When Fang Lang fell into deep thought, Blackwell tactfully stopped talking and turned his gaze to Syrio Recci in the co-pilot seat again.
What he was talking about with Fang Lang now was actually an internal secret of the Brazilian Intelligence Agency. He was not worried that Cilio Recchi would go out and tell on Fang Lang that he had leaked this information to Fang Lang.
But he really wanted to know how the other party would react after knowing the current situation of the Brazilian Intelligence Agency. Would they become anxious or confused about the future like himself?
Although Syrio Reci was sitting directly in front of him and he could not see the other person's expression from the front, he could vaguely see the expression on Syrio Reci's face through the rearview mirror on the right side of the vehicle.
The convoy passed through the streets of Rio de Janeiro, with pedestrians hurrying by from time to time on the roadside. Blackwell turned his gaze from the street to the right rearview mirror outside the car window.
The expression on Sirio Ricci's face was clearly visible. The confusion or anxiety that Blackwell imagined did not appear on his face. He was still staring at the front of the vehicle with an expressionless face, as if he was always on alert.
Blackwell seemed a little frustrated and curious that he didn't seem to care about the conversation in the car at all.
In fact, he was not familiar with his subordinate. Although he recommended him to Fang Lang at the beginning, it was just a coincidence. At that time, Syrio Reci happened to be the station chief of the Natal Station of the Intelligence Bureau.
Fang Lang wanted to understand the local situation in Natal, and this was the only candidate he could recommend to Fang Lang. But now it seems that the stationmaster of Natal Station is far from as simple as he thought.
...
...
Judging from the other party's current behavior and attitude towards the two people, he has completely regarded himself as Fang Lang's subordinate, rather than a subordinate of him, the director of the Brazilian Intelligence Agency.
This made him feel very uncomfortable.
After observing Cirio Recchi's reaction for a while, Blairwell saw that Fang Lang was still in deep thought, so he leaned back in the car seat and looked towards the streets of Rio de Janeiro.
What he didn't notice was that when his eyes moved away from the rearview mirror, Cirio Recchi's eyes also looked at him behind him through the rearview mirror.
It turned out that when Blackwell was observing Syrio Reitch, he had already noticed the other party's observation, but he did not make any reaction. Instead, he waited until the other party's gaze moved away, and then he casually glanced at the other party through the rearview mirror.
How could Cirio Recchi, who was sitting in the same car, not hear what Blackwell said! But he did not want to make any comments on it. He was not completely unaware of the information, but he did not care about it at all.
Because he is no longer the station chief of the Natal branch of the Brazilian Intelligence Agency. He is now the chief of the second section of the Logistics Department of the Rio de Janeiro Aircraft Carrier Battle Group and also Fang Lang's intelligence officer.
He knew very well that Fang Lang was different from all the Brazilian generals. He attached great importance to intelligence work. Looking at the scale and strength of the Second Section of the Logistics Department, he would not worry about losing his job at all.
As for the purpose of Fang Lang bringing him here this time, he was very clear about it, which was to improve his position in the Brazilian Intelligence Agency. This showed that Fang Lang recognized his work very much, but also believed that the current intelligence work was not enough and needed to be strengthened.
That's why he wanted to use the power of the Brazilian Intelligence Agency to expand his sources of intelligence.
In this case, the problem that Blackwell was worried about was not a problem at all in his opinion. As long as Fang Lang was willing, their Logistics Department Section 2 could replace the Brazilian Intelligence Bureau at any time. If he could continue to lead this intelligence agency, he was confident that he could make the current Logistics Department Section 2 even stronger.
The three of them sat in the car, each thinking about their own things in silence. The convoy passed through the city of Rio de Janeiro and passed by the naval base in Rio de Janeiro.
After driving for a distance in the direction of the Navy Club, we turned into a small road and walked forward more than 200 meters to a garden that was incompatible with the local Brazilian architectural style.
This is the home Fang Lang built for himself in Rio de Janeiro, a pure Chinese-style Suzhou garden, with white walls and green tiles built against the mountain. Although it is a newly built garden, it looks quiet and simple.
There are winding green waters in the courtyard, pavilions and terraces built by the water, winding pools, green trees and stone peaks, which is a beautiful scene in the south of the Yangtze River.
When everyone got off the car and saw the garden, they were all stunned. Even Fang Lang himself did not expect that when he was asked to imitate the Suzhou gardens and build a garden for him here, he would be deeply shocked.
At this moment, at the gate of the courtyard, there was already a sixty-year-old man in a long gown and a mandarin jacket, standing at the gate with six or seven middle-aged men and women dressed as servants to greet them.
Seeing the long convoy stop and the fully armed soldiers vigilantly jumping off the vehicles and starting to set up a defense line nearby, everyone was so scared that they dared not move.
Fang Lang smiled slightly when he saw this, took off his military cap and tucked it under his armpit, then slowly walked up to the sixty-year-old man and nodded, saying:
"Uncle Fu, right? I'm Fang Lang!"
After hearing Fang Lang's words, the sixty-year-old man in a long gown and a mandarin jacket let out a long breath, looked up and down at Fang Lang carefully, and after confirming that Fang Lang's appearance was exactly the same as the photo he had seen, he slowly spoke:
"Hello, Master! I am your butler, Uncle Fu. Welcome home!"
Fang Lang couldn't help but frown when he heard this. This title was not quite appropriate. He was not a landlord in feudal society, and he really couldn't get used to being called a young master.
So, just say:
"I'm a soldier and I don't like this kind of feudal title. You can call me Mr. Fang or General Fang, but don't call me Young Master. Do you understand?"
Upon hearing this, Uncle Fu bowed slightly to Fang Lang, smiled and nodded:
"I see. From now on, we will call you Mr. Fang. Is that ok with you?"
Hearing this, Fang Lang nodded without comment:
"Okay, this is my first time home, and I should have taken a good look around, but now I have guests and we need to discuss something. Take us to a teahouse and prepare tea sets and tea leaves, and we can drink while we talk.
Please ask the kitchen to prepare a table of food as soon as possible, and we will have lunch in the garden after our discussion."
Uncle Fu obviously didn't expect Fang Lang to be so decisive. It was his first time entering such a luxurious home, but he didn't even bother to take a look around.
But thinking about what he knew about the other party's family background, he understood that although this garden was an unattainable dream for him, it was not a big deal for the other party.
As the housekeeper of the family, it was the first time that Uncle Fu met his master. He had to perform exceptionally well at this time. Otherwise, if he displeased such a powerful new boss in this foreign country thousands of miles away from home, he might end up on the streets.
"Okay, Mr. Fang! Please follow me!"
Uncle Fu bowed slightly again, stretched out his left hand and pointed into the courtyard, then prepared to lead the way.
At this time, Sirio Regis, who had been standing next to Fang Lang, saw the other party's actions and immediately took the initiative to step forward and said:
"Boss, although this is your home, for safety reasons, we should first let the guards go in to check and set up guard posts."
Because Fang Lang and Uncle Fu were communicating in Chinese, the people around them didn't know what they were talking about.
When he saw Uncle Fu pointing his finger inside, Syrio Reci immediately understood what the other party meant. Fang Lang did not bring Qi Qingshan with him this time, so the security work naturally fell on Syrio Reci.
As an intelligence officer, he would not trust anyone. Regardless of whether this was Fang Lang's home or not, as long as it was a place Fang Lang was going to enter, he had to ensure absolute safety.
That's why he came out at this time to spoil the mood.
Fang Lang knew what the other party meant, and of course he would not arrogantly refuse such a request, so he turned to Uncle Fu and said:
"Have someone take my guards in first to familiarize them with the home and set up guard posts. Also, arrange for their food and lodging."
Although Uncle Fu didn't understand what Sirio Reci said, after seeing the other party's expression and hearing Fang Lang's words, how could he not understand what he meant.
He quickly turned around and pointed at the two middle-aged men who looked like farmers standing nearby and said:
"Shuanzi, Shunzi, the two of you take the boss's guards in immediately to familiarize yourself with the situation in the courtyard."
The two men, who had been very reserved, stepped forward and bowed to Fang Lang and the others when they saw Uncle Fu pointed at them.
Seeing this, Fang Lang smiled and nodded to the two of them, then signaled to Sirio Reci to have someone follow them in.
Syrio Reci waved to the guards behind him, and the guards immediately walked up quickly and followed Shuanzi and Shunzi into the yard.
Passing through the thick mahogany side door, the crowd quickly disappeared from everyone's sight, and only the faint sound of footsteps could be heard from inside.
Speaking of which, this was also because they came out in a hurry. Fang Lang arranged Qi Qingshan to take charge of other things and he did not come out with Fang Lang, so the security work had to fall on the head of Sirio Reci.
Obviously, Sirio Reci was not as professional as Qi Qingshan in this regard. If Qi Qingshan were there, he would definitely plan an itinerary for Fang Lang and make arrangements in advance.
There was no such thing as standing at the door waiting, and the garden's manager even asked Fang Lang to introduce himself on his own initiative.
However, Fang Lang did not take this matter to heart. Sirio Reci had demonstrated sufficient ability in intelligence work, and Fang Lang would not lower his evaluation of him because he was not familiar with these security tasks.
In Fang Lang's mind, loyalty always comes before ability.
Blackwell on the side obviously did not have the same awareness as Syrio Reitch. After he understood what Syrio Reitch meant, he could not help but look at the other party with surprise again.
The crowd did not wait at the door for long. After all the guards had gone in, Fang Lang immediately raised his foot and prepared to follow in. With his own intuition about danger, if there was really a problem, he would have noticed it long ago.
When Uncle Fu saw Fang Lang was about to go in, he quickly took two steps forward and signaled Fang Lang not to follow them through the side door, but to go through the main door in the middle.
Fang Lang was stunned at first, but he quickly reacted and couldn't help but look up at the tall lintel of his garden again.
Fang Lang had no idea who was specifically responsible for designing this garden, but with his limited knowledge, he knew at a glance that if it were in ancient times, this kind of gate would absolutely not be seen in ordinary people.
The gate of his own garden was actually five rooms and three doors wide, that is, it had the width of five rooms and three doors. Fang Lang had only seen this specification at the gate of a royal palace in his later years.
In addition, there are two huge drum-shaped lion-holding drum stones outside the door, which is a configuration that only high-ranking military officers in ancient times could have.
The door that Uncle Fu was referring to at this moment should be called the middle door to be more precise. According to the rules in ancient times, there were clear regulations on who should use which door.
The middle door is only for the host or distinguished guests to go through. This is why in TV dramas, when there are distinguished guests at home, people will often say, "Open the middle door wide to welcome the distinguished guest!" If a distinguished guest comes and you let him go through the side door, others will think you are insulting him.
The slaves in the house were not even qualified to enter through the side door and could only enter and exit through the back door.
Generally speaking, it is normal to enter and exit through the side door. After all, if a family marries a concubine, they can only go through the side door.
From the fact that Uncle Fu asked Fang Lang to enter and exit through the front door, it can be seen that this old man should also be an old-fashioned butler. In response, Fang Lang smiled without comment and did not care particularly.
After all, this is a modern society, and there is no need to care about these ancient etiquettes. However, if Uncle Fu insisted, he was too lazy to argue with him.
Under the guidance of Uncle Forbes, they walked in through the tall middle door. Syrio Reich and Blackwell, who followed behind him, had no idea about these rules.
After entering the gate, what came into view was not the garden or house that Fang Lang had imagined, but a huge rockery. Judging from the shape of the stones on the rockery, these stones were most likely from the Taihu stones in his hometown.
Everyone followed Uncle Fu, walked through the long corridor, passed through two hanging flower doors, and came to a waterside pavilion.
Most of this water pavilion extends into a pond about the size of a football field and with an extremely irregular shape. From this water pavilion, one can clearly see the pavilions and landscapes around the pond, making it a great place to enjoy the scenery.
In the middle of the pond, several Taihu stones of various shapes are exposed above the water, making the entire pond look somewhat like the beautiful scenery of West Lake.
Judging from the buildings he has seen so far, Fang Lang is very satisfied with the landscape of this garden.
In the middle of the water pavilion is not a traditional stone seat, but a huge mahogany tea table about two meters long and one meter wide.
Fang Lang and the others stood on the waterside pavilion, admiring the beauty of the garden for a while. Uncle Fu then came over personally with two middle-aged women who looked like servants, carrying two exquisite wooden boxes.
After bowing slightly to Fang Lang and the others, they placed the wooden box on the stone floor, took out the tea sets inside one by one, and placed them neatly on the tea table. There were many types of tea sets, including purple clay teapots and ceramic Sancai covered bowls.
Fang Lang picked up a covered bowl and checked it, and found that it was an object from the Kangxi period of the Qing Dynasty. The entire covered bowl was as crystal clear as white jade, and the blue and white landscape painting on it was lifelike. The wall was as thin as a cicada's wing, and when he tapped it with his fingertips, it actually made a crisp sound like jade beads falling on a plate.
It turned out to be a set of fine tea set. Fang Lang immediately felt reluctant to let it go. He took it in his hand and played with it for a while.
He picked up the purple clay teapot beside him and took a look. The body of the teapot was plain and undecorated, the clay was light brown, the shape of the teapot was upright and steady, silent but not vulgar, and it looked like it had a simple and natural temperament.
Fang Lang did not feel that there was anything precious about it. When he turned over the pot to check the inscription on the bottom, he found that the words "Made by Shi Dabin in the Jiyou year of the Wanli reign" were engraved on the bottom.
Although Fang Lang didn't know who this Shi Dabin was, he knew very well when Wanli was.
Needless to say, these tea sets are rare antique masterpieces. Even Fang Lang couldn't help but secretly smack his lips, feeling that they were a bit luxurious.
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