Chapter 584 - 74: The Visitor (Part 2)
He carefully held the silver cup filled with milk tea with both hands, a hint of surprise appearing on his face—
because there were ice cubes in the cup, and the metal’s excellent thermal conductivity made the sensation in his palm exceptionally cold.
Kilian was a man who had seen a lot, and he quickly realized that there was ice in the cup.
He carefully took a sip, and the liquid, with its unique sweet and sour taste of milk and fruit juice, was refreshing. The slightly cool taste confirmed Kilian’s suspicion that there was indeed ice in the drink.
In 17th century Europe, although commoners could not enjoy cold drinks, among the nobility, they were not uncommon.
As early as the 16th century, the courts in countries like France and Italy had begun enjoying chilled wine, chilled fruit juice, or a chilled drink called "Xia Erxin."
In the scorching summer, ordinary folks would put beer into deep wells, using well water to turn it into ice beer, enhancing the taste while also cooling down.
However, Europe, being close to the Arctic, had four distinct seasons.
Kilian, who had spent most of his life at sea, was well aware of where the ice used by the nobility in summer came from.
During the Roman period, people harvested ice from the volcanoes of Sicily;
in winter, Northern European countries would gather and store ice in large quantities in deep icehouses or cellars, to be wrapped in blankets and exported to Southern Europe in the summer;
Kilian knew many professional operators of icehouses, who made money by supplying ice blocks to the nobility and cities, with the Dutch being the most prominent among them.
In the summer, ice blocks were a luxury that commoners could not afford.
...
In Kilian’s understanding, ice was a rare commodity limited by temperature, ubiquitous in winter but virtually unattainable in summer.
Using its geographical advantage, Europe could obtain large supplies of ice blocks from the cold Northern Europe, which was naturally not surprising.
But here, in the tropics, it was even hotter than the European summer all year round.
The nearest place that produces ice was at least a month and a half’s voyage away, taking nearly half a year for a round trip.
In such a hot place, how did they manage to produce ice?
Savoring the iced milk tea bit by bit, Kilian, though utterly shocked, did not show it; after all, he had encountered too many strange things on this trip.
Compared to ships that could move without sails, lamps that could light without fire, and houses that could be built without bricks, tropical ice was truly nothing.
While maintaining as much decorum as possible in enjoying the food and drink provided by Chen Zhou, he half-heartedly, half-sincerely praised it, and before long, Sunday, having finished counting the "gifts," returned to the office.
He said nothing, directly handing over a long report sheet.
...
Receiving the report sheet, Chen Zhou quietly browsed through it, seeing that besides boxes of gold and silver, there was also high-grade tobacco from Brazil, wine specially supplied for Spanish nobility, exquisite silverware and glassware, and rare specialties like silk from the East, he nodded with satisfaction.
"Mr. Kilian, I really like your gifts.
I must say, your honesty has already made me somewhat fond of you.
Traveling from Brazil to here, you must be very tired!
Just right, you can stay on the island today, and tomorrow I will take you on a tour of the island’s scenery."
Saying this, Chen Zhou got up from the chair, walked to the desk, and saw Kilian out of the office.
The guards in the factory half-escorted, half-surveilled, leading Kilian to another reinforced concrete building beside the factory.
This building was constructed by Chen Zhou specifically for Sunday and was initially intended to be used as a future military and political office building.
However, this building was too close to the factory, and the routine gun practice often disturbed Chen Zhou’s sleep, plus there were frequently islanders passing by, posing a risk of accidental injury during live-fire exercises, so it had to be repurposed.
Chen Zhou originally wanted to transform this three-story building into a government office, but later, considering that the island would surely host many merchants from different countries in the future, he decided to turn it into a "guesthouse."
At present, the renovation was only half completed, with the first floor roughly finished and the second and third floors still under modification.
As the first foreigner to voluntarily come, Kilian was considered the first guest of the guesthouse.
...
To showcase the island’s advanced technological level, every room in the guesthouse was equipped with electric wires, electric lights, solid wood flooring, and the living room had large floor-to-ceiling windows.
Seeing the guards had brought him here, Kilian felt much more at ease—
This place didn’t look like a prison at all, indicating that the island’s ruler indeed treated him like a valued guest or friend.
No matter what, it was a good start.
...
After walking around the room, staring blankly at the incandescent light on the ceiling, Kilian couldn’t figure out how this thing emitted such bright and steady light.
He thought about getting a stool to touch the bulb, but feared the scorching brightness might harm him, and also feared it might infringe on the island ruler’s taboos, so even though he was itching with curiosity, he never acted on it.
After pondering for a while about how the light shone, he finally came up with no answers.
Sitting on the bed in the bedroom, caressing the simply polished, unvarnished wooden bed, recalling the dream-like events of the day, Kilian’s doubts not only did not lessen but multiplied.
Over the many years, he had traveled this route at least seventy or eighty times, and had never heard of such a power residing here.