[Infrastructure] Rose kissed Barcelona

On the Count Güell's mansion, under the dazzling golden chandelier, there are a lot of clothes and temples.The quartet was playing Mozart's string serenade, some were dancing, some were chatting, and the ruby-like liquor shone brightly amidst the crisp sound of glass collisions, creating a warm and joyful atmosphere in the hall.

"Listen! Zorilla announced the abolition of the monarchy in Madrid and the establishment of the First Republic. Heh, the people in Madrid are like this, doing these things all day long. Maybe in a few years they will directly announce the establishment of the Madrid Commune , engage in communism." A young man in a black evening dress flipped through a copy of "Voice of Catalonia", with a rather sarcastic tone.

"It's an old problem of southerners that they talk more than they do. It's not like us Catalans, who can do everything steadily and achieve results. Huh?" The speaker suddenly forgot the words.

A black-haired girl that no one had ever seen before walked in from the door and immediately attracted the attention of many men present.

She was wearing a dark green velvet long dress, and the Basil-style cake-shaped bustle perfectly outlined her slender waist and soft and plump figure.

The style of the long dress is simple, with only a shiny pearl wheat ear brooch on the chest, but it is just right to make people focus on her beautiful curves and delicate skin that is as white as a peach.

A little black top hat was decorated with a short birdcage veil, just enough to enclose the eyes, which shone mysteriously under the candlelight.

Walking into the Earl's Mansion, the strong smell of perfume came over his face, and Joey frowned.

"Heh-sneeze." She couldn't help it, quickly covered her mouth and nose with a handkerchief, and sneezed a little.

She used to be a little allergic to the smell of perfume, which seemed to be brought over regrettably.

A faint giggle came from not far away.

That's where the smell of the perfume comes from—four or five female guests sitting together, all dressed up in fancy dress, half-covered in front of their faces by painted fans painted with gold, holding a perfume bottle with a gold stopper in their hands. They hid their mouths and smiled tacitly at each other.

This is not the smell of money, but the smell of burning money.Not quite for her.

What's more, Joey couldn't tell that the ladies seemed to be talking and laughing affectionately, but the carefully drawn eyes shot sharp glances, but they glanced at her from time to time pretending to be inadvertent, and then glanced at her eyes with a trace of resentment as if they were sticky. Gentlemen in their own direction.

There is no shortage of sentient beings in any era.

Joy walked over to the center table piled high with trays of panna cotta, cinnamon rice pudding, and San Diego cake, and fetched a glass of champagne.She leaned against the table and looked at everyone in the hall with a trace of curiosity.Which potential little sheep should I start with?

"The first dance is about to start. Why hasn't Mr. Earl come yet? This doesn't look like his style." Not far away, a blond boy who looked very young was flipping through the newspaper in his hand. Foreign news can be memorized by heart.”

A light flashed in Joey's mind.Yes, newspapers, news!When she goes back, she will buy some newspapers to see if she has a stage where she can display her prophetic abilities.

"It is said that he was comforting Moreno in the study. Well, if you ask me, Mr. Earl is too kind."

"So, Moreno is really bankrupt?"

"Yeah, who would have thought that his fleet was wiped out in the Atlantic Ocean. As a result, he couldn't even pay the land tax. Well, now, Montjuic Mountain can't be sold if he wants to. He wants to go with the People exchange for a piece of land with tenants who can make money by themselves, but such land is owned by aristocrats, isn’t it uncomfortable to dance in the countryside? Who wants to come to the side of the smoky city.”

Joey pricked up his ears.

Montjuic?She has visited it, and vaguely remembers that it is a tourist attraction on the edge of the city of Barcelona. There are Olympic venues and the largest art museum in Catalonia on the hill.In the future, the place where tourists will be plentiful and every inch of land will be expensive, listen to this meaning, it can’t be sold now?

"Oh, poor Moreno. I think he is going crazy. The last time he saw me at a banquet, he told me that if I could pay the taxes, he would give me the land! What can I do? I have to comfort him, someone who can discover the value of this land will appear sooner or later." The blond youth said.

"Hahaha, Joseph, your words are really euphemistic. It should be said that there will always be someone who takes advantage of you!"

"Excuse me, gentlemen," Joey, who wanted to be taken advantage of, smiled and joined the chat, holding a glass of champagne, "doesn't anyone want to buy Montjuic? Why?"

Several gentlemen turned their heads in surprise.

The ladies are all sitting together to chat about classy secrets, and this pretty lady wants to be part of a gentleman's conversation!Although this is not at all unconventional, but looking at this young lady's angelic face and sweet smile, it will make people feel that tradition is really unreasonable, so don't worry about it.

"You may not know, miss. It is a cursed area. It has been used as a prison and execution ground for centuries, and countless people have died! You see, after the Moreno family owned this land, it was destroyed in a storm at sea. Lost everything!" Joseph said vividly.

Joey was noncommittal.She had grown up in a place that had not believed in God for thousands of years, how could she believe such a statement.

The other person saw that the beautiful lady didn't seem to believe in evil, and quickly answered: "Yes, besides inheriting that broken mountain, which fool would buy it? I heard that the souls who died there can't rest every night. Let the fruit trees planted None of them can grow, and the fruits that grow are all bitter."

"No one dares to live in a house. Besides, people in Barcelona are not goats. No one wants to climb mountains and ridges to go home every day. It is even more difficult to build a factory. There are so many flat free land, who would ask for trouble to buy a mountain Woolen cloth!"

Oh, I see.Joey thought about it.

Although she still has a lot of debts, and she probably can't pay the taxes that Mr. Moreno can't afford, but she feels that this opportunity should not be missed based on common sense.After that, Barcelona will develop soon, but there will never be such a low land price.

Buy a house as early as possible, especially when buying land.

"Miss, I'm sorry, I haven't asked you what your address is?" Joseph asked enthusiastically.

"Joey Fernandez," Joey replied, smiling.The Spaniard's name was too long, so she decided to leave only the beginning and end of the false identity that Pascal had arranged for her.

Oh—several gentlemen gave her a look of sudden realization and saluted her.But in fact, no one has heard of which noble family Fernandez belongs to.

However, a distinguished background and a good fortune may be a young lady's best dowry, but a pretty face and clear speech are enough to make her a pleasant conversation.

"Are you just coming to Barcelona and want to buy some real estate? My advice, don't buy in the old town of Laval, it's full of old cheap rental houses, full of homeless people and flamencos, and the carriages are everywhere." Can't get in." Joseph seemed to be familiar.

"Yes! I strongly recommend the north side of the Laval district. Now the city is expanding in that direction. Many of us plan to buy a house there, and the architect can also recommend it to you."

Can you recommend an architect?Joey wanted to laugh a little.Pick and choose, is this the joy of being Party A?It's so damn sweet.

"Thank you for your suggestion. In fact, I already have an architect I like, and I want to find some assistants to undertake small projects, preferably young people who are not bound by conventions and have bold ideas."

With such a description, it might be possible to filter out the person she wants to find, right?

"Oh, you're in luck then! Good architects are in high demand in this age of rebuilding everywhere. I suggest you ask someone at the Provincial School of Architecture, which produces the best young men in town. Architect. By the way, who is your architect?" Joseph was very curious.

Joey smiled.She was about to say something to fool her, when a deliberate voice suddenly came from the lady's corner.

"I've always felt that a real lady would display appropriate talents and virtues in the areas she should know, such as appreciation of art and beauty, instead of joining the crowd full of cigar-scented men and thinking that she has a unique talent. Charm. Are you right?"

It was a plump woman with huge gemstones on the brim of her hat, four rings on her carrot-like fingers, and each gemstone the size of a dove's egg shone brightly.

Everyone looked over.

The gentlemen who had a crush on Miss Fernandez just now glanced at her slightly worried, but saw that she still had a calm and decent smile on her face, and even looked at her with interest, as if she didn't understand Baron Demo at all. There was a hint of ill intent in Madam's words.

Several ladies shook their painting fans and laughed together: "You are so right, madam! For example, look at the paintings of Francisco Goya, taste different kinds of perfumes, or appreciate exquisite oriental porcelain. Then That's taste!"

"I dare say that no one in Catalonia understands the gorgeous and mysterious oriental works of art better than you. Your appreciation of this porcelain vase just now has really benefited me a lot."

"Oh? That's really amazing." The lady who was insinuated showed naive and almost stupid surprise and envy, "Does Madam know Chinese porcelain very well? It's really an elegant hobby. May I take the liberty to ask you to share with us all?" share it?"

Mrs. Dermore obviously took advantage of this compliment, "I'm usually not pushy, but today, I don't mind saying it again for you, dear lady. After all, I know that a lady with good taste should also have a kind heart." From the bottom of my heart, I should popularize aesthetic cultivation to those who do not have the conditions to understand the relevant knowledge, and take this as my social responsibility.”

She gracefully pointed to the exquisite porcelain vase placed in the center of the long table with her painting fan, "This blue and white porcelain vase comes from the far east, which is enough to explain its superb craftsmanship and expensive value. But it is not only that. The patterns drawn on it are not It's not a common repeated pattern, but a water lily that hasn't bloomed yet. Water lily symbolizes peace and elegance. Please look at how demure and pure this flower bud is! I must say that in terms of pursuing the philosophy of inner peace and beauty, The Orientals are still very accomplished."

What an exquisite appreciation!Everyone gasped in admiration.Mrs. Dermore was immersed in the praise from all directions, and she couldn't forget to cast a noble and pitiful look at the outsider who had almost shaken her prestige in this group.

Those girls who come from small families but don't know the heights of the sky and the earth are worthy of sympathy.After all, she doesn't have the privileged background that she does.

"Ma'am, what are these two lines next to it? They take up half of the picture." Joseph leaned forward and asked curiously.

Mrs. Dermo was taken aback, and suddenly felt that her prestige was challenged again - he was right, those strange and mysterious oriental characters took up a large proportion of the picture.If you don't know what these words mean, how can you say that you understand the aesthetic connotation of the entire porcelain vase?

She cleared her throat, "This is a famous saying, thousands of years ago, Chinese philosophers praised the elegance, purity and beauty of water lilies."

Oh - everyone suddenly realized.

A sweet and pleasant voice suddenly sounded: "But madam, isn't this painting a lotus?" It turned out to be that Miss Fernandez.

How rude!Mrs. Demer's face turned cold, and she was about to explode when Joseph asked first, "Huh? Miss Fernandez, what's the difference between a lotus and a lotus?"

Joey looked around shyly, and said in a sweet and soft voice, "I heard that the petals of the lotus are wide, while the petals of the lotus are pointed. In addition, the lotus and lotus leaves will grow above the water. And the flowers and leaves of the water lily float on the surface of the water."

Really?Everyone observed carefully.Joseph was the first to yell out: "Really! You even know this? It's amazing!"

Everyone saw that the flowers in the water on the porcelain vase were exactly as she said.Could Mrs. Dermo really be wrong?

Mrs. Demer's face was so ugly that her fingernails hurt her palms through the snow-white gloves.

A skinny woman with an unusually pale complexion next to her gave a sharp smile: "Oh! Miss, you just say yes? I don't know where is the custom, let girls not wear perfume, talk to men proactively, and make up random things for the sake of publicity. !"

Joseph frowned.He was about to speak, but Joey pulled the hem of his clothes.He turned his head suspiciously.

The black-haired girl seemed to be afraid, and her voice was even lower: "Of course, after all, the lotus and the lotus are also from the east. In fact, I just happened to hear about it. But let me be sure of this, in fact It's the Chinese characters on it."

Joseph's eyes widened: "You can still understand Chinese! It's amazing. What does this sentence say?"

Mrs. Demer couldn't get in the conversation, and her face turned red with anger, but everyone's appetite was whetted, and they kept asking: "Miss Fernandez, please tell us quickly!"

Joey thinks it's a little funny, is this the role of joking?

She tried her best to hold back her laughter, pretending to be timid: "Ashamed, I just learned a little for the sake of appreciating oriental artworks. This sentence is actually a poem."

"Look, everyone, this lotus is just about to bloom, and a small dragonfly is parked on it. There are gentle swaying lotus leaves all around, and water waves underneath."

"That's right. So?"

"This was written by a poet in China about 700 years ago, and it fits perfectly with the picture: 'The little lotus just showed its sharp horns, and a dragonfly stood on its head.' In fact, this is the second half of a poem. This poem It was originally written about a small lotus pond under the shade of a tree, but it was later used by people to describe talented young people who can make their mark as soon as they appear."

I see!Everyone once again showed a look of sudden realization.Immediately, they all remembered something at the same time, looked in the same direction, and their expressions were brilliant.

"Miss Fernandez." Mrs. Demer's face was terribly gloomy, and she seemed to be gnashing her teeth every word, "You are young and want to show off, I can understand. But you shouldn't talk nonsense."

Everyone sweated for the little girl.

The baroness got angry, with serious consequences.And what she said is also very reasonable, and everyone doesn't understand Chinese, who knows if this young lady is just making up nonsense just to show off?

"It was so lively just now, why did it suddenly quiet down?" In the midst of embarrassment, a hearty young man's voice suddenly came from the side of the stairs.

Joseph let out a long breath and laughed loudly: "Otherby, we are discussing what the poem on your vase means. Don't you know Chinese? Translate it for us."

Eusebi Guell, who had inherited the title at a young age, looked bewildered.He thumped down the stairs, walked to the vase, scratched his head: "Uh, Joseph, to be honest, my Chinese is just enough to fool you."

Joseph patted the earl on the back: "Stop talking nonsense, speak quickly!"

"Well, I can probably recognize some. The businessman who sold it to me also explained that this seems to be a famous ancient poem in China. It seems to say, lotus—oh, have you ever seen lotus? There are fewer in Europe, but There are more in China, and it looks a bit like a water lily... a small lotus flower, um, with a pointed horn? A dragonfly flew over and landed on its head."

"Bravo!" Joseph turned his head to look at Joey and applauded first, "Miss Fernandez, I must say, you are our little lotus in Barcelona!"

"Miss at such a young age knows so much! It's a miracle of the Creator." Everyone couldn't help applauding at this time.Only Mr. Earl, who didn't know anything, was full of question marks.

Little lotus in Barcelona? !

Sorry, I know you're complimenting, but it's kind of funny.

Joey couldn't hold back his laughter, so he had to lower his head, showing a shy look that is very appropriate for a lady in the face of praise.

Oserby turned his head belatedly, and when he saw the shy and timid girl, he suddenly took a breath. "Oh, yes, I'm so sorry! It's me, the master, who is being rude."

He walked up to Joy in one step, bowed gracefully to her, and stretched out a hand: "I'm sorry I missed you just now, Miss Fernandez. It's a great honor for you to come to my house! I heard that you just came to Barcelona? You What do you think of this city, compared to Valencia, is it much more comfortable?"

Joey politely let him finish the hand-kissing ceremony, and smiled: "Yes. Barcelona is really a lovely city." The city is lovely, and the people are even more lovely.

Everyone's eyes widened in surprise.How could this young lady be treated so courteously by Mr. Earl? Isn't she from an unknown family?

"It is an honor to present Miss Joy Valena de Fernandez, daughter of the Duke of Valencia Fernandez."