Restarting life in Siheyuan

"What are you thinking about? Are you reluctant to leave home? Or are you not used to flying?"

"How can that be possible? I've never been to the Middle East before, so I wonder what it would be like."

On the plane, seeing Zhu Xuefeng staring out the window in a daze, Director Jiang beside him couldn't help but ask him about it. He thought that it was Zhu Xuefeng's first time traveling long distance by plane and he was not used to it.

"Nothing. I went there with a few other professors to investigate. It's sparsely populated. A lot of land is very barren due to lack of water. Herders live by following the grass. The few oases are densely populated areas. The land is severely desertified. Oil drilling rigs can be seen everywhere. The climate is hot, and human activities are very limited."

Zhu Xuefeng had been to the Middle East decades later, and found that it was completely different from what Professor Jiang had described. It was magnificent, with all kinds of modern buildings and facilities everywhere, and the national welfare was incredibly good. Most of the people working there were foreign workers, and the oil economy was still very powerful. It had completely changed in a few decades.

"What's so interesting about that? If I want to see sand, wouldn't it be more convenient for me to go to the Sahara Desert, haha."

Director Jiang smiled and said, "Xiao Zhu, you are wrong to think so. The Middle East has a rich cultural heritage, and the ancient Babylonian civilization is also a treasure of mankind. You don't have a specific mission this time. Since you are invited by the prince, of course you have to let him take you to learn about the culture of the peninsula.

After a long flight, the plane finally arrived at the prince's country. It is now not far from the capital. Looking down from the window, we can see wild desert Gobi, magnificent ancient monuments of civilization, and a large number of modern buildings. The power of the oil economy has begun to quietly change this barren land. You must know that twenty years ago, this place was extremely barren. It was only after 47 years of oil extraction that it slowly became rich. Of course, it is still too early now.

Twenty years ago, no one knew that there was huge wealth beneath the ground, and no one knew that the black sticky substance could be exchanged for a lot of wealth.

The special plane parked at a special berth. The group was still very low-key. The host family, represented by Prince Abbas, received them at the airport. The specifications were very high, but very low-key, as there was no reporter or outsider at the scene. The team was quickly taken to the Jeddah Hotel.

Director Jiang and the accompanying management staff briefly emphasized the foreign affairs discipline and were arranged by the hospitable host to have dinner first. As for Zhu Xuefeng, he was taken away directly by the prince's guards, along with the two large boxes that Zhu Xuefeng brought on the plane, which took up an entire truck.

"Is it appropriate for Xiao Zhu to leave the team like this? What did he take away? Such a big thing?"

The leader in charge of discipline is named Shang. He is only responsible for the foreign affairs discipline management of the entire process. He does not know Zhu Xuefeng. He only knows that he is Director Jiang’s student. Director Jiang is the person in charge of this project, and all activities are communicated with the other party by him.

"Leader Shang, you may not know that Comrade Xiao Zhu was personally invited by the prince. He does not need to participate in this event. Don't worry, there will be no special circumstances. I can guarantee you that the two boxes contain gifts he prepared for the prince, which are recorded in the customs documents."

"Oh, it seems that you have a good relationship with the prince."

Leader Shang took note of it secretly and asked again.

"He doesn't participate in any activities? Then how did he get into this team?"

Leader Shang was very unhappy and could not tolerate any sand in his eyes. Although the whole process was arranged by the landlord and no extra expenses were required in the country, he could not stand any special treatment and private contacts with foreigners. He had to report it when he returned and investigate it thoroughly.

"Leader Shang, you may not have paid attention to the report. It was mentioned in the report this time, and the leader also instructed that you should not think that he came here for sightseeing. In fact, he fought for this project, and it was because of this that he became friends with the other prince..."

Leader Shang looked at the disappearing figure in surprise, "Is this student really that capable? Did he get him? Wow..."

I am not sure about other things, but I know this: when this project is fully completed, it will bring 30 million in foreign exchange to the country. This can no longer be described as a big project. How can such a young man have such great ability?

Director Jiang had already left as he needed to arrange accommodation for the delegation members. Leader Shang was still in a daze. At some point, a middle-aged man approached and whispered.

"Don't worry about this classmate Zhu. This is a special arrangement from above. He has other important tasks. You don't need to ask about it."

Leader Shang looked at the middle-aged man on the side. This man was the leader of the Ministry of Petrochemicals. For some reason he came along this time and brought a few people with him.

"Does he have other tasks?"

"Well, this matter is not convenient to disclose, I hope you can understand."

"I understand. I understand the discipline."

Without mentioning Leader Shang's surprise, Zhu Xuefeng followed the guards into the car again. The car was very stable, but not slow. It headed east and soon left the city and the capital.

The car was driving on the wide road. It was amazing to see desertified land on the side of the road and some normal green land occasionally. Director Jiang was right. It was like this even near the capital. It was conceivable that desertification was even more serious in other places.

The guard could speak English and briefly introduced the scenery along the way to Zhu Xuefeng. The suburbs of the capital did not seem prosperous and wealthy at present. Zhu Xuefeng had never imagined that this prosperous suburb would be so desolate decades later.

It didn't take long before we arrived at an ancient city, which was not far from the capital, only a few dozen kilometers away.

"Dear guest, this is the ancient city of Diriyah. Before the new capital was determined as Riyadh, it was our old capital with a long history. Our royal family originated in this ancient city."

"Oh, it's really shocking, with a rich sense of history. I am proud of your civilization."

This is the birthplace of the royal family. After hundreds of years of wind and sand, the ancient city's earthen walls are still magnificent. I remember that people were not allowed to live here in the future and it became a world heritage site.

"We will soon arrive at the prince's palace. His Royal Highness is already waiting for you."

The guard was very polite, so Zhu Xuefeng had to cooperate with him and chat with him casually.

The car passed a large square, bypassed the mosque, and soon stopped in front of a palace. The palace did not cover a large area, but its peninsula style was very prominent and magnificent.

"Dear guests, we have arrived..."

Zhu Xuefeng got off the car and entered the palace gate under the guidance of the guards. The guards outside the gate did not check and just stood there motionless. Zhu Xuefeng was very curious. Didn't they even provide the most basic security?

In order to maintain the original appearance of the ancient capital, the prince's palace was not lavishly decorated and is not as magnificent as imagined, but the magnificent building still reveals the glorious history of the ancient capital.

If we bring in Lao Xue and his team to repair the ancient monuments, it would probably be very useful. The entire palace, like the ancient city, has been eroded by wind, sand and time. It would be a shame to the royal wealth if it is not repaired.

After entering the palace, I saw the prince in white from afar.

"Dear brother, the one in front of you is your loved one. I am glad that you are finally here."

Prince Hodled came forward, stood in front of Zhu Xuefeng, raised his left hand and placed it directly on Zhu Xuefeng's right shoulder.

"Your Highness the Emir (as royal custom dictates), it is a pleasure to see you again, especially in your palace."

Zhu Xuefeng also followed this etiquette and placed his left hand on the prince's right shoulder. The two kissed each other on the cheek and then hugged each other tightly.

The people of Shatia are warm and friendly, and Hodlid is a model of this. He has elegant and generous manners and respects international etiquette. However, when he met Zhu Xuefeng, he did not shake hands according to international etiquette, nor did he give him a cordial hug.

Among relatives and friends in Saudi Arabia, people often put their left hands on each other's right shoulders, kiss each other's cheeks, or touch each other's foreheads with their noses, and then hug each other tightly.

The prince was already very friendly to Zhu Xuefeng. In addition to Zhu Xuefeng satisfying his hobby of outdoor adventure activities, the two had secretly discussed some ethnic issues. Zhu Xuefeng gave him some ideas, which the prince adopted and achieved good results, which earned him a lot of points in the eyes of the king.

Of course, it is impossible to become the crown prince. The tradition here is to pass the throne from brother to brother. The current crown prince is the prince's uncle. Prince Hodled has an older brother and two younger brothers.

Other uncles also contributed dozens of brothers to him. This is a huge family, and it is difficult to get to the top. Fortunately, the prince is still very young and has achieved some good results, which can be regarded as some foundation. It is hot here with little rain. The traditional clothing for men is a loose white robe that reaches the instep, without collar and long sleeves. The prince is no exception. He wears a cape with golden edges and red and white checkered tulle on the outside of the white robe, and it is fixed with a hoop made of black camel hair.

The flowing loose robe, coupled with his tall and sturdy figure, coupled with his handsome appearance and a typical nobleness, his appearance is indeed outstanding.

Several people around him should be the prince's friends, and they were also wearing flowing white robes, which made Zhu Xuefeng feel ashamed. These robes looked much more solemn and noble than his own western suit. It turned out that ethnic clothes were the most beautiful.

According to the local customs, even if there is an appointment in advance, it is common to be 15-30 minutes late, which is said to be a manifestation of grace.

When going on an appointment, sometimes they would bring a few uninvited people along, thinking that this was to give face to the other party, so the appearance of these people seemed very normal. Zhu Xuefeng also made a quick study of the local customs so as to avoid making a fool of himself when they met.

"Dear brother, these brothers are also brothers of our royal family. Like me, they all love outdoor activities. They really like the beach motorcycles and sea speedboats you sent them."

The prince briefly introduced several men around him. As expected, they were all children of other princes, and probably representatives of the prince's close forces.

"Nice to meet you!"

Zhu Xuefeng greeted the men cordially. The prince walked with Zhu Xuefeng hand in hand, once again expressing his friendship and necessary respect.

In the spacious palace, Zhu Xuefeng followed everyone else and sat cross-legged. He took the coffee handed to him by the guard. Zhu Xuefeng knew that it was impolite to refuse the first cup of coffee when being a guest here.

There was not a single maid in the entire palace, which was completely different from what Zhu Xuefeng had imagined. He had imagined that there would be many beautiful women wearing tulle dancing to liven up the atmosphere, but it turned out to be nothing like that. Could it be that he remembered it wrong? Or has the custom changed in later generations?
Seeing that Zhu Xuefeng seemed a little confused, the prince briefly introduced the customs and habits here. It turned out that women were not allowed to appear when men were meeting and discussing things. As for the veil, the doctrine followed by Saudi Arabia now is somewhat different from that of other countries. It only requires that when going out on the street, one must wear a black robe that covers the whole body and a headscarf to cover the hair, but a veil is not required.

"Dear brother, you should come and see us more often. If you don't come more often, you won't understand our culture. We admire the long history of Chinese civilization, and we are also proud of our Babylonian civilization..."

With the prince's opening speech, everyone started communicating about the two civilizations. The men all seemed gentle and elegant, with decent conversation. They did not have the temperament of riding horses and carrying scimitars at all. You know, the land of the Persian Gulf has been fighting for thousands of years, and it was a fierce fight with the West because of different religious beliefs. The prince's ancestors were definitely tough people.

During the conversation, the servants and the cooks quickly filled the table with food. According to the local customs, when entertaining guests, they usually roast whole lamb or camel, and the lamb's eyes are considered a delicacy on the table.

Because there were few people, they did not prepare to roast a whole camel. However, the golden and greasy whole lamb made Zhu Xuefeng's mouth water. He had been here for more than two years but had never had the chance. In later life, he had eaten Mongolian roasted whole lamb many times at Jiujiu Ding, but the roasting method was probably completely different from today's, but it tasted very good.

The staple food for dinner was flatbread, spread with butter, honey, etc., with a sweet and spicy taste. Zhu Xuefeng was not picky and tried them all. He seemed very interested, which made several people nod in approval.

"This is specially prepared for you. Try it. It's different from what you Chinese do."

Seeing a large plate of food being brought to Zhu Xuefeng alone, the prince took the initiative to introduce it.

"I arranged this myself, I hope you like it."

"Thank you my dear brother, I am very curious, my nose tells me that the smell is beautiful, there seem to be many kinds of fragrance, which makes me wonder and look forward to it."

Zhu Xuefeng smelled the odor. Although the pot was covered, the tempting aroma still filled the hall.

"There seems to be mutton? Tomatoes..."

The taste is very mixed, "It seems to have carrots and onions..."

"My dear brother, your nose is too powerful, lift it up and take a look at our fried rice."

Zhu Xuefeng lifted the lid and saw a bowl of pilaf, which was shiny and greasy. It was indeed lamb, carrots, onions, some raisins and some unknown ingredients. It looked very appetizing.

Zhu Xuefeng knew that according to the local customs, Western tableware was mostly used to entertain foreign guests, while the locals used their hands to grab the food, knead it into balls, and put it into their mouths.

If your fingers are stained with rice grains, rinse them in a pitcher of clean water. When dining as a guest, it is best to leave some uneaten and untouched rice on the used plates.

"Try it. My chef is very proud of his cooking skills. You have to help me find something inappropriate for him. Haha, it is said that China is famous for its cuisine. Although we have a lot of deserts here, it is not a food desert..."

Zhu Xuefeng started eating according to the local custom. He ate a lot of roasted lamb. Most people would be full in a few bites. Although he was not used to eating rice with hands, the taste was very good. According to Zhu Xuefeng's assessment, the meal was just a little too greasy because too much lamb fat was used.

"It's very good. I'm sorry to disappoint you. I really can't find any shortcomings..."

Looking at the quarter of the rice left, Zhu Xuefeng complained in his heart that it was a strange custom. The Chinese believe that "every grain of rice is hard-earned", so this was such a waste.

"This will make Messandini proud, haha." The prince seemed very happy.

Zhu Xuefeng took a sip of black tea. The small table was too full. There were camel milk, black tea, and coffee. He didn't dare to try the camel milk. It would be better to drink some tea to remove the greasiness of the mutton fat fried rice.

There was no alcohol here and drinking was illegal, so the few of them quickly filled their stomachs and came to the backyard. There were no bars or dance halls here at night, and there were basically no entertainment activities at night, but a bonfire had already been prepared in the backyard, as the prince wanted to wait until dark before organizing any activities.

Several people came to a small meeting room. "Dear brother, you are a month later than expected. You don't know how I spent this month. Haha, come on, tell me..."

After they sat down for a while and the servant brought in the coffee and left, the prince couldn't wait to speak.

"Oh, don't worry. I've brought everything I promised. I won't let you down."

Inside the big box are two jet skis, which I personally delivered this time taking advantage of my visit.

"It's those two big boxes, I'm looking forward to it!"

"We saw it too. Is it more interesting than beach motorcycles?"

The prince expressed his displeasure at someone questioning his friend, "Brother Shalva, don't underestimate the imagination of dear brother Zhu. He described it to me and I was really looking forward to it. Unfortunately, it's dark now."

"I like beach scooters very much. It has changed my life, which is great. As for the new gadgets you mentioned, I am also looking forward to it. I hope I will like it as much as beach scooters." It seems that Shalva really likes beach scooters and even showed a hint of doubt again.

The prince did not dwell on this issue. "Brother Shalva, let's go to the Red Sea tomorrow and try. Haha, you don't know how hard it is to wait for this baby..."

"I won't let your expectations turn into disappointment, dear brother. I have tested it and I am sure that all the princes will be fascinated by it."

Zhu Xuefeng is very confident that there will be no more exciting and fun activities than jet skis in the near sea for a long time. The love of Li Bin and others speaks volumes. No young person would refuse this big toy.

They chatted for a while before it got dark. The bonfire outside had been lit. After feeling the lazy dance of the Shat people and tasting the roasted camel again, the prince sent the others away and talked to Zhu Xuefeng for a long time. He declined the invitation to stay overnight and only agreed to send him back to the hotel after Zhu Xuefeng insisted.

"My dear brother, I will arrange what you said after breakfast tomorrow, and we will set out once it is done."

After getting in the car, Zhu Xuefeng was relieved. Even though he was very close to the prince, it was not appropriate to stay here. He was a member of an organization and did not come alone. (End of this chapter)