Like French cafes and Chinese/Chinese teahouses, pubs are an indispensable part of people's daily lives in the UK, and this leisure and entertainment venue originated in the Roman era, which has precipitated the ancient and elegant, rough and pure history and culture of Britain over the centuries, and the creaking wooden floors and flickering ceiling lights can vaguely glimpse the glory and brilliance of the country's history. Pen % fun % Pavilion www.biquge.info

The pub here is not the kind of bar where modern young people gather, but a public place where ordinary people gather, and even considered one of the social institutions, which is not only a place to drink and sell alcohol, but also a church, often the center of a community, or even a landmark building.

The boom of pubs reached its peak in the 19th century, with the rise of railways, a variety of railway pubs came into being, and many Victorian lavishly decorated railway pubs can still be seen in the main sections of modern British cities, as if you can walk through the tunnel of time and get a glimpse of the past.

It's an old pub, and the dangling bar shelves in front of it are easily reminiscent of steam trains, troikas, and dusty past.

Lu Li strongly suspected that this bar was even older than the nearby King's Cross station.

"What the hell is going on?" asked the bartender standing at the bar as he wiped his beer glass, and the vague British English was really a challenge for Lu Li. He thought that the Texas accent was difficult enough, but he didn't expect that there would be even greater challenges when he came to the UK.

Lu Li picked up the whiskey in front of him, took a sip, and tasted it carefully with the tip of his tongue, it was spicy and mellow, and people couldn't help but want to enjoy it slowly. Sure enough, a good glass of wine, a good glass of whiskey, can always easily light up the whole day.

"There was a little accident. Lu Li's eyes fell on the girl at the end of the bar, the girl named Anna, who kicked the wall angrily, making a muffled noise, venting her frustration.

The bartender glanced back at Anna, then suddenly realized and nodded, "Did she steal your purse?"

Lu Li was a little surprised, he didn't plan to directly pierce Anna and save a little face for the other party, but he didn't expect that he didn't need it at all, Lu Li laughed a little embarrassedly, "This is not her first time?"

The bartender shrugged, "But this is the first time she's been caught." ”

Lu Li smiled dumbly, "Then her behavior is not difficult to understand." As she spoke, Anna lifted the bar again, and the wooden planks made a dull noise, and then the bartender shouted, "Anna, this is a very old building. I don't want it to be broken up like that. ”

"Don't worry, it's not that easy to fall apart. Anna said angrily.

Lu Li frowned slightly, and said suspiciously, "She doesn't look like ......" She doesn't look like a typical thief at all, and she doesn't even look like a down-and-out child. On the contrary, she has an elegant temperament all over her body.

"Not like a thief?" the bartender chuckled twice, "not really. It's just a thrill-seeking, a bit of a stress release. ”

Lu Li pursed his lips, didn't comment, just nodded, "Then maybe I should get the cash back." The bartender looked up, looked at him twice, then lowered his gaze and went on busy, "You really should." ”

"Hey! you!" Lu Li heard a sexual/sensual shout, raised his head, and then saw a black shadow flying towards him, reflexively catching it, and then seeing Anna's angry expression, his eyes widened, and he said angrily, "You can leave now, right?"

Lu Li looked down and saw that it was indeed his wallet, he put it on the bar, and replied to Anna with a smile, "This is a bar, isn't it? I'm enjoying my first glass of whiskey." ”

"Norman!" Anna grumbled loudly to the bartender.

The bartender didn't look back at all, just replied, "He's a guest." Then I saw Anna turn around in frustration, push open a door behind her, and strode with a puff, expressing her anger with every movement of her body.

"You should check the check. Norman lifted his chin at Lu Li and gestured to the wallet on the table.

Lu Li opened it and looked at it, the credit card, green card and driver's license were all there, but the cash was indeed gone, he looked up at Norman, "Can credit cards be accepted here?"

"I'll treat you to this cup. Norman said dryly.

Lu Li closed his wallet again, "Thank you." Then he raised his glass, saluted Norman, and took a big sip. "I have a question about why the bartender is always wiping down the beer glasses, and for God's sake, there aren't many customers at all right now, and the glasses don't look dirty at all. ”

"It's better to pretend to be busy than to stand here in a daze. At the very least, the guests look more decent. Norman's answer was very straightforward, without any fancy things, Lu Li was stunned, then laughed, nodded, and expressed affirmation.

Raising his head, Lu Li began to slowly look at the entire bar, I have to say that the traces of time precipitation can be seen everywhere, and people can't help but explore carefully, curious about how many historical changes have been witnessed here, and how much time has been experienced.

Inadvertently, Lu Li saw the painting on the wall, which was overmolded with a dark brown frame, and under the dim light, the outline of the watercolor lines was a little blurred, but it could still be seen that it was the Chrysler Building, one of the two framed paintings in the ring space, which was the Chrysler Building.

Lu Li couldn't help but walked over and began to pick up a lot of this painting.

Judging from the appearance alone, it is indeed the Chrysler Building, its brushstrokes and lines are somewhat familiar, and the rows of floors look exactly like the painting in the ring space!

This made Lu Li couldn't help but get closer, and the more he looked at it, the more he felt like it. He doesn't know much about painting, especially about lines and brushstrokes, which is almost zero, but he does know enough about composition and light and shadow – photography is not his forte, but one of the skills that a journalist must be exposed to.

On closer inspection, the style of the whole painting is indeed very similar. However, the color of the painting in front of me does not seem to be so bold, the painting in the ring space uses peacock blue impressively, bright and bright, and instantly catches the eye, but this painting uses a lighter color, between bright blue and mint blue, which is too lively, lacking the enchantment and depth of peacock blue, which also makes the layering of color a little less.

More importantly, the painting in the ring space has been completed, and every detail has not been missed, but the painting in front of me is only two-thirds completed, the painting of the lower part of the building has not been completed, and the shadows on the ground have not been completed, so it can be seen that the details are still missing. It's like...... It's like it's a little rougher.

Of course, Lu Li is just a layman, his vision is not necessarily accurate, these are just subjective judgments. But Lu Li had an intuition that this painting must have some connection with the paintings in the ring space.

"You'd better be careful not to put the whole thing on, otherwise, you will ruin the painting, and you won't be able to afford to lose even if your whole wallet is pressed down. There was an angry ridicule behind him, which made Lu Li turn his head suddenly, and then saw Anna reappeared, she rolled her eyes widely, and looked Lu Li up and down critically, exuding an aura of rejection all over her body.

Lu Li laughed and pointed to the painting, "Do you know who created this painting? I mean, which painter?"

Of course, Lu Li thought that he was a famous artist, otherwise the bar would not have hung the paintings here.

"What, what's your opinion?" Anna slammed back.

Lu Li turned around and faced Anna, "This lady, are you mistaken about the situation? I'm the one who should be complaining now, right?"

These words made Anna stare angrily with her hands on her hips, "A big man is so stingy and calculating!"

Lu Li raised his hands, closed his mouth tightly, and didn't say anything, just made a gesture of surrender, as if to say: I'm not complaining, I'm not angry. The problem is not with me.

Looking at Lu Li's action, Anna was sullen for a while, standing in place, not knowing what to say, and the voices of the guests came from behind her, "Anna, don't lose unafforded." This gentleman didn't take you to the police/prosecutor's office, and he didn't complain, you should be glad!"

"Shut up!" Anna turned her head and yelled at the guests, causing everyone to laugh, and it looked like an old acquaintance.

When she turned her head again, Anna's temper finally calmed down a little, and she looked at the painting, "You actually like this painting, which means that you have a good eye, at least a good taste in art." ”

"I guess my eyesight is really good. Lu Li's ridicule made Anna glare, almost angry again, seeing this, Lu Li quickly changed the topic, "Do you know its creator?"

"Why should I tell you?" Anna wrinkled, refusing to answer.

"The painting is from an old friend. Norman's voice came from the bar, and Anna immediately shouted in protest, "Norman!"

Norman didn't care at all, and then explained, "It's not a famous painter, it's just an old friend's collection, and it's placed here to add a little color." In fact, the paintings on the walls are all from old friends. ”

"Old friend?" Lu Li showed his curiosity. Although he was not sure if his judgment was correct, if he could investigate, he might be rewarded.

"Yes, my friend. Anna said emphatically, as if to imply that she would never introduce Lu Li, and she would stop it!

As he spoke, there was a creaking sound in the direction of the stairs, and then the guests were heard shouting, "Evelyn!"

Norman's voice followed, "An old friend has arrived." ”