Chapter 2 Dinner
call……

At this time, Deng Qianqiu breathed a sigh of relief. He shook his head, and only after all the people from Chengtian Gate had left did the light return to his eyes.

I have only been in this world for a few days, and I haven't figured out what the relationship between the Deng family and Zhu Yuanzhang is, but I almost caused trouble.

Oh... I can't care so much, anyway...

Deng Qianqiu thought of this and subconsciously touched his belly. He thought to himself, "Since I'm here, I want to eat meat anyway. I want to eat delicious food and drink spicy drinks in the future. Oh... I'm so hungry..."

After swallowing, a guard came hurriedly and shouted, "Deng Qianqiu, the captain wants to see you."

Thousand households?

Deng Qianqiu was stunned. This Qianhu was his boss's boss. Why did this guy come to him?
Is it because he has offended someone that he should be punished?

Moreover... Deng Qianqiu remembered that this captain was called Hu Jian, and he seemed to be a relative of Hu Weiyong, a popular figure around the current emperor Zhu Yuanzhang!
Hu Weiyong...the guy in history whose family was exterminated and whose property was confiscated...

As expected, when Hu Weiyong's clan was exterminated, this Captain Hu must have been involved.

Confiscation of property and extermination of the clan, Deng Qianqiu couldn't help but feel terrified at the thought of these four words. You know, the closest time he had to confiscating property and exterminating the clan in his previous life was when a friend of his was killed. He realized that when writing an essay, if he wrote about the loss of a loved one and expressed his nostalgia, the Chinese teacher would often give a high score with the sentiment of respecting the dead.

So, after finding the code for high scores in composition, this friend began to happily write about three generations of his relatives in his composition. Within a semester, his entire family was uprooted in his composition, neatly laid out and turned into urns. The whole family, young and old, was "dead" completely.

In short, he didn't want to have anything to do with either Hu Weiyong or Hu Qianhu.

But Deng Qianqiu still followed the guard obediently and came to the Qianhu duty room.

In the duty room, Captain Hu Jian was wearing a Qilin robe bestowed by the emperor. He did not look like a military officer at all. Instead, he looked very literary. He was bent over the desk, writing something with a pen in his hand.

Seeing Deng Qianqiu come in, he raised his eyes and looked at Deng Qianqiu.

Deng Qianqiu was very young and wore loose armor. When he saw him, he just stood there awkwardly and did not salute.

There was a hint of contempt in the depths of Hu Jian's eyes.

But this contempt was immediately replaced by a bright smile on his face.

"Oh, you must be Deng Qianqiu, come on, don't be shy, sit down and talk."

Deng Qianqiu sat down without hesitation.

Hu Jian continued to look at Deng Qianqiu, still in a kind manner, and asked about Deng Qianqiu's family situation and any difficulties at home.

Deng Qianqiu just answered casually, but he was wondering in his heart what this Captain Hu was up to.

After asking some questions, Hu Jian became even more indifferent to Deng Qianqiu. He thought that he was just a young boy and not worth mentioning.

But he still had a smile on his face. Some time ago, a eunuch from Nanjing came to convey an imperial decree, which surprised Hu Jian.

You know, it is hard to imagine that the emperor specially issued an imperial decree to reward a small general flag officer.

This young man in front of me, or his father...why did he suddenly gain the emperor's special attention?

Hu Jian couldn't understand it. He was a meritorious official and was in charge of the garrison of Zhongdu Fengyang. He was also a relative of Hu Weiyong, who was a political participant in the current dynasty. He was considered knowledgeable, but he still couldn't guess the origins of the young man in front of him.

The more this happened, the more Hu Jian showed his favor for Deng Qianqiu. After asking about Deng Qianqiu's well-being, he said kindly, "Since you are here under my command, I will take good care of you."

Deng Qianqiu roared in his heart: "Ah...ah...ah...don't come over here."

Hu Jian pondered for a moment and continued, "You have just arrived and have only been on duty for a dozen days. In my opinion, you should stay by my side for a while. Hmm... later... after your shift is over, you can stay and go to the banquet with me."

Deng Qianqiu asked subconsciously: "Attending a banquet? Whose banquet?"

When Hu Jian heard this, he couldn't help but burst out laughing. This young man... really has no tact.

Hu Jian just looked at Deng Qianqiu and smiled without saying anything.

In the evening, the whole Fengyang City became a little more desolate from its vibrant vitality.

This new city of Zhongdu, after years of large-scale infrastructure construction, is prosperous on one side, but as dilapidated as rammed earth on the other.

However, in a prosperous neighborhood lined with mansions, the lights are now turned on, with hundreds of lanterns decorating the area, shining brightly.

But at this moment, inside the mansion, an old man in cloth came out with a smile, bowed to a group of guests who came to the banquet and said: "Captain Hu... I am honored to have you visit my humble home. Please..."

This old man was a wealthy man in the city, and he invited Hu Jian to a banquet only in the hope of gaining Hu Jian's protection.

Hu Jian ignored Deng Qianqiu's strange expression and said with a smile, "Thank you."

After that, the two of them chatted with each other and then entered the mansion with smiles on their faces.

Deng Qianqiu followed them in a daze. The mansion was magnificent, with countless pavilions and terraces, and servants like clouds...but Deng Qianqiu didn't have the slightest intention to appreciate it.

Before he knew it, Hu Jian stepped into the hall.

The hall is very simple and ancient. There are only a few calligraphy and paintings on the east wall, and a zither is hung on the south wall. The wood of the zither seems to be mottled.

In contrast to the guqin are the half-worn tables and chairs here. At this moment... hot and delicious dishes have been placed on the table.

Then he heard Mr. Liu stroking his beard and saying with a smile: "Captain Hu, please take a seat." Hu Jian smiled and said: "Mr. Liu is the host, so he should take the seat."

"The guest should follow the host's wishes. Please take a seat, Captain Hu. Please don't embarrass me..."

"Haha..." The two laughed at the same time.

Hahaha……

The laughter suddenly stopped.

Then, the two smiling faces gradually became stiff.

The rich man surnamed Liu's eyes seemed to fall out at this moment, because he saw that at this moment, the young man who had been following Hu Jian closely on the empty seat was now sitting upright.

Hu Jian's body trembled, the corner of his mouth twitched almost imperceptibly, and then he took a deep breath.

Deng Qianqiu, who was sitting in the upper seat, raised his lips slightly and said with a smile: "Ah...you're welcome, sit...sit..."

Liu Fuhu looked at Hu Jian.

Hu Jian's expression was hot and cold. Finally, he gave a dry laugh and sat down at the seat to the left of Deng Qianqiu. Liu Fuhu had to sit at the last seat.

The atmosphere suddenly dropped to freezing point.

Fortunately, Mr. Liu was a very good person, so he laughed dryly and said, "I've heard that Captain Hu loves to eat sea bass, so I specially asked someone to get a sea bass weighing 4.7 jin. This fish is rare, so why don't you give it a try?"

Hu Jian smiled, but he couldn't help but glance at Deng Qianqiu who was sitting in the upper seat. He was thinking about something in his heart, but he said, "Okay... Then I will be disrespectful to refuse..."

He picked up the chopsticks and was about to reach for the steamed sea bass on the table.

In an instant, someone saw a piece of meat being torn off from the fattest part of the belly of the steamed sea bass with chopsticks very quickly.

Hu Jian only felt a flash before his eyes, and when he raised his eyes, he saw that Deng Qianqiu had already taken a step ahead of him. He had picked up the fattest piece of fish and stuffed it into his mouth.

Baji... Baji...

Hu Jian and Liu Fuhu were stunned. After a moment of silence so quiet that one could hear a pin drop, the sound of brisk chewing was heard in the hall.

"Hmm... um..." the fish went down his stomach.

Deng Qianqiu put down his chopsticks at this moment and uttered three words: "Not delicious!"

Hu Jian: “…”

Liu Fuhu: “…”

Deng Qianqiu showed a look of disdain and said, "This fish is too fishy. We should have put more chives to cover up the fishy smell. Also, the heat was not controlled well and the cooking time was too long. The meat is tough and tough. What a pity, what a pity."

Deng Qianqiu shook his head. Seeing Hu Jian and Liu Fuhu's shocked expressions, he grinned and said happily, "Hey, Captain Hu, say something."

Liu Fuhu looked at Hu Jian in shock, his eyes seemed to be saying, "Who on earth is this young man?"

Hu Jian's eyes were filled with confusion, as if he was thinking: "How powerful is this kid's backing? How dare he be so presumptuous?"

After a brief silence, Hu Jian smiled again, since he was a military officer of the imperial army after all. However, this time the smile seemed dry and insincere.

"Haha, the young are really to be feared." Hu Jian smiled and raised his chopsticks, but his chopsticks no longer reached for the sea bass, but casually moved towards other dishes.

Mr. Liu had a strange look on his face, but he said enthusiastically: "Don't just eat and drink. Come, I toast to Captain Hu and... this... little brother... haha... haha..."

Hu Jian also raised his wine cup.

Deng Qianqiu lowered his head to eat his food, hesitatingly saying, "You guys drink, I don't drink."

"..."

Hu Jian felt as if he was hit in the chest by a dull hammer, and his whole body went numb.

Is this person out of his mind?
Mr. Liu was already on pins and needles, and he was about to cry, but he was afraid of a dull silence, so he tried to smile and said, "Then Mr. Hu and I... drink... hahaha... young people are ignorant... oh, that's right, that's right, come on, come on..."

He winked at the servant who was serving beside him.

Soon, four or five graceful girls came in one after another, holding pipa, with charming looks on their faces. The girl in the lead, in particular, had a rosy face and smoky eyes. She lowered her head slightly, as if shy, like a girl who walked out of an ancient painting.

Hu Jian narrowed his eyes, and it seemed that his bad mood was finally diluted, and he stared at the woman intently.

"Captain Hu, these are some skinny horses kept in the mansion..."

Seeing Hu Jian's expression, Liu Fu Hu understood what Hu Jian meant. He knew that Hu Jian was interested. He was very happy and introduced him in a flattering manner.

But just as he finished speaking, a righteous voice suddenly rang out, scaring Liu Fuhu.

Deng Qianqiu slammed the table and stood up: "Change a batch!"

(End of this chapter)