Volume 1: A sound on Wall Street, Xinxiang City is busy copying books Chapter 282 Christmas Eve (I)
Subtitle of this chapter: These past few days have been uneasy.
Around 6 p.m. on December 24, 1920, at the Consulate General of the Republic of China in New York.
This simple three-story building on 12th Street has a two- to three-meter-high Christmas tree in front of it, which is hung with colorful lights. Together with the headlights of the cars that drive by one after another, the reflection of the white snow makes the front of the door bright.
Today's Christmas Eve ball is actually a real charity ball.
The Consulate General held this ball to thank the New York Chinese community for their huge donations and full support for the drought in North China, but unexpectedly, a few days ago, on December 16, another earthquake occurred in China. That was the famous Haiyuan earthquake in history.
The earthquake occurred in Haiyuan County and Guyuan County in southern Ningxia, China (then under the jurisdiction of Gansu Province), with a magnitude of 8.5 on the Richter scale, and the intensity of this earthquake was rated as XII, the highest level!
The earthquake killed 288,200 people and injured about 300,000 people. It was the strongest earthquake ever recorded in China and the strongest earthquake in human history. 96 earthquake monitoring bureaus around the world recorded the earthquake, and aftershocks lasted for three years.
What else can we say about the Consulate General in New York? Naturally, we have to count on the patriotic overseas Chinese to lend a helping hand.
In addition, Ms. Huang Huilan, the daughter of the richest man in Southeast Asia, appeared in New York for the first time as the wife of the next Chinese ambassador to the United States. She had been to the United States several times, so she invited old friends and relatives she had met in the past.
There was also an overseas student named Yuan who was favored by the deposed German Emperor Wilhelm II, and they planned to hold a sword-giving ceremony for him, which also made everyone quite curious.
So today was really lively. It was said that all the leading figures in the overseas Chinese community in New York City were present today. Even Li Jie and his wife had an invitation and were now riding in a car driven by a cousin to the dance. In addition to the two of them, the great doctor Wen Jinxiu, who was dressed in a Taoist robe and had a head full of white hair and looked like an immortal, was also sitting in the car.
"Boss, put on this bow tie quickly, otherwise it will look awkward."
Today, Hongqi Big Brother wore a Western-style evening suit. With his looks, figure and temperament, he looked really good in this nice suit. It was like the old saying, "Buddha relies on gold and people rely on clothes."
But while he was clumsily putting on the bow tie, he complained: "I told you to wear a long gown and a jacket. But you insisted on making me wear this."
The fourth sister Jin Feng, who was also wearing a Western dress, sneered, "Ah, you liked wearing Western dresses back then, but now that you're in a foreign land, you don't like the Western style of dressing. You're really hypocritical."
"Back then I wasn't..." Li Jie's expression darkened and he didn't finish the sentence.
Mrs. Li was a seasoned woman. She noticed that her husband looked upset and quickly changed the subject, "Master, Mr. Yuan said last time that he had become Rong... Rong what Ke, or the general of that old Emperor William II..."
"What is a cavalryman? You called me a bandit, brother Hongjian." Hongqi Laowu interrupted, "That's not a cavalryman, that's a knight!"
"What knights, what generals, anyway, they all ride on horses..." Fourth Sister Jinfeng muttered softly.
Li Jie finally put on the damn bow tie. After hearing this, he waved his hand and said, "Hey, even if they all ride horses, it's not the same thing!"
Mrs. Li snorted and said, "Well, anyway, Emperor William is going to give him a precious sword today..."
Hongqi Laowu did not have the energy to correct his wife this time, so he could only listen to her nonsense: "With the Imperial Sword, does that mean the Second Master can walk around Germany with impunity? He said..."
She glanced at Doctor Wen who was sitting beside her, leaned close to her husband's ear and whispered, "Maybe this big deal can really be done."
Hearing this, he sighed inwardly. In addition to having bound feet, his wife had another shortcoming, which was that she didn't like to study, so she couldn't catch up with... well, himself. She always used drama to guide her life, which was bound to make people laugh. But this time, she might have hit the mark.
Li Jie couldn't help but think of the first time he met Master Yuan. In fact, he still didn't quite believe that there really was such a thing as Baisui Mountain, Fairy Water, Nintendo and Qianlixiang. Just hearing these names sounded weird and totally out of line with the rules of the Hongmen.
As for Yuan Yanshu, he is becoming more and more unpredictable and mysterious.
Before they met, Hongqi Fifth Brother knew that there was a person like him in NYU, but he was just a playboy and a playboy with little money.
But in just three months after they met, this Mr. Yuan brought him too many surprises and astonishments, and just this one person caused several waves in New York.
At the beginning, he, an international student, suddenly became a suspect in the BOOOOOOM case on Wall Street. No one knew when he got connected with the Baker family, Le Monde and the Republican Party, but he got away with it.
Just from this incident, we can tell that this person is extraordinary. At that time, Li Jie thought that regardless of whether Yuan Yanshu was involved in the shocking case or not, he would most likely be used as a scapegoat simply because of his Chinese identity. He did not expect that he had such incredible connections and background that even the NYPD and BOI could not do anything to him.
He then wrote novels and political commentaries, becoming a true intellectual. He also "discovered" a Seres miracle doctor, who became the doctor of a Wall Street tycoon, the president of New York Life, a famous lawyer, and many other big names!
And this Mr. Yuan also brought many benefits to himself and the Hongmen. Although the business of Baishuishan brand eucommia bark and pirated books was not large in scale, it was very profitable. Not only did it solve the employment problem of idle people in Anliangtang, but it also allowed the couple to make a small fortune.
You must know that although this Hongqi Big 5 Brother is seemingly glorious, he is deeply trusted by the leader Situ Meitang and is appointed to the important post of Anliangtang's outer manager. In fact, as a Henan native, he has a very awkward position in the Hongmen where Guangdong people gather. He has many subordinates, but no direct descendants. There are many people who are dissatisfied and want to drive him out. Only the wife of Jinfeng Fourth Sister is on the same page with him.
However, the financial path that Master Yuan Er opened up for him made Hongqi Laowu the real Big Five, and his position became as solid as a rock. The sage of Nintendo was indeed very loyal, and he would not recognize anyone except him. Those lobbyists who brought expensive gifts could not even see him...
Well, actually, our Master Yuan was too lazy to deal with gang members. When he heard these people talking about "egg-less monk", "a few hens" and "fuck your mother", he lost his appetite, let alone talking about things.
Probably because of the influence of Master Ball, it still sounds “zhong” in Henan dialect.
In this case, this sage is truly a character!
Just like he said, would he be willing to spend the rest of his life in a foreign country thousands of miles away? Would he not go back to avenge his grievances and restore his family's reputation?
“Beep…”
The three people in the car swayed, and they heard the Hongmen driver yelling at another car outside the window: "Fuck your mother! Do you know how to drive, you street kid?"
“Beep…”
"Fuck your mother! You poor bastard, hurry up and reincarnate."
Another Hongmen disciple also cursed out of the car window. He turned around and asked the driver: "Xiangzi, are you a bully or not?!"
"Chena, you just scared Teala to death. Luoxue Tiannong must be careful! Can you drive slower?"
It is indeed difficult to drive on the road on a snowy day. In Luo Puxiang is not an experienced driver, so he almost crashed into a street lamp while competing for the road with a car behind him.
The three of them were also wearing formal evening gowns, and the purpose of this trip was of course the Consulate General of the Republic of China in New York.
"Just like President Yuan said, how can a man say no? Of course I can do it, you two little bitches just need to stop nagging!"
Being a driver can really change a person's personality. Many gentlemen and ladies who are well-mannered will immediately turn into road rage patients who swear constantly as soon as they touch the steering wheel or step on the accelerator. Luo Puxiang, who used to have some sense of propriety, now even says things like "you son of a bitch".
Lu Yan immediately protested in a cold voice: "Fuck your mother, what do you mean by a bitch? My mother is a second wife!"
Yang Jingbang also retorted unhappily: "Later, my mother became my legal wife. You can't talk about it, but I can't be my friend anymore!"
Camel Xiangzi also realized that he had made a mistake. "Young woman's son" is not just a simple complaint these days, but a very vicious sarcasm, especially for male offspring like Liuzhi Qinmo and Xiao Yang Shengjian who are not legitimate heirs.
Just as they said, Lu Yan's mother was his father's second wife, and Yang Jingbang's mother was promoted from a concubine to a wife, so she was very sensitive about this and must have reacted strongly when she heard it.
He immediately apologized with a wry smile: "Two big brothers, you know that I have a big mouth, but I don't know how to control it. It's my fault for offending you two. I will treat you to a big meal another day to make amends..."
The two of them still looked surprised and said nothing, so Luo Puxiang had to say self-deprecatingly: "Hey, brother, although I am the legitimate son, my parents have passed away for so many years. In terms of my relationship with the old man, I am not as good as you two!"
In fact, the status of these three in their respective families was somewhat awkward. Unlike Yuan Yanshu, they were not legitimate eldest sons, and they had inherent disadvantages in inheriting the family property. And they also had older brothers who were several years older. These brothers had long been involved in the family business and had already occupied key positions.
In other words, after their three grandfathers passed away, their situation was not very good. Of course, unless they were particularly good at squandering money, they would definitely have no worries about food and drink in this life, but watching the huge family fortune go into the pockets of their brothers, the sense of loss was really too great.
So after he said that, the other two also remembered their own concerns and the car fell silent for a while.
Camel Xiangzi realized that he seemed to have said something wrong again, so he had to forcefully change the subject and asked, "Two big guys, have you done that thing?"
"What is it?"
Luo Puxiang explained: "It's about the Seris Investment Company that President Yuan mentioned. Have you paid the 5,000 US dollars worth of shares?"
"You handed it in?"
He answered readily, "I have."
"Um……"
The Cantonese and Shanghainese looked at each other and fell into silence again.
The Tianjin man said in a careless manner, "I think you should pay it. From President Yuan's point of view, if you miss this opportunity, you will never get it again. Five thousand US dollars is not a lot. If you don't have enough money, I can still help you."
Lu Yan snorted coldly: "Xiangzi, you are now the chairman of the 144 Mahjong Club, so spending five thousand dollars is worth it. What is five thousand dollars for the two of us?"
Yang Jingbang nodded upon hearing this.
The two of them were really a little jealous about this matter. Because these two Tao Zhu disciples had observed that mahjong might really be popular in New York and even the whole United States. Then, the chairman of the mahjong club would not be a joke position like it is now, but a great position with both face and substance. It is impossible to say that they didn't have some thoughts in their minds.
"You don't know this." Camel Xiangzi said with a hint of pride: "What President Yuan is going to do next is..."
He freed one hand and made a number eight gesture. The other two were surprised and asked in unison: "Arms?! How did you know?"
Luo Puxiang confessed: "He has already contacted my uncle, hoping to establish connections in Peking through our Luo family."
"Then where did he get the munitions?"
"Hey, you don't know this?" Camel Xiangzi asked back, "Isn't he hooking up with the Germans now?"
“I get it!”
The Tianjin native replied, "Yes. President Yuan said that Seris Investment Company will invest all its money in the arms business. If this really happens, it won't be a problem for us to multiply our $5,000 several times."
The Cantonese and Shanghainese nodded inwardly upon hearing this. As people from business families, no matter how frivolous they were, they knew how much profit arms smuggling could bring.
The question now is, is President Yuan reliable?
The Six-Fingered Demon touched his chin and said thoughtfully, "Don't you think it's a bit strange? President Yuan has become a different person since he fell on Wall Street last time."
Xiao Yang Shengjian slapped his thigh and said, "I really want to say that he actually wrote a paper and wrote several novels. This is really weird."
Camel Xiangzi asked with a lingering fear: "I say... do you still remember that night?"
