The orchestra played better than before, but the audience was no longer as enthusiastic as in the garden. However, the atmosphere had been relieved from the embarrassment caused by the governor's secretary. The Baroness seized the opportunity to announce that she would provide a treat for the guests.
She performed a wonderful drama. As she clapped her hands a few times, the servants quickly moved away the extra tables and chairs, cleared an empty space, and set up a simple stage and scenery. The musicians began to play melodious pastoral songs, performing the great poet Juan
"Cristino and Fabea" by De Encina.
The actor who played the role of Friar Cristino caused a burst of laughter when he first appeared on the stage. The audience all realized that "he" was actually a girl. The contrast between the girl's darker skin, soft face and sharp facial features all showed that
The characteristics of mixed race. Her pair of cunning, affectionate, wandering eyes completely transcended the role. Her love affair with the fairy Fabea seemed to be restrained, but in fact she was sophisticated. When Cristino finally decided to succumb to love and give up practice, she
Singing in a pretentious manner:
monastic life,
Holy indeed,
Just because of them,
All are senior citizens.
While coyly taking off the monk's toga, revealing her slender figure wrapped in men's tights. Cheers, applause and applause suddenly swept in like a storm. Many people's eyes were just staring at the girl's two legs wrapped in men's tights.
Slim thighs in tight stockings.
"Flora is very clever," said the Baroness, "and the cleverest of all the girls who serve me."
When Esteban Sanafria heard the hostess's words, he felt that the long-awaited opportunity to show off had arrived. "Okay! Great! Great! Take your reward!" He cheered enthusiastically and raised the money.
The bag was thrown at the feet of Flora, who was playing the role of a monk. There was a thud that scared the girl and she stepped away. The gold coins rolled out of the money bag, shining brightly all over the floor. The guests started to make a commotion, and the wealthy colonial businessman was very proud.
Noticed the Baroness's frown.
The count shook his hand and said, "It was my fault for not preparing a gift for such a lovely girl. Madam, if you allow me, I would like to make up for this fault." He stood up and picked up a few dendrobium orchids and a few dendrobium orchids from the vase in the corner of the living room.
Then she took off the ring from her hand and put it on the bouquet, and threw it towards Flora. The girl dexterously caught the precious bouquet. She hugged it and ran down the stage, stood on tiptoes and kissed the count on the face.
After a while, he pretended to be shy and hid behind the hostess, not forgetting to give the earl a passionate look.
The secretary to the governor screamed. He forgot to maintain his self-righteous image and stared at the dazzling ring on the bouquet. "Oh my God. Such a big diamond is worth at least a thousand pistoles."
!”
The crowd suddenly became commotion - everyone knew how wealthy the Earl was, and the so-called spending money was probably nothing more than this.
Eugenio greatly overestimated the value of this "diamond ring". The gem resources in Hainan and Lechang, Shandong are quite abundant. Various gemstones were not valued much in the Ming Dynasty. The Lechang sapphire was not even popular in the early 20th century.
Of course, such a rich gemstone resource cannot escape the attention of the industry. In addition to using diamonds in cutting tools, Dr. Zhong from the Ministry of Science and Technology also spent a lot of energy on developing gemstone watch movements, but the Lingao version of 24 diamonds
The advent of mechanical watches is still far away.
But unintentionally, the Ministry of Science and Technology found a way to heat and colorize Hainan’s specialty red zircon. After tempering and decoloring, the zircon is carefully cut and polished according to modern processing methods, which can be compared to the real diamond.
Because the Chinese people did not attach much importance to gems at that time. The sales prospects of similar zircon jewelry in the Ming Dynasty were bleak, so the trade department prepared to send them to Macau and put them on the sample cabinet of Zizhenzhai Macau branch for sale in foreign stores. Weiss had just
What he took off from his hand was such a ring. He glanced at Sanavria with his peripheral vision. The wealthy colonial businessman's face had turned blue, and his eyes were looking at the count, Flora and the hostess in confusion.
Go back and forth between.
Many guests were very interested in this extra drama, especially when the hostess ordered the servants to collect all the gold coins scattered on the ground and return them to Sanavria. The face of the richest businessman in the colony changed from blue to blue.
He turned pale. There were malicious sneers from the crowd. For the next time, Sanavria refused to dance, but buried his head in the card table trying to regain his dignity. By the time the dinner started, he had already lost.
The purse was empty, not a single gold coin was left.
The Baroness's family dinner was much more high-end and fashionable than most banquets in Manila. Many guests watched the Count's movements attentively while fiddling with silver forks awkwardly. Italians were accustomed to using two silver forks more than a hundred years ago.
Eating with tinned forks is still a new thing for the Spaniards. As for the remote Manila, Weiss Lando has seen many noble Europeans still reaching out to grab meat from the plate to eat, and wiping their mouths with their sleeves. I don’t know.
What are the handkerchiefs and napkins? The dishes were served in a stream, some of them tasted great, and some of them made Weiss frown: the chef unnecessaryly covered the roasted duck with feathers that had been plucked before it was alive, and as for the stewed calf thymus
, mixed with lamb brains, oxtail braised with celery and other famous dishes, Weiss refused to thank them. He just kept sipping the sweet Madeira wine. This wine was so good, even better than the famous sherry.
One chip.
The effect of the delicious food and wine was quite rapid. There was the sound of clinking glasses everywhere, and soon everyone was shouting toasts to the health of the king and the beauty of the hostess. The sound of wine and ears made people fall into an intoxicating frenzy. Alfonso and his colleagues
Sitting next to him, a beautiful mixed-race young woman was having a heated affair. Her husband was still far away in the castle in Cebu. Another elderly, gray-haired city councilor came straight to Lucrezia's seat with a wine glass.
In front of him, he told her how passionately he loved her and expressed his admiration. The latter responded with a charming smile. Sanafriya also came up and asked the hostess if she was satisfied with the gift he gave: a pair of
A huge Chinese porcelain vase with colorful patterns.
To celebrate his promotion, Lieutenant Colonel Alfonso drank a lot of wine, and he was convinced that he had won the heart of the beautiful Creole wife. He laughed heartily: "Sir, it's best to invite Fan
His Royal Highness Nanova opens some horizons for you. In his private residence in Marata, the entire bathroom is made of ceramic tiles. Not these rough clay blocks," he pointed to the Portuguese painted mosaics on the walls of the Baron's living room.
, drunkenly continued: "It is authentic Chinese porcelain, as smooth as ice. The washbasin is a large porcelain basin made from the whole body, without any flaws, and the glaze is as smooth as crystal."
"Isn't that the palace bathroom only owned by the Chinese emperor?" the Baroness asked in surprise.
"I'm afraid the Chinese emperor didn't have similar enjoyment. If the count doesn't mind, I'll continue. In his bathroom, near the porcelain wall, there is a strange large porcelain altar. It is the highest-end Chinese product. Guess what?
What is the use of the beautiful china pie?”
The young Creole woman whispered a few words, causing Alfonso to laugh again: "You guessed it wrong, madam. Let me tell you, that porcelain altar looks strange, but the lady sitting on it will know how to do it."
It's very comfortable, and men will feel very comfortable standing in front." Facing the female guests' looks that were mixed with anger and curiosity, Alfonso twirled his mustache, seeming to be extremely proud of being the decryptor of a great anecdote.
"And there is no need to worry about dirt. After His Royal Highness Fananova has finished his ceremony, he only needs to pull the handle of a machine, and the machine will spray out clean water, and in a blink of an eye, all the filth will be flushed into the sewer, and the porcelain altar and barrel will be rinsed.
It must be as clean as new, whiter than the snow in the Sierra Nevada mountains. Therefore, his bathroom is always clean and fresh. Now, Mr. Sanavria, what do you think about using porcelain as a toilet bowl? Yes, Fan Na
His Royal Highness Novartis’s life is too luxurious, or is Chinese porcelain not so noble nowadays?”
"The count didn't pay much attention to porcelain," Andrade said. "One time, in order to test his shooting skills, he took out an entire set of Chinese porcelain tableware as a target. At a distance of 25 volts, he used his pistol to shoot those beautiful butter balls.
The dishes, condiments and soup plates were smashed into pieces one by one. If I were to perform the same shooting practice, I admit that I would be broke within a few times."
Sanavria drank too much and his face turned red. He thought he had found a straw to save his face, so he roared loudly: "Nonsense, a complete lie! It is absolutely impossible for any person, using any pistol, to 25
He hit a plate at the range of the Vara. Only the most shameless liar would boast so absurdly. I believe that even at half the distance of 25 Vara, he would not have been able to hit anything, even if the target was a dining table."
"Hey, be careful, Mr. Sanavria, you are slandering the reputation of a nobleman, maybe two."
The richest businessman in the colony did not take the warning seriously at all, and the resentment accumulated throughout the party burst out together with the smell of alcohol: "The title of nobility in Italy is only worth 100 ducats! And a forged family tree is not worth so much.
money."
"It's true," the governor's secretary resumed his voluble with acrimonious remarks: "I stayed in Naples for a long time. When I left there, I had 119 princes and 156 dukes on my guest list.
, 173 marquises, and as for counts, there are no less than 300. A Genoese broker, or a Venetian gambler, uses the money he wins from the card table to buy a piece of barren land in Mezzoggiono, then he earns himself a
It’s a noble title. It’s such a profitable business, it’s worth bragging about.” (To be continued…)