The generous host gave Nick a pair of cloth shoes. With that, his outfit was "complete," except for the missing queue.
While factory owners supplied ordinary people with large quantities of industrial goods, they themselves were fond of handmade items. People spent far more time on such things. Take the cloth shoes on Nick's feet: their soles were very thick, and it took a craftsman several days to make a pair. They were also exceptionally comfortable to wear.
After changing his shoes, Nick went with Howqua to the reception hall. Like the British, these Thirteen Hongs merchants of Guangzhou had a habit of gathering together to smoke. The reception hall was furnished as lavishly as a banquet hall, with many porcelain pieces on display.
They came from the Dehua Kiln in Fujian, famed for its white porcelain Buddhist sculptures, much as Europeans liked displaying ancient Roman statues. Jingdezhen porcelain, meanwhile, was known for its rich colors. The sculptures in the host's home were not limited to Buddhist figures; there were also flowers made of white porcelain, with lifelike butterflies perched upon them.
Many paintings hung on the walls, both Chinese and Western in style. One was clearly painted by Lam Qua. Perhaps influenced by Western Baroque style, the furniture in the reception hall featured extensive carved decoration and had become more Western in form, unlike the rosewood furniture in the Admiral's home, which leaned more toward Chinese style.
They allowed young boys to attend such occasions. So the children could master English as quickly as possible, the "elders" acted as private tutors, marking every word with Cantonese pronunciations. For example, "man," meaning a male, was marked as "maan," while "today" was marked as "tou dei." It was not just the younger generation—even the clerks had to learn as much English