African Entrepreneurship Record

Outside the port of Dar es Salaam, a Far East ship was entering the port. People on the ship stopped and looked at the city of Dar es Salaam curiously.

The houses are neatly arranged, the carriages and horses are intertwined, the roads are flat and wide, large and small ships are docked in the port, and people are coming and going on the pier.

"Brother Shiyan! I feel like the court has been deceived! This East Africa seems peaceful and peaceful, with no signs of natural or man-made disasters!" Ander, the deputy envoy of the East African Kingdom's assistance mission dispatched by the Far East government, said furtively.

Li Ge also looked stunned, but he said: "Brother Hou, maybe it's just because this is the place used by the East African Kingdom to serve as a facade. We haven't seen other places in East Africa yet, so we can't make any conclusions lightly. We'll ask the East African generals later. You can know the answer by doing (translation).”

So the two of them found Aryan, the translator of the East African Embassy not far away. Li Ge said: "Mr. Aryan! I have a question to ask. I wonder if you can answer it."

To be honest, Li Ge didn't like Aryan very much. After all, Aryan looked different from Westerners. Instead, he looked like a Central Plains person. When he heard him speak Chinese, he also had a Shandong flavor. When he usually communicated with him, Judging from the language, he should be a country bumpkin from that corner of the world, but he happens to be a legitimate nationality of the East African Kingdom.

Isn't this just a "traitor"! In the eyes of Far Eastern officials, the East African Kingdom is a Germanic barbarian who acts extremely unreasonably. They talk about cooperation, but in fact they threaten force at every turn. However, the Aryans work for the East African Kingdom and even change their nationality. They are like people who have forgotten their ancestors. Therefore, Li Ge and others usually do not communicate with Aryan except for official business.

In fact, they misunderstood Aryan. Although Aryan was indeed from Shandong, he was also a "top student" who received modern education in Hechingen.

Aryan has read a lot of books and has a high level of education. He especially likes Hegel's "Encyclopedia of Philosophy". The education Aryan received was all Germanic, but he didn't know much about Far Eastern culture (mainly books). I can't understand, I can't even write Chinese characters.

After all, the students accepted by Hechingen School are basically orphans. Before arriving at Hechingen, Aryan had never read a book and didn't even have a name. He only had one title in the village: "Daniu" since he was a child.

Because Aryan has no education experience in the Far East, it is naturally impossible for him to argue with Li Ge and others, and he will not be literate when speaking. In addition, after it was translated from German, it was almost like communicating with Far Eastern people in the original Shandong vernacular, so it was indeed a bit weird.

But the fundamental reason is that Li Ge and others do not know German. If they are proficient in German, they will find that Aryan not only speaks fluently in the "Heixinggen accent", but also speaks in a polite manner. This is the gap between the two different languages. , there must be a person who is proficient in both languages ​​and cultures to act as a bridge to break this barrier.

Aryan: “If you have any questions, just ask them!”

Li Ge: "We came to your country this time at the invitation of your country's officials. Has our ship arrived at the Kingdom of East Africa?"

Aryan: "Yes! Look at the flag at the port. It is the Lion Shield flag of the Kingdom."

Li Ge: "Then there seems to be a slight difference between East Africa and what your ambassador described! Your ambassador told us at the beginning that people's livelihood in East Africa is in decline and epidemics are rampant. I see that this city is quite prosperous. Why are some things not so good? It’s too the same, but everyone is happy and natural, it doesn’t look like there’s a big epidemic?”

As the envoy of the aid mission, Li Ge thought that he was going to this barbaric land of East Africa to help East Africa fight the plague and assist in reconstruction. This time, there were also doctors organized by the Far East government on the ship, who went to East Africa for free clinics, but he only saw Dar es Salaa. Considering the situation in Mu City, Li Ge feels that the Far East should be assisted, not East Africa.

Aryan: "Yeah! Is that what Ambassador Richard said? Then I don't know, but I don't know if what Ambassador Richard said is right. I actually don't know much about East Africa."

Li Ge: "Aren't you from East Africa? How do you say you don't know anything about East Africa?"

Aryan: "Actually, I used to study in South Germany, so I have never been to East Africa. Instead, I lived in the Kingdom of Hechingen under the Kingdom of Prussia in Germany for a period of time. After graduation, I was directly transferred back to the Far East and have been in East Africa ever since. The Royal Embassy in the Far East indulged in paperwork.”

Li Ge was very confused by Aryan's words. What about South Germany, Germany, Prussia, the Principality of Hechingen, and the Kingdom of East Africa? With so many terms, where did Aryan come from? Li Ge himself knew about Prussia and East Africa.

Li Ge: "Mr. Aryan! Are you an East African?"

Aryan: "I am German."

Li Ge: "What does the East African Kingdom have to do with you?"

Aryan: "My nationality is the Kingdom of East Africa."

Li Ge: "..."

Aryan: "This is also my first time to East Africa. In fact, I am also very interested in East Africa. Why don't you two browse it with me?"

Li Ge: "..."

Soon, Li Ge and Aryan dragged their luggage ashore.

The aid group browsed the city of Dar es Salaam (External Business District) like Grandma Liu entering the Grand View Garden. This place is so special. Whites, yellows and blacks are everywhere. The various costumes are also very distinctive, especially some The Arabs, all covered in white robes, were an eye-opener for the aid group.

Everyone has seen Western clothes, but Aryan, a "fake foreigner", has never seen anything like this. The whole body is covered in white cloth. It is easy to think of...

Li Ge: "Mr. Aryan, why do some people wear white robes and white turbans on their heads?"

Aryan: "They are Arabs, generally distributed in the Middle East and North Africa. For example, there are many Arabs dressed like this in Egypt, Ottoman and Persia."

After leaving the Strait of Malacca, the ship did not dock and went straight to Dar es Salaam, so this was the first time Li Ge and others saw Arabs in East Africa.

Aryan continued: "The Arabs once established a large empire that spanned three continents and monopolized trade between the East and the West. The Ottoman Empire is currently considered the successor of the Arab Empire."

Li Ge: "Then why are they covered in white cloth?"

Aryan: "This is their living habit. Just like they don't wear cotton-padded clothes in the tropics, Arabs live in the desert, where the sun is very hot and the temperature can reach forty or fifty degrees during the day. The white color can better reflect the sun's rays and reduce absorption. hot."

Only then did Li Ge and others realize that it was not the reason for the death of someone in their family, but the family's customs. Li Ge almost thought that this was evidence of the epidemic in the East African Kingdom! After all, so many people "wearing sackcloth and wearing filial piety" were probably caused by the plague. Fortunately, I asked Aryan first, otherwise there would have been a big misunderstanding.

In fact, Aryan doesn't care about any misunderstanding or misunderstanding. Even if the Arabs are like this, he doesn't care.

The group continued to browse Dar es Salaam for a long time, and finally Aryan said: "It seems there is nothing left to visit!" He pointed to the no-passage sign in front.

"what is that?"

"The front is closed to traffic, which means there is no road."

"But aren't there still streets and buildings over there?"

"I'll go over and ask."

So Aryan walked forward, and a policeman stood guard here.

"Sir! Excuse me, why is there a no-passage sign here?"

"After passing here is the Xicheng District of Dar es Salaam City, which is not open to foreigners..."

After working on it for a long time, Aryan finally figured out that Dar es Salaam was divided into the Foreign Commercial Area and Xicheng District, and foreigners could only move within the External Commercial Area.

Aryan: "Actually, I am a diplomatic officer of the East African Kingdom in the Far East. Where is the Dar es Salaam city government office? I need to get in touch with the Kingdom. Because I have been working in the Far East, I am not familiar with East Africa. .”

Policeman: "Go back from here and turn left at the first intersection. You will see the Foreign Business District Police Station, the Taxation Bureau and other government agencies."

Aryan: "Oh! Thank you so much for your help."