Capitol Coliseum, Washington.

In front of the ballot box, two men were arguing fiercely.

"You should vote for Rivers!"

"How can Rivers compare to George! George deserves an All-Star vote! ”

"George? His stats are so much worse than Rivers's, I don't understand why you think George is better suited to be an All-Star! ”

"Look at Rivers' mistakes! And that terrible hit rate. His numbers are good only because he sells them more often. ”

"Rivers has a lot of shots because he has the trust of the coach!"

"Don't talk nonsense, you idiot actually said that Langtou is the trust of the coach, and he is ignoring the existence of his teammates! How can a person who plays so 'alone' be worthy of being an all-star! ”

"You idiot, the numbers speak for themselves. Even if George was given so many shots, he couldn't shoot that many. George only deserves to be a role player, and he doesn't deserve to be an All-Star at all. ”

"It's tiring to talk to an idiot who doesn't know how to play, basketball is a five-person sport, and what if you have a lot of stats, it doesn't mean that you will contribute to the team."

"I think you're a fool!"

"Idiot, do you want to taste my fists?"

"Who's afraid of whom!"

As the two of them spoke, they pushed and shoved, and then they shot hard.

It happened that a sports reporter was interviewing in the neighborhood and saw these two people fighting, and after careful inquiry, it turned out that the two were fighting over the matter of All-Star voting.

The fight for an All-Star vote was a novelty, so it was treated as an anecdote and appeared in the next day's paper.

……

Edward Ireland, the general manager of the Knicks, is reporting to Chen Qiang on the Knicks' operations in the recent period.

"There has been an uptick in ticket sales and attendance recently. I did some research and the fans thought we were getting better and better. Edward Ireland spoke.

"Getting more and more exciting?" After Chen Qiang pondered for a few seconds, he asked, "Is it because of the all-star vote?" ”

"You guessed it, it's because of the All-Star vote." Edward Ireland spoke.

"I'm not guessing. As athletes, we all want to be better than others, and we all want to strive for higher rankings. Therefore, when the results of the All-Star voting in the first month are announced, it will inevitably arouse the competitive spirit of the players, and they will use better performances to win the votes of fans. Chen Qiang smiled slightly, and continued: "I am an athlete myself, so I understand what is going on in the minds of athletes. ”

"I heard that in Washington, D.C., two fans got into a fight over the All-Star vote, and one of them went to the hospital. I really didn't expect that an all-star vote could make fans fight, and the voting in the presidential election was not so lively. Edward Ireland said with a smile.

"But we can use this as an opportunity to spread the word and tell the nation that our All-Star Game is very popular with fans." Chen Qiang said.

"I've done that, and I've got some media people to talk about the fight between these two fans, and I'm going to take the opportunity to heat up our All-Star Game." Edward Ireland shook his head helplessly as he said: "I really don't understand that fans can fight for their favorite stars. ”

"What's so strange about this, the fan is a very strange creature, sometimes they can be crazy, even extreme, for their favorite stars, it's normal to attack each other, do you believe it or not, some fans can even ignore the dignity of their own country in order to support their favorite team?" Chen Qiang sighed lightly.

"How is this possible? Isn't it just a ball? How can you compare to your own country? Edward Ireland spoke.

Chen Qiang didn't answer directly, he just smiled slightly, he knew that for people in this era, this was something incomprehensible.

While the two were talking, the phone at Chen Qiang's desk rang, Chen Qiang picked up the phone, and a familiar voice sounded in the receiver, and it was still in Chinese.

"Chen Qiang, I'm back from Cairo!"

The person who called was none other than Prince Kong.

In order to obtain the monopoly of Sino-US trade, Kong Dagongzi is wrestling with Mr. Song, but Kong Dagongzi's political resources are far inferior to Mr. Song, Mr. Song attacked Kong Dagongzi from the policy, so that Kong Dagongzi could not be guarded against, at that time Chen Qiang gave Gongkong Dagongzi a bad idea, let Kong Dagongzi go to Madame Jiang for help.

Mr. Kong really went to find Mrs. Jiang, but unfortunately Mrs. Jiang had returned to China at this time, and if Mr. Kong wanted to go to Mrs. Jiang for help, he had to go back to Chongqing.

Since the coastal areas were occupied by the Japanese, there was only one way for Kong to return to Chongqing, and that was to fly the Hump route from India. Flying over the hump route is a very dangerous thing, and Kong Dagongzi also spared his life and did not dare to fly back to China. So after waiting in the United States for a while, he went straight to Cairo, Egypt. Because the Grand Prince of Kong heard the news, in late November, Madame Chiang would go to Cairo to attend the Cairo Conference.

So Chen Qiang asked, "You go to Cairo, is things going well?" Did Madame Chiang support you? ”

"It's hard to put into words!" Master Kong sighed, and then said: "You come to me, I happen to have something to find you, hurry up, I will go to bed after a while." ”

"Sleep?" Chen Qiang looked at his watch, it was more than three o'clock in the afternoon, and with the work and rest time of Prince Kong, he should not sleep at this time.

On weekdays, Prince Kong basically goes out day and night, he must go to bed in the morning, wait until the afternoon to get up, and go to nightclubs to get up all night. So sleeping in the afternoon is not like the style of Prince Kong.

On the other side of the phone, Mr. Kong said, "I just got off the plane not long ago, and the jet lag hasn't been reversed!" It's also much colder in New York than in Cairo, and I want to sleep by the fire right now. ”

Chen Qiang came to the residence of the eldest prince of Kong, who was sitting on a chaise longue yawning with a cup of strong coffee.

"You're here, I'm going to fall asleep if you don't come." Master Kong complained.

"As soon as I put down the phone, I rushed over without stopping." Chen Qiang sat opposite Prince Kong, and then asked, "What's the matter, I can't say it on the phone, I have to come over in person." ”

Grand Prince Kong yawned again, and then continued: "When I was in Cairo, I met General Stilwell, and he asked me to bring you a message, and I had to tell you in person. ”

"What did General Stilwell say?" Chen Qiang asked immediately.

"He said, what you asked him to help do, he has done it, let you rest assured." Grand Prince Kong said.

"That's good." Chen Qiang breathed a sigh of relief, and General Stilwell really lived up to his trust and sent the $5 million anti-Japanese donation to the destination.

"I said Chen Qiang, what did you ask Stilwell to do for you, it's mysterious, it's like a spy joint." Grand Master Kong asked.

Chen Qiang knew that if he didn't give Gongzi Kong an answer, this guy would definitely be entangled, and maybe there would be bad things in the future.

So Chen Qiang opened his mouth to make up a reason: "I have some elders and friends in China, and now they have all been evacuated to Chongqing, and you know that after the outbreak of the war, many people have been evacuated to Chongqing, and it is not easy to live in Chongqing now, so I entrusted General Stilwell to send some dollars to those elders and friends in China, so that they will not have a hard time." ”

"I see, why bother Stilwell with such a trivial matter? Just find someone and bring the money back! Master Kong pursed his lips.

"I don't have your special channels, Gongzi Kong. This is a mess, and if you are an ordinary person, I really don't feel at ease. General Stilwell is the chief of the general staff of the Chinese theater of operations, and if he is asked to help, no one should embarrass him. Chen Qiang replied with a smile.

"It's also said that the capacity of the Hump route is limited, and it is really difficult for ordinary people to bring something to the country. It is really more reliable to ask the Americans for help in this matter than to find other connections. Grand Master Kong nodded.

For example, a high-ranking official like Prince Kong naturally has channels to transport money back to China, and there are also channels to ship domestic money out, and people who have no power or power do not have this kind of ability, after all, the Japanese blockade is not a dry meal. The reason that Chen Qiang found is also reasonable. In addition, Prince Kong was originally a heartless gentleman, so he didn't doubt Chen Qiang's words at all.

Chen Qiang also knew that if he said too much, he would lose, so he deliberately diverted the topic and asked, "How was the Cairo meeting?" ”

"Don't mention it, the British have repented again." After Mr. Kong finished speaking, he pretended to be ostentatious and said: "I know a lot about the inside story of the Cairo meeting, and when they had a meeting, I followed my aunt into the venue together!" ”

Chen Qiang also knew that Prince Kong was showing off that he was very good, so he deliberately showed an expression of admiration very cooperatively, and then said, "Tell me what's going on!" ”

"Didn't the Americans and the British have a meeting in Washington a few days ago, and the British promised to reopen the Yunnan-Burma highway, but when they arrived in Cairo, the British repented and did not want to fight Burma." Grand Prince Kong said.

Chen Qiang nodded: "The British do not want the position of the United States in Southeast Asia and the Far East to be strengthened, after all, Burma is a British colony, and the British do not want the American army and our Chinese army to enter Burma, but unfortunately they do not have enough troops to drive away the Japanese army in Burma." The last Trident Conference was held in Washington, the home of the United States, and the British did not have so much confidence, and this time the Cairo Conference was held in Egypt, where the British sphere of influence, so the British waist board was hard again. ”

"Isn't it, I was going to discuss how to deal with Southeast Asia and the Far East after the Japanese were driven out. As a result, the British refused to discuss British colonies in Southeast Asia and the Far East. Master Kong replied.

"The British are still unwilling to lose their status as the 'boss', and before this battle is over, they will start to be moths again!" Chen Qiang pursed his lips.

Kong Dagongzi then showed off: "According to the information I have received, the Americans and the British have gone to Tehran again to have another meeting with the Soviets!" It is estimated that the Soviets will not get used to the British! ”

Chen Qiang nodded, he knew that this was the Tehran Conference.

The main topic of the conference was to discuss how the Anglo-American and Soviet armies could flank Germany from both the east and the west, and it also proposed the establishment of a new international organization to replace the existing League of Nations, which would be the future United Nations.

After learning about some recent international events from the mouth of Prince Kong, Chen Qiang took his leave and left.

As soon as he returned to his lodgings, Esther greeted him in a hurry.

"My water song and dance film was already in post-production and was tentatively scheduled to be released next summer, and MGM called me to see the dailies. In addition, MGM also asked, do you want to go along? Esther spoke.

The "Hibiscus Out of the Water" that Esther took is a water song and dance movie, and there are many scenes of swimming in the water, so this movie must not be filmed in winter, swimming in the water in the winter, and the actor's body can't bear it. Therefore, as early as two months ago, when it was just autumn, the film was filmed. Then it was time for post-production.

Now that the post-production of the film is complete at the end of the year, MGM invited the film's lead actors to see the edited dailies.

The film cost a lot, and in order to share the risk, MGM accepted Chen Qiang's investment before filming, and Chen Qiang was also one of the investors. So MGM also invited Chen Qiang to take a look at the sample.

Chen Qiang calculated the time, there were only a few days left before Christmas, and his only relatives in the United States were the Esther family, so he simply took this opportunity to go directly to Los Angeles to spend Christmas with the Esther family, and then go back to New York.

……

In Los Angeles, in a screening room at MGM, a sample film of "Hibiscus Out of the Water" is being shown on the big screen, and of course the film is still called "Mr, Co-Ed" at this time.

This is a color film, the beginning of the film, is a musical performance by the pool, on the big screen, Esther combed her hair into braids, and then coiled on her head, she is wearing a pink one-piece swimsuit, with a curvaceous figure, simply beautiful.

However, Esther's outfit made Chen Qiang feel very familiar, and Chen Qiang could be sure that he had definitely seen this image of Esther on the big screen.

"I have the impression that the heroine of "Out of the Water Hibiscus" seems to be like this, right? Is it because of the relationship between costumes and makeup that Esther is very similar to the heroine of "Out of the Water Hibiscus". Chen Qiang thought to himself.

Although Chen Qiang in the future has watched the classic film "Hibiscus Out of the Water", after all, it is a long time ago, and of course it is impossible to remember the name of the leading actor in the movie. In fact, apart from a few professional filmmakers and veteran film lovers, few people can remember who the stars of those classic old movies are. Needless to say, those old movies of the forties and fifties, such as "The Shawshank Redemption" in the nineties, such a classic film, I believe many people have seen it, or even watched it more than once, but how many people can blurt out the name of the male number one?

On the big screen in front, the film continued to play, and familiar scenes appeared in Chen Qiang's sight. The hide-and-seek in which the actor Red Skelton fights wits with a Great Dane, the musical performance in the school auditorium, and the classic ballet all evoke Chen Qiang's memories of the film. I have to say that Red Skelton deserves the title of "American Clown Prince", he uses a very personable way to show humor to the audience.

In contrast, without the "technical" scene of the last water ballet, Esther would be like a vase.

In the last scene of the water ballet performance, Esther appeared in a white suspender swimsuit, exactly the same as the glamorous female lead in "Hibiscus Out of the Water" in Chen Qiang's memory!

At this moment, Chen Qiang is already convinced that the heroine of the "Out of the Water Hibiscus" he saw in later generations is Esther!

"It turns out that the historical "Out of the Water Hibiscus" is starring Esther!" Chen Qiang remembered that when "Hibiscus Out of the Water" was released in China, young people in the city poured into the cinema to watch this movie that had been banned for more than 30 years.

Among these "countless young people", of course, Chen Qiang, who was still a young man at that time.

"I actually married a goddess!" Chen Qiang laughed knowingly.

——————

Everyone, please give me a recommendation ticket, thank you.