Morrison and the British businessman Johnson walked out of the train station together and looked at the sparse pedestrians on the snowy streets. Johnson took off his hat, scratched his thick and fluffy blond hair, and said to Morrison: "Mr. Morrison,

I have to rely on you, my China expert, to ask for directions."

Morrison didn't answer. He also looked around and saw a shop opposite the train station. Only one of the several wooden doors as tall as a person facing the street was closed, and a thick straw curtain hung from the door.

Go under the door and cover it up tightly.

Walking along the snow-shoveled road, Morrison opened the door and walked into the shop. The sunlight filtering in from the upper window of the shop shone on the counter. There was a copper kettle for boiling water on the small stove behind the counter.

On the shelves are some sacks of peanuts and melon seeds as well as Northeastern-specific fried salt beans, which are common commodities in train stations.

There were no electric lights or lights in the house, and everything was shrouded in a dark and old atmosphere. Moli Xun was about to ask for directions, but he saw several brand-new newspapers prominently placed on the shelves. He asked: "Boss, what are you doing?"

What kind of newspaper is this?"

The foreigner who came in could speak fluent Chinese. Although the boss was a little surprised, he readily replied: "This is Siping Daily."

"Are there any newspapers from other places?" Morrison asked.

The boss shook his head, "I used to buy newspapers from other places every now and then, but no one reads those newspapers now. In the past two months, I only sell Siping Daily."

Soon after, Johnson saw the store's curtain lifted, and Morrison came out with a newspaper. He went up to meet him and wanted to follow Morrison, but saw that Morrison did not start, but stood still in front of the road sign at the intersection. Now Johnson

Only then did I notice that there was a street sign at the intersection of Siping Street. It was just that there were a lot of Chinese characters written on it, which Johnson couldn't understand.

Morrison took out the merchant's letter, read the road sign for a while, and then headed west along the shoveled road.

At every intersection, Morrison stopped in front of the street signs and looked at them for a while. Johnson was very worried that it would be useless. Even on the streets of London, there was no way to reach the destination by relying on street signs alone. But out of politeness, Johnson endured

Resisting the urge to question, I followed Moritzun through several intersections.

When several figures wearing British coats appeared in front of him, Johnson couldn't believe it. However, when the British businessmen saw Johnson and Morrison, they immediately came up to them and asked, "Are you just here?"

Before he finished speaking, a British businessman came up from behind and shouted: "Johnson, is it really you?"

Soon, Morrison and Johnson were led into the place where British businessmen lived together. Morrison looked left and right, and he didn't know how to evaluate it. This was a two-story Chinese building. What style was it?

Li Xun thought of the Eight Great Alleys.

But there are no red lanterns or round tables here. There is a dining area composed of rectangular tables and small square tables, with tablecloths spread on the tables.

Rows of glass bottles are placed on the wooden shelves behind the British-style bar. High stools are placed outside the bar. Even though it is broad daylight, there are already businessmen sitting on the high stools, holding their hands.

Drink and chat with a glass of wine.

There is a fireplace on each side of the building. The warmth released by the burning wood in the fireplace makes the inside and outside of the house feel like two worlds.

Long iron rods were nailed to the pillars, and British gas lamps were hung in the front. The bright light emitted by the gas lamps dispelled the darkness in the hall. Not only that, there was a conversation area surrounded by sofas on the left side of the hall, and there was actually a snooker table on the right

.

Chinese architecture and British decoration, these two styles are combined to create a feeling of a British respectable people's club.

Johnson had been sitting on a hard seat on a winter train for several days. When he saw a sofa, he walked over and sat in. Then he exclaimed, "It turns out to be a real sofa!"

Morrison went over and tried it. As Johnson said, the softness and elasticity were not far from those of British sofas. However, Morrison still felt something different. However, the journey was so tiring, and he didn't want to find out what the difference was.

.

At this time, a Chinese young man dressed in British waiter clothes came over with a plate and asked in not very fluent English: "Sir, do you want lemonade?"

Morrison nodded, and the waiter handed Morrison a glass. Seeing the lemon slices in the glass, Morrison finally confirmed that the description of Siping in the businessman's letter that Johnson showed him was true. There might be something here.

The closest thing to British style accommodation.

The taste of lemonade made Moritzun feel extremely refreshing. As soon as he took his second sip, he heard a French inquiry from the door, "Mr. Louis, the president of the French Chamber of Commerce, sent me to greet the two new gentlemen."

Looking up, Morrison was even more surprised. The waiter standing at the door was dressed in French style, and the little French-style bow tie would be unmistakable.

"We're here." Johnson responded as he stood up.

The waiter walked up to Morrison and Johnson and handed over his business card. Morrison didn't understand French very well. Johnson took the business card, looked at it, and said with a smile: "Isn't it the French Chamber of Commerce across the street?"

The waiter replied: "If you two have time, Mr. Lewis of the club welcomes you to the club."

After sending away the waiter, Morrison looked at the building again. He saw that the interior layout of the building was very detailed, and it was by no means a crude imitation. He couldn't help but feel more curious. On the way from the train station to here, Mo Lixun

Li Xun did not see any difference between Siping and other ordinary inland counties in China. He Rui arrived in Siping less than half a year ago and established two guild halls. Does Siping really have so many business opportunities to support these two guild halls?

The building had been rented to a British businessman, and Morrison was quickly assigned to a room on the second floor. The bed was very soft, and Morrison opened the mattress and saw underneath it was a thick layer of brown hay that he had never seen before.

Thick cushions. When I got closer and smelled it, there was a faint plant smell, which was not unpleasant at all.

Putting the mattress back and lying on the soft yet elastic bed, Mo Lixun was thinking about some issues, and then remembered the "Siping Daily" he bought at the train station, so he took it out. However, he only read one title,

My eyelids felt extremely heavy, and as soon as I put the newspaper on my chest, I fell asleep.

I don't know how long I had been sleeping, but the sound of marbles colliding and bursts of applause came from outside, waking Mo Lixun from his sleep. He rubbed his eyes and walked to the second floor. He held the railing on the second floor condescendingly and looked down. He saw six or seven people.

Around the snooker table.

At this time, there were only four or five balls left on the table that were not pocketed. A yellow-haired young man wearing a vest and trousers squatted next to the table and carefully looked at the position of the ball. The thick and fluffy blond hair seemed familiar, it should be Johnson.

Morrison had heard that Johnson was a master of snooker, and when he saw him constantly changing positions, looking embarrassed, he must have encountered a powerful opponent.

Looking at the distribution of billiard balls on the table, Morrison, who only knows the rules, was a little surprised. According to the rules of snooker, once all the red balls on the table are hit into the bag, the yellow ball will score 2 points; the green ball will score 2 points.

The order is 3 points; the brown ball is 4 points; the blue ball is 5 points; the pink ball is 6 points; and the black ball is 7 points. Use the white ball to knock the colored balls into the bag in order from the lowest score to the highest.

Now, the white ball is surrounded by several colored balls, while the green ball with the lowest score is resting on the edge of the other end of the table.

This is an obvious way to play the ball. Johnson must rely on several bounces to get the white ball out of the circle without touching other colored balls and hitting the green ball. If he cannot do this, in addition to deducting points, he must also remove the white ball.

Put it back to its original position and start again. If the white ball touches other colored balls during the process, points will be deducted according to the colored ball score.

Johnson met a master.

There were obviously several people in the crowd who were obviously French, but they were not holding clubs. Expanding the search area a little further, they saw a black-haired young man wearing a vest and trousers sitting on the chair next to him. The young man

He put the club next to him and took a sip of lemonade. He should be the master.

Johnson made a decision at this time. He stood up and used the pole. The white ball escaped from the surround and bounced twice on the edge of the table. It lightly collided with the green ball and rolled towards the other side of the table. It seemed like he was going back.

This is not a suitable batting position for play.

Johnson did not give up the game, he still tried his best to seek victory. Even though Morrison did not know much about snooker, he still felt that Johnson played well. Several onlookers around him immediately applauded, and it was obvious that he understood snooker.

People in the European aristocratic movement also had the same views as Morrison.

But the white ball didn't go that far. It stopped at the edge of the table on the other side and did not bounce out. The black-haired young man stood up and watched for a moment. He hit a straight ball. The white ball crossed a long distance and hit the green ball accurately.

There was a slight collision. The green ball was already next to the table. Under such collision, it slowly rolled along the direction horizontal to the table and fell into the ball bag.

There was a burst of sighs and applause from all around.

Having gained an advantage, the young man used the backward technique to hit the lower half of the ball, hitting the brown, blue, and pink balls one by one into the bag while controlling the white ball to retreat back to a good hitting position. That clean hitting action

As well as the precise movement of the white ball, Mo Lixun was even more puzzled.

Black-haired Europeans are basically from the southern European generation. Snooker is not popular in southern Europe, but is an entertainment project for British, French and Nordic aristocrats. This young man has a Chinese face and is obviously not a southern European.

Suddenly, a strange idea came to mind, which made Morrison feel that his idea was really strange.

At this time, there was only a lone black ball left on the table. The black-haired young man made a clean blow and sent the black ball straight into the middle pocket. Only the white ball was left to continue rolling on the table.

Johnson saw that the path of the white ball was obviously not going to fall into the bag. He shook his head helplessly, walked up to the black-haired young man, and extended his hand to him, "He Governor, you won very beautifully."

Although Morrison had guessed that the Chinese young man might be He Rui, he didn't expect it to be true. He saw He Rui shaking hands with Johnson and said enthusiastically: "This is a wonderful game. I haven't seen it for a long time."

I have met an outstanding opponent like you. Playing against a master, this game has brought me a lot of joy. Thank you, Mr. Johnson."

There was only one Governor He in the whole of Siping. Morrison felt that his previous feelings about He Rui as a "scholar-type staff officer" were shaken by what he saw. A scholar-type staff officer who was proficient in aristocratic entertainment must be a perfect person in the UK.

of high-ranking aristocrats.

"Commander He, do you want another contest?" Johnson asked enthusiastically.
Chapter completed!