Early the next morning, Libin hurried to Qingya Street. In the small study of the governor's yamen, he sat opposite Guan Zhuofan, watching him write and draw on a piece of paper, not knowing what he was looking for himself to do.

After settling the accounts of Tong Province yesterday, Guan Zhuofan had a bottom in his heart.

No matter how much the remainder is, there can always be a surplus, and this money cannot be spent indiscriminately, it is all people's fat and people's ointment, and it must be used on the blade. He intends to use the small head of it to support the several new policies that have been started so far, and the big one-

Save up!

This "saving" is still unwilling to be stored in the domain, because he feels that the place of the domain, which is not enough insurance, can still reach into the hands of the court.

But there was a place of safety, and there was certainly no one to reach out, and he brought Libin for this purpose.

"Mr. Li, if there is a sum of money, what is the way to deposit it in Standard Chartered Bank?"

This question made Libin a little strange, and whispered: "Yixuan, your money, except for the 50,000 yuan that you handed over to your aunt last time, is already in Standard Chartered, which is a habitual thing." ”

"Well, well, I'm not talking about private money, it's official money."

"Official silver ......" This is something that has never been done before, Libin thought for a while and said, "I think it is similar to private money, if it is the silver on the feudal platform, then open an account of 'feudal records', leave a seal and signature, that is." In terms of interest, you have to see how much money you have and how long you have saved it before you can open the handicap. ”

According to Libin, Standard Chartered Bank does not pay interest to ordinary depositors, only large sums of money. to be emotionally intelligent. And give out the interest. It's between one and three cents. Now that Guan Zhuofan is said to be the official bank, he thinks that it will not be 350,000 yuan, so he should be able to compete with Standard Chartered for an interest.

"Yixuan, I don't know how much money you want to save?"

"Well, it's two and a half million taels a year." Guan Zhuofan said slowly, "Save it for two or three years first." ”

Libin was taken aback, two and a half million a year. Doesn't that mean five million in two years, seven and a half million in three years? looked at Guan Zhuofan, it didn't look like he was joking, and knew that he was telling the truth, so he silently pondered in his heart for a while before he spoke again.

"With such a large forehead, three cents will definitely be obtained, and I will fight with the British to see if I can add half a cent. However, when it comes to the seal of the household registration, there is only one person. I'm afraid it's not enough. ”

"How?"

"This is what the banks in the UK have done specifically for depositors. Say something unlucky. If the person who saved the money, what happened to him, maybe such a large sum of money, it would all go to the bank? You have to keep a back hand. According to what you said, if there are millions of taels, there will probably be three people left, and they will be ranked in order. ”

Guan Zhuofan understood, thought about it for a while, and nodded.

"Cheng, you go talk to Standard Chartered. As for the name of the person withdrawing money, the first one left mine, the second one kept Zhao Jingxian, and the third one was Liu Xun. ”

"Okay, in a day or two, there will definitely be news." Libin took down the instructions he had given him in advance, and then asked with a smile: "But you have saved such a large amount of money, how do you plan to use it?" And there are so many savings, I am afraid that there will not be much left in the new deal. ”

"There are too many places to use money, and this money is nothing." Guan Zhuofan said with a solemn face, "As for running an industry...... Mr. Li, please ask Rong Chunfu to come to me when you go back, I have something to say. ”

*

*

Guan Zhuofan and Rong Hong have met for the third time, and every time they see this gentle and capable Cantonese with a slight mustache on his lips, they feel very interesting - he has secured him to the fifth rank, but he still does not wear a public uniform, but a suit and tie, and he is still a Western-style style.

is originally an American, Guan Zhuofan remembered that he had become an American citizen, and secretly laughed at his fuss, saying that there is no taboo for foreigners to come to be Chinese civil servants in this era.

"Brother Chunfu, please continue." Guan Zhuofan made a gesture, "It's all over, let's discuss it together." ”

The Qiji Iron Factory, which was purchased from the American Cole, was headed by Rong Hong as the general office and the American Bai Hualang as the chief technician. In addition, he also serves as the vice president of the Canton Dialect Museum.

"Okay," Rong Hong nodded calmly, and said, "Futai, now the land around the Gaochang Temple that you have rowed over is one hundred and twenty acres, and the place is big enough, but with such a scale, the original flag mark is small." I wonder if Futai has the intention to make a big splash and go further in addition to the original purpose? ”

The original purpose was that the Qiji Iron Works was only engaged in the repair of guns and ships, but if it was only so, it would not be able to use so much land, no wonder Rong Hong had such doubts.

"Oh?" Guan Zhuofan smiled and asked, "According to Brother Chunfu's thoughts, how can we 'make a big show and go further'?" ”

"Not only to repair guns, but also to manufacture guns, not only to repair ships, but also to build ships!" Rong Hong said with a little excitement, "Futai, I have already discussed with my chief technician Bai Hualang, these things may not be impossible to do, but you need to buy additional machines and plants." ”

"I don't know what to add?"

Rong Hong smiled embarrassedly, and took out two pieces of paper from his arms, which were densely filled with writing, showing that he had been prepared.

"The steam furnace plant is the total power, and it must be built; forging and casting, the steam hammer factory can not be missing; As a material supply, both wrought iron factories and cast copper and iron factories must be available; In addition, there are machine factories, gunpowder factories, carpentry factories, stack houses, coal houses, and storage tile sheds, which are also indispensable, as for the copywriting room, the room where Chinese and foreign craftsmen live......"

As soon as he opened his mouth, he couldn't hold it back, and after talking about the first piece of paper, he turned the second piece of paper over.

This one is talking about machines, from the mother machine to the child machine, from the machine with the barrel to the machine for shipbuilding rudders, there are no less than 100 kinds, which shows that the preparation has been done very well.

That's a good thing! Guan Zhuofan thought to himself, although Rong Hong is not from an industrial background, but he has a lot of overseas experience, he is not only obsessed with industry, but also willing to work hard, he is the most Haode candidate in his mind.

"Futai, there is another one, whether it is making guns or building ships, it is difficult to move an inch without steel. At present, China can't make its own steel, so let's build a steel mill, and the steel we train can be used to make guns and ships! ”

Guan Zhuofan listened quietly and kept nodding his head until he finally finished speaking and stopped.

"Brother Chunfu, drink tea!" Seeing that Rong Hong, who was talking dryly, picked up the teacup and took a sip, Guan Zhuofan smiled, but suddenly talked about another topic: "It's hard for you, it's so detailed, it's really teachable." I don't know how much you know about railroads when you came back from the United States? ”

With a "whoop", Rong Hong slammed the teacup on the case, his eyes flashed with excitement, he didn't care about the loss of etiquette, and he didn't think about it, Guan Zhuofan suddenly pulled the topic to this, and asked eagerly: "Futai wants to build a railway?" ”

Regarding Guan Zhuofan's knowledge, Rong Hong has been very convinced after the first two meetings, a court official in Shanghai knows almost everything about the other side of the ocean, so what else can he say? Now Guan Zhuofan brought up the matter of the railway, which happened to scratch his itch.

"The railroad in the United States has been built since our Daoguang period, and now it is becoming more and more developed, and the east and west combined, there are more than 16,000 miles of lines, and the transportation of people and goods is extremely fast! Only the big railway that crosses the continent and connects the east and west sides of the strait has not yet been completely completed because of the difficulty of construction. Speaking of which, more than half of the Chinese workers who have crossed the sea from Fujian and Zhejiang are always building this big railway, and I am afraid that there are tens of thousands of people. Rong Hong said brightly, "The railway is really a weapon of the country, and now Westerners talk about the strength and weakness of a country, just by the length of the railway, you can see a hint." If Futai is intentional, Rong Hong is willing to be the forerunner! ”

Guan Zhuofan didn't expect his words to cause him to be so excited, and he said this Rong Hong, talking about making guns and cannons, he forgot the original purpose of "repair and study", and when he talked about railways, he forgot to make guns and cannons, which shows how strong his desire for China's self-improvement is.

"Brother Chunfu, although you are from the United States, you have a pure heart and can be seen with your fists, so I still treat you as my own person, and I will say whatever I want." Guan Zhuofan paved this sentence, and suddenly pulled the topic back to the original two pieces of paper: "If I now allow your Qiji Iron Works to build guns and cannons, regardless of the cost of building factories and purchasing machines, and not caring about how much it costs you to build each gun and a gun, I only ask you one sentence: The guns and cannons made are of two items of accurate quality, compared with the quality of imported goods, which is higher and which is lower?" ”

Rong Hong, who was full of enthusiasm, was stunned when asked, and did not speak for a while.

*(To be continued......)