Section 20 willow work

The first time he met a poor man who didn't want money, he was so surprised that he forgot to call the sedan chair driver to get up, Master Han hurriedly gave an order, and the group set off again.

When the sedan chair entered the city, there was no trace of Australians in the county, but if you looked closely, you could see the handwriting of Australians: for example, the newly paved and leveled street, and the drainage ditches that were still being dug on both sides.

Li Luoyou was more surprised by the cleanliness of the streets here, not only did there be no cement pools, there was no garbage littered, and even the feces and urine that must be in the corners of the walls were not traced - these are indispensable decorations even in the city of Guangzhou. Not to mention a small remote county like Lingao.

There are very few shops along the street, a few grocery stores, teahouses and the like. The shop is not big, and the façade is quite neat and clean. Li Luoyou could see that these houses had been repaired recently, and the walls had not only been painted, but also bricks and tiles had been repaired.

The county town seems very deserted, but the atmosphere is still calm and peaceful. Li Luoyou secretly thought: How does this county magistrate get along with Australians? Could it be that he was really cowering in the county government and pretending to be deaf and dumb? This cultivation effort is very good

Lingao County is humble and small, and it can't walk two or three hundred steps, and the sedan chair turns into the side street, and it arrives at the door of Runshitang. The sedan chair did not enter through the main door, but turned around and carried it through the corner door, until it reached the second hall of the house. The steward had already come with his servants to greet him.

Pull out the sedan bar, remove the handrail, sweep the leaves and hurriedly take a few steps forward to open the sedan curtain.

"Please, sir." The butler who greeted him and the servants immediately bowed their heads.

Li Luoyou saw that Runshitang was quite large-scale, and the servants also acted in the demeanor of everyone, and his heart was a little more comfortable. The disrespectful look of the Australian's men made him very tired of looking at it.

Li Luoyou's arrival has been reported to the Executive Committee by Liu San. The basic information of this businessman has been on the archives of the intelligence department since Liu San went to Foshan, and then he was upgraded to the level of information because of his large-scale purchase of pig iron in Guangdong. However, Li Luoyou's information is still quite simple. The crossing group has no other intelligence sources on the mainland except for Guangzhou and Leizhou.

After the establishment of the Foreign Intelligence Bureau, a supplementary survey was conducted on the archives of important indigenous figures established during the era of the Intelligence Committee, and Li Luoyou was also among them. Guangzhou Station collected a lot of his materials from various public channels, and gradually the specific outline of this character became clear.

The Foreign Intelligence Bureau did not know the extent of Li Luoyou's relationship with Houjin, but at least it knew that he had trade relations with the Houjin-controlled area, and this relationship would not be too shallow.

"Everyone, please think about it, what is this Li Luoyou selling?" Yu Eshui said, "It's Liaodong goods." And it is especially based on ginseng. A person who can sell ginseng is an absolutely talkative person in the post-Kim regime. ”

After the Later Jin raised troops from Nurhachi, they attached great importance to ginseng as a medicinal material, and even set up a special "Wohoda Zhangjing" to take charge of the collection, storage, and sale of ginseng -- this is the most important export item for them to purchase various materials from the Guannai, and its importance is no less than the significance of oil to the Gulf countries.

Li Luoyou was able to sell ginseng, not only did he have a certain connection in Houjin, but he must also have collusion with the local generals in the border towns of eastern Liaodong. Otherwise, under the condition that the imperial court banned the trade of Liaodong, it would be impossible for him to transport the goods back and forth for thousands of miles.

In other words, if you can get Li Luoyou's cooperation, it is equivalent to opening up the Hainan-Liaodong communication line. Trade and intelligence networks could be developed in this regard.

And Li Luoyou is not just an adventurous businessman who runs to Liaodong, he also has many business networks in the Guannai. The Crossing Group can use his connections to lay out intelligence and business networks.

In the past, the group has not expanded its network on the mainland, and the shortage of manpower is certainly one aspect, but there is no one to answer the local area, and the unfamiliar place is also a problem. In ancient times, local societies were quite closed, and it was difficult for outsiders to open up the situation in a certain place without the introduction and protection of local connections. Although the exalted shili is big, it can only be eaten in Jingshi when it comes out of Guangdong, and it is not worth mentioning in other places.

Jingshi and they are not in a hurry to go, but Jiangnan is an area that the crossing group is eager to infiltrate. In the future layout of the group, Jiangnan will be their main commodity sales and material procurement place.

In particular, the rice, cloth, and silk in the south of the Yangtze River are all coveted trade commodities by the Crossing Group, and the thriving commerce here provides the most haode market for the financial industry of the Crossing Group.

So when Li Luoyou was still waiting for the road in Foshan, the various departments of Lingao were already running for this.

Although everyone still doesn't know much about Li Luoyou's intentions, the purpose of this person's coming to Lingao is obviously to do business. And the most likely business to be made is arms and arms.

The Foreign Intelligence Bureau had already learned that Li Luoyou was operating in the yamen of the governor and governor of Guangdong, hoping to cast cannons for the government, and it is likely that he came to Lingao for a similar purpose, after all, the people who traveled through the city were known for their "sharp firearms".

But when it comes to the export of weapons, the Crossing Group is not keen. Although the arms trade is the most profitable business, it consumes the "strategic goods" that pass through the group: metals and coal. It is difficult to accept a large export volume when the stock of both is not abundant.

As for the generation gap of weapons and the possibility of being imitated by the Ming Dynasty or Houjin, the industrial sector believes that there is no need to worry too much. At the level of weapons manufactured by Lingao, it is almost impossible to imitate them by pure manual manufacturing, and at most the imitation structure is the same, but the gap in material properties and processing level is enough to deteriorate the performance of imitation products to a very low level.

Zuihou decided not to mention the weapons for the time being, but to try to sell other industrial goods to him. It is distributed throughout the country and Liaodong through his channels. If there is money to make money, Li Luoyou may not always refuse. In particular, the Crossing Group is also counting on the promotion of its own financial product, Delong Bank Drafts, to major cities through his business network, and then export the currency of the Crossing Group when the time is ripe.

It all depends on Li Luoyou's impression of the Crossing Group. A working group was set up to deal with him. It is composed of temporary personnel from the intelligence, political security, trade and administrative departments. The work on Li Luoyu was named "Willow Work"

The person in charge of "Liu Work" selected Liu San. Li Luoyou came to Lingao through the line of Yang Run Kaitang-Runshitang. Liu San is not only a veteran, but also a shareholder of Runshitang and the brother-in-law of Yang Shixiang, and he also had a relationship with Li Luoyou. Whether it is from the point of view of reason or situation, it is the most appropriate and most appropriate for him to come forward.

Liu San got all the intelligence information about Li Luoyou. In order not to make the righteous brother too nervous, the matter of "Liu work" was not revealed to him. Liu San believes that it is better to have contact as naturally as possible, and it is best for the other party to speak first, so that a certain initiative can be obtained in the negotiation.

Yang Shixiang was already waiting in front of the dripping eaves of the flower hall, and after the two met, they naturally first saluted and said a few polite words of "long-admiring" and "admiring". Li Luo couldn't help but compliment him a few words like "reviving the family business". This is Yang Shixiang's most proud thing, and when he is complimented, he is naturally scratched to the itch. He was a little curious about the businessman introduced by his cousin: in the letter, the cousin only said that the person who came was very curious about the "Australians" and hoped to go to Lingao for some sightseeing, and by the way to see if there was any possibility of doing business with the Australians.

Although the language in his cousin's letter was very unknown, Yang Shixiang knew that his cousin would not write a letter to himself for an ordinary businessman. This person must be very important, and if he doesn't make trouble, he is still from the government.

Yang Shixiang saw that this person was about forty years old, with a medium build, a long face and a short beard, and he had the charm of a dough rich man. If you look closely, your eyes are quite sharp, and you are a person who has gone through strong winds and waves.

However, at first sight, there was a sense of familiarity, as if I had seen it somewhere. I couldn't help but secretly wonder in my heart, and when I saw that the maid had already served tea, I asked again: "Is the guest room arranged for Master Yu ready?" ”

"Ready, Master Judah lives in the East Guest Courtyard." The housekeeper hurriedly replied, "How did the red-haired old man arrange it?" Please also show me. ”

"Invite him to the East Guest House to rest first." Yang Shixiang had known from the letter that such a red-haired businessman was coming.

The East Guest House is a newly expanded Runshitang, and since Runshitang has developed, the number of merchants and peers has increased day by day. The original guest house was not enough, and a new one was built, which was specially used to receive distinguished guests. The five-bay room has front and rear wings, which is enough to accommodate Li Luoyou and his party. There are a lot of furnishings.

The cage luggage brought by Li Luoyou was counted and sent to the guest house by sweeping leaves one by one, and someone arranged it to be opened. Li Luoyou brought another native product of the four-color Foshan as a meeting gift.

The gift is not very heavy, to show the friendship of friends, and it is not light, after all, everything has to be disturbed by the other party if you are not familiar with life.

"The treasurer of Judah has been heeded." Yang Shixiang was a little apprehensive, in terms of the friendship between the two parties, this gift was really rich.

"It's okay, I have to take care of Shopkeeper Yang." Li Luo saw that the irrelevant people in the flower hall retreated one after another, leaving only himself and the other party's personal servants, so he spoke:

"I don't have a surname." In fact, this shopkeeper and Liu San he had met - although it was a one-sided relationship at that time, his true identity did not need to be kept secret from them, "The surname is Li, and the Liaohai line in Guangzhou is a suffocating industry." ”

"It turned out that it was the disrespectful and disrespectful shopkeeper of Li" Yang Shixiang was surprised, and he thought about it all at once. Isn't this Li Da shopkeeper the big businessman he saw at his cousin's banquet when he went to Foshan with his brother-in-law?

He didn't care much about the origin of this big businessman in the past, but as Runshitang's status in the pharmaceutical business community in Guangdong rose day by day. The shopkeeper Li, who is very important in the pharmaceutical business industry, also knows a little bit about it. This person is quite a legendary figure in the Guangdong business community. When he was a teenager, he worked as an errand boy for the Franc machine man in Macau, and learned to speak fluent Franc machine language. Later, he went to Liaodong to run the family business; Quang Ninh withdrew from the town, and when he fled back from Quang Ninh, he was displaced all the way and almost lost his life. The Li family's century-old industry in eastern Liaoning was wiped out, and when they returned to Guannai, they relied on a little industry left in Beijing and then went down to Guangdong to run a foreign village business, and the family was revived in less than ten years. He has become a well-known businessman on the ground in Guangdong.

Li Luoyou's handling of goods in Liaodong is an open secret in the business circles of Guangdong, and the officialdom will naturally not know about it. If he is only rich, it is impossible to be a rich man in peace without some background means.

"I'm here because I want to ask for a few things." Li Luo got straight to the point, without any subtlety.

"It's easy to say, it's easy to say." Yang Shixiang nodded deeply. The fact that this Li Da shopkeeper in the Guangdong business community came under a pseudonym must be an important matter. And most of this matter involves Australians. This cannot be done without caution.

In addition to being cautious, I can't help but feel a little proud in my heart. I was originally guarding this half-dead small pharmacy, where would there be the honor of such a big man as Li Luoyou to come to visit

But this man suddenly came to visit him alone, and it was not a trivial matter to talk to him about things.

"I want to meet the Australians, and I want to ask the shopkeeper Yang to match the match."

Yang Shixiang hesitated, this matter was not unexpected by him, but there were not a thousand but five hundred Australians in Lingao, which one did he want to see? If you want to see a big boss, such as "Mr. Wen" or "Ma Gong", it is unknown whether your brother-in-law's words will work.

"Do your best." Yang Shixiang nodded, he decided not to tell him Liu San's true identity for the time being. Discuss it with Liu San first and then make a decision.

That night, he asked someone to invite Liu San and told him Li Luoyou's request.

"The foolish brother didn't dare to promise him first, and he didn't say that you were Australian. The stakes are too high to be taken lightly. He specially reminded Liu San that Li Luoyou was likely to be sent by the government to find out the truth of Lingao. It is also possible to negotiate something on behalf of the government.

"At the banquet where I met Li Luoyou for the first time in Foshan, there were people from the official face."

Of course Liu San knew about this, not only did he know, but he also knew that this official person was a hundred households of Jinyiwei. But there is no need to say this to the righteous brother, it will make him afraid in vain.

"Big brother is right," Liu San said, "since he wants to see us, you allow him to be." ”

"Brother Fool doesn't know the class rank among you Australians, and I don't know what kind of person this Master Li wants to meet? What if he wants to see your big boss? ”

"I'll take care of it." Liu San said, "If he wants to see Mr. Wen, I will convey it on my behalf, and it is another matter whether he sees it or not." ”

"Okay." Yang Shixiang nodded, and said, "Brother Xian, I still inform your people to think of a way to deal with it." Yang Shixiang warned him, "If you build a city here and train troops like this, the imperial court will be able to manage it sooner or later." In case a large number of soldiers arrive, it is inevitable that lives will be ruined, so it is better to plan early. ”

Liu San didn't care, he just took care of him and entertained this distinguished guest. As for him, Liu San, he has been in Runshitang recently, and for the sake of convenience, I hope he will set aside a courtyard that is convenient to enter and exit and not attract people's attention for him to use.