Volume 5: The Age of Storms Chapter 0725 New Connections
"Hi."
"Hi, did you have a good trip?"
"Very pleasantly, and you?"
"Same, I'm very happy too. Today's sunshine is nice, it's a good day for drinking coffee."
"uh-huh."
After dealing with an enthusiastic foreigner, Nan Yi sat down at a table with Zhou Lilin and Liu Zhi. He waved over a waiter and took a look at the menu. "Fortunately, there is English. If it was Hindi, I wouldn't be able to help. Sister Zhou, Brother Liu, what would you like to drink?"
Nan Yi only asked and did not hand out the menu.
As far as he knew, although Zhou Lilin had just obtained a double master's degree, her degree was actually quite good. Her college entrance examination score was not worth mentioning. She attended a night college for employees in the electric power system. Her master's degree was quite prestigious, as her school was right next to Peking University. However, he heard that there was something behind her getting the diploma, so her English level must be quite poor.
As for Liu Zhi, Nan Yi didn't know much about him, so he decided to just forget it to be safe, so as not to be called a bald donkey in front of the monk.
"Nan Yi, are the things here clean?" Zhou Lilin looked around and asked with lingering fear.
It seems that Zhou Lilin has been tricked.
"We can't drink the Ganges water here, so it shouldn't be a problem." Nan Yi said lightly, holding back his smile.
"Then I'll have Lassi, it's delicious. How about you, Lao Liu?"
"Same as you." Liu Zhi replied to Zhou Lilin, and then said to Nan Yi: "Nan Yi, we all want Laxi."
"OK."
Nan Yi responded and whispered a few words to the waiter.
"Nan Yi, how long will you stay in Jodhpur?" Zhou Lilin asked hurriedly as soon as the waiter left.
"According to my original schedule, I have to leave for Mumbai after noon tomorrow. Sister Zhou, where are you coming from, Delhi or Mumbai?"
" No , we were in transit from Pakistan. We just arrived this morning and wandered around the city before coming here."
Nan Yi was troubled. "Do you have any travel plans in India?"
"No, we still have eight days. We can go as many places as we can. We'll go wherever we can."
"Since you don't have any plans, why don't you continue sightseeing in the afternoon and come back to Mumbai with me tomorrow at noon? According to your time budget, when you arrive in Mumbai, you can visit the attractions around Mumbai, or go to Delhi and Varanasi. Leave Delhi for last and fly back directly after you're done."
"Mumbai is your point in India?" Zhou Lilin asked.
"I guess so. I have a company and a place to live in Mumbai. Sister Zhou, you can stay at my place in Mumbai."
"You are awesome. You don't stay in the country but travel all over the world."
"Haha, I have no choice. My second job is in Xiangkeng, and I meet Hong Kong and foreign businessmen. Sister Zhou, you see how pretty I am. A foreign businessman took a fancy to me and cried for me to be his manager. He offered me 200,000 yuan a year. I saw that he valued me so much, so I hesitated for a while agreed. As for Meiko, to be honest, I don't care at all."
"Hahaha, everyone says you are shameless, but it turns out you were not lying. Two hundred thousand dollars, you say you don't care?" Zhou Lilin laughed.
"Nan Yi, didn't you go to Xiangkeng in your senior year? Why do you say it's your second job?" Liu Zhi asked.
"That's right. My first job was at Peking University. As a college student and cadre, my years of service were also counted as such. So of course it was work."
"Old Liu, being a college student does count as having a job. What Nan Yi said is correct."
It can be seen that between Zhou Lilin and Liu Zhi, Zhou Lilin occupies a dominant position and performs more strongly.
"Nan Yi, what business are you doing in India?"
"Agricultural products, guar beans."
"What kind of beans are guar beans? Does it have any other names?" Zhou Lilin asked curiously.
"Also called Guanhua beans, this kind of beans is not grown much in our country. In the 1920s, some people in Yunnan Province planted it as a novelty. It was not until more than ten years ago that galactomannan gum was used in our country, and then guar bean cultivation began to be promoted in several regions.
From a chemical perspective, the molecular formula of guar beans is galactomannan, a polysaccharide composed of the sugars galactose and mannose. It can be used medically to suppress blood sugar, lower cholesterol, and also facilitate bowel movements.”
"It's not for eating, it's for making medicine?"
"Not only that, guar beans cannot be used as a staple food, but they can be used as food additives. They can also be added as food ingredients to ice cream, Japanese confectionery, instant noodles and many other foods. The scope of application is quite wide. I come here to buy guar beans just to use them in the food field."
Regarding guar beans, Nan Yi has some reservations. Guar gum made from guar beans is actually mostly used in the industrial field, especially in drilling platforms. The consumption of guar gum is huge. It is used as a control agent to facilitate drilling and prevent fluid loss.
Once the price of guar beans skyrocket, the cost of drilling platforms will also skyrocket, which will cause regional oil prices to rise to a certain extent and may easily lead to the bankruptcy of some oil companies.
"Nan Yi, are you still in the food business?"
"Brother Liu, it's not that. My main business is the food business, and other businesses are just ancillary."
"Your business is really big, but such a big business as Yaqing Company is just a side business?" Zhou Lilin teased.
"Sister Zhou, please stop making fun of me. I am just a well-paid worker at Yaqing Company. My grandmother does have some shares, but to be honest, my grandmother is my grandmother and I am me. I can take care of her, but the Fang Group is named Fang."
"Haha, no matter what her last name is, Grandma Fang is still your grandma."
"That's right, I am my grandma's beloved grandson." Nan Yi said with a proud look on his face.
At this time, the waiter just brought the drinks over, and after he interrupted, Nan Yi and the other two changed the topic.
"Nan Yi, Xiao Lin and I came to India this time and wanted to visit the Great Leiyin Temple, but I looked through the travel brochure for a long time and didn't see any introduction to the Great Leiyin Temple. Do you know where it is?"
"Brother Liu, are you talking about the Great Leiyin Temple in Journey to the West?"
"Yes, I know it is fiction, but there must be some truth in the story of Xuanzang's journey to the West to obtain Buddhist scriptures, right?" Liu Zhi said.
"Yes, there was. The temple where Xuanzang went to seek Buddhist scriptures was called Nalanda Monastery. It seemed like a Buddhist university. There were many lecturers there who gave lectures to monks who went there to seek Buddhist scriptures. Xuanzang said that he went there to seek Buddhist scriptures, but in fact, he went there to study.
More than 800 years ago, the Turkic army invaded ancient India, and the Nalanda Temple was burned down. The monks inside were also dismissed. From that time on, Buddhism declined in India and was replaced by Hinduism. "
"Burned? That's such a pity, we won't be able to see it anymore." Zhou Lilin said regretfully.
Nan Yi vaguely heard people say that Zhou Lilin believed in Buddhism, but he didn't know which school of Buddhism she believed in.
"You can still see it. The ruins were discovered more than a hundred years ago in Bihar. Now it has become a ruins park. There is an entrance fee. There is also a Xuanzang Memorial Hall inside, which was built with money from our country."
Zhou Lilin said: "How come I don't know about this?"
"It happened a long time ago, in the 1950s. I forgot the exact year, but I heard a staff member of Sarnath in Varanasi mention it last time. I didn't take it seriously."
"No wonder, Nan Yi, do you think Nalanda Temple is still worth visiting?"
"I don't know. I haven't been there, and I haven't even seen photos of it, so I can't give you any advice. When I get back to Mumbai, I'll find some photos to show you first, and you can make your own decision."
"Well, it's a rare trip here, it's worth going, so I want to go."
"Sister Zhou, do you believe in Buddhism?"
"I believe in Tibetan Buddhism." Zhou Lilin said devoutly.
"No wonder." Nan Yi nodded and said to Liu Zhi, "Brother Liu, do you also believe in Buddhism?"
Liu Zhi waved his hand. "I don't believe it. I just watched Journey to the West and became curious about India. I came to India mainly to accompany Xiaolin. But I heard that there is a monkey god in India who might be the prototype of Sun Wukong. I'm very interested in going to see it."
"As for the prototype of Sun Wukong, I tend to agree with Lu Xun's statement that it should be Wuzhiqi, the mythical beast of the Huaiwo water god during the period when Dayu controlled the floods."
"No, no, Wuzhiqi should be just one of the prototypes. When Wu Chengen wrote Journey to the West, he referred to The Great Tang Records on the Western Regions written by Bian Ji. That book was dictated by Xuanzang, and it mentioned Hanuman."
"Brother Liu, if you want to say that Sun Wukong and Hanuman are related, then they are indeed related. According to the Indian version, Hanuman can fly on clouds and mist, and he once subdued demons. Moreover, Hanuman's weapon is called the Tiger-headed Ruyi Golden Stick.
However, this name cannot be counted. It was translated during the Republic of China, and it was translated by a cultural person who agreed that Hanuman was the prototype of Sun Wukong. It may have been intentional.
Besides, Hanuman also knew the art of transformation. In the fifth chapter of Ramayana, called "The Wonderful Chapter", there is a story about Hanuman jumping over the sea to Lanka, transforming into a cat, sneaking into the city and looking around.
I haven't read "A Record of the Western Regions in the Great Tang Dynasty", so I don't know what it says, but Brother Liu, Hanuman is a Hindu god. Buddhism and Hinduism are mortal enemies. Xuanzang would not praise his mortal enemy, right?"
"Well..." Liu Zhi was embarrassed for a moment, and said, "Actually, I haven't read The Great Tang Records on the Western Regions either. I heard about it from others, so it's hard to say whether it's true or not. But Xuanzang is a master after all, so he must be generous."
"Xuanzang was magnanimous, but Bianji was not necessarily so magnanimous. He was beheaded by Li Shimin for having an affair with a princess."
"Hey, what are you two arguing about? When you return to China, find a copy of The Great Tang Records on the Western Regions and you'll know what it says."
Seeing that Liu Zhi and Nan Yi were arguing enthusiastically, Zhou Lilin quickly jumped out to interrupt them.
"Yes, Sister Zhou is right. You will know after you take a look. Brother Liu, whether Hanuman is the prototype of Sun Wukong or not, you can go and see it if you want. Its statue is in the suburbs of Delhi, and it is very convenient to get there."
"I will definitely go if I have time." Liu Zhi said, turning his head to look around, then turned back to look at Nan Yi and asked, "Can I smoke here?"
"It's better not to smoke. This is a tourist attraction and private property. There are foreigners around. Sister Zhou, have you guys visited everything? If you have, shall we go down the mountain?"
"I've looked everywhere, Nan Yi, what about you?"
Zhou Lilin naturally understood why Nan Yi asked this. Since others were taking care of her fiancé's needs, she naturally had to take care of other people's feelings as well.
"I don't care. I've never been interested in tourist attractions. If it wasn't arranged by the other party, I wouldn't come here."
Nan Yi said this and waved to call the waiter over.
After the account was settled, the three of them walked down the mountain. When they reached halfway up the mountain, Liu Zhi put the cigarette in his mouth.
"It's strange, the more I can't smoke in a place, the more I want to smoke." After taking two puffs and satisfying my craving, Liu Zhi said with emotion.
"That's normal. I used to be like that too."
"Nan Yi, how did you quit smoking?" Zhou Lilin asked curiously.
Nan Yi glanced at Liu Zhi and caught a glimpse of pain on his face. "Liu Zhen said that my cigarettes stink too much and she insisted that I quit. If I didn't quit, she wouldn't let me have sex with her. I had no choice but to quit."
After saying that, Nan Yi muttered in his heart: "Brother Liu, I can only help you up to this point."
"Hahaha, Nan Yi, you talk so funny."
Zhou Lilin burst into laughter.
