On 27 October, Contini, who had arrived in Calcutta, received a reply from Chang Dashuai, in which he was quite satisfied with his approach. [The trip to the Far East 4-7 has been issued with the same name as the author due to sensitivity> and now all countries have secretly set up leather bag companies to imitate the United Group to export scrap steel, but they obviously failed to grasp the situation, and there is still a bit of a situation that cannot be opened: one is that their price is too high, and the same thing, although it is already scrap steel, is still about half more expensive than the goods provided by Italy; Second, they still insist on foreign exchange, at least to Chinese dollars, but how many people in China can afford to pay for it now? Italy is all paid in installments; Third, they have to borrow and mortgage through the bank, and once they mortgage it, they will offer limited sovereignty, which makes the Chinese side very sensitive, and the installment of the United Group not only does not charge interest, but also does not need to be mortgaged, so everyone is willing to do business with the president; The four joint groups purchased a large number of things from China, from general daily necessities to important minerals and materials, and also recruited laborers, which other powers could not do.

As a result, their sales could only be sold to merchant groups, landlords, or other small and medium-sized forces, and it was impossible for the big ones to take over.

In contrast, Contini's road is much wider, the purchase of Chinese materials such as hometown tea, soy sauce, rice vinegar, old wine these are the Chinese workers in North Africa desired, Italian spices and wine they are not used to drinking, the consumption power of these 150,000 Chinese can not be underestimated, after all, they are steadily making money, and there is vegetable planting this side business that can come to money, and they also like some hometown things with plenty of money; As for China's tung oil and pig bristles, they are also things that Italy and even Europe need, plus soybeans, grain, minerals and other bulk materials, it is easy to fill these transactions. Chang Dashuai agreed to sell the wharf, also out of the motive and intention of being able to exchange it for scrap steel.

But the filthy sight of Calcutta made the attachés and officers frown, and seeing that the Indians even had toilets, there was a peculiar smell of urine in the air, and even Agnes couldn't help complaining: "This is what the British call an advanced model colony?" I think it's far worse than your Tripoli......"

Contini smiled, he didn't care about this, he knew that even in another 60 years, the Indian people still won't be able to get enough toilets, so there is no need to be demanding, so he said: "This doesn't reflect your son's talent, fortunately I withstood the pressure at that time, as long as the Authority and the Agency, all the power is in the hands of the company, so that Tripoli is today, compared to Calcutta, it is really more than half a century of progress." ”

If the average mother would have teased "look at what you can", but Agnes was different, and said with a smile: "Calais, you look really good, I think you will definitely be the prime minister in the future, I have to take good care of my body!" Ida couldn't help but laugh when she said this, this mother-in-law was a little interesting.

However, although the Italians looked down on India, the Indian natives respected them very much, because in their eyes, these old men were white and dazzling enough, and they were superior at a glance. So I feel full of happiness when I crawl on the ground for people to step on my back and get into the car: I stepped on a white man on my back today......

Three days later, Contini and the others finally arrived at the Taj Mahal accompanied by colonial bureaucrats, looking at the majestic and spectacular scenery, Agnes and Ida, who had been depressed all the way, finally improved, and when they learned that the Taj Mahal was built by Shah Jahan to commemorate his second wife Mumtaz Mahal, and it is said that he had gray hair overnight, Ida was obviously touched.

Contini smiled: "I can't build the mausoleum, but we can build a warship now, and when we go back, the Ida is estimated to have a first outline, and the shipyard promised us that it could be completed by August 1930, and then we could take this ship for our honeymoon." ”

"Really? Isn't that great? Brother Calais, thank you! ”

While they were talking, Zakaria suddenly sent a telegram: "President, there is a telegram from Japan, sent in the name of their Ministry of Foreign Affairs. ”

"Japan?" Contini was puzzled, "What's the matter?" ”

"First, I would like to invite you to visit Japan at a convenient time this year or early next year; Second, Japan wants to do some business with us and exchange crude oil with us for raw silk or other agricultural products. ”

"What does this mean? Aren't they used to buying crude oil from the United States and Shell? Shipping from Africa to Japan may not be cheap. ”

"But those that cost them precious foreign exchange, so Japan considered that if we could accept their products, then they could be swapped, and the price was on the FOB basis, and the freight was borne by each other."

Contini tilted his head and thought: "Do you think this is necessary?" ”

"From a purely economic point of view, I think it's necessary. On the one hand, Italy's garment industry is very developed in Europe, but our raw material supply is unstable, and Japanese raw silk can provide materials for silk clothing in the civilian field, which I think is conducive to the development of Italy's domestic apparel industry; On the other hand, silk also has a great role in the military, silk is the main material of the parachute, at present we are promoting aviation on a large scale, the demand is very large, and the heavy artillery and battleship main guns are also silk-wrapped propellant packets, which are all practical needs, 2 million tons of crude oil, which is about 18 million US dollars, I think it can be digested. Now it's all about measuring whether it's cost-effective. ”

Contini nodded: Zakaria's reminder suddenly made him react, and silk was the only main force before the American DuPont Group overcame the technical difficulties of using nylon materials in the production and manufacture of parachutes. For nylon, he has explained that the joint laboratory is stepping up research, and even roughly described this property, and he believes that once it is launched, it will be a drastic change.

"I can promise Japan, the price, quantity, and cooperation methods will be discussed in detail when I arrive in Japan, in principle, there is no problem, and I will also visit Japan, which is tentatively scheduled for the end of January......"

Now Japan's foreign minister is concurrently served by Prime Minister Tanaka Yoshiichi himself, after receiving Contini's affirmative reply, he said that he was very satisfied, the purchase of crude oil is just a stone to ask for directions, although Japan also has the idea of energy diversification, does not want to put crude oil on the side of Britain and the United States, but in the final analysis, in addition to energy there are more things that want to cooperate with the United Group, as long as you are willing to come to Japan and do business with Japan, the future is bright. Especially when it is said that Contini and Zhang Dashuai have a good relationship, Tanaka Yoshiichi is even more pleased......