After booking the boat tickets first and then later, the old lady of the Chen family lost her temper again. In her anger, she even threatened Chen Muwu, saying that although he escaped from marriage this time, when she found a suitable marriage partner for him, she would marry him. Pay the money to send the bride to England so that she can marry Chen Muwu.
Of course Chen Muwu would not believe his mother's angry words. No one's daughter was picked up on the street. It was impossible for her to be married overseas without even meeting the groom once.
But his time to stay in Yanhai is indeed running out, but his luggage has not been packed yet.
Passport, visas from France and the UK, graduation certificate from Jiaotong University's Lushan School, study abroad certificate issued by the Ministry of Education, and invitation letter from Cambridge University. These things are all the lifeblood of Chen Muwu's trip and must be kept close to him. Can't stay out of his sight.
As for clothes and the like, Chen Muwu specifically told his sister-in-law not to bring too much. "There is no light load on a long journey." He could wait until he got to England before spending money to buy them.
Chen Muqiao considered it from the perspective of human nature and asked his third brother if he needed to bring some good tea to his future teachers and classmates in Cambridge.
It's a pity that he left a few days too early. If he had left ten days and a half later, he could have caught up with the first batch of Mingqian Longjing tea to be launched, and let foreigners taste the best tea in China.
Chen Muwu advised his eldest brother, why bother? No matter how good the tea is, it will be like peony chewing in the mouths of the British. They will never appreciate the true flavor of the tea, and will definitely add milk and sugar cubes to it in a superfluous way.
But when his elder brother talked about gifts, Chen Muwu thought of something good that could be used as a gift.
He walked from his home to Gordon Road, got on the tram, and went straight to the Commercial Press Distribution Department at the intersection of Sima Road and Helin Road.
After entering the store, Chen Muwu neither looked at the bookshelf nor asked the clerk. Instead, he went straight to the checkout counter and asked the clerk inside for "The Spirit of the Chinese People" by Gu Hongming. )》.
Speaking of Gu Hongming, some people will say that he is a madman and a stubborn old antique.
But in Chen Muwu's view, he was definitely a seriously underestimated figure in the Republic of China, and he was just a little overcorrected.
Gu Hongming once said this: "Foreigners will not respect us just because we cut off our braids and put on suits. I can be completely sure that when we Chinese become Westernizers and foreign devils, Europeans and Americans will It will only make us more contemptuous. In fact, only when Europeans and Americans understand the real Chinese, a people with a civilization that is completely different from them but not inferior to theirs, will they respect us."
This sentence really spoke to Chen Muwu's heart.
Having traveled from a later life, he naturally knows how sanctimonious these foreigners are, but people today don't know that!
Especially when Chen Muwu saw the strange phenomenon of today's people who are clamoring for comprehensive westernization, belittling Sinology, and even claiming to replace Chinese characters with Roman letters, he felt even more that this maverick Gu Hongming always insisted on spreading China to foreigners. Culture is so valuable.
Dr. Hu advocates new culture and new ideas every day, but how does anyone evaluate him? A model for the old morality in the new culture, and a model for the new ideas in the old ethics!
Cursing people without using any curse words, but every word is heartbreaking. This can be said to be one of the few literary highlights with the word "Cao".
In particular, Gu Hongming also hates Dr. Hu, and the street scolds him the most. Based on this alone, he is a good friend of Chen Muwu who has never met him! ——After Cai Yuanpei resigned, Gu Hongming, who had always admired Cai Yuanpei, was the first teacher to resign from Beida University. Therefore, Chen Muwu had not seen this geek before he went north.
Chen Muwu decided to buy more than a dozen copies of Gu Hongming's book promoting Chinese culture as gifts for his future teachers and classmates.
Cultural export starts with me!
Chen Muwu thought that if he became famous and made a lot of money in the future, he would definitely sponsor Gu Hongming to publish a series of books: "The Ugly American", "The Ugly British", and "The Ugly Man" …
Then he waits for the book to sell well and become a millionaire himself!
…
The day of sailing was getting closer day by day, and everyone in the Chen family fell into the sadness of parting.
The old lady put a string of sandalwood rosary beads on Chen Muwu's wrist, saying that these were the rosary beads that she had recited a thousand times in front of the Bodhisattva from the "Medicine Master Sutra". Xiang.
The second brother Chen Muping gave him a receipt from the British McKinley Bank [1] with an amount of two thousand pounds.
After arriving in the UK, you only need to open an account at the corresponding bank, and then hand over the receipt to the counter, and the money will be transferred to his account.
The money was enough for him to spend several years like a free-spending young man in England.
The eldest brother Chen Muqiao, just like he did before going to Beijing, mobilized his contacts and wrote letters to his friends and family friends in England, asking them in a foreign country to help his little brother as much as possible. .
Not only that, but one night before leaving, he called Chen Muwu alone to his study room and asked an incomprehensible question with a serious expression: "Brother, do you know the meaning of the names of the three of us brothers?"
Of course Chen Muwu knew that the names of the three brothers corresponded to three ancient people.
The eldest brother Chen Muqiao, whose courtesy name is Zheng Xiang, corresponds to Gongsun Qiao, the virtuous prime minister of Zheng State. His other name is Zichan, which is better known. Confucius once praised him as "the beloved of ancient times".
The second brother Chen Muping, whose courtesy name is Chu Qing, corresponds to the great official Qu Ping of Chu State, also known as the famous Qu Yuan. He wrote famous poems such as "Li Sao" and "Nine Songs".
His own name was Chen Muwu, and his courtesy name was Hanchen, which corresponded to the great loyal minister Su Wu of the Han Dynasty. He was trapped in a foreign country and herded sheep for nineteen years, but he never forgot his homeland.
Admirer, love.
These three ancient men were the three that Mr. Chen admired most, so he named his three sons after them.
After listening to Chen Muwu's explanation, Chen Muqiao nodded and said, "You are right, the reason why my father gave us three brothers such names is because he hopes that we will follow the example of these three sages.
"Brother, I am not capable enough. I have to work hard every day to maintain our family. I can't compare with Zichan.
"As for your second brother, I don't think he is like Qu Zi, but more like Chen Ping, the wise prime minister of the Han Dynasty, who managed the bank in an orderly manner;
"On the other hand, my little brother, you correspond to the word "武" in your name. Just like Su Ziqing, you are about to leave the country for thousands of miles, and I don't know how many years it will take for you to leave.
"Of course I would like to see you achieve higher achievements, but I would rather you be like the sage in your name, never forget your country or where your roots are," said Hu Chenhei. , The heart of a hundred refining elixirs will never reach nirvana."
After saying this, Chen Muqiao, who had always been calm and serious, actually shed two lines of tears.
"Yes, I will follow the teachings of my elder brother."
Chen Muwu was also affected by this scene, and both brothers became tearful in the study.
When will we know each other when we miss each other?
It's embarrassing to be at this point in the night.
*****
[1] Author's note: the Chartered Bank of India, Australia and China, namely Standard Chartered Bank. Because the first general manager in Baihai was named McKinley, the name continued in the old days and was called McKinley Bank.
