Chapter 1

March 1926, Los Angeles, California, USA.

Zhang Feng sat in his rented apartment, concentrating on writing the script quickly in English.

"Huh, it's finally done." Zhang Feng took a long breath, raised his hands and pressed them back to stretch his body.

A month ago, Zhang Feng, a 26-year-old who was laid off, went back to take a nap after an interview one morning, preparing to go for another interview in the afternoon. Unexpectedly, after waking up, he came to America in the 20th century.

Soon, Zhang Feng accepted the fact that he had traveled through time. After pawning his only two valuable possessions, a watch and a gold necklace, he rented an apartment and settled down in Los Angeles in 1926. Thanks to the benefits of being a time traveler, he not only quickly mastered the English language, but also strengthened himself in all aspects of his body (those who understand will understand).

Since he has come to this era, he must build his own career, but he also knows that he is just an ordinary person in the future with limited abilities. When he comes here, his requirements are not high. He just wants to be a small capitalist to free himself and his descendants from the fate of being slaves.

However, Zhang Feng had no start-up capital and was a Chinese. In America at that time, it was basically impossible for him to succeed through hard work. Even if he had some inventions, without a background and support, he would just end up seeking death.

After a month of hard thinking, Zhang Feng recalled a TV program he had seen before, which talked about a legendary American tycoon, the prototype of Iron Man - Howard Hughes.

Howard Hughes was born in 1905. His father was a successful businessman and inventor who left Howard a lot of wealth. Howard was smart and clever since he was a child. He could assemble a radio by himself at the age of 11, invented a power-assisted bicycle at the age of 12, and assembled a motorcycle at the age of 13, showing amazing mechanical talent.

Howard dropped out of school at the age of 18 and inherited a legacy worth $2 million from his father, including the Hughes factory. From then on, he began his own investment and business development.

In 1928, Howard passed the exam and obtained a private pilot's license. From then on, flying became his greatest interest and hobby.

In 1932, Howard founded his own aircraft manufacturing company. Howard continued to explore the development of new aircraft and constantly refreshed the world flight speed record. In 1938, he successfully completed a round-the-world flight in an airplane, significantly shortening the previous record. Since then, the aerospace industry has become the focus of Howard's career. In 1965, Howard Hughes' Hughes Aircraft Company launched the first geosynchronous satellite in human history. Subsequently, Howard built the first lunar probe for NASA in 1966 and helped the United States achieve the success of the Apollo moon landing project. At the age of 41, Howard had become the world's first billionaire with a personal wealth of more than $10 billion.

Of course, what makes Zhang Feng remember so deeply is not these amazing experiences, but his achievements in Hollywood. Not only did he achieve brilliant results in movies, but the most enviable thing is that he slept with more than a hundred female stars.

It was in this year, 1926, that Howard invested in the first film with the financial resources of his family. However, the film was of poor quality and was severely criticized by his uncle. Howard was discouraged and decided to destroy the film.

Then in 1927, Howard collaborated with Lewis Myers, a famous Hollywood director. This collaboration enabled Howard to successfully shoot a number of high-quality films and began to move towards professionalism and success.

This was Zhang Feng's opportunity. Howard happened to be in Hollywood, Los Angeles. He didn't have to look for him all over the world. He planned to connect with Howard through movies and make him his backer to help him take off. The most important reason for looking for him was that according to Howard's experience, a wealthy man with an adventurous spirit (he didn't give up even when he was seriously injured in a plane accident) and a willful and unrestrained life should be a good partner and trustworthy.

Zhang Feng planned to write a film script about the First World War because after Howard Hughes experienced the failure last time, the first film they collaborated on with director Lewis Milestone was "Two Arabian Knights", a comedy about a stern sergeant and confused soldiers on the European battlefield of World War I. The film won the 1st Academy Award for Best Director.

Zhang Feng's script is about a special forces unit formed by the United States during World War I. After a year of training, when they were about to graduate, Germany announced the implementation of an unrestricted submarine warfare policy. The United States, a neutral country that has always been inclined to the Allies, was angered by Germany's policy. On April 1917, 4, the United States declared war on Germany, so the special forces were sent to the battlefield. After a period of battlefield training, they went deep behind enemy lines, used special tactics, raided the German headquarters, captured the supreme commander in one fell swoop, and retreated safely. Zhang Feng named the film "War L", bah, named it "Special Forces". If this film is successful, he is preparing a second part, filming the story of the special forces sneaking into Berlin, capturing Kaiser Wilhelm II, and forcing Germany to surrender.

In Zhang Feng's script, the main characters of the special forces include not only white people, but also black people and Chinese. He plans to play the Chinese role himself. By this way of smuggling private goods, he wants to increase his fame. The main thing is to see if he can improve his status so that it will be more convenient for him to do things in the future. Otherwise, it will be too difficult for him, a Chinese, to succeed at this time.

(Many readers have expressed that it is impossible for Chinese people to act in movies in America now, and believe that if the protagonist is Chinese, there will be problems with the Chinese Exclusion Act and discrimination, so I found the following information)
Anna May Wong was born in Los Angeles, USA. Her ancestral home is Taishan City, Guangdong Province. She is a Chinese-American actress. In 1919, she participated in her first American film "Red Lantern". In 1922, she starred in the American film "The Passing of the Sea". In 1924, she starred in the American film "The Thief of Baghdad", in which she played a Mongolian slave. In 1929, she starred in the British film "Chinatown Dream"; with her performance in the play, she was invited to attend the British royal banquet. In 1932, she co-starred with Marlene Dietrich in the American film "Shanghai Express", which achieved a box office of 370 million US dollars in the United States. In the same year, the first American film "Grand Hotel" set in Shanghai was released in Shanghai. In 1936, she arrived in China for the first time to start a nine-month journey to find her roots and shoot a documentary. In 1951, she starred in the American TV series "Mrs. May Wong's Gallery", in which she played her real name. In 1960, she became the first Chinese to leave a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in the United States. In addition, she also became a statue figure in the "Hollywood Silver Cast Four Ladies Overlook" with Dolores Del Rio, Dorothy Dandridge, Mae West and Marilyn Monroe.

However, although there were adverse effects of the Chinese Exclusion Act and discrimination, most of these were directed at ordinary people because Chinese workers took jobs from white people.

But for capable people, there are still opportunities as long as they start to gain momentum. There will definitely be impacts. There is a ceiling for Chinese people abroad, but it is still no problem to reach a moderate level.

For example, the Hongmen, the overseas Chinese who donated money during the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, and the scientists who later returned to China, they could still have made some achievements in the West, but their upper limit was not high.

Zhang Feng spent $5 to find out the address of Howard Hughes' company in Hollywood, and then made an appointment for a meeting today. Perhaps out of his love for movies, Howard agreed to meet him, otherwise he would not just meet a Chinese person casually.

Early in the morning, Zhang Feng put on formal clothes and took a taxi to the film company. A beautiful female receptionist led him into Howard's office.

"Mr. Howard, thank you very much for giving me this opportunity. This is the script I wrote. Please take a look at it first and then we can talk." After politely greeting and introducing himself, Zhang Feng went straight to the point and handed the script to Howard. Howard took the script and read it carefully.

"Oh! Zhang, this script is good, I like it, but I have a question." About half an hour later, he put down the script in his hand and said in surprise.

"Please go ahead, sir."

Zhang Feng replied calmly.

"In addition to white people, there are also black and Chinese protagonists in the script, which I'm afraid is hard for everyone to accept." Howard said with a serious expression.

"Sir, the reason I arranged for several protagonists to have different skin colors is that America is a country of immigrants. Through such propaganda, we can show the unity of the American people and enhance cohesion. In addition, it is also a little selfish of me to call for racial equality, eliminate racial discrimination, and strive for equal status for my compatriots. Since the enactment of the Chinese Exclusion Act in 1882, the Chinese have suffered too much unfair treatment. I hope you can understand."

Zhang Feng had a sad face and spoke in a serious tone. In fact, Zhang Feng didn't care at all. He just wanted to get equal treatment for himself and reduce obstacles in his future entrepreneurial journey.

"I understand. I need to think about it. I will give you an answer in a few days, and then we can discuss the specific cooperation matters."

Howard was silent for a moment, then spoke.

Zhang Feng knew that even if there was no such problem, a decision would not be made immediately. After all, it was an investment of millions of dollars (in 1929, Howard Hughes invested nearly 400 million US dollars to produce the war romance film "Hell's Angels"). How could it be so hasty? When making the appointment, Zhang Feng said that he was not selling the script but seeking cooperation.

Since he thinks the script is good, then there is room for negotiation. If they ask to change several main characters to white people, Zhang Feng will not insist in the end. If it works, it would be better. If not, then forget it. There will be opportunities in the future. If he misses this opportunity because of the character's skin color, then he is stupid.

"Okay, sir. I'll wait for your good news. My address is on the first page of the script."

Zhang Feng stood up and said, then turned around and left the office. He walked downstairs, casually greeted the beautiful receptionist, and walked out of the film company.

I took a taxi back to a restaurant near my residence, had a casual meal, and then returned to the apartment to make further plans.

His plan was to make his first fortune through movies, make friends with Howard, and then start his own company and let Howard help him sell his products. Although this would reduce some of the profits, it would be safer and get on track faster. Otherwise, if he relied on himself, he would not have enough funds and would not be able to open up the market so quickly.

For the first company, Zhang Feng planned to make nylon stockings, because this left the deepest impression on him. When he read time-travel novels before, the protagonists all made a lot of money by doing this. I think it was called "Speculators in the Republic of China". At that time, he went to Baidu to search for the production method. A mixture of coal tar, air and water can be melted at high temperature to pull out a hard, wear-resistant, thin and flexible filament. This is the production method of nylon fiber. However, Zhang Feng didn't know how to make it specifically, how to mass-produce it industrially, and how to make it into stockings. However, when he made money, he would find someone to do it.

For the second company, Zhang Feng planned to start KFC. Although McDonald's had been established a long time ago, KFC's signature fried chicken had not yet been born. This would have to wait for more than 10 years, so he didn't hesitate to use the name KFC.

After taking a piece of paper and writing down the recipe for fried chicken, Zhang Feng went downstairs to buy the main ingredients and condiments, and tried to make the right taste himself. Zhang Feng would cooperate with Howard Hughes in the stocking company, so that he could produce results as soon as possible. After all, whether it was finding someone to do research or opening a factory, Zhang Feng was not good at it, and he did not have the resources in this area. Zhang Feng was the sole proprietor of KFC. He believed that after this period of training, he would be able to grow up and have his own team, and he would not have to rely on others for everything.

Three days later, after wasting 20 dollars, Zhang Feng finally made the delicious fried chicken he remembered. At this time, he only had a few dozen dollars left. If there was no news from Howard Hughes, he would go out to find a job, and wait for a few years of illegal work to save enough money before opening his own shop.

Another morning, Zhang Feng had just finished washing up when he heard a knock on the door. He felt that Howard Hughes might have found some results.

Zhang Feng opened the door while suppressing his excitement, and the person standing at the door was indeed the receptionist of Howard Hughes Film Company.

"Hello, Miss Anna, please come in. Is there anything I can help you with?" Zhang Feng said calmly.

"No need. The boss wants you to come over to discuss the script. If it's convenient for you, come with me now." Anna waved her hand and smiled softly.

"Okay, I happen to have nothing to do, so let's go now." Zhang Feng turned around, closed the door, and went downstairs with Anna.

(End of this chapter)