Chapter 28 Hedy Lamarr
Antalaha, Madagascar.

In the early morning at the seaside, the sun shines on the sea, sparkling, as if countless golden elves are dancing. The gentle sea breeze blows across the cheeks, bringing the freshness and saltiness of the sea water. The sea water presents a light green color, echoing the color of the sky. The waves dance in the gentle morning breeze, layer upon layer, like a poem and a painting, making people unconsciously indulge in this comfortable atmosphere.

After resting for a day and a night, Little John and Lei Wanting came to the city government to meet the local highest official.

Antalaha Mayor Eide is handling recent government affairs in his office, because the population here is not much except for the indigenous people.
There were not many, and the natives who had surrendered after many wars were very docile, so his job was very easy. He just looked at the documents every morning and went home directly in the afternoon.

In fact, it is not accurate to say that he went home, because he lived in a house in the office building. Antalaha is only a very small port city with a small local population and not many businessmen coming and going, so there are not many formal officials. The front of the house is the office and the back is where he lives.

"Mr. Mayor, there is a manager from an American trading company outside who wants to see you." A male government employee in his twenties knocked on the door and walked in and said. This man was his secretary.

"Well, bring him in." Hearing his secretary coming in to report, Ed put down the documents in his hand, thought for a moment, and decided to meet with the head of the American company in person to see what he wanted to do.

Of course, he did not dare to refuse. The big businessmen of that era were still very powerful. They had both money and connections. Although they did not belong to one country, they were not something that a small colonial official like him could ignore.

Led by the mayor's secretary, Little John and Lei Wanting walked through the hall and came to the mayor's office. Little John carefully observed the surroundings and felt relieved when he saw that the interior decoration was very old, which showed that this place was really poor and government officials could not make much money to build a magnificent official residence.

"Hello, Mr. Mayor. I am John, a representative of the American-Chinese Trading Company. This is Mr. Cap, the head of the company's fleet. I came here to discuss cooperation with Mr. Mayor. Our company plans to acquire a piece of land here to develop a plantation. I hope Mr. Mayor can allow it. Of course, we will show enough sincerity and guarantee that we will not let Mr. Mayor down." When John saw Ed, he greeted him politely, then stated his purpose directly and rudely.

Garp is the English name Zhang Feng gave to Lei Wanting. In fact, it is the transliteration of the word thunderclap. The latter part was taken in the hope that he can become a powerful naval commander in the future.

"Well, Abby, go make two cups of coffee. I want to sit down and talk with Mr. John." After hearing this, Ed's eyes lit up and he immediately instructed his secretary Abby.

After Abby left, Ed stood up and invited John to sit on both sides of the reception table in the corner of the room, and simply ignored Lei Wanting. However, Lei Wanting did not show any reaction. He was used to this kind of scene. White people are just so arrogant.

"I wonder how Mr. John wants to cooperate." Ed asked after the two men sat down.

"First, the company needs to acquire a piece of land at the port to build warehouses and transship goods. Secondly, it needs to acquire enough land to develop plantations and perhaps build several factories to process agricultural products. If the development is good, it will also build factories to produce some industrial products. However, all of these require a lot of workers to plant and produce, so in the end, we hope that the company can be allowed to recruit some workers in the Far East to come to Antalaha."

John Jr. put forward his own request, and the reason why he said it was for laborers rather than immigrants was to reassure the colonists and reduce resistance.

"I'm afraid this requires the consent of the Governor, and I don't have that power." Ed said with an embarrassed look on his face.

"Mr. Mayor, the Governor is far away in the capital Antananarivo. Besides, there is no need to let the Governor know about such a small matter. If Mr. Mayor agrees, the company can sponsor you $3 a year to improve your life. Look at how shabby the place where you work and live now is. It is not worthy of your status."

Little John hinted that he didn't want the Governor to know about this and gave him another price.

Ed hesitated to speak, and although he was still hesitant, it was obvious that he was very moved.

"Mr. Mayor, $5 is the highest limit I can give you. If you still don't agree, I can only go somewhere else."

Little John continued to increase the price, knowing that Ed's hesitation just now was just an attempt to raise the price, but he couldn't encourage his appetite too much.

At this time, Secretary Abby also came in with brewed coffee, walked to the two of them, placed the coffee in front of them, and then stood respectfully behind Ed.

"Okay, I accept it, Mr. John. I have to say you gave me a price that I can't refuse. But I also have a request." Ed looked at the coffee in front of him, took a deep breath and said. He was actually very satisfied. When he saw that he couldn't raise the price any further, he nodded in agreement decisively.

"Mr. Mayor, please speak." It doesn't matter if you have requests, but I'm afraid that you will agree to them too readily and then take the money but don't do the job in the end.

"That is, you cannot conduct any trade in Antalaha, and all the goods produced cannot be sold locally. After all, this is a French colony, and I need to protect the interests of my own government and merchants."

"No problem, Mr. Mayor. Except for a portion of the products produced by our Meihua Company for our own employees, the rest will be shipped away and sold in the East. We only do trade with China and the United States." Little John assured. It was not in his original plan to make money here. He was thankful to be able to be self-sufficient.

Ed breathed a sigh of relief. As long as he didn't sell the goods in Madagascar, he would be able to cover it up. Otherwise, it would be easily discovered. Little John and Lei Wanting looked at each other and breathed a sigh of relief. They finally dealt with this person. The first step of the plan was successfully completed.

Just when the two thought that everything was fine, Ed spoke again: "But you still need to get the consent of another person."

"Oh, I wonder who else in Antalaha can be compared with the mayor." Hearing this, the two men immediately felt deceived and discovered that this person was cunning and not as simple as he had just appeared.

I originally thought that I only needed to deal with one person and pay one fee, so I paid him such a high price. Now it has become two, not only do I need to pay more money, but the risk is also greatly increased.

Ed picked up the coffee on the table and took a sip. Then he said calmly, "I am just a small mayor. I can't make the final decision here. This is Captain Sean, the garrison officer here. He is responsible for the security of the city and the port. If you bring too many people here without his consent, the patrol will arrest your workers."

After saying that, Ed sighed and said that he had no other choice. Little John looked at his hateful face, but he could do nothing.

At this point, we have no choice but to accept it. What else can we do? Are you saying that you are not worth $50,000? Should we reduce the amount of the bribe?

That would only make everyone look bad. We still have to cooperate for a long time in the future, and we can't fall out over such a small amount of money. It's not worth it. Oh, forget it. As long as it can be solved with money, it's not a big deal.

"In that case, please arrange a meeting between us and Captain Sean, Mr. Mayor."

"Of course no problem, but I'm afraid it's not possible today. Captain Sean leads his troops on patrol every day. He may not be in the city now. You don't have to worry. I will ask Abby to inform you at the hotel where you are staying." Ed said with a smile.

Little John and Lei Wanting had no choice but to say goodbye and leave.

Looking at John's back, Ed and Abby smiled at each other. They were actually relatives, otherwise they would not have let him participate in this transaction now.

America, Los Angeles, Hollywood.

Since the reorganization of Paramount Pictures, Zhang Feng has provided three film scripts, among which a comedy film has been completed and is undergoing pre-release promotion.

Today, Paramount sent someone to report on the work, mainly to inform Zhang Feng that the preliminary preparations for the movie "The Amazing Spider-Man" have been completed and the filming can begin, and asked Zhang Feng when he would be free.

Zhang Feng is very interested in The Amazing Spider-Man because it is the first Superman movie he has starred in and it still feels very fresh and exciting. He hopes that it can bring a moment of happiness to the American people amid the shadow of the economic crisis.

But he was more interested in the heroine of this movie. Zhang Feng chose Hedy Lamarr as the heroine of The Amazing Spider-Man, and he personally arranged for someone to go to Berlin, Germany to find her.

The reason why they went to great lengths to find her to star in the film was not only because of her beauty, but also because she was an inventor. She expanded multiple radio frequencies based on the wireless signal frequency at the time, solving the technical bottleneck of a single wireless signal channel. She was a woman who combined beauty and talent, and Zhang Feng was very interested in her.

Not long after, in 1933, Hedy Lamarr would star in the romance film "The Flames of Life" in Czechoslovakia, becoming the world's first actress to appear completely nude. Of course, Zhang Feng had to rescue her from the fire pit in advance, so she could only enjoy such a beautiful scenery by herself.

But there is no rush now. Zhang Feng still has some things to deal with. Anyway, he has already come to America and can't run away, so he should focus on his career.

At this time, Zhang Feng was holding a photo of her and admiring it. She was only 16 years old at that time, a blooming age.

The girl is like an elegant crane, or like a flower swaying in the spring breeze. Her youthful energy and vigor make it impossible to take your eyes off her.

She has a small face, as delicate as porcelain, with endless stars hidden in her blue eyes, snow-white skin, and a smile as warm as the sun, which makes people feel endless comfort and peace. Her long hair is as smooth as silk and naturally curly, exuding a unique charm.

In the study, Zhang Feng admired the photos for a while, then put them away, put them in the drawer, and began to arrange his work for today.

(End of this chapter)