Chapter 282 New
Home Qian Junfu’s father ran a silk business in Hangzhou, but later fell into decline. Judging from the time, it may have been affected by the Sino-foreign Raw Silk War more than ten years ago. At that time, the Chinese representative was Hu Xueyan, and the foreign representative was foreign merchants from various countries.
Hangzhou was Hu Xueyan's base camp. It was impossible for Qian Junfu's father, who was doing silk business here, not to be influenced by Hu Xueyan. In this war, even Hu Xueyan lost everything, let alone a small businessman like him.
Fortunately, a lean camel is bigger than a horse. Qian Junfu still received a good education from his family in his childhood. Now he ranks among the top students in Qiushi Academy and is a good student with both good character and good academic performance.
According to the normal timeline, he would drop out of Qiushi College two years later, and then when he was 22 years old, he met a noble man. The wealthy businessman Zhang married his daughter Zhang Lanjuan to him and sponsored him to study in Japan.
Qian Junfu, together with A Zhang, Li Suizhi, Jiang Baili, Shi Chengzhi and others, went to Japan to seek ways to "promote education and save the country". He was admitted to the Tokyo Higher Normal School (now the University of Tsukuba), where he studied education, geography and history, and graduated four years later.
During this period he came into contact with Sun Yat-sen's thoughts, returned to China to establish the Quanxuetang, taught passionate young people to join the revolution, and returned to Hangzhou to serve as the principal of ZJ Provincial No. 1 Middle School. After that, he continued to work in the education system and served as the Director of Zhejiang Education Department.
While he was the principal of the province's No. 1 middle school, he had a son and named him Xuesen. Everyone knows what happened next.
Zhang Xingjiu collected his thoughts and began to answer his question, "There is no shortcut in science. We can only move forward step by step. We should first follow the footsteps of European and American countries, learn their knowledge, and then slowly digest and innovate. If we persist in this way, perhaps in a few decades, we will be able to surpass European and American countries in science."
These words were actually meant to encourage them. In fact, it was not until more than a hundred years later that China's scientific and technological level gradually showed a trend of catching up with Europe and the United States. However, there was no other way. There were too many courses to be learned before, and the next few decades would be a time of chaos, so it was impossible to concentrate on studying.
"Please rest assured, sir. We will study hard and will not let you down!" Qian Junfu made a solemn statement, and judging from his later experiences, he also fulfilled his promise.
As soon as Qian Junfu sat down, someone stood up to ask a question. Zhang Xingjiu answered for more than an hour before the speech was over. Afterwards, Qian Junfu sorted out his speech and answers and distributed them everywhere. Many aspiring young people drew energy from them and decided to devote themselves to scientific research, making outstanding contributions to the future rise of China.
The teachers at the school wanted to keep Zhang Xingjiu for one more night, but unfortunately he was too pressed for time and had already booked a passenger ship for the evening. They could only send Zhang Xingjiu to the dock and say goodbye reluctantly.
A Zhang, Xu Xilin and Wang Ziyu also returned to Shaoxing by boat. After returning, they devoted themselves to learning new subjects with even greater enthusiasm.
The three groups of people at the dock chose different paths, but their goals were the same: they all wanted to give their all for China's resurgence.
The next day at noon, the passenger ship arrived at the Shanghai wharf. The Ma family had already sent a vehicle to wait there and took them home. This was considered a return visit for Ma Zongwen. Seeing her happy face, Ma Xiangbo, Ma Jianzhong and the women in the family all put aside their last bit of worry.
After staying in Shanghai for a few days, Zhang Xingjiu and Ma Zongwen took their luggage and boarded a passenger ship to France. This was Ma Zongwen's first time traveling far away, and he was very curious at first, but after drifting on the sea for a long time, he couldn't help feeling bored.
Fortunately, Zhang Xingjiu was there, and the two of them were very much in love. As long as he could see him, Ma Zongwen felt very at ease.
After more than a month's voyage, the passenger ship arrived at the port of Marseille. After changing to a train, Zhang Xingjiu finally arrived in his loyal Paris and returned to his familiar apartment.
During the months he was away, the Curies often held salons here, and the house was still well taken care of. The two tired people from the journey fell asleep. Ma Zongwen slept for more than ten hours in a row before being awakened by the smell of food.
When I opened my eyes, I found that Zhang Xingjiu had already prepared breakfast.
After breakfast, the Curies came to visit together. Lang Zhiwan did not come as he had already reported to the Cavendish Laboratory in Cambridge. Ma Zongwen was a little nervous when she first saw them, but she gradually got used to it after chatting for a while. Her years of hard study had not been in vain, and she could communicate with them fluently in French.
"It's a pity that I can't attend your wedding, but we have prepared gifts in advance." Pierre gave the carefully selected gift to Zhang Xingjiu.
Zhang Xingjiu opened it in front of them and was relieved to see that it was a French handicraft. He was afraid that they would be like some scientists and give their research results as gifts, which would be unbearable.
"Before you came, Professor Lippmann asked me to invite you to his home in the evening. He also asked me to tell you that you don't have to rush to school or the laboratory. You should take care of your personal affairs first. If you need help from the school, just ask."
"Thank you so much. I plan to rent or buy a bigger house near the Sèvres Women's Normal School. This will make it more convenient for Zongwen to study, and we can also invite more scholars to hold salons at home." Zhang Xingjiu's royalties have already arrived, and he has also made a lot of money in his stock market operations. He is not short of money at all now.
"Although the Sèvres Women's Normal School is very close to our school, Ms. Ma is a foreigner after all, so it would be better for her to live near the school." Pierre expressed his understanding. "I will ask for you later. I will go with you to look at houses tomorrow!"
In the evening, he went to Professor Lippmann's home. The professor's wife liked Ma Zongwen very much, and the few of them had a great time chatting. Zhang Xingjiu also learned from Lippmann that other universities or research institutions were still doing experiments to catch up with Zhang Xingjiu, and none of them had yet surpassed him.
The next day, Zhang Xingjiu and his wife followed Pierre to look at houses. The housing prices in Paris are relatively stable now, with the rental-to-sale ratio maintained at around 20 to 1. Zhang Xingjiu took a fancy to a four-story apartment near Ma Zongwen School. The annual rent was 8,000 francs, and the other party offered 165,000 francs.
After some bargaining, the deal was finally settled at a price of 150,000 francs. A lawyer came to draft the contract, and after signing and payment, the four-story house became the property of Zhang Xingjiu.
The cafe and restaurant on the first floor will continue to operate, and residents on the second and third floors can continue to live there and just need to pay the rent to Zhang Xingjiu.
The couple lived on the fourth floor, and Pierre introduced them to a live-in maid and a cook. The former was responsible for sweeping and washing clothes, and the latter was responsible for cooking. They needed to be paid 480 francs and 600 francs respectively each year.
Zhang Xingjiu had already made up his mind to keep the house. He would live in it first and then rent it out to Chinese students. He could also give it to them after World War I.
(End of this chapter)
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