On December 10, 1911, John had been in Shanghai for three days. Pen? Interesting? Pavilion wWw. ｂiquge。 ｉｎfo

This time, his butler learned the lesson of his arrival in Hong Kong, and although the farewell dinner was noisy, John changed ships in the middle before arriving in Shanghai and went ashore quietly. Although it was a little embarrassing for many people to pounce, after learning about the current situation in China, John still felt that the more low-key the better, so there were only a few people who really knew the news of his arrival in Shanghai at that time.

John is also very satisfied with his residence in Shanghai.

The Far East branch of the Huntelaar Bank is now the largest landowner in Shanghai, and in addition to the public concessions, it has also purchased large tracts of land in the surrounding areas, amounting to tens of thousands of acres. And the most essential part is undoubtedly the most important public concession in Shanghai, and the private villa built for John early is in the best position among them. In order to please their own boss, the people of Huntelaar Bank did not dare to slack off, this villa is simple and low-key on the outside, but luxurious on the inside, and it is maintained by special personnel every week, and it is kept ready to move in.

More than a dozen villas and two residential buildings in the surrounding area are the residences of the executives and employees of the bank, publishing house and trading company of Huntelaar.

In order to ensure John's safety, the people of Huntelaar Bank deliberately enclosed these villas and two residential buildings with high walls, with enough security and service personnel, and raised a dozen dogs, forming a small world of their own. In addition, the people living in it are all the own people of the Huntelaar consortium, and it is located in the public concession, so the security can definitely be given full marks.

In the three days that John resisted, the security guard at the door politely refused dozens of prayers.

Although he deliberately kept a low profile, this is Shanghai after all, and I don't know how many people have been staring at this place, and the news of John's team staying in the house can't be hidden from anyone at all, so the news of John's arrival quickly spread. Early the next morning, the first greeting was delivered to the door, and was stopped by the security guards who had been instructed to do so, on the grounds of course that Mr. Huntelaar was tired from the journey and was not available for the time being......

……

"Sir, the British Minister, Mr. Zhu Erdian, has sent another invitation."

At the breakfast table, the butler Elber said respectfully, "He hopes you will attend a grand ball at the British Consulate in Shanghai tomorrow evening...... I heard that this ball is to celebrate the appointment of Mr. Yuan as interim president in the north, and it has been preparing for many days. “

"Juerdian? Is he still in Shanghai? ”

Upon hearing the name, John's brow furrowed. Although the name Zhu Erdian is not very conspicuous in China's modern history, it does not prevent John from being very familiar with this person, the Chinese minister of the British Empire, and this identity is not ordinary!

"Yes, sir."

After owing a debt, little Elber said in a low voice: "I heard that this minister originally planned to leave last week, but after hearing the news that you planned to come to Shanghai, I decided to stay temporarily, and prepared for this ball......"

"Got it, refuse for me."

Without waiting for the butler to finish, John commanded lightly.

In Hong Kong, the communication between him and Lugard was smooth, but it was also unpleasant, after all, no one likes to be threatened by others, even if it is very polite. So from that day on, John was already planning how to give the Empire of the Sun Never Set, let alone what kind of British minister was coming now!

For these guys who think about how to suck blood from China every day, John really has no interest in seeing it at all!

Perhaps in this era, the influence of the British in China is unique, and the average American businessman would certainly not dare to provoke it. But don't forget, it's 1911 now, John knows very well what John Bull is about to face, and he also knows very well how much influence the rich and gun-rich Huntelaar consortium has in China. Huntelaar is probably not something he can afford to mess with......

"Sir."

Seeing that John's attitude was very resolute, the housekeeper hesitated slightly, shook his head helplessly, and said, "There is another person...... Jeff from the U.S. Consulate General in Shanghai? Mr. Stanford, I would like to visit you today, you see......"

"Jeff? Stanford? ”

John raised his eyebrows and asked with some uncertainty, "If I'm not mistaken, this Mr. Stanford should be ...... Who do we arrange? ”

"Yes, sir."

Nodding slightly, the butler replied softly.

As the base of the Huntelaar consortium in the Far East, the importance of Shanghai is self-evident. So John had people here ready a long time ago. In fact, since the Roosevelt era, the consul general has been appointed by them, and when Taft came to power, he let the agent of the Huntelaar consortium continue to do it......

John is no stranger to this kind of political dealing.

"Very well, please come over at noon!"

After a moment of silence, John suddenly smiled and said, "It just so happens that I also have something to talk to this Mr. Stanford, invite him to lunch together, and let Su Li prepare some delicious Chinese food......

……

"Sir, I also like Chinese food!"

Gently wiping the oil flowers on the corners of his mouth, Mr. Stanford, the consul general of Shanghai that did not exist in history, said affectionately: "In fact, it is not only Chinese food, but also everything in this country!" After spending so many years in China, I have fallen in love with this country and am very happy to dedicate my whole life to this country! ”

"Uh......"

After hearing this "confession", John suddenly felt a chill in his heart.

If you are a person who does not know the details, I am afraid that you will really believe the words of this guy in front of you, after all, people say so affectionately, and speaking Chinese can make many Chinese doubt life. But John knew very well that if he hadn't shown a great affection for China and continued to increase his investment here, this guy would definitely have a different face.

To put it bluntly, this guy is a politician raised by the Huntelaar consortium.

Otherwise, how could he live in a mansion in Shanghai and a villa and a farm in New York, as a small consul general? You must know that in this era, the cost of running for president of the United States is only 1.8 million US dollars, he is just a small consul general, he gets a five-figure gray income from Huntelaar Bank every year, and he also has a lot of dry shares in Chinese factories, as long as he pays dividends every day every day......

"Having lunch with this guy was a mistake!"

Although he was very satisfied with the other party's work over the years, it did not mean that John liked the other party, so he quickly frowned and said simply: "Mr. Stanford, I will stay in Shanghai for a month and negotiate a series of big cooperation with the Chinese, so I hope that after I leave, you can cooperate with Huntelaar Bank and Huntelaar Trading Company to take care of these big cooperation, and you must ensure that these cooperation is not harassed by any party, understand?" ”

"Of course, sir!"

Stanford's expression also became solemn, and he nodded seriously and hurriedly.

Maybe he is a bit of a sycophant and a little shameless, but since he can gain the trust of the person in charge of Huntelaar Bank, he has been sitting in the position of consul general in Shanghai for ten years, so he must have real skills. Therefore, when you listen to the words of the big boss behind the scenes, you will naturally understand many things: with the fall of the Qing government, many people will find that China is changing, and as a close collaborator of the Huntelaar consortium, Stanford has also discovered many pioneers of the big donors in recent years: investment in education has become more huge, more factories have begun to be built, and countless international students are returning from Germany and the United States and pouring into the relatively open Jiangsu and Zhejiang regions......

Just because Mr. Stanford didn't understand why Mr. Huntelaar did this doesn't mean he couldn't understand the role of these arrangements!

Therefore, after hesitating for a while, the consul general was still a little nervous, and asked cautiously: "Mr. Huntelaar, take the liberty of asking...... I would like to know, what you call the Great Cooperation...... What are the main aspects? ”

"Rest assured, there is only education and business cooperation."

As if seeing the uneasiness of Mr. Consul General, John replied lightly: "Actually, mainly in the medical field, I plan to set up a pharmaceutical company, a medical device company in China, and at least 10 universities and medical schools in the next ten years......"

……

Alas, at the end of the month, I lost my character again, and there were too few manuscripts. (To be continued.) )