Mavi joins the team.

Despite the short time, it wasn't difficult to investigate the background of a lone ranger, so the next day, at noon, before we went to the Manila Governor's Palace to find Governor Pence Jr., the son of Mavi's savior, Governor Pence, Mavi's biography was neatly laid out on my desk.

He wasn't lying, so he's now happily sitting in front of my carriage, shouting all the way to drive it for me.

Located on the banks of the Pasig River, the Imperial City of Manila was founded by the Spanish in 1571 as the site of the original Manila. After centuries of development, maintenance, and destruction, it has become the core of Manila's history, known as the "city of the city" or "walled city", with a colonial atmosphere and unique charm.

The Doge's Palace, which covers an area of one square kilometre and is surrounded by moats and medieval walls, has seven gates, all of which are made of heavy wood wrapped in metal. The city has the governor's residence and twelve churches. Riding in a horse-drawn carriage all the way through the streets, gates, ports, and walled cities, this short distance is as if we have experienced the history of Manila's growth.

The Doge's Palace exudes Spanish elegance and architectural features. Two of Manila's largest churches, the Manila Cathedral and the Church of St. Augustine, have also been built in the city, facing the adjacent San Diego Castle. Kite and Arashi lifted the curtain of the carriage and enjoyed the exotic scenery with great interest along the way, of course, Arashi was already a veteran, mainly because she was explaining to Kite.

As the carriage slowly stopped in front of the Governor's Palace, Governor Pence Jr. was already there waiting for us. After the people helped us lift the curtain of the car, the tall little Pence could tell where he was standing, and after realizing that I was the leader, he came over with a smile and gave me a warm hug!

He spoke a word in Spanish, which I didn't understand very well, but I probably knew it meant as a greeting. The kite, however, had studied Spanish specifically, and after a few simple words, Pence Jr. let out a long sigh to show that he understood, and then changed to fluent English. Most of us here understand this point.

"It's a pleasure to meet you! Mr. Sun, my friend! I am the Governor here, and people generally call me Little Burns, a surname that of course comes from my father, the late gentleman Burns Sr. Little Burns's self-introduction was enthusiastic, and with the red mustache on his lips, it was particularly vivid.

The ruler of Manila, who was about thirty-two or three years old, was over 1.8 meters tall, strong and shrewd, and had a staff of civilization under his left rib, and was now holding out his right hand and smiling to shake my hand.

I immediately greeted him, and the first impression of this governor seemed to be very good, so at the moment when the two hands were shaken, I also smiled and said: "In Xia Sun Qilan, he is a person from the Ming Dynasty, and Sun is my surname, according to your reading, it seems that it should be read as Qilan * Sun Cai." ”

Little Penss was stunned, he didn't expect that my English would be so fluent, even far above him. As a regional ruler born and raised in a foreign land, he knew what it meant to be extremely fluent in the language.

In modern times, the study of English has been incorporated into the syllabus and has become one of the compulsory subjects for important exams such as the college entrance examination. Let's not say whether this arrangement is right or wrong, just as far as English learning is concerned, many children have no problem writing with their heads down, but their hearing, especially speaking, is very lame. The root cause is still caused by no context.

Because anywhere in the world, as long as it is a native language, there may be many people who can't write, but everyone must be able to speak. Of course, after a long period of training and learning, non-native speakers can also reach a very fluent level, but it is still extremely rare to be able to really reach the level of a master craftsman like me - grammar, tone, and intonation, so Xiao Burns's face suddenly became much more exciting, and he was thinking about whether my past resume was as simple as others told him.

"Mr. Sun, I am shocked by your familiarity with Western culture! Why don't we go in first, have a cup of afternoon tea together, and then talk about it in detail? Little Burns graciously invited: "Of course, the ladies and gentlemen who have come with you, and my old friend Mavi, please come to my back garden for a while!" ”

Passing through the long corridor, we walked all the way to the back garden of the Governor's Palace. When passing by a statue of Old Burns in front of the court, Mavi stopped silently and bowed deeply to the statue of Old Burns. After the ceremony, he still stood silently in front of the statue.

Little Burns walked over, patted Mavi on the back, and said something. Mavi nodded and walked again.

The back garden of the Doge's Palace is not large, but it is very exquisite. There is a very fine manila grass growing on the ground, which looks like a thick green carpet and is very elastic to step on. In the flower beds and beside the road, there are longans, flannels, desert beans and Christmas shrubs in various shapes. The sharp-eyed kite also pointed to something on a tree and asked, "Sir, what is that stupid guy?" ”

When I looked up, there were two koalas, one large and one small, hanging from the eucalyptus tree on the side of the road. So I smiled and said, "Oh! That's two koalas, also known as koalas! ”

Little Burns said, "Ah! Mr. Sun is really well-known! I know it's a koala, but I just know what koalas are called! ”

Kite and Arashi, as well as the people next to me, stared at me together. It seemed to them that I knew everything, and what was so strange about the name of such an animal.

So I smiled and continued: "This koala is also called koala, koala, koala. The English name is Koala bear, as the ancient natives called it, and the meaning of the name is 'no drink' - because this lazy creature does not like to drink water, they will get more than ninety percent of the water from the eucalyptus leaves they feed, and only have to run to drink a few sips of water when they are sick and drought, and the locals call it 'kwale', which means 'no drink'".

There was soft applause behind me, and when I looked back, it was Burns Jr. and Mavi clapping together. Xiao Pence exclaimed: "Mr. Sun is really a magical and extremely charming person as rumored outside, and after listening to your introduction, even I look up to this lazy guy." What a brave man who crosses the East! ”

Lan asked strangely, "Is this koala very lazy?" It looks so cute. ”

I sneered, "This guy sleeps eighteen hours a day, isn't he just like you?" Are you lazy or not? ”

Lan has been in a good mood in the past few days, and has drunk a lot of wine, and it is true that there are more of them, and when she heard me say this, she immediately blushed, and the people around her laughed together.

Little Burns spoke very decently: "There is only loveliness between this beautiful lady and koalas, and nothing else is comparable." Why don't we go over there and sit down and have a cup of afternoon tea! ”

In the back garden of the Doge's Palace, there is a very beautiful round in China, with a small table in it and a few small chairs around it. We sat down with the guests and hosts, and the servants served afternoon tea. Good black tea, with delicious snacks, this is the daily afternoon tea of Governor Burns Jr., but the portion is several times more today.

As we tasted tea, we chatted casually, and I first praised the black tea, and Little Burns immediately said: "Manila is the most prolific and excellent servant, and the people here are like koalas, well, koalas, docile, honest and courteous, and careful, and must be the best quality servants." ”

I nodded in agreement with him, and it was here that the world-famous Filipino maids came from. So I thought to myself, should I also find a few suitable Filipino maids for my residence......

Next, we chatted casually, the more we chatted, the more we chatted, the more we chatted, the more Pence was surprised! He was free to read a lot of books and liked to travel around, which led to the vast knowledge he has today. In his heart, the closed people of the Ming Dynasty were all closed species, and they only knew how to be arrogant.

But when I saw it today, I answered all the burdens he had buried openly and secretly with ease, and even put forward many remarks that he had never thought of, heard or heard.

As we got to know each other, Pence Jr. became more and more convinced that I was a special person and had the foundation to work with him. So the topic began to move closer to the main thing, consciously or unconsciously.

Xiao Pence took the servant's cup of black tea, smiled and asked, "Mr. Sun, how many times have you been to Manila?" ”

I picked up the small square towel on the table and wiped my mouth—although there was nothing dirty, I smiled and said, "It's still the first time I've come to your place, and it's really different." ”

Little Pence laughed twice, noncommittal, and continued to smile and asked, "I don't know if it will go well along the way?" There was nothing unpleasant! ”

I raised my eyebrows and said with a smile: "The road is quite smooth, but the meaning of your Excellency's words is quite meaningful, and I wish to hear it in detail." ”

Xiao Pence still smiled and asked, "There are 'three evils' in Manila, have you ever heard of Mr. Sun?" ”

I shook my head, but Mavi took over and said, "Mr. Pence Jr.'s 'three evils' are the tsunami, the plague, and the Kuhn Chamber of Commerce. ”

I let out a long sigh and replied, "Thankfully, I haven't encountered the 'three evils' yet. You have to be more careful in the future. ”

Little Burns smiled very contently: "It's okay to be careful." It's just that these 'three evils' are not something that can be avoided by care. I'm afraid I'll take the initiative to come to the door. ”

I put down the teacup in my hand and said with a dumb smile: "You can't avoid a tsunami." It's just that if the weather changes, there are always signs, but it is not difficult to prevent them. As for the plague, it is not very common as long as it is properly controlled, not to mention that Governor Pence Jr. has managed it well, and it is not impossible to eradicate it. As for the Kuhn Chamber of Commerce......"

I stared into Little Burns' eyes, smiled fiercely, and said, "If it happens, I don't mind expanding my fleet resources." ”

Little Pence obviously didn't expect me to be so strong, and the Kuhn Chamber of Commerce, which was rampant in the South Seas, was completely ignored by me. So Xiao Burns took a sip of tea and continued: "Mr. Sun has just arrived, but the power of the Blade Sea has already penetrated into the South Seas, so he must know something - this Kuhn Chamber of Commerce dominates the south of the South Seas, naturally he has his reasons, not to mention, foreign lions can't fight local hyenas, which is also a common situation." ”

I put down the teacup and said lightly: "Please also ask Mr. Pence Jr. for advice, how can I better solve this problem." ”

Little Pence also said two words unabashedly: "Alliance!" ”

I crossed my fingers, rested my elbows on the table in front of me, and said with interest, "I'm listening." ”

Little Pence also leaned closer and said in a low voice: "The Kuhn Chamber of Commerce, under the planning of Marskun, has adopted a policy of encroachment on the South Seas, and now it has extended its claws to the periphery of Manila. Simon Kuhn, on the other hand, is their striker and has been cruising offshore lately. If Mr. Sun plans to operate here for a long time, he is afraid that he will not be able to avoid a head-to-head confrontation with Kuhn. ”

I nodded, "Go on." I would prefer to hear substantive advice. ”

Xiao Pence nodded and smiled: "I will contribute land and resources, and you will contribute manpower and combat power." In terms of information, we communicate with each other. I want Manila under my administration, and I want Manila where you can trade freely and safely. Right? ”

We looked at each other deeply. I have to say that Pence Jr. is very convincing, and I know that this should be the best choice at the moment. It is also not easy for Pence Jr. to find an ally who can counter the Kuhn Chamber of Commerce - after all, the Memphis Chamber of Commerce has deep roots and is not so easy to woo, and the relatively weak Blade Sea is obviously more in his interests.

So we all of a sudden laughed at the same time. Two teacups were held in the air and slammed gently! With the black tea in the cup slightly splashed, we said in unison: "Deal!" ”