Chapter 7 Chapter two

My ears hurt sharply again, and I didn't even have time to look at the scenery under the porthole, so I could only chew my gum desperately.The Airbus was landing, making a huge roar, and when the plane taxied smoothly, I realized that I was already on the land of France. The flight from Shanghai to Paris took more than ten hours, crossed eight time zones on the earth, and flew over dozens of countries along the way, which made me exhausted.But think about it, in the era of the Crusades, Marco Polo traveled to China for several years, and now this time can only be regarded as a blink of an eye.

Due to the seven-hour time difference, I have adjusted my watch to French time. It is 7:30 pm GMT. Looking out of the porthole, Charles de Gaulle International Airport has been shrouded in night, and the tarmac is brightly lit. After getting off the plane, before I had time to express my excitement of stepping on Europa, I lined up dizzily, especially for me who went to the meeting alone.After going through complicated immigration procedures, I finally officially entered the French country. At the passenger exit, I looked around for a long time with my travel bag, and finally saw a Chinese face in the crowd——Yu Li.

Although I had agreed to pick me up at the airport, after all, it was what the ancients said, "meeting an old friend in a foreign country", and my heart suddenly became hot, and I waved to him bouncingly. In fact, during the Spring Festival a few months ago, he came back to China to play with me, but now he has changed again, the most notable thing is his hair, almost shaved bald, which makes his face more beautiful It looks mature, and I am really "tender" in comparison. Yu Li took my travel bag, his body was still so strong, and he didn't suffer at all among foreigners. A smirk appeared on the corner of his mouth and said, "I heard that you are very popular in China, why are you still the same?"

"Really? No matter how good you are, I can't beat you. Seeing that you travel in Europe every day, I have long envied you." Chatting away, we walked the long way through the crowded Charles de Gaulle airport, out of the concourse, and into the parking lot. It turned out that Yu Li came here by car, a small-displacement Renault car, but the French like this kind of sexy car, and it is pleasing to the eye in the parking lot. After getting in the car, Yu Li quickly drove out of the airport.The night on the outskirts of Paris is similar to that of Shanghai, and it takes more than half an hour to drive into the urban area.It is said that Paris is several times more beautiful at night than during the day. I looked around through the car window, but Yu Li explained it in one sentence: "Don't bother, you can't see the Eiffel (Eiffel) here."

This sentence finally made me give up, and the ten-hour flight also made me exhausted, so I simply curled up in the car with my eyes closed and rested.After driving for an unknown amount of time, the car finally stopped. I rubbed my eyes and looked around. They were all buildings in the 19th century, which looked a bit like Oxford in England. Yu Li took me out of the car, and it turned out that this was the University of Voltaire, located in the Latin Quarter on the left bank of the Seine, where many universities and cultural institutions in Paris gathered.As the name suggests, this university commemorates the great thinker Voltaire. It has a history of more than 150 years, and the surrounding buildings are all left over from the 19th century.Speaking of Voltaire, he has a close relationship with us Chinese. This 18th-century French thinker had a special liking for Chinese culture. He worshiped all ancient Chinese writing systems and believed that China is the object that European civilization needs to learn. Also adapted the Chinese opera "The Orphan of the Zhao Family".

Through a long corridor, we stepped into a restaurant-like place, and a little old man with gray hair was already waiting for me at the door.Yu Li immediately made an introduction, and it turned out that the old man was Professor Orleans. The professor is unusually short, wearing a well-fitting suit, and has curly gray hair. He shook hands with me enthusiastically, and was muttering something, so he almost leaned forward and kissed my face. Yu Li hurriedly translated: "The professor said that he wanted to see you in his dream, and asked if you brought the parchment?" In fact, I also knew in my heart that the professor dreamed of course not me, but a parchment scroll.I patted my travel bag and said, "It's here."

The professor obviously wanted to read the parchment right now, but he restrained himself immediately. After all, France is also a country of western etiquette, and it is inevitable to invite guests from afar to dinner first. Although French cuisine is well-known, it is really bland to my Chinese stomach.During the dinner, Professor Orleans talked eloquently, but Yu Li only translated a few sentences. He said that they were all polite words, and it didn't matter whether he listened to them or not. After the meal, the professor "revealed his true colors" and asked me for a parchment book.Although I was very sleepy at this time, my mind was still clear, and I immediately explained that the parchment book was not owned by me, but could only be considered as a loan to the professor for research, so I had to go through the formalities first.Yu Li said no problem, people often send cultural relics for appraisal, and there is a special agency in their university to handle them.

But the professor was still not reconciled and said that he had to take a look at the real thing first.I agreed to the professor's request and they took me to the history building.At this moment, this ancient building is almost empty, and the footsteps of several of us echoed in the dark night, which sounded eerie. In the office of Professor Orleans, I opened the travel bag. In the innermost interlayer, there is a tin box tightly wrapped with a towel.I slowly took out the tin box, the professor's eyes were straightened.Yu Li asked me not to open the box first. He and the professor looked at it carefully, nodded and said, "This tin box was made in France in the early 20th century. At that time, the upper class often used this kind of box to pack valuables."

Under Yu Li's gesture, I opened the tin box and carefully took out the parchment scroll.Although it took more than 10 hours of flight and traveled more than 10,000 kilometers, the parchment book was unscathed.I just wanted to unfold the parchment with my hands, but was stopped by the professor immediately. It turned out that the old man had already put on special gloves. Yu Li explained to me: "There are sweat and bacteria on human hands, which may damage the cultural relics; and there may also be ancient bacteria in the cultural relics, so try not to touch them with your hands."

Professor Orleans still held a magnifying glass in his hand, and he wanted to open the parchment himself.He was very careful in his actions, using standard archaeological procedures. First, he checked the outside of the parchment with a magnifying glass, then slowly lifted a corner, and checked it again with a magnifying glass. After confirming that the parchment would not be damaged, he slowly He unfolded the parchment. The words in the parchment book were finally exposed. Under the soft light that would not damage the cultural relics, the professor carefully looked at it with a magnifying glass, and Yu Li moved his head closer. They only looked at a short section, and then nodded one after another. .

At this time, I reminded them: "I'm sorry, after the procedures are completed tomorrow, you can study it carefully." After listening to Yu Li's translation, the professor nodded reluctantly, then carefully rolled up the parchment and put it back into the tin box.Then he told me that I must put the parchment away tonight, and there must be no mistakes. Then, Yu Li took me to my residence.When I got to the stairs, he didn't go down, but took me up another floor, and I immediately started to fight in my heart: "Yu Li, you won't arrange for me to live in this building, will you?" "I'm sorry, the school's visiting scholar dormitory is full, and only a few rooms are available on the top floor of the Department of History." Just as I was thinking about it, Yu Li had already taken me to the top floor.In a long corridor, a few will-o'-the-wisp lights are lit, and the wooden floor underfoot makes sounds from time to time, as if returning to Paris or London a hundred years ago. Yu Li's expression was a little embarrassed, and he said sorry to me several times, but I changed my mind, since it was already a free European tour, at least it would not be a loss if I stayed in a cheap hotel that didn't cost any money. At the innermost end of the corridor, Yu Li took out the key and opened a door. He handed the key to me and said, "Look, it's okay." After the light illuminated the room, I realized that the space inside was very large, at least 30 square meters, except for the big bed, tables and chairs, there were no other furniture, but there was a bathroom inside that could take a shower.The room looked very clean, and it was not in harmony with the outside environment. I'm afraid it had just been cleaned up. "Did you know that many famous people lived in the guest room on the top floor. It is said that the young Maupassant lived in your room when he first arrived in Paris." I laughed at myself: "It seems that I have to write an article after I return to China——"I Be Roommates with Maupassant"." "Everything is ready in the room, you can rest quickly, I will come to you tomorrow morning." After Yu Li left, I was alone looking at the spacious room, and outside the window was the night of Paris.The night at Voltaire University was unusually quiet, and there was hardly any light, only the outlines of a few buildings lurking in the darkness. Now Beijing time is the early morning of the 11th. I hurriedly called my home in Shanghai, and then I fell on the bed. Good night, Maupassant.