Chapter 215: The High Shore is for Me
Elisabetta pulled out the wine glasses from the shelves and lined them up at the bar. Pen, fun, pavilion www. biquge。 Info Then, she picked up the bottle of wine with a big belly and filled the glass with Vino.
As she poured her drink, Wan Guohou stood in front of the window on the side of the bar, looking out at the small courtyard. By this time it was completely dark, and the courtyard was lit up. The soft and elegant light shines on the trees and flower beds in the courtyard, and it is as quiet as a beautiful little poem.
Next to the flower bed, there is a small fountain made of thick stones. It is not difficult for Wan Guohou to guess that there should be many cute and colorful little fish swimming inside. He withdrew his gaze and turned to look at the bar. The hall with oak tables and chairs, dark walls, and a floor of black and white checkered tiles has a strong southern European feel. The smell of creamy mushroom rice wafted through the air, which made him a little dazed, as if he had inadvertently intruded into the kitchen of an Italian family.
Outside the window, there was the chirping of birds, and the gentle and crisp singing, like the loving smiles of relatives, made people intoxicated.
This long-awaited sweet family atmosphere made Wan Guohou a little overwhelmed, and he looked at everyone, only to realize that everyone was waiting for him to speak. He walked over to the bar, coughed lightly, and picked up his glass, "Please forgive me for my gaffes." Maybe you are used to this kind of happiness of family reunion, but for me, this kind of happiness is too precious and too rare. ”
"We're really happy now. "But we've also suffered indescribable pain, and we've shed tears that can fill what the Romans called 'tear pots.'" ”
Beatrizzi is not exaggerating. Fabrizio tucked his messy curls, which seemed to be characteristic of the family. "I don't think there are many people in this world who are more miserable than us. ”
Wan Guohou stared at him, as if waiting for an answer.
"Master Hou, Sergio has already told you what happened in Badia back then, right?" asked Federico.
"Yes. ”
"Well, you should know that our great-grandfather once spent a lot of effort looking for Hanover. ”
"Not bad. ”
Federico sighed, "Did you know that our great-grandfather was discovered by the 'Unkind Society' in the pursuit of Hanover? ”
Wan Guohou shook his head in silence.
"Our great-grandmother used to be a very good DOH, but she went crazy because she encouraged her husband to fulfill the family mission. ”
"She pushed her two children into a pond with her own hands and drowned, and then she committed suicide. On that day, our grandfather was spared death for working part-time outside. In the decades that followed, we were relatively safe. However, in 2014, the people of the Tokyo branch ...... All died at the hands of the CIA. ”
There was silence in the hall.
"Good thing there is Eugenie. Fabrizio's face was gloomy, "It's good to have her." ”
Hearing this name, Wan Guohou's face changed slightly, he took out a handkerchief and wiped his mouth gently, as if he didn't want people to see his emotions.
"We are grateful to Eugenie for giving us the most basic respect for Hannover, for keeping us up to our family beliefs, for protecting us from suffering and starvation, for keeping us from losing our dignity. Beatrizzi said solemnly.
"Master Hou, do you know Eugenie?" Thiago asked.
Wan Guohou nodded, put away the handkerchief, then took out the jewelry box and took out the parchment roll inside.
"On the way here, I hesitated to tell you about it. He looked at the group of Italians with serious expressions, "Now I think you should know." With that, he unfolded the little parchment scroll and began to retell the history.
In 1899, Sergio's wife died of illness. The following year, he remarried, and the woman was named Eugenie. After Wan Guohou said this, he glanced at the people around him.
"Yes, this is our great grandmother Eugenie. Beatrizzi nervously asked, "What's wrong?"
"Rest easy. "But one thing Sergio didn't know was that Eugenie wasn't just a personal maid to Cotton's niece, as she introduced herself. In fact, Eugenie was the adopted daughter that Cotton had intended to pass on to himself from a distant relative. But because Cotton's niece has never been married, Cotton also feels sorry for her being alone, so he asks Eugenie to stay with her. In 1900, Sergio married Eugenie. And on Christmas Day 1899, Cotton secretly gifted Eugenie's jewelry store in Florence. Wan Guohou put down his hand and crumpled the parchment roll in his palm, "and this jewelry store later became the most important source of income for the Greco family. The name of this jewelry store is 'Takagishi'. The Old German word for 'high bank' was Hohenufer, which gradually evolved into Hannover. As we all know, the Hannover family originated in Germany. ”
After Wan Guohou finished speaking, he gently put the parchment scroll on the bar, "In addition, I found one more thing. After I took over the Haberg Bank, I found in my ledger that every year a sum of money was sent to the account of a chapel built by Cotton, and the first remittance was made on the day the Haberg Bank was founded. I asked President Mueller, but he said he didn't know much about the church, and that he was only acting according to his father's will. Since the amount was not very large, I did not pursue it, and I thought that it was just some kind of father's support for religion, which is not uncommon in Zurich. I don't know until today that this church is where we are at this moment.
Cotton was indeed prescient, he had long been aware of Edmund's strong personality and impulsiveness, and he feared that Edmund would break with Greco over trivial matters in the future. Therefore, before Eugenie got married, he specially told Eugenie not to reveal the identity of his adopted daughter, nor to tell the source of those wealth. Apparently, Cotton feared that the proud Greco would reject his generous gift. ”
Fabrizio was almost out of breath as he took a step back and leaned against the edge of the bar. The rest of the people were also stunned, they had always thought that they had been abandoned by the Hannover family, and they never imagined that the foundation of the family's survival was actually a gift from Cotton.
Federico muttered a few words, suddenly pushed everyone away, and rushed in front of the Marquis of Wanguo. His eyes were red, and his mouth was trembling, "Hanover!" he said inarticulately. He trembled and tried to grasp Wan Guohou's hand, as if to kiss it lightly, but in the end he only bent down deeply and bowed gratefully to the venerable half-blood.
"I thought you had abandoned us, but I didn't expect you to be our benefactor all along!" Beatrizi's eyes moistened, "This is our benefactor! Hanover is our benefactor!" she couldn't help but cry out, with a whimper in her voice. "Do you remember? Our great-grandfather was seriously ill several times, but it was 'Gao An' who saved him! Without our great-grandfather, there would be no us! How many times we cried before, how many times we resented, because we were abandoned! But, but ......"
She almost fell to her knees in front of Wan Guohou, who grabbed her arm and resolutely stopped her. Fabrizio picked up a glass of wine from the bar, drank it down, and then rushed over desperately, hugging Wan Guohou heavily, his expression full of fear and gratitude, as if he were embracing an angel. Thiago's eyes were red, and he also squeezed over and hugged the other half of Wan Guohou's shoulder.
E1 turned his back and quietly wiped the corners of his eyes.
For a while, the hall was boiling, and people rushed over, wanting to hug Wan Guohou. Italians are passionate and romantic by nature, and they have to express their feelings.
Wan Guohou's heart softened, and this plain hard-hearted man felt that waves of emotions were washing over his heart. He swallowed as he felt a warm flame leap in his chest. He had to close his eyes because he didn't want to be seen the unconcealed emotion in his eyes.
The room resounded with sobs and cheers, and Beatrizzi looked at Wan Guohou with joy, tears rolling down her cheeks, "Hou Ye!" she said from the bottom of her heart, "May I make a request?"
"Please. ”
"I ...... Can you take a look at the parchment?" said Beatrizi, her face flushed slightly, "please." ”
"Take it. Wan Guohou took out the jewelry box, and handed it to Beatrizzi along with the lambskin roll, "This belongs to you." ”
Beatrizzi carefully took the two things, and unfolded the parchment to look at it for a moment. Then, she kissed the lambskin roll and gently placed it in the jewelry box. "This is a testimony to the friendship between our two families, and I will keep it for good. ”
"Beatrizi!" cried Thiago, "are you stupid? our benefactor's descendants are standing here, and you are mad at a box!" his face became more vivid after drinking, as if it had been roasted by fire.
"You need to take care of it!" Beatrizzie glared at him, "Don't you always say that Hanover has hurt us?"
The crowd burst into laughter, and Thiago blushed and said, "I'm just talking about wine, don't take it seriously!"
"Yes. Fabrizio wasted no time in adding, "I remember someone saying after a drink that they were going to call Laura Puccini and that he would make the other person love him to death!"
"Is that the Italian national treasure singer Laura Pousini?" Wan Guohou smiled slightly.
"Master Hou, I'm joking!" Thiago stammered, "Besides, we're not the right age." ”
E1 laughed, "Don't put gold on your face, talk like you're the right age, and people will take a fancy to you." After speaking, he turned his head to Wan Guohou and said, "Master Hou, if he tells you that he is out of love, don't believe it, because he has to fall out of love at least 100 times a year!"
"If he says he's in love, don't believe him. Federico said, "Because Thiago falls in love 200 times a year!"
Amid the laughter of the crowd, Wan Guohou said unhurriedly: "Then, Thiago, your water nature must be very good." ”
This elegant quip sparked even more laughter, and Thiago, seeing that there was no hope of explanation, simply picked up the wine glass in front of him and drank it in one gulp.
"Master Hou, if you don't dislike it, we are all your family. Beatrizzi hugged the jewelry box tightly with both hands, like a rare treasure. "These guys are all nice, except for a little bit of noise. ”
Wan Guohou looked at Beatrizzi with a smile in his eyes, "No, it's not noisy at all, it's just right." ”
"Master Hou. Beatrizzi was keenly aware of Wan Guohou's expression of wanting to say goodbye, "What's wrong with you?"
Wan Guohou picked up the handkerchief again and wiped the corner of his mouth in disguise, although there was nothing dirty there. "I'm fine, I'm happy. He looked at Elisabetta, "May I ask if this beautiful sister has something to eat for us?" ”
"Yikes. Elisabetta covered her hot cheeks with her hands, "Are you flirting with me?" ”
"If I had this honor. Wan Guohou smiled slightly, "But please let me fill my stomach first, okay?"
"I'm hungry too!" E1 patted his belly, "I had my last meal at 8 a.m., can you believe it?" I drank a glass of orange juice, which wasn't much bigger than a vitamin bottle!"
"Okay, don't make a noise. Elisabetta grinned, "I'll go to the kitchen right away, it's a lot of people today, and I happen to be doing a lot of work." There was creamy mushroom rice, seafood risotto, Napoli pizza ......"
"Stop. E1 said, "Dear Elisabetta, whatever you want, even if it's just a bun of olives." ”
Elisabetta glared at him with a smile and walked out of the bar. "Thiago. She commanded, "You come with me and help serve the food." ”
"Why me?" said Thiago with a blank expression, "Do I look good at work?"
"No, it's because you look nasty. Elisabetta grimaced, then twisted her ass and dragged a reluctant Thiago away.
Seeing the two of them leave the hall, Beatrizzi suddenly asked, "Master Hou, how long do you plan to stay in Zurich? We originally planned to go to China next month, did we have to advance it?"
"Not in advance. Wan Guohou said, "I will return to China soon." A dark cloud flashed in his eyes, "Those who deserve God's damnation are enjoying life at this moment." ”