Smuggling Daming

The reception banquet was arranged at the residence of the Nanyang Chamber of Commerce. Because there were too many people participating in the banquet, the lobby alone would not be able to sit, so only some important figures of the fleet were seated in the lobby, and most people sat in the open space outside. It's not too hot, just put tables and chairs and everyone sits together to eat and drink.

In order to show his importance to the European craftsmen like Chilawa, Zhou Zhong specially arranged them in the living room. There were 54 of them in total, and they sat at seven tables at once. They just asked Father John to greet them for the time being, and to toast them after he finished his work here.

But soon Zhou Zhong discovered the problem. Those Europeans were all sitting on the right side of the living room, but just as they sat down, the people at some tables adjacent to them all moved the tables outward in unison. Keep a distance from those Europeans, and most of the people on the wine table are from the fleet. It is said that they have been together on the ship for so long, everyone should know each other, and when drinking is so lively, someone should toast Alcohol is the key, but in fact no one from the fleet goes there, and even some people who toast will deliberately stay away from places where Europeans would go.

Seeing this situation, Zhou Zhong was also a little strange. When others were not paying attention, he touched Liu Tao next to him with his shoulder, and then asked in a low voice: "What's the matter, why don't the people in your fleet seem to be Would you like to be close to the European artisans who came back with you?"

Hearing Zhou Zhong's words, Liu Tao lowered his head and laughed for a long time as if he heard some joke.In the end, he suppressed a smile and said, "Boss, when I was at the pier just now, I saw that you had already talked to those Europeans. Didn't you feel that something was wrong at that time?"

"No? What's wrong?" Zhou Zhong was only interested in being happy at the time, and didn't pay attention to other things at all.

"Here!" Liu Tao pointed to his nose, "Master, you really didn't smell anything?"

"Nose?" Zhou Zhong also had a thoughtful expression on his face when he heard this, and at the same time recalled the scene when he met people like Chilawa on the pier just now. As a result, he got up soon. When talking face to face, he seemed to smell a bad smell.However, the wind on the pier was strong at that time, and he only cared about being happy, and there were often fishing boats on the pier, so he thought it was the fishy smell from which fishing boat was just blowing over, so he didn't care. Now Liu Tao has reminded me like this.Only then did I discover that the source of the stench seemed to be emanating from people like Chilawa.

"Damn! I remembered!" Zhou Zhong, who was wondering, suddenly remembered the historical records. The period of Ming Dynasty was just the middle ages in Europe. It seems that Europeans did not take a bath during this period, and this custom is not only Not just a certain group of people, but the whole of Europe, from princes and nobles to traffickers and pawns.All do not take a bath, and this custom of not bathing has lasted for hundreds of years.Therefore, Europe during this period is also historically known as "Europe that has not been washed for a thousand years".

Speaking of ancient Europe, Chinese people of later generations may quickly think of clean cities, tidy men and women, handsome gentlemen, and women in gorgeous round skirts, but these impressions are all from the films and televisions shot by Europeans themselves. The real ancient Europe, to be exact, the Middle Ages after the Black Death, the whole of Europe was a dirty mess, the streets were full of feces and sewage.People dress sloppily, even the so-called gentlemen and ladies of the upper class.Beneath their gorgeous coats is a body full of grime and lice.

Speaking of which, Europe claims to have inherited Roman civilization, but they did not inherit the hygiene concept of the Romans. The Romans bathed most of the day, but most of the Europeans in the Middle Ages did not bathe for several years or even their entire lives. Those well-dressed ladies, who can take a bath twice a year, can be regarded as the cleanest people in the entire upper class.

The reason why the whole of Europe did not take a bath was mainly because the European medical community at that time believed that water would reduce the body's resistance to diseases. Absolutely intolerable, so whether it is princes or nobles or ordinary people, except for drinking water, they try to avoid any part of their body touching water, and even washing their faces and feet are abandoned by most people, let alone drinking water. Take a shower.

The fear of water made the whole of Europe extremely dirty, and later, with the addition of the church, this behavior of not bathing found a basis in belief. A dirty body was considered to be easier to approach God, and even There was also a directive from the church: for those who are good, especially young people, they should basically not be allowed to bathe.

There is even a devout female believer who once showed off to others that she hadn't washed her face for 18 years, which made her think she was the purest person.Likewise, St. Abraham did not wash his face or feet for 50 years.Saint-Simon let worms crawl over his festering wounds and never washed them.Henry IV's mother did not bathe all her life, but was canonized as Saint Agnès.

Medical misunderstandings and religious ignorance make Europeans treat their own personal hygiene extremely badly. In the eyes of many people, only certain special patients need to take a bath, and those men who wash their faces often will be treated People think of it as a sissy or a gigolo, and there is nothing masculine about it.

Of course, if you don't take a bath all year round, your body will definitely emit a disgusting smell. Although Europeans' concept of hygiene has been distorted, their noses can still distinguish the smell. In order to cover up the stench on your body, The demand for spices in Europe's high society has greatly increased, and this has also indirectly promoted Europeans' desire for the East, because the East produces the spices they desperately need.

Thinking of the above, Zhou Zhong couldn't help turning pale. He finally knew what he smelled on the pier. It was the stench from people who hadn't bathed for many years. There is also no condition to take a bath, but Zhou Zhong dares to bet that even the dirtiest boatman is probably not as good as those European craftsmen, otherwise they would not take the initiative to move their desks to keep themselves away from those Europeans. a little.

Those boatmen often run on the sea, and sometimes when the supply cannot keep up, they will also eat some spoiled and moldy food and drink some stinky fresh water. To them, the general smell is probably nothing at all, but now the strange When those people in Lava got together, the smell they gave off made the boatmen shy away. From this we can see that the smell can definitely be compared with the stink bombs of later generations.

Liu Tao next to Zhou Zhong drank two glasses with the people who came to toast, then sat down and watched Zhou Zhong still staring at the Europeans over there in a daze, then laughed and said, "Master, as the saying goes, 'Going to sea for three years, sow Changing Diaochan', look at that Miss Sheila over there, although she looks different from us Central Plains women, she has round hips, big breasts, and slender waist. You can tell that she is a good-looking woman. A beautiful woman boarded the boat, and the beasts on the boat were already crazy, but since Miss Shira boarded the boat, no one on the boat dared to get close, because she couldn't stand the strange smell on her body that couldn't be masked by face powder. .”

Hearing Liu Tao's words, Zhou Zhong couldn't help but feel ashamed. He originally thought that Miss Xila, who was a girl, would be better, but he didn't expect it to be the same. But it's not surprising after thinking about it, after all, the environment in which the other party grew up is like this , Naturally think that not taking a bath is a matter of course, I guess she has long been used to the strange smell on her body.

Just when Zhou Zhong was thinking wildly, he saw Father Ruowang walking over with a smile, and then said to Zhou Zhong in a low voice: "Young Master Zhou, everyone is very grateful for your hospitality, do you think it's time to go and tell everyone? A few words, and a few drinks to get closer to each other."

Father Ruowang has stayed in Daming for more than a year, and now he speaks and behaves more and more like a Daming person.But Zhou Zhong had a wry smile on his face when he heard his words. If he had known that the smell of these Europeans was so terrifying, he would have asked Father John to entertain them on his behalf, but he had already spoken out on the pier before, Now that Father John came to invite him in person, how could he say no?

Thinking of this, Zhou Zhong couldn't help sighing softly, turned his head to look at the other party and said, "Father John, do you have any way to make these people you brought change their original living habits, such as taking a bath or something? "

Father Ruowang heard Zhou Zhong's words, looked at his helpless expression, and immediately understood Zhou Zhong's thoughts, and he said righteously: "I'm sorry, Mr. Zhou, in our opinion, it is wrong not to wash your body. The devotion to the Lord, as a priest, it is even more impossible for me to persuade them to give up their devotion to the Lord!"

Zhou Zhong was not surprised by Father John's refusal, after all, European churches highly encourage the act of not taking a bath.But then he thought of another thing, turned his head to smell Father John, and then asked very strangely: "Father John, why are you so clean, I can't smell anything at all , don’t your church allow believers to take a bath, but the priests in the church can take a bath?”

Hearing Zhou Zhong's question, I saw Father John puffed up his chest, and said solemnly: "Young Master Zhou misunderstood, people in our church are not allowed to take a bath, and only when punishing those sinners, they will use it." Cold water was poured on the other party. As the president of the Dominican Society, I have always obeyed the rules of the church. Before coming to Daming, I hadn’t taken a bath for ten years, but when I first came to Daming, Every time before we preached, the people of Ming Dynasty would hold their noses and run away. Finally, I discussed it with Priest Nader. In order to spread the glory of God to Daming as soon as possible, we began to take a bath. I believe the Lord will forgive Ours!" (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for recommendations and monthly tickets. Your support is my biggest motivation.)