Chapter 34

"Your humble servant is Luo Youde, son of the Luo family of Qiongzhou. I wonder how the brave warrior should be addressed and where you are from?" On top of the stern deck was a small platform with a semicircle of seats, and in the middle was a low table, neither Chinese nor Western in style. Hong Tao couldn't tell if this arrangement was in line with Song Dynasty norms; he had never seen what Song Dynasty homes looked like. The Tanka people had little interaction with those on the mainland, and the dynasty meant little to them.

"I am not from the Great Song, my surname is Hong, and my given name is Tao. I come from Australia... My ancestors came from north of Dengzhou, but I'm not quite sure exactly where." Hong Tao could only continue to make up stories. Whether this Australia would fool this Song Dynasty sea merchant depended on luck. This person clearly had some experience.

"Australia? Please forgive my ignorance, but where is this Australia located?" Luo Youde obviously hadn't heard of the place Hong Tao mentioned and was a bit puzzled.

"South of Nanzhao, a few thousand miles further south, there is another continent, very desolate. Only a few small cities exist along the coast, inhabited by immigrants from various countries. Their customs and habits are completely different from those in the Central Plains. This is my first time back, and I am not very familiar with the language and customs of the Great Song. I hope you can understand." Hong Tao racked his brain to find a few phrases that sounded like those of an ancient person, setting the tone for future conversations.

"Oh! South of the Nanzhao countries, there is another continent? Is it an island or a continent?" Luo Youde didn't react much to Hong Tao's unusual language and customs but was very interested in the continent of Australia.

"Continent, larger than the Central Plains. I haven't traveled all over it; it's too vast and the transportation is inconvenient. The interior is mostly desert and戈壁, extremely hot, and very difficult to traverse." Hong Tao described Australia to Luo Youde based on its actual situation. Even if Luo Youde had heard of it, it wouldn't matter since it was all true.

"Wow... Amazing! South of Nanzhao, there is another continent... Brother Hong, could you point it out on the sea chart for me?" This Luo Youde didn't seem to have deep thoughts, or perhaps he didn't intend to have a serious conversation with Hong Tao. His personality was rather casual.

"Sir, would you like some tea?" At this moment, three young women carrying trays walked up the stairs. Their skirts were long, and their waists were high. Their sleeves were like small trumpets and very short, revealing their elbows when they raised their hands. Under their outer robes, they wore undergarments that were not low-cut but not high either. They all had their hair coiled up, and Hong Tao didn't recognize the style, but it looked like two bread rings on each side of their heads.

"Oh, yes... Go and ask Ah Cai to bring up the sea chart, quickly!" Luo Youde was still immersed in the southern continent Hong Tao described, frowning and pondering, unable to figure out where Australia might be.

"Heh... It's quite fragrant. I thought there was no perfume in this era." One of the women turned and walked down after hearing the order. The other two placed their trays on the low table and began to make tea beside Hong Tao and Luo Youde. Hong Tao sniffed and smelled a musk scent from the woman in front of him, a fragrance he was very familiar with because it was also added to many fish baits in the future.

At first, Hong Tao thought they were just making tea, but he didn't expect it to be so complicated in the Song Dynasty. The woman took two small pieces of tea brick from a black ceramic jar on the tray, placed them in a stone mortar used for grinding Chinese medicine, and began to grind them. Soon, the two small pieces of tea brick were ground into powder. She then took a small sieve and filtered the powder, re-grinding any coarser bits.

After preparing the tea, could it still be called tea? It was even finer than the tea crumbs favored by old Beijing residents! She then took a small black cup, put the powder in it, and left the low table. From a wooden box behind her, she used an iron hook to pick up a porcelain bottle and poured the water into the cup. As she poured, she held a silver tool with a small spoon at one end and a small knife at the other, stirring quickly, just like beating eggs.

At this moment, a miracle occurred. A layer of fine, white foam appeared on the surface of the tea, very much like the foam on a cappuccino from the future. The maid used the small spoon to draw a few lines on the foam, creating a landscape painting. She then took out the spoon, bowed to Hong Tao and Luo Youde, and walked away backward.

"Not worth mentioning, just a small skill. Drawing on the foam is the lowest level of tea-making technique. It is said that in Lin'an, writing poetry on the tea is becoming popular... Brother Hong, please!" Luo Youde didn't take the drawing on the foam seriously, took a sip of the tea, and got foam on his beard, not bothering to wipe it off.

"Please, please..." Hong Tao was a bit at a loss. Wasn't this a skill? If this were brought to the future, it would definitely be considered world cultural heritage! What? Writing poetry on tea? Is this something a human can do? It must be a god!

"You deserve to lose your country! When half of your country is already taken, you don't think about counterattacking but fuss over this tea water!" The tea tasted strange in Hong Tao's mouth. Originally, he had some admiration for the Song Dynasty, a time of a hundred flowers blooming, the most lenient government, and a society for all people... But this cup of tea made him feel cold. Those who are pitiful must have something hateful about them!

"Sir, the sea chart is here!" At this moment, the middle-aged man who had haggled with Hong Tao earlier came up with two male servants carrying a table-like object. They placed the table down and slowly unrolled a silk scroll.

"Brother Hong, please look. This is the sea chart of my Luo family. May I ask where the Australia you mentioned is located?" Luo Youde became excited at the sight of the silk scroll, crouching beside the table, eagerly looking at Hong Tao. His pitiful look made Hong Tao unable to bear not telling him.

"Is this Vietnam?" Hong Tao's interest was also piqued. This was his first time seeing a Song Dynasty sea chart. What would it look like? He leaned in, and it turned out to be a rough map of Southeast Asia, not a world map.

"The top is Jiaozhi, the south is Champa..." Luo Youde didn't understand what Hong Tao meant by Vietnam. He divided Vietnam into two parts, considering them two countries.

"Is this Luzon?" Hong Tao pointed to the location of the Philippines, where there were the most green dots, likely indicating ports of call.

"Little Luzon!" This time, Luo Youde nodded in agreement.

"Is this Malaya?" Seeing that Luo Youde was not averse to exchanging information, Hong Tao didn't bother to think about the ancient names of these Southeast Asian countries. It was a waste of time anyway; he had no knowledge in his head.

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