Chapter 92 Ninety-two out of mud but not stained

Stubb was thrilled. He grabbed one after another, each one full of joy. The aroma has permeated the entire boat. In a little while, Stubb got out half a dozen handfuls, and that's not counting the ones that fell into the sea. Originally, Stubb could have made more. However, Captain Ahab was getting impatient waiting on the big ship. He yelled to sail away, and said they would be left here if they didn't come up, so that Stubb refrained. Stubb happily boarded the ship. He was holding Long Yixiang in his hand and couldn't help laughing. You know, as long as you take it home and put it on the counter of any pharmacy, the pharmacy owner will come over with a smile.

Every tael is worth a guinea. After talking for a long time, maybe you still don't know what ambergris is. Ambergris is something secreted by the whale when he is dyspepsia, that is to say, the product of his pain. Many animals can create treasures for humans when they are in pain, such as pearls, which are produced by oysters when they are in extreme pain. Ambergris is generally sallow in color, sometimes grayish, sometimes reddish. Ambergris has no fixed shape because it is not solid. It is something like cheese, which can be deformed as long as you squeeze it with your hands. Ambergris is a very precious commodity with a wide range of uses, such as perfume, expensive candles, hair powder, and sesame oil.

Turks use it as a condiment to cook things, and some breweries use it to enhance the aroma of wine. In the beginning, no one knew how ambergris was produced or what its true source was, and it took a long time before the mystery was solved. It turns out that the things that elegant and fashionable gentlemen and ladies use to exude fragrance come from the filthy and stinking belly of the plague whale. What an incredible thing. There are actually many such examples, such as the famous Cologne [Note: Cologne. ], during its production process, the initial taste is unbearable, but after it is made, it is famous all over the world.

So, I came up with this question: Since these things that the upper class love so much, be it ambergris or cologne, originally came from dirty, unsightly and unsightly places, why do the nobles of the upper class love these things so much while And attack the whalers wantonly? The root of the problem is not that since whalers can discover and contribute ambergris to society, why can't society accept their image? The root of the problem is: Are whalers really as dirty, dirty, full of whale-smelling, unapproachable as some people say? It should be said that at the beginning, the reputation of the whaling industry was indeed not very good. This was not because the meat and oil of the whales hunted by the whalers were not good, but because of the impact of the whalers on the environment.

At that time, whalers did not refine oil on board, but cut the blubber and brought it back to the shore, where the oil was refined. In this way, the blubber brought back by the whaling ships is often not fresh, but like carrion dug out, and its taste can be imagined. At that time, Smelenburg in Greenland was such a famous place dedicated to oil refining. At that time, all the Dutch whaling ships used this place as a transfer station to refine oil here, and then brought the refined oil back. This place has a complete set of oil refining facilities. When they are working, you can imagine what the air in this place smells like.

But what I want to point out is that this practice started two hundred years ago is now abolished. Now, all whaling ships are caught on the spot, never delaying. Due to the development of technology, oil refining has become very easy. For example, a whaling ship sailed at sea for four years, and its oil refining time was at best only 50 days, which was very fast. When the whaling ship returned to port triumphantly, except for the fragrant whale oil, there was not a piece of whale meat exuding a rancid smell. Here I would like to point out one more point, that is: Whales are by no means an animal that emits a foul smell. They are strong and well-developed, and they are constantly moving all day long, and they are in the clear sea. What reason is there to say that a healthy whale has a strange smell?

I even feel that the whale's body is full of fragrant fragrance. When it shakes its tail, it looks like a lady wearing perfume shaking her gorgeous dress in the warm living room.