In July, when the sun is hot in Shanghai, the heat wave hits people, and since it is close to noon, people who have nothing to do usually do not go out, so there are few pedestrian vehicles on the streets, and the business in the shops is also a lot colder. However, the Shenjiang Hotel in Shanghai New Area is very lively at this time, through the huge glass doors and windows, you can see people coming and going, in and out, laughing and laughing, not affected by the heat at all.

When Zhao Weizhong walked into the Shenjiang Hotel through the open glass door, he felt a burst of coolness, and a waiter had already handed him a towel to wipe his sweat to avoid the cold. Of course, it is not the first time that Zhao Weizhong has come to Shenjiang Hotel in the middle of summer, but at this time, he still feels quite emotional, I really don't know how overseas Chinese can make such a big house cool in the middle of summer.

In fact, in this era, there is already air conditioning, but the refrigerant is groundwater, mainly using the groundwater cycle to refrigerate, this refrigeration method is not only slow, but also causes indoor dampness, and the use of chemical refrigerants still only exists in the laboratory. Shenjiang Hotel is the use of modern air conditioning system, whether it is refrigeration or ventilation, is far better than the air conditioning of this era, so in this summer season, it is definitely a pleasure to be able to dine in Shenjiang Hotel.

However, not everyone can eat or treat themselves in the Shenjiang Hotel. Because Shenjiang Hotel is a catering and accommodation hotel invested and built by Shanghai New Area during the period of Yang Yuxin's administration, but it is not open to the public, but specializes in internal services, mainly to receive administrative personnel of Shanghai New Area or hold foreign affairs activities, which is equivalent to the state guesthouse of Shanghai New Area. However, the traveler is qualified to dine or entertain in the Shenjiang Hotel, of course, if it is a treat, you must make an appointment in advance and receive an admission ticket, while the locals can only dine or treat at the Shenjiang Hotel with the number of admission tickets sent by the Shanghai New Area, of course, they must also make an appointment in advance.

Shenjiang Hotel has good service and dining environment, as well as advanced entertainment facilities, so it is often a representative of identity to hold banquets or meals in Shenjiang Hotel. In Shanghai's high society, if you want to eat at the Shenjiang Hotel, you will immediately attract envious eyes.

Zhao Weizhong is the first to follow the local businessman of the traverser, when the East China government has not yet been established, he has helped the traverser a lot, and also started because of this, and in the past few years in the East China government under the intention of support, Zhao Weizhong's business is getting bigger and bigger, and to the development of the business office, now has opened 3 factories alone, and others joint venture shops, enterprises, factories a total of 7, the total assets have reached about 1.5 million silver dollars, and the production is all over Shandong, Tianjin, Beijing, Shanghai and other places have also squeezed into the ranks of first-class businessmen in the Shanghai area.

And Zhao Weizhong also knows very well that all of his own comes from the support of the East China government, leaving the East China government, he does not say that he will be immediately beaten back to his original shape, but he must also plummet, so he also followed the East China government with all his heart, his daughter Zhao Shuilan is now serving in the administrative agency of Tianjin, and his adopted son Zhao Ping is serving in the People's Army Navy, and he was awarded for meritorious service in the Battle of Tsushima, and in another year and a half, he will be able to serve as the captain of a small warship. It is precisely because of his close relationship with the East China government that Zhao Weizhong's status in the Shanghai business community has also been improved, even if he is a wealthy businessman with assets far superior to him, he does not dare to despise him.

After wiping off his sweat, Zhao Weizhong immediately showed his admission ticket to the greeters at the door. The greeter immediately ushered Zhao Weizhong to the dining hall.

At this time, there were already many people in the dining hall, and some who knew Zhao Weizhong also greeted him one after another, and Zhao Weizhong gave up his hand as he walked, and responded with a smile.

The greeter led Zhao Weizhong to the closest to the stage, in the middle, and pointed out Zhao Weizhong's location. This is a round table with 10 seats, and there are already 5 or 6 people sitting at this time, only to see a person opposite Zhao Weizhong turn his head and say with a smile: "It's Weizhong here." ”

When Zhao Weizhong saw it, it turned out to be Sheng Xuanhuai, and he hurriedly bowed down and said, "I've seen Master Sheng." ”

Sheng Xuanhuai waved his hand and said with a smile: "What an adult is not a big person, this is not in Shanghai County, and you are not an official of the imperial court, you should have changed it a long time ago." ”

Zhao Weizhong was also a little embarrassed, when he was working under Li Hongzhang, it had become a habit to call Sheng Xuanhuai "adult", and he couldn't change his mouth for a while. Among them, Zhao Weizhong has never seen Sheng Xuanhuai a few times before, because he is running an errand in Tianjin, and Sheng Xuanhuai is mainly active in Shanghai, and there are not many opportunities for the two to meet, of course, even if they meet, it is impossible for the two to have any communication, Zhao Weizhong is just a manager under Li Hongzhang, and Sheng Xuanhuai's status is naturally different from heaven and earth, and being able to say a word in front of Sheng Xuanhuai is the green smoke on the ancestral tomb. Like now, being able to sit at the same table with Sheng Xuanhuai and have a dialogue on an equal footing, 5 or 6 years ago, Zhao Weizhong couldn't even think of it.

The other person also turned around and said with a smile: "Xingsun, you are still an official of the imperial court, what does he call you an adult? If you are like Ji Zhi, you simply resign from the official position and devote yourself to business, Weizhong will not call you that." ”

The person on the other side laughed and said: "Elder Zhang said that he was joking, I am not the material to be an official, I can't compare to Elder Sheng." Wei Zhong sit down, sit down and drink tea, and talk well. ”

The person who spoke first was Zhang Zhenxun, and the person who asked Zhao Weizhong to sit down was Zhang Jian, and there were also Ye Yiquan, Zhang Shuhe, Zheng Guanying and others.

Although Zhao Weizhong has squeezed into the ranks of first-class businessmen, he is still sincerely afraid in front of these people, after all, he is far inferior to others at the table in terms of financial resources, qualifications, and connections, and being able to sit at this table is completely the result of the East China government's promotion, but Zhao Weizhong does not dare to be arrogant, and he only sat down after giving everyone a salute.

After Zhao Weizhong sat down, Sheng Xuanhuai said: "Weizhong, you are familiar with overseas Chinese, do you know what they are calling us for this time?"

Zhao Weizhong said: "Elder Sheng, I know a little bit about this, I heard that this time it is for the war in Liaodong." ”

When Zhang Jian heard this, he immediately said: "Oh! Is it so difficult that overseas Chinese want to increase the issuance of bonds? I still want to buy some more." ”

Zhao Weizhong said with a smile: "Brother Ji, it is imperative to increase the issuance of bonds, as far as I know, it will be issued next month, and Ji Zhi still has a chance, but today's gathering is not for bond issuance." ”

The first batch of bonds issued by the East China government in Shanghai was 10 million silver dollars, with an interest rate of 5% and a time of 5 years, and once issued, the sales volume was extremely hot, and now more than 700 yuan have been sold, and the remaining nearly 3 million yuan have basically been booked.

The sale of bonds can be so hot, first, it is the result of the early operation of the East China government, and now the atmosphere of the whole Shanghai to support the East China government and Liaodong to participate in the war is quite warm, and the purchase of bonds is the actual support of the East China government, and it is also profitable, although the purchase of bonds has a certain risk, but since the establishment of the Shanghai New Area, it has always been a credit element, and in the minds of the people in Shanghai, the credit is still very good, and the overall income of the Shanghai area is high in China at this time, and there are many families with spare money, so it naturally attracts many people to buy; second, it is the support of these big businessmen, and most of the businessmen in the Shanghai area have business dealings with the East China governmentAt this time, of course, he wanted to give support to the East China government, and he also gained a patriotic reputation, so why not do it! Since he was a person at this table, he bought a total of more than 1 million bonds, of which Zhang Zhenxun alone bought 500,000 yuan, Sheng Xuanhuai also bought 200,000 yuan, even Zhao Weizhong bought 100,000 yuan in one go, and the others at least bought more than 50,000 yuan.

Zhang Zhenxun sighed and said with great feeling: "This time the overseas Chinese broke the Japanese and Russian troops in Liaodong, which is indeed a great increase in the prestige of our Chinese, and after this battle, we can also raise our eyebrows in front of foreigners." ”

Zheng Guanying also nodded, and said: "Yes, we have been doing business in Shanghai all these years, and the one who has not been angry with foreigners, if they are honest in business and compete, it is okay, but it is either a bully, or it is a hard squeeze with capital, so no matter what kind of business, as long as there are foreigners involved, seven or eight out of ten are going to be yellow, and the remaining two or three percent are not yellow, but don't want to make money, it is very good to be able to keep back the original." In the past two days, I have negotiated a business with foreigners, and their attitude is much more honest. ”

Zhang Shuhe also had a lot of relatives, and said: "No, we still have some ways, even if we are angry, it's okay, those small businessmen are even worse, as long as they don't follow the wishes of foreigners, they will lose their fortune." ”

Sheng Xuanhuai also sighed and said, "If the overseas Chinese can take back Liaodong this time, Zhongtang will have a spirit in the sky, and they can also turn a blind eye." ”

Zhang Zhenxun said: "You are still in China, no matter how arrogant the foreigners are, they must have some scruples, and those of us who make a living in the South Seas are miserable? The foreigners do not regard us as human beings at all, since the overseas Chinese taught the Dutch in Java a lesson two years ago, it is much better." I am powerless, naturally I can't go into battle to kill the enemy, but I still have a few money, I don't bring it when I live, I don't bring it when I die, as long as the overseas Chinese are in need, I will not hesitate to go bankrupt. So no matter what it is today, I will definitely support it. ”

Zhao Weizhong said with a smile: "Elder Xun, you don't have to be like this, you have been in Qingdao for two years, you should know who overseas Chinese are, they are the most impartial, they will not take advantage of others, you just give Wanguan family wealth to your hand, they will not accept it." ”