"The sea is strict (salt), you can't catch it, you can't eat it all, doesn't it mean that the eldest brother can't eat and wear everything in the future?" Zhao Guohua said seriously. Pen & Fun & Pavilion www.biquge.info

Yan Dahai heard this, and his face was happy: "Then borrow Mr.'s auspicious words......" He laughed as he spoke.

After walking a few streets, turning a few intersections, I came to a place called Dujikou (at the intersection of Guxi Road and Beida Road) and saw an inn with white walls and black tiles, and the sign of "Five Lakes Inn" was hung at the door, and there were people drinking tea and chatting inside, which seemed very lively.

"Oh, it's Lao Yan here, come, sit down and have a cup of tea." When the shopkeeper saw Yan Dahai coming, he greeted him with a smile.

Sitting down at the table, taking the tea handed over by the shopkeeper, Yan Dahai took a few sips, and then asked, "What about that Yangyi Robert, someone wants to find him." ”

Hearing this, the shopkeeper looked at Zhao Guohua and the others and said, "He went out in the morning, and I'm afraid he won't come back until lunch." ”

Yan Dahai said to Zhao Guohua: "It's almost noon, I'm afraid he will come back, let's wait for him for a while." ”

"Just listen to Brother Yan." Zhao Guohua said casually.

"Old Han, there is a good pot of tea, my friends want to drink it." Yan Dahai said.

Knowing that this was to pull business for himself, the shopkeeper nodded to Yan Dahai gratefully, and then took the tea

Drinking fragrant tea and eating melon seeds, there was nothing to do, so Niu Huan asked: "Shopkeeper, the name of your ferry chicken is a little strange, is it that in the past this was a place where chickens were sold by boat?" ”

Hearing this, Yan Dahai laughed, and some of the people who drank tea in the room also laughed, and the laughing Niu Huan and Zhao Guohua and others stared at each other, and they didn't know why they were laughing.

Seeing the puzzled looks of Niu Huan, Zhao Guohua and others, Yan Dahai stopped laughing and said: "Legend has it that Li Tiegui, one of the Eight Immortals in ancient times, watched the mortal scenery in the clouds, and found that there was a very lively place between the front of the Fuzhou Drum Tower and the West Gate. He thought that among so many people, I don't know if there are few people who have compassion, and if there is, they will cross him to become an immortal. So he went down to the mortal world, and he pretended to be a beggar, dressed in a girdle, and his calves were still ulcering and pus. He went from house to shop begging, and those people and bosses not only refused to give alms, but also spoke ill of them. Suddenly, a rooster ran out of a tofu shop. The rooster saw that Li Tie's calf was ulcerated and pus, so he used his sharp mouth to gently peck and suck hard, until the rotten dead meat was pecked out and the pus that flowed out was dry, and then he clucked again. The rooster's behavior made Li Tiegui very happy, and he crossed the rooster to the sky. This place where Li Tie abducted the chicken was called the chicken ferry mouth by later generations. ”

"Fuzhou is worthy of being a thousand-year-old city, with a strong cultural heritage, and even a place name has such a beautiful legend." Zhao Guohua said with admiration.

Listening to Zhao Guohua's praise of Fuzhou, Yan Dahai was even more happy, and he said: "In Fuzhou, there are many place names with stories, such as Shuangtoqiao Bridge, Si'er Pavilion, Jibi Road, etc. ”

Waiting for Robert in the inn, it's okay to be idle, in order to kill time, Zhao Guohua said with a smile: "Brother Yan, this is the first time I have come to Fuzhou, and I don't know that Fuzhou has so many interesting place names, anyway, there is nothing to do at this time, you might as well tell us the legends and stories behind these place names, so as to have a good time." ”

"Good. As long as you like to listen, I love to speak. Yan Dahai said happily.

After taking a sip of tea to moisten his throat, Yan Dahai said: "Legend has it that in ancient times, there was a river here, and there was a wooden bridge on the river, and there were Qiu, He, and Hu families living by the bridge. The son of the Qiu family and the daughter of the He family have been childhood sweethearts since childhood, and the elders also feel that it is suitable, so they let them get married, but they did not expect the daughter of the He family to be taken by the young master of the Hu family, so he summoned the thugs, blocked the road and robbed the relatives on the day of the Qiu family's marriage, and snatched the Miss He family to the Hu Mansion, but the Miss He family was a loyal and fierce woman, and she refused to die when she went to the Hu Mansion, and fled back to her husband's house in the middle of the night. After that, a big banyan tree grows on the north and south banks of the river, the roots of the tree are intertwined with each other at the bottom of the river, and the branches are connected in the air, and the descendants will name the bridge across the river as "Double Throwing Bridge"

With a "snap", Niu Huan slapped the table, his eyebrows were upside down, his eyes were wide open, and he said angrily: "Such an evil young man, he really deserves to die." If I meet such a person, I have to lead troops to kill his whole family. ”

Listening to the word "leading soldiers" in Niu Huan's words, Yan Dahai looked at Zhao Guohua in surprise.

Zhao Guohua said lightly: "Niu Huan, sit down, don't talk nonsense." ”

"Yes." Niu Huan sat down obediently.

At this time, I only heard the shopkeeper say loudly: "Robert, why did you come back, come in, someone is looking for you." ”

Hearing the sound, everyone turned their heads to look at the door of the inn, only to see a down-and-out Westerner with a high nose and yellow hair standing at the door. Zhao Guohua got up and walked over, and said with a smile: "Mr. Robert, you are finally back, I will wait for you for a while." ”

He looked at Zhao Guohua suspiciously, and thought about it for a while, but there was still no memory in his mind, so Robert said: "This gentleman, I don't know you, what are you looking for me?" ”

Smiling, Zhao Guohua said: "Mr. Robert, it's a pleasure to meet you, let me introduce myself, my name is Zhao Guohua." ”

"Oh. Mr. Zhao, I am also very happy to meet you. Robert said politely. He thought to himself: "There are more than a dozen people around this Ming man, but it seems that he is his escort or entourage, and there are more than ten guards in Daming who are either officials or wealthy businessmen, and his temperament does not look like a businessman, is he an official?" But if he is an official, what is the matter with finding himself? ”

Looking at his appearance, it is estimated that he didn't eat lunch, so Zhao Guohua said: "Mr. Robert, I want to invite you to have lunch with us, you have no opinion." ”

Robert has been to Daming several times, and he has liked Daming's diet, and when he heard that someone invited him to eat, his stomach immediately "gurgled", and he laughed, and he said embarrassedly: "Then let Mr. Zhao break the bank." ”

"Shopkeeper, serve the food, serve all the delicious dishes in your store, and the money will not be less for you." Zhao Guohua commanded.

Hearing this, the shopkeeper knew that he had met a big customer today, and he said happily, "Zhang Xiaosan, go to the kitchen and tell Chef Liu to hurry up and stir-fry." ”

While waiting for the food to be served, Zhao Guohua asked, "Robert, which country are you from?" Is it Italy? Portugal? Spain? Or the Dutch? ”

"Huh? Mr. Zhao, how do you know so many European countries? Robert asked, surprised.

Smiling, Zhao Guohua said: "I also know about Columbus's great voyage and found a new continent, in which there were red-haired Indians, and he also discovered many new crops, such as sweet potatoes, corn, potatoes, tobacco, etc. ”

Hearing these words, Robert was dumbfounded, and he couldn't figure out how a man of the Ming Dynasty could know so much about Europe. In his heart, it is impossible for the people of the Ming Dynasty to know these things that ordinary Europeans do not know.

"The dish is coming!" A few shopkeepers came with wooden plates and served food.

Seeing Robert looking at himself in surprise, Zhao Guohua smiled proudly and said, "Robert, come, let's eat, let's talk after dinner." ”

Robert was hungry, so he picked up the fork and ate it. He is not used to using chopsticks, and he uses a fork and spoon to eat and pick up vegetables. Seeing the funny way he picks vegetables with a fork, everyone laughs.

"No way, I never learned to use chopsticks to pick up vegetables, so I had to use a fork." Robert said with an embarrassed smile.

After lunch, Zhao Guohua followed Robert back to the room.

The first time Robert came to Daming lived in the "Five Lakes Inn", the enthusiasm of the store, the clean and comfortable environment of the inn, left him a good image, so he came to Daming several times later and also lived in the "Five Lakes Inn".

Entering the room, Robert opened his mouth and asked, "Mr. Zhao, I don't think you are an ordinary person, I wonder if you have anything to ask me for help?" ”

"Robert, I wonder if you came to my Daming to travel far or do business?" Zhao Guohua asked.

Looking at him, Robert said: "Of course it's business, I don't have the spare money to run from Italy to Daming to play." ”

"Oh, so you're Italian, and your Venice in Italy is a famous water city. It is known as "Water City", "Hundred Island City" and "Bridge City". Zhao Guohua said praisefully.

Hearing this, Robert said in surprise: "Mr. Zhao, have you been to Italy?" ”

"I haven't been there, but when I was in Beijing, I heard from one of the missionaries Matteo Ricci." Zhao Guohua said nonsense.

Robert nodded and said, "I see, no wonder Mr. Zhao knows a lot of things in Europe. ”

He continued: "Matteo Ricci is an Italian who was born in Macerata, Marche, and his family runs a Ritchie pharmacy. Matteo Ricci's diary was translated into Latin by the Belgian Jesuit Kinnige and published in 1615 under the title "History of the Christian Expedition to China" and the Chinese translation is "Matteo Ricci's Notes on China". He recorded the Ming Dynasty in his notebook: The material production here is extremely rich, everything is available, the sugar is whiter than Europe, and the cloth is more exquisite than Europe...... The people are beautifully dressed and graceful, and the people are in good spirits, polite, and elegant. I just read the notes he wrote, and that's why I came to Daming to do business. ”

"Italy is a good country, not only Matteo Ricci, but Marco Polo is also Italian." Zhao Guohua said.

"Yes, yes, Mr. Zhao, you are right, in Marco Polo's travelogue and Matteo Ricci's diary, they all say that you are very beautiful and rich here, but according to my observation, you are not as good as what is written in Matteo Ricci's diary, here, the rich are indeed very rich, but the poor are very poor, and I heard that your army has been defeated by a small country in the north several times, and the people in the north have no food, and some places still eat children and women, is this true?"