Volume 1: A sound on Wall Street, Xinxiang City is busy copying books Chapter 289 Christmas Eve (VIII)
Subtitle of this chapter: Talk about revolution before falling in love
"Eight hundred and eighty dollars, first time... second time... third time!"
"Bang!"
"Then this Qing Dynasty Qianlong famille rose plum vase belongs to Mr. Li Jie, the director of the Anliang Chamber of Commerce."
Luo Jiaxiang, the first-class secretary, acted as an auctioneer in a very professional manner, but Hongqi's fifth brother bowed to a short and fat man in a long gown and a jacket not far away and said, "President Zhu, I'm grateful for your kindness."
The president Zhu, who looked like a gangster, was the leader of the New York branch of the Xiesheng Association. His face twitched unnaturally after he failed in the bidding, but he finally reluctantly returned the greeting and said, "Old Five, you're welcome."
This round of competition is naturally between the two branches of Hongmen, Anliangtang, and Xieshenghui. Although they are both from the Hongmen lineage, as the old saying goes, there is no room for two tigers in one mountain. Xieshenghui is a veteran local tiger that opened its doors in North America in the mid-19th century, while Anliangtang is a newcomer that only opened its doors in New York more than a decade ago. It is inevitable that there will be some friction between the two.
In the original timeline, it is just a dispute of pride that hurts the harmony. In a few years, the two sides will fight each other and even use guns.
"Boss, it's just a broken porcelain vase and you spent 880 dollars. Isn't it a bit too expensive?" Sister Jinfeng was not happy about her husband's victory at all. She looked at President Zhu worriedly and asked in a low voice.
Hongqi Laowu said solemnly, "It's a little expensive, but all the proceeds from today's auction will be donated to the victims of the drought in East China. Don't forget that my hometown has also been affected by the disaster. I guess I've done my part."
As the saying goes, gold is valuable in troubled times, and antiques are valuable in prosperous times. These days, Chinese cultural relics are not very valuable.
But this plum vase is still worth the price. You should know that this kind of Qianlong famille rose porcelain can easily sell for 10 million RMB in a hundred years. On November 11, 2010, at an auction at Bainbridge Auction House in London, a Qianlong famille rose hollow porcelain vase with an estimated value of between 800,000 and 1.2 million pounds was finally sold for 51.6 million pounds (about 550 million RMB), setting a new record for the highest price of Chinese cultural relics at the time.
Today, this plum vase is worth less than one thousand US dollars, which is only a few hundred thousand RMB a hundred years later. It is just the two-year doctoral tuition of our Master Yuan. It is surprisingly cheap.
"Huilan, it's too stuffy here, I'm going out to get some fresh air!"
Miss Wei Mingzhu had no interest in this kind of auction. Moreover, smoking was not banned indoors these days, which made her even more uncomfortable.
"Yeah!" Huang Huilan nodded gently. She wasn't really interested, but as the wife of the Chinese ambassador to the United States, she couldn't just run away halfway.
When Miss Wei stood up like this, she naturally startled the men around her who were all focusing their attention on her.
"Miss Wei, wherever you want to go, I'll go with you."
She glanced at Lu Jifeng and said calmly, "I'm going to touch up my makeup, so I won't bother you, Mr. Lu."
"Hmm..." This Dick also knew that touching up makeup was synonymous with going to the bathroom, so he could only smile awkwardly and said, "Then please go ahead."
As she spoke, Wei Mingzhu went up the stairs, but she did not return to the lounge. Instead, she went around the back stairs to the side door on the first floor and planned to leave the New York Consulate General from here.
"Don't catch a cold, young lady."
The maids quickly put a light but warm chinchilla fur coat on her and put a heater in her hand. Wei Mingzhu then came to the garden.
This small garden didn't have much scenery to begin with, let alone on a cold winter night. All the plants were covered with a layer of snow, and you couldn't see their original appearance at all. The snow falling from the sky was getting thicker and thicker, as if it was going to cover everything in a thick white blanket.
Even though there was heavy snow falling from the sky, even though she was in such a cold and secluded garden, even though the temperature was nearly ten degrees below zero, Miss Wei Mingzhu still felt stuffy and hot in her heart.
Although she was born into a wealthy family in Nanyang like Huang Huilan, her Wei family was nothing compared to the Huang family, the richest family in Nanyang. She was not as loved by her father as Huang Huilan. Her father was a traditional Chinese master who paid more attention to his sons who could carry on the family line. So her situation was really awkward compared to the ambassador's wife who was favored by Huang Zhonghan.
Fortunately, the Wei family was somewhat westernized because the whole family believed in Christianity, so she followed her elder sister Wei Mingniang to Europe to broaden her horizons. This was naturally a good opportunity for Miss Wei to get rid of the feudal family that made her feel depressed, and she really wanted to find a like-minded husband.
No matter how much Miss Wei Mingzhu yearned for revolution, she could not get rid of the dual influence of traditional Chinese education and Christian church school. In her heart, she still took it for granted that women would always get married, and she was already 23 years old, which was considered an unmarried young woman in both the East and the West these days.
Why can't I marry a great hero and revolutionary like Mr. Jingwei like Sister Bingru did?
She was upset and could not help chanting: "Have you been well since we parted? If we meet again, everything will be so sad that I cannot bear to look back. The endless hatred of the country being destroyed and the family being ruined is too much to bear in this life! And the sorrow of separation has been added. My eyes and heart are like yesterday, and I hope to hold your hand every night. I will cut open my heart of blood for you..."
Suddenly, a clear and deep baritone continued : "The tear marks have stained the cloud paper. Leaning against the cold quilt, I read carefully over and over again, the dim light is like a bean. I have left this for the rest of my life, but it only makes my old friend sad. I am ashamed to wear my head as before. It is not easy to travel through the rivers and mountains, I hope my lonely soul will protect the carriage. My heart is broken, it is hard to sing again!"
Then the man's voice was heard saying leisurely: "When it comes to poetry, Wang Zhaoming is also a great poet in his time. This poem "He Xinlang" is really well written. It's a pity..."
Wei Mingzhu couldn't help but feel a little angry when she heard this, so she turned around angrily and looked at the person who spoke, only to see a tall figure stepping on the snow, walking out of the deep darkness step by step.
The nearby light first hit the man's feet. He was wearing a pair of high-end leather shoes. Although there was some snow water on them, they were still shiny and it was obvious that they were not ordinary items.
Next came the exquisitely crafted dress and coat, and a tall hat, the brim of which just covered the man's face.
Somehow, Miss Wei, who had only heard the voice but hadn't even seen the other person's face, felt her heart pounding like it was about to jump out of her throat, and the scolding was frozen in her mouth.
She also felt a little strange. Why could I conclude ?
Of course, she would not notice that the two maids behind her were in the same strange state as her.
Oops, the charm value of 18 points is still too high. This girl and the two servants behind her are so intimidated by me?
Our Master Yuan smiled bitterly and adjusted his charm value back to 16 points.
Because he was late, there was no parking space at the main entrance, so Zhuang Kunlun had to park the car next to the garden. Yuan Yanshu had been to the Consulate General several times with Luo Puxiang before and knew there was a side door. So he took a shortcut through the garden. Unexpectedly, he met a tall and graceful woman reciting poems in the snow.
If he doesn't show off when given this opportunity, he would be letting the Master Ball system down.
"Hmm..." Miss Wei Mingzhu finally came back to her senses and blurted out quickly and urgently: "What's a pity? What's a pity about a hero like Mr. Jingwei? And..."
"You are so rude. How can you call someone by their first name?!"
As soon as she said it, she regretted it. Now she saw the true face of this man, and there was only one word to describe his face, that is "handsome"!
She couldn't help feeling shy and anxious. Should she behave like a real lady in front of such a handsome guy?
Yuan Yan thought to herself, am I being rude? Other travelers can't even tell the difference between the name and the number, and when they see Xiao Liuzi, they still call him Shaoshuai. But... this girl is pretty. And the clothes she wears make it clear that she is either rich or noble.
He couldn't help but feel moved. Could this woman be the Wei Mingzhu?
Well, this name doesn't seem to be related to me. How can a neoclassical liberal master like me be related to Mingzhu? That's not right. I don't necessarily want to marry a woman named Persimmon Oil.
Since this girl is so obsessed with religion that she actually regards Wang Jingwei, a useless guy with a lot of problems in his brain, as her idol, I will not be polite.
"Haha..." He chuckled and said nonchalantly, "What's wrong with calling him Wang Zhaoming? I also call him Old Man Sun Wen."
"You..." Wei Mingzhu was really a little angry when she heard this. She admired Wang Jingwei, so naturally she admired his "old man" even more... Well, the revolutionary mentor's iron fist was invincible.
Even if you are so handsome, you can't look down on revolutionaries like this.
She couldn't help but protest, "Do you think you can call Mr. Sun Yat-sen by his name? Are you... a royalist who follows Mr. Nanhai?"
Miss Wei Mingzhu is well-informed and knows that there are still remnants of the Qing Dynasty in America. They are the Imperial Constitutional Association founded by Kang Youwei in New York in 1907, which is known as the Chinese Imperial Constitutional Association. Article 3 of the organization's charter clearly states: "The purpose of this association is to respect the imperial family."
Of course, after a gunshot was heard in front of the Yellow Crane Tower, and the local Kuomintang parties plus President Yuan overthrew the Qing Dynasty with ease, almost all Chinese Americans defected to the iron-fisted Tongmenghui.
Master Yuan sneered and said, "Miss, you are such a jokester. What's so great about this old lunatic Kang Youwei that I should follow? I have no chance to meet him. If I do meet him, I will definitely give him a good scolding."
He said with a half-smile, "And what about Sun Wen and Wang Zhaoming? Besides being good at making money and talking big as long-distance revolutionaries, what else have they done to benefit the country and the people that is worthy of my respect?"
It was the first time in Wei Mingzhu's life that she heard someone actually look down upon these three people. As an overseas Chinese living in Southeast Asia, she had heard these names so many times since she was a child and regarded them as real heroes.
She couldn't help but take another good look at the man in front of her to confirm whether he was crazy.
Well... he really doesn't look like a madman. Even if he is a madman, he is still a very handsome, very handsome, very handsome madman.
Her face turned red and she turned her head away, but she kept on nagging, "You are really unreasonable. Mr. Nanhai's ideas are a bit old-fashioned, but he was also passionate about reform back then..."
"Hahaha..." Yuan Yan laughed loudly upon hearing this, "A heart full of passion? He's not Tan Fusheng, who said, 'I laugh at the sky with my sword, and leave my loyalty to the two Kunlun Mountains.' He wouldn't run into the Japanese embassy when something happened. What else can he bleed about? Period... um, nosebleed?"
"Hahaha..." He sneered, "Reform and reform? Without the instigation of those reformists, there might not have been a war in the year of Jiawu. Besides, they want to reform and reform in order to prolong the life of the Manchus. What kind of reform is this? What kind of innovation is this?"
Miss Wei Mingzhu didn't know why she really wanted to have a good debate with the other party. Anyway, she couldn't help but refute: "Mr. Nanhai, let's not talk about it first. What about Mr. Zhongshan and Mr. Jingwei, as well as members of the Tongmenghui like my father, who sacrificed their lives to overthrow the rule of foreign races. Sir, can't you stand it?"
This question just hit the spot that Yuan Yanshu was thinking about. He said with his hands behind his back, "Miss, from what I've seen, Sun Tanxiang is a man who values his life when he's working for great things, and sacrifices his principles for the sake of small gains. He talks about great principles but doesn't understand current affairs. He's just a leader but has no real achievements. Judging from his actions, he's just connecting with secret societies, colluding with Japan, squandering fundraising, cultivating... cough cough cough, all those underworld tricks. Liang Qichao once said that this kind of person is a long-distance revolutionary, which is not wrong."
"Huang Changsha is indeed a kind person with commendable courage. But he claims to be proficient in military affairs, but in fact he knows nothing. He is so reckless that he harms others and himself, and wastes his comrades. Those who know him think he is helping the revolution, while those who don't think he is helping the former to suppress the rebellion. He is still alive after all these years, which can only be said that his luck has not yet run out."
Huang Changsha is naturally Huang Xing.
"Song Changde's conduct is quite commendable, but he doesn't know the dangers of the world. In troubled times, people's hearts are in danger. It's the time when the golden bell is destroyed and the earthen cauldron is thundering. The gentleman's virtue disappears, and the villain's evil grows. The more upright one acts, the more miserable his end will be. If he can't even protect himself, what revolution can he talk about?"
Song Changde is Song Jiaoren. As to whether he was assassinated by President Yuan or by the great revolutionary Sun, it is unclear.
After talking about the three giants of the Tongmenghui, Yuan Yan suddenly looked at the angry face of the beautiful woman in front of him and decided to give her some leeway, so she chuckled and said, "As for Wang Foshan... Hehe, let's not talk about it. Anyway, time will tell what a person really is."
"Humph!" Miss Wei Mingzhu had already confirmed that this person was a boastful and arrogant student, so she asked unhappily, "What about you, sir? Who are you?"
“As for me…”
