Lin Gao Qiming

Chapter 2819 Best Friend

Zahra didn't have to wait too long. Soon, a rickshaw that can be seen everywhere in Dongmen City came with a petite figure. The person who got off the rickshaw was Sonia, a naturalist from Lisbon, and now the most independent and influential maid in Linggao. Sonia was dressed in a short outfit that had never been seen before. The top was similar to the old man's double-breasted short top, but it was designed with a waist. The bottom was pants instead of a skirt, and on her feet were a pair of strange ankle-wrapped shoes, but the straw hat with a diagonal ribbon decoration was still there. More importantly, her iconic blue eyes were still as bright as the Persian girl remembered.

Zahra and Sonia met in the Basra slave market. Since they were both rare resources of good quality, they all ended up with the same slave owner after changing hands several times. The sources of slaves in Basra are diverse. Most of them are prisoners of war and civilians who were plundered from the continuous wars in the surrounding areas. There are also many free people who fell into slavery due to debts or various misfortunes. The trophies of pirates like Sonia and Victims of political struggle like Zahra are a relatively rare breed.

Although the two were originally imprisoned in the same slave shed, they were incompatible with each other - they were of different races, not to mention they had different beliefs. Although it seems that they have nothing in common, the British who serve Lingao have become their common bond. Quarkchon personally led the team during the shopping trip in Basra, and inevitably had to deal with the slave owners to whom they belonged. During Quark's selection, Sonia, realizing her chance, asked him for help in English.

Although Quark is half of her compatriots, making money is not as important as compatriots. 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, Zahra owes half of her English proficiency to Sonia. Although Sonia grew up in Lisbon, her mother was an aristocrat from England, and English was her pure native language. Compared to Zahra, who relies on books and half-hearted translators to learn English, that is 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 rise to prominence. The most typical representatives are Bacon who said "knowledge is power" and Harvey who just published a monograph proposing the "blood circulation theory". 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. Sister Sonia has never given up on English.

It was in the hot and bumpy cabin and constant communication with Sonia that Zahra actually learned English. Similarly, compared to Sonia, a child of a family of sailors who was born and raised at the seaside, Zahra, a spoiled little princess who has been pampered since childhood, is far less able to withstand long voyages. During the voyage, Zahra suffered from fever, vomiting and fainting more than once. Without Sister Sonia's careful care and attention, she might not have survived the day she 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 !”

"Yes, it's cut short." Sonia said nonchalantly, "It's inconvenient to go out for inspection because the hair is 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 on 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 the 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 reveal 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 miserable men and women who sailed to sea and were captured and turned into slaves.

"Malay pirates? We have captured a few of them this time." Sonia beamed, "I carefully studied their language and race on the ship..." "You should just say this in three sentences..." Zha Hera was a little dissatisfied, "How is the child?"

"Very 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 my 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 the researcher at the museum very good? 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. He was wearing a white waistcoat with a big red flower on it. The backpack on his shoulder contained a large thermos bucket, and there was a bottle in his hand. Holding a stack of paper. The girls knew that this was a kid selling Australian ice drinks, so Sonia generously handed over a twenty-cent circulation 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 as soon as she makes a move. The young man suddenly felt energetic. It seemed that what his senior said was indeed true. In all likelihood, ghost girls with such fancy clothes are the concubines of the elders. They are the most generous and like all kinds of novel gadgets. It's easiest to make money from them.

As he took 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 clip and took out two pieces of original ice cream. Unlike the exposed popsicles, the outside of the ice cream was wrapped with a layer of soft white paper, which made it look much more stylish.

He filled a straw tote bag with ice cubes and then filled it with ice cream. This measure ensured that the ice cream would retain its flavor without melting for about half an hour. It is a simple thermal insulation measure.

The boy who sold out the ice cream handed over a piece of paper before he left, saying that it was a coupon for the latest Australian restaurant that had opened to offer discounts. The paper itself is not big, and there are some pictures and slogans printed on it. At first glance, it looks like typical Australian printing. Sonia is relatively close to the 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 have a taste of laughter."

Sonia couldn't understand the wording here, but the picture drawn in the middle of the paper was relatively clear: several men and women gathered around a steaming plate, smiling broadly, eating and drinking. At the bottom of the paper, a line of big characters reads: "This month's special offer is the Supreme Seafood Pancake. You can get a discount of 2 yuan per serving by holding this coupon." There is also a map printed on the back of the paper. On the common "Bairen Transportation and Tourism Map" template, there is a large double arch-shaped pattern marking 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 coupon. The numbers were the same as those under the waistcoat of the boy who sold them the ice cream. This is the latest business scope of Honghua Club - issuing DM advertising sheets. The original goal of the Red Flower Society was to solve the basic living problems of children from poor families, and then added a bit of work-study nature. Now we work with merchants to distribute leaflets and coupons. For every coupon that is used, the issuer will receive a commission at the end of the month. It is also the responsibility of the issuer to prevent 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, intrigued by the advertisement, decided to walk over and take a look. The place where they are currently standing is adjacent to the large construction site of the cooperative's new building, which is at the intersection of Dongmen Avenue and a newly widened side street. Since the width of this street is almost as wide as Dongmen Avenue and much wider than other crossing roads in the same direction, ordinary people commonly call it "Broad Street". On the newly released map of East Gate, the official name of this street was changed to "Parkway Street". Many people think it means "a gathering of all industries", but in fact it is the English name Broadway that a certain veteran borrowed from the "Broad Street" in the old time and space.

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, where countless tourists will hang out. Dongmen Avenue and the parallel streets of Guangming, Liberation, Freedom, and Fuxing are collectively known as the Five Avenues. Together with the four horizontal streets of the city, namely Baihui, Huaqiang, Chunxi, and Hanzheng, they form the new urban core.