After leaving the classroom where the meeting was held.
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 the influence from the European continent and inherit the political power in the East when the foundation was already rotten.
The only thing he can do.
Just plant a few seeds and wait for them to sprout.
For example, Mr. Carl.
For example, Liszt.
Another example is the quota of international students he will get today.
Their peak period 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 work hard to stay in the UK in order to pursue a high-class life, and refuse 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.
After these "country kids" from the East saw the prosperity of London, it is completely understandable that they do not want to return to their shabby hometown.
But on the other hand.
Xu Yun also firmly 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, when Zhan Tianyou went to study abroad, he was only 12 years old.
Therefore, Xu Yun’s goal was very clear from the beginning:
As long as three or five of the one hundred overseas students can realize something 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 wanted to do was 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, nor were there any two thousand yellow-robed Yu Kes or Maoshan Taoist ancestors to help.
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, etc.
Therefore, as the holiday approaches, the Christmas atmosphere in the school is still very strong.
Although limited by the level of science and technology, there are currently no small lanterns that are wrapped around trees in later generations and can be pulled up to cover the entire street.
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, etc.
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 he was 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 whole 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 conversation in the house:
"Maxwell, where did you put the mushrooms?"
"Mr. Riemann, pass me the kitchen knife. Don't take the smallspring brand. You want to chop garlic!"
"Hang it a little higher, a little to the left to pass it, a little to the right and a little to the left."
"Mr. Thomson, please add more celery and coriander, thank you!"
I only see this moment.
In the originally small dormitory, wheat, Lao Tang, Hubert Airy, Tian Haosuo, Kirchhoff, and Riemann gathered together.
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 the venue for Christmas dinner today.
Laotang was holding a spoon at this time and seemed to be cooking mushroom soup. He picked up the spoon from time to time and took 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'll 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.
be honest.
The international situation of the Chinese restaurant 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 in fact.
All answers based on the catering itself are weak excuses. The reason for this situation can be explained in one sentence:
Catering is a part of culture, culture is a reflection of international status, and national strength determines the level of international status.
China’s modern history was pinned to the ground and beaten 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 level?
impossible.
As long as the national strength increases, the eighth or tenth aircraft carrier is 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 at Baoen Temple and Jinling, they even complained about who was the people of God, and then went everywhere to taste the delicacies.
The current timeline has not yet been opened, and the barriers between Europeans and Chinese cuisine are far from being formed.
So when I was preparing for the 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 marinate the chicken offal.
as well as
Clean pig intestines.
A few minutes later.
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 find another job? This is too disgusting."
"No."
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 he was 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 started to deal with the rat spots himself.
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 species 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’s so delicious
It's a pity that it's not easy to buy sweet-scented osmanthus fish in large quantities these days. Otherwise, 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 sumptuous table of delicacies was placed on the dining table:
There was a stack of Christmas gingerbread cookies and a glass of eggnog on everyone's seat, and snacks such as dried fruits and candies were placed outside the table.
Further inside is a stack of Christmas pies and fried pork rinds.
Next is grilled eel, stir-fried chicken 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, which results in the lack of conditions for cooking some delicious dishes.
Such as the large intestine.
Xu Yun's original idea was to make a plate of nine-turn large intestine, but unfortunately Laotang searched for a long time 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 that he couldn't do the nine-turn large intestine at all.
Then Xu Yun looked at Xiaomai's hands, and when he was hesitating whether to ask him to wash them again, there was a sudden knock on the door of the bedroom.
Lao Tang quickly walked to the door and asked through the door:
"Which one?"
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 is here."
Then he pulled the door handle, opened the door, and said with a smile:
"Merry Christmas, Aveline? 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.
as expected.
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 he held tightly with Aveline was 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 to spend the holidays 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.
clang
Xu Yun was stunned for a moment, then subconsciously turned his head 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 broken ceramic cup lying on the ground.
It is clear.
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 hand, 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 hand 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 somewhat 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 overcome 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. There is no need to 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 every 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!
The British Christmas custom is somewhat similar to the Danish one mentioned before. Christmas pudding must be eaten before the meal, and then other food 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.
All I can say is that when it comes to getting lucky, 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 just in your mouth.
A rich taste of dried fruits and wine filled his lips.
Compared with Xu Yun's "elegance", the movements of authentic Europeans like Lao Tang and others are much bigger because they are looking for that "luck".
I saw Xiaomai 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.
A surprised laugh sounded next to me, but the laugh sounded like a mouthful of phlegm stuck in the throat:
"Aha, the coin is here with me!"
The atmosphere at the dining table suddenly fell silent. Everyone, including Sylph and Tian Hao, looked at the speaker.
I only see this moment.
In the spoon in Riemann's hand, there was a coin stained with juice.
Hubert Airy, who was next to him, saw this and whistled quickly:
"How cool, Mr. Riemann, it seems 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 just 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 and did not look like he was lying.
In addition, according to relevant historical records, he is indeed not the kind of person who lived in Versailles.
so
Perhaps he probably really thought he was a good person?
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:
"I'll probably stay at the University of Göttingen. The teacher's health is not very good, maybe. Anyway, I have to spend more time with him."
"If there is an 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 as he was about to continue speaking, someone from the side suddenly took the lead and asked:
"Mr. Riemann, haven't you ever thought about leaving a name in history? For example, on par with Jacobi or Professor 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 Bornhard Riemann' when looking up the information about Gauss."
Xu Yun continued: ""
be honest.
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 him, 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.
His "On the Hypotheses as the Basis of Geometry" proposed four years later in 1854 alone 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 I have to say it, my ranking in the history of mathematics is only around 20th.
Probably at the same level as Cantor, Kolmogorov and Old Cartan.
To describe it as a football player.
Dirichlet is probably on Drogba's level, while Riemann is on 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 at his right hand and immediately answered:
"what idea?"
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?"
"good 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 opinion."
Soon, Hubert Airy and Wheat also expressed their approval.
A few more seconds passed.
Tian Haosuo swallowed and slowly raised his hand:
"I don't have any 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."
Seeing this, Xu Yun snapped his fingers, feeling vaguely excited about causing trouble:
"Nie!"
Then he paused, and his target first focused on a particularly silly figure: