1928: The rise of giant merchants

Meng Xiaodong was stunned by the sudden proposal.

She covered her mouth with her hands and waited for a long time before asking stupidly: "W-what are you asking me for?"

"Ms. Meng Xiaodong, are you willing to marry Mr. Ye Luo?" Ye Luo still knelt on one knee and asked again with a smile on his face.

"Yes, I do! I..." Meng Xiaodong cried with joy. She jumped a few times and spun around in excitement. After a long time, she realized that Ye Luo was still kneeling. She quickly leaned over and hugged his head, holding the diamond ring tightly. I can't even utter a complete sentence.

She felt like so many years had passed.

Once this year is over, Meng Xiaodong will be a twenty-two-year-old "old girl".

In later generations, girls of this age were still studying in college, full of youth and joy, but in the Republic of China, they were all leftover women at an advanced age.

Her desire and worries about marriage are no less than those of 26-year-old Xiao Aqiao and 28-year-old Lin Ruxian.

Originally, the man who proposed to her was supposed to be the identical king on the stage, and she had been waiting for it for five or six years. She would be deceiving herself if she said she didn't have any resentment.

But at this moment, she felt that everything was worth it.

She mustered up the courage to give herself to Ye Luo that night. It was the best and most correct decision she had ever made in her life!

Ye Luo helped Meng Xiaodong put on the diamond ring, humming "Wedding March", then took her slender hands and put them on her legs to look at her, smiling and joking: "Xiaodong, even with just these two hands, you can take care of yourself." Feeding oneself.”

"Oh, I'm so embarrassed." Meng Xiaodong blushed and nestled in his arms, suddenly thought of something, and whispered, "Brother Luo, you... you can do this to me, I will be very happy even if I die now. But, you are a good man, and you are not allowed to kneel to a little girl like me again."

The Meng family is a troupe family with a strong sense of male chauvinism for generations. Similar concepts are rooted in the hearts of Meng family women. Meng Xiaodong, a woman from the Meng family who dares to pursue her own happiness, is already an anomaly among the aliens and is often caught by her parents. Teaching, giving instructions from ear to ear.

As time went by, she gradually accepted this set of things, always dreaming of becoming a good wife and mother after getting married, caring for her husband and raising children.

Ye Luo explained with a smile, and she realized that this was originally a Western marriage proposal ceremony. Men kneel down on one knee to show respect for the person they love and cherish this relationship.

"Foreign ghosts. Do Westerners view love this way?" Meng Xiaodong asked curiously, "I heard from my uncles who have performed abroad that foreign women are very shameless. They show their legs on the street, make poses, and do not follow the rules of women. . On the other hand, foreign men fall in love with each other and have no sense of family. Why is it so different from what you said, Brother Luo?"

"Actually, the situation your uncles mentioned is also common. Westerners are very open about sexual concepts, but at the same time they also attach great importance to and enthusiasm for love. It is a very contradictory integration. Xiaodong, have you ever thought about performing overseas? ?" As Ye Luo was talking, he suddenly thought of Mei Lanfang, who was very popular overseas, and felt that with Meng Xiaodong's ability, he should also be able to become popular.

"Ah? How can I get there?" Meng Xiaodong was moved, but this was very different from the traditional concept she had accepted since she was a child.

"Go as my wife. If you are willing to return to the stage, I can let Hu Die's Yip's Costumes help you tailor your costumes, let Yip's Films build a team for you, and then send them to tour across the United States. You He plays the role of an old student. A beautiful girl plays the role of an old student. It’s full of gimmicks!”

The more Ye Luo talked about it, the more interesting it became.

In her previous life, Meng Xiaodong had been entangled in her love affair with Mei Lanfang. Later, she finally clarified it, returned to the stage, and fell into a love-hate relationship with Lu Yusheng.

In this life, the only person she loves is herself. She couldn't go on stage before because she was afraid of the negative impact on Ye Luo, but now she no longer has this worry.

Another problem that troubled her when going abroad in her previous life was funding.

Even though Ye Luo is living a comfortable life now, most people in the Republic of China are still living in dire straits. The monthly salary of a first-line film and television star is only three to four hundred yuan, which is equivalent to that of a professor at a well-known university. It is already the top of the middle class. .

But three hundred oceans is only 60 U.S. dollars, and an annual salary of 720 U.S. dollars can only be considered as a toe into the middle class in the United States. After all, Hoover's slogan is "per capita annual income of 2,000 U.S. dollars."

The annual income of a top actress like Meng Xiaodong is slightly higher than that of a film and television star, but it is definitely not enough for her to tour overseas.

Mei Lanfang was able to succeed because he received an invitation from the former president's wife. There are many spontaneous fan groups in the United States that pay for all his expenses.

But now, money is no problem for Ye Luo.

He has a strong foundation in New York. If he really wants to promote Meng Xiaodong, let alone the opera king, it would be more than enough for her to perform on Broadway every day and become the heroine of a Hollywood blockbuster.

"I want to give it a try! If possible." Meng Xiaodong hesitated for a while, and then said to him quietly but firmly.

She also felt angry.

Mei Lanfang can succeed, why can't she?

"Okay, then after you come back to the south with me, I will start making arrangements." Ye Luo hugged her and smiled, "In a few days, after you have packed up, we will leave here and go to your hometown in Tianjin first to meet us. Mom and Dad, after I finish handling the affairs and propose marriage, I will take you south, how about it?"

"Brother Luo, I will listen to you." Meng Xiaodong felt like she was melting in his arms. She didn't even feel the slightest fear when she heard that Ye Luo was going to see her parents.

In the afternoon of the same day, the two people, who had reunited after a long separation, had been studying the upper and lower structures of the Chinese character Kun in the room. The studious Meng Xiaodong obeyed and unlocked many new postures, which made Ye Luo extremely happy.

At night, Marshal Fengtian's mansion.

Yu Fengzhi personally greeted Ye Luo and Meng Xiaodong at the door.

She is not very enthusiastic about Meng Xiaodong, obviously because of the similar status of Meng Xiaodong and Zhao Yidi.

Ye Luo heard Bai Xiuzhu mention that this eldest sister often called her to impart her "big wife's experience" and told her to be careful with the concubines and not let them get in the way.

Bai Xiuzhu looks sweet and cute. She used to have a reputation for being a young lady, but now she looks silly and seems to be easily bullied. No wonder Yu Fengzhi is so worried.

But in fact, Bai Xiuzhu saw this matter much more clearly than she did, and she handled it much better.

Even Xiao Aqiao, who has been in the Fengyue field for many years and is well-versed in worldly affairs, often boasts about Bai Xiuzhu, saying that sister Xiuzhu is amazing.

Zhao Yidi was not present at tonight's dinner party.

When Ye Luo walked in and saw Zhang Hanqing's bitter face, he guessed it.

Although with the help of Ye Luo, Zhao Yidi indirectly saved Zhang Hanqing's life and made Yu Fengzhi change her opinion a lot, her status, just like Meng Xiaodong's back then, had always been stuck, which made several people very unhappy. Uncomfortable.

This meal is mainly to see Ye Luo off.

He will leave for Tianjin in a few days, and Zhang Hanqing plans to stay in Fengtian Marshal's Mansion to spend more time with his wife and children.

After the wine and food were full, the women took the initiative to leave the table to talk about themselves, while Ye Luo and Zhang Hanqing continued drinking.

"Aluo, do you think there will be a war between the north and the south next year?" The Peiping Conference that broke up a few days ago made him increasingly worried about the domestic situation.

"Between the principal and those warlords?" Ye Luo did not hide anything, nodded and admitted, "That is inevitable. In several battles this year, the principal won cleanly, but those people were not convinced, and Wang Mou in Jiangcheng Man, you see that he is ready to make a move, but you don’t even think that he has no chance of winning.”

"Then you think the principal will win?" The wine glass in Zhang Hanqing's hand was shaking, but he was obviously not drunk. (End of chapter)