Chapter 251: 250【Please the Mother-in-Law】

Before leaving Tianjin, Zhou Hexuan prepared gifts for everyone in the Zhang family. Among them, Mrs. Zhang’s are the most precious—it took a total of 3,000 oceans to buy them after many visits.

Zhou Hexuan took out a small box from the suitcase. The box was made of rosewood and covered with blue flannelette. He held it up and said, "Auntie, when we meet for the first time, a little courtesy is not a respect."

"Hmm." Mother Zhang nodded slightly, took it and put it on the tea table casually.

Zhang Leyi said, "Mom, open it and have a look."

"No need." Zhang's mother was obviously still angry.

The daughter who has been raised for more than ten years, suddenly ran away from home, and ran thousands of miles north to join a man who didn't know her background. Any mother would be unhappy.

Zhang Leyi didn't dare to speak anymore, she secretly winked at Simei.

Zhang Deyi understood immediately, opened the gift box pretending to be casual, and exclaimed: "Wow, this cross is so unique!"

Mother Zhang is a devout Christian. When she heard the cross, she turned her head involuntarily.

After seeing the appearance of the cross, she immediately frowned. Because the cross in the box is not fancy, and it's a bit worn out. The material should be sterling silver, but due to too long time, it has become a little black.

Zhou Hexuan introduced with a smile: "Auntie, this is the cross worn by Mr. Lei Mingyuan for many years. He stayed in the church before he left Tianjin. I inquired and searched for it, and finally found the cross."

"Bishop Lei's cross?" Zhang's mother was finally moved, and couldn't help looking at it carefully.

Lei Mingyuan, a Belgian, served as vicar bishop of Tianjin in 1912. He founded the Chinese Catholic Association, and he also founded Tianjin's "Yishi Bao".

This man was a pure missionary. He criticized the practice of foreign religious orders representing the interests of foreign powers and then controlling the Catholic Church in China, and clearly put forward the slogan "China belongs to the Chinese, and the Chinese belong to Christ".

Back then, the French arbitrarily expanded the Tianjin Concession, which aroused strong dissatisfaction among the Chinese people, resulting in the "Lao Xikai Incident". Lei Mingyuan always stood on the side of China, using "Yishibao" to speak for the Chinese, and severely criticized the unreasonable behavior of the French, so he had a conflict with the Bishop of Tianjin (French) at that time.

These practices made Lei Mingyuan offend not only the church, the governments of the great powers, but also his immediate superiors. As a result, Lei Mingyuan was removed from his position as vicar bishop of Tianjin by the Holy See and ordered to return to Europe.

Although Lei Mingyuan left China, he had a great influence on Chinese Christianity. Today there are six bishops in the diocese of China, all of whom were recommended by Lei Mingyuan to the Pope.

During the Northern Expedition, Lei Mingyuan even formally became a Chinese citizen, and returned to China after many setbacks. Now, as an ordinary priest, he is carrying out missionary activities in various parts of Hebei.

In history, when the Japanese invaded China, Lei Mingyuan actively advocated the resistance against Japan. He also personally led his believers to the front line to rescue wounded soldiers, relieve refugees, and educate out-of-school children. He eventually died of illness in Geleshan, Chongqing.

The pious Christians in China at this time admired Lei Mingyuan's character and his pure belief in God, and he was equivalent to the spiritual leader of foreign missionaries in China.

Lei Mingyuan's cross cannot be measured by money. For ordinary people, this is a pile of broken silver, worth at most two oceans after melting; but for Christians, this is a priceless treasure that can only be met but not sought after.

Zhang's mother stared at the cross and looked at it again and again, but in the end she couldn't resist the temptation, and said to Zhou Hexuan with a slightly pale face, "I have a heart."

Zhang Leyi immediately helped Zhou Hexuan with good words: "Brother Xuan took great pains to find this cross, and sent people to search for it for more than a month."

Zhang's mother did not comment on this, but asked Zhou Hexuan: "I heard that you design and sell women's underwear?"

"There is such a thing." Zhou Hexuan said.

"It seems a bit indecent." Zhang's mother said.

Zhou Hexuan said with a smile: "I think women's underwear is no different from ordinary clothes."

Mother Zhang asked again: "Aside from selling underwear, what other business do you have?"

There was no need for Zhou Hexuan and Zhang Leyi to answer. The fourth sister Zhang Deyi rushed to say: "Mr. Zhou is amazing. He is the president of Peking University and has written many books such as "The Rise of a Great Power" and "Goddess". The teachers who teach us history and literature are all I highly respect Mr. Zhou."

"Well, I see. Le Yi, how about you? What have you been up to lately?" Zhang's mother did not continue to "interrogate" Zhou Hexuan, but asked about her daughter's recent situation. Basically, Zhang's mother is satisfied. The identity of a cultural celebrity shows that Zhou Hexuan has ideas and connotations, and the identity of an underwear businessman shows that Zhou Hexuan is not short of money.

Zhang Leyi said with a smile: "I am managing a broadcasting company recently, and I also personally host a radio program."

"What is broadcasting?" Zhang's mother had no impression of it.

"Mom, you are so backward that you don't even know about radio," the fourth sister Zhang Deyi said suddenly. "Broadcasting is interesting. There are several radio stations in Shanghai. That kind of thing is equivalent to a talking newspaper, but compared to Newspapers are more interesting."

Zhang Leyi took the opportunity to say: "Brother Xuan also opened a newspaper in Tianjin, and has a branch in Shanghai."

The two sisters Zhang Leyi and Zhang Deyi helped Zhou Hexuan speak well in various ways, such as advocating women's four-self virtues, inventing human harvesters, etc., all in one go.

The more Zhang's mother listened, the more satisfied she became. In addition, Zhou Hexuan was young, handsome, and polite. She had already accepted this future son-in-law from the bottom of her heart. Although Zhou Hexuan didn't have Song Ziwen's power, but as a mother, she really didn't think much of it, as long as her daughter liked it.

The atmosphere in the living room became much more harmonious, and Zhang's mother began to ask about Zhou Hexuan's family situation: "Who else is there in Mr. Zhou's family?"

"I'm an orphan..." Zhou Hexuan repeated his "life experience" in detail.

A woman is a woman. Hearing Zhou Hexuan's lonely and miserable story, Zhang's mother loved him a little more, and finally expressed her position: "Speaking of which, Mr. Zhou's ancestors were also a big gentry family, which is better than my Zhang family's. It's right to be considered a good family."

"Auntie, don't be too cautious, just call me Mingcheng." Zhou Hexuan said.

Zhang Leyi immediately said: "Mom, Mingcheng is a character that Mr. Liang Qichao specially chose for Brother Xuan, and Mr. Kang Youwei also helped Brother Xuan choose a character called Ruoyu."

Zhang's mother had heard about Kang Youwei and Liang Qichao, she felt very honored, and said with a smile: "Mingcheng is better, Mr. Liang is worthy of being a university student."

Everyone chatted until the evening, and the fifth lady of the Zhang family, Man Yi, also came back, she was still a 10-year-old little loli.

When it was dark, the servants began to bring the dishes to the table.

The fourth, fifth and youngest sons of the Zhang family went downstairs one after another, looking at Zhou Hexuan curiously.

The fourth son, Zhang Yuanbei, is a boy in his teens. He will go abroad to study abroad after finishing middle school next year. He still knows Zhou Hexuan's name, and he doesn't dislike this future brother-in-law.

As for the fifth son, Yuan Mo, and the sixth son, Yuan Fan, they are all brats now, so their attitudes are irrelevant.

Since Zhang Mouzhi often went out to socialize and discuss business, the Zhang family did not wait for him to come back for dinner. After everyone had finished their dinner, Zhang Mouzhi returned home reeking of alcohol. When he saw his daughter and Zhou Hexuan, his expression darkened instantly, and he shouted, "Get out!"