Cheng Hao hadn't expected that the yellow man he'd accidentally met was actually Chinese. He was in a good mood, and the Chinese man was in an even better mood: "I actually heard Chinese! I haven't heard Chinese in a long time! Your voice is so nice! Bro, you speak even better than the announcer!"
Cheng Hao: "..." He always thought his body was handsome, but his voice was just so-so, right? Some even said he spoke as beautifully as a newscaster, but that was a bit exaggerated...
No, it's not necessarily an exaggeration.
Cheng Hao suddenly remembered that it was 1980 and in many places in China, teachers were still teaching students in dialect.
At this time, there are probably not many people in the country who can speak standard Mandarin.
In his previous life, he was born in 1992. His teachers spoke Mandarin to him since kindergarten. At that time, in order to ensure that everyone spoke Mandarin, there was a school rule in elementary school that students would be deducted points if they spoke dialect.
His Mandarin may not be perfect, but it is definitely standard.
"Are you here to study abroad? Are there new international students here now? You are in this city, so you are going to study in the same university as me, right?" The man with glasses became even more excited. While speaking, he took out a pen and wrote something down in his notebook.
"I'm not an international student." Cheng Hao asked, "Are you an international student?"
"Yes, I am an international student! If you are not an international student, you..." The man looked at Cheng Hao in confusion.
Cheng Hao said: "I am from Hong Kong."
"So that's how it is..." The person talking to Cheng Hao was a little disappointed, but still very excited: "Don't you Hong Kong people speak Cantonese? How come your Mandarin is so good?"
Cheng Hao said: "I like China and learned Mandarin specially."
When the man heard Cheng Hao's words, his eyes looked at Cheng Hao more kindly.
"Cheng Hao..." At this time, Lin Yuxun walked over and looked curiously at the man with the same skin color as them.
"There are actually two!" the man said excitedly.
Lin Yuxun didn't understand, so Cheng Hao smiled and continued chatting with him.
After chatting, Cheng Hao learned that this person's name was Shi Wenzheng, and he was one of the first group of international students to go to the United States after China opened up.
He and some other people came to the United States via Paris in December 1978, before the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the United States. After the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the United States on January 1, 1979, they delivered a speech on behalf of China, studied English for another three months, and then went to different universities to study.
Some of them studied medicine, some studied chemistry, some studied physics... they studied all kinds of things, but Shi Wenzhen studied electronic engineering and was studying at a university nearby.
Shi Wenzhen was the only Chinese student studying at the university. Although he corresponded with other students and occasionally made phone calls, everyone was busy studying, so their communication time was very short and limited.
That's why he was so excited when he suddenly saw Cheng Hao.
"Some of the classmates who came here with me have already returned to their home countries, but I haven't learned enough." Shi Wenzheng sighed.
Cheng Hao already had great respect for him.
Shi Wenzheng said that he had not learned enough, but Cheng Hao knew very well that in terms of knowledge, Shi Wenzheng could definitely crush many of him.
His grades have actually always been bad. If he had gone to a regular high school to take the exam, he would probably have ranked last and been a complete loser!
Shi Wenzheng is different. She is one of the smartest people selected from the whole country!
Cheng Hao was very happy to talk to Shi Wenzheng, even though he didn't understand some of what Shi Wenzheng said.
Shi Wenzhen was also happy to talk to them, and both sides exchanged addresses.
The address Shi Wenzhen left was a student dormitory at a nearby famous university, and the address Cheng Hao left was old George's home. They also exchanged phone numbers.
Shi Wenzheng said, "I shouldn't call. The phone bill is a bit expensive."
"Are you short of money?" Cheng Hao asked.
Shi Wenzheng said, "It's much better now! When we first went abroad, we didn't have enough foreign currency. Each of us only had fifty dollars. We really didn't feel confident standing on the street! Fortunately, after coming here, the liaison office provided funding and they send us checks every month."
"Then what..." Cheng Hao looked at Shi Wenzhen hesitantly. Shi Wenzhen's clothes should have been worn in China. The material was good, but the style was really not that good. Moreover, he probably didn't know how to wash them himself, and the clothes were damaged by washing, with a lot of pills on them.
"I like buying books, but I'm a little short of money." Shi Wenzheng said, "You don't know, there are so many books here that aren't available in China! A few years ago, some people in China destroyed all the books and materials that our predecessors painstakingly brought back from abroad and translated. Now China is short of everything! Fortunately, the country now supports the introduction of various books and talents, but sometimes we can't take care of everything..."
In the past few years, there were various activities in the country, and anyone who had a translated foreign novel would be criticized, which destroyed a lot of talents and information. In addition, the United States has developed rapidly in recent years, and there are many more books and information... Shi Wenzhen wished he had tens of thousands of dollars to buy books.
But he didn't.
Cheng Hao felt complicated when he heard him speak.
Since he was a child, his motherland has been taking off. When he grew up and left his country to go abroad, he would no longer be looked down upon or despised.
But he didn't know what his predecessors had done for this.
After chatting for a while, Shi Wenzheng looked at her watch and said, "I can't chat anymore. I need to pick some books."
Cheng Hao didn't disturb Shi Wenzhen anymore. Then he saw what Shi Wenzhen wrote in the notebook and then started reading.
Shi Wenzhen read very carefully and finally picked out ten books in one breath.
Cheng Hao and others bought even more books. Lin Yuxun bought eighteen books, and his schoolbag could not fit them all. Danny bought more than twenty books...but his books were thinner and lighter.
By the time they paid, it was already one o'clock in the afternoon.
Cheng Hao asked Shi Wenzheng: "Mr. Shi, have you eaten yet? Do you want to go eat together?"
Shi Wenzheng looked at her watch, wrote something down in her notebook, and then said, "I brought some food, so I won't eat with you."
As he spoke, he pulled out a foil-wrapped sandwich from his clothes. "A lot of things are expensive in America, but eating in the cafeteria is still not expensive. I ask them for a little extra every morning, and then I have lunch."
Shi Wenzhen was very happy when he said this. He was really satisfied with his current life.
You have to know that it was almost impossible for him to eat white rice and white flour for every meal in his country, but here, he can eat bread, meat, sausages and so on for every meal.
He had never seen many of the foods before!
Cheng Hao traveled through time from forty years later. Although he felt that the United States at that time was more developed than he had imagined, he sometimes felt disgusted because he lived in the slums.
Shi Wenzheng is different.
He came here from a place where many people couldn't even guarantee enough food and clothing. After arriving here, he saw big cities and university campuses. The people he interacted with were all college students and well-known professors. His feelings were completely different from Cheng Hao's.
Cheng Hao said, "Mr. Shi, let me treat you to a meal!"
Shi Wenzheng thought about it and agreed.
Although Cheng Hao had an unexpected fortune, he was not the kind of person who would spend money carelessly... He chose a fried chicken restaurant to treat Shi Wenzheng to a meal.
While eating, they chatted some more, and Cheng Hao even asked about the university Shi Wenzheng attended.
Shi Wenzheng said a lot.
The university where he attended was a very good school that had produced many celebrities. More importantly, this school was not like some other schools that had serious racial discrimination.
Cheng Hao felt something in his heart when he heard what Shi Wenzheng said.
It would be great if Lin Yuxun could study in this school...
Of course, this is a bit difficult.
As for letting Shi Wenzheng instruct Lin Yuxun... Cheng Hao could see that Shi Wenzheng was really busy, very busy. Talents like him were sent abroad by the country with great difficulty, and his time was precious. Even though Cheng Hao felt that teaching Lin Yuxun was not a waste of time, he would never let Shi Wenzheng do such a favor.
After dinner, Shi Wenzhen said goodbye.
Perhaps because he met Cheng Hao and the others, he was in a good mood and walked with a brisk pace. But when he walked like this...
He had not walked far when the sole of his leather shoe suddenly fell off, and a hole appeared in the front of the shoe, revealing his foot.
Cheng Hao: “…”
Shi Wenzheng was also a little embarrassed: "I don't know if there is a shoe repair shop here..."
Cheng Hao walked over and took out a pair of sneakers he had just bought to compare. He found that his sneakers were about the same length as Shi Wenzheng's leather shoes, so he gave his sneakers to Shi Wenzheng: "Mr. Shi, you can wear my shoes."
Shi Wenzheng hesitated, and Cheng Hao reached into his innermost pocket again, took out about half of the winnings he had hidden there, and gave it to Shi Wenzheng: "And this money, take it."
"How can this be possible?" Shi Wenzheng frowned.
But Cheng Hao said, "Okay! I'm not giving this money to Mr. Shi, so just consider it as supporting domestic education! Also, Mr. Shi should have a lot of books. I hope Mr. Shi can lend some to my brother."
As Cheng Hao spoke, he pulled Lin Yuxun in front of him.
Lin Yuxun was probably too poor in the past, so he liked to make money and read books about economics. However, Shi Wenzheng studied electronic engineering, so the books they read were actually quite different.
But it would be good to find a reason for Shi Wenzheng to accept the money.
Moreover, Shi Wenzhen might have some books that Lin Yuxun likes.
The author has something to say:
Finally, a little more about this book~
Writing about real people would be troublesome, so this article, like the author’s previous work “Literary Masters of the Republic of China”, uses the 1980s United States as the background, but all the characters in it are fictional, and some places are also fictional or renamed, so you don’t have to look for prototypes, because there are no prototypes at all (I spent a lot of effort to avoid this).
The situation of overseas students in 1978 described in this chapter is real, but the character Shi Wenzhen was made up by the author. I also made up the university he attended and other things to avoid any conflict with real people.
You know, among the first fifty people who went abroad that year, seventeen are now academicians!
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