Feeling listless, Xia Ruqing looked up unintentionally and saw several peculiar people.
Why peculiar?
Because they didn’t look like they were from this country at all.
Big beards, white skin, blue eyes, high nose bridges. They resembled Europeans, but there was something different about them.
These must be... ancient Europeans, right? Xia Ruqing mused.
There were six or seven of them, peddling their wares along the street. On the stall before them were all sorts of bizarre and strange items!
"These are the Southern Ocean People doing business!" Zhao Junqi explained.
"Southern Ocean People?" Zhao Junyao frowned. "Why such a name?"
Zhao Junqi spread his hands. "Because they came here by boat from the south, that’s what the common folk call them!"
"Oh..." Zhao Junyao pondered for a moment and nodded.
Xia Ruqing didn’t dare to wander off, so she followed behind the Emperor.
Zhao Junyao approached the stall and examined the items laid out for sale with an air of great interest.
Hmm, I don’t recognize a single one!
He casually picked up a round object. It had a stand underneath, and with a push of his hand, it could spin.
"What is this?"
The Southern Ocean person with white skin and blue eyes hastily explained, "This is... the globe..."
His speech was quite stiff, even his tone was odd!
Zhao Junyao listened with a frown.
Xia Ruqing looked at the object, a familiar sensation washing over her.
This is none other than the globe our geography teacher used in middle school! However, even if I knew, I wouldn’t show it. Right now, I can’t even write properly, let alone study such things. Wouldn’t that be a joke?
She imagined herself being burned at the stake as a demon.
Ugh... She broke out in a cold sweat despite the scorching heat. Better not think about it anymore.
However, Zhao Junyao was very interested.
The Southern Ocean man continued to explain, "Our earth is spherical, and... it’s not... as you would say... ’The sky is round, the earth is square’!"
"If you walk continuously in one... direction, you will... return to... the original point!"
"Here... this place here, is your Great Chu Dynasty!"
As he spoke, the Southern Ocean person pointed to a small, palm-sized section on the globe for Zhao Junyao to see.
Zhao Junyao knitted his brows and took a closer look.
Indeed! It matched the territories of his Great Chu Dynasty perfectly! Even the positions of neighboring countries and the coastline aligned.
But... a globe... the Earth? Is the land beneath my feet truly spherical?
Zhao Junqi said with a smile, "Imperial Brother, they are just spouting nonsense, suitable for hoodwinking children!"
"Since ancient times, ’The sky is round, the earth is square’—this is the ironclad rule passed down by our ancestors. Could it be false?"
The Southern Ocean people, though they had some knowledge of the Chu Dynasty’s language, found Zhao Junqi’s rapid speech bewildering. They struggled to comprehend. After much thought, they still didn’t grasp his meaning, so they couldn’t retort.
However, Zhao Junyao seemed a bit hesitant. He played with the globe for a good while before finally handing it to Li Shengan.
"How much silver? I’ll take it!"
The Southern Ocean merchants understood the word "buy" and replied joyfully, "Thank you! It’s ten silver taels in total!"
"Ten taels!" Xia Ruqing exclaimed in shock.
The few people present immediately turned to look at her, and Xia Ruqing realized her outburst. Embarrassed, she looked down, her face flushing, and said no more.
You’re really ripping people off, you fake foreign devil! Ten silver taels for a battered globe! An ordinary peasant family in ancient times couldn’t earn that much in a year. That’s as hard to earn as tens of thousands of yuan today! she cursed inwardly. Thinking like that, I’ve figured it out! These fake foreign devils, why did they travel so far across the sea to do business in the Great Chu Dynasty? To make money, of course! The profits are astronomical! Typically, they don’t make a sale for half a year, but one sale sustains them for the next half year! What a rip-off! A colossal rip-off!
As she pondered, her gaze was suddenly drawn to something.
"What is this..." she murmured, picking up a cylindrical object.
The foreign peddler cheerfully pocketed the silver while awkwardly introducing, "This is... a telescope!"
"With it, you can see... very far... very distant places!" As he spoke, he demonstrated it himself.
Xia Ruqing took it with some skepticism.
This thing? It doesn’t look much like a modern telescope!
Still, she gave it a try. "Wow!" Her face lit up with surprise.
I can’t believe there’s such an effective telescope in ancient times!
"Sir, would you like to take a look?" Xia Ruqing offered the telescope with both hands, as if presenting a treasure.