A box of cans for a ring encrusted with gemstones may sound a bit mysterious, but it can't be measured in terms of money to keep a family alive during this difficult time.

On September 30th, the traditional Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival, Ensign Tom came to the house of his girlfriend Claire, hoping that Claire's father, Stewart, would allow Claire to return to Southern Africa with Tom.

Stewart has four children, the other three are married, and Claire is the youngest daughter.

Since it was not the first time he had visited Stewart, Tom had brought only a bouquet of flowers and a bag of sweets, as well as a few boxes of canned food and two bottles of wine, which would have been enough as a dowry if he had been in Asia Minor.

After all, the French have seen some of the world, Stewart is also a veteran, participated in the Franco-Prussian War in the last century, after the outbreak of the world war, Stewart was no longer drafted because he was over 50 years old, which made Stewart live for the rest of his life.

Stewart's eldest son died during the World War, leaving behind three underage children, and the second son worked in the railroad sector with only four days off a month and worked more than ten hours a day.

When Tom arrives at Claire's house, Claire is waiting at the door.

Seeing Tom, Claire quickly ran over, hugged Tom and kissed him, and then reminded Tom to behave better later: "Dad is not in a good mood, if he says something he shouldn't say later, you must not take it to heart." ”

If Claire followed Tom to Southern Africa, then maybe he would only come back once in a few years, so Stewart did not approve of Tom and Claire's marriage, although Tom promised to give Claire a perfect wedding, and also had a house and farm in Southern Africa, but Stewart was still unwilling to marry his daughter that far.

Now is not the time to take a plane at every turn, from France to southern Africa to take a boat, at least half a month on the way.

"Don't worry, I'll take you back to Southern Africa anyway." Tom was prepared to face the odds, and it was not easy to convince Stewart, who had been coming every other day since the end of the World War.

"I'll wait for you—" Claire affectionately said, a French girl now, would be happy to find a Southern African Expeditionary Force soldier as her boyfriend, and it would be better if she could go to Southern Africa.

Stewart's house is very lively, today is Sunday, Claire's second brother Brian happens to be on vacation, sister Bonnie and brother-in-law Jeremy are also at home, Jeremy has also just been discharged from the army, has not yet found a job, and is at home.

Claire's mother died young, Stewart was playing in the backyard with the kids, Brian's wife, Sarah, was preparing lunch with Bonnie, and Brian was debating with Jeremy whether it would be better to work for a railroad company or hire a driver for a taxi company.

Jeremy learned to drive in the army, which was a bonus, and now being a driver is a good job, the work is not tiring, and the salary is relatively high.

Seeing Tom, Stewart was silent and ignored, Claire was busy distributing candy to the children, Brian and Jeremy greeted Tom warmly, and Jeremy took the initiative to ask Tom's opinion.

"In terms of income, it should be that the driver's job is better, but the railway company has a more stable job, you can try it." Tom can't give specific advice, everyone is an ordinary person, and they can't even decide their own fate, let alone the fate of others.

"I still prefer taxi companies, so that at least our family doesn't have to call the taxi company when they need to use the car." Jeremy doesn't want to be too far away from Bonnie, who just had a baby last year, and Jeremy wants to spend more time with Bonnie and the kids.

"You make your own decisions, but if I were you, I'd rather go out and make a break, at least to earn more milk powder money for my children." Tom actually has a better choice, which is why Tom came to Stewart.

"Tell me—" Jeremy still has a lot of respect for Tom, after all, Tom's rank is second lieutenant, and Jeremy was only a sergeant when he left the army.

"Why not go to Southern Africa? Southern Africa has a better environment, better education and medical care, and you don't want your child to fall too far behind his peers, even if you don't emigrate, you can take a boat to Southern Africa and take a look at the situation before making a decision. Tom never left Southern Africa, convincing Jeremy and Brian, who are also one of Tom's characters, that if the children all went to Southern Africa, then Stewart had no reason to insist on staying in France.

However, Stewart's attitude was quite resolute, and as soon as Tom's words fell, he heard Stuart snorting coldly, which was both a reminder and a warning.

Tom closed his mouth and said no more, and Krimu scratched his ears and cheeks, and seemed to want to invite Tom out for a drink, and the two of them had a good talk about it.

"Southern Africa is indeed very rich, I work on the railway, there are some things Jeremy you don't know, sometimes we work for days and nights in a row, and all the goods on the train are all kinds of materials produced in southern Africa, planes, tanks, artillery - many things that we can't produce in France, and many of the cars used by taxi companies are also produced in southern Africa." Brian added fuel to the fire, Jeremy didn't know what to expect, and Tom certainly knew.

"Yes, when we were in the army, the guns we used were made in southern Africa, the bullets were made in southern Africa, and even our food was produced." Jeremy is not stupid either, the increasing number of southern African goods appearing in France is in itself a testament to the industrial capacity of southern Africa.

"Is there still land allocated to immigrants to southern Africa now?" Brian is also considering the possibility of emigrating to southern Africa, where working in the French railways is too tiring, with heavy work, few breaks, and low salaries, and railway workers who go on strike at every turn, and have no income during the strike.

"Now the allotment of land has stopped, but I have a 400-acre farm in Tanganyika, and if you're going to southern Africa, I can use the farm as collateral to help you get a loan from the RAND Bank, and the land price is cheap now, and it will definitely continue to rise next year." Tom lowered his voice, he still had to save some face for Stewart, and he couldn't be as presumptuous as Brian and Jeremy.

"Tom, come here—" Stewart couldn't let Tom incite Brian and Jeremy and call Tom away.

Tom smiled and sat down on the steps of the hallway beside Stewart, Blair brought Tom and Stewart two cups of coffee, and Brian and Jeremy immediately asked Claire to bring two more.

"Do you want to drink it yourself, don't you have hands and feet?" Blair crosses his waist and argues with Brian and Jeremy, and does not hide his true nature as a.

Stewart didn't touch the coffee, glaring at Tom with stern eyes.

Claire sat down next to Tom worriedly, and Stuart glared at Blair again, and then was glared back by Blair.

Stewart was depressed and wanted to scold, but he could still hold back.

Tom took a sip of his coffee and quietly put it down.

"What's wrong?" Claire has a delicate mind.

"There's a lot of sugar—" Tom told him the truth, the coffee and sugar were actually brought by Tom, and the price was not cheap, and Tom had put a lot of effort into it for Claire.

Blair took a sip of the cup very invisibly, and then grinned very exaggerated and cute, which was indeed a bit sluggish.

Watching the interaction between Blair and Tom, Stewart sighed secretly, took a tasteless sip from the cup, and then spoke softly.

"Tom, if I agree that Blair will go with you to Southern Africa, how are you going to arrange Blair's life?" Stewart's business is a little sluggish, which is understandable, and seeing that the cabbage he has worked so hard to grow has been arched by pigs, the old father may be in this mood.

"Uncle Stewart, I have a house in L.A. and can move in at any time—my family still has a farm in Johannesburg, and I don't live with my family, and I have a 400-acre farm of my own in Tanganyika, and I can guarantee that Blair will be fed and happy forever—" Tom perked up, and his prepared rhetoric gushed.

"400 acres is not small, but can it be managed?" Stewart questioned that the bigger the farm is not the better, and that running a farm is a science.

"Yes, my family's farm in Johannesburg has started using tractors, the efficiency of the tractor is comparable to ten workers, and the cost of hiring workers in Tanganyika is also very low, only one or two pounds a month for a worker, because I am a soldier, and I can apply for the help of the military service during the busy season - oh yes, the farms in southern Africa do not pay taxes now, they only pay when they sell their produce, but the tax rate is very low, about five percent." Tom knows very well that the farms in southern Africa are no less than those in France.

While Tom was talking, Brian and Jeremy, as well as Sarah and Bonnie, quietly gathered around.

Tom's words were not finished: "Uncle Stewart, the level of education in southern Africa is very high, our public education system is completely different from the public education system in France, the requirements for students are very strict, the level of teachers is improving every year, the University of Nyasaland now has tens of thousands of students, which is larger than the University of Paris, and many professors of the University of Paris would rather give up their jobs at the University of Paris and choose the University of Nyasaland, which is enough to show the level of the University of Nyasaland." ”

For parents with children, children's education has never been an issue that cannot be ignored.

"Is French taught in the school?" Sarah asks a key question.

"The official languages of Southern Africa are English and Chinese, and French has an elective in school, and I took French so I got to know Claire—" Tom and Claire smiled at each other, all without saying a word.

Stewart was bitter inside.

ps:The chapter that was repeated at noon the day before yesterday,Now it's 1200 higher than the subscription of the previous chapters.,Please pay attention to the genuine version-

(End of chapter)