At the California Institute of Technology, in the office of the Chairman of the Executive Committee, Louis Williams was gushing about Chen Qiang's speech to an old man in front of him.

California Institute of Technology is a private university, and its executive committee chair is equivalent to the principal of the school. In 1932, the chairman of the executive committee of California Institute of Technology was named Robert Andrew Milligan. He was a famous physicist who won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1923.

"Louis, our school really hopes to invite Mr. Chen, the world's top athlete to give a speech, but I'm afraid I can't accept the 200 US dollars speech fee." Miligan paused and continued:

"I am bluntly speaking, although Mr. Chen is the top presence in the field of sports and he has also won amazing honors in the Olympics, we are the Polytechnic Institute after all, not the Sports Academy specializing in physical education. I think Mr. Chen's speech may not attract our students."

Louis Williams had long guessed that Miligan would have such a reaction and said, "Chairman Miligan, to be honest, Mr. Chen has given three speeches at the University of California, Los Angeles. During the first speech, the University of California, Los Angeles was only willing to pay Mr. Chen $20, but after listening to Mr. Chen's first speech, they were willing to pay him $100 and ask him to give his second speech. After the second speech, they paid Mr. Chen another $200 and asked him to give his third speech. It is precisely for this reason that I hope Mr. Chen's speech fee at your school will be no less than $200."

After saying that, Louis Williams took out a few photos from his arms and handed them to Miligan, and then continued: "Chairman Miligan, please look at these photos. This is what Mr. Chen was doing when he gave a speech at the University of California, Los Angeles."

Miligan took the photo and looked down, and was shocked.

"Do you give a speech directly outdoors? And there are so many listeners! Is the content of the speech of that Chinese is really attractive?"

There was no ps technology in that era, and Miligan also recognized it. The scene in the photo was in front of the library of the University of California, Los Angeles. In several of the photos, you can still vaguely see that the president and several professors of the University of California, Los Angeles were all sitting below and listening to Chen Qiang's speech.

Miligen frowned slightly. Although there were photos as evidence, he still refused to believe that a Chinese could say something earth-shaking, worth $200.

Next to him, Louis Williams continued: "President Miligan, I know you have doubts about Mr. Chen's speech. Otherwise, I would propose a plan. If your school is willing to pay $100, I can ask Mr. Chen to give a speech. If your school thinks that Mr. Chen's speech is very meaningful, then how can we discuss the subsequent cooperation?"

Miligen looked at the photo on his hand again, thought for a moment, and then nodded: "This plan is feasible. If Mr. Chen's speech is really as good as you said, our school is willing to pay US$200 to let Mr. Chen give his second speech."

...

Chen Qiang’s first speech at the California Institute of Technology.

Miligan sat in the first row of stands, and at this time he finally understood why the University of California, Los Angeles was willing to spend $200 to ask Chen Qiang to give a speech.

"This speech is definitely worth US$200!" Mi Ligen had a judgment in his mind.

Although Miligen is not an expert in kinematics, as the president of California Institute of Technology, he also has a lot of knowledge in other fields. Such knowledgeable scholars are naturally also people who know the value of Chen Qiang’s speeches.

"I really got Louis to the point. I really have to ask this Chinese to give another speech, and I have to pay him $200 for the next speech."

...

Louis Williams happily put the money in his arms.

In this speech, he received a commission of $30, while in the next speech, he could receive a commission of $60, which was enough for their family to spend a month on food.

Louis Williams looked at Chen Qiang beside him. He knew that these were all brought by Chen Qiang. If it weren't for Chen Qiang, he might have been looking for a painter job and living a life of stagnation, and his four children might be hungry.

"Chen, are there any arrangements for tomorrow night? If you have time, you might as well go to my house for dinner." Louis Williams sent an invitation to Chen Qiang.

Louis Williams had nothing to thank Chen Qiang. The only thing he could do was to invite Chen Qiang to his house for dinner.

Chen Qiang thought for a few seconds. Anyway, Song Junfu and Liu Changchun had left, and they had nothing to do while they were alone, so it would be better to accept the invitation from Louis Williams and go to his house for a simple meal.

The next night, Chen Qiang bought some bacon sausage and cheese as gifts and went to Louis Williams' home.

Originally, Chen Qiang planned to buy a bottle of red wine, but now it is the Great Depression, and food is obviously a better gift. For ordinary families, sausages and cheese have become luxury goods on the dining table and are the most popular food.

Louis Williams lives in the southwest of Los Angeles and has a small house. Louis Williams's wife thought she was a psychologist. This couple of painters and psychologists would definitely have no worries about food and clothing when the economy was good, and life would be very comfortable. However, in this era of the Great Depression, even skilled workers would be unemployed, and painters and psychologists would find it difficult to find a job. This is why Louis Williams would go to the circus to draw advertising paintings.

Louis Williams has been waiting for Chen Qiang's arrival at the doorstep. After Chen Qiang arrived, he handed the sausage and cheese to Louis Williams' hands.

"Chan, you're here with a gift, so kind of polite." Louis Williams took the paper bag wrapped in the food.

"For the children." Chen Qiang said.

"There are sausages and cheese, and the children will definitely thank their Uncle Chen." Louis Williams said.

"Uncle Chen? Louis, I'm only eighteen years old this year, I'm not much older than your child." Chen Qiang said with a smile.

"It seems yes, if my eldest son is still alive, he will be eighteen years old this year!" Louis Williams sighed and continued, "Chen, come in quickly and I will introduce my wife and children to you."

Louis Williams invited Chen Qiang into the house and shouted in, "Brah, Chen is here!"

A woman in her forties walked out of it, Bra, the wife of Louis Williams.

Chen Qiang heard Louis Williams talk about him and her wife. Louis Williams and his wife Bra originally lived in Kansas. They grew up together and were childhood sweethearts. When Louis Williams proposed to Bra, they were opposed by Bra's parents. Bra's parents did not want to marry Bra to Louis Williams, a poor boy, so the two chose to elope.

The couple settled in California and gave birth to five children. Their eldest son, Stanton Williams, was dug in Hollywood when he was a child and became a child star, which also brought wealth to the Williams family. They bought a piece of land and built a house on it, which is where Williams now lives. At the same time, Louis Williams also opened a painting studio.

But unfortunately, the child star died of intestinal diseases in 1929. In that era when medical standards were backward, there were not even penicillin, and there were many simple-sounding diseases that were enough to make people fatal.

Louis Williams now has four children, three daughters and one son.

Chen Qiang followed Louis Williams and walked into the living room.

"Children, the Olympic champion I mentioned to you before is here!" Louis Williams shouted, and four teenage children rushed out of the room inside.

"That is my eldest daughter Morris, my second daughter Joan and David. They are twins, and their youngest daughter Esther. She is the little beauty of our whole family!" Louis Williams introduced to point to the four children.

Chen Qiang's eyes remained on Louis Williams' youngest daughter, and the little girl also looked at Chen Qiang with a surprised look.

Louis Williams's youngest daughter is the drowning little girl Esther who Chen Qiang had rescued in the swimming pool on the top floor of the Los Angeles Sports Center.

...

Louis Williams was busy cutting sausages, and Esther carefully approached Chen Qiang.

"You are the athlete my father mentioned! You are really the Olympic champion!" Esther stared at Chen Qiang with curiosity.

"I told you when I met last time, but unfortunately you don't believe it." Chen Qiang replied with a smile.

"Now I believe it. Dad said a few days ago that he is the agent of the most powerful athlete in the world. So you are the most powerful athlete in the world!" Esther said as he looked at Chen Qiang's chest, and then asked, "You didn't bring your gold medal this time!"

"Who usually takes that kind of thing out?" Chen Qiang patted Esther's head.

"Then next time you come, can you bring your gold medal and let me see?" Esther asked.

"Okay, I can lend it to you for a while, but you are not allowed to break it for me." Chen Qiang agreed.

Esther immediately hugged Chen Qiang's arm excitedly: "You must count on your words!"

...

One day later, Chen Qiang came to Louis Williams' home again for a meal, and gave Esther a gold medal.

"Esther, don't break Uncle Chen's gold medal!" Louis Williams shouted at his youngest daughter.

Esther seemed to have not heard her father's voice, and she was still playing with the gold medal in her hand.

"I will be an athlete in the future and I will participate in the Olympics!" Esther said confidently.

Chen Qiang touched Esther's head and said, "It's not that easy to participate in the Olympics. The Olympics bring together the world's top athletes, so if you want to stand on the stage of the Olympics, you must also become the best athlete in the world, which means you have to put in more effort than normal people."

Esther nodded in a slight sense of understanding, and then sighed: "It's a pity that you are not a swimming coach, otherwise you can teach me to swim."

"I can teach you swimming now, too." Chen Qiang said.

"Are you a track and field athlete, can you swim?" Esther asked naively.

"Nonsense, if I don't know how to swim, how did I save you that day?" Chen Qiang replied.

"I almost forgot about what you don't say." Esther blinked his big eyes, showed a natural and cute expression, and then asked softly: "You didn't tell my dad about that, did you?"

"Don't worry, I didn't say anything." Chen Qiang replied.

"Yes, this is the secret between us, you can't tell anyone." Esther stressed again, and then she played with the gold medal in her hand, then asked, "Are you good at swimming?"

Chen Qiang thought for a while and answered: "It's not amazing, but if you teach you, there will definitely be no problem."

"Okay, I remember, you will teach me swimming in the future!" Esther's face suddenly showed a smile.

This little girl looks very satisfying.

...

In the following days, Chen Qiang went almost all over California, making money by giving speeches. In addition to giving speeches and preparing speeches, his main thing was to go to Louis Williams' house for free.

Gradually, Chen Qiang and Louis Williams' family became familiar with each other. In their spare time, Chen Qiang would tell the children about his participation in the Olympics and tell some other stories, but except Esther, the other three children did not seem to be interested in this.

The other three children prefer Hollywood, perhaps because of their brother, and they all hope to enter Hollywood and become a movie star.

In Chen Qiang's opinion, this is also a very normal thing. In addition to Esther, the other three children have already gone to middle school. They are in rebellious adolescence and the age of chasing stars. For children of this age, celebrities are indeed more attractive than sports.

Esther is different. She is the youngest child in the Williams family and the most doting child. Compared with her brothers and sisters, she prefers to listen to Chen Qiang’s stories.

Chen Qiang made a lot of money by speaking, and Louis Williams also gained a lot of share of it, which improved his life a lot. On the dining table, meat and dairy products became more, and the children also had new clothes to wear.

One evening, Louis Williams discussed his next trip with Chen Qiang.

"Chan, we have all been to all universities near California. I think next, we are leaving California and giving a speech in the eastern city." Louis Williams said.

"Okay, it's still the same rule. If you choose a place, I'll be responsible for the speech." Chen Qiang replied readily. He also wanted to visit the United States and experience the customs and customs of all parts of the United States.

Louis Williams continued: "We have two places to go next, Texas, or Illinois. There are several famous universities in Texas, such as Rice University, Texas University, Texas Tech University, Baylor University, and Southern Methodist University. And Texas cowboys have always been very interested in sports."

"If we go to Illinois, we can go to Chicago, which is a wealthy big city, and there are also many famous schools near the Great Lakes, such as the University of Chicago, Northwestern University, Notre Dame University, and the Springfield College, which ranks first in the United States in physical education, is also there."

Chen Qiang thought for a while and said, "Let's go directly to Illinois. After that, we can go directly to the northeastern United States, go to Boston, New York and Washington to see it. I know that it is the most important area in the United States."

Before the rise of the US technology industry, Chicago has always been the second largest city in the United States, and the Great Lakes urban agglomeration is also the essence of the United States. In the traditional industrial era, most of the manufacturing industry in the United States was concentrated in the Great Lakes urban agglomeration, and two-thirds of the United States' economic growth also relies on the Great Lakes urban agglomeration.

However, after the rise of the US technology industry in the future, the Great Lakes fell, and the service industry became the dominant position of the US economy. A large number of factories moved out to countries with lower labor costs. The United States began to gradually abandon traditional manufacturing. New York, which is dominated by the financial industry, was not affected. California, with Silicon Valley, became the richest state in the United States, while traditional industrial areas gradually became abandoned and ruined slums.

For example, the car city of Detroit was its most glorious era from the 1930s to the 1960s. The oil crisis in the 1970s severely hit the American automobile industry. Since then, Detroit has gone downhill. Then Japanese cars entered the US market and gained a foothold. Detroit declined even further and eventually became a bankrupt city.

Chen Qiang took a train to Chicago. This railway that traveled across the entire North American continent truly turned the United States into a whole. At the same time, the endless blood and tears of Chinese workers were flowing on this railway.

In this era, American trains are much better than Chinese trains, and they are more spacious and bright. You can also enjoy the scenery along the way, which is definitely the first choice for home travel.
To be continued...