Even Zhang Dai, who was used to seeing big scenes, felt shocked, especially standing in front of the protrusion. The feeling of not being exposed to the wind and rain, but feeling like being outdoors was something they had never experienced before. 【Read full text】
Outside the large, clear glass plate, there were flowers as vivid as before his eyes. Butterflies were flying on them. The sun was dappled through the wisteria trellis. He couldn't help but reach out to touch the flowers outside the window, with his fingertips. Blocked by the glass, Zhang Dai was stunned for a long time before letting out a sigh.
Zhao Yingong had already expected that such a large all-glass bay window, which was almost as big as a sunroom, had not yet been built either in Lingao or Guangzhou. Even in the 21st century it is not available everywhere. Even the elders would find it strange when they see it, not to mention the natives who rarely see large-sized glass.
Everyone sat down on the Victorian armchairs, divided into host and guest. I saw a little servant girl coming over to serve tea with a red Japanese lacquer plate. Zhang Dai has always been a "very beautiful maid", and with Mr. Zhao's style in his heart, he must have kept beautiful maids in his family that are rare in the outside world. Guangdong has always had the custom of "keeping maids" and "caring for maids". Unexpectedly, he fell in love with him at first sight. But he was greatly disappointed; the girl in front of him was ordinary in appearance and ordinary in the extreme. Judging from the way he walks, he is even more natural. I felt very strange.
Fenghua served tea. Everyone thought it was probably the same "Australian water" as before, but unexpectedly, the tea served this time was serious tea. A fragrant and fragrant aroma of tea floated in the air - completely different from the aroma of Longjing, Shuizhu and other teas they often drank on weekdays, and more intense.
The tea leaves were placed in a very small glass teapot, which was almost full. Next to it were four small bull's-eye teacups, also made of glass, which were already filled with tea. The tea is not the usual light blue color, but a deeper amber color.
"Come on, please drink this tea while it's hot." Zhao Yingong said.
Wu Zhixiang boasted that she had seen all kinds of "Australian enjoyment" at Ziminglou, but this was the first time she saw this almost black tea. Upon first sniff, I just feel the aroma is strong and refreshing. I picked it up and took a sip. I felt that the tea tasted mellow and sweet, with a faint orchid fragrance.
Everyone was amazed at the taste. Zhang Dai said with a smile, "I think I am the most delicious person in the world. I have tasted all the specialties in the world, but I didn't expect that there is such a tea in the world!"
Zhang Dai is famous among scholars in Jiangnan for his delicious food and good taste. In particular, he is also keen on "tasting all over the world" and spares no effort in collecting specialties and famous foods from all over the world.
Zhao Yingong had read his "Memories of Tao'an Meng" and saw the long food list he listed, so the food he brought out to serve guests were all things that would never be seen in the local area.
This tea is oolong tea that Wu Nanhai commissioned the trading department to purchase from Fujian, and recruited more than a dozen tea workers to make it according to modern tea-making techniques. Also manufactured is black tea.
Oolong tea is a semi-fermented tea. Its taste is lighter than fermented black tea, and it is also more suitable for Chinese people's taste habits. Wu Nanhai specially brought a few kilograms for Zhao Yingong to promote locally. Once the promotion is successful, he will prepare to sell "Hainan Oolong Tea" on a large scale through Wanyou.
Zhao Yingong smiled and said, "This tea is called oolong tea and it comes from the top of Limu Mountain in Qiongzhou."
The climate in Hainan is not suitable for growing tea, and the tea leaves obviously come from Fujian, and Lingao just processes them. But Wu Nanhai, Si Kaide and Li Mei all knew that tea must have a certain geographical gimmick. Of course, Fujian tea is not as exciting as places like "Hainan Island Limu Mountain".
"Oh?" Sure enough, Zhang Dai heard that tea came from a barbaric land, and he immediately became interested, "Qiongzhou is a barren state in the southern border. It is said that there are Liman in it. How can there be tea? Do Liman also grow tea? ?”
Zhao Yingong had already prepared a whole piece of advertising soft-text in his stomach - it was not his writing, but the writers of the big library who had made it so that the mountains were shrouded in mist, like a fairyland in the wilderness. , then went on to exaggerate what happened in the deep forest of Limu Mountain. High up on the mountain, there was a solitary rock surrounded by cliffs, with five hundred wild tea plants on it. It's just that the mountains are shrouded in clouds and mist all year round, and there are always miasmas that hurt people. Only in spring and autumn each year there are a few days when the clouds clear and the fog clears, allowing tea picking. The able-bodied among the people will try to climb up the rock and pick the inner leaves.
"... It's just that the time is very short. When the Li barbarians see the mist in the mountains, no matter how much they collect or how little they collect, they must immediately descend the rope and exit the valley. If they are a little late, they will be caught by the miasma. , it means certain death."
He talked nonsense so clearly that everyone was fascinated and sighed from time to time. Zhao Yingong thought that such articles really did not distinguish between ancient and modern times, China and foreign countries. Immediately he started talking nonsense about what tea is called. After being picked, it could not be transported out of the mountain. Later, I don’t know what method the Australians used to transport the tea out of the mountain.
Wu Zhixiang was doubtful when he heard this, because he had never heard Pei Lixiu say anything about "wild tea from Li Mu Mountain", and Ziminglou had never tasted it. If he hadn't been sure of success, he would have known it. This Xianggong Zhao is probably an "Australian", and I almost think this is a fabrication pretending to be Australian.
Others, however, listened with interest. Fenghua came over from time to time to refill the tea. Zhang Dai felt that although this maid was ordinary in appearance, she was elegant in manners, well-rounded in her movements, and her eyes were flexible but not coquettish. She had obviously spent a lot of effort in training her.
Looking around, there are many treasures that have never been seen before in this glass room. The most eye-catching thing is, of course, the mechanical clock placed on the desk against the wall; the case is inlaid with gold, silver, ivory, pearls and gemstones and is made by jewelry craftsmen in Guangzhou. It is a complete set of movements brought from the 21st century. The joint production of the two spaces is ticking at the moment. Western-style pendulum clocks had already entered China in small quantities at that time. Of course Wu Zhixiang had seen them, and Zhang Dai was not surprised. But besides that, there were many things they had never seen before; a model of the "Victory" handmade by Wen Desi and Wang Luobin, enclosed in a glass cover, with the gun doors fully open, revealing the black holes of the guns. At the entrance, of course, what is flying is not the British flag, but the Morning Star flag of the Senate and the blue and white flag of the Japanese army. A lotus-shaped gramophone…………
Several people seemed to be Grandma Liu entering the Grand View Garden, constantly turning their sparkling eyes. Even though he tried hard to be pretentious, his face still showed expressions of surprise and joy from time to time.
When the host put down the tea cup and extended the invitation with a smile, they immediately stood up and each walked towards the object they were most interested in, asking a series of questions mixed with exclamation from time to time. Zhao Yingong stood with a smile on his face and answered their questions patiently. I was very busy when suddenly there was a panicked "ouch" sound, followed by the sound of a heavy object falling to the ground.
Everyone turned around and saw that it was Wen Huai who had his hands tied and a look of panic on his face. Zhao Yingong took a look and saw that what fell on the ground was a pictorial - a Japanese "Shui Zhu" magazine. Lando's Shipwreck adds thousands of similar physical books to the Great Library.
When Zhang Dai picked it up and looked at it, he gasped and almost dropped the book. It wasn't the exposure of the three-point "water" girl on the cover that scared him, but the terrifying realism. This is not a painting at all, it is simply a living person fixed on the paper!
The woman's body is so vivid on the paper, and her slender thighs seem to be stretching out of the frame. However, when the fingers touch it, it is a real flat surface.
Zhang Dai had seen a lot of figure paintings, not only various meticulous and ink figure paintings by Chinese painters, but also oil paintings painted by Western priests. In his opinion, the realism of Western oil paintings has reached an incredible level, but compared with this Australian painting, it is still far behind.
"This... this is so amazing!" His face was pale, and for a moment he thought it was some kind of Australian magic.
"Brothers, don't panic, this is just a picture." Zhao Yingong reassured, "The Australians have a way to use a glass mirror to fix the image of the character on the paper. I am also puzzled by it. .”
"It's appalling, it's appalling." Wen Huai stroked his chest and hurriedly sat on the chair, seemingly frightened, "It's simply a witchcraft!"
Sun Chun said, "This method should be regarded as Australia's secret method. It may not necessarily be some kind of witchcraft..."
"How can we fix a portrait on paper without sorcery?" Wen Huai looked at the pictorial and looked like a poisonous snake and beast, "Please burn it with fire.
"There are so many wonderful things in the world, how dare we claim to know everything?" Sun Chun was also surprised. However, he always did not believe in the theory of ghosts and gods, and shook his head and said, "Not to mention this Australian, it is the Western firearms, astronomy, geography, and arithmetic that the court talked about. If Matteo Ricci and Tang Ruowang hadn't traveled across the ocean, we and others would How can you know?"
Zhang Dai also doesn't believe in the theory of witchcraft. He picked up the magazine and flipped through a few pages. He noticed that the women in the picture album were tall, plump, with bulging fronts and backs. Although their vital parts were covered with extremely thin and tiny pieces of cloth, they were no different from being naked... Every one of them was posing. The postures are extremely charming, and some postures are simply shameless to the extreme.
The women in the painting all have plump breasts, thin waists, big breasts, and natural feet. According to the aesthetic point of view of the time, a woman with such a figure was not considered a woman at all. None of these families lacked beautiful concubines and maids. But there was a faint fire in his chest, and he felt his cheeks were slightly warm.
Zhang Dai was afraid of losing his composure, so he calmed down, shook his head and said with a smile, "Where is the magic in this picture album? I think it's the secret magic in the room." Several people smiled... which diluted the tense atmosphere a lot. . ! .
