Esther eventually decided to give Los Angeles a try.

Becoming a Hollywood female star was an irresistible temptation for young women of that era, not to mention the olive branch sent by Louis Mayer, the "King of Hollywood", with Louis Mayer's personal recommendation, in MGM's movies, it is no problem to get a role with more faces.

Although Chen Qiang verbally supported Esther in pursuing his career, when Esther booked a train ticket and began to pack his luggage to go to Los Angeles, he was still very reluctant.

New York and Los Angeles, one in the easternmost part of the United States and the other in the westernmost part of the United States, were more than 3,000 kilometers in a straight line, and almost 5,000 kilometers by land, which would have taken several days at the speed of trains at the time.

However, in front of Esther, Chen Qiang still tried his best to show that he was very supportive of Esther.

A woman's sixth sense is very accurate, and Esther seems to feel Chen Qiang's forced smile.

On the weekend, Chen Qiang took Esther to the mall, and then bought her a bunch of beautiful clothes, after all, she was going to Los Angeles to be an actor, at least she couldn't lag behind others in the line, female stars need to be packaged, and naturally she can't wear ordinary clothes.

This time it was a big purchase, and the goods purchased were more proud, and the shopping center directly sent someone to deliver the things to Chen Qiang's home, so as not to prevent Chen Qiang from moving things in large bags.

Chen Qiang, who does not have to be a hard laborer, took Esther's hand, strolled the streets of New York, and walked on the way home. Perhaps because Esther was about to leave, Chen Qiang at this time cherished this kind of time alone with Esther.

"I'm not going to Los Angeles!" Esther said suddenly.

"Why?" Chen Qiang asked subconsciously.

"I can't bear you." Esther replied.

"I can't bear you either." Chen Qiang sighed lightly.

Both fell silent at the same time.

Suddenly, Esther looked up, pointed to a building in front of her, and said, "Look, there's a church there!" ”

"Church?" Chen Qiang didn't understand what Esther meant.

But Esther said, "Let's get married!" ”

Chen Qiang was stunned for a moment, and his mind was even more blank, Esther's words were indeed a little too sudden.

Esther looked at Chen Qiang expectantly, waiting for Chen Qiang's reply.

Feeling Esther's hot eyes, Chen Qiang didn't know why, an impulse surged in his heart, he nodded, and then said, "Okay, let's get married!" Go now! ”

……

There was no grand wedding, no dresses and wedding dresses, and Chen Qiang didn't even have time to buy a wedding ring, let alone a guest. There was only one old priest, who sent them a wedding blessing.

Until he walked out of the church, Chen Qiang still felt confused, and he got married inexplicably.

"Don't we really need to ask your parents for their opinions?" Chen Qiang asked.

"No, they eloped back then." Esther spoke.

"You're only nineteen years old, don't you regret getting married so early?" Chen Qiang asked again.

"No regrets." Esther turned her head and asked, "You don't regret it, do you?" ”

"No, I just haven't reacted for a while, I have a wife." Chen Qiang replied.

Esther hugged Chen Qiang's arm with a happy face, and then said: "I'm glad that we are in New York, if we were in Los Angeles, we wouldn't be able to get married." ”

"Why? Are you worried that your parents will object? Chen Qiang asked.

"No, the laws of Los Angeles don't allow it." Esther replied.

Chen Qiang thought for more than ten seconds, and then he realized what was going on, at that time there was a Chinese Exclusion Act in the United States, and various local governments also had many Chinese exclusion laws and regulations, for example, the California government stipulated that Chinese cannot marry white people, and this law will not be repealed until the fifties, so if it is in California, Chen Qiang and Esther get married, and it will not have legal benefits.

Suddenly, Chen Qiang thought of another problem, as a Chinese, he was the object of the Chinese Exclusion Act, but he had to ponder for a long time to remember the California law, and Esther, as an American, blurted out, it was obvious that she had done it for a long time.

"I shouldn't have been tricked by this little girl!" Chen Qiang said secretly in his heart.

……

Chen Qiang's newlywed honeymoon trip took Esther back to Los Angeles.

Getting married at the age of nineteen was also a very normal thing for Americans at that time, even in the United States in the future, and among those well-known stars in the United States in later generations, there were not a few who became fathers in high school.

Chen Qiang was still a little worried that the Williams would oppose the marriage, but the boat was done, and the Williams could only express their blessings to Chen Qiang and Esther. And the American mother-in-law does not have so many rules, and does not require the son-in-law to have a car and a house, as long as the child can be happy.

But Chen Qiang still decided to buy a house in Los Angeles. First, because of the traditional concept of the Chinese, of course, you must have a house to live in when you get married; The second reason is that the housing prices in Los Angeles at this time are really cheap.

At this time, there was no commercial housing in Los Angeles, but there were large areas of vacant land, such as some locations near Hollywood, which were all villas of celebrities in the future, but in 1939, they were all forests and mountains, and they could buy a piece of land for very little money, and they could build any kind of house they wanted.

Chen Qiang simply bought a piece of land first, but he was not in a hurry to build a house, after all, Chen Qiang's career focus was in New York, and he was not worried that Esther lived alone in a deserted place.

Chen Qiang got in touch with Louis Meyer, and Esther became a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

The future Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, whose main function is to select an Academy Award every year, is just an industry society, a non-profit academic organization, providing a place for the film industry to provide academic forums and exchange results, not a school, nor without students. If you want to learn acting, you have to go to the American Film School.

And the main purpose of Louis Mayer's creation of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is not to award the Oscars, he really wants to develop and promote the American film industry, so at the beginning of the establishment of the academy, many people who love movies, even if they are not well-known people in the film and television industry, can join this Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Due to the loose organization of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences at that time, even in 1939, when the Oscars had been awarded for many years, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences still did not have a fixed office space.

At that time, although the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences was not a school and did not admit students, it could provide educational services such as acting, directing, screenwriting, and cinematography.

This is also equivalent to a one-to-one service, of course, this kind of service is not free, some people will charge, and some people will let you help him with chores, but in general, the form is more open and inclusive. At that time, although there were many film and television companies in Hollywood, and there was also competition, many filmmakers sincerely hoped that the American film industry could develop, and they would not hide the skills, but were willing to teach them to others.

In the United States in the twenties and thirties, some laymen turned into actors, and they actually learned acting through this one-on-one teaching. For example, Johnny Westmorer, who played "Tarzan of the Apes", after he was selected by MGM, he also found other senior actors as teachers, sharpened his guns and learned acting, and then went to play Tarzan.

Among the Hollywood actors of that era, those who were able to start performing stage plays on Broadway were equivalent to being born in a professional class. Many people are not professionally trained in acting, such as Greta Garbo who used to sell hats, Marilyn Monroe who assembled radio stations in factories, Gregory Peck who used to be a driver for oil companies, and Kirk Douglas who used to be a freestyle wrestling athlete.

For example, many actors in Japan in the future are not from professional classes, many of them were discovered by talent scouts and directly took the road of staging, of course, the agency will give them some professional training, but those professional trainings are definitely not as systematic and professional as the performance department of Chinese opera or Beiying.

However, compared with acting, sometimes the acting skills are more natural when the actor training class comes out, not to say what the acting is like, at least they can't play after watching it, and many actors from professional classes act like themselves, and their acting skills are exaggerated and embarrassing!

The actor industry still depends on talent, especially for young actors. Chen Qiang didn't know if Esther was eating this bowl of rice. However, now Chen Qiang's gym is also a hot business, and the number of franchisees is also increasing, and the franchise fee alone has been doubled every year, so Chen Qiang only thinks that he is looking for something to do for Esther, and only whether Esther can be an actor in the end is a matter of indifference.

After settling Esther, Chen Qiang returned to New York, and on the way he went to Washington and met with Hu Shih.

Hu Shi has lost a lot of weight compared to before, and his spirit is still a little haggard, as if he has not rested well.

"Sir, you have to take care of yourself." Chen Qiang opened his mouth to persuade.

"Hey, lately, I haven't been able to sleep." Hu Shi shook his head helplessly, and then spoke; "There is good news over there in the Fifth War Zone, in southern Henan, we agreed, annihilated more than 9,000 Japanese troops, and recovered Xinyang."

"This is good news, since the Anti-Japanese War, it is the first time I have heard the news of the reconquest. Sir, you should be happy. Chen Qiang said.

"I can't be happy, although Xinyang has been recovered, Kunlun Pass, Suiyuan and Wuyuan have all fallen." Hu Shi said with a depressed face.

Chen Qiang nodded, regained a Xinyang, but lost three places, no wonder Hu Shi was not happy at all.

Then Hu Shi said: "What makes me even more angry is that Wang Pseudo actually set up a national government in Nanjing!" A group of traitors even have the face to be called the 'National Government', I really can't wait to eat their flesh and eat their blood! ”

It is no secret that Wang Shi wants to set up a traitor government in Nanjing, as early as a few months ago, the whole world knew about it, it is said that Hu Shi should also be psychologically prepared, but when it really came to that day, Hu Shi was still angry, especially the Wang puppet government was still in the name of "national government", which made Hu Shi unbearable.

"It's just a group of traitors, and those who don't get the support of the people will sooner or later be like grasshoppers after autumn, and they won't be able to jump for a few days." Chen Qiang paused, and then asked, "What is the attitude of the United States?" ”

"Of course, the United States does not recognize the puppet government anymore!" Hu Shi paused, and then said: "This morning, people in the White House contacted me, saying that President Roosevelt wanted to see me, and it is estimated that I was asked to convey to Chongqing that they would continue to support us. ”

"Is it just verbal support? Not practical? Chen Qiang asked.

Hu Shi was slightly stunned, he hadn't spoken yet, Chen Qiang said: "Sir, this is a good opportunity to borrow money from the Americans, do you think, Roosevelt said to support us, then let's hurry up the pole, take advantage of this matter, borrow money from Roosevelt, borrow as much as you can!" ”

"That's right, I didn't think of it! Then I'll have to get ready, and I'll borrow money from Roosevelt as soon as he offers to support us! "Hu Shi is also an honest person, and he doesn't hide his thoughts.

Chen Qiang also shook his head a little helplessly, Hu Shi, a nerd, really has no understanding in diplomacy, he has been an ambassador to the United States for almost two years, and he has not learned the routines he should learn.

That night, when Hu Shih returned from the White House, he brought good news to Chen Qiang, and Roosevelt had promised to lend another $20 million to China, on the condition that he would use the tin mines in Yunnan as collateral.

After learning the news, Chen Qiang was happy and sad at the same time. I am glad that I have earned another 20 million US dollars from the Americans, which can support the domestic anti-Japanese war after being exchanged for materials; Sadly, the tin mines in Yunnan were sold to the Americans again.

"Last time it was tung oil, this time it was tin ore, I don't know what to sell next time." Chen Qiang sighed lightly.

……

On the train back to New York, Chen Qiang leaned back on his seat and fell asleep groggyly.

Suddenly, he felt that the train had stopped, Chen Qiang was awakened, he opened his eyes, and said to himself: "Have you arrived in New York?" ”

Then Chen Qiang looked out the window, only to find that it was not the platform of the New York train station, but the wilderness.

"What's going on?" Chen Qiang asked the flight attendant.

"Sir, I'm very sorry, there is a freight train in front of me that broke down, so the road is blocked, and the maintenance workers are hurrying to repair it, so please wait a while." The flight attendant spoke.

"How long does it take?" Chen Qiang asked.

"Well, it might take some time, right? Would you like a cup of coffee or whiskey? If you're bored, you can go down for a walk, but come back as soon as you hear the whistle. The flight attendant spoke.

"Okay, let's go down and move your body." Chen Qiang stood up as he spoke, and then stepped off the train.

On the railroad tracks in the distance, there were indeed freight carriages parked there, and a few passengers were watching not far away.

Chen Qiang leaned over and asked, "What's wrong with the car in front?" ”

"It's broken, I heard that there is a problem with the boiler, this is an old model of locomotive, and the things pulled are heavy, and it is normal to break down." The other party replied.

"What's in there? Can you burn out all the boilers? Chen Qiang asked with a smile.

"I heard it's scrap metal." The man replied.

"Scrap metal? It's worthless to transport this thing, can't you just find a steel mill and melt it? It had to be shipped to New York. Chen Qiang said with some complaints.

"Hehe, you don't understand, these things have to be exported." The other party replied.

"Export? Scrap iron also has someone to want? Chen Qiang asked with a puzzled expression.

"Of course, the Japanese want it! It is estimated that these things are sold to the Japanese. The man replied.

Hearing this, Chen Qiang's heart tightened.

When the United States revised the Neutrality Act, the United States announced the effectiveness of the commercial treaty signed with Japan in 1911, and then the United States increased the embargo on Japan's materials, in addition to important strategic materials such as aircraft parts and radio equipment, other materials such as steel, precious metals, and oil were also subject to a license system, and a license was required from the United States Government to transport these materials to Japan.

However, when Chen Qiang learned that the scrap iron was destined for Japan, he suddenly realized that the Japanese seemed to have taken advantage of the material embargo! Scrap iron is not steel, so the restrictions on permits are much more relaxed.

Moreover, what Japan lacks is industrial raw materials, not processing means, with Japan's industrial capacity, even if it buys back a pile of scrap iron, it can process factory steel, turn it into guns, turn it into tanks, and eventually appear in China, causing casualties to Chinese soldiers and civilians.

At this moment, the cart of scrap iron in the distance seemed to Chen Qiang to be a weapon to slaughter the Chinese!

"No, we can't let the Japanese continue to take advantage of this loophole, we must find a way to stop this!"

——————

Ask for a ticket!