Negotiations with the French did not go as hard as they had hoped.

From the very beginning, the joint negotiating delegation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Trade, headed by Gao Mo, solemnly stated that the machine textile factory was the "core interest" of the East Bank Republic, and that no outsiders would be allowed to visit it, nor would it consider matters such as joint ventures with foreign countries.

In fact, this attitude did not surprise the French, who, having argued to no avail, resolutely gave up dwelling on the issue and began to engage in fierce battles with the negotiating delegation of the Eastern Republic over prices, the sale of goods, and the means of payment.

According to the opinion of the French, the East Coast Republic sold the cotton cloth to them on credit, and the two sides agreed on a price, such as 6 su (about 1.5 yuan), and the French paid the money to the East Bank Republic after the sale was completed.

Gao Mo and others did not have much objection to the sales method, after all, they had no foundation in France, and everything still depended on the locals. However, they demanded that the French pay a down payment of one-third of the value of the goods when they picked up the goods, and that the balance could be paid after the sale was complete. For the sales price, the representatives of the Ministry of Trade strongly demanded that it be raised to 8 su (2 yuan) per cotton cloth, while the French competed against each other and did not budge an inch.

After an afternoon of arguing, in the evening, the two sides finally gave in and agreed on a purchase price of 7 su (1.75 yuan) per horse. The two sides renegotiated the price once a year, and the French guaranteed that the cotton plantations in French Santo Domingo and the French Caribbean islands would regularly supply the East Coast Republic with sufficient production of high-quality cotton raw materials, and the East Bank Republic would ensure that the cotton cloth production would not be less than 50,000 horses in the first year, and that it would increase by 20,000 horses each year thereafter.

In addition, the negotiators of the Eastern Republic specifically demanded that the price of all cotton cloth sold in France should not exceed 10 sousels (2.5 yuan) per horse. In exceptional circumstances, such as a price war with a competitor, the French could ask the East Coast Republic to readjust the price of cotton.

Overall, it's a happy deal. The East Coast Republic opened up a huge market for its cotton cloth, and these French from Gascony found a golden job that could make high profits steadily, and the relationship between the two sides based on interests still seems to be quite strong.

After the agreement was reached, the French did not delay. After unloading the goods they had brought with them, they procured about 5,000 high-quality furs from the port of Vostochny (leftover after seizures during a privateering operation some time ago), a small number of flintlock rifles, flintlock pistols, sabers and armor, and about 600 tons of potatoes.

Thanks to the fertile soil, standardized and efficient agricultural production techniques and high-yielding crops in the East Bank region, after two consecutive years of bumper harvests, the East Bank Republic seems to have solved the problem of food overnight. Grain stocks have increased exponentially, and the purchase prices of grain crops have fallen again and again, and the national potato stocks have reached a record 7,000 tons, which is enough for everyone in the country to eat for three years.

In contrast, Europe was in the midst of a multi-year famine, and food prices had risen several times in just over a decade. Although the potatoes produced in the east coast region do not conform to the dietary habits of Europeans, they are not cheap, selling for only 30 yuan per ton, and they are nutritious, so it is not a problem to fill the stomach. As a result, the business-minded Frenchman took the opportunity to acquire 600 tons to be shipped back to France for sale.

Once the agreement had been reached and the goods had been procured, the French set sail and left Port Orient to return to Bordeaux, where they also needed to return to make preparations.

After the French left, under the strong implementation of the Prime Minister of the Government Council "Ma Cannon", the Ministry of Industry and Commerce urgently set up a subordinate General Administration of Textile Industry, which is responsible for the development of the textile industry. After the establishment of the Textile Industry Bureau, the first thing it did was to invest in the construction of a large textile factory with 50 spinning machines, 50 looms and some cotton gins. After the equipment was in place and the workers were trained, the factory was able to produce 90,000 pieces of cotton cloth per year, which was enough to meet the agreement with the French for the first year.

Due to the slow flow of the Dayu River and the large number of factories in the vicinity, there is not enough space for so many textile machines. Therefore, with the approval of the Government Council and the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, the Textile Industry Bureau chose the location of the new factory on the banks of the Gravatay River, close to the Pyongan Fort. A small portion of the required workers were seconded by the East Coast Company, while most of the rest were re-recruited nearby.

In mid-October, the first batch of 20 machines (10 spinning machines, 10 looms) was transported to the banks of the former Granvatai River, which has been officially named "Ping'an River", and the assembly and commissioning of the equipment began. At the same time, the walls of Ping'an Fort were expanded again less than two months after the construction was completed. The newly built city wall spans both sides of the Ping'an River and completely covers the textile mills.

The city wall opened two water gates with sluices in the river channel, which were used for the passage of ships transporting raw materials and finished cotton products. In addition to these two water gates and a city gate connecting the city wall of the old Ping'an Fort, there is no longer any entrance and exit in the rest of the textile factory, and employees and their families live in the factory area and implement centralized closed management. In addition to the management personnel, employees and their families, a police station with an establishment of 10 people has been set up in the factory area to deal with general disputes.

With the arrival of a large number of construction workers, except for a few coal ships passing by on weekdays, the Ping'anbao Wharf, which is generally quite idle, suddenly became busy. The wharf was full of people, and a large number of red bricks, stones, cement, lime and other construction materials almost exploded the small wharf warehouse. Construction teams from Dongfanggang, Zhenhaibao and other places, as well as hundreds of strong men who served in labor, were transferred here to jointly build new city walls, factories and residences.

The villagers of Ping'an Fort watched in amazement as these high-nosed and deep-eyed people were busy on the docks, and some children who had just come out of school circled around these strange-looking uncles.

Fabian Klingerman smiled as he directed the unloading of the flat-bottomed transport from the river flats. His wife, Hannah, had just given birth to a daughter in the county hospital a few days ago, so he was especially fond of these children as a new father. Some chocolate candies made of cocoa powder, cane sugar, and nuts had been distributed in their pockets, but the hungry children still refused to disperse, and they circled around Fabian in the hope of getting another one of these delicious candies.

"You naughty boys, don't go back to your homework! Do you want me to test you one by one? A clear voice came, and the little children who were still pestering just now suddenly ran away one by one like rabbits that had encountered natural enemies.

"Assistant Xu, good afternoon." Fabian looked back and saw that it was Xu Wenxuan, the political assistant of the Ping'an Fort Pioneer Team, who came. In addition to his job as a political assistant, Xu Wenxuan also works part-time as a Chinese teacher at Ping'anbao Primary School, so he is quite dignified among these naughty children, and he scares these little children as soon as he appears.

"Good afternoon, Captain." Xu Wenxuan said with a smile, "Seeing that spring has already begun, I really can't help but let the captain lead the team to build a wall and repair a house in Ping'an Fort." Is there anyone to take care of the family's farmland? ”

"Fortunately, Mr. Grote is a warm-hearted man, and he organized the unmobilized labor force in the village to form a mutual aid farm cooperative, and helped our families who were conscripted to serve in labor to carry out spring sowing work, and I have nothing to worry about." Fabian said as he handed Xu Wenxuan some cigarette chips.

Xu Wenxuan was not polite, picked up the cigarette piece and put it in his mouth and chewed it, and said while chewing: "I just heard Master Qian say that the captain's wife has given birth to a young lady and gave birth to a daughter, congratulations." ”

Fabian's Chinese skills are good, and he roughly understands Xu Wenxuan's slightly literary words. I saw him smile brightly: "Hehe, yes, Hannah has just given birth to a child and has not been discharged from the hospital yet." Mr. Grote's sister, Miss Adele, happened to live in the county town, and now she should be called Madame Liu, and she was married to a noble naval officer. I asked her to take care of Hannah for me before I came out, and she said yes to give me peace of mind. ”

"That's good." Xu Wenxuan said with a smile, "Ping'an Fort only has a population of more than 600 people, and there are only more than 200 young and strong people, and the spring sowing is imminent, so I can't spare myself to build a new city, so I have to rely on the captain to worry a lot here." ”

"No problem, my task is to come and build." Fabian agreed, "Before we set off, the township government has already made it clear to us that there are others to help with the farm work at home, and there is an extra allowance of two yuan per month for construction here, so everyone has nothing to complain about." Moreover, I have also read the documents, this textile mill can produce 90,000 pieces of cotton cloth a year, and create countless profits, which can be said to be related to the fortunes of our country on the east coast. Don't worry, I will definitely urge them to complete it as soon as possible. ”

Fabian holds a certain position in the Dingyuan Township Government, and he usually agrees with the Crossing and the East Coast Republic, and is close to the Crossing in terms of interests, and is an immigrant cadre who has been vigorously cultivated by the Crossing Public. He usually has access to some low-level government documents, so he still has a clear understanding of the significance of this textile factory, and Zhilu Dao This new textile factory completely represents the future of the East Coast Republic of China.

Since Xu Wenxuan was going to go to Ping'an Coal Mine with a ship transporting supplies, the two chatted casually for a while and then dispersed.

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