Chen Qiang took Esther's hand and walked out of the hospital gate. Both of them had sweet faces.

Esther is pregnant!

Things happened so suddenly that Chen Qiang felt that he seemed to be dreaming.

In terms of pregnancy, foreign women have more solid bodies than Chinese women. When foreign women get pregnant, they still exercise with big belly, while Chinese women have to stay at home and have a baby; foreign women still swim and ski after giving birth, while Chinese women have to go through confinement; foreign women can have a glass of ice water after giving birth. Chinese women dare to do this and will definitely be beaten by their mothers.

It is an indisputable fact that there are differences in physical fitness among different races.

So Esther has no idea of ​​"staying pregnant". She still does whatever she should do after she becomes pregnant. As a swimmer, she will also run to the indoor heated swimming pool with her big belly.

Chen Qiang can only let it go. After all, the culture is different, so it is difficult for an American pregnant woman to follow China's fetal protection culture.

Sitting in the car home, Chen Qiang opened a newspaper, and the headlines in the newspaper were news of former British Prime Minister Churchill's visit to the United States.

Yesterday, Churchill visited Westminster College in Missouri, which is the alma mater of U.S. President Truman, where Churchill delivered a speech entitled “The Pillar of Peace.”

This speech has a more famous title, that is, "Iron Curtain Speech". Later generations generally believed that Churchill's "Iron Curtain Speech" was the beginning of the "Cold War".

"What should happen is going to happen after all, and the Cold War is inevitable. But the British are now unable to take care of themselves, but Churchill still comes to the United States to raise trouble!" Chen Qiang sighed in his heart.

After World War II, the Asian national independence movement began to emerge. Those colonies that originally belonged to Europe began the process of national and national independence. This trend of national independence gradually spread to Africa. Especially after the Bandung Conference in 1955, the struggle for colonial rule and the struggle for and safeguard national independence became increasingly fierce, and the national liberation movement became increasingly popular.

As the former "Empire of Sun Never Setting", Britain had the largest colonies in the world, so it was hit hardest by the national independence movement. After experiencing World War II, its national strength was much weaker and was no longer enough to maintain the rule of the colonies worldwide. The colonial independence movement made Britain in a mess, but the British did not want to give up the interests of the colonies and could only be in a passive state.

Churchill, who lost the election at this time, did not grow on himself and ran to the United States to act like a good person.

As soon as Chen Qiang returned home, he received a call from Mr. Situ, so Chen Qiang immediately rushed to Mr. Situ's home.

The housekeeper brought tea to Chen Qiang, and then Chen Qiang asked, "Mr. Situ, why are you asking me for?"

"The war has ended, so I plan to go back to China. Actually, at the beginning of the year, I wanted to return to China. This time I happened to hold a Wuzhou Hongmen Reunion Conference in Shanghai. I also took this opportunity to go back to my hometown to take a look." Mr. Situ said.

"Sir, although we beat the Japanese away, the situation in China is still not peaceful! If you return to China, you still need to pay attention to safety." Chen Qiang said.

"I understand what you mean, and I also know that the domestic situation is a bit nervous. It is unknown whether it will be a war or a peace next time, so I plan to take advantage of the situation that has not reached the worst level and hurry back." Mr. Situ paused and then asked, "You have been in the United States for some time. Do you want to go back with me to see it? This time, the Hongmen Relationship Conference is held. Hongmen disciples from all over the world will gather in Shanghai. Both black and white have to give me a face to the Hongmen, so you don't have to worry about safety."

Chen Qiang shook his head without hesitation: "Sir, I can't go."

"I won't think about it anymore, so I'll refuse it directly?" Mr. Situ asked.

"Sir, I really want to go back to China, but I really can't get out of here recently. I just accompanied my wife to the hospital. She is pregnant, so I can't go far." Chen Qiang said.

"This is a good thing!" Mr. Situ also looked happy, then he stood up and said, "You can wait for me here."

Not long after, Mr. Situ returned, holding a small wooden box in his hand. He handed the small wooden box to Chen Qiang and said, "I have to go back to my hometown to worship my ancestors this time. I may have to stay for a year or two. I am afraid I won't be able to drink the full moon wine of your baby. Here is a pair of silver bracelets, which is my meeting gift for my child."

"Then I will thank Mr. Situ." Chen Qiang was not polite, and directly accepted the silver bracelet. He knew that Mr. Situ regarded him as a junior, and if he was polite to Mr. Situ at this time, he would seem to be alienated.

Mr. Situ continued, "There is another thing. When I return to China this time, I plan to buy some food. You know, the war has just ended, and the country is in trouble. This is the time when the weather is out of reach. There is still a famine in many places. The United States has food, so I want to buy some flour to transport it back. Although this little flour cannot solve the urgent needs in China, it can save some people."

Chen Qiang immediately understood what Mr. Situ meant. Mr. Situ said this, so he must have asked Chen Qiang to help him. So Chen Qiang said, "What Mr. said is reasonable. Although we drove away the Japanese, the people's livelihood in the country is still difficult. I am willing to help him with the purchase of flour."

Mr. Situ nodded with gratitude and continued: "In fact, the domestic livelihood situation is worse than we imagined. I heard that since the end of last year, domestic grain prices have been rising, and many ordinary people can't afford food. A few days ago, tens of thousands of people in Hangzhou went to the 'rice shop'. I heard that all the 500 rice shops in the entire Hangzhou city were stolen."

"Rice shops" were a special word that appeared in that era. In fact, it was a group of people snatching rice shops. However, most of the people who snatched rice shops were not robbers, but poor people. Because the unscrupulous merchants raised the rice prices, the people could not afford rice, so the "Rice shops" happened. At that time, large-scale "Rice shops" appeared in important cities such as Shanghai, Chongqing, Changsha, and Wuhan.

Mr. Situ's introduction made Chen Qiang slightly stunned. He knew that in the next few years, the country would have severe inflation, and Nanjing's finances would also collapse. However, he did not expect that in 1946, the prices would be no longer controlled.

Thinking that Mr. Situ had to stay in China for a long time, Chen Qiang immediately said: "Sir, if you go back this time, you still have to bring more US dollars and gold. As for the amount of fiat currency, you should exchange it for as much as you want. Don't exchange the US dollars and gold in your hands for fiat currency once you return to China."

"What? Are you worried about domestic financial problems?" Mr. Situ asked.

Chen Qiang nodded: "Over the years, a lot of fiat currencies have been issued in China. In addition, the bank bonds issued by Japan in the occupied areas were now very chaotic, and it is not an exaggeration to say that they are all the same every day. On the contrary, the US dollar, no matter how the fiat currencies change, the US dollar will not depreciate. As for gold, it is linked to the US dollar."

"Okay, I know you have made a lot of money in stock trading in the United States. I will listen to you when it comes to financial matters." Mr. Situ agreed.

In March, the Nanjing Association issued the "Interim Measures for the Management of Foreign Exchange" and the "Gold Trading Rules", implemented the policy of opening up the foreign exchange market, stipulated the free trading of foreign exchange official prices and gold, and sold a large amount of gold and foreign exchange in the treasury in an attempt to stabilize the market and legal currency, but in fact, this became a way for officials and businessmen to make a fortune.

Before the foreign exchange market was opened, the exchange rate of fiat currency against the US dollar was 20 to 1. After the foreign exchange market was opened, the exchange rate of fiat currency against the US dollar soared to 2020 to 1, up 1,000 times overnight! A thousand times profit is more profitable than drug trafficking, not to mention that this is not a beheading transaction, and no one wants to do it. The entire financial foreign exchange market collapsed instantly. Of course, it is not ordinary people who make profits from it, but bureaucrats holding US dollars.

As for free trading of gold, it caused officials to sell a lot of gold from the treasury, thus changing the price difference. For example, Master Kong, who fought with his aunt's relationship, exchanged gold from the treasury, and then sold it on the market, making a big profit from it.

...

Chen Qiang had lunch with Mr. Situ. After lunch, the old man needed a lunch break, so Chen Qiang took the opportunity to say goodbye.

When Chen Qiang returned home, Esther leaned on the lounge chair with a lazy look and looked through the fashion magazines, posing as a pregnant woman. Seeing Chen Qiang come back, Esther said, "Mr. Zhang called you and I told him that you have gone out. He said he would call me later."

"I'd better call him." Chen Qiang said and walked to the phone.

The "Mr. Zhang" mentioned by Esther is Mr. Zhang Boling's younger brother Zhang Pengchun.

Mr. Zhang Pengchun is also one of the founders of Nankai. He once taught at the University of Chicago and devoted himself to education for the first half of his life. In 1940, when the country was in the most dangerous state, Zhang Pengchun began to officially serve as a diplomat. After the founding of the United Nations, he became a Chinese official to the United Nations. During the United Nations General Assembly in 1946, he served as a Chinese representative of the United Nations Economic and Social Council, and in 1947, he served as a Chinese representative of the United Nations Security Council, and in 1948, he served as vice chairman of the United Nations Human Rights Commission, and participated in the drafting of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

At this time, Mr. Zhang Pengchun had just returned from the United Nations General Assembly after the United Nations General Assembly. Since the United Nations' residence is in New York, Mr. Zhang Pengchun moved to New York to live.

Chen Qiang immediately called Zhang Pengchun.

"Sir, it's me, Chen Qiang, have you called me just now?" Chen Qiang said.

"Brother sent a telegram that Nankai University is about to resume school!" Zhang Pengchun said excitedly.

During the War of Resistance Against Japan, Nankai University was forced to move south and merged with Tsinghua University and Peking University to form Changsha Temporary University. Later, with the advancement of the Japanese army, Changsha Temporary University was forced to move to Kunming and renamed Southwest United University.

Now that the War of Resistance Against Japan has ended, the three universities are also preparing to resume school. In May, the Southwest United University in Kunming will hold a graduation ceremony. In July, Peking University, Tsinghua University and Nankai University will officially move back to the remote campus and officially resume school.

Chen Qiang was also a student of Nankai University. He was naturally very excited to hear that Nankai was about to resume school.

"Sir, I heard that the Japanese bombers smashed the school to the sky. Now Nankai, there are probably no school buildings!" Chen Qiang asked.

"The original school building is basically gone and needs to be rebuilt. However, after the resumption of school, Nankai University will become a national university. I think the government should pay. When I received the telegram from my elder brother, he had already returned to Tianjin from Kunming to prepare for the reconstruction of Nankai." Zhang Pengchun said.

"It will definitely take a lot of money to build a new school, and the government's funding may not be enough. Sir, you should have a safe channel, you can send the money to you!" Chen Qiang asked. The second "sir" that Chen Qiang said was naturally Zhang Boling, the president of Nankai University.

"What you said is like I was deliberately asking you for money. If my elder brother found out, he would probably scold me." Zhang Pengchun said with a smile.

"I am from Nankai! Now the school is going to be rebuilt, so I should give back my support." Chen Qiang replied.

"Okay, I'll help you find a way to transfer money, so that you can hand it to your elder brother with no mistakes." Zhang Pengchun answered.

Zhang Pengchun knew the relationship between Chen Qiang and Nankai, and even knew that Zhang Boling regarded Chen Qiang as his son and nephew. These were not something that money could measure. Chen Qiang donated money for the reconstruction of Nankai, which was really like a crow feeding back.

...

General strikers across the United States are still continuing, and on the last day of February, General Electric strikers even clashed with police, and the strikes gradually became mixed with violent behavior.

On the second day after Churchill delivered his Iron Curtain speech, France signed an agreement with Vietnam, promising to give Vietnam a certain degree of autonomy.

It was also this month that the British army withdrew from Iran and Lebanon one after another, and the new British Prime Minister also made a promise to promise to give India independence if India reaches an agreement on the constitution.

At the end of the month, a new country in the Middle East gained independence, the country was called the Hashem Kingdom of Transjordan, which is the future Jordan.

In April, in order to maintain its colonial rule in Malaysia, Britain tried to form the Malay Federation. It seemed that the British were still unwilling to give up their interests in Asia easily. Compared with this, the French were more likely to have colonial issues. They did not drag on it and directly recognized Syria's independence. Perhaps the French knew very well that France, after World War II, was no longer the largest land power in Europe. Now France's national strength is difficult to maintain a huge colony.

Americans far away on the other side of the earth only have themselves in their eyes. They do not care about what happened outside the United States. Chen Qiang, who is in the United States, is the same. The national independence industry of the Asian people has nothing to do with him.

What Chen Qiang is concerned about at this time is that a new league called East Pennsylvania Basketball League was established.

Competitors have appeared!

—————
Chapter completed!