Two weeks later,

Thursday, June 6, 1901.

Port of Liverpool.

The ship's whistle sounded "dirty," urging people to board the ship as soon as possible.

On the dock, the ladies waved their handkerchiefs and said goodbye to their lovers on board.

Lu Shi and Wardhouse were standing on the deck,

Because of their special status and the care of both Britain and the United States, their luggage has long been carried onto the ship, so there is no need to work impromptuly.

Wardhouse smokes his pipe against the wind,

The smoke wafted away.

Lu Shi didn't like the smell of smoke, so he changed his position, stood upwind, and then took out the "Mirror" he carried with him, turned to the comic book version of "Jane Eyre", and read the finale.

Wardhouse asked, "Sales have been a lot better in the past two days, right?" ”

Because "The Fellowship of the Ring" and "Jane Eyre" have ended successively, the newspaper must have sold well.

Lu Shi replied: "Another new high." ”

Wardhouse couldn't help but be proud,

"With the Mirror, the prestige of the University of London League can be chased straight by Oxbridge. At that time, I agreed that you should run a newspaper, which was the most correct choice I made in my life. I can only say that you have the ability, and I also know people, hahahahaha......haha

The Earl would have put gold on his face.

Lu Shi was speechless and put the newspaper away.

Dirt Dirt –

Another whistle sounded.

Along with it, some clouds gathered in the sky over the Port of Liverpool, and the sporadic rain fell and left a chill on the cheeks.

Wardhouse stretches,

"Comfortable."

There is no need to carry luggage, of course, it is pleasant.

When he turned to land,

"Lu, I heard that there are 24 solar terms in China?"

Lu Shi was surprised and said, "Sir, you even know this?" That's right, according to China's unique calendar, today is indeed one of the 24 solar terms, 'there are mango cereal crops to plant, after which it will be invalid'. ”

This topic piqued the interest of Wardhouse,

"Is there a reason?" he asked. ”

Lu Shi thought for a while,

"Probably because of the significantly warmer temperatures, abundant rainfall and high humidity in the air, this is the time of year for cereal crops."

Wardhouse shrugged,

It's hard for him to understand because the two places he's spent the longest time in his life are London and South Africa.

The former is wet all year round, and the latter is so hot that people's faces are redder than monkey butts.

"Climate issues fall under the realm of geography, and your book 'Guns, Germs and Steel' also touches on them," he said. Sometimes I wonder if you are a naturalist, how can you know everything in any field, and you know a lot. ”

The tone is sincere, and it doesn't sound like flattery.

Lu Shi was a little embarrassed,

Fortunately, the cruise ship left the port at this time and slowly sailed into the rain curtain.

The tobacco in the Wardhouse pipe was wet with rain,

He took off his pipe,

"Let's go, let's go downstairs to the club and play darts, poker or something. I can take you to experience bridge, it's definitely more interesting than that landlord. ”

Lu Shi was curious,

"Sir, have you ever played Landlord Fight?"

Wardhouse replied, "Stand by and get involved in one or two." ”

Standing by and participating?

I didn't expect "cloud players" to be so fresh and refined.

Lu Shi: "......"

The two of them went all the way down to the cabin level and entered the cruise club.

In the center of the cabin is a circular stage, around which more than thirty round tables extend outwards to the bulkhead of the ship.

There are leisure utensils on the table,

Poker, chess, dominoes, books......

The whole nine yards.

Lu Shi even saw "No One Survived" and "Roger's Mystery Case" on the bookshelf.

Wardhouse sits,

"It's all up to them for the next ten days."

From Liverpool to New York, the cruise ship needs to sail south along the island of Ireland and then north along the east coast of South America, the whole voyage takes about twelve days.

Of course, the exact time is subject to weather conditions.

Lu Shi also sat down,

"Fortunately, it is shorter than the time from Foshan to London."

Wardhouse chuckled,

"You've got patience. I heard that Germany had built a new steam liner, called the Deutschland, which could reach an average speed of 27 knots, and even set a new record for transatlantic in less than six days. ”

He stretched,

"If only we had a ship like that sometime~"

Lu Shi thought of the Titanic out of place and didn't dare to squeak.

Wardhouse picked up the cards,

"Bridge?"

Lu Shi only knew that bridge was a two-on-two four-player card game, with many types and extremely complex rules, so he said in a low voice: "I have never played bridge, and my level is very good." And, just the two of us, how are we going to play? ”

Wardhouse chuckled,

"Lack of people is also called a problem? Poker is meant to be social. ”

He first briefly introduced the rules to Lu Shi, then took out a few banknotes from his body, and then pressed them with a silver pocket watch inlaid with magnificent rubies.

In an instant, the table became "bejeweled".

Lu Shi is helpless,

"Jazz, is this what you mean by socializing?"

Waldhouse smiled,

"High-end social."

As he spoke, he didn't forget to nod to the pocket watch chain on the breasted suit of Lu Shi's suit, and urged: "Lu, for any card game, the best learning is actual combat. ”

Lu Shi had no choice but to learn from the same, took out the banknotes, and pressed them with a pocket watch.

The behavior of the two is equivalent to a silent invitation to the gentlemen around them.

Wardhouse smiled: "That's right~"

His eyes searched the club, and soon he found the "prey", and glanced at Lu Shi.

"Look over there, right at the bar, two Yankees. The Yankees are all old-fashioned, and they should not be good at bridge. ”

Lu Shi cast his gaze,

I saw that there were indeed two people in suits and leather shoes looking at their side, hesitating, as if they wanted to get closer, but they were very hesitant.

The two look a little similar, and it seems that they should be brothers.

Curious, he asked, "How do you know it's American?" ”

Slightly embarrassed, Wardhouse replied, "Hair." ”

Lu Shi said: "Judge by hair? Is it hair color? ”

Wardhouse was even more embarrassed and silent.

Lu Shi suddenly understood,

British people generally have large foreheads, like light bulbs, and the baldness rate is high, and they are bald very early, the so-called "premature baldness".

At the same age, Americans' hairlines are much better.

Lu Shi smiled desperately with a straight face,

"I see."

Wardhouse coughed, stood up, and said to the two Americans, "You two, do you want to play a game?" ”

The two Americans looked at each other, their eyes full of surprise,

They immediately came over and sat down.

Wardhouse grabbed his pipe and began to shuffle the cards, while saying somewhat vaguely, "You both should know the rules of bridge, right?" Let's play a game first, get acquainted with each other, and then report to our home, how about it? ”

As a result, the American brothers ignored him, and instead stared at Lu Shi with "affectionate" eyes.

Lu Shi was given goosebumps and quietly moved his chair back.

Wardhouse frowned,

"Two?"

The American brothers came back to their senses,

One of the older said, "I'm sorry, sir. In the United States, poker has been in a state of chaos and uncertainty in terms of development policy, and poker is listed as an illegal sport in many parts of the country, so we are not very good at it. ”

Wardhouse couldn't help but laugh,

"Come on, do you dare say you don't know how to play poker? Even if you don't know how to poker, you will definitely use poker to gamble money~"

That's right.

The American buddies also laughed,

The atmosphere was relaxed, and the distance between the two sides was shortened a lot at once.

The older American said, "My name is George Pike, and this is my younger brother, Edward Pike, and we have a company in Salem, Massachusetts, that specializes in board games, and it's called the Pike Brothers. ”

As soon as George finished speaking, Edward couldn't wait to look at Lu Shi,

"Professor Lu? You're Professor Lu! ”

"Tsk......"

Wardhouse was speechless, winked at Lu Shi subtly, and said, "Come on, I'm coming at you." ”

He put the cards back in the box.

Lu Shi was curious,

"How do you know about me?"

Edward said, "Just now, when we were playing deck putt, we heard this gentleman say that you are the author of 'Guns, Germs, and Steel,' so we followed ...... Ahem...... Followed you. ”

When the land is full of black lines,

￣□￣｜｜

He was sure that the other party must have mentioned the word "tailgating" just now.

Wardhouse was curious: "I noticed that your company's headquarters are in Salem, which is a historic seaport city where many Europeans have settled. So, you have a certain European ethnic lineage? ”

George replied, "This ......"

Wardhouse said, "I'm John Wardhouse, and you can call me 'Sizzle.'" ”

Sir!?

The American brothers were slightly frightened,

It's not that they didn't hear Lu Shi call Waldhouse like that just now, but they all thought they had heard it wrong.

"Sir, we are indeed ninth-generation French immigrants," said Georges. ”

Wardhouse nodded,

"The ninth? That's a long time ago. You came to the UK to promote table games? ”

George replied, "That's right. It's just a pity that our game is too ...... Alas...... The British don't like it. ”

He nodded to his brother,

The latter immediately understood, and took out a beautifully packaged box from his bag,

With the action, there is a soft sound of stones colliding inside the box, which should be the sound of the chess pieces.

The name of the game is written on the box:

《Klondike Gold Rush》。

Wardhouse was stunned,

As an Englishman, I can't even read it.

It's all English words, hey!

He asked, "What is this?" ”

Brother Parker couldn't help but sigh,

"That's why we couldn't find a partner," says George. Even though everyone speaks the same English, the distant geographical divide creates a cultural barrier. ”

Lu Shi explained: "'Klondike' is a geographical term that refers to the area around the Klondike River, in Alaska, and 'Gold Rush' is really a phrase unique to the United States, which is actually a westward movement. ”

When it comes to westward expansion, Waldhouse understands,

The Westward Expansion Movement, which refers to the migration of residents from the eastern part of the United States to the western region, began in the late 18th century and ended in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

"'Gold Rush' is also apt, which literally translates to the yearning for gold," he said. ”

When the Parker brothers on the other side looked at Lu in surprise,

None of them thought that a Chinese could understand so much.

George said: "Professor Lu is right. But one thing must be corrected, Klondike is actually in the wilderness east of Alaska, which, in principle, is not considered American territory. ”

That is, within modern Canada.

Lu Shi is also the first time I have heard of it,

"Taught."

George waved his hand again and again,

"Don't dare."

Although Americans are generally confident, they are also self-aware and do not dare to pretend to be forced in front of Lu Shi.

Lu Shi asked, "Do you mind showing me this game?" ”

He was also curious about board games of this era.

Edward opens the box,

"Please."

The space inside the box is divided into three compartments, which contain maps, chess pieces, and "gold".

Lu Shi picked up a chess piece and checked it,

Very heavy and good quality.

It is true that the parts of board games in the early 20th century relied entirely on hand-made, and the craftsmanship was not as good as that of modern times, but it was better because the materials were solid, and the stone chess pieces looked "expensive" than modern plastic parts.

Wardhouse had never been exposed to anything like this, and was as curious as a child.

"How is this going to be played?"

Lu Shi rummaged in the box,

"No instructions?"

A sentence is like a thunderbolt from the blue that struck the Pike brothers,

George muttered to himself, "Instruction manual ...... Yes, you can get a manual! ”

Lu Shi: "......"

"Your game doesn't even have a description, so why can it be sold?"

George said embarrassedly: "Actually, there is an explanation, but it is not a separate manual, but a form printed on the box." When the salesperson sells it, he will first instruct the players to look for the rules on the box. ”

Wardhouse chuckled,

"I like the way you use the phrase to say 'customer' is 'player'. If you have this mentality, you don't have to worry about the game not being able to sell. ”

The Pike brothers were immediately encouraged,

"Thank you, Sir."

Lu Shi said: "However, you should still implement the problem of the manual." Having a salesperson teach the rules on the spot every time will definitely seriously affect the spread of the table game. Because the ease of learning is too poor to pass on from player to player. ”

George smiled wryly,

"I didn't expect that Professor Lu would do business better than us."

Wardhouse said: "Sometimes I also feel that there is no such all-round talent in this world, who is proficient in writing books, teaching, starting a business, and running newspapers. ”

It's starting to tout again.

Lu Shi coughed lightly and diverted the topic: "Mr. Edward, you just said 'pay attention' to me, why?" ”

Edward looked at George,

Obviously, he was asking for his brother's opinion.

George hesitated for a moment, but finally decided to give it a try: "Professor Lu, you are the editor-in-chief of the Mirror, right?" ”

Lu Shi nodded,

"It seems that you have touched me very thoroughly~ That's right, I am indeed the editor-in-chief of the "Mirror", is there any problem?"

George replied: "There was an interview with the author of Jane Eyre, which mentioned 'adaptation' and 're-creation', I don't know what your attitude is to this. If possible, would you like The Lord of the Rings to be recreated? ”

Lu Shi understood,

"Listen, you mean, you want to turn Lord of the Rings into a tabletop game?"

He asked his brother George,

As a result, before George could answer, Edward spoke: "Professor Lu doesn't think this is very suitable!?" Imagine creating a world of dragons, wizards, dwarves, elves on your desktop......"

His eyes lit up.

George had to interrupt: "Edward! Calm down! ”

But Edward didn't hear it at all,

"The war in Middle-earth has begun, and players are manipulating the chess pieces to fight every step of the way......"

George raised his voice: "Love! Morality! Chinese! ”

He grabbed Edward's shoulders and shook them back and forth.

Only then did Edward come to his senses,

A man in his thirties, looking like a child who had done something wrong, bowed his head in shame and apologized,

"I ...... I'm a little excited. ”

More than excitement?

It's just too exciting!

Lu Shi smiled: "Of course what you said is right. However, if you want to build Middle-earth on the table, I'm afraid it will be difficult, right? ”

Edward instantly fell into low pressure,

"Yes, it's hard."

George on the side said, "That's why we were so excited when we met Professor Lu. We don't have what it takes to shape a world of Middle-earth that can be brought to the table, but you're different! You're the author of The Lord of the Rings, so why not if you could be a part of it? ”

Lu Shi was speechless,

The heart said that the two of them actually wanted to develop themselves in the direction of formulating DND rules.

(End of chapter)