Chapter 2816 Besties

Zahra did not have to wait long. Soon a rickshaw—a common sight throughout East Gate Market—came speeding toward her, carrying a petite figure. The passenger who alighted was none other than Sonya, the former naturalist from Lisbon who had become the maid with the greatest freedom and influence in all of Lingao. Sonya wore an outfit unlike anything Zahra had seen before: a short cross-collared jacket similar to a Senator's, but tailored at the waist. Instead of a skirt, she wore trousers, and on her feet were peculiar ankle-high shoes. Yet her signature straw hat, tilted rakishly with its silk ribbon, remained the same as always. Most importantly, those trademark blue eyes still shone as brightly as the Persian girl remembered.

Zahra and Sonya had first met in the Basra slave market. Since both were prized as rare, top-quality merchandise, they had changed hands several times before ending up belonging to the same slavemaster. The sources of slaves in Basra were varied: most were prisoners of war and civilians abducted during the endless conflicts that plagued the region; others were freemen who had fallen into bondage through debt or misfortune. Pirate booty like Sonya and political casualties like Zahra were comparatively rare.

Originally, though held in the same slave pen, the two had kept to themselves. They were of different races, to say nothing of different faiths. It seemed they would have nothing in common. Yet the Englishman serving Lingao became their unexpected bond. When Quake Qiong personally led his massive buying spree through Basra, he inevitably dealt with their slavemaster. While Quake was making his selections, Sonya sensed her opportunity and asked him for help in English.

Though Quake was half her countryman, what mattered more to him than compatriots was making money. Their slavemaster immediately recognized that Sonya could "fetch a good price" and spared no expense to purchase her.

Sonya did not get her wish to escape slavery, but at least she left that hellish slave market behind.

It was precisely this incident that made Zahra realize she and Sonya shared a common language—English. In truth, half of Zahra's proficiency in the language was thanks to Sonya. Though raised in Lisbon, Sonya's mother had been English nobility, making English her pure mother tongue. Compared to Zahra, who had learned from books and half-competent translators, the difference was night and day.

Though England had not yet achieved the lofty scientific status it would attain after Newton's emergence, its scientific community had already begun making its mark. The most prominent example was Bacon, who proclaimed that "knowledge is power," and Harvey, who had recently published his groundbreaking work proposing the theory of blood circulation. Bacon's influence was especially significant—his empiricism, with its emphasis on careful observation of natural phenomena, had played a crucial role in shaping Sonya's worldview and aspirations. She had never abandoned English.

It was in that stuffy, rocking ship's hold, through constant conversation with Sonya, that Zahra truly learned to speak English. By the same token, compared to Sonya—born by the sea and raised on ships as the daughter of a seafaring family—the pampered princess Zahra had far less endurance for the voyage. During the journey, she fell ill with fever, vomiting, and fainting more than once. Without Sonya's careful nursing and attention, she might never have made it ashore alive.

Leaping from the rickshaw, Sonya embraced the Persian girl walking toward her and kissed her cheeks.

"You look wonderful!" Sonya said sincerely. "It's been so long since we last met!"

Though their New Speech was now good enough for conversation, at this moment they still habitually spoke English.

Zahra returned a flurry of kisses. "Dressed so strangely—where did you run off to this time?" She suddenly noticed the curls peeking out from under her friend's hat and asked in surprise, "You cut your hair?!"

"Yes, cut it short," Sonya said indifferently. "Long hair is inconvenient for field expeditions."

"Such beautiful hair!" Zahra said, half regretful, half teasing. "Your master won't like it..."

Two fashionably dressed foreign girls pushing and jostling each other on the street inevitably drew glances from passersby. Fortunately, the locals knew these were the darlings of the Senators, so no one bothered them.

"I just got back from an expedition with the Long-Range Survey Team. Only returned a few days ago." Sonya had recently participated in the Nanyang Company's survey of Ceylon. However, all surveys of the Southeast Asian region were currently conducted in secret under the guise of trade, so she could only say "Long-Range Survey Team" without revealing the specific destination.

"Going to sea, always going to sea! Aren't you afraid of being captured by Malay pirates?!" Zahra's heart pounded at the words "going to sea." In Basra, she had witnessed too many tragic men and women who had been captured during voyages and sold into slavery.

"Malay pirates?" Sonya beamed. "We captured a few ourselves this time. On the ship, I carefully studied their language and racial characteristics..."

"Three sentences in and you're already back to that..." Zahra was a bit displeased. "How is the child?"

"Very well," Sonya nodded repeatedly. "It's just that she didn't quite recognize me at first. Took her a while to remember I'm Mama." Here her expression grew somewhat rueful.

"You're a mother now. You really ought to cut down on your wild expeditions. Isn't being a museum researcher nice? It's respectable, and you still get to do your naturalism..."

"Since I'm a researcher, I have to do field expeditions." Sonya's expression was complicated. "Let's not talk about this. Today, let's just have some fun."

Just as they were about to set off on their happy shopping spree, a crisp voice called out from nearby: "Would you ladies like some Australian popsicles?"

Turning, they saw a boy of at most eleven or twelve, his face dotted with freckles, wearing a white vest with a large red flower painted on it. The bag on his shoulder held a bulky insulated container, and in his hand was a stack of papers. The girls recognized him as a vendor of Australian iced treats. Sonya generously handed over a twenty-wen circulation voucher. "Two mung bean popsicles. Keep the change."

A mung bean popsicle cost five wen; two came to only ten. This foreign girl had tipped ten wen all at once. The boy's spirits soared. So what the old-timers said was true—these strangely dressed foreign girls were nine times out of ten Senators' concubines. They were the most generous customers and loved all sorts of novel things. Making money off them was the easiest.

While accepting the money, he continued his pitch: "Ladies, I also have the latest Australian ice cream. The newest product from Tianshan Cold Drinks Factory. Delicious and thirst-quenching. Twenty wen each. Would you like to try?"

Sonya was someone who loved trying new things, so she agreed at once. The boy happily used long tongs to fish out two vanilla ice creams. Unlike the bare popsicles, the ice cream came wrapped in soft white paper—clearly a higher-class product.

He filled a woven straw carrying bag with ice and nestled the ice cream inside. This simple insulation measure would keep the treats from melting for about half an hour.

Before leaving, the boy slipped them a piece of paper, explaining it was a discount coupon for a newly opened Australian restaurant with promotional pricing. The paper was not large; it bore pictures and slogans in what was clearly typical Australian printing. Sonya, who was closer to the Australians and could now basically read Chinese, read the text aloud to Zahra: "Originating in Tokyo, flourishing in Australia. Try a bit of joy—I'm lovin' it."

Sonya only half understood these words, but the picture in the center was clearer: several men and women gathered around a steaming plate, smiling and eating heartily. At the bottom, large characters proclaimed: "This month's special: Seafood Supreme Flatbread. Present this coupon for 2 yuan off per serving." The back was printed with a map—on the standard Bairen Transport and Tourism Map template, a prominent double-arch logo marked the location. It seemed not far from where they stood.

Engrossed in the novelty, the girls failed to notice that on the right side of the coupon was a row of small numbers matching those on the popsicle boy's vest. This was the Red Flower Society's newest venture—distributing flyer advertisements. The organization's original purpose had been solving basic livelihood issues for children from troubled families, to which they had later added a work-study element. Now, through partnerships with merchants, they distributed flyers and coupons. Each redeemed coupon earned the distributor a monthly commission, while also making them responsible for preventing the flyers from being carelessly discarded.

Since the restaurant was not far, it seemed an ideal place to sit and rest. The two had originally planned to find somewhere to sit and chat over food. Tempted by the flyer, they decided to walk over. They were currently standing adjacent to the Cooperative General Society's new building site, at the intersection of East Gate Avenue and a recently widened cross street. Because this street was nearly as wide as East Gate Avenue—much broader than the other parallel cross streets—commoners colloquially called it "Wide Street." On newly printed East Gate maps, however, the street's official name was "Baihui Street." Many assumed this meant "Gathering of a Hundred Trades," but in fact a certain Senator had borrowed from the old-timeline English name for "Wide Street"—Broadway.

In the not-too-distant future, the intersection of East Gate Avenue and Baihui Street would become a world-famous fashion crossroads, like Japan's Ginza or New York's Times Square in the old timeline, with countless tourists passing through. East Gate Avenue, together with the parallel streets of Guangming, Jiefang, Ziyou, and Fuxing, would come to be known as the Five Avenues. These, along with the cross streets of Baihui, Huaqiang, Chunxi, and Hanzheng, would form the brand-new city center.

(End of Chapter)