Women Wearing Men: The Growth Path of the Bastards of the Aristocratic Family

In the yamen, Yu Jingming said to Gu Yunji and others: "There are many people in that Folangji caravan, each with different divisions of labor. Among them, there happened to be people I knew who came to Zhejiang a few days ago, so I contacted them and expressed their opinions. Several people want to work with them.”

"I heard that the government wants to make a deal. Their attitude is still very positive. They should be happy to discuss the firearms business with the Daxia court. They said that if possible, they can find time to sit down and have a chat with us in the near future."

Mei Feng pondered: "I have been writing to the court about this matter some time ago. The central government's attitude is still unclear, but His Majesty still supports us. It is not impossible to purchase firearms in large quantities."

"Since Fo Lang Ji took the initiative to bring it up, we can just get in touch with them first and have a general understanding of the firearms trade before we can continue to talk to the court. So I would like to ask Yu Jingming to help convey it to us. I’d love to chat with them.”

Yu Jingming readily agreed: "Don't worry, Governor Mei, this matter will be taken care of by me. The adults will only discuss business when the time comes, and I will take care of the rest."

Su Qi touched his chin, thought for a while and said: "Anyway, it's just a casual chat. It's not time to seriously discuss the transaction, so we can set the location in a teahouse or restaurant, and chat while eating, and the atmosphere will be harmonious. As for the time ...I think it’s better to set it on the third day of next month?”

Mei Feng nodded: "Since we completely blocked the supply of the high bandits, the group of Japanese pirates on Mingsha Island have quickly become restless, and there is no telling when they will be on the verge of a counterattack. Our meeting with the Fo Langji people Of course, the sooner the better.”

"Even if we can't negotiate a deal with them right away, it would be good if we can persuade them to give up providing firearms to Gao Shishu. It's late August now, and it's only a few days away from the third day of September, which is almost perfect."

Gu Yunji suddenly thought of something, and his eyes showed concern: "The other party is from Folangji, and we don't understand the Chinese language. Do we need to find two translators?"

Su Qi smiled and seemed to think that his question was a bit redundant: "There is definitely a language barrier, but since they have all come to our country to do business, how can they not have a translator around? We don't need to worry about this kind of thing at all, Yunji, you It’s too much worry.”

"What's more, the merchants in Zhejiang who were engaged in maritime trade with Westerners have gone abroad, and there are a lot of people who are proficient in the Buddhist language. Maybe Yu Jingming, who has been in the caravan for so long, can serve as our translator. "As he said that, Su Qi raised his eyebrows and looked at Yu Jingming, "Do you think so?"

"That's not true. Nearly half of the Folangji caravan are Chinese. I haven't come into contact with many real Folangji people, so I don't know their language very well." Yu Jingming smiled sheepishly. He smiled and shook his head, "But as Duke Ding said, although we don't understand the language with them, there is still no shortage of translators."

Gu Yunji said seriously: "This is different. If it's just a casual chat or a meal, the key is that we have to negotiate a deal with them. If we don't have a translator we can trust, the communication between the two parties will have to rely on the other party's people. , if they dig a hole in it to cause a stumbling block, wouldn’t we be kept in the dark?”

"We are officials of the Great Xia court, and the other party is affiliated to the royal family of Franji. To put it more broadly, this is a transaction between two countries. When it comes to diplomacy, you need to be cautious. An ambiguous word may lead to different opinions. As a result, how can we place all hope of translation on the other party?"

After listening to Gu Yunji's words, Mei Feng looked slightly serious: "Yunji is right, there is no room for any discrepancies in the diplomacy between countries. What's more, we have to talk about the firearms transaction later, in case the other party is telling the same thing, The document says something else, aren’t we going to suffer a big loss?”

When Su Qi heard this, he immediately paid attention: "According to this, we really need to find a translator. We can't let the language barrier cause us to fall into the trap of the other party unknowingly. I will give the order now, and it will be soon. You can find it.”

However, a few days passed, and when it was time to meet with Fo Lang Jiren, Gu Yunji still could not find a suitable translator.Zhejiang has prosperous maritime trade, and there are many Western merchants who come to China to do business. It stands to reason that there are many people who are proficient in Western languages, and it is not impossible to find none.But the language level of the translator that Gu Yunji and others need is secondary. The most important thing is to be trustworthy enough.

What the government and the Fo Langji caravan were going to discuss was the firearms business, and it also involved a lot of Gao Shishu's anti-Japanese affairs. In view of the "record" of local businessmen dealing with Japanese, Gu Yunji and the others really didn't dare to find any businessman to act as translate.

If he is unlucky and encounters a spy who has just finished translating for the government and immediately rushes to report to the high-ranking thief, then Gu Yunji will really be in tears.

In addition, in order not to alert Gao Shishu, this meeting was planned to be conducted in a secretive and low-key manner. Gu Yunji and others did not want to go around looking for translators in a big way, which greatly increased the difficulty of finding a suitable candidate.

The date of the agreed meeting was approaching day by day, but the government still could not find a trustworthy translator. When Gu Yunji frowned, he suddenly thought of someone.

-

"Do you want me to be your translator?" After listening to Gu Yunji's story, Xu Shuhua was a little stunned.

Gu Yunji nodded vigorously, his eyes bright, looking at his wife expectantly: "Yes, I want you to be our translator, what do you think, madam?"

Xu Shuhua frowned slightly and hesitated: "I understand Western languages ​​well, but what I am good at is English. I don't know much about French, so I might not be qualified. I'm afraid I won't be of help to you, but will make things worse." It’s messed up.”

Gu Yunji knew his wife's language proficiency. Her English was indeed the best, and the two of them could basically communicate in English without any barriers.However, English was not the mainstream foreign language in this era. Xu Shuhua also dabbled in other Western languages ​​to varying degrees. In addition to English, the one she was most familiar with was Francois.

Xu Shuhua's language talent is actually quite good. However, due to the lack of relevant language environment, even though she is fluent in a few languages, she is learning a "dumb foreign language". She can read the text well but cannot communicate smoothly.

Gu Yunji said with a smile: "Your books on the French language are almost overturned. How can it be that you just 'don't know much'? It doesn't matter even if you are not good at communication. As long as you can understand the text, you can help with the paperwork." It’s enough for us to check.”

"What we are most afraid of is that Fo Langji will say one thing and write another. After all, the verbal agreement is false, and the signed contract is real. Even if you remain silent throughout the whole process and only help with paperwork-related matters Just one look at it is already of great help to us.”

Xu Shuhua never liked to do things that were uncertain. She learned Folang Jiyu by herself and had not used it for a long time. She was not sure whether she could help Gu Yunji, and she looked a little hesitant.

Seeing that her attitude was wavering, Gu Yunji looked pitiful and begged: "I dare not leave this matter to outsiders casually. You are the person I trust most. Shuhua, my good wife, you can Can you help me?"