Lu Ming

Chapter 604 Crowley's Fantasy Journey ([-])

"Gentlemen, Robert Crawley of Yorkshire, England, it is an honor to meet you."

Taking off his hat with his left hand and behind the back of his right hand, bending over, Crowley immediately stood up and saluted the banquet hosts after being introduced.

"Yorkshire? Crawley?"

Seeing the aristocratic self-introduction, Li Hao, who had the most communication with Old William before, shook the fruit wine in the glass with a playful smile on his face: "The castle of the Crawley family will not be called Downton Castle. Bar?"

At the same time as Li Hao's words came out, there were several cheerful chuckles beside him.

Crowley was a little confused. He didn't know what the other party was laughing at. He had never heard of Downton Castle since he was a child.So Crowley replied honestly: "In fact, the castle passed down by the family has always been called Fort Crowley by the people."

"Yes, I know." Li Hao's face showed a bleak taste of nostalgia for the old days: "I was just joking."

After the somewhat weird meeting procedure, the next step is to get on the right track.Crowley and old William got the chairs as they wished, and they were able to hold up the wine glasses on the long table and wish the great Earl good health.

After this, Crowley joined the table chat.But this time, Crowley confirmed that these Orientals had learned English systematically.Because whenever he talks to an Englishman like him, several people at the table start English directly.

How should I put it, although it is impossible to take the liberty to find out who the private English teacher behind the big man in the East is, but as time went by, Crowley still heard some differences: the English of the Orientals is not only similar to Crowley's standard London accent There are differences in grammar, and there are some new terms that have not been used before.

The only explanation for this, Crowley guessed, was that the other party's English teacher had added a variant of his own ethnicity to the class.

He had a pretty good idea about this: the English teacher of the Orientals must not be British, and there is a high probability that the priest with two swords from a small European country may be a Jewish businessman.That nation is always traveling around the world, and they speak multiple languages, changing flavors and adding vocabulary to suit their living environment.

The only question now is: Why do these big men in the East collectively spend time learning a language that is of little use?
However, at the next moment, Crowley interrupted his speculation about the mysterious teacher.Because someone asked him another question, he had to concentrate on responding to the inquiries of the big shots.

"Mr. Crawley, according to your family background and age, you should have the opportunity to hear Shakespeare's operas in London, right?"

No doubt, this was another question that surprised Crowley secretly.Although Shakespeare's name is powerful and influential throughout the world in later generations, it is now 1632, only 16 years after Shakespeare's death.

In the 17th century, when the transmission of information was extremely slow, Shakespeare was only a playwright sought after by the British, and his influence did not cross the English Channel or even London.

Even the French, who are our nearest neighbors, will not learn about Shakespeare and his works until the next hundred years, in the middle of the 18th century, after being recommended by the great writer Voltaire.

Suppressing the surprise in his heart, Crowley recalled and said: "In fact, I got my first job out of the house in the London performance industry. Based on this, I was fortunate to be a theater scriptwriter a few months before Mr. William died. Assistant, went to Stratford to observe some of his exchanges with theater managers about theatrical texts."

"Wow, this is interesting! Come on, tell me, what did Shakespeare die of?"

The traveler who asked the question was obviously a cultural person.This gentleman seems to be very interested in the cultural evolution of various countries during the Renaissance, and then a series of questions were thrown over.

Crowley felt extremely miraculous and excited to meet someone who liked the culture of his homeland in a foreign country thousands of miles away, and who was also a powerful person.

He quickly immersed himself in one-on-one interactions.

Probably because it is rare to meet foreign businessmen who can explain things clearly in the cultural world, or because the arty shows that Lao Tzu is also a member of cultural people. Next, Crowley needs to talk to more than one person and overcome various accents and word barriers.

The exchange turned into a cultural salon.

Crowley was suddenly a busy man.He answered various questions with a clear and slightly fast speaking speed.

These issues are very complicated, not only about the virtualization of the British cultural atmosphere in the seventeenth century, but also about a series of practical issues about the theater, scripts, poetry, and social inside stories of the aristocrats, which can be called complicated and chaotic.

However, Crowley's eyes were shining now, and he would not refuse anyone.

God knows how long it has been since he stepped on the ship, and he has not come into contact with the words of nobility and literature.And during this long time, how many times did he lie in the dim hammock, listening to the obscene singing faintly coming from outside the deck, and lost his mind, whispering the elegant opera that he was once proud of.

The atmosphere in the salon is very warm.As time went on, Crowley became more involved, fueled by beautiful round glasses and good wine.

He gave full play to the excellent etiquette and education of noble origin, and demonstrated his profound knowledge of poetry and stage plays over the years.

In the end, Crowley, who had forgotten his identity, even scolded an oriental figure who "pretends to understand" and despised the eight-handed script that the other party copied from nowhere.

The next moment, Crowley stood up, lunged and stretched his arms in a posture, looked at the sky with his eyes, and with a strong stage drama style, he recited aloud elegantly and affectionately: "Blow, wind! Burst! Thy cheek, blow violently! You, cataract-like downpour, though it pours down, drowns our steeples, drowns the weathercocks on the roofs! You, quick-thinking brimstone electric fire, split Herald of the crackling oak's thunder, burn my white-haired head!"

After someone improvised extremely professionally, he himself was the first to wake up.Sensing the silent scene around him, Crowley cried out "Damn" at this moment, and then hurriedly bent down, ready to apologize to his master.

However, at the next moment, a burst of applause mixed with whistles interrupted what Crowley was going to say next.

One of the most enthusiastic participants in the cultural discussion before, Li Hao from the Ministry of Commerce stood up at this moment, said "COOL" in his mouth, and at the same time gave Crowley a glass of white wine: "Professional, this is called professional! I like professional people, no matter what era."

Looking around and finding that everyone was nodding in agreement, Li Hao pointed to the bearded old William and said with emotion: "As far as I have seen in the past few years, all people who come to East Asia, except for illiterates, are thugs, gamblers, The desperadoes went up and down, inside and out, men and women, big and small, all returned to the pile, all fucking bastards!"

Speaking of this, Li Hao laughed and put his arms around Crowley's shoulders: "This is the only one, talented!"

"Come on, true noble gentleman, brothers toast to you!"

Although he couldn't understand the previous paragraph in Chinese, Li Hao said the next two sentences in English.Crowley, who had figured out the situation, realized that he had inadvertently been appreciated, so he raised his glass and said, "Please call me Robert, Dear Lee."

With this episode, the follow-up Sharon Crowley is more relaxed.Putting aside his identity as a businessman, Crowley, who is purely in a state of "cultural exchange", then solidly popularized some real London performances in the [-]th century to the hosts.

In fact, just like the Chinese saying of "lower class", the so-called art performances in this era are also an industry that is used for entertainment and despised by high-level people.

At the end of the 16th century, theater acting was far from being a respected profession.This industry is full of all kinds of "thieves, horse thieves, whores, liars and rebels", and the quality of the practitioners is low. The reason why London theaters are built in groups in Southwark on the south bank of the Thames happens to be because it is under the jurisdiction The blank area, the so-called three no matter zone.

And Crowley also sincerely told fans: Shakespeare included, when they entered the industry, they had to start from the most humble occupations, working for those notorious theater owners.

In this era, opening a theater was not much different from opening a brothel, both of which were places where people from the middle and lower classes of society sought out flowers and flowers.Punks, pimps, and whores roam the theater, and the audience is minimally interested in the stage performance.

After this sincere conversation, Old William, who had been unable to intervene for a long time and only knew how to drink heavily, found that Crowley had become the most popular person in the salon.

This surprised Old William, and he kept talking about Lord God.

Of course, there is no permanent banquet in the world.When it was getting dark, this wonderful salon party finally came to an end.

But it's not over yet.

After the show ended, Li Hao from the Commerce Department first asked Old William when he would return to Batavia.After learning that the Dutch will stay in the Ming Dynasty until the monsoon season in the second half of the year before setting sail, Li Hao nodded: This is not unexpected. Most of the European merchant ships coming to the Ming Dynasty follow this rhythm. .

The next moment, Crowley finally received the most precious invitation in the first half of his life.

Before leaving, Li Hao patted Crowley on the shoulder, and told him meaningfully: "Don't spend all the money. Before leaving Ming Dynasty, come to the Ministry of Commerce to find me. I have a business that is very suitable for you."

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The ecstatic old William, after returning that night, opened his treasured tin barrel of rum, and took Crowley to drink all night: no one knows the "special invitation" of the boss of the Ministry of Commerce better than old William What a great business opportunity lies behind it.

In the end, Old William fell drunk with the barrel in his arms, but he kept chanting a sentence: "Crowley, you lucky bastard, no matter what business you get, you have to let Old William get a share, that's me. deserved it!"

(End of this chapter)