Hurd's work is very meticulous, and he checked Zhu Jinglun's information with the Zhang family's housekeeper in detail, of course, he can't find any flaws, what the housekeeper said is exactly the same as what Zhu Jinglun said, and Hurd is not very suspicious, because in this era, most of the Chinese who know English are businessmen, and there are not many people who do business with foreigners, and most of them are very profitable, so there are very few people who are willing to do translation. Pen × fun × Pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 ｉｎｆｏ

He just followed the procedure, and after confirming that it was correct, he learned that Zhu Jinglun was in Zhang's Mansion at this time, and he immediately talked to Zhu Jinglun.

You can see that Hurd is showing himself to be friendly, and this is a person with high emotional intelligence. Zhu Jinglun is also a person with high emotional intelligence, so the communication between the two is very smooth.

Hurd has always used Chinese, and although his Chinese has a Jiangsu and Zhejiang accent, he knows a lot, and from time to time he can also carry out classic sentences such as the Analects. Apparently he had been subjected to hard labor.

This man came to China at the age of 19 and worked as a second-class deputy interpreter at the consulate in Ningbo for five years, until after the war, when he was urgently transferred to Canton, and was already considering appointing him as an official interpreter.

In five years, he operated in an unfamiliar country, with a language barrier, a strange culture, and was constrained everywhere, and even during his tenure, he experienced several violent incidents against foreigners.

What is it that supports such a person to work hard in distant China, Zhu Jinglun will never believe that Hurd is a selfless internationalist, he will also be like most adventurers and businessmen who are here to make money, if it is to make money, with his connections in China for five years, he can definitely find a better position in a rich businessman, and even become a partner of a British businessman is not difficult, if it is not for money, then in distant China, he can only serve as an assistant translator for five years, obviously there is no great future, Why on earth is he?

Zhu Jinglun was very puzzled by Hurd's inner motives.

"Your surname Zhu is a royal surname in the Ming Dynasty!"

Hurd's words inadvertently shifted to Manager Zhu's surname.

Zhu Jinglun said with a smile: "Chinese surnames are not as complicated as those in the UK, so this Zhu is not a Zhu, even in the Ming Dynasty, it will not be a royal family." ”

Hurd said curiously: "Maybe your ancestor has something to do with the emperor of the Ming Dynasty?" ”

Zhu Jinglun smiled: "Maybe." There is a saying in China that 500 years ago was one family, but his family was rich and my family was dilapidated. ”

Hurd nodded: "My family is also broken—"

Hurd then told Zhu Jinglun a piece of history, saying that his ancestors had followed King William III's government of Ireland and were made nobles, but later did not manage well, so they slowly declined, so that they lost their titles of nobility.

What Hurd said was a pity.

Zhu Jinglun secretly wondered in his heart, is this the biggest source of motivation in Hurd's heart?

Born in Ireland, Hurd claimed to be of aristocratic ancestry, but he was not recognized by the true nobility of England, otherwise he would not have been an assistant translator after five years in China. And the motivation for him to calm down and work hard in China and serve the British Empire quietly may come from the hope that by helping the British Empire develop its interests in the East, he will be given the title of nobility, and his family will find glory again, if there is one.

In order to achieve this goal, while other British officials spent all their days drinking and immersed themselves in the ten-mile foreign field in Ningbo, he studied Chinese culture hard in his room alone, his textbooks were classics such as the Analects, and he even invited an old master to teach him. When other British officials had had enough of playing in China, and returned to China to become knights after being plated with a layer of gold, Hurd, an Irishman, could only silently climb in China.

Although he has not made much progress in his career, Hurd has cultivated into a British diplomat who knows the Chinese best, he not only understands the Chinese words and language, he even knows the Chinese's thinking, he knows what the Chinese are saying, and he knows what the Chinese are thinking.

If this person is completely on the opposite side of China, he can indeed become a sharp knife of the British Empire, and at this time Hurd has sharpened himself and can unsheath and kill at any time.

Zhu Jinglun never underestimated this person, so he was quite cautious in his words, and most of the time he was echoing Hurd.

Daniel Zhang's butler greeted on the side, constantly adding tea and pouring water, tea from strong tea to light tea, and from light tea to white water, Hurd said that it was time for him to go, and at the same time solemnly stretched out his hand.

"On behalf of the Anglo-French Occupation Committee, I have the honour to extend an invitation to you, and I hope that you will soon be able to enter the work of the Occupation Committee. Personally, I look forward to working with you as well! ”

Zhu Jinglun said that he could go to work the next day, and then sent Hurd out of the door.

Hurd's arrival still caused a lot of reaction in Zhang's mansion, although there was no shortage of foreigners in Guangzhou City at this time, but there were not many people like Hurd, wearing suits and leather shoes, speaking Chinese, and still treating people as people. So many people watched, knowing that Hurd had left, and they were still chattering about the fact that this foreign devil could speak Chinese.

The hustle and bustle was even heard by the back house, Zhang Rou, the eldest lady of the Zhang family, was bored in the boudoir, as a married person, but there was a girl who was taken back from her mother's house, she was usually very regular, and it was rare to see people in the boudoir. But the discussion between the two servants who fetched water made her hear.

She immediately called a small maid to inquire, only then did she know that there was a foreigner at home, and after a search, she learned that she had an extra distant cousin from Shaoguan, this cousin, this cousin, temporarily borrowed Zhang's house, and also did a foreigner's interpreter.

Zhang Rou didn't know that she had such a cousin, and even if she did, she wouldn't care too much, but this cousin actually went to work as an interpreter for foreigners, which made her a little disdainful. For the time being, she was also despised in her heart, and had no other thoughts.

At this time, the housekeeper suddenly came back from the front house in a hurry, and hurried to the room of the second young grandmother.

The housekeeper reported the situation to the second young grandmother, the idea was taken by the second young grandmother, and it was the second young grandmother who promised to help Zhu Jinglun cover up his identity.

The second young grandmother nodded after listening: "This matter has to be told to the master, such a big matter, we can't call the shots." I will write a letter in the name of the eldest and youngest grandmother, and you will send someone to deliver it to the master. ”

The housekeeper should be: "The villain will do it, and let the stone deliver the letter." ”

Shi is one of the little guys who knows the inside story, the son of the Zhang family, and he can be regarded as a confidant.

The second young grandmother nodded, but denied it: "No, let the stone go with Ah Zhong." After sending the letter, stay with the master, and don't let them come back for the time being. ”

Ah Zhong is another little guy who knows the inside story, and it is obvious that the second young grandmother plans to send the two little guys who know the inside story away, so as not to expose the news. Although the foreigners did not search for the four missing soldiers with great fanfare, the Zhang family was not at ease.

The housekeeper agreed: "The second young grandmother is thoughtful. ”

The second young grandmother said again: "What happened to those foreign soldiers?" ”

The housekeeper said: "The villain brings them water and food every day, and he is still alive, but he is a little wilted, as if he is scared." Isn't this foreign devil's courage not necessarily great? ”

The second young grandmother nodded: "You still continue to feed them, don't starve them to death." ”

"The villain understands."

After the housekeeper finished answering, he went out of the second young grandmother's room, and when he passed the eldest lady's boudoir, he was suddenly stopped by the eldest lady and began to ask about the cousin, she felt that the housekeeper and her second sister-in-law had something to hide from her.

After Zhu Jinglun sent Hurd away, he did not immediately go back to his house to rest, but walked around the street and found that more and more shops were opening, but most of them were still not open, and he was still hesitating to wait and see. Or maybe there is something else in mind, anyway, the city of Guangzhou today is not the same as before the war.

I went all the way to the city gate, and found that there were fewer coffins sent out, but the inspection of foreign soldiers was still very strict, and a good phenomenon was that the inspection of going out was much more relaxed than in the past. For example, the ox carts that come to the city every day to collect swill, they don't even open the lid.

This situation made Zhu Jinglun feel that he seemed to have an opportunity to send the four foreign soldiers out of the city. As for whether it is sent to death or sent out alive, it does not matter. Of course, if the time drags on long enough, the foreigners forget the missing soldiers, and the people of the Zhang family are not exposed themselves, in fact, it doesn't matter whether they are sent out of the city or not.

Therefore, Zhu Jinglun began to think about whether his idea was unnecessary from the beginning, maybe it would be more secure to bury those people in the vegetable cellar on the spot.

I had a meal in a small restaurant outside, talked with Xiao Er for a while, and went to the teahouse to listen to people gossip for a long time.