No matter how dissatisfied Zhang Mouzhi was with Zhou Hexuan, since he had already agreed to the marriage, he had no choice but to hold his nose and admit it.
The Zhang family belongs to a Christian family and does not believe in the so-called auspicious days, but it is still necessary to choose a good day.
The date didn't matter, but Zhou Hexuan and the Zhang family had differences over the location of the wedding. Zhang Mouzhi demanded that the wedding must be held in Jiujiang, while Zhou Hexuan thought Tianjin was more suitable because most of his friends were in Pingjin and Tianjin.
After repeated discussions, everyone finally made a compromise choice. The wedding was divided into two steps: first, they got engaged in Jiujiang, and the date was Sunday, August 26th; then they officially got married, and the location was chosen in Shanghai. Zhang Mouzhi did not agree with his daughter’s wedding in Tianjin.
, the reason is that it is too far.
Zhou Hexuan could only agree. After all, it was his father-in-law who spoke, so even if he deliberately criticized him, he would admit it.
The engagement ceremony was held at the Zhang family villa in Guling, Lushan. All the prominent figures in Jiujiang's political and business circles were present, and more than a dozen foreigners attended, which shows Zhang Mouzhi's great influence in the local area.
"Brother Ruoxu, congratulations on choosing a good son-in-law!" Jin Haoru said with a smile, cupping his fists.
Zhang Mouzhi was in a good mood today. He smiled and said in return: "Brother Jin, please come in quickly."
Although the two are old friends with close business cooperation, their relationship has long been cracked. Jin Haoru originally relied on Zhang Mouzhi, but his development has been faster in recent years, and his business has even expanded to Shanghai and Tianjin, and his reputation and financial resources have surpassed that of the Zhang family.
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What makes Zhang Mou most angry is that Jin Haoru has been elected as the president of the Jiujiang Chamber of Commerce for two consecutive terms, while he can only be the vice president, and he feels that he is a head short in dealing with people.
Historically, it was through his marriage to Song Ziwen that Zhang Mouzhi finally surpassed Jin Haoru. At that time, it was Jin Haoru's turn to be unhappy. He even returned his daughter a pen gift from Miss Zhang Wu, saying she couldn't afford it.
As for businessmen, if they do what they do, they already have no shortage of money, and what matters more is face and status.
Soon another person came, but it was Xue Deli, the king of Jiujiang freight. He laughed and said: "Boss Zhang, congratulations, your son-in-law Chenglong is a great scholar, with a handsome appearance and a lot of talent."
"Brother Xue is so complimentary, please come in!" Zhang Mouzhi said with a smile.
More than ten business figures came in a row, and suddenly the master of ceremonies shouted: "His Excellency Zhu Peide, Standing Member of the Military Commission of the Government of the Republic of China and Chairman of the Jiangxi Provincial Government, is here!"
The scene instantly became quiet, and everyone turned their attention to the door.
Jin Haoru walked up to Zhang Mouzhi and said, "Brother Ruoxu, you actually know Chairman Zhu? It's so hard to hide it from me!"
"Haha, I don't know him. It's my useless son-in-law who has a relationship with Chairman Zhu." Zhang Mouzhi felt that he was too proud and stopped talking to Jin Haoru. He walked forward with a smile and said with a low body, "Oh, Zhu
Chairman, you are a busy man. It is really scary to take time out of your busy schedule to attend your daughter’s engagement ceremony.”
Zhu Peide smiled and said: "I have a lot of free time. I am not in good health, so I am recuperating here in Lushan Mountain."
Zhang Mouzhi said quickly: "Then you have to take care of yourself. The mountain wind is strong here at night, so don't catch a cold."
"It doesn't matter, Boss Zhang is interested." Zhu Peide nodded slightly.
When Jin Haoru saw Zhang Mouzhi and Zhu Peide talking and laughing, he was envious and jealous, so he spontaneously stepped forward and said: "Jin Haoru, a common man, has met Chairman Zhu!"
Zhu Peide said happily: "This is the Republic of China. There are no grassroots people, only citizens."
Jin Haoru immediately changed his mind and said: "Chairman Zhu is still good. Citizen Jin Haoru has met Chairman Zhu."
"Yeah." Zhu Peide responded, his attitude a little cold.
Jin Haoru stood there uneasily, not knowing how to continue talking.
Zhang Mouzhi smiled slightly and introduced: "Chairman Zhu, this Mr. Jin is the president of the Jiujiang Chamber of Commerce."
Only then did Zhu Peide pay more attention. He cupped his fists and said, "It turns out to be President Jin. I'm sorry."
Jin Haoru glanced at Zhang Mouzhi gratefully and said quickly: "I am not worth mentioning as the president. In the Jiujiang business community, Boss Zhang has the highest prestige."
Zhu Peide ignored their mutual compliments and directly found a place to sit down, just waiting for the engagement ceremony to begin.
After a while, the pastor and the groom entered the room, and Zhang Mouzhi also retreated to the next room and appeared with his daughter in a white wedding dress on his arm.
Zhou Hexuan stood on the left side of the pastor in a suit and leather shoes, while Zhang Mouzhi led Zhang Leyi to the right side.
The pastor held the Bible in his hand and declared: "Two loving couples... will hold a sacred engagement ceremony for you in front of God. Marriage is precious and established by God. Therefore, it should not be rash and rash, but should be pious, respectful, and respectful.
By the will of God, this great event in life will be accomplished... Mr. Zhou Hexuan, are you willing to enter into a marriage contract with Miss Zhang Leyi in front of God and people?"
"I do." Zhou Hexuan smiled.
"Miss Zhang Leyi, are you willing to enter into a marriage contract with Mr. Zhou Hexuan in front of God and people?" the pastor asked again.
Zhang Leyi smiled sweetly: "I do."
The pastor asked the guests again: "Is there anyone who objects to the engagement of these two newlyweds?"
Naturally no one objected.
The pastor began to pray: "God, we thank you for this joyful engagement, and thank you for being with us all the time... In the name of the Holy Spirit of Christ, Amen!"
After the lengthy prayer, the pastor began to exhort again. The general content was that we should follow the will of the Holy Father, be loyal to each other, and share the responsibility of building a family. Then there was the exchange of engagement vows, the exchange of engagement rings, the pastor's announcement, the blessings of relatives, and the pastor.
bless……
It took more than 40 minutes to complete a long series of ceremonies. This traditional Western-style engagement ceremony is really cumbersome.
Well, it’s not purely Western style, the next banquet will be Chinese style.
The guests were drinking and chatting, but some people went to Zhu Peide's table to toast. The foreign pastor shook his head repeatedly, as if he felt that the banquet destroyed the solemnity of the engagement ceremony.
Three days after the engagement, Zhou Hexuan left Jiujiang with his fiancée, accompanied by his uncle Zhang Yuandong.
Under Zhang Yuandong's strong request, Zhang Mouzhi finally agreed to let his son go to Shanghai to make a living, and asked Zhou Hexuan to introduce him and take care of him.
At the same time, China's education system began to undergo major changes.
First, Cai Yunpei resigned, and then the government decided to set up a separate Ministry of Education, with preliminary discussions about appointing Cai Yunpei's close confidant Jiang Menglin as the minister.
Li Shi tried his best to carry out reforms against all opinions, and finally established the Peking University District. He appointed himself the dean of Peking University College and took charge of the educational affairs of Hebei, Rehe, Peiping and Tianjin provinces and cities. He also used Peking University as the main body to combine Peking and Tianjin.
The nine national universities were forcibly merged into one and formed into the new Zhonghua University. Li Shizeng served as president of Zhonghua University and Li Shuhua became acting president.
Once this move was announced, the entire northern education community was in an uproar.
Peking University students were particularly violent, and even publicly shouted slogans: "Drive away Li Shizeng and welcome back President Zhou."