The banquet was arranged at the station of the Nanyang Chamber of Commerce, because there were too many people attending the banquet, and it would definitely not be possible to sit down in the hall alone, so only some important people of the fleet sat in the hall, and most people sat in the open space outside, anyway, it was not too hot now, just put the tables and chairs and everyone sat together to eat and drink.

In order to show his importance to the European craftsmen of Chilava, Zhou Zhong specially arranged them in the living room, there were fifty-four of them, and they sat at seven tables at once, because of the language and customs, Zhou Zhong did not let other people accompany him, but asked Father John to greet them for the time being, and then come to toast them when he was done.

But soon Zhou Zhong found out the problem, those Europeans were sitting on the right side of the living room, but as soon as they sat down, some people at the table next to them all moved the table outward, widening the distance from those Europeans, and most of the people at the wine table were from the fleet, it is said that they have been on the ship for so long, everyone should know that in such a lively matter of drinking, someone should always toast, but in fact, there is no one from the fleet. Even some toasters deliberately stay away from places where Europeans would.

Seeing this situation, Zhou Zhong was also a little strange, and when others were not paying attention, he touched Liu Tao next to him with his shoulder, and then asked in a low voice: "What's the matter, why don't the people in your fleet seem to be reluctant to approach the European craftsmen who came back with you?" ”

Hearing Zhou Chong's words, Liu Tao lowered his head and laughed for a while as if he had heard some joke, and then he forced a smile and said, "The owner." I saw that you had already spoken to the Europeans when you were at the docks. Didn't you feel something was wrong at the time? ”

"Isn't that right? What's wrong? Zhou Zhong was only happy at that time. I don't care about paying attention to anything else.

"Here!" I saw Liu Tao stretch out his hand and point to his nose, "Boss, you really didn't smell anything?" ”

"Nose?" Zhou Zhong also had a thoughtful expression on his face when he heard this, and at the same time recalled the scene when he met these people in Chirawa on the dock just now, but he quickly got up, and when he was talking to these people in Chirava face to face, he seemed to smell a foul smell, but the wind on the dock was strong at that time, and he was only happy in his heart. In addition, there are often fishing boats coming and going on the dock, he thought that the fishy smell on which fishing boat had just been blown over, so he didn't care, and now after Liu Tao reminded him, he found that the source of the stench seemed to be emitted from the people of Chilava.

"Holy! Come to think of it! Zhou Chong, who was puzzled, suddenly remembered the historical record, the Ming Dynasty was just the Middle Ages in Europe, and during this period, it seemed that Europeans did not take a bath, and this custom was not just a certain part of the people, but the whole of Europe, from the princes and nobles, down to the peddlers and pawns. No one bathes at all, and this custom of not bathing has lasted for hundreds of years. Therefore, Europe during this period is also known in history as "Europe that has not been washed for a thousand years".

Speaking of ancient Europe, later generations of Chinese may soon think of clean cities, neat men and women, graceful gentlemen, women in gorgeous round skirts, but these impressions are from the Europeans themselves filmed films, the real ancient Europe, to be precise is the Middle Ages after the Black Death, the whole of Europe is a dirty mess, the streets are full of feces and sewage, people are sloppy clothes, even the so-called gentlemen and ladies of the upper class, under their gorgeous clothes, But it was a flesh full of dirt and lice.

Speaking of Europe, they claim to have inherited Roman civilization, but they have not inherited the Roman concept of hygiene, the Romans spend most of the day bathing, but most of the Europeans in the Middle Ages do not bathe for years or even a lifetime, even those well-dressed ladies, they can take a bath twice a year, they can be regarded as the most clean people in the entire upper class.

The reason why the whole of Europe did not take a bath was mainly because the medical community in Europe at that time believed that water would reduce the body's resistance to disease, which was absolutely intolerable to Europeans who were still shrouded in the threat of the Black Death at that time, so whether it was princes and nobles or ordinary people, in addition to drinking water, they tried to avoid any part of their body from touching the water, and even washing their faces and feet were abandoned by most people, let alone bathing.

The fear of water made the whole of Europe filthy, and later with the addition of the Church, which found a basis for this lack of bathing, the filthy body was considered more accessible to God, and the Church even had a directive that good people, especially young people, should not be allowed to bathe at all.

There was even a devout female believer who once boasted to others that she hadn't washed her face in eighteen years, which made her think that she was the purest person. Similarly, St. Abraham did not wash his face or feet for 50 years. Saint-Simon allowed the worm to arch over his festering wound and never washed. Henry IV's mother did not bathe for the rest of her life, but was canonized as the Holy Lady Agnès.

Medical misunderstandings and religious ignorance have made Europeans so bad at their personal hygiene that many people even think that only certain special patients need to be bathed, and those men who wash their faces frequently will be considered sissy or white-faced, and have no manhood.

Of course, if you don't take a bath all year round, your body will definitely emit a disgusting smell, although the European concept of hygiene has been distorted, but their noses can still distinguish the smell, in order to cover up the stench on their body, the European high society has greatly increased the demand for spices, and this has also indirectly promoted the Europeans' desire for the East, because the East produces the spices they urgently need.

Thinking of the above, Zhou Chong's face couldn't help but turn pale, he finally knew what he smelled on the dock, it was the stench emitted by people who have not bathed for many years, although the boatmen in the chamber of commerce have also been running at sea for many years, and they also have no conditions to take a bath, but Zhou Zhong bet that even the dirtiest boatmen on their bodies are probably not as good as those European craftsmen, otherwise they would not take the initiative to move their tables away, so as to keep themselves away from those Europeans.

Those shipwrights often run on the sea, and sometimes when the supplies can't keep up, they will also eat some spoiled and moldy food, and drink some stinky fresh water, for them, I am afraid that the general smell is nothing at all, but now when the people of Chilawa get together, the smell emitted makes those boatmen retreat, so that the smell can definitely be compared with the stink bombs of later generations.

Liu Tao, who was beside Zhou Chong, drank two glasses with the people who came to toast, then sat down and looked at Zhou Chong still looking at the Europeans over there in a daze, and then smiled at the moment: "The owner, as the so-called 'three years to sea, The sow becomes a sable cicada', you look at the Miss Siala over there, although she looks different from our Central Plains woman, but she has a round hip and a large chest and a slender waist, and at a glance you know that the road is a good birth, if it is placed in normal times, there is such a beauty on the boat, the brutes on the boat have long been crazy, but since this Miss Siala got on the boat, none of the people on the boat dared to approach, because they couldn't stand the strange smell that the other party couldn't cover up with incense powder. ”

Hearing Liu Tao's words, Zhou Zhong couldn't help but be embarrassed, he originally thought that Miss Sila, who was a girl, would be better, but he didn't expect it to be the same, but it's not strange to think about it, after all, the other party's growth environment is like this, so he naturally thinks that not taking a bath is a matter of course, and it is estimated that she is probably used to the strange smell on her body for a long time.

Just when Zhou Chong was thinking nonsense, he saw Father John come over with a smile, and then whispered to Zhou Chong: "Master Zhou, everyone is very grateful for your hospitality, do you want to go over and say a few words to everyone now, and drink a few drinks by the way to get closer to the relationship." ”

Father John has been in Daming for more than a year, and now he talks and acts more and more like a Ming man. However, Zhou Zhong had a wry smile on his face after hearing his words, he knew that the smell of these Europe was so terrible, so he just asked Father John to entertain them on his behalf, but he had already spoken on the dock before, and now Father John came to invite him personally, how could he say that he could not go?

Thinking of this, Zhou Zhong couldn't help but sigh lightly, turned his head to look at the other party and said, "Father John, is there any way you can get these people you brought to change their original habits, such as taking a bath or something?" ”

When Father John heard Zhou Chong's words, he looked at his helpless expression on his face, and immediately understood Zhou Chong's thoughts, only to see him say righteously: "I'm sorry Zhou Gongzi, in our opinion, not washing the body is devotion to the Lord, and as a priest, it is impossible for me to persuade them to give up their devotion to the Lord!" ”

Zhou Zhong was not surprised by Fr. John's refusal, as the Church in Europe encouraged not bathing. But then he thought of another thing, and immediately turned his head to Father John and sniffed it, and then asked very strangely: "Father John, why is your body so clean, and I can't smell anything at all, don't your church let believers take a bath, but the priests in the church can?" ”

Hearing Zhou Chong's question, I saw that Father John puffed up his chest and said with a solemn face: "Zhou Gongzi misunderstood, the people in our church are not allowed to take a bath, and only when punishing those sinners, will they pour cold water on each other, as the president of the Dominican Society, I have always obeyed the commandments of the church, before coming to Daming, I have not taken a bath for ten years, but when I first came to Daming, every time I didn't wait for us to preach, those people of Daming covered their noses and ran away, After that, I consulted with Priest Nader, and in order for the glory of God to spread to Daming as soon as possible, we also began to take a bath, believing that the Lord would forgive us! (To be continued......)