Go back to the past and be a schoolboy

Chapter 213 Arriving at the Law
After going around and wandering on the boat for more than half a month, Cheng Nuo and his party were finally about to arrive in France.

During the voyage to Europe, there were even German submarines following them. Although Cheng Nuo had experienced a period of life and death, after hearing the news, he still couldn't help but feel a little faint behind his back.

Fortunately, the captain sent a distress signal to the surrounding area, and a warship rushed over in time to help the cruise ship out of the siege. In the end, it escaped without any danger.

Looking at the coastline that was getting closer and closer, Liang Qichao couldn't help smiling: "Mines have no eyes, torpedoes are ruthless, we have worked so hard, and finally arrived in France. If the warship came one step later, We probably have to be buried in the belly of the fish."

Cheng Nuo patted the railing, and laughed at himself: "It's hard to say, if we don't have that chance to fall into the water, it's hard to say that we will be smashed to pieces."

"Hey, newborn calves are not afraid of tigers, how dare you think about it!" Liang Qichao was stunned, and then he couldn't help laughing: "I hope that when we go back, it will be smoother, and my heart can't stand it if we go back like this again. You have to take care of yourself when you go back."

Now it was a false alarm, and the tourists who had been hiding in the house began to go out in twos and threes to enjoy the hard-won peace on the deck.

Nervous people even started to set up tables and start gambling on the spot, and soon it was full of people.

Looking at it from a glance, there are not a few yellow-skinned people who participate in gambling.

"Well, just for a while on this boat, I think the Chinese workers who came with us have lost all their salaries for the next three years. With such temperament, do you really trust them?" Liang Qichao told Cheng Nora Going to the side and freeing up some railings for other tourists, I am very worried.

Cheng Nuo comforted him and said, "After being poor all my life, I suddenly have money in my hands. I always feel a little uneasy in my heart. It is foreseeable that some people will go wrong, but it does not mean that other Chinese workers are like this. It is not at all. Our style."

Liang Qichao bluntly retorted: "But as far as I know, these people are mixed with good and bad. They have all kinds of bad habits, far more than just gambling. In severe cases, they smoke opium, drink too much, like to fight, etc. They are not good people."

Before he finished speaking, as if to confirm Liang Qichao's statement, a drunken Chinese laborer emerged from the gambling booth, swearing, squeezed past several tourists on the deck, went straight to the railing, took off his belt, and faced The sea is a meal output.

It caused others to look sideways, but the person concerned didn't know it, but trembled three times against the wind.

Seeing this scene, Liang Qichao was so angry that he wanted to step forward to stop him, but felt that it was really shameful, so he turned his head and gritted his teeth and said, "It's a pity to insult a person's reputation, but it's a pity to insult the national system because of an individual. It's shameless!"

Cheng Nuo smiled and shook his head: "Doesn't this just show that the purpose of our newspaper is correct? The task of education is an urgent task. Starting from the details of their daily life, there is a lot of room for improvement."

Liang Qichao smiled bitterly: "You are very optimistic!"

Cheng Nuo raised his eyebrows, leaned his back on the railing and looked at the people on the deck and said seriously: "As far as I know, the Chinese laborers are very concerned about the situation after the war, lest their years of hard work turn into bubbles and fail to win the interests of the Chinese people .just
It was in such a subtle process that the Chinese workers' patriotic consciousness gradually awakened.The awakening of Huagong’s patriotic consciousness and the process of improving one’s own quality are complementary and intertwined. When you get in touch with Huagong more, you will understand what I mean. "

Liang Qichao thought about it carefully, and felt that he was a bit blindsided: "You are indeed right, and I don't believe that these people with good qualities such as hard work, loyalty, and intelligence, who were originally in China, came to this land as if they were different people. of."

Cheng Nuo nodded and said with emotion: "The farther most of them go abroad, the more patriotic they are in their hearts. Imagine these Chinese workers who can care about and think about national affairs when they return to their hometowns. What kind of situation will it be like?

Among the vast number of peasants who could not read a word and only wanted three meals a day to avoid hunger, they must be the best in the crowd, especially because they are all industrially capable, which is even more commendable. "

According to French media reports, workers from Egypt and India are usually only willing to do unskilled manual work such as loading, unloading, and moving items, while Chinese workers are very interested in many skilled jobs.

Some Chinese workers were deeply impressed by tanks and airplanes after they went to France, so they seized every opportunity to observe and study, and later they achieved some accomplishments in repairing tanks.

There are also Chinese workers borrowing guns from British soldiers to practice shooting with empty wine bottles, and their marksmanship is accurate over time.These are skills that Chinese workers learned by themselves without the guidance of professional teachers. After the British and French authorities discovered this, they were more willing to assign Chinese workers to do some technical work.

So much so that in the tank factory, Chinese workers can not only repair the engine, but also improve the performance of the engine, and even act as the operator of the tank during the test.

And the same thing happened in airports, arsenals, automobile factories and other places, all of which are Chinese laborers.

If the Beiyang government has any ambition, it will know that these Chinese workers will be properly settled after returning to China, and distributed to various factories that need them.

It is a pity that things backfired. Except for some Chinese workers who stayed in Shanghai, the rest of the people who returned to China basically went home and picked up hoes. It has to be said that it is a huge loss of talent.

Thinking of this period of history, Cheng Nuo couldn't help sighing. From the bottom of his heart, he wanted to bring these Chinese workers back to China, make the best use of them, and give them the greatest respect.

And this group of people will be an important fulcrum they use to change our modern industrial history.

As for other aspects, the strength of the workers cannot be ignored.

"A single spark can start a prairie fire."

Liang Qichao frowned, and said in doubt: "Zhiyuan, what did you just say, the waves are too big, I didn't hear clearly."

Cheng Nuo laughed and said foolishly, "I mean, teaching these Chinese workers how to read and write is more important than writing and reading letters on behalf of others."

Although Liang Qichao obviously felt that something was wrong, he couldn't tell, so he had no choice but to say: "It is better to teach a man to fish than to give him a fish. I agree with that, but I remember you added the second half of the sentence, what did you say?" Is it better to teach a man how to fish than to teach him how to fish?"

"Obviously, not only are they not lacking in the desire to learn, but the desire is quite strong." Cheng Nuo patted the railing again, and then straightened his tie: "We're about to dock, pack your things quickly."

"Hey, you haven't finished your sentence yet, it's not good to hang people's appetite."

"Let's talk about it when we go ashore. It's important to pack your things."

"By the way, why are you so familiar with Chinese workers? I remember that you studied in the United States before. Could it be that I remembered wrongly?"

"That's because I have a classmate who made the Boxer indemnity here."

"I said..."

It wasn't that Cheng Nuo was lying, it was indeed his classmate Shi Yixuan who came to greet them.

Like Cheng Nuo, he was also a student who was funded by Boxer Indemnity to study in the United States, but Cheng Nuo chose to return to China last year, while Shi Yixuan chose to come to Europe to help these Chinese workers communicate with Britain and France.

Later, I felt that the power of one person was not enough, so I directly established a service center for Chinese workers, recruited many foreign students, and came to help these Chinese workers.

Now that the two met again, they were speechless for a while, and hugged each other fiercely.

After a long time, the two separated solemnly.

"Zhiyuan, you've lost weight."

"Yixuan, you've lost a lot of weight too."

"How is it, is it going well when you return to China? I've been busy here, with shells flying above my head every day, and I haven't had time to inquire about you, and I don't know how you are doing."

"What can you do? If you don't starve to death, it's you. Although you're thin, you feel hard. It looks like lean meat, but you are much better than me. It seems that you and the fellow Chinese workers are not doing well. Not bad."

"Hey, after working in this line of work, it's basically the same as being on the battlefield. It's just that the head is tied to the belt instead of tied to the neck. Maybe someday I can see my dead father."

"Bah, bah, what unlucky words did you say when we first met? I was still counting on being your child's godfather." Cheng Nuo solemnly pointed at his friend's chest, and scolded with a smile: "By the way, I'm here this time, ma'am Ask me to send you a letter."

With that said, Cheng Nuo took out the box at his feet and opened it, took out the letter he had prepared, and solemnly handed it over to his friend.

"Let's go back and have a look if you have time. This time, when I go to see my aunt, she's obviously aged a lot." Cheng Nuo looked worried.

Thinking of his old mother in China, Shi Yixuan's eyes were instantly filled with worry. Although he said nothing, his trembling hands still betrayed his feelings: "Hey, my mother can't read, and she probably delivered eggs to the village chief again. , I asked someone to write it, it was too troublesome..."

Before he could finish his words, he couldn't continue, swallowed a mouthful of foam, Shi Yixuan held the letter cautiously and said: "Apart from the letter, did my mother ask anything else to bring?"

Cheng Nuo sighed and said, "My aunt told you not to be picky eaters and eat more food. You like to kick the quilt when you sleep at night, so you should tuck in the quilt before going to bed."

As soon as this remark came out, Shi Yixuan's eye circles instantly turned red, and he was about to burst into tears looking at this tall and thick man, and he quickly looked up at the sky, trying his best not to let others see his embarrassment: "Oh, the child is not filial , I'll go back right away when I'm done with this job."

Cheng Nuo nodded, picked up the box again and changed the subject: "By the way, I see a lot of new faces behind you. Are these all our Huagong brothers?"

"Oh, I almost forgot about this." Shi Yixuan put the letter in his chest and hid it, shook his nose fiercely and said: "Our Huagong brothers are still at the base, and we can't go out until the rest day, what do you say These are students who have studied in the United States and France and other places, and they came here to support us."

With that said, Shi Yixuan took the initiative to introduce these students:
"This is Gui Zhiting, a native of Wuhan, Hubei, majoring in physics, and a top student at Yale and the University of Chicago."

"This is Jiang Tingfu, from Shaoyang, Hunan. He majored in history. He studied at Oberlin College in Ohio."

"This is Yan Yangchu, a native of Bazhong, Sichuan. He studied politics. Like Zhiting, he also studied at Yale University."

"This is Chen Liting..."

After introducing one, Cheng Nuo took the initiative to shake hands with him very enthusiastically.

And these "students" are not only enthusiastic but also very curious about this Chinese who is currently the most famous in the international natural science community.

Especially when introducing a thin and small man, the other party didn't wait for Shi Yixuan to open his mouth, so he introduced himself: "Hello senior, my name is Lin Yutang, from Longxi, Fujian, and I admire you very much. I have wanted to visit you for a long time. I met you here."

Hearing this name, Cheng Nuo gasped in his heart. The "junior boys" in front of him were enough to shock him. He didn't expect such a big dragon to be hidden in the end. Meet the writer.

But Cheng Nuo remained calm on the surface: "I heard that you are very interested in my alma mater, Harvard, and plan to study for a Master of Arts degree there. We can chat if we have time, maybe I can help you."

"Is... is this true? Will it bother you too much?" Although he didn't understand why Cheng Nuo knew about his plan, Lin Yutang was still a little incoherent in front of the huge surprise.

Cheng Nuo smiled and said, "Of course. I never mind helping those compatriots who want to continue their studies."

In order to prove what he said, Cheng Nuo turned around and said seriously to the "students" in front, "Of course, including you."

As soon as this statement came out, everyone was extremely excited.

It is said that foreign countries do not pay attention to human relations and sophistication, so it can only be said that they have not yet reached that level.

A letter of recommendation for university admission is the best way to slap your face. These "undergraduates" know too well the significance behind a letter of recommendation from an internationally renowned scholar and mathematician.

Cheng Nuo didn't linger too much in the back. He didn't mind communicating with these historical celebrities normally, but he would hold a certain degree and never go too far.

Following the restaurant behind, Cheng Nuo realized how much these "junior students" had paid for these fellow Chinese workers.

The Chinese labor service centers they built basically have letter rooms, grocery stores, lecture halls, entertainment halls, etc. The large ones can accommodate thousands of people, and the small ones can accommodate hundreds of people.

The work done by the "school boys" in the service center mainly includes helping Chinese laborers write home letters, holding speeches, explaining the general trend of the world and the destiny of the country, instilling patriotic thoughts, and organizing various cultural, sports and entertainment activities.

In order to attract and retain Chinese workers, the grocery store in the service center stocked more Chinese goods, such as salted fish, biscuits, cigarettes, tooth powder, hand towels, matches, etc.

From time to time, Chinese workers are organized to play football, volleyball, checkers, basketball, table tennis, shuttlecock kicking, kite flying and other healthy cultural and recreational activities with Chinese characteristics.

Through these activities, the Chinese workers were helped to get rid of bad habits, develop good habits, learn Western knowledge, and improve their own quality, with a view to returning after the war and serving the motherland.

Cheng Nuo's arrival instantly attracted the attention of these Chinese workers.

(End of this chapter)