Soon after, Alfred's Vanderbilt Education Foundation was in contact with the British Board of Trustees for Overseas Children through Mrs. Churchill. The British ambassador to www.biquge.info the United States personally signed a cooperation agreement with the Vanderbilt Education Foundation, granting the foundation the right to review the qualifications of families receiving British children and follow up on them.

At this time, during the visit of King George VI of the United Kingdom to the United States, the media of the two countries will certainly not let go of such a major news that can reflect the "brotherly friendship" between the British and American people. Amid the media hype, donation checks and foster care applications poured into the Vanderbilt Educational Foundation like snowflakes.

"Virtue and good deeds are the only undefeated investment." John soon had a new understanding of Alfred's words. In the past, he only knew that charity would not lose money, but he didn't expect the return to come so quickly. They profit from it before they have time to do any substantive work.

First of all, it was George VI who expressed his gratitude to the Vanderbilt Education Foundation for his kindness during the talks with President Roosevelt. As soon as the news was revealed by the media, the stock price of the New York Central Railroad rose slightly.

Alfred, who was directly in charge of the matter, was widely admired by the people of both countries. It is even rumored that if it weren't for U.S. law prohibiting citizens from accepting honorary titles of foreign nobility, Alfred would have at least earned a KBE (knighthood) at the year-end ceremony.

Even John, who didn't show his head, got a lot of light from it. When he was dealing with the British military, the Vanderbilt family halo on the top of his head provided him with a lot of convenience.

Especially these days, there has been a qualitative leap in his relationship with Lieutenant Colonel Somerville. The other party regarded John's family as a trusted friend and introduced him to many British military and government officials.

Don't look at Somerville himself as a lieutenant colonel in the Air Force, but the Somerville family behind him is an old and wealthy family in the UK. His ancestors were among the first maritime adventurers of the Age of Discovery, and played an important role in Britain's modern colonial history.

Although the family was not a traditional British aristocracy, almost every generation had members of the family knighted, either colonial governors or senior military generals. Today, the Somerville family not only has a great deal of wealth in southern England and the British Empire's overseas colonies, but also has a significant influence in the British military.

For example, Lieutenant Commander Somerville's brother, James Somerville, is currently Vice Admiral Commander of the Royal Navy's Mediterranean Fleet H, and he was the one who shelled the French fleet in Gibraltar not long ago. (James Somerville was promoted to Marshal of the Royal Navy and was knighted later in the war.) ）

John certainly had a positive response to Somerville's kindness, and he warmly invited Somerville and several other British colleagues to his home. They were happy to agree, especially if John revealed to them that the newly appointed U.S. Secretary of the Navy, Frank Knox, would also be in attendance.

Like Uncle Stimson, Knox is also a leading fighter in the Republican Party. In 1936, Knox ran as the Republican Party's vice presidential nominee with Alfer Langdon, but was defeated by Roosevelt, winning only two electoral votes, Maine and Vermont.

Now, he and his friend Stimson are both Secretary of the Army and Secretary of the Navy in the Democratic administration, which is an important symbol of Roosevelt's unity of domestic anti-fascist forces, eliminating the division between the two parties, and jointly dealing with the threat of foreign war.

John's relationship with Knox, although not as close as his birth with Sting, is not strange. Speaking of which, he and Knox even have a bit of a vague relationship. Mrs. Knox's mother and John Uncle's ex-wife were sisters. In other words, the two brothers, William and Harold, want to call Knox their cousin-in-law.

With this relationship, it was okay for John to invite the Knox couple to a private party at his house. What's more, when Knox first took office, the first problem he faced was how to help the British and keep the Atlantic route open. Being able to personally understand the opinions of the front-line captains of the British Navy's escort formation will also be helpful for his next work.

In fact, the Knox were the first to arrive that night. As soon as she entered, the chubby Mrs. Knox affectionately held Adele and began to teach her parenting methods.

"Adele, I told Lilith (Harold's wife) last week that you must be pregnant with a boy this time, and I've always felt pretty good about that." Mrs. Knox stared at Adele's stomach for a long time, confidently announcing her judgment.

"Thanks, John and I have always wanted a boy too." Mrs. Knox is almost 30 years older than Adele and has had four children in her life, all of them boys. Hearing that she was so sure that she was pregnant with her son, Adele was still very happy.

John didn't think Mrs. Knox's "vast experience" in such matters could be of much authority, but who doesn't like to hear good words. He complimented Mrs. Knox on her good parenting, and hooked the other party to tell a lot of interesting stories about his children when they were young, and the atmosphere at home was very relaxed and happy for a while.

A moment later, Somerville and a group of Royal Navy officers arrived. "Good evening, John. It's an honor to meet you, kind lady. ”

John once told Somerville that the Family Foundation was inspired by Adele to help evacuate children in the UK. So Somerville had a very good impression of Adele, and went to buy a silver spoon in the style of the French court as a gift. (In the Middle Ages, the children of European nobles received silver spoons as gifts when they were baptized, which is where the phrase "born with a silver spoon" comes from.) Later, the silver spoon evolved into a symbol of family wealth. Giving a silver spoon to a child who is about to be born or who has just been born is wishing him a smooth inheritance of the family wealth in the future. ）

At dinner, in the presence of Adele and Mrs. Knox, the men did not discuss the war too much. The conversation revolved around George VI's visit. But soon, the focus of everyone's discussion shifted to the Duke of Windsor, who had "focused on his brother for 100 years".

"Are the Duke and Lady Simpson still in Portugal?" Adele asked Somerville curiously.

"They're still in Lisbon. After the start of the Battle of France, the duchess ran from Paris to the south of France and then went there. Recently, however, General Franco extended an invitation to them to visit Madrid. Somerville was not very impressed with the pro-Nazi former king: "The government and parliament have repeatedly asked him to return to his country immediately, but the duke has not responded. ”

"What does he want? Are you openly against your brother? ”

"It is said that the Germans had approached him and wanted him to speak openly against His Majesty, to say things that preached the traditional friendship between England and Germany, and that war between the two sides was wrong. However, the Duke refused, saying that it was unconstitutional, and that British citizens could not oppose the king. Knox said with a glass of wine, smiling.

"I met the Duchess once in 1938 at the Ritz Hotel in Paris, not long after his abdication. The world changed so fast, the dukes went to Portugal, Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands and Haakon VII of Norway went to London, Leopold III of Belgium was placed under house arrest, Wilhelm II also died in the Netherlands, and His Majesty George VI came to Washington. ”

Adele's words are purely lamenting the impermanence of the world, but John is thinking about another question at this time. This question has been hotly discussed by many netizens in later generations, what would happen if Britain accepted Germany's proposal for peace talks at this time?