As soon as they heard that we were about to disembark, everyone became excited again.
After drifting at sea for so many days, everyone misses the solidity of land.
Although it also stopped at several port cities that the Maritime Silk Road must pass through, except for the logistics personnel who came ashore to supply supplies, everyone else was busy collecting and measuring various data. When the work was completed, the ship sailed again.
I was so excited when I first set off. I bought all kinds of snacks and snacks, and also prepared playing cards, video tapes and other spiritual food. But within three or five days, I started to miss the land.
How else could we say that humans are terrestrial animals! No matter how relaxed and comfortable life is on a ship, I still miss the sense of solidity and peace of mind that comes when my feet set foot on land.
No wonder there is the word "down to earth"! The wisdom of our ancestors is so broad and profound!
When we thought about getting off the ship soon, we suppressed our excitement and went back to our respective rooms to pack our luggage and summarize some work data.
Xu Suizhu also returned to the room.
First, I sent a text message to Sister Lin, telling her that I had arrived in Sri Lanka. By the way, I asked her how the school was doing. Are all the students well behaved?
Sister Lin replied quickly: Sister-in-law! Yesterday I went to the library to check information about Sri Lanka. It is said that that country is rich in gems, which are both cheap and beautiful. It is rare for you to go and buy more! Then we will ask you to buy and choose.
Sell the rest at Li Tao's Zhenxuan Pavilion, and maybe you can make back your capital with profits...
I couldn’t write one, and then another one came: Sister-in-law! The city you are going to is Colombo, right? That’s great! That’s the global gem headquarters, and jewelers from all over the world go there to purchase goods! Oh, Brother Xiao!
Let me accompany you to visit local jewelry stores and pick out more beautiful gems!
Then he said: Sister-in-law, I checked, there are several types of gemstones in Sri Lanka, including ruby, sapphire, cat's eye, moonstone, amethyst... so many types? I'm confused! What's even more incredible is that sapphire is not
Blue gemstones refer to everything except rubies called sapphires... subverting my previous understanding!
I sent seven or eight messages in a row, until the last one was the answer to Xu Suizhu's daily inquiry: Everything is fine at school! Those bastards dare to be disobedient, I will let them know why the flowers are so red!
Xu Suizhu: "..."
Okay! I wasted Sister Lin’s money on so many text messages, but it’s not all without gain.
At least we know that Sri Lanka is also called the "Gem Island". It is a secret island in the Age of Discovery and an important node of the Maritime Silk Road. The port city of Colombo is even more amazing - it is actually the global gem wholesale market, where you can meet people from all over the world.
Gemstone buyers from all over the world; Moreover, sapphire is not equal to blue gemstones. Pink, white, and purple gemstones all belong to the sapphire family...
The most important point: buy it now! Don’t be afraid of wasting it if you buy it back, there is Zhenxuan Pavilion!
Ke Jin made... Ahem, Ke Jin bought it with money!
Xu Suizhu calculated the rupee and rice notes that he went to the provincial bank to make an appointment to exchange before departure. Due to the exchange rate, the rupees were not exchanged for much. He thought about how Colombo is also the largest international port in Sri Lanka. There must be a bank that exchanges rice notes for rupees.
Instead of carrying a large box of rupees, it would be better to bring more rice notes. But right now, I don’t know if they will be enough for this purchasing trip.
When Lu Chixiao came back, he saw the child's mother sitting in front of the desk with a troubled expression. There were several piles of brand-new rupee and rice banknotes spread out on the table...
"What are you doing?"
"Ah? Are you back?" Xu Suizhu came to his senses, stood up and said, "Xiaojuan told me that Colombo's gems are very famous. She asked me to carry more of them back. At worst, I can store them in Zhenxuan Pavilion. I will definitely not lose money."
"Okay." Of course Lu Chixiao would have no objection to this, "If you have to stay here for three days, you can always squeeze in some free time. Then I will accompany you to the jewelry market."
"Okay. Let's take a look at other specialties. I promised to buy a gift for my son, so I can't break my promise."
"Yeah." Lu Chixiao smiled and nodded, "Team Leader Jin also discussed with me that we could give away a share of the local specialties as souvenirs this time. I also had this intention, and purchased a batch of local specialties to go back to.
Employee benefits at the end of the year.”
"That's a good idea!" Xu Suizhu's eyes lit up and he said, stroking his hands, "Then should I also buy some Ceylon black tea and handicrafts for the school? The former can be used as welfare, and the latter can be used as prizes. By the way, let's eat.
I chatted with the translator for a while, and when I mentioned the local specialties, he laughed heartily and said that the most 'local' specialty should be elephant dung paper."
This was indeed not mentioned in the specialty guide she and Sister Lin made.
It is said that there was an elephant orphanage in Sri Lanka that once took in nearly a hundred elephants that got lost with the herd. As a result, elephant dung piled up in the orphanage. The papermaking workshop next to the orphanage was worried about the raw materials for papermaking.
Seeing so much elephant dung, he suddenly had an idea and took the workers to try to make paper from elephant dung, and he succeeded.
In addition to elephant dung paper, notebooks of various colors and designs are also produced using this paper, which is perfect as a gift for students.
"What do you think? How about taking it back and giving it as an extra reward to the students who scored well in the final unified examination?"
What can Mr. Lu say? Anyway, this notebook is not for him to use, it is up to her to be happy.
So, the couple decided on their itinerary for the afternoon and happily packed up three days' worth of clothes.
When the time comes, the research ship will need to be anchored at a designated location, and it will be inconvenient to get in and out. During the time on the island, we must do as the locals do - stay in an officially arranged hotel.
In the mid-1990s, the international tourism industry was not very developed.
In addition to the familiar neighboring countries, the foreign countries that ordinary people in China know are the United States and several developed countries in Europe.
To be honest, many people have never heard of a small and remote tropical island country like Sri Lanka.
The number of people in this boat who knew that such a small country existed before this business trip can be counted in one hand.
However, God has favored this island very much, bestowing it with beautiful scenery and rich specialties, just like the name of this country - "Bright and Fertile Land", "Pearl in the Indian Ocean".
When you get off the boat, you will be greeted by the salty smell unique to tropical islands.
When foreign ships enter the port, they are bound to go through an extremely complicated procedure.
Fortunately, the two countries had cleared air in advance. The local foreign affairs department had sent personnel to wait for the ship early. As soon as it received the news that the ship had entered the port, it led a welcoming team with exotic characteristics to greet the ship on the shore.
After that, there was a meeting between the heads of both parties, a group photo of the two teams, and then they were invited to the banquet hall for dinner...
It was not until the sumptuous welcome banquet was over that they were sent to the Ambassador Hotel where they were staying.