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British envoy Douglas and Portuguese envoy Carlo each brought a delegation of more than 20 people, and envoys from Otsa, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and West Bengal also arrived in Ningbo at the same time. They were formally received by Xie Qian, the deputy minister of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Daqin.
Ningbo was the first provincial capital of the Qin Dynasty to set up a maritime customs office. With the continuous prosperity of maritime trade, a large number of goods were gathered here from all over the Qin Dynasty every day and loaded onto ships for shipment.
Merchant ships returning from overseas naturally also brought back shiploads of cargo, which were unloaded here and distributed to various cities in the country.
The entire Ningbo city, both inside and outside, is extremely prosperous. There is usually a line drawn in the middle of the avenue leading to the port, and all pedestrians and vehicles keep to the right. So although the road is busy, it appears to be in good order. This left a deep impression on Douglas, Carlo and others.
As for the envoys from Otsa, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and West Bengal, there is no need to mention them. They kept their mouths open for a long time when they looked at anything, and their surprised expressions made people want to laugh.
As soon as they got ashore, Lagras and others were fascinated by the loading and unloading cranes at the port. They repeatedly asked Xie Qian to let them visit the cranes at the port. Xie Qian finally agreed and personally took them to the cargo loading and unloading area of the dock.
You don’t know until you see it. It’s shocking when you see it, and you don’t quite understand it.
There are many tall cranes on the Ningbo wharf, and underneath is a coal-fired boiler that transmits steam to an iron machine. The machine continuously sprays out hot white gas, driving a large wheel that rotates rapidly and continuously.
A worker stood in front of an iron box with a two-foot-long iron rod on it. The worker only needed to push the iron rod and there would be a "click!" sound. The cable disc next to the iron box would start to rotate, and then the pulley group on the crane arm would move along, and hundreds or thousands of pounds of cargo packed in wooden frames below would be lifted high.
When the goods rise to a certain height, the workers push the iron rod again, the cable tray will slowly reverse, and the goods will slowly fall down.
At this time, several strong men on the boat held a long hook and hooked the slowly rising cargo to the deck. When the cargo was still one foot away from the deck, several strong men cooperated tacitly and worked together to pull the cargo weighing hundreds of pounds steadily onto the deck, easily and quickly.
Douglas and Carlo were stunned by all this. This not only saves a lot of manpower, but also the speed of loading and unloading is several times faster than manual loading and unloading.
Douglas and Carlo knew that the key lay in the thing that spewed hot air and the iron box with an iron rod sticking out of it. One provided power and the other was used for control.
Douglas humbly asked Xie Qian for advice, and Xie Qian smiled and was very polite, but the answer was that he didn't know either.
Coming out of the port and entering the streets of Ningbo, we were overwhelmed by the hundreds of diplomatic envoys from various countries.
Compared with the extremely dirty and smelly European cities, the streets of Ningbo are as clean and beautiful as God's garden.
The buildings along the street are decorated with flowers and birds everywhere, from the raised eaves to the walls and windows, which are extremely exquisite and amazing.
The flower stands on the shop doors still have flowers blooming even in this cold winter season, and there are beautiful tassels and colorful signs under the tea stands;
The shops are filled with a dazzling variety of goods. People in bright clothes are freely choosing their favorite goods under the warm greetings of the shop owners.
One of the shops has huge floor-to-ceiling glass windows. The furnishings are luxurious and unique. What is sold in the shop is a kind of women's clothing called "Mobile Garden". Each piece of dazzlingly beautiful women's clothing is worn on life-size wooden mannequins, who look like beautiful princesses or ladies, standing in the floor-to-ceiling glass windows and showing off their beauty to the fullest.
Douglas and Carlo were instantly intoxicated 1
They had almost no resistance to such gorgeous women's clothing and walked over without controlling their steps.
The entire luxurious shop was covered with exquisite carpets and was spotless, which made Douglas and Carlo feel a little ashamed when they walked to the door of the store. They hesitated and dared not step in.
At this time, a blond and blue-eyed white woman walked out of the store. She was wearing a "mobile garden", a beautiful hat on her head, and white silk gloves on her hands. Even the princesses of European countries would be ashamed of themselves for wearing such an outfit.
And she was just a shopping guide in this store, inviting these customers from Europe into the store in fluent Dutch.
"Oh, God!"
“Oh, is this true?”
Douglas and others felt dizzy. The store was filled with a fresh fragrance, as if countless beautiful roses were blooming.
The luxurious decoration and exquisite arrangement of the store made them feel inexplicably uneasy, as if they were standing in heaven, and they were afraid that they would defile this place.
The salesperson, who was dressed more beautifully than a princess, quietly introduced the clothes in the store to them. Douglas admired each piece of clothing one by one, as if he were appreciating the most magical work of art.
He learned from the clerk that each set of these enchantingly beautiful clothes cost four to five hundred dragon coins, equivalent to more than two hundred to three hundred taels of silver.
Such a price may sound scary at first, but if you think about it, compared with its luxurious materials, exquisite design and intoxicating effects, it is worth the higher price.
Douglas has secretly decided that when he returns, he will definitely choose a set for his wife and daughter. It can be imagined that it will amaze the whole of Europe.
Douglas and others had just come out of the store, and after taking a few steps, they couldn't help but stop because they were attracted by something new.
In an antique shop with an ancient flavor, the owner took out a small wooden stick from a small box, and then gently scratched the red-painted side of the box. A magical scene appeared, and the small wooden stick caught fire.
The shop owner used it to light sandalwood, but the first stick went out due to a gust of wind coming in through the door, so the sandalwood could not be lit. The shop owner then took out another stick from the small box, and with another light stroke, the flame ignited again... ...
"What's this?"
"Oh my god, this is amazing."
Douglas didn't even have time to say hello to Xie Qian before he walked into the antique shop first.
When the owner saw someone coming into the store, he immediately came forward to greet him. But when he saw that it was a Westerner, he was not surprised at all.
Douglas pointed to the small box the shopkeeper had just taken and chattered in English.
Xie Qian came up and explained to him with a smile: "Mr. Ambassador, this thing is called a match. It was invented by our Great Qin this year. Because it is convenient and practical, many places in our Great Qin have already used it for daily fire starting. If Mr. Ambassador likes it, I will have someone send two boxes to each of you later."
"Matchsticks, amazing, what are they made of?"
"Haha, I only know how to use it. I don't know what it's made of. Sorry, sorry."
Douglas finally understood that no matter what new thing you wanted to visit, Xie Qian would take you to see it, but if you asked him how it was made, he would politely answer that he didn't know. Obviously, it was difficult to get anything out of him.
When they arrived at the embassy in Ningbo, Douglas and his group were like Liu Lao Lao entering the Grand View Garden. Many people made jokes. One of the accompanying staff even drank water from the flush toilet and grinned with enjoyment after drinking it...
After the embassy staff explained, the man's face turned as red as a pig's liver, and he wished he could find a hole in the ground to crawl into.
At dusk, Xie Qian hosted a banquet to entertain envoys from Douglas, Carlo, Ottosa and other countries. The small tables in front of each person were filled with exquisite meals, which made people salivate.
Xie Qian was very elegant and said with a smile, "Gentlemen, please."
The problem was that there were only chopsticks on the table. Douglas and Carlo picked up the chopsticks hesitantly, looked at each other, and then looked at Xie Qian together.
Not to mention the envoys from countries like Otsa, they usually eat with five-clawed chopsticks, and these chopsticks are too high-end for them.
Adil, the envoy of Otsa, thought to himself, you could at least make these chopsticks sharper so that we can use them to poke and eat.
"Everyone, when in Rome, do as the Romans do. Please."
Xie Qian smiled and picked up the chopsticks, demonstrating to everyone...
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ps: There will be three updates today. Firstly, I want to fulfill my promise of adding one update for every 100 votes. Secondly, I also want to take this opportunity to ask for monthly tickets from you guys. Today is the 26th, and there are only a few days left until the end of the month. The pursuers behind me are all making great efforts. Brothers, please give me some support and I ask for your support of monthly tickets!
.(To be continued..)
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