红楼梦Chapter16_小升初阅读_小升初-查字典英语网

红楼梦Chapter16

O-mi-to-fu! exclaimed dame Chao. Is it really so? but from what you say， our family will also be making preparations for the reception of the eldest young lady!

That goes without saying， added Chia Lien， otherwise， for what purpose could we be in such a stir just now?

Its of course so! interposed lady Feng smiling， and I shall now have an opportunity of seeing something GREat of the world. My misfortune is that Im young by several years; for had I been born twenty or thirty years sooner， all these old people wouldnt really be now treating me contemptuously for not having seen the world! To begin with， the Emperor Tai Tsu， in years gone by， imitated the old policy of Shun， and went on a tour， giving rise to more stir than any book could have ever produced; but I happen to be devoid of that good fortune which could have enabled me to come in time.

Ai ya， ya! ejaculated dame Chao， such a thing is rarely met with in a thousand years! I was old enough at that time to remember the occurrence! Our Chia family was then at Ku Su， Yangchow and all along that line， superintending the construction of ocean vessels， and the repairs to the seaboard. This was the only time in which preparations were made for the reception of the Emperor， and money was lavished in quantities as GREat as the billowing waters of the sea!

This subject once introduced， lady Feng took up the thread of the conversation with vehemence. Our Wang family， she said， did also make preparations on one occasion. At that time my grandfather was in sole charge of all matters connected with tribute from various states， as well as with general levees， so that whenever any foreigners arrived， they all came to our house to be entertained， while the whole of the goods， brought by foreign vessels from the two Kuang provinces， from Fukien， Yunnan and Chekiang， were the property of our family.