In the evening, the Prime Minister had a dinner reception, but the Empress Dowager Cixi politely refused, saying that the boat was tiring and she wanted to have a good rest, so the car drove to a summer palace in the suburbs, which was temporarily used as the place where the Empress Dowager stayed, the Empress Dowager slept first, the warship would not sit very comfortably at any time, and the suffering of the waves and bumps on the sea was far from being able to imagine it on a down-to-earth basis, and at five or six o'clock in the evening, the Empress Dowager got up, stretched her waist, looked at the quiet manor dyed by the lanterns, her long hair was scattered on the velvet pillow, and said lazily, " That's what England looks like. ”

The maids snickered, stepped forward to serve the Queen Mother, dressed and got up, although they were all sent out by China to serve, but the head of the summer palace here still insisted on his post, just outside the Queen Mother's bedroom, and waited until the Queen Mother came out, bowing slightly, "Your Highness, your subordinates don't need us to prepare dinner, but I still insist on preparing apple pie and grilled sausages, French fries, and some butterbeer." ”

"Really? Very good," the Queen Mother nodded in surprise, "I was just thinking about eating these things, can you put these delicious things in the living room?" I'm going to talk to my subordinates about something. ”

"I'm willing to serve you." The manager bowed slightly, turned around to decorate, Tang Wufu was a little angry, "Master, what the hell do these foreigners eat, there is our food delicious." ”

"Come here to try it," the Queen Mother said with a smile, passing through the bright marble floor tiles, there are many landscape paintings hanging on both sides of the corridor, probably knowing that the Chinese are very conservative, and the exposed religious paintings and body paintings have not been seen, the Queen Mother walked forward while looking, "If you come abroad and eat everything from your own home, what is the difference between that and at home?" The British eat, cough cough," the Queen Mother coughed pretendedly, "Of course, there is nothing to eat, but there can always be something to eat, don't brush off the kindness of others, you must know that now we are guests, guests are as they please." ”

When I arrived at the living room, the tableware was set up inside, the white candles stood on the golden candle stand, and there were palace maids wearing cheongsams and British servants wearing white aprons, Qinghai Hai, Guo Songtao, and Gao Xinkui were already waiting here, and when they saw the Queen Mother coming in, they were ready to kneel again, "Don't kneel, the guest is as you please, let's all follow the British style." ”

The British style is to kiss the hand, Guo Songtao secretly thought, stood up, "Sit, let's eat together," the three of them did not dare to sit down, the Queen Mother was reluctant, then trembling and sat on both sides of the Queen Mother, the Queen Mother sat at the front of the long table, the head of the summer palace called someone to send fish and chips, grilled sausages, apple pie beer and other things, the Queen Mother nodded, picked up a steaming sausage with a fork, and took a big bite, "Very delicious, thank you for your intentions." ”

The chief bowed happily again and again, "It is my honor to serve His Highness. He was also very knowledgeable, knowing that the distinguished guests from the Far East had something to discuss, so he clapped his hands and let all the British servants withdraw, Tang Wufu was not to be outdone, and brought the dishes brought out of the imperial kitchen, and at the end, he said with tears in his eyes, "There is nothing to buy here, only the hare meat is not bad, so that the master is wronged." ”

This is also a combination of Chinese and Western dinner, Tang Wufu gave the Queen Mother vegetables, the Queen Mother picked up chopsticks, first dipped the fries in tomato sauce, sent them to her mouth, closed her eyes and chewed slowly, with an endless aftertaste expression on her face, "French fries, I don't know how many years I haven't eaten them." The Queen Mother opened her eyes, took another sip of beer, her whole eyes seemed to light up, and she hurriedly beckoned to everyone, "Hurry up, eat and see the things of the British!" ”

Guo Songtao knew the taste of these things, although he could eat them, but he definitely didn't like to eat them, so he just ate a chopstick and stopped moving, so did Gao Xinkui, Qinghai took a sip of beer suspiciously, the strange taste almost didn't let himself spit out, and his face turned red, so he barely swallowed it, so he didn't move the chopsticks again.

The Queen Mother ate a meal of the sea, and then put down her fork and chopsticks with satisfaction, "Wufu, you give the silk we brought to the chief here, and say thank you for his food." In the future, you can prepare a little more food for me, local specialties can be, but you don't want to look up at the starry sky. ”

Tang Wufu's Chinese food fell out of favor today, and the three courtiers naturally didn't dare to eat it, but the queen mother's stomach was stuffed with junk food from the British, so he was a little unhappy, he said yes with a straight face, and walked out hard, ready to take out a piece of silk made in Suzhou from the warehouse and throw it on the face of the triumphant foreign devil.

The Queen Mother saw the three people sitting straight, and said with a smile, "I know you are here, you can't eat, it's okay, it's a matter here, go back and eat your own." The Queen Mother turned her face and said warmly to Guo Songtao, who was sitting on the right hand: "You have worked hard in England and France for many years. ”

The three words "hard work", saying that Guo Songtao was embarrassed by being on an errand in the West, Guo Songtao hurriedly knelt down, "Weichen doesn't dare." But his eyes were red. (To be continued......)