The United States is a country of immigrants. The first census (1790) after the founding of the country counted only 3.9 million people.
At this time, the United States only had thirteen states on the east coast, but it could be said to be vast and sparsely populated.
As it expands its territory westward, the United States needs a large number of laborers to develop the west and develop industry, and it also needs a population to drive consumption.
Until the 1870s, when the westward expansion movement came to an end, the United States adopted a liberal immigration policy, attracting immigrants with almost no restrictions.
By this time, the country's population had exceeded 40 million, and opposition to immigration began to grow.
In 1882, the United States passed the first federal bill to restrict immigration based on race, the Chinese Exclusion Act, which prohibited the entry of Chinese workers within ten years.
Later, the act was extended indefinitely and was not repealed until 1943.
The labor gap caused by the Chinese Exclusion Act was filled by immigrants from Eastern and Southern Europe.
The number of Italian immigrants to the United States increased by more than four million in the forty years from 1880 to 1920. Most of them came from southern Italy, including farmers and Mafia members in Sicily.
Including Chinese workers, most of these "new immigrants" from Eastern Europe, Southern Europe, and Italy are illiterate, do not speak English, and have no skills or capital. They are generally discriminated against by Americans and Western European immigrants who arrived earlier and established themselves. .
However, within this group, there are also a few outliers who can stand out.
For example, the Corioni family in the American movie "The Godfather" is one of the few Italian immigrant families who are doing well.
They use criminal means to get rich, and use profits to lure judges and politicians to act as their own protective umbrella against the law. They are the real mafia.
In fact, there are also such people among the Chinese.
Although such people are as rare as a handful compared to Italian immigrants.
But we must admit that there are always exceptions to everything. Even in the United States, there are some Chinese who are superior to others.
Louis Kong, the ex-husband of American movie star Deborah Paget, is such a special case.
Deborah Paget was born in Denver, USA in 1933. She is fifty-four years old and is no longer very active in the public eye.
But in the 1950s and 1960s, she was a popular actress in Hollywood.
She started acting in movies when she was fifteen. In 1956, she starred in "Tender Love" with Elvis Presley. The two faked the show and became a couple. Elvis once proposed to her, but Rejected by her.
She even had a romance with legendary Hollywood tycoon Howard Hughes.
But she only has one real marriage, that is with her Chinese husband.
In 1963, at a banquet filled with many celebrities, Deborah Paget, who was only 29 years old at the time, met Louis Kong, who was said to come from a legendary family of the mysterious Eastern country.
No one knows how much property he has to his name.
His external identity is only the chairman of the "Occidental Petroleum Development Company", an oil tycoon, and a friend of the Rockefeller family.
According to less authoritative outside estimates at the time, he was worth at least one billion U.S. dollars, and owned four private jets, a hunting ground of more than 5,000 acres, a bodyguard dedicated to protecting himself, and a series of industries. .
In short, it’s just that you’re very rich.
However, at first, Deborah Paget had no idea about this Eastern tycoon who was constantly courting her.
In addition to the serious cultural gap between the two of them, and the lack of common sense, it was also because Louis Kong was not very good-looking and was already in his forties.
However, the other party was like an invincible Xiaoqiang who refused to give up and launched a fierce pursuit of her.
Even when she had a contract dispute with Warner, in order to protect her rights and interests, she openly turned against the boss of Warner Pictures and officially declared war.
This heroic act of risking everything just for the sake of love finally impressed Deborah Paget, and she immediately fell in love. Half a year later, she decided to marry him.
In 1964, Deborah Paget and Louis Kong held a grand wedding.
Although the grand wedding banquet was as low-key as Kong Lingjie himself, no Western reporters were invited and not a single photo was circulated.
However, newspapers and periodicals at the time still reported the news without pictures, causing a sensation throughout the United States.
After marriage, Deborah chose to retire.
In the same year, their son Kong Deqi was born. This child was also the couple's only child.
But it is a pity that although their married life has always been harmonious, they have never been embarrassed.
Neither of them has cheated on each other and they are 100% faithful to their marriage.
But their marriage only lasted sixteen years and ended in 1980 due to a political incident.
The divorce was initiated by Louis Kong. His reason was that his family had been very prominent in China's National Government, but it had also caused a lot of trouble and had many enemies.
Now the descendants are withering, and although they are scattered overseas, there are still many people who have died inexplicably.
Now that China and the United States have established diplomatic relations, he is afraid that the United States will no longer be safe. He is even more afraid that he will encounter any dangers in the future and implicate his wife and children.
Deborah was only forty-seven at the time and did not believe her husband's lies at all.
But she soon discovered that Louis Kong was no joke.
He began spending huge sums of money to build a mysterious and fortified "Doomsday Fortress" in the suburbs of Houston.
The designer and builder is his good friend, Chinese architect Tao Busen.
In order to create a perfect and invulnerable "Doomsday Fortress", Louis Kong repeatedly increased the budget, from the initial $12 million to $28 million.
And Louis Kong ignored all the business and devoted himself entirely to this matter.
After repeated observations in private, Deborah could not tell that her husband had any mental problems.
His behavior was normal, and his words and demeanor were nothing but anxious.
So after careful consideration and for the safety of herself and her son, Deborah agreed to her husband's divorce request and received tens of millions in property division.
But despite this, they still maintained a certain degree of contact after the divorce, and they were still very concerned and concerned about each other's living conditions.
The relationship has even become more harmonious. Although they no longer sleep together, their family-like feelings make them always remember each other.
And Deborah never set foot in the film industry again, or even got married again.
Just like on March 10, 1988, even though it was close to midnight, it was around 11 noon in China.
Deborah can still ride in a chauffeur-driven Cadillac to the Castle of Doom in Houston to meet her ex-husband. This well-guarded castle opened the door to her as soon as she saw her car, and the driver also turned into the parking lot with ease. Just like every time he visited, he parked the car in a fixed position and waited for the safety of the bodyguards. examine.
Deborah passed the detector inspection, came to the castle's elevator alone, and then sat in the elevator all the way down.
There were two bodyguards outside guarding the elevator exit. It was her who had seen him coming, one of them told her.
"Madam, I'm afraid you have to wait at the door of the study for a while. The boss is still on the phone in the study. I'm afraid it will be a while before I have time to see you."
Deborah sighed and waited quietly outside the door.
After more than ten minutes, the door opened, someone opened the door, and Deborah entered.
So she followed and saw her ex-husband in the center of the study.
He is a slightly plump man, about 5.6 feet tall and weighs about 185 pounds, with a head full of black hair with slightly white strands.
Although he is almost seventy years old, he is extremely well-maintained and looks more than ten years younger than his actual age.
In the United States, not many people are familiar with him, but Deborah knows that he has more wealth and power than the protagonist in the movie "The Godfather" and is greater. He can even influence the political arena to a certain extent.
Because Elena Zhao, the first Chinese-American minister currently serving in the United States, was funded by him to get this position.
There is no mistake in every song, one post, one content, one 6 one, one book, one book, take a look!
It was also because of this that Deborah felt it necessary to make this trip to intercede for Tao Bucheng, the designer of this castle.
"How are you? My dear..."
"I'm fine, honey, long time no see. How is our son?"
"Well, it's just that I'm a little too popular with girls, and now I don't have anyone who can get married..."
"That's all because of your genes. Look at you, you're still so beautiful. It's you who made our son a handsome boy..."
They hugged each other tightly before sitting down separately.
Louis Kong pointed to the wine cabinet in the corner of the study, "Would you like something to drink?"
"Have a glass of fennel bar," Deborah said without any hint of offence.
The assistant standing in the corner of the study acted immediately and brought Deborah a glass of wine without even having to ask Louis Kong.
Deborah was already a little sleepy at this time, so she said straightforwardly, "Your friend Tao Busen is so pitiful. He is always nervous now. What do you think of him? I am here to advise you not to worry him anymore." Just give him a call and tell him to clear his mind of all these random worries.”
"I can't do this," said Louis Kong. "This matter has nothing to do with you. He betrayed me and should be punished."
"Don't say that. Tao came to beg me, saying that the reason why some internal information about this castle was leaked was not his intention. It was his assistant who sold it to reporters for money. He has already fired that person. If you don't return it, If you are satisfied, he can give you all the information about that person.”
Deborah then held her ex-husband's hand and advised him as if they were not divorced, "Dear, I know you are angry and how much you care about this matter. But who hasn't been negligent? You are here There are not many people in the United States who can be considered friends. Tao and you have always had such a good relationship. You won't make his wife sad, right? If you agree, I really don't want to see you like this. My good friend turned against me because of this accident..."
This was originally a reasonable suggestion, but Louis Kong thought about it for a long time.
This puzzled Deborah.
But fortunately, after a while, Louis Kong sighed and finally fulfilled her wish, "My dear, you are such a good person. Tao went to beg you and you are really the right person. Forget it, I'll give it to you. He has to make a phone call, otherwise he will still be suspicious unless I tell him personally, I am afraid that no one will be able to do anything about it."
Deborah smiled.
She realized that she was still the most important person to Louis Kong. Even after eight years of divorce, he still doted on her so much that he could not refuse her request.
In addition, she knew that if her ex-husband refused to take hard measures, he would coldly make up his mind.
She knew she was the only person in the world who could influence his will.
But she also understood that if she used this privilege too frequently, it would undermine its power.
So she watched Louis Kong stand up and take the initiative to get the phone. While she was happy, she also wanted to give him some compensation.
"Louis, if it's convenient, I'd like to stay for a few days. I'm actually a little interested in the castle life in the end of the world. If you're willing to bask in the sun, we can also ride horses in your manor, just like we did in the past That way..."
However, at this moment, the phone happened to ring.
Lewis ignored Deborah and answered the phone. The voice inside brought him shocking news.
"Boss, the investigation bureau on the island said that it is difficult for them to further intervene in the matter you requested..."
Louis Kong immediately said, "Wait a minute."
Then he said to Deborah, "You can live here if you want. Honey, if you are willing to stay, I can't help but...but now, I have important things to deal with and need to answer an important phone call."
"Okay, I won't disturb you. Let's go to bed first. We'll talk about anything tomorrow." Deborah didn't ask anything at all.
She already knew enough about Louis Kong and the laws of society in the United States. She had already tacitly understood the need to keep some secrets from big figures, and naturally she would not embarrass the other party.
Before she left, she just used gestures to express, "Don't forget to call Tao..."
After receiving a positive and reassuring response from Louis Kong with a smile on his face, she left with a happy mood and peace of mind.
Next, after the assistant closed the door and created a completely sealed and soundproof environment, Louis Concai talked to the person on the phone about the matter that was extremely important to him.
"What's going on? Is it a clue about Song Xiuwen?"
"Director Zhao from the Investigation Bureau over there said that the person who inquired about Song Xiuwen was Teresa Teng, the current Asian singer. As a public figure, it would be very troublesome to contact her rashly. Unexpectedly, she unexpectedly went to the mainland this year I have participated in the Spring Festival Gala. What I do now can easily be linked to political factors, especially since President Chiang just passed away a few months ago. The current political situation on the island is very delicate. The Bureau of Investigation is now being watched by countless people and acting rashly. Something will happen..."
"What? It's just a singer. There are so many accidents in the world. If you do it quietly and with clean hands and feet, who would think of so many things. Is this their excuse? They can't even control such a small part of the island... …”
"No, boss. The main reason is that Teresa Teng has too much influence. Her songs can be found wherever there are Chinese people. She is much more popular than the original Wong Liu Shuang. She can be said to be the number one Chinese actress. And she is always around. There are reporters and paparazzi following her. If she acts rashly, something will happen. Even if something goes wrong with her family, it will attract the attention of reporters and the police. It is impossible for the investigation bureau to completely cover up such a person. of..."
Louis Kong was silent for a long time, "Where is that Teresa Teng now?"
The voice on the phone said, "In Hong Kong City, she is also very wary now. It may be related to the mainland Spring Festival Gala, so she did not go back to the island. Instead, she went to Hong Kong City and brought her family to Hong Kong City to meet. As far as I know , she rarely knows the island now. Most of the time she travels between Hong Kong City and Tokyo, and may stay in the mainland in the future..."
"Okay, I understand, then you should send someone to keep an eye on her first. For a female star, a few more people following her will not arouse suspicion. So whether it is the mainland, Hong Kong or Tokyo, I will You need to know what she did, who she came into contact with, and the scope of her communication..."
After tirelessly reminding him for a long time, Louis Kong hung up the phone. His worried face showed fatigue and unhappiness.
But even so, he did not forget Deborah's instructions. He picked up the phone and prepared to do it. He really planned to make peace with his designer friend.
However, before making the call, he called his assistant and whispered in her ear, "For Deborah's sake, let this bastard named Tao live for another two or three months. By then, Find a good time, remember to look unexpected, and don’t make Deborah suspicious..."
The assistant understood and nodded to show that he knew what he was doing. (End of chapter)