After a long journey, the cruise ship finally arrived at the east coast of the United States.
Under the gray sky was a gray city with snowflakes dancing all over the sky.
On a small island in the distance, the Statue of Liberty held a torch high, as if to guide travelers from afar. direction.
The weather in New York was very cold.
Jian Bing, who was wearing a fur coat and high boots, was shivering from the cold, but he still couldn't hide his excitement.
He jumped like a bird and ran to the bow of the ship.
He turned around and called Chen Zikun: "Come quickly."
Chen Zikun caught up quickly, and the two of them cuddled up on the bow of the boat and looked at Manhattan amid the snow.
Jian Bing couldn't help but spread his arms like flying, and shouted at the same time: "America, I'm coming."
Chen Zikun quickly grabbed her waist and blamed her: "What should I do if I fall?"
Jian Bing chuckled and said, "With you here, I'm not afraid of anything.
You know, I always have nightmares along the way, dreaming that a similar cruise ship crashed on the ice sea, and thousands of people died.
It was so miserable."
It’s scary.
Fortunately, our boat is fine and we arrived safely.”
The whistle blew loudly and deafeningly, and the port was getting closer and closer.
Passengers returned to the cabin one after another, packed their luggage and prepared to disembark.
Half an hour later, Chen Zikun and Jian Bing had already stepped on the land of Manhattan.
They looked at the skyscrapers and sighed. : "This is America."
A staff member from the Consulate in New York came to pick up Chen Zikun.
After all, he was a government-sponsored international student and a friend Gu Weijun had asked to take care of.
The consulate had arranged a hotel for them, which was on the famous Broadway Street, very close to Chinatown, where Chinese people live together.
New York is like the Shanghai Public Settlement magnified countless times.
Every corner exudes hustle and bustle, beggars sleeping on the vents of heating ducts, expensive merchandise displayed in the windows of Broadway shopping malls, and Ford cars and cars roaring on the streets.
New Yorkers who were in a hurry always told the Chinese couple that this was New York, the other side of the world.
The hotel is very old.
It is a building from the middle of the last century.
The golden wallpaper in the room has faded and the toilet is not working well.
However, the row of thick cast iron radiators under the window is burning hot.
It is a good place for travelers from afar.
Here comes the spring-like warmth.
After seeing off her friends from the consulate, Jian Bing got busy.
First, she filled the bathtub with water, then packed her luggage and changed out her travel-stained luggage.
She was used to being served by others, and her clothes were always left to the laundry.
When she arrived, The United States is no exception.
There is a phone in the room that can be connected directly to the front desk.
If you give the order, someone will come to collect the clothes.
After making the call, twenty minutes later, someone rang the doorbell, and it turned out to be a thin old Chinese woman who came in.
Jian Bing was worried that his English was not good enough to communicate with the locals, so he was overjoyed and spoke in Mandarin.
She spoke to her, but the old woman shook her head and spoke in a dialect that Jian Bing couldn't understand.
Chen Zikun came out of the bathroom and talked to the old woman using the same language.
He taught her how to dress and gave her a tip of twenty-five cents.
The old woman went out with great gratitude.
Jian Bingqi said: “Which dialect do you speak?”
"Teochew dialect.
Free novels bring you joy and joy ---> storyskyline.net
I spent some time in Guangdong and can speak Cantonese and Teochew dialect.
Most of the people in New York's Chinatown are Chaoshan people, and most of them open laundry rooms.
These people came to the United States to build railroads by selling piglets in the early years.
Later, they came to the United States to build railroads.
They came to California to engage in anti-Chinese activities, and they moved to the East Coast."
Along the way, Chen Zikun learned a lot about the customs and customs of the United States from Gu Weijun, and now he was talking about it, which immediately made Jian Bing admire him.
After packing up, he went out to find an American restaurant and ordered a ham and omelette sandwich for a full meal.
Originally, Chen Zikun wanted to order a bottle of brandy to celebrate, but he was told that due to the 18th Amendment to the Constitution, alcohol is prohibited in the United States. , so they couldn't drink even if they had money.
The two couldn't help but miss the food and wine in Shanghai.
They were thousands of miles away from home, and they couldn't help but feel melancholy when they thought about staying in the United States for four to five years or even longer.
After resting in New York for a day, Chen Zikun drove to West Point Military Academy, 80 kilometers away, in order to catch up with the spring enrollment of 1921.
West Point Military Academy is located along the Hudson River in a dangerous terrain.
It is a battleground for military strategists.
Over the past few years, it has become quite large, entrenched on the river bend high ground, like a fortress.
After careful interrogation by the gate guard, Chen Zikun entered the school.
The campus was full of military students wearing gray military uniforms.
They followed the rules and were meticulous, which was completely different from the young people in society.
Arriving at the school affairs office, Chen Zikun submitted his documents to a female secretary wearing reading glasses who was tapping on a typewriter.
The fifty-year-old secretary looked at the document and looked over the top of the glasses frame.
He looked at Chen Zikun, said "wait a moment", then picked up the documents and entered the office nearby.
Five minutes later, the female secretary came back and told Chen Zikun in a rigid tone that unfortunately, we do not recognize the documents you submitted.
In other words, what you brought is invalid.
Chen Zikun has two heads each.
This is a letter of recommendation signed by President Xu Shichang.
It is also stamped with the seal of the President of the Republic of China.
In addition, his identity certificate is also jointly issued by the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Why is a formal official document invalid?
He argued hard, but the female secretary didn't take it seriously.
She looked at him with disdain and continued to type on her typewriter.
The door of the office next to her opened and a gentle man with glasses came out.
He was quite polite and explained the reason to Chen Zikun.
It turns out that the admissions rules of West Point Military Academy are that domestic students must have a recommendation letter from a member of Congress or a military general before they can enroll.
The same is true for foreign students.
However, the recommendation letter is not brought by the students themselves, but must be approved between countries. transmitted through diplomatic channels.
Now Chen Zikun finally understood that co-authoring a recommendation letter from the president was worthless in the eyes of others.
Could it be that his trip was in vain?
He could not swallow his breath and insisted on meeting the top leader of the school.
Mr.
Glasses shrugged, knowing that he could not convince the stubborn Chinese, so he dialed the principal's phone with a try.
After saying a few words, he said: "Sir, please come with me."
The principal's office is located on the highest floor of the office.
Standing by the window, you can have a clear view of the playground.
The room is decorated in a military style, with sabers and battle flags hanging on the walls.
There is a middle-aged soldier sitting behind the desk with a heart on his shoulder.
General star.
Free novels bring you joy and joy ---> storyskyline.net
"Your Excellency, Principal, Mr.
Chen is here."
Mr.
Glasses presented Chen Zikun's information.
After the general read it carefully, he handed it back to him and said: "Unfortunately, when it comes to treating foreign students, we must treat them equally.
Making special exceptions is unfair to others.”
Chen Zikun wanted to argue a few more words, but the general suddenly raised his head, his eagle-like eyes made him swallow his words, straighten his back and said, "I will be back."
Chen Zikun returned to New York in great frustration.
As soon as he walked to the door of the hotel room, he heard Jian Bing's angrily shouting.
When he entered the door, he saw the old woman in the laundry room was groveling and being scolded.
Jian Bing was shaking a piece of laundry.
Damaged woolen top: "Do you know how much this dress costs?
If it's washed, I'll have to pay for it."
"Forget it, it's just a piece of clothing."
Chen Zikun stopped Jian Bing's anger, took out a coin and dismissed the old woman.
When he talked about the nail he encountered at the West Point, Jian Bing felt even worse and complained for a long time but was helpless.
"In this case, I have no choice but to call back and ask the president to write another letter of recommendation.
It's just that this time, if the people in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs are more lazy, at least for a few months, won't they delay their studies?"
Jian Bing was dejected. road.
Jian Bing is right.
Not everyone can be dispatched by the President.
The last time he got the letter of recommendation so smoothly, it was all because of Wu Peifu's face.
Now that Marshal Wu is training troops in Luoyang, is it possible that he can still do this?
My son made a special trip back to Beijing.
The big shots were busy with everything, and no one would take Chen Zikun's study abroad to heart.
It would only be a minor delay to delay him for a few months, but it might even delay him for a year.
Chen Zikun said: "There is nothing we can do.
This is the only way to go.
Who said I am a foreign student?
If I were from their own country, it would not be so troublesome."
Frustrated, he still had to eat, but it was freezing cold outside.
Jian Bing was afraid of the cold and was too lazy to move, but he was hungry for Chinese food, so Chen Zikun went to Chinatown to buy some cooked food to eat.
As soon as I left the hotel door, the old woman from the laundry came up to me and said, "Sir, you are a good person, I can help you."
Chen Zikun was shocked: "What can you help me with?"
The old woman smiled mysteriously: "I can help with anything."
Chen Zikun looked around in astonishment and looked to see if there was any shadow of the old woman.
It was broad daylight.
Could it be that he had met a god?
"Sir, come with me."
The old woman pushed the cart for collecting clothes and walked slowly in front of her, heading towards Chinatown.
Although Chen Zikun was suspicious, he still followed her.
Not long after, we arrived at the famous Chinatown in New York, which is dotted with Chinese restaurants and laundry rooms.
Various signs are written in Chinese characters.
Most of the people coming and going are of Asian faces, and many of them even have pigtails from the Qing Dynasty.
The old woman came to a laundry room, went in through the front door and out the back door, took a few turns in the alley, and finally arrived at her destination.
Free novels bring you joy and joy ---> storyskyline.net
This was the basement of a building.
There was a statue of Guan Gong in the room, and some hanging on the wall.
Black and white photo, filled with smoke, showing four Chinese people sitting at a table playing mahjong.
"Sir, wait a moment, I will report to Uncle Chicken."
The old woman said and entered the inner room.
After a while, Chen Zikun was called into the inner room.
The room was very dark.
The candlelight was flickering on the candlestick.
A little old man with braids was curled up on a wicker chair.
His face was wrinkled like an orange peel, and he was holding a similar baby in his arms.
Wrinkled Shar-Pei.
"Young boy, I heard that you are in trouble."
Uncle Ji's Mandarin was not very good and he had a thick Teochew accent.
He didn't even look at him when he spoke, and he just petted the Shar-Pei.
"Yes, some minor troubles."
Chen Zikun was a little alert.
The atmosphere here was very strange.
I'm afraid it was not a place for honest people.
"I can help you with your trouble, and the fee is very reasonable."
Uncle Ji said slowly.
The old woman also helped: "Uncle Chicken can do anything."
Chen Zikun couldn't help but said: "I need to become an American citizen and get a recommendation from a member of Congress.
You can do this too."
Uncle Chicken chuckled: "Yes, as long as you can afford it
.
":