Zahra didn't wait too long. After a while, a taxi rickshaw that can be seen everywhere in Dongmen City sped over carrying a petite figure. It was girl Sonia who got out of the car--originally from Lisbon.
Naturalist, now the maid with the most freedom and influence in Lingao. Sonia is wearing a short dress that has never been seen before. The upper body is similar to the jacket of the senator, but it has a waist design. The lower body is trousers instead of a skirt.
On her feet was a pair of strange shoes that wrapped around her ankles, but she still wore the straw hat with the ribbon on it. More importantly, her iconic blue eyes were still as bright as the Persian girl remembered.
Zahra and Sonia met in the Basra slave market. Because they were both rare resources of good quality, they all belonged to the same slave owner after changing hands several times. The sources of slaves in Basra were diverse, and the most common ones were brought about by the continuous wars in the surrounding area.
Prisoners of war and plundered civilians, there are also many free people who fell into poverty due to debts or various misfortunes. Pirate trophies like Sonia and victims of political struggles like Zahra are relatively rare types.
Although the two were originally imprisoned in the same slave shed, they were not in conflict with each other - they were of different races, not to mention they had different beliefs. Although it seemed that they had little in common, they could serve the British government of Lingao.
People have become their common bond. When Quark personally led the team to buy and sell in Basra, they could not help but interact with the slave owners they belonged to. When Quark was choosing, Sonia, who realized her opportunity, asked him for help in English.
help.
Although Quark was half of her compatriots, it was not as important for compatriots to make money. The slave could tell at a glance that Sonia could be "sold at a good price" and immediately bought her at no cost.
Sonia did not escape from slavery as she wished, but she finally left the hellish slave market.
It was precisely because of this incident that Zahra realized that she and Sonia had a common language that they could communicate with - English. In fact, half of Zahra's English proficiency was attributed to Sonia. Although Sonia is tall,
In Lisbon, her mother was from a British aristocracy, and English was her pure mother tongue. Compared to Zahra, who relied on books and half-knife translations to learn English, that was a real world of difference.
Although it does not have the same lofty status as after Newton's birth, the British scientific community in this era has begun to emerge. The most typical representatives are Bacon, who said "knowledge is power", and Francis Bacon, who has just published a monograph proposing the "blood circulation theory"
Harvey, especially Bacon, whose empiricist theory emphasized in-depth observation of phenomena in nature, played a very important role in the formation of Sonia's outlook on life and aspirations. Sonia never gave up on English.
It was in the hot and bumpy cabin and constant communication with sister Sonia that Zahra actually learned English. Also compared to Sonia, a child of a sailor family who was born on the seaside and grew up at sea, she was pampered since she was a child.
Zahra's tolerance for the long voyage was far from good. During the voyage, Zahra suffered from fever, vomiting and fainting more than once. Without the careful care and attention of sister Sonia, she might not have been able to endure it.
The day we landed.
Sonia jumped out of the car and hugged the Persian girl who came towards her, and kissed her cheek:
"You look so good!" Sonia said sincerely, "We haven't seen each other for a long time!"
Although their Newspeak skills are now sufficient for communication, they still habitually converse in English at this moment.
Zahra also responded with a passionate kiss: "You are dressed so weirdly, where did you go wild?" She suddenly noticed the curly hair exposed under her hat, and asked in surprise: "You cut your hair
Already?!"
"Yes, it was cut short." Sonia said nonchalantly, "It's inconvenient to go out to inspect the hair because it's too long."
"What beautiful hair!" Zahra said half regretfully and half jokingly, "Your master will not like it..."
Two fashionably dressed ghost girls were pushing and fighting in the street, which inevitably attracted the attention of passers-by. Fortunately, the locals knew that this was a pet peeve of the chiefs, so no one bothered them.
"I just came back from going to sea with the long-range exploration team. I just came back a few days ago." Sonia recently participated in Nanyang Company's inspection of Ceylon Island. However, all current inspections of Southeast Asia are conducted secretly under the guise of trade.
, so she could only say it was a "remote exploration team" and could not disclose the specific destination.
"Go to sea, go to sea, you always go to sea, aren't you afraid of being kidnapped by Malay pirates?!" Zahra was frightened when she heard the word "go to sea". In Basra, she saw too many sailings and being captured.
The miserable men and women who became slaves.
"Malay pirates? We have captured a few of them this time." Sonia beamed, "I carefully studied their language and ethnicity on the ship..."
"You should just say this in three sentences..." Zahra was a little dissatisfied, "How is the child?"
"It's good," Sonia nodded repeatedly, "It's just that she didn't recognize me very well. It took her a while to remember that I was her mother." She couldn't help but feel a little regretful when she said this.
"You're already a mother, so it's better to do less crazy overseas expeditions. Isn't it a good researcher at the museum? It's decent and fulfills your wish to engage in natural history..."
"Since you are a researcher, you have to go to sea for inspection." Sonia's expression was a little complicated. "Let's not talk about this anymore. Let's have a good time today."
Just as they were preparing to happily go shopping together, they heard a clear voice coming from the side, "Sisters, do you want some Australian popsicles?"
Turning around, I saw a freckle-faced boy who was at most eleven or twelve years old, wearing a white waistcoat with a big red flower on it. The backpack on his shoulder contained a large thermos bucket, and he also had a hand.
Holding a stack of paper. The girls knew that this was a kid selling Australian ice drinks. Sonia generously handed over a twenty currency coupon. "Two mung bean popsicles, no need to look for them."
A mung bean popsicle costs five cents, and two sticks only cost ten cents. This ghost girl’s tip is ten cents. The young man feels refreshed, and it seems that what the senior said is true. Eight out of ten ghost girls are dressed in such fancy clothes.
Nine is the concubine of the senator. She is the most generous and likes all kinds of novel gadgets. It is easiest to make money from them.
While taking the money, he continued to sell: "Sisters, I have the latest Australian ice cream here. The latest Australian product from Tianshan Cold Drink Factory is delicious and thirst-quenching. It costs twenty cents a pop. Do you want to try it, sisters?
?”
Sonia herself is a person who likes to try new things, so of course she immediately agreed. The boy happily took out a long tong and took out two pieces of original ice cream. Different from the directly exposed popsicles, the outside of the ice cream was wrapped with a soft layer.
The white paper looks much more elegant.
He filled a straw handbag with ice cubes and then put the ice cream in it. This measure could ensure that the ice cream would retain its flavor without melting for about half an hour. It was a simple heat preservation measure.
Before leaving, the boy who sold out the ice cream stuffed a piece of paper over him, saying that it was a coupon for the latest Australian restaurant that had opened to offer discounts. The paper itself was not big, and there were some pictures and slogans printed on it. It looked typical at first glance.
Printed by Australians. Sonia is relatively close to Australians and can basically read Chinese, so she read the words on the paper to Zahra, "Origined in Tokyo, flourished in Australia, I like it when I taste the laughter."
Sonia couldn't understand the wording here, but the picture drawn on the top of the paper was relatively clear: several men and women gathered around a steaming plate, smiling broadly, eating and drinking. And the top of the paper was the most clear.
There is a line of big characters written below: "This month's special offering, seafood supreme cooking cakes, you can get a discount of 2 yuan per portion with this coupon." There is also a map printed on the back of the paper, in the common "Bairen Transportation and Tourism Map"
There is a large double arch-shaped pattern on the template to mark the location. At first glance, it is not far from where they are now.
The girls who were patronizing the novelty did not notice that there was actually a row of small numbers on the right side of the coupons. The numbers were consistent with the ones under the waistcoat of the boy who sold them the ice cream. This is the latest business scope of the Red Flower Club - distribution.
DM advertising flyer. The original goal of the Red Flower Club was to solve the basic living problems of children from poor families, and then added a bit of work-study nature. Now it cooperates with merchants to issue leaflets and coupons, and every coupon is used
, the issuer gets a commission at the end of the month, and is also responsible for preventing these leaflets from being discarded indiscriminately.
Since it's not far away, it's a place where you can sit and relax. Originally, the two of them planned to find a place to sit down and chat while eating. The two girls, who were intrigued by the advertisement, decided to walk over and have a look. They are currently standing.
The place is adjacent to the large construction site of the cooperative's new building, which is the intersection of Dongmen Avenue and a newly widened cross street. Since the width of this street is almost as wide as Dongmen Avenue and much wider than other cross streets in the same direction, ordinary people
It is commonly known as "Broad Street". On the newly released East Gate map, the official name of this street has been changed to "Parkway Street". Many people think it means "a gathering of hundreds of industries", but in fact it is a certain
The elders borrowed the English name Broadway from "Broad Street" in old times.
In the not-too-distant future, the intersection of Dongmen Avenue and Parkway Street will become a world-famous fashionable intersection, just like Ginza in Japan or Times Square in New York in the old days. Countless tourists will hang out here. And Dongmen Avenue and the surrounding areas
The parallel streets of Guangming, Liberation, Freedom, and Rejuvenation are collectively called the Five Avenues. Together with the four horizontal streets of the city, namely Baihui, Huaqiang, Chunxi, and Hanzheng, they form the new urban core.