The Fourth Section of Cow People

  "How old are you?" The glasses suddenly asked.

  "What's wrong?" Zhuang Jihua looked at him with some surprise.

  "I thought you were 64. Your insights completely transcend your age, forgive me for being blunt, are these really your own thoughts? The conclusions drawn from this newspaper?"

  As soon as the words "glasses" came out, Zhuang Jihua's brain suddenly exploded. He realized that he had said too much. These things were not difficult for young people in the 21st century. Moreover, in a country like America, many Chinese problem experts have conducted in-depth research on this period of history, even more detailed and comprehensive than at home. At home, it was mainly due to ideological influences. After reform and opening up, although there were some relaxations in certain aspects, research in this area was only carried out within a small scope. With the emergence of the internet, such research was conducted online in a more relaxed manner. Compared with traditional historical research, amateur historians dared to think and write about anything. He had seen some materials on this aspect online, but now he had made a big joke.

  "As for the part about the Soviet Union, that was the result of my discussion with others. The rest is my own speculation." Zhuang Jihua's face didn't change color or beat fast, anyway you guys can't prove I plagiarized unless you also play time-traveling.

  "Who is that?" The bald-headed man interrupted and asked, but in his mind, he thought most of the views might be from this person.

  "One of my neighbors when I was in America, his name is Putin, he's an immigrant from the Soviet Union."

  "You're back from America, how did you end up here?" The suit asked in puzzlement.

  Then Zhuang Jihua began to fabricate his own life history, graduating from xx University in the United States, after his parents' death, he fulfilled their wish of returning their ashes to China, only to find that his hometown was destroyed by war, and his relatives were either dead or gone. After burying his parents, he was attacked by bad people while traveling locally, if it weren't for his current foster parents rescuing him, he would have turned into a pile of yellow soil... His words sounded flawless, and with his deep emotions, he almost shed tears, the effect was excellent, the three people didn't suspect anything, and even felt sympathetic.

  "So what does little brother plan to do from now on?" The glasses looked somewhat enthusiastic, with a clear look of admiration on his face.

  "I want to go take the exam for Huangpu. My father has always supported Mr. Sun Yat-sen, so I also went to take the exam for Huangpu to serve Mr. Sun Yat-sen." Zhuang Jihua thought to himself, this is currently China's biggest dark horse stock, investing one dollar and getting back 1 million is a surefire way to make money without losing.

  "It's still early in terms of time, but I don't know any KMT members and no one has recommended me, so I'm not sure if it'll work. In his opinion, this is the only obstacle."

  "I can." The bald head and the suit almost spoke in unison, and when they realized it, they looked at each other and smiled simultaneously. It was only after sitting for so long that the two of them finally showed a smile. Zhuang Jihua found that the two had distinct characteristics when smiling - the bald head just gave a slight smile, with his mouth corners slightly raised, as if he was exercising his facial muscles; while the suit had a full-faced smile, with sparkling eyes, making people feel like they were basking in spring breeze.

  "Heh heh, you two are in agreement, this is rare. Buddy, bring paper and pen." The bespectacled man enthusiastically called out to his buddy to bring over the paper and pen, urging the two of them to write a letter of recommendation.

  Zhuang Jihua took over the letter of recommendation signed by the two, nothing in front, but when he saw the recommender, he was shocked. Clearly written on it: Chiang Kai-shek, Deng Yanda.

  He couldn't help but bite his lip, a sharp pain, indeed, it was these two people. He thought to himself, "Damn, heaven, you're playing with me again." Although there were many Republic of China figures, he couldn't believe that on his first outing, he would run into such big shots. That glasses-wearing guy must have come from a notable background, probably some relative of Chiang Kai-shek's. As a young man educated in America, the characteristic of American education was to despise authority, encouraging skepticism from a young age. They were playing with quality education, while we were playing with test-oriented education. He quickly calmed down and stood up to pay his respects: "Mr. Chiang, Mr. Deng, your great names are well-known, I'm truly blind to talent, clumsy in my skills, bringing shame to my family, I'm terrified." Although he said he was terrified, his demeanor didn't show it at all, and a hint of pride flashed in his eyes, but the three men didn't notice as he kept his head down.

  "What's there to be anxious about? Young people should have a broad vision, and those who pretend to be humble are just mediocre." The glasses-wearing person waved his hand as if to brush off his words.

  "I don't know your esteemed surname and name, please enlighten me." Zhuang Jihua continued to be humble, using phrases from TV dramas. Having been here for several months, he knew that people in this era attached great importance to etiquette, especially towards elders. In the village, even if it was a poor elder or a rich younger person, they had to maintain respect in terms of etiquette.

  "My name is Zhang Jingjiang, sit down, sit down. Can't have us looking up to you all the time." Zhang Jingjiang jokingly said: "Chinese people are just too polite, you grew up in America and still have so much courtesy."

  Although he was mentally prepared, Zhuang Jihua was still somewhat surprised. Others may not know what kind of person Zhang Jingjiang is, but he does. Zhang Jingjiang comes from a wealthy family, and the Zhang family in Nanxun is called "the big elephant" by locals. Don't think this is a derogatory term - to be considered an "elephant", one's wealth must be in the tens or hundreds of millions; mere millionaires can only be considered small yellow dogs.

  In domestic history books, Zhang Jingjiang is portrayed as an anti-communist and anti-people figure, one of the main culprits of the 4.12 incident. However, putting aside political factors, you have to admit that he was a remarkable person of his generation. In the Republic of China, Zhang Jingjiang was known as the "Republic's Strange Man" or "Republic's Lü Buwei", and compared to Lü Buwei, he was more enthusiastic and straightforward. This was evident in his assistance to Sun Yat-sen. He met Sun on a ship going to France and proactively offered to help raise funds for him. At the time, Zhang was an attaché of the Qing government's ambassador to France, and Sun initially didn't take him seriously and even had concerns. However, when Sun couldn't get any money after a year, he suddenly remembered their encounter and sent a telegram to Zhang with a "try-it-out" attitude, and Zhang surprisingly sent over the funds as promised. From then on, Zhang became Sun's financial backer, sponsoring his revolution with over 1 million taels of silver. This was not embezzled money, but rather his own savings. After the Nationalist Party established its capital in Nanjing, he also helped Chiang Kai-shek raise military funds, running around to do so. What's even more remarkable is that when he was the head of the Construction Committee, with only 300,000 yuan in hand, he wanted to build a 200-kilometer railway. Experts thought this amount of money could only be used to repair a city gate, but unexpectedly, he succeeded and built three railways, earning him recognition even from Mao Zedong that he was good at raising funds. At the end of the 20th century, the Nanjing government renovated Zhang's old residence, which Zhuang Jiayu had also visited. The house combined the essence of Chinese and Western architecture, with elegant decorations, rich cultural heritage, and a noble atmosphere. Compared to it, the luxurious mansions of later celebrities looked like those of nouveau riche versus aristocrats.

  Zhuang Jihua smiled wryly in his heart, these three people are all masters of this era, and heaven really takes care of me. To be honest, among the three, he knew more about Zhang Jingjiang, not only had he visited Zhang's old house, but also saw introductions to Zhang Jingjiang in some business books.

  "You're so arrogant." He didn't care about these formalities anyway, and since no one else did either, what was he afraid of?

  After sitting down, the four of them continued their previous conversation. At this time, Zhuang Jihua was no longer daring to casually reveal "heavenly secrets". He mainly listened and only expressed his opinions when necessary, but with reservations. This was enough to make the other three feel surprised. For example, regarding the issue of funding, he did not express a direct opinion, but instead raised questions in a contemplative manner: "Is the goal of the Yunnan Army and the Guangxi Army revolution or using revolution as an excuse for separatism?" As for other matters, he used the pretext of being unfamiliar with the actual situation to decline making conclusions. Little did he know that his performance left Deng Yanda with the impression that he was slippery and lacked determination, which led to him receiving not a little "preferential treatment" later on.

  However, from their conversation, it was learned that Chiang Kai-shek had resigned as the chairman of the Whampoa Military Academy Preparatory Committee due to financial constraints and had run back home. The principal of the Whampoa Military Academy was actually Sun Yat-sen, and Deng Yan-da had come to persuade Chiang to return under Sun's orders. This made him feel somewhat surprised - Sun Yat-sen as the principal! Could it be that Chiang Kai-shek wasn't able to become the principal of the Whampoa Military Academy? That was impossible; this butterfly didn't have such great abilities yet. But why had he resigned? Zhuang Jihua was certain there must be more to this, and made up his mind not to intervene until he saw things clearly. He didn't dare underestimate these people - according to later generations' sayings, they were all elites of the era, although being a man for two lifetimes didn't mean he was any wiser. However, he also hinted that Chiang Kai-shek should return, and Mr. Sun should give Chiang more important responsibilities, but Chiang remained unmoved.

  No need to search far and wide, everything came easily. This morning when he left home, he didn't know what the future held, but now he has met three of the Republic's most prominent figures and obtained a great opportunity like Huangpu. In his opinion, entering Huangpu is not a big deal at all. However, his confidence is well-founded, as his education and vision put him among the best of the young people in this era. Seeing off the three men, Zhuang Jihua walked back and forth excitedly, even feeling that the unfamiliar rural path was easy to walk on, and he sang an unknown song with abandon.

  A gentle breeze from afar caresses my face, the late afternoon glow at the horizon fills the sky, casting a bloody red hue everywhere.