Esther finally decided to go to Los Angeles to give it a try.

Becoming a Hollywood female star was an irresistible temptation for young women of that era, not to mention the olive branch given by Louis Mayer, the "King of Hollywood", was personally recommended by Louis Mayer. In MGM's movie, there is no problem to get a character with more faces.

Although Chen Qiang verbally supported Esther's pursuit of his career, when Esther booked a train ticket and started packing his luggage and planned to go to Los Angeles, he was still very reluctant.

New York and Los Angeles, one is in the easternmost part of the United States and the other is in the westernmost part of the United States. The straight-line distance is more than 3,000 kilometers, and if you walk on land, it is almost 5,000 kilometers. At the speed of the train at that time, it took several days.

However, in front of Esther, Chen Qiang tried hard to show that he was very supportive of Esther.

Women's sixth senses are very accurate, and Esther seemed to feel Chen Qiang's forced smile.

On the weekend, Chen Qiang took Esther to the mall and bought her a bunch of beautiful clothes. After all, she was going to Los Angeles to be an actress. At least she couldn't fall behind in the outfit. Female celebrities need packaging, so they naturally couldn't wear ordinary clothes.

This time it was a big purchase, and the purchases were quite generous. The shopping center sent someone to deliver the things to Chen Qiang's home, so as not to bring things to Chen Qiang in big bags.

Chen Qiang, who doesn't have to be a hardworking worker, held Esther's hand, strolled on the streets of New York, and walked on the way home. Perhaps because Esther was about to leave, Chen Qiang cherished this time alone with Esther at this time.

"I'd better not go to Los Angeles!" Esther said suddenly.

"Why?" Chen Qiang asked subconsciously.

"I can't bear to leave you," Esther replied.

"I can't bear to leave you either." Chen Qiang sighed.

The two fell into silence at the same time.

Suddenly, Esther raised his head, pointed to a building in front, and said, "Look, there is a church there!"

"Church?" Chen Qiang didn't understand what Esther meant.

But Esther said, "Let's get married!"

Chen Qiang was stunned on the spot, his mind was even blank. Esther's words were indeed a bit too sudden.

Esther looked at Chen Qiang with anticipation, waiting for Chen Qiang's reply.

Feeling Esther's hot eyes, Chen Qiang had an impulse in his heart for some reason. He nodded and said, "Okay, we'll get married! Let's go now!"

...

There was no grand wedding, no dress or wedding dress, Chen Qiang didn't even have time to buy wedding rings, let alone guests. There was only an old priest who sent them the newlywed blessings.

Until he walked out of the church, Chen Qiang still felt confused, and he got married inexplicably.

"Don't we really need to ask your parents for their opinions?" Chen Qiang asked.

"No, they just eloped back then." Esther said.

"You are only nineteen years old and got married so early. Don't you regret it?" Chen Qiang asked again.

"No regrets." Esther turned his head and asked, "You may regret it?"

"No, I just haven't reacted for a while, I have a wife." Chen Qiang replied.

Esther hugged Chen Qiang's arm with a happy look on his face, and then said, "I'm very glad that we are in New York. If we were in Los Angeles, we wouldn't be married."

"Why? Are you worried that your parents will object?" Chen Qiang asked.

"No, the law in Los Angeles does not allow it." Esther replied.

Chen Qiang thought for more than ten seconds before he realized what was going on. At that time, the United States had an anti-Chinese bill, and local governments also had many anti-Chinese laws and regulations. For example, the California government stipulated that Chinese people could not marry white people, and this law would not be abolished until the 1950s. So if it was in California, Chen Qiang and Esther would not have legal benefits.

Suddenly, Chen Qiang thought of another question. As a Chinese, he was the subject of the Chinese Exclusion Act, but he had to think about it for a long time before he could remember this California law. As an American, Esther blurted out that she had understood it very early.

"I'm probably being tricked by this little girl!" Chen Qiang said in his heart.

...

Chen Qiang's newlywed honeymoon trip was to take Esther back to Los Angeles.

Getting married at the age of 19 was a very normal thing for Americans at that time. Even in the future, it was normal. Among the well-known American stars in the future, there were many who became fathers when they went to high school.

Chen Qiang was a little worried that Williams and his wife would oppose the marriage, but the situation was done, and Williams and his wife could only express their blessings to Chen Qiang and Esther. Moreover, American mother-in-law does not have so many rules, and does not require the son-in-law to have a car and a house, as long as the children are happy.

But Chen Qiang still decided to buy a house in Los Angeles. Firstly, it was because of the traditional Chinese concept that when they got married, of course they had to have a house to live in; secondly, it was because the housing prices in Los Angeles were really cheap at this time.

At this time, Los Angeles did not have any commercial housing, but there were large areas of free land, such as some locations near Hollywood, and in the future they were all famous villas. In 1939, they were all forests and mountains. They could buy a piece of land for a small amount of money, and they could build any house they wanted.

Chen Qiang simply bought a piece of land first, but he was not in a hurry to build a house. After all, Chen Qiang's career focus was in New York, so he was not worried that Esther lived alone in a wilderness.

Chen Qiang contacted Louis Mayer, making Esther a member of the American Academy of Film Arts and Sciences.

The main function of the American Academy of Film Arts and Sciences in the future is to select an Academy Award every year. This is just an industry society, a non-profit academic organization, providing an academic forum and a place for exchanges of results for the film industry. It is not a school, nor does it have no students. If you want to learn to perform, you have to go to the American Academy of Film.

The main purpose of Louis Mayer in establishing the Academy of Film Arts and Sciences was not to appraise the Academy Awards. He really wanted to develop and promote the American film industry. Therefore, when the college was founded, many people who loved film, even if they were not well-known people in the film and television industry, could join the Academy of Film Arts and Sciences.

Because the school of Film Arts and Sciences was very loose in that era, even in 1939, the Academy of Film Arts and Sciences had been rated for many years, but the School of Film Arts and Sciences still had no fixed office space.

Although the School of Film Arts and Sciences at that time was not a school and did not recruit students, it could provide educational services such as acting, director, screenwriter, and photography. For example, if you want to learn a director, the School of Film Arts and Sciences will help you contact a teacher in this field. This teacher may even be a well-known director. Students have the opportunity to go to the shooting site to learn with the director in person.

This is also equivalent to a one-to-one service. Of course, this service is not free. Some people charge fees and some people ask you to help him do odd jobs. However, in general, the form is relatively open and inclusive. Although there were many film and television companies in Hollywood at that time, there were also competitive relationships, many filmmakers sincerely hoped that the American film industry could develop, and they would not hide the skills. Instead, they were willing to teach it to others.

In the 1920s and 1930s, some laymen changed careers to actors, and actually learned performances through this one-on-one teaching method. For example, Johnny Wesmerer, who played the role of "Tarzan of the Apes", was selected by MGM, and he also found other senior actors to be teachers. He learned performances in the face of the battle, and then went to play Tarzan.

Among Hollywood actors in that era, those who could start performing stage plays on Broadway were equivalent to being a professional. Many people had not received professional performance training. For example, Greta Garbo was originally a hat seller, Marilyn Monroe assembled radio stations in a factory, Gregory Parker was used to be a driver of the oil company, and Kirk Douglas was once a freestyle wrestling athlete.

For example, many actors in Japan in the future are not professionals, and many of them are discovered by scouts and directly embarked on the path of essayism. Of course, the agency will provide them with some professional training, but those professional training is definitely not as systematic and professional as the performance department of the Central Academy of Drama or Beijing Film Academy.

However, compared to acting skills, sometimes the acting skills from actor training classes are more natural. If you don’t say what you play, you won’t get out of the show after watching it. Many actors who are professionals act like themselves, and their acting skills are exaggerated and awkward!

The actor industry still looks very talented, especially for young actors. Chen Qiang doesn’t know if Esther is the reason for this rice. However, now Chen Qiang’s gym is booming, and the number of franchisees is increasing. Every year, the franchise fee alone is already making a lot of money, so Chen Qiang just thinks it’s about finding something for Esther. Only Esther can become an actor in the end, and it doesn’t matter.

After settling down with Esther, Chen Qiang returned to New York. On the way, he went to Washington again and met Hu Shi.

Hu Shi has lost a lot of weight than before, and is still a little haggard, as if he hasn't had a good rest.

"Sir, you have to take care of yourself." Chen Qiang advised.

"Hey, I've been unable to sleep recently." Hu Shi shook his head helplessly, and then said, "There is good news in the Fifth War Zone. In southern Henan, we agreed to annihilate more than 9,000 Japanese troops and recover Xinyang."

"This is good news. This is the first time since the War of Resistance Against Japan that I have heard of the regaining lost land. Sir, you should be happy." Chen Qiang said.

"I can't be happy. Although Xinyang was recovered, Kunlun Pass, Suiyuan and Wuyuan were all lost." Hu Shi said with a depressed look on his face.

Chen Qiang nodded, regained one Xinyang, but lost three places. No wonder Hu Shi was completely unhappy.

Then Hu Shi said, "What makes me even more angry is that Wang Puppet actually established a National Government in Nanjing! A group of traitors actually had the face to call the 'National Government'. I really want to eat his flesh and blood!"

It is no secret that the Wang Puppet wanted to establish a traitor government in Nanjing. It had already been a big deal a few months ago. Hu Shi should have been mentally prepared, but on that day, Hu Shi was still so angry that his teeth were itchy, especially the Wang Puppet government was still under the name of "National Government", which made Hu Shi even more unbearable.

"Just a group of traitors, who do not receive support from the people, will sooner or later be like grasshoppers in the autumn and will not be able to jump around for a few days." Chen Qiang paused and then asked, "What is the attitude of the United States?"

"Of course the United States will not recognize the pseudo-government!" Hu Shi paused and continued: "This morning, people from the White House contacted me and said that President Roosevelt wanted to see me. I guess I was asking me to convey it to Chongqing and would continue to support us."

"Is it just verbal support? Isn't it practical?" Chen Qiang asked.

Hu Shi was slightly stunned. Before he could speak, Chen Qiang said, "Sir, this is a good opportunity to borrow money from Americans. Think about it, Roosevelt said he wanted to support us, so why don't we climb up the pole quickly and take advantage of this matter to borrow money from Roosevelt, and count as much as you can!"

"That's right, why didn't I expect it! Then I have to prepare quickly. As soon as Roosevelt asks to support us, I will borrow money from him!" Hu Shi is also an honest man and does not hide his ideas.

Chen Qiang shook his head helplessly. Hu Shi, a nerd, really has no understanding of diplomacy. He has been an ambassador to the United States for almost two years and has not learned the routines he should learn.

That night, Hu Shi returned from the White House and brought good news to Chen Qiang. Roosevelt had agreed to borrow another 20 million US dollars to China, with the condition that he would use Yunnan's tin mine as collateral.

After learning the news, Chen Qiang was both happy and sad. He was happy that he had earned 20 million US dollars from the Americans. After the money was exchanged for materials, he could support the domestic anti-Japanese war cause; and sadly, the tin mine in Yunnan was sold to the Americans again.

"Last time it was tung oil, this time it was a tin mine. I don't know what to sell next time." Chen Qiang sighed lightly.

...

On the train back to New York, Chen Qiang leaned on the seat and fell asleep in a drowsy way.

Suddenly, he felt the train stop, and Chen Qiang was awakened. He opened his eyes and said to himself: "Have you arrived in New York?"

Then Chen Qiang looked out the window and found that it was not the platform of the New York Railway Station, but the wilderness.

"What's going on?" Chen Qiang asked the flight attendant.

"Sir, I'm very sorry, a cargo train in front of me broke down, so it blocked the road. The maintenance worker is hurrying to repair it, so please wait for a moment." The flight attendant said.

"How long does it take to repair?" Chen Qiang asked.

"Well, it may take some time, right? Do you want a cup of coffee or whiskey? If you are bored, you can also go down and take a walk, but when you hear the whistle, please come back immediately." The flight attendant said.

"Okay, go down and move your body." Chen Qiang said as he stood up and walked off the train.

There were indeed carriages for cargoes parked there on the rails far ahead, and several passengers were watching not far away.

Chen Qiang leaned over and asked, "What's wrong with the car ahead?"

"It's broken. I heard that the boiler has a problem. This is an old model of locomotive. And the thing pulled is heavy, so it's normal if it's broken." The other party answered.

"What's inside? Can it burn the boiler?" Chen Qiang asked with a smile.

"I heard it was scrap iron." The man replied.

"Scrap iron? It's not worthwhile to transport this thing. Can't you just find a steel mill to merge it? You have to transport it to New York." Chen Qiang said with some complaints.

"Haha, you don't understand, these things need to be exported." The other party replied.

"Export? Someone wants scrap iron?" Chen Qiang asked in confusion.

"Of course, the Japanese want it! I guess these things are sold to the Japanese." The man replied.

After hearing this, Chen Qiang's heart suddenly tightened.

When the United States revised its Neutral Act, the United States announced the effectiveness of the contract signed with Japan in 1911. Subsequently, the United States increased its embargo on Japan. In addition to important strategic materials such as aircraft parts and radio equipment, other materials such as steel, precious metals, and oil also implemented a license system. It is necessary to have a license from the US government to transport these materials to Japan.

However, when Chen Qiang learned that the scrap iron was transported to Japan, he suddenly realized that the Japanese seemed to have taken advantage of the loopholes in the material embargo! Scrap iron is not steel, so the restrictions on licenses should be much looser.

Moreover, what Japan lacks is industrial raw materials, not processing means. With Japan's industrial capabilities, even if a pile of scrap iron is bought back, it can process steel in the factory, turn into guns, tanks, and eventually appear in China, causing harm to Chinese military and civilians.

At this moment, the scrap iron of the car in the distance seemed to be a weapon to massacre the Chinese!

"No, the Japanese cannot continue to take advantage of this loophole. We must find a way to stop this matter!"

—————
Chapter completed!