$95, Tianjin Sweet Chestnut
In 1865, Japan built the first railway in Changqi. During the Meiji Restoration, the construction and development of railways were changing with each passing day, and basically all cities in the country had laid rails and set up stations.
The next morning, the ambassador to Japan took them, the students studying in Japan, on the steam train.
They bought cheap seat tickets.
The carriage was crowded and messy, with all kinds of people. There were ronin, most of whom wore thick tweed kimonos, which were high-quality materials imported from England; there were artists carrying shamisen and some drums, and their high-toothed wooden clogs made a crisp echo on the hard iron floor; there were students, mostly teenagers, wearing black gusseted uniforms, holding books and reading; there were also businessmen in suits and leather shoes, but looking at their appearance, they were also relatively defeated, with only decent clothes left, otherwise they would not have fallen to the lower-class carriage...
There were some small conversations in my ears, and the carriage was not too noisy.
Maybe because he bought the ticket late, the students studying in Japan were disrupted. Bai Gui was assigned to another carriage. He did not sit with Wu Huaixian, Liu Mingda or other students studying in Japan. He had a book on the table in his hand, memorizing it silently and reading it with relish.
It was "History of Japan" written by Huang Zunxian, published in the 13th year of Guangxu.
Classical Chinese.
It was bought in Shanghai before leaving, and the smell of printing ink remained.
"Before the creation of heaven and earth, there was a god standing in Takamahara. He was called Tianguzhongshuzun, and Nigaohuangchanlingzun, who was the ancestor of creation..." Bai Gui memorized it silently in his heart. This tells the history of Japan.
If you want to understand the culture of a place, you must read history first.
He read a few pages, and a soft female voice came from the opposite side, very soft.
"Give me some Tianjin sweet chestnuts..."
This was said to the waiter on the train.
Bai Gui couldn't help but look up when he heard the familiar place name. He glanced at the girl opposite him. She was about sixteen or seventeen years old. She was good-looking and wrapped in a snow-white kimono. There was no excessive embroidery. The round quilted belt was a bit darker in color. The pattern was not very clear, but she was dressed to complement each other.
This train is Kyushu Railway Co., Ltd., a private enterprise.
Therefore, there are more hawking services.
Changqi County belongs to Kyushu Island.
The waiter quickly brought the sugar-roasted chestnuts. It was already October, the weather was getting colder, and it was the season for eating chestnuts. The sugar-roasted chestnuts were packed in a small paper bag.
The kimono girl ate the chestnuts, like a hamster, knocking the hard shell of the chestnut, biting out a small gap, breaking it with her hands, peeling off the chestnut shell, stuffing it in her mouth, and chewing it.
After eating for a while, she felt something was wrong, so she took out chestnuts from the paper bag, about five or six, and handed them to Bai Gui.
"You can eat it too."
She seemed to be doing something ordinary and very accustomed to it.
"Thank you."
Bai Gui nodded, thanked her a few times, and took the sugar-roasted chestnuts. He didn't expect to eat Tianjin sweet chestnuts on the Japanese train. The taste is indeed good, but these sugar-roasted chestnuts can't be made to taste bad.
After chatting with the kimono girl for a few words, he realized that the Tianjin sweet chestnuts were probably just a pseudonym. The chestnuts are also local, but in order to sell them, they were forced to go to Tianjin.
This is probably similar to the Tianjin rice, which has the status of the queen of Chinese food in Japan in later generations.
"Are you from Jinling?"
The kimono girl became curious. At first, she didn't dare to ask. When she got familiar with them, she began to ask about her hometown.
Asking people where they are from is probably a common topic on the train.
Bai Gui nodded and said yes.
Japanese people often don't call Chinese people Qing people, but Jinling people. The origin of this saying started in the Ming Dynasty.
It was just a chance encounter in the carriage, and no one thought they would meet again, so they didn't continue to report their names.
After eating the Tianjin sweet chestnuts of the kimono girl, Bai Gui waited until the waiter called out lunch, and bought a portion of box sushi for the kimono girl, which was a special box sushi made on the train.
Box sushi is different from the rolled sushi we usually eat, and it is placed in a box.
Two boxes of box sushi cost him a silver coin worth one yen. (At this time, there was no concept of yen, and the word "yuan" was usually printed on coins, but for convenience, yen was used uniformly.)
It was very expensive!
At this time, Japan was also on the gold standard, and one gram of gold was about 1.36 yen.
In ordinary restaurants or hotels, a portion of Edomae sushi only costs 15 sen per person.
However, his box sushi is considered to be high-quality sushi, with a lot of good ingredients mixed in it, including sea bream, conger eel, and shrimp. It tastes good and is quite appetizing.
You can't invite someone too cheaply when you return a favor. Besides, the food on the train is often more expensive than other places.
"I'm going to eat!"
The kimono girl was very happy looking at the exquisite box sushi. After all, a portion of Tianjin sweet chestnuts was only five cents, and she didn't pay much, so she made a lot of money.
Soon, the kimono girl got off the train at Shikoku Station.
The new person who came up was a middle-aged uncle, so Bai Gui lost interest in talking to him and continued reading.
When they arrived in Tokyo, it was already afternoon.
The Chinese ambassador to Japan took them to the Chinese Embassy in Japan to meet with the Chinese Minister Hu Wei-de. The Chinese Embassy in Japan is a two-story Western-style building with seven rooms on the lower floor and five rooms on the upper floor. It is well decorated.
Ambassador Hu met with these Chinese students in Japan and encouraged them a few words.
The general idea is to study hard and serve the country. It should be noted that during the period of studying in Japan, do not negotiate too much with the rebels. If you find any, the embassy will negotiate with the Japanese Ministry of Education, expel them from school, and send them abroad.
The next step was to record the name, place of origin, etc. at the embassy in Japan.
"Those who are government-sponsored students, step out!"
The helper shouted.
Bai Gui and some government-sponsored students stepped out. There were about 200 government-sponsored students this time, mainly those selected by the five special schools. Other government-sponsored students will arrive later and will not be with them.
Five hundred students studying in Japan, and the remaining three hundred are self-funded students.
Not long after, the embassy gave these government-sponsored students a sum of money, not much, 30 yen per person.
But it was not a small amount.
You know, these government-sponsored students studying in Japan, in addition to paying tuition and other fees, also need to pay a special "training fee" to the Ministry of Education, which is 200 yen per person, equivalent to four to seven times the tuition of ordinary Japanese students.
The annual tuition fee of the University of Tokyo is 50 yen per person.
"Those who have achieved honors, step out!"
The helper shouted again.
Bai Gui and a group of students stepped out again. This time there were fewer people, only about a hundred people. Only two or three people had the title of Juren, and the rest had the title of Xiucai.
Those who had the title were re-registered, and then they were given an extra ten yen.
“This is your stipend and stipend.”
“Although you are now in a foreign country, the court still remembers you, so you should not forget the court’s kindness in training you.”
Ambassador Hu explained.