"And extinguishing the candle because it tastes like it affects the cigar?" The question was asked by John Ridda.

"Yes. However, it only has a greater impact on people with a sensitive sense of smell, as long as it does not touch the flame of the candle, the smell produced when it burns will only spread in the surrounding environment, and will not invade the inside of the cigar, nor will it affect the taste of the cigar itself. So the key is not to put the cigar on the candle and light it directly, the candles we use now are industrially produced, it is a mixture of paraffin wax and hard fatty acids, paraffin wax comes from coal, hard fatty acids come from animal fat, these two substances do not have a trace of compatibility with tobacco leaves. ”

"But even if it doesn't affect the flavor of the cigar itself, it still does for us, doesn't it?"

"Of course, as long as there is a lit candle, it is definitely not the perfect environment to enjoy a cigar."

"Then let's create a perfect environment to come out. What should we use instead of candles? Oil lamp? Or gaslighting? If you want me to say, even if we want to sit here in the dark and smoke a cigarette next, it doesn't matter, but we have to smoke this cigarette in a perfect environment. ”

"Yes...... That's right......" several people chimed in.

"Then use a gas lamp, although it smells a little when you light it, but when it is fully burned, it will be fine."

For some reason, only the main building of the Rida family has electric lights, and the other gardens, corridors, and flower rooms use gas lamps.

"Dilraj, I remember we have two gas lamps here for night lights, go light them, and put out all these candles." Rida commanded.

"We should open the windows and let the smell of the house dissipate first." Gao Yi suggested. So another servant went over and opened the window.

Taking advantage of the chaos of lighting the lights and opening the windows, Gao Yi put his two feet on the recliner. Now he lay down comfortably, with a cushion under his waist, his head resting on the backrest, a cigar in his left hand resting on the back of the side chair, and a glass of single malt whisky in his right hand, which the servant had brought to them while they were lighting their cigarettes.

In the cup was a large ice hockey ball, which made a crisp clanging sound when it shook slightly, Gao Yi took a sip, and a line of fire fell from his mouth straight into his stomach. This wasn't the single malt whisky he drank with water in later generations, it probably came straight out of the distillery and had an alcohol content of at least 60 or more. He still put ice in this glass, like Brandis and Anderson, a few Scottish born and Scotman-grown pure Scotsman, who drank pure whiskey. In their words, drinking single malt whisky on the rocks is barbaric, which is worse in Scotland than wife beating.

After the pungency in the mouth passed, a rough, thick smoky flavor filled the mouth. Gao Yi took a puff of the cigar and frowned, as he expected, two rich and strong flavors were intertwined, and all kinds of bitter, astringent, and pungent flavors on the tongue seemed to be full, completely masking the mellow aroma of the cigar and the unique flavor of the whole malt whisky.

There are many people who advocate a strong cigar with a strong drink, but Gao Yi takes these things for granted. Two things with very distinct personalities can only interfere with each other and cover each other up, and the real match should pay attention to the harmony of the monarch and the minister, and the piano, rather than the noise. If the cigar is the main one, then it should be paired with a drink with a clean taste, and after drinking it, it should not leave an aftertaste on the tongue; If you are focusing on wine tasting, you can choose sweet cigars such as chestnuts, honey, and cream to dilute the spiciness, and can also match the sweetness of the wine.

After the candles were blown out, there were only two night lights left in the huge smoking room, and the lights were dim, and I don't know who said, "It would be nice if there were electric lights." ”

And so the first topic of this cigar time tonight begins.

"Who would have expected this? Think about ten years ago, when we only had 60 lone lights, and now we have hundreds of arc lamps and nearly 10,000 incandescent lamps in our city, and in the future, we will have electric motors, electric fans, and elevators. In any case, we will have to wait until next year, when the expansion of the Peilun Road power plant is completed, to solve the power shortage. Brandis said that he was an engineer by training and knew a lot about that.

"I'm afraid that there won't be enough electricity next year, especially if we do decide to build a tram line, because the lack of power could delay the tram operation." It was Keswick who spoke, and he was a staunch tram propulsionist.

"I don't think we can't think about expanding the power supply one step earlier, but this needs to be financed." Bane said.

"This should not be a problem, and the Ministry of Industry Bureau can entrust HSBC to issue another batch of bonds for a new round of power expansion." Keswick Road.

Jardine Matheson has always been a major shareholder in HSBC, and the chairman of the board of directors of HSBC is often a Jardine man. For HSBC, even if Casewick can't say everything, it's still okay to be the first half of the family.

"But HSBC has to be responsible for underwriting, and the Ministry of Industry can't afford to pay too high interest rates for this, so if you want to issue bonds this time, then the interest rate will definitely not be as high as the previous times."

"I think we can talk about all of that, but how much more power will we need? What is the approximate amount? ”

"The current price of a 300-kilowatt unit is 25,000 taels, and I think it will be enough to add another 1,000 kilowatts of capacity, and we will have a total of 4,000 kilowatts of capacity by then." Prandis replied.

"Then it's a budget of 80,000 taels, which I don't think is a lot of money." Keswick Road.

Gao Yi lay on the side, listening to the conversation while spitting out clouds and mist.

If the hostess's banquet was like a herd of well-ordered lions eating, then this smoking room is a meeting place for the lions, who, even if they lie lazily, can decide the fate of the city in just a few words.

Gao Yi saw that the room was almost ventilated, and made a gesture for the servants to close the window.

The crowd fell silent and began to savor the cigars in their hands. Soon the smoke dispersed inside the room.

"I finally figured out why I always felt that smoking cigars in this room was not quite right, because of the candles." After about ten minutes, John Rida suddenly sighed.

With the breaking of the silence, the conversation box was reopened, and soon a new subject was confirmed, which was a suicide case that had occurred yesterday, and Mr. Park was a juror involved in the case.

Gao Yi also did not participate in this conversation, because the opportunity that belonged to him had not yet come.

When the topic was over, there was silence in the smoking room again. It's actually the norm for cigar smoking, and no one would light an expensive handmade cigar for just a chat. If anyone likes to walk around with a cigar in his mouth all day, spitting smoke in his mouth and swearing in his mouth, then he is either acting in a movie, or pretending to be B, and he is pretending to be SB.

Gao Yi always maintained a 40-second puff of cigarette, which was slightly less frequent than everyone else, until a hint of bitterness appeared in his mouth. He looked around for a moment to make sure that everyone was still the same, and that there was no special change in the smoking posture. So he spoke:

"Ladies and gentlemen, do you all have a bitter taste in your mouth right now? It's like the smell of roasted leaves and clear coffee? ”

"That's right."

"Yes, but it's normal, isn't it? That's the kind of cigar I chose. ”

The answers were a bit confusing.

"You can be like me." As he spoke, Gao Yi took a puff on his cigar, then blew the cigarette out hard, and then he immediately took a deep breath. After a few seconds, he continued: "When a cigar is smoked in the second half, it tends to be too strong in flavor and too much in smoke, and after a puff of smoke, it will feel bitter or overly rich in the mouth. In this case, you can exhale the cigarette quickly, and immediately after exhaling the cigarette, you can take another breath in. In many cases, this is a good auxiliary trick, and the flavor that was too strong in the mouth will suddenly be replaced by the aroma and sweetness of the cigar itself as the breath is inhaled. ”

Some people couldn't wait to experiment in the process of Gao Yi's explanation, and others also started to try after he finished speaking. For a while, the room was filled with the sound of "hissing" inhalation. The result was self-evident, and the "hissing" sound continued to sound in the smoking room.

So, the third topic of this cigar time became how to smoke a cigar well, and Gao Yi was the main speaker - he taught the unique secrets shared by cigar lovers for more than 100 years.

"In the last third, the temperature of the cigar rises a little, and you need to slow down the speed and control the intensity of inhaling in small gulps, do not spit out, so that the smoke accumulates to a certain concentration, and in this process, all other aromas will gradually fade, leaving only a mellow and solid taste, only the aftertaste has a hint of sweetness. With a reasonable amount of speed and strength, you can suck it until the end without getting bored. ”

"The cigar is not over after smoking, as long as you close your mouth and exhale through your nose, you can still have the aftertaste of this cigar in your nose and mouth from time to time, which is very beautiful. What exactly this aftertaste is depends on the cigar you smoke. Even for the same cigar, each person will use different language to describe the taste. But everyone will have a common feeling, that is, everyone who experiences this taste for the first time will almost involuntarily let out a cheerful muffled snort from their noses. ”

An hour passed in a flash, and when the cigars were extinguished, everyone was still unsatisfied.

"Another one?" The host, John Ridda, suggested, and everyone agreed. This time, the guest of honor, Keswick, took the lead in choosing a cigar that would last at least two hours.

After the start of the new round of cigar time, everyone invariably used the easy way of lighting cigarettes, and the sofa next to him became the most lively position, and people often sat down to ask him about the details.

This time, however, apart from suggesting that the whiskey be replaced with ice water, Gao Yi did not talk much about the new cigar secrets, but instead actively participated in the general conversation, talking about Lushan with Li Deli, the Boer War and Cambridge with Keswick, football with Anderson, machinery with Prandis, and autopsy with Park. However, one gets the impression that he doesn't say much, but he always gets to the point and gets to the heart of the matter, which is impressive.

In the next two hours, everyone had a very good time, in addition to tasting a cigar with new moves, the conversation was also quite high, and the topics of interesting stories, anecdotes, and troubles were wide. Of course, there are serious things to talk about, and Gao Yi only learned at this time that this dinner was held to prepare for John Rida's succession, and the specific date of Rida's return to the UK has been set for July, and John Rida needs to adapt to his new role, and others also need to adapt to John Rida's new identity, so there will be such a party.

In short, it was a gathering of unity, a gathering of victories, and a gathering of carrying on the past and forging ahead into the future. The group parted ways at the door of the smoking room, and Ridda, Keswick, Bane, Hollid, Prandis, and Landale had further matters to discuss, and the others said goodbye. When shaking hands and saying goodbye, Gao Yi received two informal invitations, all of whom he didn't expect, one turned out to be Keswick, who asked him to come to Japan for a free get-together, and the other was Hollid, who invited him to go to the shooting range of the International Chamber of Commerce in his spare time.

When Gao Yi and his group returned to the flower hall, the ladies had already formed two cards to play cards, Gao Yi stood next to him and pretended to look at it for a while, and when it was ten o'clock, he said goodbye to Mrs. Rida and went home.

He was joined by Anderson, and when the two walked out of the foyer of the main building, the carriage was already waiting at the foot of the steps. At this time, de Messier took the carriage before them and left. Anderson said suddenly: "The Rida family is leaving, and the saddest thing is probably this guy." ”

Gao Yi didn't know how to get back to him for a while, and it seemed that the relationship between Madame de Rida and de Messier was a well-known thing.

"I thought you were the same person as him." Anderson continued.

Gao Yi didn't know how to respond to this sentence, it is estimated that if it wasn't for luck today, if Bain helped him to smoke a cigar together, the hat of the little white face would be really buttoned on his head.

"Nice to meet you!" Just when Gao Yi was a little embarrassed, Anderson stretched out his hand and said.

"I'm happy too!" Gao Yi shook Anderson's hand.

"Want to see the Scottish Club? It's a formal invitation, young man. ”

"Of course! It is a great honor to be invited. Gao Yi was a little flattered, this kind of township party type club is much more useful than amateur drama clubs and the like.

"Set a date, how about next Sunday?"

"Okay, no problem."

Anderson nodded, turned and got into the carriage.