Chapter 19 New Orleans, USA 4

"Miss Ling Wangnai, over there is Martin's house..." Richard Alexon said in his characteristic slightly hoarse voice in the back seat of the classic Cadillac. Under a cloudy sky, there are the ruins of a spacious mansion supported by six huge stone pillars.The panes of the windows were broken, the roof had collapsed, and there was no door between the dirty doorposts. "In its heyday, there was a kilometer-long road from the gate of this manor to the mansion. Now part of the manor is used for national roads, and the mansion in the past can be seen from our current car. In a hundred years In the past, there seemed to be a street in Martink Manor, with many black slave cottages lined up. Now, all this is unimaginable."

Richard Alexon said, bringing the lighter closer to the cigar he was smoking: "Can you?" This is to ask, in fact, he has the cigar in his mouth, and the lighter is about one centimeter in front of the cigar. "I don't approve of you doing it, but if you really like smoking, then go ahead." "I'm so sorry. I can't live without this Figaro. My lungs are so healthy that even Dr. Trani won't ban me from smoking. Even so, I feel the virtue of Japanese women's forbearance. You are already a I’m a famous person, but I’m really touched that you can still do this. Therefore, the semiconductors produced in your country can be famous all over the world. For my company, your country’s products are indeed a huge threat!” Richard He exhaled white smoke out of the window, "Those simple dwellings of Africans are lined up, but that is not the main street, the carriageway is from the gate to the porch made of Greek-style stone pillars. Now the spacious mansion is withered , the stone pillars are covered with ivy. This is a corpse, the corpse of a civilization."

"What happened to the descendants of this family?" "Their family has no offspring, because of one incident, all offspring were cut off." "Because of what?" "That's a long story. Nick, drive! ". . . Yes, it's known to all women and children in this part of the country. Simply put, a white woman gave birth to a negro baby. The young husband was so enraged that he threw the negro lover into the boiling water to be boiled to death. See you, the slave foreman. The situation wanted to stop it, but the two sides fought. "In the end, the slave foreman grabbed the gun from the young master who was shooting everywhere, and killed the old master and the young master. The slaves following the foreman also joined forces to kill several white bodyguards at the same time. Of course, the nearby guards would not allow this to happen. This kind of thing captured rioting slaves and tortured them to death. How cruel!"

"What to do with the baby?" "The black slave baby was killed at the moment of birth, and the young wife disappeared completely. The Martink family just disappeared. The indescribable splendor and wealth of a family, now only ruins remain." "Are mixed-race babies always killed? I've always wondered, can't mixed-race white and black babies be born? Nothing I've read says anything about that." "The ones who were killed were black babies born to white wives. If it was the other way around, things would be different," Richard sneered, "that is to say, black female slaves can give birth to white babies."

"Isn't that still giving birth to a half-breed child?" "Miss Ling Wangnai, the key is not the question of whether to give birth or not. It is very difficult to find a black woman who is a little bit more attractive and not pregnant." "Whose child is it?" "Of course the children of their white masters. In fact, as soon as the white masters bought slave girls, they basically raped them." Ling Wangnai sighed: "It's unbelievable." "Yeah, it's not a glorious thing." "Then are all such children born?" "It was born."

"Then, also on the farm, that is, growing up on their father's farm?" "No, they were all sold elsewhere." "And what about the nigger mother?" "The mother is also sold. Because the white master who impregnates the black slave mainly considers the feelings of his white wife. And the child is sold because he does not want to enslave his own flesh and blood in his own manor. When the white child whips They don't want to sit on the sidelines while they're their own half-brother." "It's too cruel, too cruel." Ling Wangnai said contemptuously.

"This kind of thing was common here a hundred years ago. Since the French place name of New Orleans was used and it was ruled by France, the streets here are full of black slaves. Young men here can say how much they want to find young obedient black women That's how many, and they seem to have a hard time getting them married to white women, and they don't know what to do with proud white women. Don't Japan have any slave stories?" "No." "No matter which country's civilization, it is impossible for slaves to never exist, Miss Ling Wangnai."

"There were no slaves in Japan." "Miss Ling Wangnai, I don't believe this at all. You'd better read the history textbook carefully." "There is no such tragic thing in Japan. This is an insult to women. As you just said, Japan resisted the temptation to use slaves in exchange for self-enjoyment, and then produced excellent semiconductors." "In the final analysis, wouldn't I become a slave?" "I don't think so." "Okay, Miss Ling Wangnai, it's really inappropriate to talk to a beautiful person like you. Let's change the subject. How about the crystal pyramid in Cape Evil? Do you still like it?"

"Of course it's much more satisfying than the ruins of Martink's house and the slave market." Richard Alexon smiled: "It's better not to be so full of complaints. It's my honor that people like you are interested." "It is indeed a very precious building, full of poetry. The glass bathed in the setting sun is shining, the smell of sea water, the small fish left in the puddle after low tide, and the buoy clock that shakes with the waves occasionally rings... All of these, Even in winter, it feels infinitely warm and becomes a requiem for the painful past.”

"By the way, I remembered! You were a poet before you became a star, and the words that come out of your lips are much more beautiful than the scenery of Cape Villain. But...you seem to hate slaves?" "That's not the case. Didn't you just say that after the slaves were emancipated, it was very common for whites to marry blacks." "right." "White husbands marrying black wives are often tolerated, but in cases where white wives marry black husbands, blacks may be lynched." "Yeah, it's a delicate question." "subtle?"

"How should I put it, everyone will think that women in this situation are flirtatious. What do you think?" "I don't think so. It's just slavery . Richard threw the cigar out of the window, seemed to be listening intently to Ling Wang Nai's speech, and kept staring at her with lustful eyes.Ling Wangnai raised her chin and made a proud side face. "Who built that pyramid?" "It was built by my brother, Poul Alexon." "I hear he seems to be an artist." "That kid!" Richard vented, "If artists are a little crazy, from this point of view, he is qualified. What a weirdo, annoying, and lack of coordination..." "Ah, I like this type of people." Ling Wang Nai smiled and turned to look at Richard and said. "That's a pity. There's no trace of him, whether it's Cape Wicked or Philadelphia. This happened two years ago, and some people say that he went to Egypt, and he may have died." "I heard that he is a scholar?" "He was initially a genius of the Alexon family, but then he gradually fell behind. After graduating from high school in England, he deviated from his father's order to study chemistry or economics, and stayed in the archeology laboratory at Harvard. " "He's an emotional person." "It's just a paranoid and focused personality. Are you the same?" "I'm not paranoid, but I do want to be famous." "How do you feel about your current situation?" "I feel like a dancer in a nightclub. I really want to step on the formal stage as soon as possible." "My brother is not like this. He was fascinated by the pyramids, vowed to solve the mystery of the pyramids, and the documents have never left his hand. The research materials on the pyramids in Britain and France are very detailed, so he went to Europe and Egypt. After losing contact , He suddenly came back again, and built such a pyramid at the Cape of the Wicked Woman. The inheritance assigned to him happened to be in hand at that time." "Why did your brother build the pyramids?" "He didn't say it in detail, he just said that for the experiment..." "Experiment? What experiment?" "I don't know, we ordinary people don't understand. But his pyramid is a replica of the exact same size as the pyramid of Giza in Egypt. Also, he said latitude and longitude. I only heard about these from my brother , Our relationship was not very close.” "The inside of the pyramid is empty and the ground is covered with sand. Why do you do that?" "I do not know." "What is the cylindrical building next to the pyramid?" "I can't tell what the madman is thinking. But if there is only a big and stupid place like a garage in the pyramid, there is not even a place to sleep, so let's build another place to sleep next to it." Ling Wang Nai fell into deep thought.We are approaching the villain cape, and the people outside the car window are gradually thinning out. "Are you interested in architecture?" "Of course, I wanted to be an architect, but that's not possible now." "But what about being the wife of an architect?" "Is that so..." Ling Wangnai was thinking, "I still can't do it, it's better for me to do it myself." "An industrialist can also direct the construction of a building according to his preferences. If he is such a person's wife, he can design the building by himself." To Richard's words, Ling Wang Nai didn't answer anything. "How's the shoot going? Has it started yet?" the industrialist changed the subject. "We're still in the early stages of preparation, and we haven't shot a single inch of film yet." "It is said to be an Egyptian story?" "It's a fantasy film, the location is America, and the time is modern. You know the famous opera "Aida", right? It can be said to be its modern version, and the name is "Aida 1987." "What's the plot of the story? Can you reveal something? Isn't this also a commercial secret?" "It's no secret. The storyline itself is very protracted. Do you know the story of Aida?" "I've seen the stage play before, but the story line has long since been forgotten." "The plot of the movie is a tragedy of love between an air force hero of the Vietnam War and the daughter of a leader of the Vietnam Army, accompanied by fantasy-style music." "You play the daughter of the leader of the Vietnamese army?" "Yes. When 'I' was studying in the United States, the Vietnam War broke out and I was monitored by the CIA. But my former lover has become a pilot of the Air Force. With the help of his elders, he got engaged to the daughter of a political strongman..." "Is that your rival in love?" "Right. 'We' were all sure the war would end soon, but it didn't, America got stuck in Vietnam, 'his' plane was shot down and he was captured by the Vietnamese. That's the story." "It seems that Egypt and the pyramids didn't appear in the movie at all?" "The purpose of 'I' studying abroad is to learn ballet and jazz dance. When the graduation ceremony was approaching, 'I' adapted and performed the opera "Aida" in a modern style. The performance was jazz dance, and the music was mixed music. I wanted to For this movie, I learned dance specially. I have been taking dance lessons since January this year. "Because 'I' is from an enemy country, I was always harassed by the right wing, and 'my' competitors often came to make trouble. But 'I' still bravely played the leading role. When the curtain opened, the show began Everything on the stage was weird. The ancient Egyptian characters were all dressed up in modern American clothes related to the protagonist. It’s just such a fantasy story, do you understand it?” "It seems very interesting. Be sure to invite me to watch it when the movie is released in the future." "The producers should be happy to invite you, but I don't know if the industrialists are willing to honor it." "A bland industrialist like me craves fantasy." Richard opened the car window and leaned out half of his face to look up at the sky. "The wind is warm and there could be a heavy rain. If you don't hurry, you could have a hurricane." "I was called out early because it was going to rain. We needed storm scenes." "Crazy archaeologists building pyramids in the southern United States, massive hurricanes hitting ... it's a real drama." "We are also looking forward to such a picture." "It will be released next spring?" "right." "Will it be the hottest movie of 1987?" "I hope so." The driver drove the car back to Philadelphia first, while Ling Wangnai and Richard Alexon walked to the Egyptian island of Cape Villain.The clouds became more and more strange. Although it was only four o'clock in the afternoon, the sky was already as dark as before sunset.The weeds growing in the crevices of the rocky beach were also shivering in the evening wind. The sound of the wind in the gloom was like the roar of the gods, and as soon as I approached the sea, I heard the buoy bell ringing non-stop. "Is that bell over there a buoy bell?" The sea breeze blowing in front of her was getting stronger and stronger, Ling Wangnai stroking her hair that was blown away by the wind, and shouted to ask. "Yes, a buoy bell at sea. It rings whenever there is a wave." Richard took out his handkerchief and wiped his sweat. "Who did it?" "I'm afraid my brother made it and put it in the sea." "What kind of structure is it?" "In fact, the structure of this thing is very simple. A bell is installed directly above the buoy, and four heavy hammers are hung around it. If the buoy does not shake, the weight cannot touch the bell. When the buoy shakes with the waves, the weight Then the hammer began to strike the bell. When the sea is rough, the sound of the bell is rapid and powerful. In this way, the approximate height of the waves on the sea surface can be judged. Now that the buoy bell is ringing so loudly, it can be seen that a big storm is about to break out on the sea...Look what!" Richard Alexon stepped onto a high platform overlooking the sea, with his right arm spread out, pointing to the sea.Under the cloudy sky, Ling Wangnai saw the rough sea.The white waves fluctuated up and down, and the strong wind blew, and the top of the waves suddenly turned into flying foam.On this roaring sea, there is only one place where the sun still shines. That is the Egyptian island standing at the end of the path extending along the rocky beach. You can see the glass pyramids and white circular towers, which are being washed by the waves from time to time. It was high tide, and around the crystal pyramids and circular towers, the spray was like white smoke rising from the sea. The same is true under the "Nihonbashi".The sea water made a terrible sound, the white waves rolled up and down, and the sea water rushing up to the bridge head splashed high with a frightening momentum, and then fell heavily.Those who approached here couldn't help but feel a little fear in their hearts, and they didn't dare to stop. On the sea near the island of Egypt, buoy bells that appear and disappear from time to time ride the rapids, and the shocking bells echo on the sea like calling for help.Ling Wangnai looked at the lonely buoy clock and couldn't help feeling pity in his heart. "When will filming start?" "I heard it will start tomorrow. It may also be tonight. It depends on the preparations, the director and the weather." Richard nodded frequently. "It's really hard work, even harder than the work of us industrialists." The boss of one of the few arms industry in the United States said. The closer you get to the island, the louder and more terrifying the sound of the bells and waves becomes.As if playing a game of jumping rope, the two saw the gap between the waves rising into the sky, and ran across the Japanese bridge one after another.Ling Wangnai's linen trousers and sandals were soaked. She trotted to the gate on the east side of the pyramid and knocked on the gate. After Ling Wangnai tapped, the door didn't mean to open at all, so Richard raised his fist and slammed the door.However, there were fierce waves all around, and the sound of beating the door was also very weak, and it was hard to hear it if you didn't listen carefully. The area around the pyramid is deserted and deserted, it doesn't look like a Hollywood location with a lot of fanfare.The violent wind in the sky and the waves that kept beating against the island were rumbling like the end of the world.The buoy clock also made hysterical noises, which disturbed Ling Wangnai.Rejected by the pyramid, she even had a frightening fantasy—in order to calm the anger of the sea god, she would be sacrificed as a living sacrifice. Looking up at the sky, the thick clouds are getting lower and lower.It was like announcing the arrival of a storm. There was noise everywhere, but not a single drop of rain fell. The door seems to be opening.Someone behind the door was indeed turning the latch.Ling Wang Nai's tense mood was finally relieved. Only one of the two doors slowly opened inward, and an incredible scene appeared in front of the two of them.The first thing that catches the eye is the vast sandy land like a desert, and inside the pyramid is a vast space like an indoor stadium. The sand grains glowed golden in the bright light.Across the sand stood a shrine of ivory-coloured stone. There are two huge stone statues on the left and right sides of the temple. They sit on chairs with their knees slightly apart.In the middle of the stone statue is a stone stage supported by two huge columns.The stone statue wore a strange helmet with two ears exposed, and its two big eyes looked down at the two people who came in. The temple seems to be carved out bit by bit according to the shape of the natural mountain, and finally formed this shape.The bases of the two columns and the stone statues are densely engraved with hieroglyphs.In the middle of the column, there is a rectangular entrance leading to the black hole inside the temple. The two stepped onto the sand and walked towards the temple. The inner wall of the pyramid surrounding the artificial desert is a steep cliff formed by uneven stone walls.The rock stretching up into the sky protruded overhead as if covering the person standing on the sand.The middle part seemed to fall from overhead, crushing people on the sand.Just below the cliff, opposite the two, a solemn temple was built.To match the ivory exterior of the temple, the rocks were dark brown rather than gray. From this point of view, the inside of the pyramid is actually a huge cave, and the sand is the wide bottom of this suffocating huge cave. Behind the two of them, the huge wooden door creaked and slowly closed.The pair of gates still reveal the white wood grain, which looks brand new. As soon as the door was closed tightly, the sound of the surging waves and strong sea wind disappeared immediately, and the two of them seemed to have come to another world.There was no wind, and the heat from the lamps warmed the sand.Like a gust of wind through a time tunnel, the two seem to be standing somewhere in Egypt. Behind the two of them closing the door were three men in suits.They gave Richard Alexon a deep salute. "Gentlemen, what do you think of the Hollywood crew who came to our house?" In order to get along with Ling Wangnai, the industrialist specially left three of his bodyguards on the Egyptian island.At this point he was joking with the bodyguard. On the sandy ground, next to the surrounding stone walls, is a high platform made of iron pipes, on which countless electric lights are installed.So the inside of the entire pyramid is like an indoor baseball field.Computer consoles are piled up randomly on the sandy ground. With the manipulation of a man's fingers, countless lights are like a well-trained army, shaking their beams from right to left.Like the sun at noon, it sequentially illuminates the rock wall above, the temple on the front and the stage among the stone statues. Richard Alexon stood on the sand, looking up.The uneven rock wall almost covers most of the top of the head, and there are two parallel cracks on it, forming a gentle arc.Through the cracks, you can see the slanted iron frame and the glass embedded in it, as well as the sky that is darkening in an instant—the storm is coming.In clear weather, when a large number of lighting equipment have not been moved in, the sun always shines on the dark sandy ground through two parallel cracks in the rock wall. "There are so many people working here?" On the sandy ground, on the high platform made of iron pipes, there are busy workers everywhere. Richard sighed to Ling Wangnai, "It's completely like a factory." "That's nothing. What's here today is just the minimum number of workers needed for the location. By the time the actual shooting, there will be many times more people than there are now. But you're right, this is a dream made of film workshop." "Oh, isn't this Ling Wangnai? You're back? We're worried without bodyguards." A man in a light brown deerskin jacket and black-rimmed glasses walked over and said with a smile. "Yes." Ling Wangnai responded.The staff on the sand and the iron frame stopped working and looked at the heroine. "Your lounge is behind the temple, but the trailer can't drive to this place, so it's a bit shabby. Mr. Alexon, how about it? Be a tour guide for the hottest movie star in the United States." Director Avi Tefler asked Richard Alexon's right hand. "It's really a once-in-a-century opportunity. It seems to have directly touched the history of American movies. I really envy you." "Where! There are too many troubles in doing this kind of work. I am willing to switch places with you anytime." The director winked at Ling Wang Nai as if asking her to agree. "How about this group of temple sets?" "It's so beautiful. It's like bringing heaven here. Even the doors are newly made. You won't tear down the doors and bring them back to Hollywood after filming, will you?" "Don't worry, we'll leave it as it is. But it's beautiful here, more stunning than any designer could have ever dreamed up, just like our movie. There's something like this on the screen. Buildings, no one would think that this is actually a real scene, right? This is just a world imagined by the heroine, so these buildings themselves are fantasy." "It's a great honor to be loved by the number one music and film director in Hollywood. If the leading lady can also like this place, then I'll be even happier!" "Of course I like it. This is the first time I have encountered such a beautiful set in my acting career!" "The chef of our film crew is already preparing a simple dinner, and the meal time is at seven o'clock. You can visit our work here, or you can go back to your own room in the circular tower to rest." "I would rather chat with the heroine here." "I'm a little tired. Director, are you going to start shooting tonight?" "If the wind and rain outside are getting stronger and stronger, and you still want to, I would like to shoot scene No. 123, which is the shot of you flying here from the wind and rain outside. According to the news from the weather station, The storm from this hurricane is over tonight. God waits for no one." "Mr. Alexon, as you heard, I have to read the lines of the script, adjust my posture, and make up now. I'll see you at dinner." "What cold words! But as a bystander, I have no choice but to retreat. I will stay here for a while, and then go back to the room in the circular tower." "Then see you at dinner!" "Dinner is on the sand, and there are tables in front of the temple over there. Please go ahead!" Director Tefula finished speaking to the industrialist, put his hands on Ling Wangnai's back, and walked side by side with her towards the temple.