Training the Heavens

Chapter 343 Young People in Paris
Zhang Xingjiu answered without hesitation, "When I boarded the ship, many elders and friends came to see me off. They told me, 'This trip to the West, you know China's path to self-strengthening, and you have no other aspirations. Carrying the future of the country, you must learn all the science of the West. Traveling 70,000 miles, leaving my motherland, my parents' land, you must be determined and have no regrets!' So, at that time, I only hoped to complete my studies and return home as soon as possible to serve my country!"

The young people nodded after hearing this, and they felt the same way at the moment.

Zhang Xingjiu asked the young man's name again, pretending to frown and think for a moment before asking a few more questions. Then, suddenly realizing something, he said, "No wonder your accent has a hint of Shaoxing dialect. So you're a descendant of the Zhou family in Shaoxing! So, we're not strangers, after all! I have an old friend in Shaoxing named Wang Ziyu, and his wife is the daughter of Duke Diankui of your Zhou family."

The young man quickly continued, "Mr. Dian Kui is my great-uncle. According to the generation gap, Mr. Wang should be my uncle."

His grandfather's generation was ranked with the character "Kui", which was used at the end of the character just like the brothers Li Hongzhang and Li Hanzhang. Wang Ziyu's father-in-law was Zhou Diankui, and his grandfather was called Zhou Qikui. They were indeed cousins ​​with close blood ties.

"That's it. Since you have a heart to serve your country and you are also my friend and junior, you don't have to be so polite in front of me. When you arrive in Paris, come here if you need help." Zhang Xingjiu also left him the address of the house near Sorbonne University.

With these passionate young people as travel companions, Zhang Xingjiu had a very fulfilling trip to France. Every day he taught them French on the deck, told them about the customs and culture of France, and chatted with them to learn about their identities and origins.

During the chat, Zhang Xingjiu also learned that the young man had previously written a novel called "Heroines" and used Feifei as his pen name, so he began to call him by this name.

Feifei's cabin was in the large cabin at the bottom of the cruise ship, and the conditions were naturally very difficult. Zhang Xingjiu had invited him to live with him in the first-class cabin, but Feifei declined. He said that this trip to France was destined to be hardship, so he had to train his ability to endure hardship from now on, so as to avoid taking time to adapt after arriving in France.

Zhang Xingjiu had no choice but to give up and used his first-class cabin as a lounge for young people. Anyone who was not feeling well would go to the first-class cabin to rest for a few days and recuperate. The young people also obeyed the order and would give the opportunity to others as long as they felt a little better.

The conditions in the large cabin were very difficult. Most people would become dusty and dirty after living there for a few days. However, Feifei always maintained a good demeanor and had no health problems. Upon asking, we learned that he had learned martial arts from the master Han Muxia while studying at Nankai Academy.

He smiled and said, "Thanks to this experience, I was able to keep my body in good shape. I was imprisoned in Tianjin for six months this year, but I persevered and didn't damage my health."

Just because of this incident, he was expelled from Nankai, so he left behind the joke "I love Nankai, but Nankai doesn't love me". However, given his personality, he probably didn't say this himself. He was so tolerant and would definitely not be so stingy.

Moreover, his study abroad this time was also thanks to the help of Yan Xiu, the founder of Nankai University. He felt sorry for losing such a talented disciple, so he invested 500 yuan to send Feifei to study abroad, hoping that he would achieve something in the future.

The five hundred yuan was well spent. Feifei's achievements completely exceeded his imagination. It is no exaggeration to say that she has created one of the greatest alumni in Nankai's history.

He was also learning at a breakneck pace. Not only did he thoroughly grasp Professor Zhang Xingjiu's lessons each day, he also had enough time to tutor other students and even ask Zhang Xingjiu for extra lessons after class. Feeling French wasn't enough, he also started learning English and German with Zhang Xingjiu. When Zhang Xingjiu asked why, Feifei explained that he had planned to study in Edinburgh, Scotland. However, after arriving in England and observing the local labor movement, he realized that tuition and living expenses were much more expensive in the UK than in France, so he returned to France and then went on to Germany.

It takes 36 days for the Bordeaux to travel from Shanghai to Marseille. By the time it arrives, the Nobel Prize ceremony is very close. Zhang Xingjiu can only regretfully separate from Feifei and others temporarily, take a high-speed train from south to north across the European continent, and then board a ship from a German port to Stockholm.

Then Zhang Xingjiu repeated the scene of 1901 and attended the grand ceremony with Wu Lien-teh. He went on stage twice to receive the Nobel Prize in Physics and Chemistry respectively. Wu Lien-teh also received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.

The two prizes together amounted to more than 200,000 Swedish kronor. Unfortunately, due to changes in exchange rates over the years, the actual value of the two prizes combined is not as great as the earliest one.

In the next few decades, the actual value of the Nobel Prize continued to decline, reaching its lowest point in 1945, when it was only one-third of that in 1901 in constant prices. Then it began to rise slowly, and only returned to its original level in 1991; it fell again from 2012 to 2016, and recovered again in 2020.

This time, Zhang Xingjiu did not need to participate in commercial promotion activities. After receiving the award, he and Wu Lien-teh temporarily parted ways. Wu Lien-teh received an invitation from Cambridge and was preparing to return to his alma mater to give a speech. Zhang Xingjiu was preparing to return to Paris. The two agreed to meet in Paris and then return to Shanghai together.

A few days later, Zhang Xingjiu got off the train at the Paris train station. Old acquaintances such as Lang Zhiwan and Madame Curie, as well as many young people studying in France who heard the news, came to the train station to greet him.

After a short break, Zhang Xingjiu gave a speech at the Sorbonne University, talking about his academic achievements for this award. It was basically the same as when he won the award in 1901. The only difference was that this time there were obviously many more Chinese faces in the audience.

His child Zhang Guoqiang was also among them. He looked darker and thinner, but in very good spirits. This trip to France made him feel like he had been reborn.

After two days of busy work and finishing his exchanges with French academics, Zhang Xingjiu returned to his former residence and gathered with those young people who studied in France to listen to them talk about their lives in France.

Zhang Guoqiang also squeezed into the crowd and talked about his experience after coming to Paris. He worked in Li Shizeng's tofu company for a while, saved some tuition fees, applied for a university, and is now studying while working.

Because he changed his name, no one noticed the relationship between him and Zhang Xingjiu.

Other young Chinese students studying in France also spoke actively. Zhang Xingjiu listened carefully to the stories of these young Chinese in Paris. Although they were all in Paris, their lives were very different.

(End of this chapter)