The hunger in his stomach grew stronger, and although he wanted to visit Istanbul at night, he kept himself from leaving the hotel.

He went down the elevator to the lobby on the first floor, and when he was in the lobby just now, he saw a bar on the right side of the lobby on the first floor.

The hotel butler greeted him in the tone of an English butler: "Is there anything I need to do with Mr. Artur O'Gree?" ”

"Oh, I don't know what delicious food is on offer tonight?"

"Sir, please come with me." The butler leads the way with elegant steps, and the dining room is full of light. On this romantic summer night, the famous Pera Palace Hotel on the shores of the Bosphorus is home to many celebrities and unnamed people who have dinner with their family or friends.

There were European and American tourists everywhere, and Hu Wenkai chose a table by the window to sit down.

"Well, thank you, please recommend six classic dishes." Hu Wenkai took out another pound from his pocket and handed it to the butler.

Shortly after he sat down, a young woman wearing a veil sat quietly across from him.

"You don't mind if I sit across from you, do you? Mr. A strong Mediterranean English came out of her mouth.

"Thank you, I want to be alone." Hu Wenkai unceremoniously rejected her, and the young woman immediately got up and left.

Hu Wenkai remembered later descriptions of the women in the Pera Palace Hotel: where unscrupulous Levantine speculators entertained foreign officers and businessmen, drinking and dancing with depraved Russian princesses or Greek and Armenian ladies, who, without exaggeration, were thinner in virtue than their clothes.

Soon the wine and exquisite dishes were pushed over by the waiters in a small food cart, and one by one they were introduced as if they were the most exquisite food in the world.

When the waiter poured him a full bottle of wine and was about to leave, Hu Wenkai said in French: "Please give me a few copies of today's English newspapers." ”

The newspaper was delivered by the housekeeper, and the housekeeper leaned down and whispered to him, "Sir, are you not satisfied with the woman just now?" She's a Greek aristocratic lady, why don't I help you get another one? ”

"Thank you, I'll tell you if I need to." Hu Wenkai is not very interested in this kind of professional peather.

After struggling to eat the black sea caviar, which is said to be the most delicious in the world, I had to wash my mouth with wine because of the unpleasant fishy smell. Reading the newspapers while eating, I realized that Kemal had only obtained the authorization of the Sultan at this time, and was not the supreme ruler of Turkey.

In 1922, with the rise and growth of the rebel forces represented by Mustafa Kemal, the last Sultan Mehmed VI absconded to San Remo on the Italian Riviera with the assistance of the Entente. After ruling the empire for more than 600 years, the Ottoman royal family, which ruled Istanbul for 469 years, withdrew from the stage of history, and the Ottoman Empire has since perished.

After the defeat of the Ottoman Empire in 1918, the armies of Britain, France, Italy and other Allied countries occupied Turkey and entered Istanbul, expanding the Pera district into an administrative center. In 1920, to ensure victory in World War I, the Allies signed the Treaty of Sèvres with the Ottoman Empire, which lifted the Empire's control over Syria, Mesopotamia, and Palestine, paving the way for British and French mandates.

It's no wonder that the Pera Palace Hotel is the most oriental stop on the Orient Express, which is under the rule of Britain and France. It is no wonder that there is a paradise in the world, and women of all shapes and forms exist.

With the hunger pangs subsided with delicious food filling his stomach, he slowed down his meal, put down his knife and fork, took out his cigarette and lit it, and concentrated on reading the newspaper.

All around was whispered whispering, with the occasional laugh. Hu Wenkai has lost the motivation to hunt for beauty, he just wants to read the newspaper quietly and get a ticket to France as soon as possible.

"Sir, can I disturb you, there is no table left, please allow us to sit across from you." Two women and a man stand at the table.

Only then did Hu Wenkai raise his head and look around, just as they said, there were no empty seats in the restaurant. The housekeeper asked Hu Wenkai's opinion with an apologetic face, after all, he took Hu Wenkai's tip.

"Oh, it's okay, feel free." Hu Wenkai didn't stand up, but just moved his fingers casually, and the breath of a natural superior naturally revealed.

Continuing to look at the notices issued by the British and French occupation authorities, and the introduction of passport-only access to the area around Istanbul Railway Station, a slight smile appeared on the corner of his mouth, which showed that the British and French authorities could not control the law and order.

The three people on the opposite side whispered in English that tickets for the Orient Express are too difficult to buy, tickets for ordinary cars are hard to find, and tickets for high-class cars are easy to buy.

He didn't understand the grade of the carriages of the Eastern Train, but he didn't want to study it either. He didn't want to sit in the first-class box, the price was not a problem, but it was too ostentatious.

The butler held an envelope in his hand and carefully placed it on the dining table and said, "Sir, you have booked a ticket for the high box of the Orient Express, which will depart at four o'clock tomorrow afternoon. ”

"Thank you, the money for the ticket"

Before Hu Wenkai finished speaking, the housekeeper hurriedly explained: "Sir, the money for this ticket is already included in your room, you don't have to pay anymore, the hotel received the order that you will help you book the nearest Orient Express to Paris as soon as you check into the hotel." ”

The butler stepped back and turned to leave, and the man opposite him stretched out his hand and said, "Meet Bowman, an American tourist, these two young ladies are Dutch and Belgian." ”

Seeing this situation, he didn't want to introduce women to him at all, Hu Wenkai stretched out his hand and said, "Frenchman Artur Augre. ”

"Mr. O'Grey is going to Paris tomorrow on the Orient Express?"

"Uh-huh, you guys just arrived in Istanbul?"

The woman to Bowman's right answered: "We're tired of playing in Istanbul, Bowman is going to Cairo, Egypt." The two of us were heading back to Europe and boarding a ship back to the United States in early August. ”

Hu Wenkai nodded that he was listening, and the three people opposite quickly exchanged glances and continued: "Tickets for the Orient Express are too difficult to buy. We can't afford a high-class box that is too expensive, and the ordinary box for two people has already sold out tickets. ”

Hu Wenkai was amused in his heart, this trick was still playing in front of him, obviously a poor girl who wanted to follow him on the Orient Express for free after casually accosting him.

"You can take the regular train to Paris without delay, and I'm really sorry that there is one person with me on this ticket, my fiancée. Otherwise, I wouldn't mind taking you two beautiful ladies with me. ”

Another woman said lightly: "Then forget it, let's find a way, we don't want to do ordinary trains, and finally we want to do the Orient Express for summer travel." ”

Hu Wenkai nodded, spread his hands and said that he was really powerless, snapped his fingers with his left hand, and the waiter came over and asked what service he needed.

"Please give a bottle of Latour to these two charming young ladies, it's my apologies." Hu Wenkai commanded.

"Oh, thank you, Mr. O'Gray."

I don't plan to visit Istanbul at night, so staying in a hotel and chatting with these three little crooks is also a good option.

At Hu Wenkai's request, Bowman sat on his side, so that a dinner of two men and two women was formed.

It was only when he handed the menu to the two chicks that one had wavy black hair and the other had straight blonde hair.

To be fair, Hu Wenkai was just a sailor who had just come ashore from the ship at this time, and when he met a young woman, there was no doubt that hormones were secreted sharply, but he didn't have too many ideas.

The two girls exchanged glances with each other, and they still had a conscience and did not start like the later Zai Kaizi, and after ordering two large dishes and four ice creams, they handed the menu to the waiter.

Hu Wenkai felt a little embarrassed and said, "Serve four portions of each of the special ice creams in the restaurant, and please help me bring a pack of women's cigarettes." ”

The girl with slightly larger black curls covered her mouth and laughed, "Mr. O'Gray, how do you know we like to eat ice cream and smoke?" ”

"It's simple, you ordered a chocolate ice cream, and the problem of smoking is simple, and the smell of smoke in your body is simple."

The two girls snickered, and the straight-haired blond girl asked, "Mr. O'Gray, what do you think about women smoking?" ”

"Ah, does this need to be looked at? Isn't it as normal as eating and drinking, but I have always insisted on equality between men and women, and women can do what men can do. ”

"For modern women, cigarettes are no longer all a sign of feminist identity, but more like a kind of comfort in the busy." Hu Wenkai added.

Soon, the waiter placed a pack of slender ladies cigarettes on the table, along with a box of matches.

The black-haired girl picked up a cigarette with her long, white fingers and put it in her mouth. The "ding" of the Austrian-made lighter turned the cigarette butt scarlet. She inhaled hard, slowly swallowing out the mist.

"O'Gray, you're really good at talking, I feel like you're much more enlightened than Bowman." Words drift out with the clouds.

A passage came out of Hu Wenkai's headWhen smoke, an indispensable item in the male world, appeared in the same frame as women, I could often smell in the red lips and smoke a kind of transcendent desire, and even the smell of intention to dominate desire, like freedom, like vicissitudes, and the wisdom of insight into world affairs.

Hu Wenkai shook his head gently, took out a pack of beautiful brand cigarettes from his pocket and handed one to Bowman, took one in his own mouth, and gently swiped a match to light the cigarette with a bright yellow flame. Greedily took a sharp puff and spat out a smoke ring.

He raised the glass in front of him and said, "Take a sip of our chance encounter in Constantinople." ”

When a woman puts away the mentality of making a bargain or has already made a bargain, her behavior must naturally relax. The two girls took a big sip of Latour from their wine glasses.

The phrase that wine is a stepping stone and smoke is a doorkey to exchange between strangers seems to be a classic saying in the 90s. After a long day, Bowman had only just met these two women for less than six hours, and the three of them were able to come to the Pera Palace Hotel for dinner entirely because it was famous for serving Orient Express passengers.

Bowman encouraged the two girls to try their luck at the Pera Palace, so the three rushed from their respective hotels to the Pera Palace to finish their meal.

Bowman, who is about twenty-seven or eighteen years old, is a professional archaeologist who has made an appointment to go to Egypt with his teammates early tomorrow morning to carry out archaeological work for half a year.

Bao Man obviously wanted to throw off the burden, and hurriedly prepared to settle the bill and leave, Hu Wenkai pressed his hand that was about to pay the bill and said: "Bao Man, if you have something to do, go first, we just started eating, and I will settle this account." The program at Pera Palace has just begun, how can it disappoint the two young ladies. ”