Before leaving Tianjin, Zhou Hexuan prepared gifts for everyone in the Zhang family. Among them, Mrs. Zhang's most precious gift cost an ocean, and it took many people to buy it.
Zhou Hexuan took out a small box from the suitcase. The box was made of rosewood and covered with blue velvet. He touched it and said, "Auntie, it's our first time meeting. A small gift would be disrespectful."
"Yeah." Mother Zhang nodded slightly, took it and put it on the coffee table.
Zhang Leyi said: "Mom, please open it and take a look."
"No need." Mother Zhang was obviously still angry.
Any mother would be unhappy if her daughter, whom she had raised for more than ten years, suddenly ran away from home and traveled thousands of miles to join a man she didn't know her roots in.
Zhang Leyi did not dare to speak anymore and secretly blinked at her fourth sister.
Zhang Deyi understood immediately, opened the gift box pretending to be casual, and then exclaimed: "Wow, this cross is so unique!"
Zhang's mother is a devout Christian. When she heard the cross, she couldn't help but turn her head and look at it.
When she saw the appearance of the cross clearly, she immediately frowned. Because the cross in the box was not unique, and it was also a bit worn. The material should be pure silver, but it had become a bit dark due to time.
Zhou Hexuan smiled and introduced: "Auntie, this is the cross that Mr. Lei Mingyuan has worn for many years. He left it in the church before he left Tianjin. I asked around and looked for it, and finally found the cross."
"Bishop Lei's cross?" Mother Zhang was finally moved and couldn't help but look at it carefully.
Lei Mingyuan, a Belgian, served as the vicar general of the Diocese of Tianjin in 1912 and founded the Chinese Catholic Association. He also founded Tianjin's "Yi Shi Bao".
This man was a pure missionary. He criticized the major foreign religious orders for representing the interests of the great powers and thereby controlling the Catholic Church in China. He clearly put forward the slogan "China belongs to the Chinese, and the Chinese belong to Christ."
At that time, the French expanded the Tianjin Concession without authorization, which aroused strong dissatisfaction among the Chinese, leading to the "Laoxi Kai Incident". Lei Mingyuan always stood on China's side, using "Yi Shi Bao" to speak for the Chinese and criticizing the French.
His unreasonable behavior led to a conflict with the then Bishop of Tianjin (who was French).
These actions made Lei Mingyuan offend not only the church, the powerful governments, but also his immediate superiors. As a result, he was removed from the position of vicar general of Tianjin by the Holy See and ordered to return to Europe.
Although Lei Mingyuan left China, he had a great influence on Chinese Christianity. Today there are six bishops in the Chinese diocese, all of whom Lei Mingyuan recommended to the Pope.
During the Northern Expedition, Lei Mingyuan even officially became a Chinese national, and returned to China after many setbacks. Now he is conducting missionary activities in various places in Hebei as an ordinary priest.
In history, when the Japanese invaded China, Lei Mingyuan actively advocated resistance to Japan. He also personally led believers to the front lines to rescue wounded soldiers, rescue refugees and educate children with blood loss. He eventually died of illness in Gele Mountain, Chongqing.
Pious Christians in China at this time greatly admired Lei Mingyuan's character and pure belief in God, and he was equivalent to the spiritual leader of foreign missionaries in China.
The cross that thunders far away cannot be measured by money. To ordinary people, it is just a piece of broken silver, which is worth two oceans at most after melting. But to Christians, it is a priceless treasure that can only be encountered but cannot be obtained.
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Zhang's mother stared at the cross again and again, but finally couldn't resist the temptation, and said to Zhou Hexuan with a bright face: "I'm interested."
Zhang Leyi immediately put in a good word for Zhou Hexuan: "Brother Xuan worked very hard to find this cross and sent people to search for it for more than a month."
Zhang's mother did not comment on this, but asked Zhou Hexuan: "I heard that you design and sell women's underwear?"
"There is such a thing." Zhou Hexuan said.
"It seems a bit unsightly." Mother Zhang said.
Zhou Hexuan said with a smile: "I think women's underwear is no different from ordinary clothes."
Zhang’s mother asked again: “Besides selling underwear, what other career do you have?”
Zhou Hexuan and Zhang Leyi did not need to answer, and the fourth sister Zhang Deyi rushed to say: "Mr. Zhou is amazing. He is the president of Peking University. He has written "The Rise of the Great Powers", "The Goddess" and many other books. The teachers who teach us history and literature are all
I have the utmost respect for Mr. Zhou."
"Well, I understand. Le Yi, what about you? What have you been busy with recently?" Mother Zhang did not continue to "interrogate" Zhou Hexuan, but asked about her daughter's current situation. Basically, Mother Zhang was satisfied with her status as a cultural celebrity.
It shows that Zhou Hexuan has thoughts and connotations, and his identity as an underwear merchant shows that Zhou Hexuan is not short of money.
Zhang Leyi smiled and said: "I am currently managing a broadcasting company and I personally host a radio show."
"What is radio?" Zhang's mother had no idea about this.
"Mom, you are so backward, you don't even know about radio," the fourth sister Zhang Deyi suddenly said, "Radio is very interesting. There are several radio stations in Shanghai. That kind of thing is equivalent to a talking newspaper, but it is better than a newspaper."
It’s more interesting.”
Zhang Leyi took the opportunity to say: "Brother Xuan also opened a newspaper in Tianjin and has a branch in Shanghai."
Sisters Zhang Leyi and Zhang Deyi put in various good words for Zhou Hexuan, including advocating the four virtues of women, inventing human harvesters, etc.
The more Zhang’s mother listened, the more satisfied she became. In addition, Zhou Hexuan was young, handsome, and polite, and she had already accepted this future son-in-law from her heart. Although Zhou Hexuan did not have the power of Song Ziwen, as a mother, she really didn’t care much about these things, as long as her daughter liked it.
good.
The atmosphere in the living room became much more harmonious. Mother Zhang began to ask about Zhou Hexuan's family situation: "Who else is there in Mr. Zhou's family?"
"I am an orphan..." Zhou Hexuan recounted his "life experience" in detail.
Women are women. After listening to Zhou Hexuan's story of loneliness and misery, Zhang's mother felt a little more affection for him, and finally expressed her stance: "Speaking of which, Mr. Zhou's ancestors were also wealthy gentry. They are better than my Zhang family, so they are well matched."
"Auntie, don't be too outspoken. Just call me Mingcheng." Zhou Hexuan said.
Zhang Leyi immediately said: "Mom, Mingcheng is the word Mr. Liang Qi specially named for Brother Xuan. Mr. Kang Youwei also gave Brother Xuan a word called Ruoyu."
Zhang's mother had heard about Kang Youwei and Liang Qi. She felt that they were very dignified and said with a smile: "It's better to be honest. Mr. Liang is indeed a great scholar."
Everyone continued chatting until evening, when the fifth daughter of the Zhang family, Manyi, also came back. She was still a 10-year-old little lolita.
When it gets dark, the servants begin to serve the dishes.
The fourth, fifth and youngest sons of the Zhang family came downstairs one after another and looked at Zhou Hexuan curiously.
The fourth son, Zhang Yuanbei, is a teenager and will go abroad to study next year after finishing middle school. He is familiar with Zhou Hexuan's name and has no objection to his future brother-in-law.
As for the Fifth Young Master Yuan Mo and the Sixth Young Master Yuan Fan, they are both brats now, and their attitudes are dispensable.
Since Zhang Mouzhi often went out to socialize and discuss business, the Zhang family did not wait for him to come back for dinner. After everyone finished dinner, Zhang Mouzhi returned home smelling of alcohol. When he saw his daughter and Zhou Hexuan, his face instantly became gloomy and he shouted: "