145 – Learning 3 Expressions in Serpentine
Ivan sat on the ground, and soon imitated others and lied on the ground to rest as much as possible and regain a little bit of strength. He didn"t know where they were going or how long it would take.
Trundle, trundle, came the sounds of wheels turning.
Ivan didn"t get up. He just slowly turned his head and looked in the direction from where the sounds came from, saving as much effort as possible. He saw a team of horse-drawn carriages with a blue flag embroidered with a purple-black flower fluttering in the wind. He recognized the flag as a sign of aristocracy.
Of course, he didn"t know to which aristocrat the flag belonged to.
He had just looked at the carriages absentmindedly, when the familiar whip sounded again. As if he had a spring installed in his body, he subconsciously climbed onto his feet. Not only him, but everyone climbed onto their feet, and stood shakily.
With a whip in hand, the clerks shouted something that Ivan didn"t understand.
However, he soon realized that someone shouted in the Eagle Kingdom"s Windlect: “Line up! Follow the instructions of the clerks and line up behind the carriages! Don"t talk and don"t mess around! Just stand!”
Ivan began to panic. He didn"t know how to stand in line, nor did he stood in line. He just followed the crowd. After he got kicked in the b.u.t.t, a clerk scolded him, saying something he didn"t understood.
The clerk seemed to have discovered his blank look, so he pulled him and shoved him behind a serf, cursed again, and then went to pull another serf.
The messy procession soon formed 6 crooked queues under the arrangements of the clerks.
The Sapphire person who spoke Windlect went to the front of the queues, talked to several people who looked like aristocrats for a moment, then faced the numerous serfs: “You will get 2 meals per day. This is the Coral Island. Soon, we"ll be going to the place where you"ll live hence forth – the Flower Town!”
Ivan, like everyone else, looked numbly at the speaker, unresponsive.
The speaker went on to say: “The lord of the Flower Town, and your new master, is Sir Baron Liszt of the mighty Tulip Family bloodline! Remember, the place you will be living is the Flower Town and your new master is Liszt Tulip of the mighty Tulip Family bloodline!”
The last few words were yelled out with great momentum.
However, the serfs still remained unresponsive.
The speaker didn"t care, at all. He waved his arms and his grizzled hair danced chaotically in the wind: “Remember, from now on, you have to speak the Sapphire Grand Duchy"s Serpentine. Of course, you are just a bunch of serfs, so no one cares whether you speak Serpentine or not. However, you have to remember 3 expressions in Serpentine – ‘Flower Town", ‘tulip", ‘Sir Lord"!”
“Now, repeat after me!” He shouted, “p.r.o.nounce the words correctly and you can enjoy a wonderful lunch, understood?”
Lunch, the silent queues were instantly stirred.
The hungry serfs couldn"t stand the enticement of lunch. They only had 2 meals per day on the ship; one in the morning and one in the afternoon. The rest of the time they had to lay still.
The bolder serfs trembled and responded: “Understood, Sir.”
“Very good. Now, repeat after me – Flower Town…”
“Flower Town.”
“Louder, Flower Town!”
“Flower Town!”
Ivan, who felt like he couldn"t utter a word due to his hunger, for the sake of the coming lunch, stimulated the little bit of strength that still was left in his body and shouted together with the others: “Flower Town.”
The expression wasn"t a mouthful and was easy to learn.
After shouting a few times, he even felt a bit excited, as he actually learned an expression in the foreign language.
“Very good, you seem to have mastered the expression ‘Flower Town". Next, repeat after me – tulip…”
“Tulip.”
“It"s tulip, idiots. Don"t curl your tongue. Again, repeat after me – tulip…”
“Tulip.”
“Louder, tulip!”
“Tulip!”
“Although your p.r.o.nunciation isn"t standard, but remember it well. Here, everything belongs to the Tulip Family! Your lord is of the Tulip Family bloodline! The person who spoke Windlect continued to teach, “Next, you have to learn how to express your loyalty when you see your lord. First, you must kneel on the ground.”
A few serfs immediately went down on their knees when they heard it. Other serfs followed suit.
In an instant, everyone in the 6 queues knelt on the ground.
The speaker was startled. He wasn"t Liszt, so he didn"t dare to have the serfs kneel towards himself. He hurriedly dodged: “Fools, don"t kneel now. Forget it… Kneel down to the black tulip flag on the carriage. Take it as if you have seen Sir Lord. Now repeat after me – Sir Lord…”
“Sir Lord.”
Ivan knelt on the ground and shouted with the crowd, trying to keep his tongue straight.
After a few tries, the person who spoke Windlect ran to the a group of people who looked like aristocrats nearby and asked in Serpentine: “Is this all right, Mr. Gort?”
Dressed in a frac habillé, Gort nodded: “This will do for today, Now let the serfs eat their fill first. After all, the Flower Town isn"t so poor that we can"t afford to feed them. Old Grandet, thank you for your hard work. Later, we still need you to interpret in order to settle down the serfs.”
Old Grandet said with a smile: “To serve Sir Lord is my honor. I"ll go tell them to serve the meal.”
Immediately after, he faced the still kneeling serfs: “You can get up, but continue to stand in the queues! We"ll now begin to distribute the lunch! Come one at a time! There is enough for everyone! Stealing isn"t permitted! Otherwise, the clerks will whip you straight.”
When they heard Old Grandet, the serfs" restlessness quickly turned into surprise – there was really lunch!
Then, the compartments of the carriages opened, and they were served food they had never seen on bread plates.
There was no tableware, only food and bread plates.
When Ivan got his share of food, he recognized the bread plate, which he frequently used. After using it for a certain period, it could be cooked and eaten. On the bread plate, there was half a piece of black bread as well as many big, small, round, and flat things.
He couldn"t help but touch them. They were very hard.
He didn"t know how to eat them.
Fortunately, he always emulated others. He saw that apart from eating the black bread, some people opened those things and ate the soft flesh inside.
Thus, he sat on the ground with the bread plate in hand and first took a bite of the black bread. By learning from others, it was very easy to open those things. There was a crack. Those things opened after applying a bit of strength with your hands. Once opened, a very strange smell wafted from inside.
When he swallowed the bread, he saw several people eat those things, so he summoned up his courage and took a bite.
It was very soft and almost melted in your mouth.
He didn"t know how to describe the taste, but it was delicious, so he stopped worrying and focused on eating. Perhaps he was hungry for too long, but he finished his food after a short while. When he ate the flesh of the last sh.e.l.l thingy, for the fist time in his life, he felt what was known as ‘full".
At this moment, Old Grandet"s voice reached Ivan"s ears again: “It seems that everyone has eaten their fill. You fellows are really lucky. Remember this feeling. Hence forth, in the Flower Town, so long as you work hard for the great Sir Lord, you will be able to eat such food everyday, to eat your fill!”
“Ah!” Ivan heard someone next to him exclaim.
He also felt shocked that he could eat such food every day, that he could eat his fill!
His mind went blank, with only a single thought remaining: “The Flower Town, food.”