Chapter 42: The Dust Settles
The song "Edelweiss" was written more than a decade later for the film The Sound of Music. And this movie is completely adapted from the musical by Paramount in order to please the already famous Audrey, although this musical is based on real characters, but the final heroine of the movie is set according to Audrey's image.
But at that time, Audrey quit this movie in order to have her first child, and she also missed this classic movie that left a strong mark in the history of film.
Audrey resigned, Paramount lost interest in the movie, and later Fox found another British actor with Audrey's temperament to play, and it took several years to shoot it one after another, and it took several years before the movie came out.
Now, Audrey is still a pure little girl who has not been deeply involved in the world, and of course there is no shadow of this movie, and of course there is no shadow of this song.
This is Switzerland, where the vast majority of people are German-speaking Germans, both with Germany and Austria. Therefore, the style of "Edelweiss" is very popular with everyone, and the fact that it is "original" also surprised these Swiss even more.
A gray-haired old lady came to Zhou Nan's side, looked carefully at those ordinary bamboo flutes, couldn't help but give Zhou Nan a hug, kissed his face three times and said: "Today is the most surprising day of my life, because I found a musical genius from the East by my side." If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes and heard it with my own ears, I would never have believed that an ordinary piece of bamboo could make such a beautiful sound. I hope you will be able to bring us more of this music when you settle down in Lucerne. I was also amazed by your creative talent, and hearing the edelweiss you played, I felt like I was going back to the Romansh folk songs I heard in the Alps as a child. To be able to create such beautiful Alpine music as a foreigner, I believe you are a Swiss. β
"Thank you, ma'am, your opinion is too high for me."
"No, you're too modest."
In Europe, many people are illiterate, but they know how to music, or at least appreciate it. It's like the founder of Steinway, who couldn't read a single word, but created the best piano in the world.
In this room today, there is almost no one who doesn't understand music, and they can easily tell whether Zhou Nan's playing level is high or low.
So at this time, almost no one among those representatives of the public will oppose Zhou Nan's registration.
Switzerland is a country with mud legs, although it is the birthplace of the Habsburgs, but as soon as the Habsburgs became prosperous, they immediately left Switzerland and went to Austria, the country of art.
The country is made up of Germans who don't want to be Germans, French who don't want to be French, Italians who don't want to be Italians. They were opposed to all authority and aristocracy, but they held artists in high esteem.
Zhou Nan's performance moved them, and they didn't object, so the biggest obstacle to Zhou Nan's settlement would be gone.
Mrs. Dineer, who was presiding over the hearing, stood up and said to Zhou Nan: "Mr. Jonas Hoffman Zhou, please come with me." You wait in the hallway with your fiancΓ©e and godmother for a while, and we'll make a quick decision on your citizenship and tell you the results later. β
This godmother is a deliberately arranged identity, although Zhou Nan's godmother is Caroline, but he also really likes Kelly. Zhou Nan wanted to help Kelly, but she didn't know how to act at all, so she waved her hand directly, and her movements were so fast that she didn't stand up like a fat man at all.
When John saw them get up, he immediately got up from the ground, and without Zhou Nan's arrangement, he took the basket they had brought with his mouth and walked towards the door.
Werner's interest became even stronger, and he couldn't help but ask: "Mr. Zhou, if you let your dog serve with you, would you be willing?" β
Zhou Nan looked at John, who was looking back at the door, and said with a smile: "Of course, it has never left me for a long time since it was a child, and I am still worried about how it should be arranged if I serve in the military." β
He nodded happily and said, "I will support your application for citizenship, whether it is your music or your dog, it is what Switzerland needs." β
Zhou Nan always felt that this was very awkward, as if he was not as important as a dog. But of course he wouldn't argue with Werner about that, that would be foolish.
Dineer stood in the hallway with the rest of them, waiting for the verdict in the room. Due to the thick walls and thick wooden doors of centuries-old houses, no sound could be heard from the room at all.
Looking at Audrey, who was a little worried, Mrs. Digier smiled and said, "Don't worry, you should be able to see that everyone is conquered by your fiancΓ©'s music." β
Audrey smiled a little embarrassedly, and looked at Zhou Nan's eyes full of admiration.
Zhou Nan still felt that it was more amiable for Mrs. Dineer not to laugh than to laugh, and asked, "Mrs. Dineer, why didn't you participate in the vote?" β
"Because I received you in the morning, in order to prevent favoritism, no one who has come into contact with you can express a decisive opinion, and it is also for the sake of fairness."
"I'm sorry to make you lose the pleasure of holding power once, I feel ......" In order to pull the relationship, Zhou Nan deliberately said a witty remark.
However, she obviously didn't understand what Zhou Nan meant, and asked in surprise: "What power?" I don't understand what you mean! β
Zhou Nan also paused for a moment and said, "Isn't it particularly satisfying to control the fate of other people?" β
She thought about it again before she really understood, and couldn't help but laugh. "Although now our government has taken over almost all civil affairs, everyone's food, clothing, housing and transportation must be controlled. However, this is only because of the war, in order to bring all the people of the country together to tide over the difficulties. Even so, the power belongs to the state, and no one can have any other demands because of the position, because each of us is under supervision. β
Zhou Nan nodded, but in fact, he still didn't quite understand the meaning of Madame Dinier's words. "In our East, those who hold power always have a position above others."
"So, starting today, you can start changing your mindset." Madame Dignier paused and said, "Switzerland is a country that is independent because it does not want to be constrained by the government, so our citizens have the most power, not the government. The government is directly under an executive branch, and the real power belongs to the people, or rather, to the parliament. Any citizen can go to parliament and complain to any civil servant of the government, and our laws can be changed if 100,000 people advocate it. We, the civil servants of the government, are like a waiter, serving all the citizens without any power. β
Having said that, Zhou Nan didn't believe it at all.
The door was opened again, and a younger girl poked in and said, "Ms. Deniere, Mr. Zhou, you can come in." β
Returning to her room, still sitting in her original position, Ms. Keoser faced Zhou Nan and said, "Mr. Zhou, after deliberation by all of us, we have passed the resolution of your application to become a national of Lucerne, so from today onwards, you will enjoy the same benefits and obligations as us, and will assume your share of responsibilities. β
"I understand that I will live well, work hard and contribute to the development of Lucerne."
She nodded and said, "Then this is the end of the hearing." Mr. Zhou, please stay first. β
Everyone else walked out of the reception room, and most of them smiled and signaled to Zhou Nan, and Zhou Nan nodded his head to express his gratitude.
Dyniere and Keoser were the only ones left in the room. "Mr. Zhou, if you have permission to settle down, the next step should be to find a house in Lucerne." Once you have a place to live, you can go through the formalities, including arranging a school for Miss Audrey, arranging a job for Mrs. Janssen, and arranging your service. In addition, all kinds of medical services, food distribution, etc., need to be arranged only if you have your own house. β
Zhou Nan nodded and said, "Thank you very much, I will discuss it with my godfather as soon as possible, and then find a suitable house." β
Keoser smiled and said: "We can help with finding a house, you just need to tell us your requirements and we will make a suitable list for you to choose from." β
Zhou Nanleng paused for a moment and asked, "Isn't this the job of an intermediary?" β
"It's a time of war, and after the country went to war, companies like intermediary companies have closed their doors. The government took over these service jobs. You just need to tell us your requirements and we will screen out the houses that meet your requirements. β
"Thank you so much, can you do it tomorrow, I need to go back to Engelberg today and discuss it with my godfather."
"Of course, you can come to me directly tomorrow and tell Uncle Schmidt to look for me." Obviously, Schmidt is the old janitor with a bad attitude.
Coming out of the city hall building, Zhou Nan and Audrey, including Kelly, laughed happily. The last big stone in their hearts fell to the ground, and people became truly relaxed.
At this time, if you look at the beautiful scenery around you, you will not be a tourist, but in the future, this will be the place where your family lives.
Removed the big stone in her heart, Audrey also became emotional, and pulled Zhou Nan to board the Capel wooden bridge together.
Built in 1333, this wooden bridge has a long history and is the oldest covered wooden bridge in Europe. There are also 120 oil paintings of religious history painted on the eyebrows of the bridge, and along the way, you can also enjoy paintings depicting the Black Death epidemic, which has a positive significance for the study of European history.
Take a leisurely stroll back to the train station across the river, which is one of the few places where shops open. Although the goods are not abundant, some daily necessities can be bought.
Zhou Nan bought a train ticket, saw that there was still a little time, walked around the store, and bought two bottles of local Swiss wine.
Most of Switzerland's wine regions are in the southern foothills of the Alps, where the sandy soil and sunshine are perfect for growing grapes. However, due to the small planting area, the wine produced is not even enough for domestic supply, so it is not well-known in the world. But the quality of the mass-produced wines here is no worse than that of French wines.
It's time to celebrate.