In Tianjin, at the site of Nankai University, workers have cleaned up the original ruins, and various building materials are being transported in a steady stream.

During the Anti-Japanese War, Nankai University was bombed by the Japanese army, the school building was destroyed, almost all the buildings were razed to the ground, and the only building that remained was the Siyuan Hall, which was also shot and caught fire, and it can still be repaired. Therefore, after the end of the Anti-Japanese War, Siyuan Hall was the first old building to be restored by Nankai University.

Now the reconstruction committee of Nankai University has also been set up in Siyuan Hall, and the old president Zhang Boling is personally in charge of the restoration of Nankai University.

By the autumn season, Nankai University would have to resume classes, and there was only one Siyuan Hall, which could not meet the needs of teachers and students at all, and there was not even enough place to hold classes, let alone offices and dormitories for faculty and staff. Therefore, it is imperative to build some houses for school teaching and teachers' offices.

Zhang Boling sat in the office, holding a procurement budget in his hand, his eyebrows tightly locked, and his face solemn.

Today, Nankai University has been classified as a national university, and the reconstruction of Nankai University's campus is naturally funded by the Ministry of Education. After Zhang Boling reported the reconstruction budget of Nankai University to the Ministry of Education, it was cut by the Ministry of Education, which was less than half, but this was also expected by Zhang Boling, after all, Nanjing's financial difficulties could not be how much Nankai University wanted, and the Ministry of Education would give how much money.

In Zhang Boling's view, as long as the Ministry of Education gives money, it is a good thing, as far as running a school is concerned, Zhang Boling is a professional, there is a way to have more money, and there is a way to have less money, I am afraid that if the Ministry of Education does not give a penny, then Nankai University will really not be able to resume school.

However, even if the Ministry of Education promised to give money, the money was not given happily, and it was delayed for two or three months before the reconstruction funds could be sent to Nankai University.

The funding is three months slow, it will definitely affect the progress of the reconstruction of Nankai University, and it will also affect the resumption of classes for students in the fall, but these are small problems, the key is that in the past three months, prices have soared, inflation is serious, and the funds approved by the Ministry of Education were originally barely able to rebuild Nankai University, but after three months of delay, the funds are no longer enough.

Principal Zhang Boling is also worried about this matter.

Putting down the procurement budget, Zhang Boling took off her glasses in distress, rubbed her eyes, and then instructed: "If it really doesn't work, you can only reduce the size of the school building again, see if there is anything unnecessary, reduce it if you can!" ”

"Headmaster, these have been streamlined, and they really can't be reduced." A person next to him spoke.

"But if we continue to build like this, we won't have enough money to buy materials!" Zhang Boling said helplessly.

"Headmaster, why don't you think of another way to see if there are any other ways to raise money?" The man asked.

Zhang Boling's nickname of "Monk of Yuan" is not called in vain, when Nankai University was established, it was Zhang Boling who went around to seek people to turn into friends, raised funds little by little, and finally established Nankai University.

Zhang Boling shook his head: "It's difficult, it's not as good as in the past, the Japanese haven't come before, so it's naturally easier to ask for money from others, but after the Japanese came, the rich families in the land of Beijing and Tianjin have also fled, they have long lost the property in Beijing and Tianjin, and those who can keep the property have become traitors nine times out of ten, and now they have also been liquidated." Now that the country is in ruins, and the situation is not peaceful, how can anyone pay for it to build a school! ”

"If you really can't do it, go to Tsinghua University or Peking University to help, these years, we have studied together with Tsinghua University and Peking University, they have a strong foundation, maybe they can help us some." The man said again.

During the Anti-Japanese War, Nankai University and Tsinghua University and Peking University went south together, and the public established Southwest Associated University, which is now also going north to resume classes together. Although Nankai University is in Tianjin, Tsinghua University and Peking University are in Beiping, but the three schools can be regarded as sharing hardships and friendships with each other.

However, Zhang Boling still shook his head: "Every family has a scripture that is difficult to read, our funds are insufficient, I think Tsinghua University and Peking University are not sufficient, and it is estimated that they are also short of money now!" After all, our three schools have had eight years of suffering, and if I spoke to them, they would definitely not stand idly by, and would definitely give me money, but what is the difference between this and taking their flesh and blood to feed us? I can't do that kind of thing. ”

"But we really don't have enough money, and if we continue to build the school building according to the original plan, we will have to stop halfway through the construction."

"Hey, it's really hard for a clever woman to cook without rice!" Zhang Boling sighed, and then said: "If it really doesn't work, let's build a few rows of simple tiled houses to temporarily serve as school buildings, and then build a straw shed like in Kunming, and when we have money in the future, we will tear it down and build it again!" ”

Just then, there was a knock on the door and a knock on the door.

"Headmaster, there's someone out there looking for you."

"Who is it? What's the matter with me? Zhang Boling asked.

"That person claimed to have returned from the United States, and was entrusted by Mr. Zhongshu to come to you, and he also brought a letter from Mr. Zhongshu."

"Zhongshu" is Zhang Pengchun's expression, Zhang Pengchun also used to be a professor at Nankai University, so Nankai's teachers will call Zhang Pengchun the most "Mr. Zhongshu" instead of "Mr. Zhang", which is also to distinguish it from Zhang Boling.

Although Zhang Pengchun is now in the United States, Zhang Boling and Zhang Pengchun have always been in contact, and before Zhang Boling came to Tianjin from Kunming, he also sent a telegram to Zhang Pengchun. It is said that if Zhang Pengchun has something to do with Zhang Boling, he can directly send a telegram, and he can't go all the way to bring a letter to himself from the United States. Even if there is an emergency, it is faster to send a telegram than to find someone to deliver the letter.

But now Zhang Pengchun is specifically looking for someone to bring a letter, which makes Zhang Boling realize that Zhang Pengchun must have something important, and it is the kind of thing that does not pass on the law to the three people.

"Invite someone here." Zhang Boling opened his mouth and commanded.

After a while, a middle-aged man with a gentle appearance was invited in, and when he saw Zhang Boling, he immediately saluted and said, "You are Principal Zhang, right?" ”

After the two of them sat down, the middle-aged man who looked like Sven took out a document bag from his bag, which was very tightly wrapped, and the position of the seal was even sealed with fire paint.

"Principal Zhang, Mr. Zhang Pengchun asked me to hand over this document bag to you personally, and you can check whether this document bag is in good condition." The middle-aged man spoke.

"I'm really annoying sir." Zhang Boling opened his mouth to thank him, and checked the file bag, and there was indeed no trace of it being opened.

When the middle-aged man had completed his mission, he got up and took his leave. Zhang Boling opened the file bag.

Inside was a letter and a small document bag, which was also sealed with fire paint, and the envelope of the letter was written with the words "My brother Boling personally opened", which was Zhang Pengchun's handwriting.

Zhang Boling opened the envelope and looked at the letter carefully, then his expression froze, and then his face appeared ecstatic.

Zhang Boling hurriedly opened the small file bag, and when he saw the Citibank cashier's check inside, he suddenly breathed a sigh of relief.

"Hahahaha......" The next moment, Zhang Boling couldn't help laughing.

Not long after, a teacher from Nankai hurriedly knocked on the door and came in: "Headmaster, are you okay?" ”

"I'm fine, I'm just so happy!" Zhang Boling replied.

"Happy?" The other party's face was clouded, you must know that not long ago, Zhang Boling was still worried about the reconstruction funds of Nankai University, it has only been less than an hour, how can he laugh!

Zhang Boling then smiled and said: "We have money, we have money to build a school!" Didn't you want to build a library before? Build it now! There is also a chemistry laboratory, which we will also build! Professor Huang wants to buy experimental equipment from the United States? Buy, buy them all! And the playground, which also needs to be renovated, paved with good cinders, and two more grandstands......"

"I'm afraid the principal is worried about money, and he's crazy, right?" The man thought subconsciously.

Zhang Boling didn't hide it, he opened his mouth and said: "Chen Qiang has sent us money!" ”

"Chen Qiang? That Chen Qiang in the United States? Great, he finally didn't forget about our Nankai! The Nankai teacher suddenly looked happy, and then asked, "Principal, how much did Chen Qiang give us?" ”

"100,000 yuan!" Zhang Boling stretched out ten fingers.

Nankai teacher's face suddenly sank, and he said helplessly: "Principal, although 100,000 yuan is not a small amount, but now that prices are soaring, I am afraid that this 100,000 yuan is far from filling the hole in our funds for rebuilding Nankai!" ”

"I'm not saying French currency, I'm talking about US dollars, 100,000 US dollars!" Zhang Boling said.

"What? 100,000 dollars? OMG! So much money! Where did Chen Qiang get so much money from! The Nankai teacher exclaimed.

"Even in the United States, $100,000 is a big number, and the average person can't save that much money in a lifetime. It has not been easy for Chen Qiang to work hard in the United States all these years, and it is estimated that this is all his savings over the years! We can't let him down, we want to build Nankai beautifully, and make Nankai the most first-class university in China! Zhang Boling shook his fists as he spoke, and then continued: "To book a few train tickets to Shanghai, I have to go to Citibank in Shanghai in person and take out the money!" ”

Nanjing opened its foreign currency market in March, and the fiat currency skyrocketed from 20 to 1 against the US dollar in 2020 to 1, and this figure has been rising, and now it has reached 3,000 fiat currency to exchange for 1 US dollar. Chen Qiang donated 100,000 US dollars to Nankai University, which is 300 million legal currency if converted into legal tender, and there is no problem in building a few more Nankai universities.

With this money, Zhang Boling instantly became hard, Nankai University can build a good teaching building, can build a library, can build a dormitory, can repair the playground, can build a laboratory, can buy all kinds of experimental equipment, and even the office funds in the next few years are very rich, it can be said that the future of Nankai University is bright.

……

After Zhang Boling returned from Shanghai, he went to Peking and had dinner with President Mei of Tsinghua University.

Peking Quanjude, President Mei and Professor Huang of Tsinghua University, were waiting for Zhang Boling's arrival in the private room.

President Mei of Tsinghua University is the first batch of students to study in the United States, since 1931 he has served as the president of Tsinghua University, and served as the chairman of the school council of Southwest Associated University during the Anti-Japanese War.

Professor Huang graduated from Tsinghua University, went to the United States to study, and after returning to China, he taught at Nankai University and served as the secretary general of Nankai University, with a dual background of Tsinghua University and Nankai. During the period of Southwest Associated University, a Normal College of Southwest Associated University was added, and Professor Huang served as the president of the Normal College. When the Anti-Japanese War was just after the victory, he temporarily served as the director of the Tianjin Municipal Education Bureau for four months, and he planned to continue teaching after leaving his post.

Before Zhang Boling came, President Mei and Professor Huang chatted.

"Professor Huang, do you know why President Zhang invited me?" Principal Mei asked.

"Please come to Quanjude, it must be an important thing, but it's cheap for me, I have oral today, and I haven't eaten Quanjude's duck for a few days!" Professor Huang spoke.

"Something important?" Principal Mei nodded thoughtfully, and then asked, "Could it be that Nankai is experiencing difficulties in reconstruction?" ”

"Nine times out of ten, that's it." Professor Huang continued: "The reconstruction funds given by the Ministry of Education were already insufficient, and the money was delayed for three months, but now that prices are soaring and all kinds of materials are much more expensive than three months ago, the reconstruction funds given by the Ministry of Education to Nankai are definitely insufficient." Principal Zhang may have come to you to ask for money. ”

"Hey...... In fact, Tsinghua University's funding is also stretched! Principal Mei said helplessly.

"So what are you going to do? Principal Zhang opened his mouth to ask for money, so he couldn't refuse directly! Professor Huang asked.

"The situation in Nankai is more difficult than Tsinghua, Tsinghua's school buildings are all there, but Nankai's school buildings have basically been blown up by the Japanese, and Principal Zhang's side needs money more. Principal Mei spoke.

"Then I'm afraid that the reconstruction of Tsinghua University will be affected, right?" Professor Huang asked.

"It's okay, if it really doesn't work, I can use the Gengzi indemnity fund." Principal Mei replied.

Tsinghua University was built with the Gengzi indemnity money of the Qing government by the Americans, and a Gengzi indemnity fund was also set up at that time, and the daily operation of Tsinghua University was also supported by this Gengzi indemnity fund, most of which was deposited in domestic banks in fiat currency, and a small part was deposited in U.S. banks in U.S. dollars, and the domestic part eventually became waste paper due to hyperinflation, and the part stored in the United States was later used to build the Tsinghua University on the treasure island.

At this time, Zhang Boling knocked on the door and came in.

"I'm sorry, President Mei, Professor Huang, I'm done here, and I've asked you to wait for a long time." Zhang Boling said with a smile.

"Principal, it's me who is greedy for this mouthful of Quanjude, so I came early." Professor Huang said happily. He used to teach at Nankai University, so he directly called Zhang Boling "principal".

After the three of them sat down, the cook pushed the roast duck in, sliced it and served it on the table, the three of them had almost eaten, and then Principal Mei asked, "Brother Boling, you are looking for me this time, not just what?" ”

"Yuehan (Principal Mei's table), I came to you this time for the resumption of the three schools. I don't know if the Ministry of Education has allocated enough funds for the resumption of universities? Zhang Boling spoke.

"We barely have enough money." Principal Mei replied.

In fact, Tsinghua's funds are also very tight, but President Mei is worried that if he says that Tsinghua has no money, Zhang Boling will be embarrassed to ask for money, and President Mei also wants to help Nankai, so he said "barely enough", and then waited for Zhang Boling to ask for money.

Unexpectedly, Zhang Boling took out a thick envelope from his arms and handed it to Principal Mei.

"Brother Boling, what does this mean?" Principal Mei asked puzzled.

"Yuehan, you don't have to hide it from me, I know that Tsinghua is also short of money, there is some money here, you use it first, count the funds of our Nankai to support the resumption of Tsinghua University!" Zhang Boling said.

Principal Mei was stunned, but still took the envelope, opened it, and saw that it was all green dollars.

"So many dollars! Principal Zhang, where did you get that? Principal Mei's eyes widened in surprise.

"Do you remember Chen Qiang?" Zhang Boling asked rhetorically.

Principal Mei nodded: "Of course I remember him, in the 21st year of the Republic of China, I had just become the president of Tsinghua University, and Chen Qiang was going to the United States to participate in the Olympic Games, but he had no funds, and he once came to Tsinghua to raise donations." I heard that he is now in the United States, does this money have anything to do with him? ”

"This is the resumption fund donated by Chen Qiang to Tsinghua University." Zhang Boling said.

Zhang Boling did not say that the money was divided from the 100,000 US dollars donated by Chen Qiang to Nankai, but directly said that Chen Qiang donated it to Tsinghua University, which can be regarded as putting this favor on Chen Qiang's head.

"I really didn't expect that after more than ten years, Chen Qiang still remembers the events of that year!" Principal Mei sighed. He did not refuse, put away the envelope, but recorded Chen Qiang's friendship in his heart.

Zhang Boling took out another envelope, and then said: "Chen Qiang also donated a sum of money to Peking University, but there is no person in charge of Peking University now, so I also asked President Mei to keep this money for the time being, and when Hu Shi comes, give him the money." ”

President Mei took the envelope, put it away closely, and then said: "During Hu Shi's tenure as ambassador to the United States, he can be regarded as making great contributions, I thought that after he returned to China, he would at least give him a position such as Minister of Education, but I didn't expect that he would only be asked to come to Peking University as the president." ”

The original president of Peking University, Jiang also had other important official positions, so he resigned as president of Peking University, and Peking University was waiting for the new president to take over. And the new president of Peking University is Hu Shi.

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