Chapter 259: This Journey to the West
"If you are not financially comfortable, the public school can help. Although the Sorbonne University offers scholarships, the French culture is extravagant and the living expenses are high. It is better to bring more money."
"Thank you, President. The stocks I invested in have increased a lot in the past few months. It is enough for me to study in France." Zhang Xingjiu replied.
In the past few months, he had been holding shares of Lankai Tobacco Company. When the price fluctuated, he also made some transactions. In addition, he invested the salary he received and the money sent by his family. Now his assets have exceeded 3,000 taels of silver.
Now the new rich in France, such as lawyers, doctors, engineers, etc., have an annual income of about 10,000 francs, which is equivalent to more than 2,000 taels of silver. This money is enough for their family of four to live a decent life and is more than enough to cover the expenses of four years of college.
Moreover, the Sorbonne University starts in September, and it is only the end of January now. With two months left for travel, Zhang Xingjiu still has nine months to operate in the stock market. By then, it will not be a problem to turn it into six thousand or even eight thousand taels.
Together with the precious metals and various jewels in his personal space, they were enough for him to live a life of luxury in France without having to worry about money at all. Besides, he had other ways to make money.
Jiang Yixu felt a little regretful. Zhang Xingjiu had less opportunities to do favors now that he was rich. Fortunately, the Public School had always been very good to Zhang Xingjiu, so this was not a big deal. "That's good. If you are not able to go anywhere, please send me a telegram. The Public School will find a way to send you the money. There are many foreign banks in Shanghai, including many in France. It won't take long for them to send the money to Paris."
After the Spring Festival, Zhang Xingjiu will return to Shanghai to study for a while, and learn about the customs and culture of France, the lifestyle in the university, etc., so Jiang Yixu didn't chat with him for long today and let him go back to Shaoxing to reunite with his family first.
This trip to France will take at least three or four years. If Zhang Xingjiu also wants to pursue a doctorate, it will take even longer. The distance from Shanghai to France is long, and he probably won't be able to come back until he graduates. So while he hasn't left yet, he should stay at home for more time. He doesn't know when he will be able to reunite with his family next time.
Zhang Xingjiu was also thinking of his family, A Zhang, Xu Xilin, Wang Ziyu and others, so he took the time to go to Gezhi Academy to thank Fu Lan-ya and others, borrowed some books, bought some gifts, and then hurriedly boarded the passenger ship back to Hangzhou.
When he arrived in Hangzhou, he changed boats without taking a rest. After a long journey, he finally returned to Shaoxing. When he got home, he saw that business was still booming, so Zhang Xingjiu felt relieved.
After dinner, he and Zhang Fuqing talked about going abroad. "I met a noble man in Shanghai. John Fryer, a third-rank official who used to work at the Jiangnan Manufacturing Bureau, and Ma Xiangbo, who handled diplomatic and foreign affairs for the court, appreciated my talent and recommended me to study at the Imperial Academy in France. After I come back, I will be regarded as a Jinshi and be entrusted with important tasks. I think this is a rare opportunity and I don't want to refuse the two gentlemen, so I agreed."
If you tell Zhang Fuqing what the Sorbonne University is, he definitely won't understand it, and you can't say it was recommended by the church school. Zhang Xingjiu thought for a long time before he found a more appropriate explanation.
Even so, Zhang Fuqing didn't quite understand. He just heard that the child was appreciated by a noble person and had a bright future, but he had to go far away to study for a period of time.
"In Shaoxing city, it's common for scholars to go far away to study. But you're not married yet, and I'm really worried about you going so far. Why don't you get married before you leave?" Zhang Fuqing asked. From his point of view, this matter is more important than being an official.
"I have no official title yet, and I can't find a good family. But when I return from my studies in the future and become a Jinshi, maybe I can find a good marriage! If you are in a hurry to have a grandson, let my second and third brothers get married quickly." Zhang Xingjiu had no choice but to move his younger brother out.
They were not good at studying, and they couldn't stand staying in Sanwei Bookstore for a while and came back. Now one of them is farming in his hometown and the other is helping out in the store. Their family has money, so they bought some land in Dupu Village. The business of the store is also good, and they are living a decent life.
Ever since Zhang Xingjiu passed the imperial examination and became a scholar, Zhang Fuqing regarded him as the Star of Literature. Even for such a major event, as soon as Zhang Xingjiu spoke, he no longer insisted and just told Zhang Xingjiu about several families recently recommended by the matchmaker and asked him to help choose a suitable one.
"I just came back, so I don't know much about these families yet. I'll visit my classmates tomorrow and ask them to help me find out. After I go to France, if there is anything at home, I'll go find Wang Ziyu for help. I'll go and talk to him tomorrow."
Zhang Fuqing and his two younger brothers are honest people and will not get involved in any messy things. Wang Ziyu's family is also quite prestigious in Shaoxing, so with him taking care of them, basically nothing will go wrong, and Zhang Xingjiu can rest assured studying in France.
The next day, Zhang Xingjiu went to Sanwei Book House with gifts. When Shou Jingwu heard that Zhang Xingjiu was going to study in the West, he felt very complicated. On the one hand, he felt that Zhang Xingjiu was quite talented in Confucianism, and it was a pity for him to learn Western things now; on the other hand, he felt that Westerners did have some skills, and it would be a good thing for China if he could learn them.
After leaving Sanwei Bookstore, Zhang Xingjiu went to A Zhang's house again. Zhou Fengyi's complexion looked much worse. If nothing unexpected happened, he would be gone in about ten months, and A Zhang would also usher in major changes in his life.
Ah Zhang has not realized all this yet, he is just curious about the West; the same goes for Xu Xilin and Wang Ziyu, they all hope that Zhang Xingjiu can return after completing his studies as soon as possible.
After staying at home for more than a month and arranging everything for after his departure, Zhang Xingjiu went to Shanghai again after the Lantern Festival.
After returning to the public school, he began to learn various customs from the French teachers and strengthened his French conversation training to avoid feeling uncomfortable in France. During this period, he continued to entrust John Liu to carry out stock operations.
By mid-June, Zhang Xingjiu's assets had exceeded 10,000 taels of silver. He converted the money into francs and deposited them in a French bank. He only kept a small portion with him and took out the rest when he arrived in Paris.
It took several days to pack my luggage and book the boat ticket, during which time I even went home for two days.
On the day of departure, Ma Xiangbo, Fu Lanya, Jiang Yixu and others came to the dock to see him off. After everyone said goodbye, Ma Xiangbo took his hand and said, "When the imperial court sent the young students to study in the United States to sea, there was a passage that left a deep impression on me. Today, I will give it to you!"
"I am going to the West with a deep understanding of China's strategy for self-strengthening. I have no other desire. I am shouldering the future of my country and learning all the science of the West. I am traveling tens of thousands of miles away from my motherland and parents' country, and I have no regrets."
"Zhou Ping, remember these words, remember these words!"
I have to go to the countryside again. I will update twice in the next few days (end of this chapter)
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