Chapter 313 [Science Fiction]
When Zhou Hexuan went to the US this time, he planned to take Zhang Leyi with him, treating it as a post-marriage honeymoon.
Unexpectedly, just a few days before departure, Zhang Leyi felt unwell and was diagnosed by the doctor as pregnant.
In desperation, Zhou Hexuan had no choice but to take Sun Yongzhen to the south and leave Sun Yonghao in Tianjin to watch the house.
At the end of July, Zhou Hexuan met Zhang Mouzhi in Shanghai, and then crossed the Pacific Ocean by boat, passing Japan and Hawaii on the way, and the final destination was San Francisco.
The ticket was bought by someone sent by Zhang Mouzhi. It was a Japanese passenger ship.
But what is amazing is that the most popular language on board is neither Chinese nor Japanese, but general English. It seems that people who can speak a few words of Western dialect belong to the upper class.
Captains, chief mates and other high-ranking officers are all Japanese, while most of the waiters and servants on board are from Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Guangzhou provinces. They resolutely do not speak Mandarin or northern dialect, so that sometimes northern tourists need to speak English with these Chinese waiters if they want to order a cup of coffee.
Zhou Hexuan felt as if he was in another world immediately after boarding the ocean-going ship at the Shanghai pier.
"My son-in-law, are you sure you are going to do finance in the United States this time?" Zhang Mou asked again after boarding the ship. He has asked this question countless times.
Zhou Hexuan smiled helplessly: "If you don't have confidence in me, you don't have to do anything when you go to the United States this time, just treat it as an ocean trip."
"It depends on the situation." Zhang Mouzhi was completely confused.
Weng and his son-in-law felt that the cabin was very stuffy, so they went to the deck together to breathe after a while.
They bought first-class tickets and lived in the uppermost cabin. And the relaxing passengers on that deck are also successful people from home and abroad, the men are in suits and leather shoes, and the women are solemn and fashionable.
Zhang Mouzhi sat down at a small table, greeted the Chinese waiter in English and said, "Coffee!"
When the waiter heard that it was in English, he was immediately respectful and replied in broken Chinglish: "Please_wait."
Zhou Hexuan lay on the railing of the deck, looking at the gradually disappearing coastline of China, feeling really bored. The thought of staying on the boat for a month made Zhou Hexuan feel even more boring. He used to travel around the world often, but he had never been on a Republic of China ship, and the speed was horribly slow.
While Zhou Hexuan was blindly looking at the scenery, commotion suddenly appeared on the lower deck.
I saw a few Chinese men coming to the deck, and the Chinese people along the way stood up and shook hands one after another, chatting happily.
The person walking in front, whom Zhou Hexuan had seen in the photo, was none other than Peking Opera master Mei Lanfang.
Mei Lanfang was invited by the U.S. Minister to China to bring a troupe to the U.S. to perform. The famous photo of Mei Lanfang and Chaplin in later generations was taken during this performance.
Since they didn't live on the same floor, Zhou Hexuan didn't bother to go down to say hello, ordered a cup of milk tea, and sat on the deck to bask in the sun leisurely.
"Mr. Zhou, long time no see!" A loud voice came from the ear.
Zhou Hexuan looked up, and immediately stood up with a smile and greeted: "So it's Mr. Antwerp and Mrs. Antwerp, hello!"
This Mr. Antwerp is actually Ma Murray, the US Minister to China. When Zhou Hexuan got married in Shanghai, he brought his wife to the wedding, and there was little friendship between them.
"You should call me Ma Murui by my Chinese name, I'm used to it." Ma Murui said in fluent Chinese.
Ma Murui's wife Alice asked with a smile, "Is Mr. Zhou going to America?"
"Yes," Zhou Hexuan asked casually, "where are you two?"
Ma Murui shrugged and said, "I am resigning and returning to China this time."
Ma Murray is an expert in Asia. He worked in the U.S. State Department more than 20 years ago, served as the Minister Counselor in China more than 10 years ago, and then transferred to the Counselor of the Embassy in Japan, and then transferred back to the United States to serve as the Director of the Far East Department of the State Department.
A few years ago, Ma Murray came to China again as the U.S. Consul General in Tianjin, and was later promoted to U.S. Minister to China.
Ma Murray was in charge of negotiating the return of the United States to China's tariff autonomy. Last year, he was also invited by Chang Kaishen to go to the Northeast to contact Zhang Xueliang, expressing the United States' support for the Northeast to change its flag.
Don't think that this guy has a heart for China. He belongs to the hardliner of the US diplomatic system, and everything is based on the interests of the United States. He originally opposed the return of China's tariff rights, but the US Secretary of State ordered him to start negotiations.
By the way, this guy is also a special assistant to the former US Secretary of State.
"Retiring and returning to China?" Zhou Hexuan smiled, "It seems that Mr. Ma Murui is going to be promoted."
Ma Murui complained: "Damn Gao Sheng, I'd rather stay in the Far East. Our new president is a guy who doesn't play cards according to common sense."
Well, it seems that Ma Murray is a member of the Democratic Party, and he can't pee in the same pot as President Hoover of the Republican Party.
Mrs. Ma Alice asked: "Mr. Zhou, which university are you going to for academic exchanges when you go to the United States this time?"
Zhou Hexuan didn't hide anything, and said truthfully: "I think the U.S. stock market is about to collapse, so I went short to make some small money by the way."
"Hahaha," Ma Murui seemed to hear a big joke, "Mr. Zhou, maybe you can deposit 100 dollars with me, so as not to lose all and have no money to buy a boat ticket back to China."
Alas, every time I tell the truth, why no one wants to believe it?
Zhou Hexuan shrugged: "We'll wait and see, I'm not joking."
Alice said: "Mr. Zhou, you are a famous writer, and I heard that you grew up in America. Have you ever thought about writing a novel about America?"
"That's a good idea." Zhou Hexuan said with a smile.
It's a long sea journey, and it's driving you crazy if you don't find something to do.
Three years ago, the magazine "Overseas Students" also published a guide for studying abroad. The article specifically reminded: International students should bring musical instruments and books to pass the boring time on the ship.
Zhou Hexuan went to the United States this time, except for the passbook of the Citibank international account, he didn't bring anything with him.
Then just write a novel. It is estimated that by the time the ship docks in San Francisco, Zhou Hexuan's new novel will have been written, and it is time to find an American publisher to publish it.
As for what book to write?
American readers don't like things that are too literary and artistic, they must be commercialized enough.
The original author of "Gone with the Wind" probably has already finished the first draft, and this book cannot be copied.
Of course, it will take another seven years for this book to be published. If Zhou Hexuan gets the manuscript out ahead of time, he can completely cut it off, as long as he doesn't fear that the original author will come to make trouble.
Lying in the cabin and thinking for a long time, Zhou Hexuan felt that there was no need to copy any books, and he could just adapt "Titanic" into a novel. Anyway, he told Wanrong the story last time.
Zhou Hexuan suddenly had a bad taste, he wanted to write "Titanic" as a science fiction story.
That is to say, without making major changes to the plot of the movie, the old Rose will appear decades later.
Well, telling a story that happened at the beginning of the 20th century from the perspective of future people at the end of the 20th century, isn’t it science fiction?