"Chairman, your tea and refreshments."


    "Put it down."


    Hearing Lorraine''s response, the capable and strong black female secretary quickly arranged the tea and tea set. Then she lifted the tea tower with one hand and put it in the center of the tea table with biceps bulging.


    The tea is very orthodox. The three-story dessert porcelain plate is mounted with pink and green edge flowers. The top layer is a small sandwich that can be held by one hand, the middle layer is also shaped into a triangle, the bottom layer is filled with small and bright blueberry cakes, and a beautiful fruit tower carved into a lily shape is surrounded by stars and the moon.


    Lorraine, Haina and Noah each look for a sofa to sit down. Lorraine first pour tea for Noah. The Hawthorn red tea is scattered with a sweet smell and injected into the bright white porcelain cup. The aroma is high alcohol, with a tender and fresh sweet taste. It is the top qimenli tea.


    Lorraine''s eyebrow corner jumped: "Madam..."


    "Oakville, chairman, my name is Oakville Timothy."


    "Ms. Timothy, please thank the manager for his hospitality. It''s a very high-quality black tea."


    Lorraine boasted, but Ms. Oakville reacted immediately.


    "Chairman, tea comes from the top qimenli tea in the East. It is said that even the royal family in London can only drink it occasionally. There is only one tea party in the office. President Parker ordered someone to send it after you arrived in Miami and said you might need it."


    Her answer surprised Lorraine for a while, not because of Parker''s preparation, but entirely because of Oakville''s response.


    A black woman


    Lorraine was curious: "madam, if I offend you, I''m here to apologize."


    He cleared his throat: "are you a hybrid?"


    Oakville was still so sharp that she immediately caught Lorraine''s doubts.


    "I am a black man of pure blood. I am the chairman of the board. My ancestral home is Tanzania. Six generations that can be traced back are black."


    "Pure blood..."


    "I was born in Fort Moses. Timothy''s last name was taken by the Spanish gentleman who gave him freedom when his grandfather fled from the cotton plantation in Georgia to Fort Moses."


    "According to our habits, although my grandfather was free, he was still regarded as an abolitionist. My father was the first generation of free pioneers, and I was the second generation."


    Listening to Oakville''s eloquent narration, Lorraine and the three realized the greatness of Moses castle.


    It''s a magical place.


    In 1693, in order to counter the threat of Britain to Florida, then king Charles II of Spain announced that if slaves who fled British land converted to Catholicism, they would be free in Florida.


    Forty five years later, in 1738, the governor of Florida approved a fortified settlement for former slaves north of St. Augustine, Fort Moses.


    Unlike the conventions of New Orleans, Fort Moses is the first free black town in North America to be recognized by the mainstream world law.


    No matter what the white people who built her think, at least in terms of human rights equality, Spain is really ahead of the world. Therefore, the blacks here have transformed and become the composition of society, not just the cornerstone.


    At the end of the long talk, Oakville smiled apologetically: "I''m sorry, chairman, for interrupting you and the two ladies to taste tea on a whim."


    "Where, the lady is erudite and talkative. I''m very happy."


    "Your must be the best compliment to the whole office." Oakville bowed with the plate. "Please enjoy the afternoon of St. Augustine. Bye."


    "Bye."


    Seeing off Oakville, afternoon tea continues.


    Lorraine handed Noah the black tea at hand, made a second cup, and pushed it to Haina with a milk can and a sugar can.


    Haina was busy studying the strange looking scones, concentrating and motionless.


    Lorraine chuckled, "why? Haven''t you seen the triangular scone?"


    "Well, I''ve only eaten round and square, and it''s not that hard."


    Lorraine took a scone in her hand, coated one corner with blueberry sauce, and then coated it with fresh cream until it was completely covered, and handed it to Haina.


    "Eat and see?"


    Haina bit off the corner coated with ingredients, swallowed it in a few mouthfuls, and put out her tongue to add corners of her mouth.


    "How does it taste?" Lorraine asked.


    "Well... The cream is very smooth, the jam is very sticky, and the cake is hard when bitten down, but it''s not so crisp when chewed, like black bread coated with jam... But it''s sweet, so it''s delicious."


    Lorraine rolled his eyes: "as long as it''s sweet, you think it''s delicious..."


    He poured himself tea: "scones come from a stone in the crown of the Scottish Royal family, which is called the stone of fate or the stone of scones."


    "They have a saying: everything is the choice of scone. This sentence is often spoken by the winner to show that he has the meaning of destiny."


    Noah''s curious eyes: "do Scots like to be chosen by bread so much?"


    "Er... It was chosen by fate stone, so scone cake also means good luck."


    "Ah..." Qi suddenly.


    The two girls began to eat good luck. Lorraine stood up with tea, walked alone to the shutter, sipped tea, and quietly looked out of the window at the scorching street.


    This is the Florida office under the American branch of Drake chamber of Commerce, which is located in the most prosperous St. George Street in St. Augustine, Florida governor''s house, Spain.


    Through the gap of the hundred pages, Lorraine saw the flat slate Avenue. On both sides of the avenue stood rows of low tile buildings with red roofs and white walls. Although the heights were uneven, they used red bricks to outline the contour line with the same height, width and width, skillfully adding a sense of coordination to the continuous tile buildings.


    The office belongs to the higher building on St. George Street, which can be easily seen out of the street from Lorraine.


    Just to the north of the street is the St. Augustine Cathedral, the center of the town. Near the church is the broad domed city hall. To the east of the city hall is the St. Marcos coastal defense fortress of Weihai frontier. Beside the seawall of the Fortress stands a towering red and white lighthouse.


    Lorraine soon noticed the characteristics of the town.


    Simple and solid, each of the large buildings that constitute the main body of the town is like an independent fortress. Fort and watchpost replace the sentry, and gilt and relief are replaced by arrow stacks.


    "Bloody historical remains..."


    Lorraine murmured.


    Haina wiped her mouth and came to the window: "Xavier hasn''t come back yet?"


    Lorraine shrugged. "Carmen goes to the front station. I heard that the mayor is not a fool to match. Otherwise, it is impossible to take back St. Augustine and keep the town in order in a year."


    "A year? Just now Ms. Timothy said that this place belonged to Spain a hundred years ago?"


    "In fact, it was earlier." Lorraine sorted out the information in his mind. "In 1513, the Spanish Juan Ponce de Leon followed the trail of the fountain of youth, landed on this beach, announced Spain''s ownership of the Florida Peninsula for the first time, and established the first colonial stronghold in North America."


    "But he soon died. He was shot by the Indians and was in the center of the nest." Lorraine pointed to his heart. "Of course, the colonial stronghold was also slaughtered."


    "A few years later, Hernando de Soto tried to build a colonial stronghold here again. However, his performance was worse than Juan Leon. The action failed. He took his followers to hide in the mud and woods of Florida for three years until he completely lost the news and couldn''t wait for the rescue of Spain."


    "Spain''s love for this land is true," laughs Lorraine. "From 1513 to 1559, they failed at least five times. It is conservatively estimated that more than 1000 people were buried in a foreign land."


    "Finally, even the king of Spain was shocked by this heavy love and had to take strong action to use the king''s authority to prohibit the people from further colonizing Florida."


    At this point, Lorraine stopped talking.


    Haina frowned at him. She always felt that he had something to say. She suddenly took a history class, certainly not to show off her knowledge.


    Fortunately, there is Noah''s little cotton padded jacket.


    As soon as Lorraine stopped, she couldn''t help asking, "who built St. Augustine now? When will it be built?"


    "It''s 1565." Lorraine tapped the edge of his cup. "French Protestants built Fort Caroline on the beach north of St. Augustine, openly encroaching on Spain''s ownership of Florida."


    "At that time, although Spain had no real interests in Florida, they had paid too much before, and the king could only fight."


    "He sent Sir menandez to fight with the elite Spanish Musketeers. On a rainy night, the Sir broke through Fort Caroline and slaughtered all the male residents he saw."


    "After that, he established St. Augustine, where Spain set up the Florida governor''s office. Sir was the first colonial governor, and the governor appointed the first mayor."


    "Although the good times did not last long, in 1568, French privateers jointly launched bloody revenge against pirates and Indians and slaughtered the newborn Fort St. Augustine. But Fort Caroline in France disappeared forever, but St. Augustine in Spain was quickly rebuilt and became more prosperous than before."


    "In 1586, my ancestor Francis destroyed this town. In the next hundred years, the Indians committed massacres here three times, 166517021740, and the town was destroyed three times."


    "She was destroyed again and again and rebuilt again and again. Each reconstruction was like a new life, stronger and more prosperous."


    "Even in 1763, the town was handed over to Britain for 21 years because of the wrong partner in the Anglo French war. Once it returns, she is still the pride of the Spanish."


    "This is the past of St. Augustine''s castle." Lorraine told the passionate past of the town under his feet in a flat tone. "Obviously, it''s just a small city piled up with bones. Except for fish, there are no specialties worth boasting about, and Commerce and culture are not prosperous..."


    "But she is undoubtedly full of pride. As the earliest white town in North America, the first town in the world that treats people of color equally, and a town that has been reborn countless times, her pride will not disappear, but will become more and more prosperous over time."


    Haina finally got a clue: "do you want to say that St. Augustine was reborn again and again because of the official camp, while Fort Caroline in France died after a setback because of the relationship between the private sector?"


    "Yes, neither." Lorraine smiled. "Private and official are not the key, the key lies in the official."


    "Only a formal legislative hall can make the town exist for a long time. Without this title, the town is like a floating algae without roots. It is not only unable to choose its own direction of development, but even survival is like a fantasy when it is hurt."


    "Stoic other people''s town and fragile own town..." a trace of confusion appeared in Haina''s eyes. "I always thought you preferred the latter."


    "Normally... If the price for Miami''s perseverance is that she must be handed over to the Spaniard, nine times out of ten I will give up this action." Lorraine paced down his tea cup. "Fortunately, handing over to the Spaniard is not a necessary prerequisite for Miami to get a place. I have better chips."


    "Exchange the lowest price for the greatest benefit. Haina, we are businessmen. It''s just our job."