Songhu: Never Give Up

Chapter 34 The Yue Family's Choice (Please read and collect 4 words long chapter)

After selling the patent for the rocket launcher, Yue Qianli's company had 300 million US dollars in working capital. At this time, Roosevelt's New Deal had begun to show results, the Eagle Sauce economy began to recover, the public's trust in the government began to increase, and the investment environment gradually improved;

He invested all the 300 million US dollars into the stock market in the name of Yue's Investment Company, buying stocks of large companies such as shipbuilding, military industry, medicine, General Motors, and Coca-Cola.

Yue Qianli clearly remembers that due to the Great Depression, the S&P stock market index fell 86%, then stabilized in the next two years, and then rose another 325%;

The bull market was supported in part by Roosevelt’s New Deal, a massive government spending program to stabilize the economy;

But four years later, Roosevelt rolled back those plans. He slashed spending to balance the budget, while the Federal Reserve tightened banks’ reserve requirements. The combination of monetary and fiscal policy tightening led to a double-dip recession, often referred to as the “Roosevelt Recession.”

In other words, this bull market will peak in two years at most. The previous period is just building the bottom and the increase is not large. The next year or so will be the craziest time. The S&P 500 index will double and individual stocks will soar to the sky.

Later, the stock market collapsed due to the "Roosevelt Recession", falling 60% in five years. If he had seized this opportunity, it would have been possible for his 300 million US dollars to increase dozens of times. This is the benefit of being a time traveler.

After completing the investment, Yue Qianli entered his last year of study. At this time, China had just signed the He-Umezu Agreement with the Japanese, dismissed Yu Xuezhong, Jiang Xiaoxian and others, banned secret groups such as the Blue Shirts Society and the Renaissance Society that hindered Sino-Japanese relations, the 51st Army withdrew from Hebei, and the National Government banned the anti-Japanese movement.

Once the contents of the agreement were made public, China was in uproar, and a massive anti-Japanese wave was set off;
The Pingjin crisis, the Huaxia crisis, the Chinese nation crisis!
Yuejia Town, Southern Hunan
Yue Wanli was going back to school after the summer vacation, but his mind was no longer on his studies. He went to the streets with a group of classmates all day to promote anti-Japanese ideas. He even clamored to give up his studies and go to the Northeast to join the volunteer army to fight the Japanese.

"You dare, I'll break your legs!
Are the Japanese so easy to beat? Your second brother is fighting the devils, and the three men in the old Yue family have been beaten enough, so just study hard. "

Yue Baili, the head of the Yue family, also echoed and said:
"Third brother, just listen to Dad and finish your studies. If you can't stay here, you can go to America to find the second brother. Didn't he write to you and ask you to help him after you graduate?"

Yue Wanli said disdainfully:

"You can go if you want to. What's so good about America? You can't fight the Japanese there. I want to go to North China, to the front line!
China is too big to accommodate a peaceful desk. "

Old Master Yue immediately started looking for a stick to beat someone, but his mother-in-law showed up just in time to stop him and said:
"Master, calm down. The third brother is just yelling. I think the eldest brother's suggestion is very good. Let the third brother go to America to help the second brother. He has registered a big company there and needs someone to take care of it."

"Mom, please don't come and make trouble. Second brother's company is a shell company. If you want to go, let eldest brother go. There's nothing good about being a government employee!"

"A loving mother often spoils her son. Let me break this bastard's legs. At worst, I can keep him by my side for the rest of his life, or I can send him to die on the battlefield."

Yue Wanli was determined to go to North China to fight against the Japanese. No one knows his son better than his father. Old Man Yue could only rely on power to intimidate him, and he would do so for as many years as possible.

When the mother-in-law saw that the father and son were about to argue, she was worried that the third son would get beaten, so she changed the subject and said:
"Third brother, didn't your second brother say in the letter? He has a huge business, all of which will be used to fight the Japanese in the future. You are going to help your second brother to fight the Japanese as well!

He will be returning to his country next year, and there will be no one to take care of his business. Since you don't want to study anymore, you can go help your second brother."

After the mother-in-law finished speaking, she hinted to Luo's father with her eyes. Old man Yue thought about it and agreed. The third son was already wild anyway. Instead of letting him die on the battlefield, it would be better to send him to America. At least it was safe there, and he could take care of the property for the second son.

The eldest brother stayed by his side to inherit the family business, but the old woman was more thoughtful, so she snorted and said:
"I think this is the way to go. The third child can go to help the second child. He can also study while helping."

Yue Wanli pretended to agree, packed some money and ran away with the housekeeper's second son that night, leaving only a letter.

"Look, sir. I told you I couldn't keep you here. You've gone to Nanjing to apply for the Whampoa Military Academy. You even said you won't return home until the Japanese pirates are eliminated. What can I do?"

Old Man Yue's face also turned very ugly, but the matter was done and he could only do whatever he wanted. The second brother ran away like this back then, luckily there was the eldest brother.

"Master, what about the second brother? Why not send the third brother's eldest son? He has also been to school for a few years, at least he is one of us."

Old Master Yue did not rush to express his opinion, but Yue Baili mustered up the courage to say:
"Dad, Mom, how about I go over there? There's not much to do as a government employee."

Master Yue understood instantly, and then cursed:
"You have already made up your mind, right?"

Yue Baili naturally would not admit it. He had long wanted to stop wanting to stay in Yuejia Town. He had originally planned to let the third brother help the second brother, and he would find a chance to run out and fight the Japanese. However, he did not expect that the third brother got there first, so he could only settle for the second best and go to America.

Looking at the boss's expression, Old Master Yue knew that he couldn't keep this kid. After thinking it over in his mind, he said:

"Then let the eldest brother take the eldest son of the Yue family with him. I think the suggestion in the letter from the second brother is also very good.
Let the eldest go first, if the property is really huge as the second oldest said, we will move our whole family there, at least we will have someone to look after us."

My mother-in-law asked worriedly:
"What about the third brother?"

"The ancestral home is here, the land is here, and aren't his uncle and aunt still here?"

Mother-in-law thought that this was the only way, but she couldn't understand why her master changed so quickly, so she asked after Yue Baili returned to his room:
"Master, people are worthless when they leave their hometown. We are almost at the age of knowing our destiny. Why do we have to run to the West thousands of miles away?"

Old Master Yue sighed and said:
“The chaos is coming!

The Japanese pirates have bullied China too much. Even a student like the third child couldn't stay and wanted to go fight the devils. How can our great China continue to be bullied by the Japanese pirates?

It is only a matter of time before the war breaks out. The second oldest will definitely return to the battlefield after graduation. Now the third oldest has run away again. We can only take the eldest oldest to the West and then we can watch over him and feel at ease."

My mother-in-law thought so and agreed. At least she could be with her eldest son there and have a son by her side.

A month later, Yue Baili quit his government job and boarded a train to Guangzhou with his housekeeper Yue San's eldest son Yue Zhong. From Guangzhou, they took a boat to New York.

After Yue Baili left, the Yue family began to sell off some of their land and properties, preparing to move the entire family to New York.

During this time, they finally received a letter from the third brother, and learned that the boy had successfully entered the 12th Infantry Department of the Central Army Officers School, following Yue Qianli's old path;

The son is no longer under the control of his mother, so they can only accept this reality. In New York, the Yue brothers reunited after thousands of miles away. The Yue bloodline in Yue Qianli's body was fully revived. Meeting an old friend in a foreign land is one of the four joys in life, not to mention that it is your eldest brother.

The two of them naturally hugged each other and started chatting about family matters. When they learned that their parents would be coming over soon, they excitedly said:
"It's good that you're all here, so you can take care of each other. I've prepared a house for you, right next to the company.
The U.S. economy has not yet fully recovered from the Great Depression, and housing is very cheap. The company will be counting on you in the future."

Yue Baili has always been a steady person. He went to college in Changsha and worked in the government for several years. He is fully capable of managing the industry for him.

"Second brother, tell me your ideas so I can know what I should do."

"Brother, why are you in such a hurry? I'll tell you in detail after everything is settled."

Yue Baili said nothing more and followed Yue Qianli back home. After a simple settlement, Yue Qianli told him and Yue Zhong about his plan:
"Most of the company's money is now invested in the stock market, and the total market value is about 400 million US dollars (it has increased a lot)."

Yue Baili looked at his second son in disbelief, and then said:
"Four million US dollars? Did I hear you right? This is enough to buy the entire Yuejia Town, and the third brother said you are a shell company."

Yue Qianli wanted to see his elder brother's inexperienced look, and he said with some ostentation:

"It's a bull market now, and stock prices change every day. I think they will continue to rise for at least another year, and by then they could increase tenfold or even dozens of times.

But there are no stocks in the world that only go up and never go down. I will return to China after graduation and sell most of my stocks by then. I will wait for the right time to invest in industry, acquire those military companies that are about to go bankrupt, and then wait for the world war to come."

Yue Baili studied financial management in college, so it was easy for him to understand Yue Qianli's words, and then he said excitedly:
"A world war will inevitably stimulate the military industry. If you set up military industry at the lowest point, you will definitely make a lot of money when the war breaks out. But can you be sure that a world war will happen?

The last war ended only a dozen years ago, and a generation of people in Europe were killed in the war. Britain and France are terrified at the mention of war. A world war is not that easy to start. "

It was rare for Yue Baili to see this. After all, he was not a time traveler. Yue Qianli naturally wanted to convince him. Seeing that he had doubts, he continued:

“Britain and France are afraid, but Germany is not. The unequal treaties of the Paris Peace Conference are like a mountain pressing on their heads.
Where there is oppression, there is resistance. The barefoot Germans are not afraid of those who wear shoes. Coupled with the impact of the global economic crisis, Germany can only rely on war to survive. This is inevitable!

As long as Europe starts a war, the United States will definitely be involved, and then our chance will come."

Yue Baili nodded in agreement. Europe was a powder keg that could be ignited at any time. If that was the case, he roughly knew how to operate.

"Brother, this money will be used to fight the Japanese in the future. There will be a war between China and Japan, and it will be a life-and-death struggle.

War requires money, so no amount of money will be enough. When I return, I can only leave these businesses to you and my parents. I don’t trust anyone else.”

After Yue Qianli finished speaking, he looked at Yue Baili expectantly. In his host's memory, his elder brother was a man who understood justice and had a strong sense of family and country, and was worthy of his trust.

As expected, Yue Baili did not disappoint him. He nodded heavily and said:
"Brothers fight together, fathers and sons fight together in battle. You and the third brother will fight on the front line, and my parents and I will provide you with logistical support.
If the third brother hadn't run ahead of me, I would have joined the army too. The Japanese pirates bullied China too much and wanted to destroy China, but my Yue family would not agree!"

Yue Zhong on the side also took over and said:

"Yang Hugong once said that if China is to perish, all Hunanese people must die!"

Although Yue Zhong is the son of the housekeeper, he grew up with the Yue brothers and has always been Yue Baili's companion. His knowledge and experience are not inferior to Yue Baili's, so the Yue family did not treat him as a servant.

The three brothers clasped their hands tightly together. With his eldest brother and Yue Zhong looking after his property, he could concentrate on fighting the Japanese in the country in the future.

Next, he took Yue Baili and Yue Zhong to briefly familiarize themselves with the company's situation, and then he hurried back to school to attend classes. He only took one day off;
Although the management in the senior year was a little loose, he was a simulated brigade commander and had to manage younger students. The tradition of West Point Military Academy was that old cadets could find various ways to make trouble for new cadets, and he also made it through this step.

Days passed by in a persevering manner, and before they knew it, graduation had arrived. Yue Qianli got first place in the graduation assessment without any suspense, Wang Jianfei came second, and Robert actually came third. It was indeed the catfish effect;
The fourth place was Zhao Tianci, the ninth place was Zhou Xin, and the tenth place was Zhang Tianshou. Only Li Daomin from the 36th Division failed to make it into the top ten because of his poor academic performance, but his graduation results were also excellent.

The top three received special rewards. Roosevelt invited them to have afternoon tea. Robert was so excited that he didn't sleep all night. But the Yue Qianli brothers didn't take it seriously. They thought it was just afternoon tea, what was there to be excited about.

In order to maintain his image, Roosevelt sat in the restaurant beforehand. Yue Qianli and the other two walked into the restaurant in a standard step led by the principal.

After introducing the three people to Roosevelt, the principal left the restaurant. Such an honor only belongs to the best students among this year's graduates, two of whom have Asian faces.

Franklin was not surprised, but politely gestured for them to sit down. His smile was very contagious, which made Robert, who was originally very nervous, relax a lot.

"Robert, you did a great job. Your father would be proud of you. I heard that he was also an excellent officer and participated in the European War. The glory of America is with you."

Robert stood up excitedly and said:
"Country, duty, honor, everything for America!"

It turns out that slogan shouting exists in every country. The more senior the leader, the louder the slogans are shouted, and no one can speak properly.

Yue Qianli was thinking about what slogan to shout so as not to offend others. He still respected the man in front of him.

Although everything he did was for the national interests of the United States, his help to China's war of resistance against Japan is indelible. China has records in history books about friends who have helped it.

Franklin said a few polite words to Wang Jianfei and Yue Qianli, and the afternoon tea should have ended. The president is very busy, and it is rare for him to take time out of his busy schedule to go through the formalities. What else does he need?

Yue Qianli didn't expect that he would be left alone, so he stood there respectfully, waiting for the other party to speak.

"Young man, relax a little. As far as I know, China doesn't have many tank troops. I'd like to know where you learned the theory of deep assault by armored forces?"

(End of this chapter)