Early the next morning, John's family, having breakfast, went for a walk on the deck sports field between the first and second chimneys. Pen ~ Fun ~ Pavilion www.biquge.info The sun is not very strong in the early morning of summer, and the moist sea breeze is very comfortable on the body, which is a good time to do exercise. There were already quite a few people exercising on the deck sports field, and there were several young men and women playing tennis.

John: They had just walked about five laps around the athletic field, about two miles. At this time, he suddenly spotted Victor's figure.

"Good morning, Victor!" John stepped forward and greeted the new friend warmly, "Why are you alone?" ”

"Roda hasn't gotten up yet, she danced for too long last night, and she's a little tired." Victor didn't seem to be in good spirits, and it seemed that he had drunk a lot with the German businessman named Grok last night, "You seem to be in good spirits." ”

"I slept well last night, nothing uncomfortable." John replied with a smile.

He was very well able to understand Rhoda's current situation. She and Adele were the stars of last night's ball, and the handsome young guys lined up for them to dance. John wasn't jealous of that at all. At this point, he is very confident in himself and Adele, and the same is true for Victor.

Social dance parties aren't always easy, though, especially on occasions like last night's. It's the first time we've met, and it's a bit rude to refuse an invitation. Although Mrs. Roda is well maintained, she is in her 40s after all. Even Adele complained of sore feet when she went back last night, and Rhoda was estimated to be even more tired and choked, and it was too normal to not be able to get up in the morning.

After a brief chat with Victor, John went back to his room. Not only did he bring his family to Europe this time, but he also had to take over the family's foundation in Europe. Although he had already set his sights on the Danish Swinburg steamship company, the rest of the industry could not be left alone. No matter how small a mosquito is, it's meat, and John has to hurry up and study the Foundation ledger that Frederick gave him to see if he can make any new discoveries.

John spent the whole morning in his room with a large pile of ledgers, until Lieutenant Colonel Victor and his wife came to the door, and he had nothing to gain but to make himself dizzy.

Lieutenant Colonel Victor did not wear a uniform today, but a large Scottish-style plaid shirt and a pair of gray slacks. This dress made the almost 50-year-old lieutenant colonel look a lot younger, at least it made him look more compatible with his wife.

Madame Roda wore a beautiful silk dress to-day, a French-brimmed hat on her head, and a large bouquet of irises in her hand. It was carefully selected by Roda in the morning in the flower beds on the boat. Not only does the Normandy have a very beautiful garden, but the flower beds also supply passengers with fresh flowers every day. But after all, on the ship, the number of flowers is very limited, and the irises, as the national flower of France, are the most sought-after among all flowers.

Adele is very fond of irises and has a lot of beautiful purple irises in her small garden at home. But then, both she and John were a little surprised when they saw the flower in Lady Roda's hand. Just over half an hour ago, the waiter had just delivered a large bouquet of irises, which they all thought had been sent by Mr. and Mrs. Victor.

Except for the Victors, who will send them flowers? The waiter who delivered the flowers just now didn't say anything, and he knew he should have asked. John struggled to remember what the waiter had looked like, but couldn't recall anything.

But now is not the time to dwell on such a small problem, seeing that Adele has been "surprised" to receive the bouquet from Mrs. Roda, John hurriedly stepped forward to greet the Victors warmly and lead them to visit the Caen Suite.

"I thought the first-class rooms were luxurious enough, but I didn't think they were even better." As Rhoda visited, he sighed from time to time.

Victor's response was very bland, and he only praised it out of politeness. For the old naval officer, the bridge and engine room were what really attracted him. The Caen Suite, like the sailor's hammock, is just a place to sleep.

Today's lunch was prepared by the top chef from the Hôtel Clieron in Paris. Fresh oysters, fine steaks, foie gras, truffles and French champagne and Burgundy wines. The two families chatted happily while eating, and the conversation soon turned to the upcoming life in Berlin for the Victor family.

"Pug (Lieutenant Colonel Victor's nickname) is still not very happy, and he is bent on going up to the battleship to become a deputy captain, so that he can change to four bars sooner." Roda took a sip of champagne, turned to her husband and said, "Of course I like to go to Germany." For me, it's a lot more fun than when you're patrolling around Hawaii on a warship like the USS New Mexico and I'm sitting alone at home. And it's been a few years since I was in high school when I chose German as my main foreign language, and I haven't been to Germany once. ”

"Alright, dear." Victor frowned, interrupting his wife's nagging. Apparently they had debated this issue many times before, and he wasn't going to dwell on it any longer. So he relented and reassured his wife with a smile: "I know you have learned German very well, and we are not already on our way to Berlin." ”

Rhoda glanced at her husband in satisfaction. "Well, I've heard that the place is still very nice, the people there are very hospitable, and the prices are cheap. My friend Maggie went to Berlin to watch the Olympics and said that he could buy a lot of good things with the tourist marks they gave him. ”

Listening to his wife's words, Victor smiled bitterly and explained to John: "It's not that I don't want to go to Berlin. The problem is that, in this way, I have served on shore duty twice in a row. You know, the primary concern of the selection committee in the officer's resume is always how long you have served at sea. ”

According to the U.S. officer promotion system, a selection committee evaluates whether an officer should be promoted every year. A lieutenant colonel who has been in the military for 28 years and cannot be promoted to colonel is usually forced to retire. Victor is 49 years old, which means that since he graduated from the Naval Academy at the age of 23, he has two more opportunities to participate in the promotion review. If he can't be promoted to colonel within two years, he will have to be forced to retire.

"Don't worry too much, Victor." John comforted him, saying, "Maybe it won't be long before war breaks out." That's when your work matters, right? If you can make a good enough report from Berlin, maybe Washington will give you two stars. ”

The U.S. Navy had always believed that the term "Commodore" was easily misunderstood in foreign dealings, and that it was not a general for a general, so in 1899 it promoted all commodore to rear admiral. Before the mid-80s, except for the 1943-1947 period when the Navy reluctantly awarded a group of commodore generals in order to cope with the rapid expansion of the officer corps in the state of war (these wartime commodore generals were successively dismissed from active duty after the war, or promoted or transferred, and by 1950 there was no more commodore general in the Navy), US Navy colonels were generally directly promoted to 2-star rear admirals, unlike other branches of the military that had to go through the stage of 1-star brigadier generals.

This practice of the Navy later aroused strong resentment among other branches of the military. Because it is not only a matter of title and epaulette, after being promoted, the treatment enjoyed by the admiral is also the same as that of the 2-star generals of other services. Is this worth it? It's too cheap for the people of the Navy. Finally, in 1985, the Americans invented the terms "rearadmirallowerhalf" and "rearadmiralupperhalf" to solve this problem once and for all.

"Are you saying the Germans will start a war?" After saying that, Victor also felt that he was acting a little too eager, "I mean, of course I don't want a war, but we fully consider this possibility and be prepared to deal with it, don't we?" ”

"I see what you mean, Victor." John knew what Victor wanted to know, but after all, there were ladies and children present, and he wasn't going to talk about overly sensitive topics at the dinner table, "How did you talk to Grocker, the former commander of the German Navy's submarine forces, yesterday?" I think you're having a good time. ”

"We've been talking about torpedoes, submarines and sonar." Victor also realized that there were some topics that were not suitable for discussion at the dinner table, especially when little Ella was still looking at him with puzzled eyes. "Grok is a nice guy, and he invited me to visit his little shipyard."

"That's a good start, Victor." John raised his glass, "If you want to know the Germans, you have to be friends with them." I wish you all the best in Berlin and get your own star soon! ”

"Thank you!" Victor clinked glasses with John, "Have a great time in Europe, too." ”