Chapter 293 Christmas Dinner (9.6K)
After leaving the classroom where the meeting took place.
Xu Yun declined Robert Gordon's company and walked alone along the path to the dormitory.
Although his communication with Prince Albert was not particularly smooth.
But from a personal perspective, Xu Yun has done what he can to the extreme.
After all, he is not a magician, let alone a creator god.
He could not influence and inherit the political power in the East from the European continent when its foundation was already rotten.
The only thing he could do.
Just plant a few seeds and wait for them to sprout.
For example, Mr. Carr.
For example, Liszt.
Another example is the quota of international students he will get today.
Their prime is not now, but in the future.
True.
Due to their age, orphans adopted by orphanages may lack some sense of identity with their native country when they grow up.
For example, they worked hard to stay in the UK in order to pursue a high-class life, and refused to return to their homeland, etc.
After all, the era of 1850 was undoubtedly one in which the West was strong and the East was weak, and the West and the East were completely different worlds.
It’s completely understandable that these ‘country kids’ from the East don’t want to return to their shabby hometown after seeing the prosperity of London.
But on the other hand.
Xu Yun also believes in something.
That is, everyone's values and beliefs are different.
They have all seen the new world, and some may want to stay here and become one of them.
But similarly, there are bound to be people who want to return to their hometown and build their hometown into what it looks like.
Not to mention that a crow is bound to break out right now, and Easterners will be discriminated against in Britain and even Europe, just as they have been in history.
Under this kind of pressure, even young children can be inspired to develop national self-esteem - in history, Zhan Tianyou was only 12 years old when he went to study abroad.
Therefore, Xu Yun’s goal was very clear from the beginning:
As long as three or five of the one hundred overseas students can come to their senses and return to the East after completing their studies, then his deal with Prince Albert will be considered a bloody profit.
A single spark can start a prairie fire.
The East has had no shortage of soil and weeds for prairie fire since ancient times. What Xu Yun wants to do is to create as many Mars as possible.
After all
Compared with the invasion of One Crow, Two Crows and the Eight Kingdoms, what is more difficult is yet to come.
In that period of humiliation, there was no fighting with the Four Elephants Formation, and there was no help from the two thousand yellow-robed Yu Kes or Maoshan Taoist ancestors.
History is not the obscene, false or even anti-intellectual patriotism of some chat records, which can only be harmful rather than beneficial.
Then with this slightly heavy heart, Xu Yun continued walking towards the dormitory.
Christmas plays an important role in the entire church culture and is regarded as the largest holiday. Its status in most countries can be compared with the Chinese Spring Festival.
In addition, the University of Cambridge itself also has an extremely strong religious flavor - such as several seminaries and churches on campus.
Therefore, when the holiday comes, the Christmas atmosphere in the school is still very strong.
Although limited by the level of science and technology, we still can’t see the kind of small lanterns that are wrapped around trees in later generations and can cover the entire street with one pull.
But along the way, various Christmas trees and handmade Christmas ornaments can be seen everywhere.
In addition, you can also see some Santa Clauses delivering gifts and greeting cards, or choirs singing hymns loudly among the students.
Xu Yun also saw a few naked men reciting poetry. He guessed that some literary young man came up with the performance art.
By imitating the birth of the Son through certain behaviors, he has become accustomed to it these days.
But while reciting and shaking him around, he couldn't understand it.
Ahem.
all in all.
This atmosphere is obviously much livelier than usual.
While walking through an event venue, a little boy wearing a Santa hat came up and gave him a greeting card.
Xu Yun readily accepted the kindness and returned to the dormitory building with the greeting card.
Today's dormitory building has also been decorated. As soon as you enter the hall, you can see a tall Christmas tree, and various decorations are hung on the walkways.
at the same time.
The entire dormitory building was also filled with the aroma of food. Apparently many dormitories were preparing Christmas dinner.
Xu Yun followed the stairs to the third floor and soon arrived at the door of his bedroom.
Then he took out a hard and thick object from his lower body, poked it into the hole in front of him, and twisted it.
Click——
The door opened with a sound.
Along with the sound of the door opening, there was also the sound of lively conversations in the house:
"Maxwell, where did you put the mushrooms?"
"Mr. Riemann, pass me the kitchen knife - don't take the smallspring brand, you need to chop the garlic!"
"Hang a little higher, a little to the left. After that, a little to the right. A little to the left."
"Mr. Thomson, please add more celery and coriander, thank you!"
I only see this moment.
The originally small dormitory was filled with wheat, Lao Tang, Hubert Airy, Tian Haosuo, Kirchhoff, and Riemann.
Among them, Hubert Airy, Kirchhoff, and Hiroshi Wada are decorated.
Riemann, Lao Tang and Mai were busy in the kitchen wearing aprons.
There are some balloons and many ornaments hanging on the walls of the house, and a small Christmas tree is also placed at the entrance.
That's right.
Xu Yun and Xiaomai's dormitory was requisitioned as a Christmas dinner venue today.
Laotang was holding a spoon at this time and seemed to be cooking mushroom soup. From time to time, he would pick up the spoon and take a bite or two.
Hearing the sound of the door opening, he subconsciously raised his head and looked over.
After seeing that the person coming was Xu Yun, his eyes suddenly lit up:
"Great, Luo Feng, you are finally back."
Xu Yun smiled and nodded to him, then said hello to everyone in the room.
Then he took off his scarf and coat, walked to the hanger and hung them up, and asked Lao Tang:
"Mr. Tang, hasn't Senior Aveline arrived yet?"
Lao Tang wiped his hands on his apron a few times and casually moved his chin out of the window:
"She has to go to the choir to practice singing today. She may not come here until later, but she will definitely be in time for dinner."
After saying that, he quickly walked to Xu Yun, closed the door, and said in a low voice:
"Luo Feng, I've prepared everything you want."
Xu Yun was still thinking about what kind of work he could do. Hearing this, he immediately felt happy and confirmed:
"Mr. Thomson, have you found them all?"
Lao Tang nodded, clasped his fingers and said:
"The rat spots, pig intestines, pork loin, chicken offal, tripe and shredded beef strips shipped from India are really delicious?"
Xu Yun looked at him with a very subtle look and said nothing.
joke.
As long as these ingredients are fresh enough, you will be able to lick the gaps between your fingers clean!
That's right.
At today's Christmas dinner, Xu Yun is planning to combine Chinese and Western cuisine and show off a Chinese cuisine.
After all, there isn’t much necessary food at a British Christmas dinner.
What is truly indispensable is not the turkey that many people subconsciously think of, but a small five-piece set:
Christmas pudding, Christmas mince pies, Christmas gingerbread, grilled eel and eggnog.
Therefore, from the perspective of dishes, Xu Yun has ample room for supplementation.
Tell the truth.
The international situation of the Chinese food industry in later generations is somewhat complicated:
First of all, the share of Chinese food in the world is actually very considerable.
You watch Friends, you watch The Big Bang Theory, and then you watch Avengers: Endgame,
From Sheldon to the widowed sister, they all like to eat Chinese fried noodles or something.
But on the other hand.
Chinese food rarely enters the high-end catering market. It competes with street pizza and street hot dogs, and its status is relatively limited.
After many dishes go abroad, they often gradually evolve into modified versions that conform to European and American eating habits.
Many people tend to explain it in terms of eating habits and rating rules.
But actually.
All answers based on the catering itself are weak excuses. The reason for this situation can be explained in one sentence:
Catering is part of culture, culture is a reflection of international status, and national strength determines the level of international status.
China's modern history was beaten to the ground for a hundred years, and it was not until a few decades ago that it ushered in the light of revival.
In this case, do you expect others to put your food culture on a high pedestal?
Impossible.
As long as the national strength increases, the eighth and tenth aircraft carriers are launched, and the 59-modified Star Destroyer Cannon is launched into the sky, there will naturally be people who can help you speak.
For example, during the Ming Dynasty.
When those foreigners saw the delicacies in Baoen Temple and Jinling, they even complained about who were God’s people, and then went everywhere to taste the delicacies.
Right now, this timeline has not yet been opened, and the barriers between Europeans and Chinese cuisine are far from being formed.
So when planning Christmas dinner a few days ago.
Xu Yun then asked Lao Tang to gather several types of ingredients. Lao Tang, who had tasted scallion eel, readily agreed.
It gets dark very quickly in winter, and it usually starts to get gloomy around four or five in the afternoon.
So Xu Yun just took a short rest.
He took the initiative to take Lao Tang's apron and went to the kitchen to start preparing the ingredients.
The first thing he had to do was naturally pickle the chicken offal.
and
Clean the pig intestines.
After a few minutes.
I saw Xiaomai holding his face, looking at the pig intestines in front of him with a look of despair, begging Xu Yun:
"Mr. Luo Feng, can I do another job? This... this is too disgusting"
"No way."
Xu Yun suppressed the smile in his heart and waved his hand seriously:
"Classmate Maxwell, this is a task assigned to you, there is no way to bargain."
"If everyone can choose to give up because the process is difficult, wouldn't it be unfair to the person who takes over your job?"
"Tasks are like life. No matter how difficult it is, you must complete it. Unless you can restart your life, there is no reason to give up."
Xu Yun's words were very serious, because that's what he thought.
Well, it’s not because later generations were fooled by Maxwell’s equations.
Hearing this, Xiaomai looked around. Wherever he looked, everyone seemed to be concentrating on their work.
See this situation.
Wheat couldn't help but sigh as if resigned to his fate.
Then he started washing the pig's intestines with a grimace and grunting.
Xu Yun gave him a silent thumbs up in his heart and began to deal with the rat spots.
Rat spots.
This is a fish of the genus Humulus in the family Asteridae, and it is also one of the top ingredients on the tables of later generations.
This fish has traditionally been considered the best type of grouper, often even surpassing the Eastern Star Grouper.
The price of wild rat spots is generally more than 700 yuan per pound, and in some places it can even exceed 1,000 yuan.
It's just that although this thing is delicious, it mainly grows in the Western Pacific area, and at most it extends to near India.
Being able to transport fresh rat spots back from India is not an easy task. I guess Lao Tang put in a lot of effort.
The best way to treat rat spots is to steam them, remove the scales and internal organs, and clean them.
Then cut the fish body into two or three cuts on each side, stuff the ginger into the cut edges and steam it for twenty minutes.
After taking it out of the pan, pour a spoonful of hot oil on it, it will be delicious.
It's a pity that it's not easy to buy sweet-scented osmanthus fish on a large scale these days. Otherwise, the spicy fried sweet-scented osmanthus fish belly would be enough.
Xu Yun then prepared dishes such as shredded ginger beef, scallion oil and so on, and the aroma quickly filled the room.
More than two hours later.
A table of sumptuous food was placed on the dining table:
There is a stack of Christmas gingerbread cookies and a glass of eggnog on everyone's seat, and snacks such as dried fruits and candies are placed outside the table.
Further inside is a stack of Christmas pies and fried pork rinds.
Then there are grilled eels, fried chicken offal with garlic sprouts (garlic sprouts are produced in northern Europe), boiled sea bass, beef louvers with scallion oil, braised large intestine, steamed rat spots, etc.
The plating has just been completed.
Xiaomai rushed to the dining table, his nose kept twitching, and he praised:
"It smells so good. No wonder Sir Newton was obsessed with oriental cuisine during his lifetime. Just smelling it makes me feel as comfortable as having solved a hundred math problems."
Xu Yun glanced at him but said nothing.
Actually, looking at the dishes in front of him, he still felt a little dissatisfied.
no way.
There are still too few spices available in Europe today.
Huadiao, old mature vinegar, Erjingtiao, and star anise are all missing, resulting in some delicious dishes not being prepared.
Such as the large intestine.
Xu Yun’s original idea was to make a plate of nine-turn large intestine. Unfortunately, Laotang searched for most of the day and couldn’t find the pickling spices that met the requirements.
In desperation, Xu Yun could only change it to braised in soy sauce.
Of course.
What really caused Xu Yun to give up this idea was because he couldn't do the nine-turn large intestine at all
Then Xu Yun looked at Xiaomai's hands and was hesitating whether to ask him to wash them again when there was a sudden knock on the door of the bedroom.
Lao Tang quickly walked to the door and asked through the door:
"Who?"
Less than a moment.
Aveline's voice came from outside the door:
"It's me, Aveline Escue."
When Lao Tang saw this, he raised his eyebrows, turned his head, pointed to the door and said to everyone:
"Aveline has arrived."
Then he pulled the door handle, opened the door, and said with a smile:
"Merry Christmas, Aveline. Huh? Sylph? Are you here too?"
I heard the name Sylph.
Xu Yun's face suddenly changed in the room, and he turned to look outside the door.
Sure enough.
I only see this moment.
Besides Aveline, there was another petite figure standing at the door.
This person is none other than the little girl Sylve that Xu Yun, Lao Tang and Aveline had kidnapped and rescued in London.
However, Sylph looks much healthier now than when we first met.
She wore a scarf with a cross on it around her neck, and her originally sallow and thin cheeks were noticeably rounder.
His face was red, and the right hand that was tightly grasped by Aveline was much whiter and tenderer.
Then Aveline led her into the house, bent down and untied the little girl's scarf, stood up and explained to Lao Tang:
"Senior Thomson, the church's Sunday school is next door to where I practice choir, and Pastor Niang, who is responsible for Sylph's daily life, happens to be our cantor."
"At the end of the meeting, I heard Pastor Niang say that Sylve's personality is relatively introverted and lacks communication skills. I was worried that she would be too lonely during the holiday alone, so I brought her over."
Lao Tangjian glanced at Sylph who was hiding behind Aveline, and the lines on her face suddenly softened a lot:
"That's it, Merry Christmas, Sylph."
Sylph hesitated for a moment, then slowly walked out from behind Aveline and bowed to Lao Tang:
"Merry Christmas, Mr. Thomson."
Then she looked at Xu Yun again and bowed as well:
"Merry Christmas, Mr. Luo Feng."
Xu Yun smiled slightly at her and was about to say a few words.
As a result, before the words were spoken, a crisp sound suddenly came from beside him.
Banglang——
Xu Yun was stunned for a moment and subconsciously turned around to look.
Tian Haosuo was seen standing less than one meter away from him, holding a small wooden plate in both hands, as if he was preparing to put it on the plate.
But at this time, his plate was empty, and there was a scattered ceramic cup lying on the ground.
It's obvious.
When placing the ceramic cup, Tian Haosuo missed it.
Seeing that everyone's attention was focused on him, Tian Haosuo's face suddenly flushed and he said quickly:
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I didn't pay attention and broke the cup. I'll pick it up now, I'll pick it up now"
After saying that, he bent down and knelt on the ground.
Regardless of the fragments pricking his hands, he quickly gathered up the broken pieces of the ceramic cup.
Xu Yun frowned when he saw this, and quickly came to Tian Haosuo, pressed his shoulders to stop his movements, and said:
"Hey, brother Haosuo, what are you doing? Stop first!"
"Mr. Riemann, could you pass me the broom in your left hand?"
Riemann nodded and picked up the broom. Instead of handing it to Xu Yun, he stepped forward and helped sweep up the debris.
Xu Yun cast a grateful look at Riemann.
Then he exerted force with both hands and pulled Tian Haosuo up.
Looking at Riemann who was cleaning up the mess, Tian Haosuo, an Asian who was already a bit reserved, looked even more embarrassed:
"Brother Luo Feng, I'm not sure"
Looking at Tian Haosuo who was mumbling, Xu Yun sighed slightly in his heart.
Chinese people have always been unwilling to cause trouble to others. This mentality can easily turn into low self-esteem under the influence of a weak national power and other circumstances.
Tian Haosuo's past experience was quite rough, and his inferiority complex was not easy to reverse for a while.
Actually.
The reason why Xu Yun invited Tian Haosuo to the dinner today was mainly because he hoped to change some of his inherent mentality.
Therefore, it is not his subjective wish to feel inferior. Naturally, Xu Yun will not criticize him harshly, but comforts him:
"Brother Haosuo, it's just a pottery cup. If it breaks, it will break. Don't feel so guilty."
"Christmas can also be regarded as the Spring Festival in the West. Throwing plates or cups during the Spring Festival is an old custom in the East. It means peace and security year after year."
that's all.
Under Xu Yun's persuasion and enlightenment, Tian Haosuo's facial expression finally softened.
Aveline then led the beautifully dressed Sylph to the dining table and introduced her to everyone present.
Maybe it's because my mind hasn't completely calmed down yet.
When introduced to Tian Hao's office, Xu Yun's fellow countryman still seemed a little embarrassed.
His face was tense and his eyes glanced at Sylph from time to time, but he didn't say much.
After everyone is introduced.
Lao Tang took over the initiative and motioned for everyone to sit down.
Then sing hymns and pray as usual.
Then
It’s officially time to eat!
British Christmas customs are somewhat similar to those in Denmark mentioned earlier. Christmas pudding must be eaten before the meal, and then anything else can be eaten.
There is a penny in the Christmas pudding. Whoever eats the penny will have good luck this year.
China also has this custom, except that the pudding is replaced by dumplings on New Year's Eve.
It can only be said that when it comes to seeking luck, things seem to be similar across the world.
Christmas pudding is a traditional British Christmas dessert. Although it is named "pudding", its taste and texture are more like a moist and plump cake.
This is also one of the few British foods that Xu Yun can accept.
Lao Tang had asked Wheat to pour brandy on each piece of pudding in advance. With a light strike of a match, blue flames enveloped the entire pudding.
After the flame goes out.
Xu Yun picked up the spoon, gently took a mouthful of pudding and put it in his mouth.
The pudding is fresh in your mouth.
A rich taste of dried fruits and wine filled his lips.
Compared with Xu Yun's 'elegance', the movements of Lao Tang and other authentic Europeans were much bigger - because they were looking for that 'lucky prize'.
I saw Mai holding a fork in each hand, quickly peeling the pudding away, glanced at it a few times and sighed:
"No coins."
As a result, he just finished speaking.
There was a surprised laughter from beside me, but the laughter sounded like a mouthful of phlegm stuck in the throat:
"Aha, here's the coin!"
The atmosphere at the table suddenly fell silent. Everyone, including Sylph and Tian Hao, glanced at the speaker.
I only see this moment.
In the spoon in Riemann's hand, there was a coin stained with juice.
Seeing this, Hubert Airy beside him whistled quickly:
"How cool, Mr. Riemann, it looks like you are going to be lucky this year."
Riemann took the coin off the spoon, picked up a paper towel and wiped it, placed it in the palm of his hand with great care, and said with a smile:
"To be honest, this is the first time in my life that I have eaten coins. I will definitely pack it up and store it in the study room when I get back."
"This year is a very important year for me. I hope it brings me good luck."
Looking at Riemann with an expectant expression, Lao Tang picked up a cherry and stuffed it into his mouth and asked:
"Mr. Riemann, if I remember correctly, you seem to be studying for a PhD now?"
Riemann nodded, scratched his head sheepishly, and replied:
"Yes, if everything goes well, I will be able to get my doctorate in March next year."
"I only graduated with a doctorate when I was 24 or almost 25 years old. It's a bit embarrassing to say it."
Xu Yun: "."
Riemann's expression was sincere, not like he was lying.
In addition, according to relevant historical records, he is indeed not the kind of person from Versailles.
So.
Maybe he probably really thought he was good?
Lao Tang, who was opposite him, seemed to be interested in Riemann's plans after graduation. After all, he was also a mathematics major, so he continued to ask:
"So Mr. Riemann, I wonder which direction you plan to develop after graduation?"
"After graduation?."
Riemann put down his spoon, thought about it seriously, and replied:
"Probably I'd rather stay at the University of Göttingen. The teacher's health is not very good, maybe. Well, anyway, I have to spend more time with him."
"If I have the opportunity, I will try to become a non-staff professor at the University of Göttingen. I will be satisfied with having a staff at the age of 35."
Lao Tang nodded when he heard this and commented:
"A very practical idea."
However, just when he was about to continue speaking, someone suddenly asked first:
"Mr. Riemann, haven't you ever thought about leaving a name in history? For example, on par with Professor Jacobi or Dirichlet?"
Riemann's expression was stunned. After seeing the speaker clearly, he immediately smiled and waved his hand quickly:
"Student Luo Feng, what are you talking about? Professor Dirichlet is the pillar of the University of Göttingen, and Professor Jacobi is also a top expert in mathematics."
"I'm just an ordinary person. Maybe in a hundred or two hundred years, people in the future will only see the words 'Gauss's assistant Bernhard Riemann' when looking up the information about Gauss."
Xu Yun continued: "."
Tell the truth.
At this moment, he really wanted to travel back to modern times, print out the information about Riemann from later generations, and then throw it in front of this peer with high-quality male hairstyle.
joke.
Let alone Dirichlet or Jacobi in later generations of Riemann.
Even big guys like Cauchy and Weierstrass can't compare with it, right?
He is the first person under the echelon of Archimedes, Mavericks, Gauss and Euler, and occasionally he is considered to be on the same level as the previous four!
His achievements are not to mention the Riemann Hypothesis.
"On the Hypotheses as the Basis of Geometry" that he proposed four years later, in 1854, made a decisive contribution to the history of human science:
Among them, Riemannian geometry and tensor analysis were the core tools used by Einstein to create the general theory of relativity.
And what about Dirichlet?
This dear friend is definitely strong, this cannot be denied.
But if you insist on speaking, the ranking in the history of mathematics is only around 20.
Probably at the same level as Cantor, Kolmogorov and Old Cartan.
To describe it as a football player.
Dirichlet is probably at Drogba's level, while Riemann is at Melo's level.
Think of this.
Xu Yun suddenly felt a strong curiosity in his heart:
Almost all of these people present are youth versions that have not yet been updated. I wonder what their future plans and perceptions will be like.
So he pondered for a moment, looked at everyone, and said:
"Everyone, I have an idea. I wonder if you are interested in hearing it?"
Hubert Airy was sitting on his right hand and immediately answered after hearing this:
"What do you think?"
Xu Yun looked around, considered for a moment, and said:
"Everyone talks about their future life plans, such as what kind of person they want to be and what kind of things they want to do."
"Then record it in the same book in simple words, sign your name at the end, and seal it somewhere."
"If we all have the opportunity to get together again in ten or twenty years, we can take this book and compare ourselves with ourselves then. What do you think?"
"Great idea!"
After hearing what Xu Yun said, Riemann subconsciously clapped his hands and cheered loudly.
After all, this fierce man who even records his own actions raised his hand before everyone else:
"I agree!"
Riemann and Kirchhoff were the only Germans present. Seeing that his friends voted in favor, he followed suit:
"I have no objection."
Soon, Hubert Airy and Wheat also expressed their approval.
A few more seconds passed.
Tian Haosuo swallowed and slowly raised his hand:
"I have no objection either."
See this situation.
Lao Tang couldn't help but look at each other and Aveline, and they both nodded at the same time:
"I agree."
Xu Yun snapped his fingers when he saw this, feeling vaguely excited about causing trouble:
“Nice!”
Then he paused, and his target first focused on a particularly silly figure:
"Classmate Maxwell, let's start with you." (End of Chapter)