In addition to history, this city has also produced many celebrities, such as Benjamin Franklin. Although he was born in Boston, he has lived in Philadelphia since his youth. Franklin not only had many achievements in electricity, mathematics, thermal science, and optics
Creation and invention, he was also an outstanding politician and diplomat. He participated in drafting the "Declaration of Independence" and the "U.S. Constitution", and also served as the British Ambassador and the French Ambassador.
In addition, Philadelphia is also a great city in terms of economy, sports and culture. Its economy has always been among the best in the United States. There are also teams like the Philadelphia 76ers, Phillies, and Philadelphia Eagles that have won many awards in the United States or the world.
Second championship sports team, and the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia is an Ivy League school. The famous Wharton School of Business is actually the business school of the University of Pennsylvania.
Although it is considered an ancient city in the United States, Philadelphia has not declined with the relocation of the capital. It still ranks fifth among large cities in the United States, second only to New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and Houston.
After talking so much and being so lively, it’s a pity that Hong Tao didn’t even see the side of Philadelphia. All these things were told to him by Irene. Because Paul’s home is not in the city center, but in the southern suburbs of Philadelphia, starting from No. 95
After getting off the highway, drive north for a few minutes and you'll be there.
An ancient four-story building is hidden among the trees and grass. The gray walls are all made of granite and covered with various reliefs. It is equipped with a green roof and a round fountain in front of the door.
It looks like the home of a rich man.
Paul was not polite to Hong Tao and his wife at all, and didn't even let them in. He drove the car directly to the back of the building. To say that this wealthy family is not as glamorous as it looks on the surface, the back and front of the building are simply two different things.
Block. In front of the building are green lawns and fountain reliefs. Behind the building are ruins and broken bricks and tiles. The only thing consistent with Paul's status as a rich man is that there is a modern-style two-story villa behind the old building.
"Did Paul let the subprime mortgage crisis make him bankrupt? His buildings have collapsed and they have not been repaired. They have grown moss..." Hong Tao looked at the dilapidated old building and asked Irene in confusion.
.
"I don't know, he should live in the house at the back. Is the building in front of him his ancestral home?" Irene didn't know much about Paul's situation. Before that cocktail party, she was only in the office.
I met this famous lawyer.
"Mr. Hong, you must be wondering why I didn't repair that house?" When the two cars stopped at the door of the villa behind, Paul quickly understood the guest's problem from Hong Tao's eyes.
"That's right, even though Irene stole your business, you won't have no money to repair the house, right?" Hong Tao likes to poke at Paul's weaknesses. This well-known lawyer in New York seems to have a bad temper. He also has a facial hair.
Despite his gloomy face, he is actually quite open-minded and doesn't mind others exposing his scars. But one thing is, don't let him grab your pigtails, otherwise he will poke you for the rest of your life.
"It's not a matter of money. This house is the inheritance of my ancestors. Including the surrounding land, during the War of Independence, my ancestors were royalists and later retreated with the British army. During the war, this ancestral house was occupied.
A corner of it was destroyed by the explosion. In fact, my family just returned here from England and took over it again." Paul stood in front of the small villa with his hands on his hips, looking up at the old building dozens of meters away, and told Hong Tao
His family history.
"Does this have anything to do with building a house?" Hong Tao didn't quite understand what Paul wanted to explain.
"Has the state government listed this place as a cultural relic?" Eileen obviously understood.
"Yes, this house was built in 1770. It was Jefferson's temporary residence during the Revolutionary War, so the state government wants to build a memorial here. However, my family is not willing to lose this land, and the lawsuit has been filed.
It has been working for more than ten years, but there is still no result. Come on, go in and have a rest. I will change clothes. You guys wait for me for a while." Paul seemed reluctant to talk about the details of his family, and stretched out his hand to let Hong Tao and Irene in.
He walked into the living room of the villa at the back, and then he and the unlucky driver got into the small door next to him.
"I like this decoration style better, it's simple." After entering the living room, Hong Tao first observed the decoration of the living room and felt quite satisfied.
Paul's two-story building is definitely in two different styles from the old building in front. The decoration and furnishings here are all in a modern style, and the furniture is extremely simple, making the entire living room look empty.
"By the way, I still didn't understand just now. Why didn't Paul repair his family's ancestral house? Isn't it still owned by his family?" Hong Tao saw the ruins in front of him through the large floor-to-ceiling window in the living room.
"If you want to repair cultural relics, you must get the approval of the state government. How to repair it, what materials to use, and the funds required must be approved by the state assembly. He personally has no right to touch any brick or tile of the house, although the house is still nominally
It belongs to their family, but he has no control over it." Eileen told the real reason.
"Isn't this forced buying and selling? Does this kind of thing also happen in the liberal and democratic United States? Paul is a lawyer himself, wouldn't he take the state government to court?" Hong Tao finally found an opportunity to criticize the American system, even if Irene was his
Wife, he couldn't help but feel disgusted with American law.
"It's not that simple. Didn't you listen to what Paul said? The lawsuit has been going on for more than ten years and there is no result yet. The state government wants his family to donate this land to build a memorial hall, so it is embarrassed in the name of cultural relic protection.
He, this is indeed considered a cultural relic, so Paul is in big trouble, and this lawsuit is very difficult to win." Although Eileen does not specialize in this aspect of law, she is a lawyer after all, and she is not optimistic about the struggle of the Paul family.
"This makes me more balanced. It turns out that forced demolitions are not only happening in China, but also in the United States, hahahaha." Hong Tao roughly understood what happened and laughed happily. In the past, it was Irene who used these questions to laugh at him, but now he has come back.
A round, whether it is a forced demolition or not, is essentially the same.
"I won't be fooled by you, and I won't discuss this issue with you." Irene is very smart. She rarely has arguments with Hong Tao about the institutional issues between China and the United States. Even if Hong Tao wants to, she will try to avoid it.
Because she knows that arguing over these issues has no practical meaning at all, and will also destroy her relationship with Hong Tao.
In less than a cigarette, Paul appeared in the living room again. At this time, he was no longer dressed as an elite man in suits and ties. Instead, he put on a pair of jeans, a leather jacket, and a plaid cotton shirt underneath.
Holding a soft-brimmed hat in his hand, he looked like an American farmer.
"Okay, let's go. You unload all the things from the car and load them into my car, and we'll drive there." Paul was really rude. He didn't even pour a cup of tea for the guests, but just rushed them.
Leave quickly.
When he came out of the villa, Hong Tao's eyes lit up again. There was a huge black RV parked in front of the villa, and there was a trailer hanging on the back of the car. On the trailer was a large motorboat that was as dazzling as flames. Not only the hull was painted
The fiery red paint, even the bottom of the boat has red patterns.
"Is your car modified from a Raptor?" Hong Tao had never seen this kind of 6-door model, so he went to the front of the car and looked at the same logo, it was a Ford.
"Well, the F650 just came out of the factory at the beginning of this year. I found an acquaintance and bought a test car from the factory in Mexico in advance, and then spent 200,000 to change it into this. I call it Ranger!" Paul took a picture of this
The front fender of the car, proudly
Yang introduced his masterpiece to Hong Tao and asked why he wanted to take pictures of the front fenders. It was because the chassis of the car was too high and the height of the fenders was higher than the roof of Erin's Mazda 6 Series.
, the lower edge of its door is just as high as the roof of an ordinary car.
"Can you let me try? I have a driver's license and a translated copy. All the procedures are complete. My driving skills are also good!" As a man, he likes cars, and this kind of American muscle car is a man killer, Hong Tao
It is unavoidable to be vulgar, and I would not hesitate to sacrifice my face to get a chance to drive it.
"Of course, no problem. Carl is not willing to drive for me. Every time I take him out, he always makes a bad face. Oh, by the way, I forgot to introduce you to him. This is me.
You must have met his nephew Carl, he gave you fishing gear." Although Paul liked his big toy, he didn't hold back. He graciously invited Hong Tao to get in the car, and also gave him the
The unlucky driver pulled me over and introduced him.
"Oh, this is your nephew. He said he was your driver, and he said bad things about you behind your back, hahahaha." Hong Tao felt amused when he looked at the unlucky driver. He was like a doormat at this moment.
Standing next to the car with a drooped head, his suit had been changed into casual jeans, just like his uncle.
"He has never said anything good about me. I remember that since he was ten years old, he has seen me like this, as if he were my uncle. But the more he hates me, the more I want to torture him. I specifically let him
Be my assistant in the competition and see if he can push me off the boat, what do you think, Carl?" Paul, as an uncle, really didn't look like an elder, and he even quarreled with his nephew.
"Sooner or later it will happen!" Carl's face turned red with anger. He said nothing, grabbed the armrest, climbed on the half-meter-high footrest, opened the middle door and got into the car and ignored him.
This is my uncle.
"Don't worry about him. He has been like a girl since he was a child. If one day he dares to throw me into the sea, then he will really be a man. Come on, I never open the car door for a man. You can get in there yourself."
Paul didn't seem to care about his nephew's attitude, he left Hong Tao behind and ran to court Irene.
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