The Red Mansions Across the Four Seas

Chapter 452 Did Fourth Master Sell Himself?
This period is equivalent to the eighteenth century in Europe.

At this time in Europe, the maritime supremacy of Portugal and Spain has declined and has been replaced by the United Kingdom.

The Industrial Revolution in England had begun, and Watt had improved the steam engine.

But in continental Europe, France is still the hegemon of Europe, and has just begun the industrial revolution.

Culturally, France started the Enlightenment Movement, and masters such as Rousseau, Voltaire, and Montesquieu have appeared.

In terms of literature, the French comedy at this time had relatively great achievements, and the salon culture was popular.There seems to be no outstanding achievement in poetry.

However, with the spread of missionaries, Chinese classical poems such as the "Book of Songs" were translated by missionaries and began to spread in Europe.

In court dance, French court dance is still dominated by minuet.

The waltz at this time was just a peasant dance in the Austrian countryside.

It will be three or forty years before Strauss the Elder and Strauss Jr. created the changed waltz waltz.

That is to say, waltzes such as "The Blue Danube" and "Song of Spring" that were later popular in European courts did not appear until three or forty years later.

Jia Min's goal is to bring Baochai and others into the court society of Europe.

Since France was the overlord of Europe at this time, French, with its beautiful intonation and rigorous grammar, became the common language of European high society.

Jia Min asked Baochai and the others to learn French from the Servantes couple in order to obtain a passport to enter the European high society.

However, language is still just a tool that can only solve communication and communication problems.

To stand out there and stand out, there needs to be something unique.

Jia Min prepared two moves.

One trick is Chinese classical poetry.

Although Jia Min can speak French and English, he is still not good at translating classical poetry into French.

He can barely translate, but Chinese poetry is the most particular about artistic conception, and it is difficult for him to translate that artistic conception.

Fortunately, when he was learning French before, he had recited some French poems, including some classical Chinese poems, and asked Mr. Servante to polish them up, so he could barely handle it.

As for Baochai and Miaoyu, their attainments in poetry are good, but if they are asked to translate poetry, it will be really embarrassing for them.

That's okay, though.

If it is not possible, copying a few of the later French poems, such as the poems of Hugo and Musset five or sixty years later, is enough to shock the world.

Another big trick is the waltz dance that became popular in European courts and high society five or sixty years later.

Decades in advance, bringing this waltz dance to Europe has become a trump card for breaking into the European high society.

Even the Servantes and his wife couldn't help with this move, so Jia Min could only rely on himself.

Jia Min is pretty good at dancing.Dance music can basically be memorized.

What he needs to do now is to compose the melody in his heart into a tune.

For this point, we need to find someone to do it after we get Europe.

Jia Min didn't understand the composition either, and with Shen Bingyi's silk and bamboo troupe, they could only hum a melody.

However, this melody is enough.Tell Baochai and the others to learn how to dance, that's all.

It is easy to get Baochai and Miaoyu to go to France, but it is difficult to get them to dance.

They are all ladies. In this era, dancing is only the patent of geisha.

Geisha are regarded as low-class, in fact, they are looked down upon by ladies and gentlemen.

That's why Miaoyu said that they should be geisha.

"That's one of the reasons I'm taking you to France."

Jia Min had to give them psychological counseling, persuasion and education.

"In the eyes of us Han people, geisha is low-class, and it seems that dancing is also low-class. However, in France, this is not the case. There, emperors, queens, princes and ministers, civil and military officials, men and women, must be able to dance. Yes. People who can’t dance are considered inferior.”

"You can ask Mr. Servante and Mrs. Servante about this, and they can tell you."

"Fourth Master Min, don't ask, Mrs. Servante once told us that this is indeed the case."

Alas, at the critical moment, it's better to be Ping'er.After all, Ping'er is the closest to me.

Since Mrs. Servante had told them all, they kept silent at this moment, just pretending to be stupid. These women really have a lot of thoughts.

Hmph, little boy, you are still playing tricks on me at this moment, to see how I will train you in the future.

"Besides, my biological mother is also a geisha, and Bing Yi is also a geisha, so what's so low?"

These so-called ladies from all over the world are full of rotten feudal ideas and prejudices. It is time to reform their thinking.

"Fourth Brother Min, it's not that we look down on them, you should understand what we mean, asking us to dance is really too..."

"Why can't you dance? It's not a show, let alone a prostitution. I can dance, why can't you dance?"

"What, Fourth Master Min, you dance too?"

Ping'er was taken aback and almost dropped the child in his arms to the ground.

"Fourth Master, is it difficult for you to sell yourself before? Ah, no, have you sold yourself?"

The heartless angry Qingwen was even more surprised.

This damn Qingwen, if you don't speak, can you be sold as a dumb?
Just as Jia Min wanted to say, he saw the surprised and contemptuous eyes of the girls.

"Qingwen, don't talk nonsense, even if the fourth master sold it, it was forced, don't you think so, fourth master."

Ping'er spoke for Jia Min again.

Jia Min wanted to bang his head against the wall.

My silly Pinger, don't be a disservice to me, okay?

"Don't make wild guesses. I have never sold myself, ah, no, I have never sold myself."

"Then how did you know how to dance?"

Miaoyu pursues closely.

"Of course I learned it in the dance class."

"What is a dance troupe? Is it a dance troupe? You still say that you have never sold art, and you have gone to the rivers and lakes, and you still say you have never sold it?"

God, you tell these women to open up.

No, I can't go on talking like this, let them bring the rhythm, and I have to ask them to uncover the old background of my time traveler.

"Fourth Master, what kind of dance do you want us to dance?"

It was Ping'er who came out in time to rescue Jia Min.

"This is called a waltz."

"What kind of dance is this waltz? I've never heard of it. Sister Bao, you are well-informed, have you heard of it?"

Miaoyu has something to do again.

"I've only heard of "Neon Clothes and Feather Clothes Dance", "Spring River Flower and Moonlight Night", "The Drunken Concubine" and so on. I've never heard of this waltz."

"Bing Yi, you know how to dance, have you heard of it?"

It's still Miaoyu's thorny head.

"To be honest, I have never heard of it."

"Even if we wanted to dance, no one taught us?"

Miao Yu finally found the reason.

"Well, I can teach you."

"You teach us? Fourth master, are you a man teaching us how to dance? Fourth master, don't you feel ashamed?"

Damn Qingwen, what's the shame in teaching people to dance?

"There's no way to be ashamed. No one in this world can dance this kind of dance except me."

"Fourth brother Min, you are wrong to say that. Just now you said that you learned it in the dance troupe. How come no one else can do it after a while?"

Miaoyu, who deserves a beating, can't you use your cleverness in other places? How do you know how to make a fool of yourself here?

"Let me tell you the truth, I figured out this dance myself. Once you dance it, within two days, you will definitely be addicted."

"If you are addicted or not, let's not talk about it. You can tell me how to dance this waltz, and how is it different from other dances?"

"Well, the biggest difference is that a man and a woman dance with their arms around each other."

As soon as Jia Min said this, the room immediately became silent.

Jia Min knew that this touched their sensitive nerves again.

However, at this time, he couldn't care so much anymore.A long-term pain is worse than a short-term pain, and it's better to hand over the old bottom to them at once, so as to save the pain of scraping with a knife.

"Come on, Bing Yi, let's demonstrate it to everyone, it's very simple, just teach it."

Jia Min didn't care whether Shen Bingyi was willing or not, so he went to pull her over.

Grabbing her hand, wrapping around her small waist, he put Shen Bingyi's hand on his shoulder, and tried to walk a few steps.

Even though Shen Bingyi was born as a geisha, she was stunned by this posture, and within two steps, her face flushed with embarrassment, and she forced herself to break free.

"That's the way to dance. At that time, it will be a man and a woman, and you can partner casually."

"Fourth Master Min, you mean, anyone can dance with anyone?"

"Yes, even strangers can dance together. Sometimes there are many people, sometimes there are few people. Sometimes there are dozens of people, and sometimes hundreds of people, just dance together like this."

The girls stayed for a while before reacting.

Miaoyu was the first to start again.

"Fourth Brother Min, isn't it true that a man and a woman can't kiss each other?"

Next is Baochai.

"Fourth Brother Min, isn't this prostitution and robbery?"

This time it is Daiyu.

"Fourth Master Min, isn't this offensive?"

"Fourth Master Min, isn't this impolite and shameless?"

Naturally, Qingwen is also indispensable.

"Fourth Master Min, if your own wife asks others to hug her like this, will your husband be happy?"

Ping'er finally asked a more substantive question.

"Most of the time, he is happy. The customs of Westerners are different from ours. The more men like his wife, the happier he will be."

"Fourth brother Min, you are telling a lie. What man would like someone to wear that... um, that color hat for himself?"

Miaoyu finally didn't say the words "green hat".

"This is why ten miles have different winds, and hundreds of miles have different customs. Isn't wintersweet and the others different from us Han people? It's all the same reason."

"Are there no men who are jealous?"

Qingwen, the angry youth, seems unable to survive if she doesn't speak.

"Of course there are."

"What should I do?"

"duel."

"How to duel?"

"Each person holds a sword, or each person holds a firecracker, shoot at each other, whoever dies will be unlucky."

"Fourth Brother Min, let me ask you one last question, are you not afraid that we will cuckold you if you ask us to dance with strange men like this?"

Miaoyu finally said "green hat".

"Miaoyu, let me ask you one last thing."

"What? Say it."

"Can you die if you don't speak?"

"Can die!"

Miaoyu answered firmly.

(End of this chapter)