treasure house left behind by some dynasty in the north.

It feels like it was left there at the end of the dynasty so that future generations could make a comeback.”

When Zhenye saw so many treasures, his eyes lit up.

Judging from his professional intuition, the gold in front of him must be at least hundreds of thousands of taels, or even millions of taels.

As for those jewellery, they are also worth a lot of money.

Even those weapons and armors are antiques. If they are sold, there are many people abroad who will collect them and pay very high prices for them.

"Dad, what are you going to do with these things? Should we take them away or leave them here?"

Zhenye was so excited that his voice trembled. As a huge money-lover, how could he not be excited with so many gold, silver and treasures in front of him?

"Take them all away, take them all away and confiscate them. I was planning to build a few universities, but I was worried about not having enough money. Now I have the money, right?"

Qu Shaoyang was also very excited. It should be said that no matter who it was, it would be impossible for them to remain calm after seeing so much gold, silver and treasures.

However, Qu Shaoyang did not think of taking these things for himself. His first thought was that he had enough money to build a university.

After all, the Qu family is already very wealthy, and this is indeed a huge fortune, but Qu Shaoyang is not greedy enough.

"Dad, how many universities do you want to build? These should be enough for you to build hundreds of them, right?" Zhenye said, not knowing whether to laugh or cry when he heard this.

"You think there are too many universities? Why can't a province have about ten?

With the remaining money, we can buy ships, planes, cannons, or build railways.

What your father needs most right now is money, and I want as much as I can get."

Qu Shaoyang doesn't care about those things. If he doesn't seize the time to develop now, what will happen in the future?

After Qu Shaoyang said this, it was difficult for everyone to object, after all, they were just there to help.

Besides, each family is living quite well now, and even though there are many treasures in front of them, they will not make them turn against each other.

The old man once said that most of this unexpected wealth cannot be kept.

Don't ruin your blessings because of these things. Confiscation is the best solution.

But with so many things, it was obviously impossible for just a few of them to get them out.

In desperation, Qu Shaoyang could only send Xingjia, Zhenwen and Zhenwu away and go back to find help.

Call the entourage and guards they brought with them, as well as the artillerymen and farmhands of the Qu family, and transport the things back at night, and then find a way to transport them back to Fengtian.

Just like that, Xingjia led Zhenwen and Zhenwu back to find helpers, while Qu Shaoyang and others stayed here to find a way to fix the stone door so that it would not malfunction and suddenly close.

Then, everyone just waited here quietly.

It was not until the late night, almost dawn, that the three members of the Xing family arrived with about a hundred people and various tools.

Then, everyone thought of various ways to move everything out of the cave without leaving anything behind.

In the end, even the night pearls on the stone pillars were all picked off.

Qu Shaoyang knew that those night-shining pearls all had radiation and were not good for humans.

But this thing is valuable. One piece is priceless, and there are eight in total.

Take it back and find a way to sell it, or you can keep it and exchange it for a cannon.

After a whole day's work, they finally moved everything out of the cave, carried it to the entrance of the valley, and loaded it onto the carriage.

Then, taking advantage of the night, he drove the carriage back to Qu's enclosure.

After running back and forth all night, I finally managed to transport all the things back.

Immediately afterwards, Qu Shaoyang sent a telegram to Fengtian, asking them to send a special train.

With so many valuables, we can't just take them back on a normal train, right? We have to use a special train to transport them back.

A few days later, a telegram came from Fengtian saying that the special train had been arranged and was heading this way.

Sure enough, more than a day later, the special train arrived at Linjiang Station.

It was still those people who took advantage of the cover of night to load those boxes, mixed with other goods, into several carriages.

Qu Shaoyang asked Qu Jiang to take out some money and give 100 silver dollars to each of the attendants, guards, gunners and workers who were helping to carry things, as a reward for their hard work and also as a hush money.

After working hard for a few days, everyone earned a hundred silver dollars and was very happy.

In fact, they also knew that the boxes they were moving were full of gold, silver and treasures, but even if they were alive to get those things, they would have to have the life to spend them.

Instead of being envious, it is better to hold the hundred silver dollars in your hand honestly. At this moment, one hundred silver dollars can do a lot of things.

After sending everyone away, Qu Shaoyang and his son accompanied Qu Laokouer and his wife onto the special train, which had berths specially arranged for the old couple so they could lie down and rest.

The special train departed at the pre-arranged time and headed straight for Fengtian City without stopping.

When they arrived in Fengtian, Qu Shaoyang asked someone to call Wang Minyuan over and told him that the boxes in the car were all prepared for him and asked Wang Minyuan to take charge of the arrangements.

Wang Minyuan was about to ask what it was when he saw Zhenye winking at him.

Zhenye has been following Wang Minyuan for some time, and the master and disciple have a perfect understanding with each other.

Seeing this, Wang Minyuan realized that there must be good stuff in the car, so he happily accepted it.

After handing the things to Wang Minyuan, Qu Shaoyang didn't care about anything else and directly escorted his parents back home.

It took Qu Shaoyang more than twenty days to go back to Linjiang.

At first, Chen Xiuyun was not very anxious, but later she became a little impatient because she was worried about the safety of her husband and children.

Seeing her husband and children return safely and her parents-in-law taking them over, Chen Xiuyun finally felt relieved.

"Dad, Mom, your accommodation has already been arranged. This place is actually the same as Linjiang, there is no difference.

The girls who will serve you closely are still these few. I have also transferred a few wives and maids over here. You can stay here with peace of mind and live out your retirement.

With Shao Yang's current status, if he still leaves his parents behind in his hometown, people will gossip about him behind his back."

Chen Xiuyun helped her mother-in-law walk into the yard while explaining things to her parents-in-law.

Qu Shaoyang couldn't say this, so it was most appropriate for Chen Xiuyun to say it.

What Qu Laokouer cares about most now is the future of his children and grandchildren. Therefore, after hearing what Chen Xiuyun said, Qu Laokouer no longer objected and agreed to stay.

Qu Shaoyang had been back to his hometown for so long that his work was delayed a lot. After he came back, he was really busy for a long time.

On the other hand, Wang Minyuan and Zhenye, the master and apprentice, were also busy for a long time and finally organized all the things they brought back this time.

All the gold and gold products were finally counted, amounting to more than nine hundred thousand taels.

Those jewellery items were sold directly for a good sum of money.

Under Qu Zhenye's operation, weapons, armor and other items were sold at very high prices through several foreign auction houses.

As for the eight night-shining pearls, they were sold for an astronomical figure.

With this money, Qu Shaoyang immediately became more confident and started building schools and universities.

We run all of them, including science and technology universities, agricultural universities, medical universities, and normal universities.

If we don’t have enough teachers, we can invite famous professors from abroad. We have money and we look like local rich people.

After a busy day, autumn has arrived and the temperature is getting lower and lower.

The wedding of Zhenbang and Zhenye was scheduled for the 26th day of the ninth lunar month. These days, everyone in the mansion was busy preparing for the wedding of the two young masters. According to the old rules, brothers from the same family should not get married in the same year, otherwise, one of them would live a good life while the other would not.

But Zhenbang is twenty-four, Zhenye is twenty-two, He Zewen is twenty, and Xu Xuqing is eighteen. They are all not young anymore, and it is really not good to postpone it any further.

Especially the woman's side, they are more worried about any changes in the marriage, so it is safer to hold the wedding early.

Therefore, after discussion, several families decided to hold the wedding on the same day to have double happiness.

The eldest son and the second son of the Qu family are getting married together, how could there be few people coming to congratulate them?

Which of Qu Shaoyang's old subordinates, officials from various prefectures, states, and counties, and celebrities from all walks of life in the three provinces did not come to congratulate him?
And those who are related to and have cooperation with the Qu family’s industries, whether they are Chinese or foreign partners, shouldn’t they come and have a drink at the wedding?

In addition to these people, the governors of various provinces, Old Yuan in the capital, and consuls of various countries in Feng also sent representatives to congratulate.

Xu Shichang is Xu Xuqing's uncle and also the matchmaker. He must be present when his niece gets married.

Zhang Xiulan is Qu Shaoyang's adoptive father, the children's godfather, and He Zewen's biological grandfather. How could he not come and join in the fun?
Tian Zhi, who was already in charge of Shandong, also rushed back with his wife and children to reunite with his family.

Therefore, on November 4th, Fengtian Qufu was extremely lively, with celebrities from all walks of life gathered together, all of them were well-known figures.

"Shaoyang, I think your two ginseng seedlings are pretty good. Where did you get them from?"

In other people's halls, there are paintings and calligraphy by famous people hanging, but in Qu's hall, there is a pair of glass-sealed boxes hanging.

The box was three feet long and one and a half feet wide, made of rosewood with carved patterns, and the front was inlaid with a piece of transparent glass.

Inside the box, sewn on the bright red velvet cloth were the two young ginseng plants, Longteng and Fengxiang.

Either of these two ginseng seedlings would be enough to amaze everyone if taken alone, but Qu Shaoyang just displayed two of them at once.

One is a dragon and the other is a phoenix. The dragon is strong and vigorous, while the phoenix is ​​agile. Anyone who sees these two ginseng seedlings will be stunned. They are so beautiful and rare.

"Foster father, I picked those in the mountains when I was young and named them Longteng and Fengxiang.

An old blind man once told me that this pair of ginsengs could ensure the prosperity of my descendants and my family.

So, I hung this pair of ginseng in the hall. Every day when I see this pair of ginseng, I feel at ease. "

The latter part of the sentence is pure misleading.

It’s just that now that I have reached a certain status, I don’t have to hide my treasures anymore and I dare to show them off to others.

Of course, with this said in advance, even if someone saw this pair of ginseng, no matter how rare it was, they would be embarrassed to ask for it.

"Okay, okay, you are the King of Ginseng. I don't know how many years you have grown in the mountains. It is a great blessing for you to meet it.

You must preserve it well, it is a good omen, a good thing, you must keep it and pass it on to your children and grandchildren."

Zhang Xiulan didn't know that his godson was fooling him, and he believed it to be true, so he nodded repeatedly.

When the guests in the hall heard this, they all nodded and praised Qu Shaoyang in various ways, saying that he was blessed.

What a great opportunity it takes to be able to personally dig up two seedlings of dragon and phoenix ginseng, etc.

In response, Qu Shaoyang just smiled and chatted calmly with everyone.

At ten o'clock in the morning, the wedding procession arrived outside the mansion.

Nowadays, the bride is picked up by two cars instead of the horse-drawn carriages of the past.

That was purchased by Qu Shaoyang from an American company. He used one himself and gave one to Chen Xiuyun and others.

The main reason is that Chen Xiuyun and a few others are in charge of pharmaceutical factories and other industries. They often have to visit the factories and negotiate with foreign businessmen.

This car runs fast, and it is also made of iron, so it is sturdier than ordinary horse-drawn carriages. It is also safe for Chen Xiuyun and others to go back and forth in it.

The front of the two cars, both tied with big red silk, came to the gate of the mansion very slowly, one after the other.

Amid the sound of firecrackers, the driver got out of the car and trotted to the back to open the door.

Zhenbang, wearing a black suit, black leather shoes and a bow tie, got out of the car first, then turned around to help He Zewen.

Both Qu Zhenbang and He Zewen have studied abroad and have acquired Western education, so they did not wear Chinese-style formal attire at their wedding, but chose Western suits and wedding dresses instead.

But the wedding dress was white, which is extremely rare in China.

Qu Zhenbang was afraid that his family would not be able to accept it, so after discussing with He Zewen, he specially asked a designer to make a red wedding dress for him.

The red wedding dress was embroidered with delicate patterns in gold thread and dotted with scattered diamonds, sparkling as she walked.

It's warm here in Fengtian, and the solar terms come much later than in Jilin. We haven't seen snow yet at the end of September.

But even so, He Zewen looked a little too thin in her wedding dress.

So, Grandma Xi, who had been waiting nearby, quickly handed over a bright red cashmere coat and asked He Zewen to put it on first and take it off after entering the hall.

The skirt of the wedding dress was very large and dragged on the ground at the back. Fortunately, there was a red felt on the ground, and two little flower girls, Jiaxin and Zhenkai, were holding up the hem of the dress at the back, so there was no need to worry too much about getting the wedding dress dirty.

Qu Zhenbang carefully supported He Zewen, and the two of them walked on the red carpet and entered the door.

Zhenbang and his wife entered the house, the car drove away, and the car behind them stopped.

Immediately afterwards, Zhenye and Xu Xuqing also got out of the car.

The dresses of these two people were different from the previous couple. Qu Zhenye wore a burgundy suit embroidered with auspicious cloud patterns, while Xu Xuqing wore a bright red cheongsam skirt embroidered with a phoenix and peony pattern.

These two dresses were designed by Xu Xuqing himself, and it took a long time for an embroiderer to embroider them.

The girl Xu Xuqing has been well-read in poetry and books since childhood, and has made great achievements in calligraphy and painting.

Since the marriage was arranged with the Qu family, the Xu family found many foreign teachers to teach her after learning that Qu Zhenye was studying abroad.

It's no wonder that this girl is really talented. She learned foreign languages, piano, painting, tailoring, etc. from her teacher. After a while, she fell in love with dress designing and making.

For this purpose, the Xu family specially invited a foreign fashion master for her to learn from.

Xu Xuqing studied for a year, then sent a telegram to Qu Zhenye to ask for his body measurements, and learned to make a lot of clothes for Qu Zhenye at home.

The clothes she designs and makes are a combination of Chinese and Western styles. They are more subtle and elegant than purely Western clothing. They truly embody the kind of luxury that emanates from a low-key approach.

For example, in the eyes of many people, the clothes the two of them are wearing at this moment are more eye-catching than those of the previous pair.

Xu Xuqing didn't wear a wedding dress, so naturally there was no floor-length skirt, and there was no need for a flower girl to trail her skirt.

Therefore, the two children Zhenxiang and Jiayi who followed behind the couple were more relaxed. They just had to hold things in their hands and follow the newlyweds.

In a modern wedding, the brides don’t need to wear veils and they just get out of the car openly. Everyone can clearly see the faces of the two brides.

Everyone looked at the brides who came in one after another, and couldn't help but comment on the two brides' looks in private.

The Qu family didn't care about this. When wealthy families chose a wife, they never looked at her appearance.

Besides, both He Zewen and Xu Xuqing are pretty.

Mainly because women who have received education since childhood and come from scholarly families have a temperament that others cannot match.

As the two couples walked into the hall, everyone couldn't help but applaud and cheer and send their blessings.

Then, the two couples stood in the hall and saluted according to the rules.

After the establishment of the Republic of China, old customs were abandoned and everything was done according to the new style. The bride and groom did not need to kneel and kowtow, they just had to bow to show their greeting.

Then the two couples bowed to their parents, thanked the guests who came to congratulate them, and exchanged rings, and the ceremony was complete.

There were cheers and applause from the crowd in the hall. With everyone's blessings, the bride was sent to the bridal chamber, and then she had to sit in the ceremony according to the old rules.

For today's grand wedding, the Qu family not only prepared a sumptuous banquet, but also held a party and invited the best opera troupe in the capital to perform, which was very lively.

The Qu family is having a wedding and the whole city is celebrating. The people who have the hardest time at this time are the city patrolmen.

Everyone stared with wide eyes, afraid that something might go wrong and bring shame to Qu Shaoyang.

Finally, it was evening, the banquet was over, and the guests were settled. Qu Shaoyang ordered the booking of two of the best restaurants in the city to reward everyone, which made everyone very happy.

After the wedding, guests from all over the world left one after another and everything returned to normal.

He Zewen studied biology in Germany, majoring in microbiology.

Therefore, after the wedding, she entered the medical research laboratory under the arrangement of Chen Xiuyun, and worked with a group of people to conduct experiments and cultivate high-yield strains of bacteria.

Currently, orders for penicillin are scheduled until next year, but production cannot keep up, so we must find or cultivate a more productive strain of bacteria.

Not only penicillin, but research on other antibiotics has also been carried out one after another, and they all require talents with professional knowledge, such as He Zewen.

The eldest daughter-in-law has a job, but she can’t abandon the second daughter-in-law.

After learning about Xu Xuqing's abilities, Chen Xiuyun suggested opening a shop specializing in Western-style dresses in Fengtian City.

Designed by Xu Xuqing and several foreign fashion masters, and produced by professional embroiderers, the main feature is pure handmade, high-end customization.

Chen Xiuyun always feels that women should also have their own hobbies, and it doesn’t matter whether they make money or not.

The main thing is to have a job to entertain yourself, so that you can be in a good mood and not be anxious or irritable.

We don't need our daughters-in-law to be housekeepers right now, so let them enjoy themselves for a few years.

After Zhenbang and Zhenye got married, several other boys in the Qu family also started to get married.

Zhenwu's marriage was arranged with He Yunfang, a girl from the He family, who was He Qingzhu's niece and He Honglin's daughter.

Zhenwen's marriage was arranged to be with the Gao family, the daughter of Gao Jiangcheng, the governor of Linchanghai Road.

Zhenqing married Li Chunying, the granddaughter of Li Daishi and daughter of Li Zhengwen.

Zhenquan is Qu He's son. His parents are both gone, so Qu Shaoyang and his wife decided to marry him to Zheng Xiuzhi, the daughter of Zheng Tiezhu.

These boys have all become successful now and have their own jobs. We just need to find time next year to let them get married and settle down so that they can live a good life.

In the blink of an eye, the first year of the Republic of China passed in a busy manner. On February 5th of the second year of the Republic of China, it was the New Year's Eve of the 30th day of the twelfth lunar month.

Because Qu Laokouer and his wife stayed in Fengtian, this year Qu Jiang and Qu Fu both brought their wives and children to Fengtian to celebrate the New Year together.

On New Year’s Eve, colorful and dazzling fireworks were set off in the sky above Fengtian City. The various fireworks lasted for more than half an hour.

Qu Shaoyang, his wife, three concubines, and more than a dozen children stood in the yard, looking at the fireworks blooming in the sky, with a smile on everyone's face.

Of course, not only the Qu family, but all the people in the city celebrated the New Year with joy.

Over the past year or so, under Qu Shaoyang's management, Fengtian City has been unprecedentedly stable and peaceful.

Industry and commerce are developed, taxes are reduced, society is stable, and people are prosperous. This is a scene that has never happened before.

The people who have experienced so much turmoil now just hope that their lives will remain stable forever.

In May 1913, Zhenwen and Zhenqing returned to Linjiang and Fusong respectively to get married.

Qu Shaoyang was busy with official duties and could not attend in person, so he could only present a generous gift.

Qu Jiang and Qu Fu are now the most prominent families in Linjiang and Fushun. Naturally, their sons' marriages will be celebrated with great fanfare and excitement.

In July, Zhensheng, Zhenyi, Chen Yanchuan, Chen Jingya and others returned after completing their studies. Qu Shaoyang arranged these children to work in relevant departments.

In September, Zhenwu married He Yunfang.

In October, Zhenbang's daughter-in-law He Zewen gave birth to a boy weighing 6.82 kilograms in Fengtian Public Hospital. Both mother and child are safe.

The next month, Xu Xuqing also gave birth to a boy, weighing 6.2 jin.

The Qu family suddenly had two little kids, and Qu Shaoyang and his wife became grandparents, which made them very happy and they couldn't stop smiling all day long.

The birth of the two little kids marked the beginning of the next generation of the Qu family.

Everything is just right, and everything is in time.

As long as children continue to be born, there is hope no matter what the future holds.

(End of this chapter)