"Diego, it seems that I haven't had such an easy rest in a long time." Louis Almeida said to his friend Diego Oliveira in the outskirts of Eastern County.

Oliveira is from Porto, the important city in the northern part of the Kingdom of Portugal. His family has lived there for almost two hundred years. He has been operating a wine business and is not very famous in the local area. He met Louis Almeida in London and gradually became friends. This time, Louis was appointed as the Kingdom's ambassador to the East Coast by King Pedro II. Diego accepted his invitation and took a position in the embassy. The two went to the East Coast together. As a descendant of Diego Oliveira's nobles, it would not cause any criticism to obtain a free position in the embassy. The ambassador has the right to decide the candidate.

Louis and Diego went to Luoyang, the new capital of the East Coast, which has appeared very frequently in newspapers a while ago. They first visited the old city of Cordoba. Louis was entrusted by his family to invest in the real estate of the city. He looked left and right, and combined with the news he had obtained, he finally booked a piece of land on the south bank of the Luo River and planned to start construction and build a shop.

According to the requirements of the East Coast New Capital Development Leading Group, foreign investors like the Almeida family who have passed the review can purchase land in the new capital, but they must report their development plans in detail while purchasing land, that is, what are you planning to use this land? What facilities are built? What specifications are there? Can funds be in place? Everything must be followed by the requirements of East Coast people, otherwise the application for land purchase may be rejected.

The purpose of Almeida's declaration for this land was to sell shops that mainly deal with special products from the Iberian Peninsula and Brazil. For this purpose, it planned to build a three-story Portuguese-style building, one floor office, one floor as a business hall, and one floor as a warehouse. The funds were guaranteed by the deposits in the Qingdao Commercial Clearing Bank account of the Almeida family, so it was quickly approved and officially purchased the land they were interested in in Nancheng District.

Afterwards, the two crossed the river to the northern city area and found a piece of embassy construction land for the Kingdom of Portugal. The land was provided by the East Coast government at a very low price. Given the excellent relationship between the East and Portugal, the East Coast people gave the most beautiful land to the Kingdom of Portugal first, which made Louis very happy and thanked him repeatedly.

After a brief investigation in the nearby Luoyi District, Yuquan District, Shendu District and Mingjing District, the two did not delay any further, rode back to Mingfu Port, and then took a boat to the current capital Dongfang Port. After returning, they had been handling official duties in the embassy, ​​mainly about the expedition of Angola and Mozambique natives. This matter had nothing to do with them, but the people of the East Coast promised to sell a batch of their military funds and medicines at a fair price, and also sold two old sail warships eliminated by the navy to them (the Portuguese fleet had just recovered the island of Sao Tome that was seized by the French). They had to hurry up and implement this matter to avoid disappointing the domestic business and military tycoons.

There is no difficulty in promoting these tasks, but it takes time to prepare materials and follow the process, so they have been busy until the end of the year. Louis and Diego are both noble young masters. After working for a while, they no longer plan to work. So, taking advantage of the good weather today, they went to a large market outside the capital for a walk.

The market was not very lively today, which made Louis and Diego slightly disappointed. They have been here on the East Coast for more than half a year and have spent several lively festivals, and I still miss them very much. Unfortunately, this month's East Coast calendar - the lunar calendar compiled by the East Coast people based on the local climate and precipitation is generally the opposite of China - there are no festivals, so it is estimated that it will take some time before the market will usher in the grandeur again.

Speaking of the development of the East Coast Republic of China, as the people become more and more prosperous, the festival has become more and more abundant. The Ministry of Civil Affairs has often announced the addition of legal festivals in the past few decades, from the original National Day, Harvest Festival, New Year's Day, Qingming Festival, Mid-Autumn Festival, New Year's Eve, etc., and has successively added Lantern Festival, Social Day Festival (in the Spring Festival and Autumn Festival), Cold Food Festival, Shangsi Festival, Qixi Festival, Zhongyuan Festival, Double Ninth Festival and other festivals. Some of these festivals have been spent spontaneously by the people, but the government has not added them to documents with legal effect. Later, it was added one after another, which was also the result of the forced force of the people. After all, these legal festivals are on holiday, and the government is always very slow in this regard.

Louis and Diego personally experienced the Spring Festival of the East Coast people. It was so lively and still remembered it freshly. At that time, they were invited to a village near the suburbs of the capital. After the village chief (who were business partners) placed them, they hosted this major festival. At that time, everyone in the village prepared a certain amount of beef, mutton, fish, rice, flour, grain, oil, fruit, and wine according to the results of the notice in advance, and then held a social sacrifice ceremony under the leadership of the village chief.

After the ceremony, the band began to play. The villagers sat together, tasted delicious food, and drank wine. Some young people even danced under the rhythm of music and drum beats. The style of the dance is diverse, with many continental and grassland elements mixed with them. It is more distinctive than traditional Chinese dance rhythm, more passionate and lively. In some villages, members of the village military association gathered together to perform the art of grabbing and fighting in the army, and even put on armor and bayonets (of course, it is a special wooden gun) to cultivate the people's martial spirit.

Such festivals are very capable of gathering the spirit of the people and cultivating their sense of pride and belonging. Therefore, the government supports this and has been working hard for many years. The people who participated in the festival also regard it as a pastime before or after the hard work of the year, so they have a great time having fun. As the poem "Society Day" by Wang Jia in ancient China said in the poem "Society Day" by Wang Jia: "The rice and the millet are fat at the foot of the Ehu Mountain, and the chickens live on the side of the door; the shadows of the mulberry trees slant in the spring are scattered, and every family can help them return intoxicatedly", which shows its grand occasion.

Louis and Diego also enjoy such festivals. Of course, in Portugal, they also have some national festivals, but they always feel that they are worse than those on the East Coast. If you think about it carefully, it may be that the reason why they are not as rich as others. At the same time, the history and heritage of the festivals are also much worse. There is indeed a reason why people on the East Coast enjoy these festivals and are proud of them!

Here is an additional sentence. Because of the changes in geography, society, economy and even political systems, these traditional festivals on the East Coast are still somewhat different from the same festivals in mainland China, mainly in terms of content. That is, the festivals on the East Coast focus more on entertainment, entertainment, and enjoyment, while traditional Chinese festivals may be more solemn, and there are more taboos during the festival.

Taking the important festival Qingming Festival as an example, the Qingming Festival on the East Coast is not only about visiting graves and praying to the ancestors, but also about having fun, banquets, outings and other elements. The latter may be more important, and it is entirely spent as a family and a gathering festival. Although Qingming Festival in mainland China also has such colors, they have experienced traditional Neo-Confucian education, but they are not as relaxed as those of the East Coast in this regard. They are generally a bit restrained and serious. According to some Confucian scholars who immigrated, it is: "When the funeral is there, they are happy to drink, play cards all night, and return at dawn, which is too corrupt" - this is a nuance between the two.

However, the people of the East Coast obviously did not intend to change their practices. Their government did not prohibit it below, and the folk customs added some unrestrained and enthusiastic elements of foreign races, so they were somewhat different from the Central Plains. Considering that the country is now booming, the fleet is spreading across the world, the soldiers are killing the people, and the people live a prosperous life. The whole society has a strong sense of pride and the resulting sense of discrimination against other countries and peoples. Even in mainland China, where culture and ethnic groups are generally of the same origin, the people of the East Coast look down on them, let alone others.

As the national influence increases, the festivals of the East Coast people have gradually shown signs of export in recent years. For example, in San Salvador, Portuguese Brazil, some local Portuguese held a Lantern Festival with the East Coast expatriates. In the previous year, in the Port of Jacob Port in New Courland, the locals also lit torches, lit lanterns on the full moon night, and held a lively dance party. It is said that this is a custom brought back by officials studying abroad on the East Coast, and they also promoted it. Although the local church was a little dissatisfied, it was not a fundamental conflict and finally let it go.

Louis and Diego think this is actually quite interesting. The East Coast people have advanced technology, strong military strength and perfect system, so there are naturally places worth learning from. The Portuguese not only need to learn from their seriousness, but also learn from their interesting side of life. This may allow them to better understand the East Coast people's thinking patterns and then gain a glimpse of their powerful mysteries.

The East Coast government also encouraged it, because they felt that instead of using warships and cannons to force others to obey themselves, it would be better to use this silent way to evolve peacefully. As long as those foreigners agree with the culture and values ​​of the East Coast, then many things may be much simpler. Just like those New Kurland colonial officials who have studied on the East Coast, they lived on the East Coast, studied for many years, and agreed with the lifestyle and culture of the East Coast. Therefore, when they gradually became the backbone of the local area, they will definitely gradually affect ordinary lower-class residents, and gradually make the locals yearn for and love the East Coast. Isn’t this more powerful than the conquest of muskets and cannons?
Chapter completed!