Gwyneth, who received the letter, came to visit Zhao Xiu in person after thinking about it for three days.

Zhao Xiu gave a detailed account of the situation, of course, she did not mention King Ying's ambitions, or Zhu Lifei's delusions about the storage position, she simply said that these two had a grudge against the Zhao family, and it was impossible for the Zhao family to move them to give up Matt, a businessman who could bring them huge profits.

Gwyneth's face was a little pale, but her eyes were still determined: "It's a pity, but they're not the most powerful people in this country, are they?" Is there anyone more powerful than them and who won't bring the lure of profit to Matt, like the Emperor? ”

Zhao Xiu nodded hesitantly: "It's true that the emperor is more powerful than them, but it's not that there is no one else except the emperor." One of them was the emperor's half-brother and had had a previous power struggle; The other is the concubine whom the emperor is very favored, you can understand as a legitimate mistress, the emperor and the empress, there are several princes, one of whom has been confirmed to be the crown prince. It sounds like both King Ying and Zhu Lifei are very powerful, but it is like a house built on sand, not strong at all, and of course, it may take many years to wait for this house to collapse. She hinted: "You don't have to take revenge on Matt at that level, what he can do, others can do, if he is unlucky and something goes wrong, then the two nobles will probably just lose their temper and find another person to replace him, right?" ”

Gwyneth sneered: "I originally had this idea, but yesterday my husband's cousin came back from Quanzhou. They were spotted by Matt, and someone was following them, if they weren't alert. It is likely that he had already been killed by Matt, so he had to come back early and leave the purchase of black tea to his companions. In fact, I live near the port, and the goods are stored in a separate warehouse, and the landlord of the warehouse suddenly asked to take back the house because it has a good relationship with me. Imply to me that this is what the above means; Also since a few days ago, there have been a lot of people who have behaved strangely around my residence; And our ship, which was originally rented in the port. The officials on the docks suddenly asked us to move; Others claimed to be family members of officials and demanded that all the goods in my possession be bought at a very low price. I think this must have been Matt suing the big man behind him, if it weren't for the fear that it would cause other foreign businessmen to worry. Maybe they'll go even further. ”

Zhao Xiu was taken aback: "Really? So how are you doing now? ”

"It's okay for the time being." Gwyneth smiled. "I would like to thank you and your grandmother for bringing me the shelter of a great man of high status, whom I have already sent a messenger, who has already greeted the officials, whose ship has now found a good position, who has wandered near the dwellings have disappeared, where the goods were stored, and whose family has never been seen again. 一qiē are all smooth lì. That big man solved a lot of trouble for me, and he was really a merciful nobleman. I have no disagreement with his arrangement, the profit is six or four points, the big man accounts for thirty percent, and your family accounts for one percent, I believe that the three of us will cooperate happily. ”

Zhao Xiu was dumbfounded, Gwyneth would give up an extra 10% profit so readily, probably because of Matt's methods, right? She is a very smart person, of course she understands, whether she wants revenge or business, without shelter, she can't resist the suppression of Matt's forces, even if Matt is killed, the people behind him can still take away her wealth and life.

Zhao Xiu frowned and thought about it, and confessed: "Seriously, I'm afraid this matter is beyond the ability of my family, and the General Mansion of the Pillar Kingdom will not be hostile to the prince and favorite concubine behind Matt for this business." You'd better think about the cost and reward of doing so, and if you don't think we have anything to do for you and don't want to waste your time with us, you can find another more powerful backer. ”

Gwyneth's face softened a little: "Miss Zhao, please don't say such things, I haven't lost my mind yet, and I know who is the one who can really be trusted." In the whole of Shanghai, I am afraid that I will never find a second aristocratic daughter like you, who is willing to talk to me on an equal footing, and who is willing to give me a second choice. ”

Zhao Xiu smiled when she heard this, and asked her, "Then what are you going to do?" Now you can't go to the capital, and the General's Mansion won't help you get revenge. ”

Gwyneth smiled slightly: "I've already thought about it, those people who are more powerful than the big people that Matt is attached to live in the capital, and I can't go there, so I can't meet them." But I heard in Nanhui that the people who were hired to repair the levees said that next spring the crown prince of your country will come here......"

Zhao Xiu glared at her, she never expected that she had already gotten the news, but what did she want to do? Do you want to sue when the prince comes? How is this possible?!

Zhao Xiu hurriedly persuaded her: "Don't mess around, the prince is not so easy to see, my grandmother is noble, and I have to wait for the prince to summon me, not to mention that you are just a foreign merchant?" ”

Gwyneth smiled confidently: "Even in England and France, kings and queens will not refuse people who are willing to contribute their wealth to their country." And in this world, as long as money can solve the problem, it is not a problem. ”

Money? Zhao Xiu listened even more confused. What does she mean by that? Is she going to use the money to open a way to meet the crown prince? Where does the Wells family have so much wealth to give her such confidence?

Gwyneth didn't intend to explain her thoughts to her, but instead asked about something else: "If I have the opportunity to meet the crown prince of your country, is there anything I should pay attention to?" I can ask people for advice on ordinary social etiquette, but no one teaches me court etiquette. ”

Zhao Xiu couldn't help her: "Etiquette is a trivial matter, you are a businessman and a foreigner, no one expects you to really know the court etiquette of Da Chu, if the prince really plans to formally summon you, someone will come to teach you, if it is not a formal summons, then there is no need to pay so much attention." I think if you really have time, it is better to learn the language of our country well, and then you will go to Jin to meet the prince. You may not be able to bring an interpreter, but if you have an interpreter from the prince's subordinates, can you translate what you want to say correctly? It's not guaranteed. ”

When Gwyneth heard this, she said a word, the tone was strange, and Zhao Xiu didn't understand: "What did you say?" She repeated it again, this time speaking more slowly, and the syllables were much clearer, and Zhao Xiu understood this time. She said, "I've been studying for a month," but how does it sound like she has a Pudong dialect accent? Could it be that the Chinese teacher she hired was a native of Nanhui?

Zhao Xiu told Gwyneth honestly. The latter was stunned and very surprised: "How could it be?" The female interpreter who taught me to speak Da Chu dialect, she was in business in Nanhui, and no one had ever said that her accent was difficult to understand. ”

Zhao Xiu had to use a simple metaphor to illustrate for her: "You just have to think about it. When you, the king of England, hear the language of the Scottish farmers. What it will be like, you will understand. ”

Gwyneth understood.

Now that she understands, she can only find a way to go by herself, not only to be proficient in English, but also to be able to speak official language, and to be willing to come to teach her, such a female interpreter is not easy to find. When Gwyneth returned, she inquired everywhere and finally hired an old interpreter in her sixties. Barely able to teach her to speak Chinese official dialect with normal pronunciation.

The old steward sent by the Cao family of the Zhuguo General's Mansion smoothly opened up all the checkpoints for foreign goods to enter Beijing. And found a reliable ship company - it is said that the owner also served as General Cao's personal soldier, and then from the goods brought by Gwyneth, he selected some of the most popular types in the capital, loaded them in small boats and transported them along the waterway to Suzhou, and then reloaded them into large ships in Suzhou and transported them along the canal to the capital. Now the Mid-Autumn Festival is about to pass, and it will be transported to the capital, just in time for the good time for the big purchases of various households before the year, so why worry that the goods can't be sold at a high price?

As for the rest of the foreign goods, the old housekeeper felt that they could be transported to Nanjing to sell, and the foreign goods also sold well in Nanjing, and they were close to Shanghai, so it was enough to leave this kind of matter to the Zhao family.

The Zhao family wanted to send a candidate, and the Zhang family hesitated for a long time, and finally decided not to choose someone from among the servants, but to choose a reliable clansman. The first choice is naturally the outer six rooms, but the outer six rooms already have two golden mountains of tea gardens and export goods, if the domestic foreign goods are also handed over to them to take care of, the dependence of the second room on the external six rooms is too great. Zhao Xiu proposed a construction to the Zhang family, and chose Zhao You, who had five rooms outside.

Zhao You became an apprentice of the Wailiufang firm two years ago, and he has learned a lot in the past two years, he has worked in Suzhou for more than half a year, and in Nanjing for a whole year, so he knows the local situation very well. Zhao Hui, the head of the sixth house, actually values him very much, thinks he has potential, and plans to let him go to Nanjing to be the second shopkeeper. Among all the young generations of businessmen, he is the only one who can be promoted to the second shopkeeper so quickly, and almost even the descendants of the outer six rooms may not be as fast as him, and for a while, countless people are jealous of his luck.

At this time, his mother-in-law didn't know what she was thinking, so she wrote to Zhao You, saying that she was sick and missed her sons, and called him home to serve him. For such an upright reason, it is not easy to stop the outer six rooms, Zhao You gave up his errand and went back, this time he went home, his mother-in-law was well, so he asked him not to go back to Nanjing, so he simply stayed at home to help with some housework, help his father and brother who studied hard to run errands or something, and "share worries" for his mother. Although he said that he had divided the property before, his parents were still there, and the property was not divided, and it was also right for him to stay and be filial to his parents. Zhao You obeyed, until his father was moved, and there were more famous scholars who came and went, and he felt that the son of a merchant in the family was a little embarrassed, so he asked him to go back to the outer six rooms to find an errand.

At this time, his original errand had already been topped, and the other seats were also a turnip and a pit, where was there a place to place him? He can only follow Zhao Qixuan's example, doing some scattered business to make ends meet, and now that the second room has handed over such a good job to him, how could he not accept it? Nanjing is also a place he is very familiar with. Even Zhao Jue's wife couldn't say anything to stop him, and Zhao Jue was even more happy. At the beginning, he would divide the concubine, originally under the idea of letting him do business in the future and earn money to supplement the family, but now that he can climb to the second room, wouldn't it be more decent and affordable than the errand of the outer sixth room?

Just after the Mid-Autumn Festival, Zhao You was urged by his family to escort the ship to Nanjing. Gwyneth only walked around the ship before sailing, and then went back to her residence to continue learning Chinese. Zhao Xiu stayed at home, thinking about this year's drought, the price of chrysanthemums is high, and the bloom is not as good as in previous years, is it necessary to add dozens of pots of chrysanthemums to the house as decorations like in the old years? I made an appointment with Tao Zhuohua before, and I would hold a chrysanthemum appreciation party after the autumn, invite her mother and daughter to be guests, and invite a few ladies from the county. But in the current situation, even if you barely hold the chrysanthemum viewing party, you may not be able to enjoy it.

Zhang reminded her: "There are flower markets in Suzhou and Hangzhou, and the drought there is not heavy, so let people buy a few pots of chrysanthemums and come back, or buy a few more osmanthus flowers, are you afraid that there will be no flowers to appreciate?" ”

Zhao Xiu immediately turned his worries into joy: "Grandmother is right! Autumn is not only to enjoy chrysanthemums, in a few days it will be the Double Ninth Festival, we can also climb high, kite flying! She pulled the sleeve of her brother Zhao Wei next to her with bright eyes: "Brother, let's go on an autumn outing, shall we?" (To be continued......)