Pulling Chen Kai's tiger skin, this group of businessmen naturally had a look on their faces, and this was even more comfortable than ever. However, the owner of the machine shop was quite excited at first when he heard this, but in an instant, he showed a puzzled look, obviously not believing their big words.

Speaking of which, this is a perfectly normal thing. The owner of the machine shop knew very well that this old friend of his had come back from Chaozhou, and he had mentioned this matter in the correspondence between the two in advance, so he talked about Chen Kai with one mouth, and he first believed it to a certain extent. However, what kind of people is Chen Kai, although he saved them, the people of Guangzhou, but the number of people in Guangzhou who were saved was at least 200,000 miles away, could it be that Chen Kai would help him in a little thing, and Chen Kai was not their parents, how could this be.

"Brother Xian and relaxed, we are here together, so we naturally have something to rely on."

Patting his friend on the shoulder, the businessman who took the lead beckoned the owner of the machine and the others to the next stop of the trip, to see the mulberry groves and the scale of local mulberry and silkworm cultivation.

In ancient China, mulberry and catalpa were two trees that were very closely related to people's lives. The leaves of the mulberry tree can be used to raise silkworms, the fruit can be eaten and made wine, the trunk and branches can be used to make utensils, the skin can be used to make paper, and the leaves, fruits, branches, roots, and skins can be used in medicine. The young leaves of the catalpa tree are edible, and the bark is a kind of traditional Chinese medicine, called catalpa white bark, the wood is light and soft and durable, and it is a beautiful material for making furniture, musical instruments, and coffins. In addition, catalpa is a fast-growing tree species that was often used as charcoal timber in ancient times.

It is precisely because mulberry trees and catalpa trees have such a close relationship with people's clothing, food, housing and transportation, that ancient people often planted mulberry trees in front of and behind their houses, and people often have respect for the mulberry trees and catalpa trees planted by their parents' ancestors. Therefore, the ancients always used the land of mulberry to refer to their hometown.

However, there is a cycle in the growth of trees, and the same is true for silkworms. In ancient agrarian society, it was about a man who cultivated and a woman who weaved, whether it was farming, planting mulberry and raising silkworms, or multiplying, they needed to live here for a long time. Once the war spreads, people will naturally flee the danger in fear of death, and the result will be a more long-term loss of agricultural production.

This is the case in Shunde, where the war and disasters have continued, the population has been scattered, and agricultural production, especially grain production, has been greatly affected, not to mention these cash crops built on the basis of food production.

Next, the Shunde silk delegation of the Guangdong Business Alliance visited the local mulberry planting and silkworm breeding under the leadership of the machine owner, and in the final analysis, it is still a problem, that is, the population has decreased sharply. In addition, due to the sharp decline in grain output, some people simply cut down mulberry trees and made room for growing grain.

The situation on the Longjiang side was not very good, so they had to continue their investigation, and the next stop was to go to Longshan, another silk producing area......

The sericulture and silk industries in Shunde suffered heavy losses in the war in these years, and the observation team ran in Shunde for a few days, and finally came to the county seat of Shunde and chartered an inn to discuss the next operation issues.

"Longjiang wants to buy land and hire people, and the land is okay, but people are afraid that they will have to be hired in other counties."

"It's similar on the Longshan side, it's basically this problem."

"Yes, what is lacking in these towns visited is people, but how can other counties hire so many people?"

"Perhaps, it's not people who are missing here."

"What's that?"

Everyone looked around, and a silk merchant who was usually silent frowned, and whispered his thoughts: "I think they may be short of food!" ”

Food shortages have led to the abandonment of cash crops and the return of people to food crops, which is never uncommon. After discussion, they felt that it was likely to be such a problem, so they went to various towns to conduct targeted investigations.

The results of the survey were mixed for them. On the one hand, many of the original mulberry farmers are more inclined to return to their old business if they can provide food, after all, growing food is far less familiar to them than their old profession; On the other hand, the problem of grain shortage in this county is relatively serious, and the yamen is also ensuring grain production first, which undoubtedly has a double pressure on them.

"Tomorrow, I will first hand over the post to ask to see the county lord of this county, and talk to him to try."

Just do it, and the next day I handed over the post, but the county respect's shelf still has to be placed. After a few days of delay, I finally got to see someone. It's a pity that the conversation was not very satisfactory.

"What did the county magistrate of this county say?"

He was vague and rambling, and he didn't say anything substantive for a while. One by one, Chen Fujun encourages grain production, and one by one ordinary people will flee without food, who to scare! ”

"I think he just wants money!"

"Money? I don't think it's that simple. ”

The crowd was full of resentment. If you want to invest, but if you don't have the support of the local government, then you have to do it with half the effort. Making money is what Chen Kai said very clearly, and it is on this common purpose that cooperation between these former competitors has been realized. However, when the original enthusiasm encounters difficulties, the first cooperation always needs some more courageous characters to stand up and be the backbone!

"A magistrate, an official like a sesame mung bean, dares to refute Chen Fujun's face, I don't believe in this evil."

They didn't dare to pull Chen Kai's tiger skin directly, and turned their heads to go back to Guangzhou City to complain to Chen Kai, they felt that it was not appropriate to disturb Chen Kai's daily affairs for some trivial things. Fortunately, there is still a way, that is, to send someone to Hong Kong to deliver a letter and ask Cai Cheng, the chairman of the committee, to speak on his behalf.

The fastest ship for help was sent to Hong Kong, and Cai Cheng's reply was also returned as quickly as possible. The greeting post arrived again, along with a letter, and the porter said that it might be a few days before he saw the county honor, just like last time. But this time the letter was handed over, and the face of the magistrate was not good-looking. But it's not good-looking, and the magistrate didn't waste time, even if he sent someone to recruit them into the house to talk, his tone was far more amiable than the last time.

"It turns out that all of you have been entrusted by Cai Yuanwai to come here...... Sure enough, the old man of Fujun thought about it thoroughly, and the revitalization of the sericulture and silk industries in the county will definitely accelerate the recovery of the people's livelihood in the county...... The official is naturally fully cooperative, if there are people who dare to sit on the ground and raise the price, or obstruct it, they will directly report to the county government, and the official will give them a good look! ”

The figure of the county is very soft, and the members of the visiting delegation are naturally not uninteresting, when even if it is implied that they have a filial piety sent to the house, and when they make money in the future, they will naturally have the benefits of the county.

A group of members of the delegation went out of the county office, and it was the least that they would be high-spirited. In ancient China, it was the coolest thing to be a businessman, and there is no doubt that it was naturally an official businessman!

Relying on the official background, the oppression by the bureaucratic grassroots and the exclusion of the local gentry will be much less, or even disappear completely. Recalling that when Chengping was in the past, there were shops with the blessings of the royal palace, eunuchs, Jinyi guards, pavilion elders, and local bureaucrats and military backgrounds at all levels, which dared to provoke. And now, they have also embarked on this path, fighting as a business alliance in Guangdong, will the Zheng Group get less preferential treatment on the territory?

Back at the inn, the visiting delegates told the story, which caused everyone to cheer. Next, the work should be further developed, and it is indispensable to return to Guangzhou and explain the situation to other members.

According to the rules of the association, members have the right to decide whether to participate in the investment, and also have the right to know and confidentiality obligations for trade and investment. However, today's message transmission speed is sent to Chaozhou and Qiongzhou, and when they make a decision and come back, the daylily is cold. Moreover, these local businessmen in Guangzhou also do not want to share too much profit to businessmen in other places, and the behavior of grouping with the same nationality is still unavoidable.

"Do you want to bring in those machine owners and local businessmen in Shunde?"

"Aren't you afraid of dividing the profits too thinly?"

"I'm even more afraid that in the future, in the Guangdong Business Alliance, our Guangzhou people will be weak, and those Chaozhou and Qiongzhou Yankees will control the process of the meeting. When the time comes, we won't be able to speak, and we will only lose more! ”

For the sake of long-term interests, they naturally want to attract more people to join the club. However, the Guangdong Business Alliance has strict membership criteria and review periods, which are the rules set by Chen Kai, and they have no intention of modifying them, let alone the courage to change even a single word.

However, a step-by-step start layout is indispensable, and you always have to plan for the future, especially in the accumulation period at the beginning of the beginning, you need to look to the future.

The magistrates and officials of Shunde are all left by the civil official group in western Guangdong, and they are no better than Chen Kai's old subordinates. However, a letter from Cai Cheng was delivered, and the former knew Cai Cheng's background, and he was even more afraid that Chen Kai would not be happy and find fault with his official uniform, so he had to act according to the wishes of this emerging business group.

GDH Business Alliance is a membership-based group, and members can participate in investment, management and dividends, but there is an official background behind it, so it is natural to rush to it. The shareholding of Shunde's sericulture and silk industries was first opened in Guangzhou. On the other hand, the share of fragrant wood production in eastern Guangzhou, such as Dongguan and Xin'an, which was originally controlled by Shang Geng's two feudal domains, was quickly divided among the Guangdong and Haihai business alliances, and the fragrant wood could be purchased from farmers only when the harvest time came.

Finding ways to continue to expand production is a top priority. The members in Guangzhou took the lead in taking action, and the members in Qiongzhou were still adrift at sea, but when they returned to their hometown, they immediately took action - opening up the relationship between the upper and lower levels, dredging the commercial channels of supply and marketing, contacting old trading partners, buying land, shops, workshops, etc., etc., etc., which can be called a great pleasure.

"This land, and that land, are connected together to build factories and warehouses. For the time being, the cotton and cotton cloth purchased were stored in the city's warehouse, and they were transferred after the construction was completed. As for the rest, don't be in a hurry, didn't the old man of the army say that the foundation has been laid in advance, the momentum has been built, and there is no need to rush to expand production. ”

"What Bai Lao said is, but some members said that there are cotton field owners below who are instigating our members to compete for acquisition."

Hearing this, the white-bearded old man snorted coldly: "Tell them that the rules of the meeting are clearly written, we are purchasing at a unified price internally, and internal competition is strictly prohibited, and we are consistent with the outside world." Which bastard dares to fight in the nest, that is, against the rules of the association, against the old man of the army, the old man as a standing member of the committee will never cover up! ”

Violating the rules of the council is punishable, and the most severe thing is to be expelled from the council, and without the background of officials and businessmen, it is enough for them to just return to the days of oppression by the bureaucracy.

The old man's words were sonorous and powerful, and he didn't look like an old man who was close to his sixtieth birthday. To put it bluntly, I have been a businessman all my life, and I am inferior in front of the officials, but now I only need to go once to get the help of the officials.

"If we buy on a large scale, it stands to reason that the price of cotton in each county will rise, and it will also stimulate more people to plant cotton. However, I am afraid that grain production will be affected. Zheng Fuzun's ......"

"What are you afraid of, don't say that we are behind the boss of the Fu Army, even if we only talk about this grain, we have less here, so we will go to Annan to buy it, and it is not the first time."

"Annan's side, I'm afraid it will be tightly controlled in the future."

There was a grain shortage in Fujian, Chen Kai transported grain from Guangdong to Fujian, and purchased grain from Annam to Guangdong, which was quite a small amount, and even the businessmen from Qiongzhou Mansion also joined the association. However, the grain was purchased too much, and Annam's side was not very rich, and just before they left for Hong Kong, it is said that the fighting between Nguyen and Zheng was forced to suspend due to the high price of grain on both sides' territory.

In this matter, Chen Kai heard that it was a fairy fighting method at the meeting, and mortals suffered, and the businessmen of Qiongzhou Mansion, as important participants, naturally understood the doorway best. Here, worry is inevitable, but the old man is completely noncommittal, and he doesn't care about it at all.

"The old man has lived a long time, and he has never seen a cat that does not steal. When the time comes, the silver will be smashed over, and I am afraid that no one will be able to pick it up? ”