Training the Heavens

Chapter 259: Going to the West
"If you're having financial difficulties, the public school can help. Although the Sorbonne offers a scholarship, France is a flashy place, and living expenses are quite high, so it's better to bring extra money."

"Thank you, President. The stocks I invested in have increased a lot in the past few months. It's enough for us to study abroad in France." Zhang Xingjiu replied.

In the past few months, he has been holding shares of Lankai Tobacco Company. When the price fluctuated, he also made some operations. In addition to the salary he received and the money sent by his family, he also invested it. Now his assets have exceeded 3,000 taels of silver.

Nowadays, the annual income of the new rich in France, such as lawyers, doctors, engineers, etc., is 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 university.

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 6,000 or even 8,000 taels.

Together with the precious metals and various jewels in his portable 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's wealth meant he had one less opportunity to curry favor with others. Fortunately, the Public School had always been very good to Zhang Xingjiu, so this was not a big deal. "That's good. If you're not able to get around, send me a telegram and the Public School will find a way to send you the money. There are many foreign banks in Shanghai, including quite a few 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 has not left yet, he should stay at home for more time. He doesn't know when he will be able to reunite with his family again.

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 quickly boarded the passenger ship back to Hangzhou.

When he arrived in Hangzhou, he didn't even have time to rest and quickly changed boats. After a long journey, he finally returned to Shaoxing. When he got home, he saw that the business was still booming, so Zhang Xingjiu felt relieved.

After dinner, he and Zhang Fuqing talked about going abroad. "I met some distinguished people in Shanghai. John Fryer, a third-rank official who once worked at the Jiangnan Arsenal, and Ma Xiangbo, who handled foreign affairs and foreign affairs for the imperial court, admired my talent and recommended that I study at the Imperial Academy in France. Upon my return, I'll be considered a Jinshi and be entrusted with important tasks. I felt that this was a rare opportunity, and I didn't want to refuse these two gentlemen, so I agreed."

If you tell Zhang Fuqing what Sorbonne University is, he definitely won't understand it, let alone say that it was recommended by a church school. Zhang Xingjiu thought about it 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 was more important than being an official.

"I have no official title yet, and I can't find a good family. When I return from school after completing my studies and become a Jinshi, maybe I can find a good marriage! If you are anxious 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 weren't cut out for study; after spending some time at Sanwei Book House, they couldn't stand it and returned. Now, one of them farms in their hometown, and the other helps out at the store. Their family had enough money, so they bought some more land in Dupu Village. The store was doing well, and they were able to get by. Ever since Zhang Xingjiu passed the imperial examination, Zhang Fuqing had considered him a "literary star." Even for something as important as this, Zhang Xingjiu wouldn't insist, instead telling him about several families the matchmaker had recently recommended and asking him to help choose a suitable one.

"I just got back, so I'm not very familiar with these families yet. I'll visit my classmates tomorrow and ask them to help me find out. After I go to France, if there's anything at home, I'll ask Wang Ziyu for help. I'll go talk to him tomorrow."

Zhang Fuqing and his two younger brothers are honest people and will not get involved in any messy things. Prince Yu's family is also quite prestigious in Shaoxing. 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 Bookstore 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 looked much worse. If nothing unexpected happened, he would be gone in about ten months, and A Zhang would also face major changes in his life.

Ah Zhang has not realized all this yet, he is just curious about the West; Xu Xilin and Wang Ziyu are the same, 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 his affairs after leaving, 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 strengthen 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, keeping only a small portion with him and withdrawing the rest when he arrived in Paris.

It took several days to pack my luggage and book the boat ticket, and 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 their goodbyes, Ma Xiangbo took his hand and said, "When the imperial court sent the young students studying in the United States to sea, there was a passage that left a deep impression on me. I'd like to pass it on to you today!"

"I journeyed to the West, fully aware of China's path to self-strengthening. I sought nothing else. Carrying the future of my country on my shoulders, I sought to learn all the science of the West. Traveling tens of thousands of miles, leaving my motherland, my parents' land, I did so with no regrets."

"Zhou Ping, remember this, remember this!"

　I'm going to the countryside again. I'll update twice in the next few days.
　　
　
(End of this chapter)