Back in the United States, Chen Lifu tidied up his home, continued his old business, and everything was the same as before, feeding chickens, selling eggs, reading, and writing became Chen Lifu's main pleasures.
Due to his abundant time, he was also invited to be a visiting professor at Princeton University, where he lectured every few days. The days are also free, and there is really a happy mood of "planting canes and seeds, and playing the piano and books to eliminate worries".
However, the chicken farm became more and more difficult, and sales plummeted, and Chen Lifu could no longer survive the risk, so in desperation, he decided to close the chicken farm. From 1953 to 1961, the eight-year chicken farming career finally came to an end.
The chickens are no longer raised, there is nothing to do, Chen Lifu has a sense of loss, as if he is far away from society and life.
At this time, a Chinese ** club sent him an invitation, this ** club wanted to sort out thousands of Chinese medical books in the Princeton University Geist Library, and asked him to preside over the matter considering Chen Lifu's research interest in Chinese medicine and his solid Chinese cultural foundation.
Chen Lifu was idle, thinking that if he could sort out these Chinese medicine classics, it would be a matter of great merit, so he agreed to it.
Old photo of Princeton University Library **From the Internet.
The collection of Chinese medical classics in the library of the University was collected by a Jew, Geist. He was a wealthy man with a lot of money, and he suffered from a serious eye disease in his early years, which caused many inconveniences to his life.
After his career was successful, he visited famous doctors all over the world, but he never got his wish**. Later, when he traveled to China, he learned that the eye medicine in Dingzhou, Hebei Province has been very famous since ancient times, so he bought the Dingzhou eye medicine, and soon after using it, Geist's eye disease was miraculously cured.
Therefore, Geist deeply felt the magic and greatness of Chinese medicine, and in the future, he allocated a sum of money every year to hand over to friends in the embassy to purchase Chinese medical books on his behalf.
After a few years, the number has been considerable, so he shipped these books to Canada and temporarily placed them in the basement of a ** institution, but the ventilation of the basement is not good, which is not conducive to the preservation of ancient books.
Later, he wanted to put the book in the research center of his friend Albert Einstein, and Einstein said, "My research center is not big, and there is no place to store it, but the Princeton University library has just been completed, and it is spacious, bright, and in good condition, and it can be stored there." ”
As a result, these Chinese medical classics were stored in the library of the University of Puda, which invited Hu Shi to make a catalog, and it took him two years to complete this task, which shows the large number of these classics.
After accepting the task, Chen Lifu quickly drew up a plan for sorting out ancient books, which was to compile a set of Chinese medicine encyclopedia on the diagnosis, treatment and treatment of various diseases such as typhoid fever, stroke, diabetes, etc., and to make a comparison between Chinese and Western medicine.
The plan was sent to the first meeting, and the chairman of the meeting, Ferguson, made a suggestion, saying that since the comparison of Chinese and Western medicine is carried out, it is best to find a professor of Western medicine at Princeton University to participate in it, which will be conducive to sorting out the work.
So, Chen Lifu found a professor of medicine at the University of Science and Technology named Mohr, Mohr's wife is Chinese, and he himself can speak Chinese, Chen Lifu asked him if he was interested in participating in the cause, and Moore gladly accepted the invitation.
Subsequently, Mr. Chen Kehui, a well-known expert in Chinese medicine research, was invited to review the plan submitted by Chen Lifu, and Chen Kehui was very satisfied after reading it, and said in the review opinion: "It is very good to ask Mr. Chen Lifu to preside over this plan, because he also has deep research on Chinese medicine. ”
As a result, the first meeting approved Chen Lifu's sorting plan, saying that he would give $20,000 in the first year, and the funds would be allocated every year thereafter.
If this plan can be completed, it can really be said to be a matter of fame and fortune. But there are unforeseen circumstances, but the American Mohr who assisted him has a black heart, he wants to get rid of Chen Lifu and do it by himself, so as to enjoy this huge fame and fortune alone.
Moore alone presented his ideas to the meeting, and as a result, the chairman of the meeting, Ferguson, categorically rejected Moore's opinion, Ferguson said:
You can't do this in this matter, because the plan was originally made by us to Mr. Chan and Mr. Chan drew up the plan, you are helping him, adding a name, you can only help him, how can you take the lead? ”
Seeing that his cunning could not succeed, Moore threatened to quit. Chen Lifu personally came to the door to negotiate, but Moore did not meet him. Later, Chen Lifu and Tong Shigang, the Chinese librarian of the Top Library, changed his circle and said:
If you want to do it, you can do it, and I can help you, but you should do a good job of sorting out the work in a proper manner, and don't take the money and don't do nothing. ”
Mo Er wanted to get rid of Chen Lifu at all and do it alone, and he wanted to take the money to deal with it, so he rejected Chen Lifu again.
In this way, the collation of the classics of traditional Chinese medicine was ruined by Moore's troubles. Chen Lifu deeply sighed that in American society, people's hearts are really sinister.
The sorting out of the classics of traditional Chinese medicine has not been completed, and Chen Lifu's economy is already very embarrassed. At this time, his friend Mr. He Lian, who was teaching at Columbia University, discussed with the president and hired Chen Lifu as a senior researcher at the university.
Dr. Weber, from the Institute of Modern History, is in charge of a project to record modern Chinese history, which includes interviews with celebrities in modern Chinese society, such as Kong Xiangxi, Li Zongren, Gu Weijun, Chen Guangfu, Zeng Qi, Zhang Fakui, and Hu Shizhi, and the publication of memoirs.
Therefore, I wanted Chen Lifu to assist in this work, and asked Chen to sort out his memoirs, use the first chapter as a model, and apply to the Ford Association for approval of sponsorship funds.
Chen Lifu accepted the invitation, so Columbia University sent a Chinese lady named Xia Lianying to Chen Lifu's house for a recording interview for one day a week, which lasted for more than a year.
Later, the Institute of Modern History of Columbia University thought that Chen Lifu was still young and should visit the older ones first, so they sent Miss Xia to Hong Kong to interview Chen Guangfu, Zeng Qi, Zhang Fakui and others.
Old photos of New York's Chinatown **From the Internet.
In desperation, Chen Lifu discussed with several friends who raised chickens in the past and partnered in the preserved egg business. They said to do it, get a recipe for making preserved eggs, and use Chen Lifu's idle chicken coop as a factory, and soon, preserved eggs were made, and they were beautiful and delicious, and they were sold in the market, which was very popular with the Chinese, and was called "Chen Lifu's preserved eggs".
Chen Lifu was very encouraged by the success of the business, so they expanded their business and formed a food company into a preserved egg factory, expanding its scale and increasing the variety of products, such as egg yolks for mooncakes, Huzhou zongzi, rice cakes, chili sauce, etc.
Although these products are not the best craftsmanship, they can arouse the nostalgia of overseas Chinese in foreign countries, and are loved by overseas Chinese and are very popular. In particular, the chili sauce is delicious and cheap, and it is exported to the western San Francisco area, and the Chinese affectionately call it "Chen Lifu chili sauce".
Just when Chen Lifu's food company's business was booming, a forest fire suddenly broke out, Chen Lifu's three-row chicken coop factory and his newly bought car were reduced to ashes in the fire.
Originally, Chen Lifu's chicken farm had always been insured in the past60,000 yuan, and then I stopped raising chickens, and the chicken coop was idle. Because the insurance company had an 8-year relationship with Chen Lifu, he kindly persuaded him: "If you don't raise chickens, why do you need to take out so much insurance?" You can insure a little less. ”
In this way, Chen Lifu only insured 4,000 yuan, but not long after he returned it, the fire broke out, so the insurance company only paid 4,000 yuan, which is really a blessing and a disaster.
At this time, well-meaning people persuaded Chen Lifu to sell his land to spend the rest of his life in peace, and some persuaded him to go back to Taiwan, so as not to worry about his livelihood.
At this time, Chen Lifu's eldest son Chen Ze'an has obtained a doctorate degree at the University of Wisconsin, and the second son Chen Zening has also completed his doctoral studies and serves a large electronics company in the United States.
Chen Lifu has not been with his children for many years, and now is a difficult time, he really wants to reunite with his family, get the warmth of his relatives, and enjoy the joy of family, which is the mood that every old man has. But soon, Chen Lifu changed his mind, he wanted to live a self-reliant life, and he also cherished the life of a farmer who "planted a grain of millet in spring and harvested 10,000 seeds in autumn".
Chen Lifu started a hard business after the fire. He used the 4,000 yuan compensated by the insurance company as the principal to build a house on the scorched earth, bought a small amount of Laiheng chickens to feed, and made a small amount of preserved eggs, salted eggs, tofu milk, and zongzi to be sold in nearby towns, living like an old farmer in the countryside.
When Chen Lifu made these food crystals by hand, his wife Sun Luqing gave him a deputy, cutting tofu, sorting out dumpling leaves, and accompanying seasonings, and he worked very energetically.
Old photo of Chen Lifu and his wife **From the Internet.
Sometimes in his spare time, Chen Lifu reads books, and Sun Luqing returns to his old arts, paints a few Chinese paintings, and sells them in the town. The daily labor, although very hard, but the husband and wife sing with each other, and the life is very comfortable.
After learning the news that Chen Lifu's chicken farm was destroyed by fire, Chiang Kai-shek expressed his concern, and he asked Chiang Ching-kuo to write a letter to Chen Lifu, hoping that Chen Lifu could return to Taiwan to work, and successively opened some jobs, such as the representative to the United Nations, the ambassador to Japan, the dean of examinations, the ambassador to Spain, the ambassador to Greece, the ambassador to the tour, etc., but Chen Lifu refused one by one, although he wanted to return to Taiwan, but he was unwilling to accept the charity of others when he was in difficulty, this is his character.
Mr. and Mrs. Chen Lifu revitalized their homeland and weathered the difficulties. Just when they were living a very comfortable life in the village where they "didn't feel hard and sweet", in October 1966, they received a letter from Chiang Ching-kuo, which said:
This year coincides with my father's 80th birthday, so get ready to celebrate, and family and friends can gather together, which is also a success. ”
Chiang Ching-kuo invited Chen Lifu back to Taiwan to participate in the celebrations and hoped to return to Taiwan to settle down. Although Chen Lifu had so many grievances and grievances with Chiang Kai-shek, he was still loyal to Chiang Kai-shek, and in his twilight years, his vigor was exhausted, and the past grievances had been washed away by the passage of time.
Moreover, when he was in difficulty, Chiang Kai-shek sent him money and had a work arrangement, which made Chen Lifu grateful. Therefore, he did not want to spoil Chiang Kai-shek's excitement, so he agreed to Chiang's invitation.