At the end of December 1895, at the end of the year, the guns in the east finally stopped. Pen | fun | pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 ｉｎｆｏ

Compared with Taiwan, which lacked the support of the motherland, Japan was still too strong after all, especially after the Japanese took out a large loan to sell iron, more troops poured into Taiwan, and then the rumbling artillery finally made the brave soldiers and civilians temporarily succumb -- the entire island of Taiwan fell into the hands of the Japanese.

Compared to the other world, the ending seems to be no different.

It's just that after getting the top-secret report handed in by his subordinates, John clearly knows the differences between them. He was the only one in the world who knew that more than 10,000 more Japanese people had died, and that the huge military spending caused by the long war had almost exhausted the last vestiges of the country's strength.

A month before the end of the war, the Huntelaar family completely withdrew from the island of Taiwan.

Although the Japanese suffered great losses, the losses of the Taiwanese Resistance Army were also not small, which made John wonder if his long-planned operation was right......

At the same time, Rong Hong finally screened out the first batch of young children to study in the United States.

After returning to Shanghai from the United States, Rong Hong immediately prepared for the selection of students. According to the criteria set by John, these young students should be between the ages of eight and twelve, and have already had the initial ability to live, and at the same time there is no stereotype in all aspects, it is a good time to start their education. In addition to the requirements for physical health, there is nothing special, but Rong Hong himself added a family background.

In terms of Yung Hong's prestige, everything is going well.

So at the end of the year, the selection of personnel was completely over. Slightly more than the original plan of 30 people, these children ranging in age from eight to twelve years old have a total of 36 people, very coincidentally to deal with the number of Tiangang, basically from Jiangsu and Zhejiang. And to Rong Hong's surprise, only fourteen of the thirty-six people came from poor families, the others were quite well-off, and even four of them could be regarded as scholarly families - of course, none of them were the eldest sons of the family.

This result made Rong Hong couldn't help but be pleasantly surprised.

When the Qing government selected the first batch of young children to study in the United States, it was impossible for anyone with a little property to let their children go out, and only the truly destitute families would agree. However, with the rise and development of the Westernization Movement in recent years, coupled with the defeat in the First Sino-Japanese War, many people of insight have seen the gap between China and the West. Therefore, when Rong Hong vouched in his own name, and at the same time had the private support of the US consulate, many people even took the initiative to introduce their children.

The best of the best were selected, and the 36 people were finally determined.

Moreover, with Rong Hong's efforts, the Chinese people who had experienced the stimulation of the First Sino-Japanese War were also generous, especially after many squires heard that all the expenses would be funded by a "ghost guy", and even shouted that they came up with a lot of money, which was enough for these children to spend in the United States for a year!

This huge amount of nearly 10,000 US dollars was deposited directly by Rong Hong into the Shanghai branch of Heinz Bank.

Interestingly, although Huntelaar Bank only has the right to operate in one state in the United States, and cannot open branches in other states, it is not restricted from operating overseas. So under John's push, the Huntelaar Bank soon opened branches in England, France and Germany, taking over the business of its own property and its cooperative companies. The fourth overseas branch, the Shanghai branch of the Far East, operated with the Huntelaar Trading Company under the name of the elder Huntelaar, and also managed a large amount of land and real estate under John's name.

John, who was well aware of the preciousness of Shanghai's land, began to make frequent purchases in 1895.

Concessions and nearby prime plots were to be acquired, remote areas suitable for factories were to be acquired, and John had given the Shanghai branch of the Huntelaar Bank a ten-year mandate in which they would spend half of the bank's profits on real estate......

……

At the end of 1895, 36 young children arrived in Los Angeles and arrived in New York in mid-January after a rest.

"If it's in China, it's going to be the Spring Festival soon!"

When he got the news of the children's arrival in New York, John couldn't help but sigh softly.

"Well, that's not easy."

After hearing her husband's exclamation, Anna also nodded. Although it has been reborn for nearly thirty years, John has firmly remembered the Spring Festival every year, and even Anna knows very well the meaning of this festival for Chinese. The thought of more than 30 children crossing the ocean to a strange place, and the imminent festival of family reunion in the middle of the year, makes Anna secretly sad.

But at this moment, there is no point in talking about this.

It is difficult for both John and Yung Hong, who is in charge of the operation, to take these details into account. Besides, for the children who are not very young, what if they set off after the Spring Festival? Is there much of a difference?

After a moment of silence, John asked, "Is the accommodation arranged?" What about diet? ”

"It's all arranged."

The middle-aged man who came to report the news hurriedly nodded and replied respectfully: "Sir, the students' dormitories and canteens have been completed a long time ago, and after getting their telegram from Los Angeles, we have already connected all the places with electricity and heating, and purchased a lot of food at the same time, everything is perfect." ”

"That's good."

Taking a deep breath, John waved his hand and said, "That's it, take good care of them, don't do anything for the time being, let them adapt to the climate of New York first...... How many people were sent over there? “

"Two men, sir."

Blinking, the middle-aged man hurriedly replied: "According to him, they are all Chinese teachers, responsible for the teaching of Chinese during these children's time in New York." ”

"Hmm......"

After a pause, John smiled and nodded.

In this regard, he certainly understood Yung Hong's thoughts. After all, these are just some children about ten years old, even if they have gone to Mongolian school, they will not have a good foundation, and if they are sent to the United States, no one will continue to teach them Chinese in the future. It's not bad to send one or two teachers and keep teaching.

"Mr. ......"

Seeing that John seemed to be in a good mood, the middle-aged man hesitated for a moment and said carefully: "About these Chinese...... We may have a little bit of trouble. ”

"What's the trouble?"

The movement of picking up the teacup stopped, and the smile on John's face suddenly fell!

With a sigh in his heart, the middle-aged man explained with a bitter face: "Because of their identity, you know that New York's attitude towards Chinese people is not very friendly now, and there is also the Gary Act......"

"Bang!"

Without waiting for the middle-aged man to finish speaking, the teacup in John's hand suddenly slammed back on the table: "Of course I know about this damn Chinese Exclusion Act!" But I also knew that I had thrown in more than $30,000 to feed their greedy appetites to get these kids to New York! Do you want to tell me now that all the $30,000 was spent in vain? “

"No, no, of course not."

swallowed hard and foamed, the middle-aged man's face was as white as a layer of powder, and he didn't dare to say anything more.

"Then take good care of them!"

His face was covered with severe frost, and John's voice was as cold as ice for thousands of years: "I don't care what other people think, or want to do, but these children are the guests I have invited from the East, the most honorable guests, anyone...... Hear me clearly, anyone who is rude to them is a provocation to the Huntelaar family! A provocation with extremely serious consequences! (To be continued.) )