Chapter 57: Trip to North Africa (1)

In late May 1926, Adriana gave birth to a son for Contini, named Orlando. After the graduation ceremony in June, Contini took Ada to Switzerland because the latter had also graduated and, according to the pre-arranged arrangement, would study nursing at a medical college in the next academic year.

Why should I study this major? In addition to the family doctor that Contini talked about with Mussolini, another factor is that Contini hopes that Ada can go to orphanages and nurseries in the future to help him contact this group of Guardsmen. This is a good opportunity to cultivate feelings. At the same time, I also hope that once the war starts, Ada can go to the hospital to take care of the wounded soldiers and put on a show. Everyone knows that this is a show, but it is too shameless to refuse to put on a show.

Taking Ada to Switzerland was a very embarrassing act, and I don’t know how to explain and explain the current relationship. But Rachel insisted that Ada go with her, and even had a very serious talk with Ada: "Unlike your father, the two children in Calais were not the result of an affair after they met you. To be precise, they were the result of an affair." Calais got to know them first before getting to know you. So far, although both parents hope that you can be together, this is just a hope and does not represent reality, nor does it mean that you are Calais's fiancée, so you must be open-minded. , tolerance and generosity.”

Ada nodded solemnly.

"You are already 16 years old. It seems reasonable to have a boyfriend. It is too early to get engaged. I hope you two can get to know each other better. Although you and I have said more than once that you like Calais, you will not put these things into consideration. I keep it in mind, but first of all, let me remind you that the affection you mentioned before and the feelings you showed are not love, and Calais does not regard this kind of feelings as love. Now that you have established a relationship as boyfriend and girlfriend, it seems that you can try to talk about it. Talk, but the outcome is hard to guarantee." Rachel continued, "You are my daughter. I know you very well. In addition to your identity as the Prime Minister's daughter, you have great qualities in image, appearance, cultivation, knowledge and even family. In terms of background, they are not as good as the two famous anchors who graduated from the University of Rome. If Calais marries you in the future, it will probably be because the Prime Minister's daughter has given you points, so you should be careful not to be arrogant. "

"Mother, you mean that Brother Calais likes me because my father is a leader?"

Rachel shook her head slowly: "You can't say that. Calais is not that shallow, and he is not a person who follows people's influence. His feelings for you are very complicated. I can see that there are both political and emotional factors. If the two of you combine well, then it's best, and you can be harmonious emotionally and politically; if you don't combine well, there will be big problems, and you will fall into a kind of tear, which will make you miserable... You must Recognize the fact that Calais does not have to marry you, and you do not have to marry him. No matter what your father and the Minister of Transport think, as long as you two do not like and love each other, I will not agree to this. Marriage!"

"I understand." The little girl made a face, "At least he likes me, right?"

Rachel nodded: "That's it so far. At least that's what he shows. He is really good to you and dotes on you. Your father can't even treat me one-tenth of the way he treats you." Of course I will continue to observe, but you have to understand one thing. Whether Calais loves you or not, it has nothing to do with his status. With his ability, means, knowledge and background, he can marry you in the future. When you are a leader or prime minister, your father does not cultivate people like him just because he likes you. He can find a dozen of them anytime and anywhere. He really thinks that this young man in Calais is good and promising, and he has really helped him! Your father is extremely busy. Not everyone has the ability to build the United Group with bare hands. Your father hopes that a young man who is close to him, preferably related by marriage, can inherit his business in the future, so that his hard work can be carried out. It won’t go to waste.”

"So he is awesome..."

"There are always many women around a powerful man. If he is powerful, young and has a good image, it is even more extraordinary. In my opinion, Calais is extremely self-sufficient. Even though he has two illegitimate children, he is better than 99% of Italians. All young masters must be reliable, so I must talk to you about this in front of you. What is past is past. Everyone has a past. Don’t keep mentioning this in front of Calais. "

Ada pouted and said, "I didn't mention it. I treat them all as sisters, and they treat me well..."

"So you are still young. If you were really a mature girl, you wouldn't think so."

"What should I do?"

"Forget what happened in the past! From now on..." Rachel said seriously, "After you get engaged or even get married to him, you can't allow him to find another woman again. You have to keep an eye on him."

"Where are the two sisters?"

"Of course they are not included...but you can join forces with them to put pressure on Calais so that no new women come into the house."

"I don't understand."

"You don't understand because you are still young, but you must understand that there are countless pairs of eyes outside watching. Where did the rumor come from last time?"

Ada's face froze. She had also heard the rumor last time and had been sad for a long time. She almost came back to ask what was going on, but Rachel dismissed it with a few words.

"This time you are accompanying Calais to Switzerland. Firstly, you want to take good care of your two sisters and their children. Secondly, you also want to tell them that you are now officially Calais's girlfriend so that they can accept you." Rachel sighed, "Ada, if there are other choices, I don't want you to get involved in such a complicated political and emotional field. Unfortunately, you can't!"

So Ada became Contini's girlfriend and went to Switzerland. The news even spread through gossip and the media. Fortunately, Italian girls generally mature early, and it doesn't seem to be unorthodox to find a boyfriend at the age of 16, so the matter was finalized.

Adriana and Vivian certainly understood much more. They had long thought about what Rachel thought of and reminded them of. They hoped that Contini would marry Ada. First, Ada had a close relationship with them and was not scheming; second, Ada was the daughter of the prime minister after all. If Contini did not marry her and let someone else marry her, the position of the successor would change. They didn't want Contini to make any mistakes.

So after arriving in Switzerland, the three parties were happy. Ada played with the two children, and Contini communicated with the two women. After a year of training, Vivian's body shape has basically returned to normal. She said she would return to Italy to continue working. She thought clearly that if she stayed in Switzerland to take care of the children, she would become a housewife who only eats and waits for death in a few years. Only by staying with Contini and continuing to appear in his sight can this relationship be maintained.

Adriana basically holds the same view, of course, she will definitely go back another year later.

After recuperating for nearly a month, Contini returned to Italy with Ada and Vivian. Vivian will go to work at IBC, while Contini and Ada will go to North Africa for inspection.

This time, because Contini was going to North Africa, even the Roma, which had been performing training missions, was alarmed. As Contini's car, it went together so that Contini could observe the exercises of the carrier-based aviation force at close range. For Ada, Goering and Poti were old acquaintances, so she did not feel any pressure.

Contini was very satisfied with their training results, and told them that the new aircraft would soon be put into trial: this time it was a twin-engine torpedo aircraft. After all, fighter planes cannot perform anti-ship attack missions, only torpedo planes and attack planes can do so. However, the development level of dive bombers is not yet mature, so Contini promoted the research of torpedo planes. Goering and others were overjoyed, and they also thought that they should try something new.

The first stop after arriving in North Africa was Tripoli. The July sun was already scorching the earth like a furnace, but Contini still stared at the scorching sun to inspect the laying of oil pipelines, power plant construction, municipal and other construction. Although Ada was afraid of the dark and the sun, she always remembered her mother's instructions, so she followed Contini closely with sweat and visited the scenes that she had no interest in and did not understand at all.

Suddenly, she shouted as if she had discovered a new world, pointing at the workers working in the distance and yelling: "Brother Galai, are those Bedouins? All of them have black hair and yellow skin?"

"No, they are Chinese! Bedouins are not so honest and willing to work!" Contini laughed, "It would be great if the Bedouins could be honest and not come to rob."

"Chinese?" Ada was stunned, "Are there Chinese in Libya?"

"No! I brought them in from the Far East."

"You trade in slaves?" Ada gasped.

"What a joke, what era is it now..." Contini laughed, "These are all Chinese workers I hired. Do you think they work well?"

"Yes, I think they are much more diligent than Italians."

"Of course, in terms of diligence, Chinese people are one of the best in the world, and they are particularly obedient and easy to manage. Why should I import them from the Far East?"

The guards quickly surrounded Contini and others and walked to the construction site. Before they got there, a foreman-like man shouted a slogan, so hundreds of people bent down in unison: "Greetings to Mr. Kong!"

Ada was stunned: "What kind of etiquette is this?"

"The Chinese way of showing respect." Contini waved his hand, "Let everyone continue to work, and have an extra meal tonight..."

Soon someone passed this message on, and then there was a cheer on the construction site.

Contini naturally had a bad taste in why he called him Mr. Kong instead of Mr. Qi. He explained it this way: Aren't Chinese descendants of Confucius? Then I'd better take the last name Kong!

The Chinese translator who was in charge of the mediation also accepted this view. The name of Mr. Kong spread quickly. Although everyone was puzzled, why was Contini, who was only in his 20s, called Mr. Kong? Shouldn't he be Mr. Kong?

This is hard to explain. Only Contini knows the truth...

[The North African trip 2 is more sensitive, so I will post it on the official account. The starting point will directly release 3]