The banquet of Desheng Lou was arranged from noon to evening, in the afternoon, in line with the principle of being safe first outside the house, and entertained all the masters and officials of the Futai and Daotai Yamen, but I did not expect that in the past, the nostrils of the people in the sky in the past after seeing me with a fluent London accent and a group of people in the suburbs of London The queen's children had a cordial and friendly conversation, and the attitude towards me and the Miao family was three points more respectful than before, it seems that the official is afraid that the foreign vice of the foreigners began in the Qing Dynasty, and the poison was poisoned in the new China after the reform and opening up.

Mr. and Mrs. Somerset, the commercial counselor, stood for a short time to save face, and naturally Alfred accompanied them back to the German-owned Hotel in Mainland to rest, and made an appointment to have dinner at the hotel. As soon as the counselor and his wife left, the British of the four major foreign companies let go of their hands and feet, and asked for agent sales, and it seemed that the Montagu family had already said hello, "This Gadda belongs to our family, don't worry about it." "So no one is raising anachronistic topics such as equity transfers. Although Lao Wu doesn't know English, he is not ambiguous in business, and he is invincible with Du Niang, the translator and supervisor, Du Niang's cold image makes the four British pig brothers very interested, and constantly dedicates himself to the negotiation process, alas, I am afraid that "I will be the moon in my heart, but the moon will shine on the ditch." "Unless they have the hacking ability to modify Du Niang's basic parameter settings, even the future Beckham will be ignored by Du Niang.

Now that there was finally some time, most of the guests were full of food and drink and left. However, Meng Boss and Tongrentang Shaodong Jiale Jingyu, and Wang Guangzu, the owner of Hendry Watch Shop, talked about the wind and water, the banquet has been withdrawn, and the tea is placed to continue to talk, my heart moves, it is better to set up a club, high-end business club, Jinan Mansion really does not have such a place, and it is not like Shanghai Beach where you can go to foreigners' coffee shops and bars to talk about business. Jinan Mansion is the private room of the fourth building is barely possible, but after all, not everyone can talk about business calmly after drinking, and the atmosphere of the hotel is not suitable. As soon as I said my plan, Meng Luochuan patted the armrest and stood up, "Okay, good idea, Wu Dongjia, you have done a great favor to the trader in Jinan Mansion, who doesn't want to find a place to talk about business quietly, even if you find two friends to have a cup of tea and a croak." Let's talk about it first, this Crabbe can't pull down the decay, it doesn't matter if it's a member or not, but leave me a private room. ”

"That's it," Le Jingyu also said, "There is no quiet place in this Jinan Mansion, in fact, the capital is the same, often talking about business in the teahouse and garden, where the two people have to roar face to face, and the mess is annoying." Now I invite merchants to Daming Lake, pack a boat, talk while swimming in the lake, and hide a clean, seeing that the weather is cold, we can't let the merchants accompany us to the lake to drink the northwest wind. ”

"Why don't we go to the commercial port to build a house and set up the Crabbe you said, just go a few brothers and don't accept foreign guests." Miao Laosi had wanted to do this for a long time.

"Just now Ledong's family mentioned Daming Lake, by the way, the second brother, there is not a Lixia Pavilion on Daming Lake, we have been there last time" I suddenly remembered that the last time I accompanied the old lady of the Miao family to the Arctic Temple to burn incense, and the second brother Miao They hired a boat to go to the Lixia Pavilion to visit the ancient things.

"Ah, on the island in the middle of the lake, but the pavilion is in tatters, and it can't accommodate so many people," Second Brother Miao remembered.

"I mean, there is not a family selling lotus seeds next to Lixia Pavilion, or let's take a look at his house and buy it and rebuild it. People are also hired, after all, he is familiar with waterways, and let him pick him up. This time, in addition to the boat on the island in the middle of the lake, the idle people can't get close, and secondly, there is such a historic site as the Lixia Pavilion, and we are also vassals and elegant. ”

Everyone agreed, and this matter was handed over to Miao Laosi and Du Niang, the fourth child was responsible for discussing business, and Du Niang was responsible for design and construction. Several big proprietors said that they would share the shares, no one will take the lion's share, and the introduction of new members must be unanimously agreed upon in the future, and when the Chamber of Commerce in Jinan is established, this rule has not changed.

In the evening, Meng Luochuan and several other proprietors were impressed by my business theories, and I also took the opportunity to consult some current business practices and practices.

"I heard that there is a piece of land over there in the commercial port that wants to change hands, 100 acres of land." Meng Luochuan looked at me, "Actually, it's quite close to my west store, if it weren't for Lao Miao and they found you first, I would definitely have to buy that piece of land and rent it to you to build a factory." If your factory is close, I will come to your factory every day to find you and learn this great article of Western business. ”

"Lao Meng, you're talking about the land on the four major roads, the terrain is good, and the water is convenient." Le Jingyu also knows that piece of land, "but building a factory is a waste of geographical advantages, and it is too big to build a single shop, I heard that since the government opened the port, it has been sold three times, but there is no next family to take over." ”

"How much?" I also asked.

"Why, Wu Dongjia is also interested in the land" Wang Guangzu brought a pair of round glasses, a fat face, and a kind businessman face, but he gave me less silver, and still asked if there was a watch from the original workshop, and I was not very interested in the watch I produced in Jinan. This land is actually on a main road, but it is more than three miles west of the west gate, but it is not as prosperous as the city. ”

Listening to his description, it seems to be the location of the Grand View Garden Mall, by the way, the Grand View Garden Mall, I know what to do, an unprecedented commercial format - shopping-mall, haha, it is worth planning. When everyone dispersed, the Miao brothers and I were just about to deal with some dinner, and Zhu Zhiyao from Shanghai Dalong Machinery Factory turned back, it seems that this Zhu brother didn't want to order so simply.

So I received him in the private seat next to him, this director Zhu is not tall, thin physique, he looks shrewd and capable, wearing a thick suit, but his hands are very rough, and he often touches tools at a glance. This director Zhu is also not subtle, and as soon as he sits down, he goes straight to the topic.

"Boss Wu, your product Allah has seen it in Shanghai, and it must be very difficult for a machine mechanic to come to your factory just opened. In terms of machines, it is not Allah who said that it is difficult for northerners to carry it clearly. Your channel is probably British, but the British national strength is not comparable, but their machines are not as good as the Germans, my factory employs German technicians, so let's make you cheaper, make a friend. Your product design is good, but Jinan this small place can not find a good machine, let alone hire a good mechanic, I contracted your factory machines and mechanics, according to the market price of British goods to make a nine-percent discount on my shares, Ala is really like your design, believe Allah, your design plus Dalong's technology and sales together to catch the world, banknotes * small to die. ”

"Thank you Boss Zhu for your kindness, so let's let Lao Zhang accompany you to the factory for a while, you are an expert in machinery, please help me give me some guidance." Then tomorrow night, let's take a good look at the factory, after all, this factory is not mine alone, there are other shareholders. ”

Zhu Zhiyao also knew that it was impossible to negotiate at one time, and when he went to the factory to take a look, he just wanted to delay it so that he could discuss countermeasures with the Miao family. Although Miao Boss is based in Shanghai, the machine industry is not his specialty, and his family has just entered the flour grinding machine or uses his own products, and I believe that he will have confidence in his factory. So Zhu Zhiyao was not disappointed, so he asked Uncle Zhang to accompany him to the factory in the car.

Although mentally exhausted, but still have to deal with the British Legation Commercial Counsellor Somerset, I went to the Manland Hotel with Miao Lao Da and Miao Lao Er, the hotel is just east of Jinan Station on the Jiaoji Line, and it is two miles away from Desheng Tower. Now that there are bicycles, even Boss Miao is reluctant to make a squeaky mule cart, and the three brothers have a two-six phoenix, and they will arrive in five or six minutes. The doorman of the hotel hurriedly bowed down to open the door, and did not look at us at all because of riding a bicycle instead of a foreign carriage.

Miao Deqing often dealt with foreigners in Shanghai, but they were all foreign businessmen, and he had never been in contact with diplomatic officials. It seems that today is still dominated by me, Alfred is very enthusiastic, and in the introduction, he also hinted that Somerset's wife and the Montague family are both Manchester nobles, and they are a bit related. The Samosette was not a fuel-efficient lamp, and this somewhat balding diplomat was very interested in my miraculous medical skills, but he didn't care much about the three turns and one ring, and probably didn't believe that there were any industrial products comparable to the British in the barbaric land of the Qing Dynasty. Until Elizabeth showed off asking the waiter to carry the gramophone to the dining room and play Beethoven's Symphony of Moonlight and Joy, Samoset was stunned by the delicate and smooth sound quality, and the celluloid disc with secret channel technology is much stronger than the wire and bakelite disc in terms of musical expression, coupled with Du Niang's high-fidelity music source, in this era without cassettes and CDs, it is already the best musical effect in addition to the concert scene. Alfred gave me a look and signaled that I could talk about buying a gun, I had talked to Alfred about the security of Jinan before, and when I knew that a few days ago there were hooligans who attacked the factory and almost caused the shutdown of production, I was very angry, and I heard that I was going to buy a gun to protect the factory, and I was also very supportive. Although Manchester is not an arsenal like Arsenal, there are also some military enterprises, and the production of guns and artillery in these years is relatively simple and has no subdivision, so Alfred is no stranger to the arms business, but when he heard that I was planning to buy 500 rifles, he was still very surprised, a battalion of British soldiers is enough to suppress the riots in a state of India. Such a large arms deal could not be operated by himself, and he could only raise it with the opportunity of the commercial counselor to come to Jinan.

"Oh, are you sure you want 500 rifles and matching ammunition?" Commercial Counsellor Somerset did not react unusually when he heard my request. Alfred and I were puzzled, but I tactfully offered to offer so many weapons, preferably no less than 400 rifles.

"Hehe, it looks like you've misunderstood." Samoset smiled, "My esteemed Mr. Sean, it seems that your product has brought you a great deal of money and the attention of the wolves, and it is an inalienable natural right of God to take up guns and protect our sacred possessions. I understand that you are buying weapons, but you won't mind if the quantity is a little larger, after all, they are all good things, and the delivery time will be shorter than you expect. ”

"Ah, great, a little more I'll feel safer." I nodded quickly, and Alfred was also excited, and I continued to ask, "Just how many?" How many months do we have to wait? ”

"If you get your money in time, you will receive 800 rear-loading Manlisa guns of 8 mm caliber in a week at most, as well as six newly developed Maxim heavy machine guns and three Napoleonic infantry guns of the 1857 model."

"Ah, so many," Alfred asked, blankly, "God! Mr. Samoset, have you just ransacked the Bombay Arsenal? ”