Bringing the Railway to Daming

Chapter 306 Fang Xiaoru's daughter is missing, and the technology master comes to her aid [Please subscribe]

Fang Xiaoru was not angry. He stopped his wife from scolding their son with a gesture and said, "Xian'er is already ten years old. It's a good thing for him to have his own ideas, but there are some things that he must understand.

After saying this, he looked at Fang Zhongxian and said, "Father does not deny that mathematics and science have some role in governing a country, but they can only serve as auxiliary."

"The core of Ming Dynasty governance remains Confucianism. If you don't understand this now, it doesn't matter. As you gain more experience, you will naturally understand it."

Fang Zhongxian nodded thoughtfully.

At this moment, Fang Xiaoshu suddenly pointed to a nearby street shop and exclaimed in surprise, "There are glass lanterns there. They look so beautiful!"

The couple looked in the direction of the sound and saw several lanterns made of transparent glass hanging in front of a store. They were painted with red Chinese characters for "Fu" and scenes of fat babies playing around. They were colorful and looked particularly beautiful.

There were a lot of people buying things in front of the store, and the store was so busy that it was almost impossible to handle the work.

Li said, "Husband, can we buy two for the children as well?"

Fang Xiaoru saw that Li clearly wanted the glass lantern, so he didn't say anything. He smiled and nodded, "Then Madam, please take care of the child. I'll go buy it."

Fang Xiaoshu had originally been held by Fang Xiaoru, who would even carry her in his arms to avoid being squeezed in crowded places. Now that he was going shopping, he naturally left his daughter with Li. As for Fang Zhongxian, he was already ten years old and a boy, so he didn't need his parents to hold his hand.

There were so many people buying glass lanterns that Fang Xiaoru had no choice but to queue up in front of the store and wait patiently.

On the other side, Fang Zhongxian was looking at the various goods on the street and was suddenly attracted by the shouting of a young vendor.

"The prisms, magnifying glasses, magnifying mirrors, and glass beakers produced by the Beijing Glass Factory. Small ones cost five guan each, and large ones cost ten guan each. They're all great for scientific experiments. Come buy them!"

Fang Zhongxian had come across this type of glassware used for scientific experiments in government schools, but this was the first time he saw it on the market. He said, "Mom, I want to buy those glassware!"

Li said, "Your father has already gone to buy glass lanterns, why would he buy those weird things?"

"Mom, those are used in scientific experiments - I don't want lanterns, I just want those glassware!" Fang Zhongxian couldn't help but show his temper with Li.

Mrs. Li still loved her son very much. She also understood that those things would help him learn science, so she said, "Okay, I'll buy them for you."

After saying that, she took her daughter and son to the young vendor to buy things.

Fang Zhongxian was quite sensible and only chose a small one among the four instruments including the prism.

Fang Xiaoru was only a seventh-rank Hanlin editor in the Hanlin Academy, with an annual salary of just over 100 strings of cash. Even after taking into account various welfare benefits, it was still only a bare 200 strings of cash.

Although the Fang family was originally a family of officials, their financial situation declined because Fang Xiaoru's father, Fang Keqin, was implicated in the Empty Seal Case and was beheaded in the capital.

Therefore, when Fang Xiaoru was serving as an official in the capital, he only had an old servant he brought from his hometown, and he also hired a local middle-aged woman to help with cooking and cleaning (equivalent to a nanny in later generations).

Although Li was a little reluctant to part with the twenty strings of money, she still carefully took out the twenty strings of banknotes from her handbag (handbags were popular among ancient citizens very early on, especially in the Song and Ming dynasties) and handed them to the vendor.

Seeing her son so happy holding the magnifying glass, she was also happy, but she still reminded him: "Be careful, don't drop it."

After packing her handbag, she habitually reached out to hold her daughter's hand, but she failed. When she turned around, she couldn't find Fang Xiaoshu!

There were people all around her. She looked around but couldn't see her daughter. She became anxious and, without caring about her former ladylike upbringing, she called out repeatedly, "Shu'er! Shu'er!"

However, the street was not only crowded but also quite noisy. Her voice could not be heard far and no one paid any attention to her.

Only then did Alex Fong turn his attention away from the glassware he had just acquired and began to look around for his sister. Unfortunately, he was not tall enough, so his field of vision was limited and he could not see his sister at all.

"Fang Xiaoshu! Fang Xiaoshu!" He called out her full name, hoping to attract his sister's attention.

It didn't work.

Mrs. Li recalled the many rumors she had heard about the beggars and the tragic experiences of kidnapped children. She panicked and cried, "What should I do? What should I do? Shu'er is missing. Could she have been kidnapped by the beggars?"

This was the first time that Alex Fong had encountered such a major event, and he was quite panicked, but he was not as panic-stricken as Li.

He first asked the young stall owner, "Boss, did you see where my sister went just now?"

The stall owner shook his head. "I was doing business, and there were so many people around. I didn't even notice what your sister looked like, so how could I know where she went?"

Fang Zhongxian said, "My sister is six years old, about this tall, and she's wearing an emerald green satin cotton jacket. If she finds her way here later, please, shopkeeper, be sure to call her."

The stall owner then realized that the child might be missing and nodded, "Okay, I'll keep an eye on her—but if your sister is really missing, it's best to report it to the patrol office as soon as possible."

"Thank you very much."

Fang Zhongxian bowed and thanked her, then took Li to the shop selling glass lanterns. After making their way through the crowd and finally reaching the door, they saw Fang Xiaoru, who had just bought two glass lanterns, walk out with one in each hand, smiling broadly.

When he saw his wife and son outside the store and saw the looks on their faces, he immediately realized that something had happened.

When he couldn't see his daughter anymore, he started to guess and asked anxiously, "Where's Shu'er?"

Mrs. Li had already begun to cry, sobbing, "My husband, Shu'er is missing—I only paid for a few bucks, and she was gone in the blink of an eye. Woohoo, she must have been kidnapped by a beggar. What should I do, what should I do..."

Fang Zhongxian also said anxiously, "Father, this is my fault. I shouldn't have bought the glassware... But the most urgent thing is to report it to the patrol officer as soon as possible and ask them to help find the person."

Fang Xiaoru first looked around the street and saw tourists everywhere. He knew that it was a pipe dream for the three of them to find their daughter, not to mention that his wife was already in a state of panic.

"Let's go find the patrolmen—didn't we see a team of patrolmen on the way here? Let's go back!"

Fang Xiaoru first held Li's hand, then after thinking for a while, he held Fang Zhongxian's hand as well, and walked against the flow of people in the direction of leaving Taiping Street.

Although he appeared calm on the surface, he was actually extremely anxious in his heart - if his daughter was really abducted, the consequences would be unimaginable!
When we arrived at the bamboo bridge on Taiping Street, we saw a team of patrolmen maintaining order there. The bamboo bridge is actually a stone bridge, and it is also the place where Taiping and Liren Streets cross. There are more people tonight, so both the prefecture and county police offices have arranged patrolmen here.

In addition, the imperial court also arranged a general flag of the emperor's personal army here just in case.

When Fang Xiaoru arrived, he happened to see the patrol police evacuating the people on the bridge. However, it turned out that more than ten soldiers from the Yiluansi were escorting a noble family onto the bridge. Fang Xiaoru recognized the man among the noble family as Liu Kuan, the Earl of Science and Technology.

But he only glanced at it once, then looked away and went straight to a patrol officer, saying anxiously, "I am Fang Xiaoru, the editor of the Imperial Academy. This is my badge."

After showing his badge, Fang Xiaoru continued, "My daughter is missing. She's most likely abducted by human traffickers. Please help block off the streets and send someone to look for her."

After the Ming Dynasty established the Ministry of Police, although the quality of these patrolmen, who were professional detectives and yamen runners, improved a lot, they were certainly not comparable to the police of the later Xin Dynasty.

For example, the patrol officer frowned upon hearing Fang Xiaoru's words and said, "Today is New Year's Eve. The Emperor has shown mercy and lifted the curfew, allowing the people to come to the palace to enjoy the lanterns and the fun. How can he close the streets just because of your family's affairs?"

"Besides, our duty tonight is to maintain order on the bamboo bridge. We can't possibly leave our post and help you find your daughter."

"Fang Hanlin, you should just go to the police station and report it. They'll send someone to help look for you."

Although Fang Xiaoru knew that what the patrol officer said was basically reasonable, he still couldn't help but shout angrily, "My daughter is missing! Any more delay will make it even harder to find her! This place is several miles away from the nearest police station, and you want me to go there and report it?!"

The clerk's expression changed slightly, but he still said, "I'm sorry, Fang Hanlin, but we can't abandon our duties without permission. If you don't want to call the police, then go find the police team responsible for patrolling Taiping Street."

"Where is the patrol team?" Fang Xiaoru asked, suppressing his anger.

"Naturally, it's right here on this street."

Fang Xiaoru looked back and found that the street was full of people. Because it was night, even the patrolmen were in uniform and could not find him for a while.

He then said, "Send a few people to help me find the patrol team!"

The patrol officer looked at the bustling crowd around the bamboo bridge, still feeling embarrassed, and repeated, "Fang Hanlin, we cannot leave our post without permission."

Li also came up at this time, but took out the treasure banknotes and stuffed them into the hands of the patrol officer, "Please, please help us find our daughter, she is only six years old (the previous text has been revised)..."

The patrol officer's expression suddenly changed. He hurriedly pushed the banknotes out and said, "Don't hurt me!"

With the Hongwu Emperor in power, who would dare to accept bribes under the imperial city?
Fang Xiaoru knew that Li had lost her composure and had done such a thing, so he hurriedly pulled her back. Just as he was thinking about whether to go find the patrol team, he heard someone next to him ask, "What happened?"

Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be the technology uncle Liu Kuan and his family who had crossed the bridge and arrived here at some point.

Several patrolmen here hurriedly saluted Liu Kuan, and then the clerk told him about Fang Xiaoru's daughter's disappearance.

After hearing this, Liu Kuan looked at Fang Xiaoru. Although he had seen Fang Xiaoru at the grand court meeting, he did not know his name. Only now did he know that this man was the famous loyal minister of Jianwen in history.

He immediately said to Wang Guangyue beside him, "General Wang, send a few people to help Fang Hanlin find the patrol teams in Taiping, Chang'an, and the nearby streets, and have them keep an eye out for anyone suspected of kidnapping children."

"Also, send someone with my badge to the Six Gates to report the crime to the officer on duty. Have them send out the detectives and police dogs to help find the man!"

Although Fang Xiaoru, as a Confucian scholar, had previously felt some resistance and even hostility towards Liu Kuan, his heart was now filled with gratitude. With slightly red eyes, he bowed repeatedly and said, "Thank you, Uncle Technology, thank you, Uncle Technology."

Liu Kuan said, "It's just a small favor. There's no need to be so grateful, Fang Hanlin. You should take your wife and children and look for her on the street again. After all, the patrolmen don't know your daughter. You'll have a better chance if you search in person."

"Also, don't worry too much. Maybe your daughter wasn't kidnapped, but simply lost."

　Second update.

　　Good night~
　　
　　
　
(End of this chapter)