The years of red flags

"How can this be called a Western-style house?" Zheng Tong said with emotion while standing in the yard of his niece's Western-style house. "This is simply a manor. The yard is so big. Look, in the 30s, could the rich people run horses in the yard?"

Jiang Hua sat on a chair with a large sunshade above his head, stirring his coffee: "In the 1930s, bicycles, tennis, badminton, and horse racing were all considered the most famous foreign things in Shanghai. Only rich people could afford them. It was no big deal for rich people to have a tennis court or a horse racing track in their yard."

"Such a nice house, and you're just giving it to Qiuyun?"

Jiang Hua nodded: "Yes, who else should I send if not my own daughter?"

"Then has your own son considered it?"

Jiang Hua shook his head: "If he wants to live in such a nice house, he has to buy it himself. This house is Qiuyun's dowry."

"It means that my son and your daughter are not attracted to each other, otherwise I would have to let my son marry your daughter."

Jiang Hua waved his hand: "I'm still calling. Your son is older than my daughter. Look at how my daughter treated him. He's like a little chicken."

Zheng Tong smiled and said, "Among all of us, whether it's a son or a daughter, your daughter is the most capable. Even if she doesn't join the army, she will be able to inherit your group in the future, and it is guaranteed to be bigger and stronger."

"She is not interested in this, what can I do?" Jiang Hua shook his head: "Qiu Yun's goal is to become a general, and now her goal is to become the commander of an aircraft carrier fleet."

"That's difficult." Zheng Tong shook his head: "We only have one aircraft carrier now, so many grown men can't get it. Qiu Yun has too many competitors."

"We only have one aircraft carrier now, won't we have more in the future?" Jiang Hua said with a smile, "If we want to complete the rejuvenation and unify the world, we must fight with the ugly countrymen. They have twelve aircraft carrier strike groups, so we must have six to eight at least."

"You talk so easily, six to eight aircraft carrier strike groups, do you know what that means and how much it costs?"

Jiang Hua shook his head: "How can we simply calculate the economic account of national defense strength? Besides, we are not short of money. We are already the second largest economy in the world. At our current rate of development, in another 20 years, it will be no problem for us to suppress the ugly country. We can add one ship every two years, and the goal of six to eight ships is not easy to achieve."

"It's easier to build and maintain than to maintain this. The maintenance cost is too high and the pressure on military expenditure is too great."

Jiang Hua waved his hand nonchalantly: "Don't worry about that. If we can build it, we can maintain it. Let me tell you, as long as we can have four aircraft carrier strike groups, first of all, the island chain will no longer exist."

"I hope so."

Jiang Hua looked around and said, "Our first aircraft carrier has been put into service, and our second aircraft carrier is already under construction. Although it is not nuclear-powered and still uses a ski-jump takeoff, there are no problems with the construction of our entire aircraft carrier. The third aircraft carrier will also be under construction soon."

"Tell me more about it."

Jiang Hua shook his head: "Why bother to elaborate? This is all I know."

"It's boring."

Jiang Hua stood up and stretched: "Come on, I'll take you for a walk, let's go to Pudong and have some fun."

"What do you mean?" "The dialect of Shanghai is similar to Beijing dialect, which means walking on the road."

Zheng Tong nodded: "I've always heard of some old restaurants in Shanghai, such as Lao Zhengxing. Let me take you to an old restaurant today so I can have a taste of what thick oil and red sauce mean."

"Okay."

The two of them took a taxi and came to the Expo venue. The venue was currently undergoing the final decoration, so the two of them strolled around the venue.

"It looks spectacular. When they built the Asian Games Village in 1992, I thought it was amazing. But now, compared with this World Expo, it's nothing."

"You are talking nonsense, aren't you? There is a difference of eighteen years." Jiang Hua said as a matter of course: "Eighteen years, a child has grown up. Is the Beijing eighteen years ago still the Beijing eighteen years later? We have held the Olympic Games."

Zheng Tong touched his hair and said, "It's been eighteen years. Eighteen years ago, I was still an upright and strong man, but now I have a head of white hair."

"In the prime of life?" Jiang Hua said jokingly, "When have you ever been strong with your chicken-like body?"

"make trouble."

After walking around the venue, they came to the nearby streets, where many foreigners were walking among the crowds.

"No wonder this place is called the "Ten Miles of Foreign Lands". There are more foreigners here than in Beijing." Jiang Hua shook his head. "Ten or twenty years ago, how many people would have gathered here to see the foreign scene?"

"It's nothing new now."

Zheng Tong looked at the countless cafes and beer halls on the street and asked: "Is this the rise of petty bourgeoisie?"

"It has never been extinct." Jiang Hua said with a smile: "You can't call drinking coffee or beer petty bourgeois. Don't you often go to bars in Houhai? There are many rock veterans who have emerged in Houhai in recent years that you don't know."

"Rock is a kind of power." Zheng Tong said with a smile: "Over the years, I have been in the same group with my apprentice, Qian'er, who is also quite famous in Houhai. Let me tell you, I have even learned to play the drums now."

"Well, when should the Rock Association hire you as the honorary president of the Rock Association?"

Zheng Tong patted his chest and said, "Why, do you think I'm not qualified?"

"You are qualified, absolutely qualified. You will be the honorary president and Qian'er will be the honorary vice president." Jiang Hua said with a smile, "The little black fat guy would never have thought that he would worship a master, and end up getting along with his partner like a close friend. Fortunately, their seniority in the crosstalk school is equal, otherwise he would have to call his partner "uncle master."

The two of them came to the bank of the Huangpu River and looked at the Oriental Pearl Tower. Zheng Tong smiled and said, "I still remember that at that time, I had not resigned from my company. Every colleague who came to Shanghai on business trips liked to take photos. They would stand at my angle, with the Pearl Tower behind them, and pose in a very fashionable way. They would show off when they returned home."

Jiang Hua immediately took out his cell phone and said to Zheng Tong with a smile, "Then you also pose, and I'll take a photo of you with my cell phone to make up for what you've missed for so many years."

Zheng Tong said proudly: "I have no regrets. Do you think I have never taken photos? I came to Shanghai on a business trip, and I didn't just stand here to take a photo. I took my colleagues to a revolving restaurant for dinner, and took photos inside." (End of this chapter)