After a few months of study, the British trio were able to speak some Chinese, and with hand gestures, they were able to communicate with the locals simply - of course, with Xia and Lin, they still spoke English. Maria, the www.biquge.info of the pen "Fun" Pavilion, is the best Chinese among the three, but with an accent from Jiangsu and Zhejiang - Baozhu and other maids are from Zhejiang.

She excitedly asked Xia Nan: "I heard that this is just a small festival, and your real big festival is after a week, right?" ”

Xia Nan nodded: "We called New Year, and that night was called Chinese New Year's Eve, which is similar to your Christmas." ”

"So, are you going to throw a big party?"

It's not bad to understand it this way, anyway, the New Year is about everyone eating and drinking, big fish and big meat. Xia Nan nodded: "Yes." ”

Maria was very happy and asked Baozhu and Jade to discuss what she was wearing on Chinese New Year's Eve. Doing as the locals do, she has to wear traditional Chinese clothes for Christmas in the East, and how to get a well-fitting dress is what she has to do this week.

Xia Nan took the initiative to persuade him to drink, starting with Charles: "Mr. Charles, you have contributed to the completion of the shipyard, without you, those shipwrights under my command will only build small fishing boats." ”

The former Royal Shipyard craftsmen who entered the Ming Dynasty gold-collar class were very happy, and Charles was always in a good mood with a full sense of accomplishment and generous remuneration.

"Dear Xia, you have paid me enough to return to China and live a decent life, and there is no doubt that I enjoy this job. God is on our side, and the first ship will be delivered soon after, waiting for your acceptance. ”

"You're happy, I'm happy, cheers!"

Xia Nan toasted William again: "Mr. William, after the ship is built, our merchant fleet and escort fleet will be formed, and I will ask you for more guidance at that time." ”

William clinked glasses with him, but his face was sullen: "Originally, I liked this job very much, the Royal Navy has better navigation skills than the Spaniards and Dutch, and I am also happy to communicate with your subordinates about navigation-related issues, and the climate here is more pleasant than London." It's just ......," he sighed, "Maria's heart seems to have run to you, and I have no chance of becoming your rival." It seemed that it might not have been a good decision for me to follow Maria to the East. ”

"Hehe, Mr. William, there is an old Chinese saying, where there is no grass at the end of the world, why bother to love a flower. There is also a saying that twisted melons are not sweet, Maria is not suitable for you, there are so many beautiful girls in China! Take a step back and open the sky. ”

William has a free and easy personality, and he has long accepted this fact, and his words are nothing more than self-deprecation. He picked up the conversation: "You're right, Xia, I like the gentleness and thoughtfulness of Oriental women, especially when they listen to their husbands. ”

He didn't say the rest of the words, although he liked Maria, but the other party's family would definitely not accept his bloodline and origin, his father was just a farmer in the London countryside. And as the daughter of an aristocratic family, she is used to being taken care of and pampered, and it is a typical princess disease in the 21st century. For Xia Nan, who is used to seeing the tsundere of girls in the 21st century, Maria's little problems are not a problem at all, and poor William is not a heavyweight opponent with him.

After drinking, Xia Nan took the opportunity to talk and asked William if he had a favorite girl. He wants to get Maria and subdue William for his own use, it is important to handle the relationship between them, and finding a suitable girlfriend for William is the ultimate solution to the bottom of the kettle.

William didn't hide it, he pointed to the jewel behind Maria: "I think this girl has the most traditional advantages of oriental women, gentle, kind, and understanding, I have never seen her quarrel with others." I would love to have more communication with her, but unfortunately language is a barrier between us, she doesn't know English, and I don't speak Chinese, so she just looks at me and laughs - Xia, should I learn more of your language? It seems more realistic than having her learn English! ”

"Of course, how can you win the hearts of beauties if you can't communicate?" Nan Daxi in the summer, this William actually has a favorite object! In this way, Maria is no longer an obstacle between the two.

Look carefully at the pearl, according to the aesthetics of the Chinese, especially the contemporary Ming Dynasty, she is not a beauty in the traditional sense, although she can be called good, but it is a little far from the hardware requirements such as "willow leaf eyebrows, cherry mouth, Danfeng eyes, melon seed face", on the contrary, the mouth is still a little big, the bridge of the nose is a little high, the figure is not bright, and the skeleton is still a little big. Why did William take a fancy to her?

Comparing Xia Chunlan and others, Xia Nan suddenly realized that the aesthetics of the East and the West are very different, and what Easterners like is not necessarily what Westerners like. Unlike the petite Chunlan and others, Baozhu's facial features and height have a bit of European characteristics, so it's no wonder that William's eyes will be used.

As Chinese New Year's Eve approached, Summer South gave all factories a holiday, leaving only the escort team to take turns on duty.

Compared with the difficult years of previous years, the villagers of Mayuan Village are happy, the salt farm is no longer a shackle on their heads, but has brought them considerable income, plus most of the people in the village either work in the textile factory, or join the escort team, the salary is also very high, the whole village has jumped from the lowest level in Lingao County to the richest village in the county.

The Li female workers from Tinan and Qingshui are also very happy, they work here, not only eat well and sleep well, but also send them rice, noodles, pork, and salt to go home for the New Year. Their stockades were also traded, and they were able to obtain stable and cheap (relatively speaking) salt and iron tools, and their production and living standards improved significantly. In particular, every household can afford to eat salt, and the iron farming tools are stronger and more durable than the wooden ones, and the yield of Shanlan rice has also increased significantly.

Since the relocation of their families to Bosuke, the craftsmen of the original Diaolou Village have a much higher income than before, and they are more stable, and they have a greater sense of security than in the days when they had eaten the last meal without the next meal.

The blacksmith from Guangzhou is very satisfied with his current life, he eats with his skills with peace of mind, does not worry about being deducted from his wages by the proprietor, and will not be requisitioned by the government to make guns and cast cannons (the quality of Guangdong cannons in the Ming and Qing dynasties is better than that in the north, so many imperial cannons are cast in Guangdong), and his income has quadrupled compared with the lowest in Guangzhou.

The people of the whole system are satisfied with the current life, with the good hope that the coming year will be better, and they ushered in the night of Chinese New Year's Eve. From Mayu Village to Hujiazhuang, from Bofu to Baichengtan, firecrackers rang out everywhere, and the tables of every household were much richer than last year, and everyone had a happy Chinese New Year's Eve.