Chapter 405 A letter from London
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"My dear brother, today I disembarked and came to London, the capital of the newly formed United Kingdom. Just disembarked, everything here is amazing, amazing, I can't imagine it, it is completely different from the Netherlands !"
I saw that in a hotel, a young man with a thin figure, listless, and looking a little tired was sitting by the window and writing earnestly on the desk.
Latin letters danced on the clean and unbelievable white paper.
Wilson sat in the house he rented, looking out the window, feeling the exotic atmosphere, all the fatigue from his body dissipated in a short while.
Sniffing the mist drifting in the air, he picked up the specially bought soft bread beside him, took a hard bite, and continued to pick up the pen to write.
"What I'm going to write next, I'm afraid you won't be able to believe it, thinking that I'm just swimming in a dream, but, my brother, your brother has never deceived you, and today is even more so!"
"I just got off the boat and came to a pier!"
When mentioning the docks, the dirty docks in the Netherlands, large and small, and the completely different docks in London came to Wilson's mind, forming a clear contrast in his mind.
"I'm afraid you can't believe it. The pier here is extremely neat and clean. There is no horse manure and all kinds of garbage that are common everywhere. There are not even thieves wandering around trying to empty our pockets of silver coins, let alone showing a vicious look. The gangster who tried to drag you around the corner to rob!"
"Guess what I saw. People in strange uniforms were constantly patrolling the pier (I later learned that they were the police at the pier). People in the same strange clothes were holding brooms throughout the pier. Keep cleaning the garbage. Don't let go of a corner!"
"The whole pier looks so clean and tidy, I think, this has a lot to do with them! It makes me more like who made this wise system."
"And those workers in short shirts are ordered by the leader in an orderly manner, and they take turns loading and unloading the goods on the ship. There is no fighting or noise here, and everyone is so orderly and efficient!"
"And what caught my eye was that when I got out of the pier, rows of carriages were parked outside, waiting for foreigners like me!"
“I saw that others got into the carriage without worry, so I also went up in fear. After I mentioned a destination, the carriage quickly sent me to this hotel, and I only charged me two pence!”
"I'm about to bleed! Who knew it would be like this, I asked him why he only charged that little, and he told me that this is the price set by the carriage house, which is one penny per mile. I can't help admiring the carriage shop!"
"If this were in the Netherlands, I wouldn't be able to ride without a silver coin!"
Watching the mist outside the window gradually dissipate, revealing the figures of pedestrians, the carriages rushing by, the cheerful sound of children playing, and the cries of hawkers, constitute an intoxicating picture.
"I don't know the exact number in London, but according to the innkeeper, the entire city of London has accommodated nearly 200,000 people!"
"By the way, I just arrived at the hotel. Even though I took out the room number plate you booked, the boss still didn't let me in, saying that I need an ID card!"
"This baffled me. After some explanations from the boss, I realized that everyone in England has their own ID card, and the boss even showed me his ID card. !"
Writing here, he stopped writing, recalled it carefully, and then continued:
"The identity card is made of wood wrapped with a layer of iron sheet, on which is written a person's physical characteristics and identity information, such as the date of birth and home address, which is really eye-catching!
The boss said that those who do not have an ID card must go to the Baihu Office to register within a week to get a temporary ID card, otherwise they will not be able to stay in the store or go out, and they may be taken by the police at any time and deported from England! "
"This kind of identity card was originally available in England, and now I heard that other parts of the United Kingdom are also planning to implement it. Although I don't know what it is useful for, it is indeed a troublesome thing!"
"Under the leadership of my boss, I spent a penny to apply for a paper-like residence permit that lasts half a year. If I want to stay here, I must find a job within half a year. Then you will be deported!"
"The streets in London are all level. All the houses seem to comply with certain regulations. On the side of the street, they are almost the same. There are no protruding parts. I heard that this is also required by the government!"
“Pedestrians on the street are always in a hurry and walk fast, but their clothes look neat, neat and clean, so the streets and alleys of London look so pleasing to the eye!”
“When I was out for a stroll, I saw something unique to England—a stagecoach!
A huge, large carriage driven by several horses, with wheels pressed against a specific track!
This carriage can hold 10 or 20 people at a time, anyone can board, and it only costs one penny, no matter where it goes! "
“I took it once, but it was too crowded, and it may be a popular route that I happened to board!
Although it is cheap and convenient, in my opinion, only ordinary commoners will sit, rich people and nobles, but dismiss it! Such a smell of sweat, I really don't want to try it again! "
Writing this, Wilson seems to feel that some of this smell remains in his nose, which makes him feel like vomiting.
“In my opinion, the whole of London is the epitome of England, and even the United Kingdom. It states a fact—the government has great power indeed!”
"In this way, it can be proved that I was right to come to England. After passing the so-called official selection examination, becoming an official is indeed a shortcut!"
"However, if you want to take the exam, you must believe in Anglicanism, which is the so-called state religion of the United Kingdom. This is a bit troublesome!"
"However, I have long been disgusted with Catholicism. It is not difficult to accept converting to Anglicanism. As for the Lutheranism you believe in, I am afraid it will be difficult for me to follow!"
"Finally, your brother Wilson, I give you a sincere advice, my brother, transfer the family business to England! The current turmoil in the Netherlands is already predictable, the tyrant has dealt with Spain, and it is impossible to let it go Netherlands!
Your brother Wilson! "
(end of this chapter)