Training the Heavens

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. The Chinese representative at that time was Hu Xueyan, and the foreign representative was foreign merchants from various countries.

Hangzhou was Hu Xueyan's base camp. Qian Junfu's father was doing silk business here and it was impossible for him 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 when he was young. 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 funded 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) to study 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 the Zhejiang Provincial Department of Education.

While he was the principal of the No. 1 middle school in the province, 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 are no shortcuts 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 doing so, perhaps in a few decades, we will be able to catch up with and 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. 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 experience, 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 ferry 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 devote everything they had to the resurgence of China.

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 visit to Ma Zongwen's parents' home. Seeing her happy face, Ma Xiangbo, Ma Jianzhong and the women in the family 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 Marseilles. After another train ride, Zhang Xingjiu finally arrived in his beloved Paris and returned to his familiar apartment. During his absence, the Curies had often held salons there, and the house remained well-maintained. Weary from the journey, the two men settled into a deep sleep. Ma Zongwen slept for over ten hours 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 were not in vain, and she was able to 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 worried 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 tonight. He also asked me to tell you not to rush to school or the laboratory. Take care of your personal affairs first. If you need any help from the school, please feel free to ask."

"Thank you so much. I plan to rent or buy a bigger house near the Sèvres Women's Normal School so that it will be more convenient for Zongwen to study, and we can also invite more scholars to hold salons at home." Zhang Xingjiu's royalties have been received, and he has also made a lot of money in his operations in the stock market. Now he is not short of money at all.

"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'll ask for you later. I'll go with you to look at houses tomorrow!"

In the evening, he visited Professor Lippmann's home. The professor's wife liked Ma Zongwen very much, and the few of them had a pleasant chat. Zhang Xingjiu also learned from Lippmann that other universities or research institutions were still conducting 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 to buy it.

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 Zhang Xingjiu's.

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 they just need to pay the rent to Zhang Xingjiu in the future.

The couple lived on the fourth floor, and Pierre also 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, then rent it out to Chinese students, and even give it to them after World War I.

(End of this chapter)