Chapter XVIII: Bristles and Artillery
The next day, after Meng Chang finished practicing internal skills, several of them got up, had breakfast, and a few people went out, Lawrence's trading house was in the French Concession, not far away, and a few people did not take a taxi and walked over.
Pedestrians on the street are in a hurry, rushing to work, going out to buy things, people coming and going. Shanghai in the early morning has the urban atmosphere of later generations, but it does not have the dirty air and crowded traffic of later generations. The unique bell of the train passing from the street is very crisp. Occasionally, cars pass by, mostly rickshaws and bicycles. There were people in robes and coats, and there were people in suits and leather shoes, and everyone was busy on the road.
After walking for more than 40 minutes, I came to the door of Lawrence Firm, and the firm was called "New Law Exchange Firm". Mainly dealing in raw silk, fur, porcelain goods. But secretly, this trading house smuggled a large amount of arms, cigarettes and other prohibited items. This Frenchman has made a lot of black money for so many years, and he also has a good relationship with Huang Jinrong and Du Yuesheng of the Qinghong Gang. Mu Ouchu walked and introduced Lawrence to Meng Chang.
Meng Chang and the others entered the New Law Exchange Firm, and Lawrence had not yet come to work, and a few small staff members were busy preparing what they needed for the day.
"Sir, what do you need, I am willing to serve you" said a Chinese in a suit and tie as he walked up to Mu Ouchu.
"Oh, is Mr. Lawrence here, I made an appointment with him, meet at the business house at nine o'clock, and the contemptible surname is Mu." Mu Ouchu said.
"Well, it's not nine o'clock yet, you wait here, I'll give you a call and ask." The clerk sat down with a few people, served tea, and went to talk to Lawrence on the phone.
"Sir, Mr. Lawrence has left home and will soon be coming to the firm, do you have anything else?"
"What's your name and how long you've been working here?" Meng Chang asked when he saw that he was a Chinese.
"Sir, my name is Li Mingyu, I am a student studying in France, I just returned to China, I have called a business firm to work, please take care of me in the future," Li Mingyu said quickly.
"Oh, okay, if there is anything in the future, I will look for you" After speaking, Meng Chang chatted with Mu Ouchu about some customs and customs of Shanghai. After waiting for the ID card, there was a sound of a car outside, and Meng Chang estimated that Lawrence was coming.
"Oh, Mistermu, I've kept you waiting, I had a little party yesterday, you know, I just like to drink a little, well, it's a little too much, and I'm a little late today." A thin and tall, yellow-haired, blue-eyed foreign devil said exaggeratedly, and gave Mu Ouchu a hug when he came in.
"Oh, it's okay, I've just arrived, Mr. Lawrence, let me introduce you, Misdemon, you told me about the acquisition of bristles two days ago, he has a way" Mu Ouchu hugged Lawrence and introduced Meng Chang.
"Mr. Lawrence, the contemptible surname is Meng, Meng Chang, please take care of me" Meng Chang politely stretched out his hand, just wanted to shake Lawrence's hand and be polite. Who knew that Lawrence stretched out his hand to pull Meng Chang was a bear hug. startled Meng Chang and almost gave him a ditch punch. In fact, Lawrence is not a bear hug for everyone, but the bristles can be sold as much as there are now, and Meng Chang is now his God of Wealth, and he will hug one when he is happy.
"Oh, Mistemun, it's so nice to see you, you're a gift from God, and it's my greatest honor to meet you today." Lawrence was a little excited. "Please come to my office and we will have a good talk about our cooperation".
"Okay, let's talk about cooperation" Meng Chang and Mu Ouchu followed Lawrence into the office, and Liu Xiwang and others waited in the hall.
"Mr. Lawrence, before talking about bristles, I want to ask, I heard Brother Mu say that you have some chemical equipment in your hands, can I ask what it is" After chatting for a while, Meng Chang asked straightforwardly.
"Oh yes, last time Mistemu asked me about this, but now the equipment is not mine, someone has already bought it, the deposit has been prepaid, and I will come to pick it up in two days." Lawrence said with some confusion.
"Well, that's right, Lawrence, can you tell me what kind of equipment it is?" Meng Chang was a little reluctant to give up, and if it was what he needed, he would spend more money to buy it.
"Well, yes, it's mostly dyes and a fertilizer plant," Lawrence said.
"Mr. Lawrence, do you think this will work, I left the family to start a business, and now I am choosing a project, the two sets of equipment you said, I am very interesting, you see if you can transfer it to me first, don't refuse first, the same equipment, I still want three sets, and you will have other goods in a while, I can also order some" Meng Chang listened, these equipment can be slightly modified, can produce military products, must be taken, now time is not waiting for anyone.
"Mistemm, no, no, you're making it hard for me, I'll pay a lot of liquidated damages and reputation, you know, a successful businessman, how important reputation is to him." Lawrence is embarrassed, does he Lawrence need credibility.
"Mr. Lawrence, you are thinking about it, Brother Meng came out of the family to start a business just now, plus provided a lot of money, if you cooperate with Mister now, it will be of great benefit to you in the future, he just needs a lot of equipment and other corresponding goods, Mister Meng, and he is an anxious child, he wants to set up the factory as soon as possible, so I ask you here, I am your old friend, Lawrence, if you don't cooperate with Mistermeng, you will regret it, whenever you see Mistermeng ordering goods from other firmsand you'll regret it once. In addition, I will give you another piece of news, Mistermont now has a security regiment, which may need a large amount of weapons and ammunition, and this arms is a big deal. Mu Ouchu approached Lawrence and whispered. Lawrence thought about it for a moment and felt that he should believe Mu Ouchu's words.
"Mistermont, I'll consider your suggestion, you see, let's talk about the bristle business first, and other things, what do you think" Lawrence and Meng Chang said.
"Yes, Mr. Lawrence, the bristle business, yes, I can use a lot of manpower and material resources to collect it, you see how much you need, and what the price is." Meng Chang asked.
"How much bristles do you want, what is the price, 400 fiat dollars a catty, what do you think" Lawrence is obsessed with the bristles,.
"Mr. Lawrence, do you know how much hair on the pig is called bristles, not every place on the pig can be called bristles, only the hair on the back of the middle of the two front legs, it is called bristles, now many commercial houses are collecting bristles, the price is much more expensive than what you give, I will tell you a price, you see the appropriate, I will send more people to buy, 600 fiat currency a catty, you think about it, if you give me that batch of chemical equipment, I promise, I buy all the bristles, sell to you, The price is higher than this, I won't give you a price increase, you can sign a one-year contract. Meng Chang made a killer move.
"In addition, I heard that Mr. Lawrence, there are still some arms for sale, I can also consider further sharing, and if you can get a high-power engine, I can buy a large number of this, I will ask, that batch of chemical equipment, must be given to me first" Meng Chang added a little weight, the engine at that time, the French were relatively good, and there were artillery, the French have always had artillery plots, and some light artillery is still very advantageous. Meng Chang just wanted to get some heavy firepower now, he didn't want his troops to fight with the devils with bayonets.
"Oh, Mistermont, you are a likable fellow, I have to say, I can't refuse you, if I refuse you, God and the old man will be unhappy, Mistermont, tell me, what more do you want, France can satisfy you" Lawrence said a little exaggeratedly.
"Can you get a 75mm gun, if you can get it, I can ask for a batch, and stamping equipment capable of producing shells, I want it too. I have some way to buy some arsenals" Meng Chang's export is artillery, making Lawrence a little stupid, you play with me, you are a person, you also need guns, and the stamping equipment of cannonballs, Lawrence can't help but be a little skeptical about Meng Chang's ability, you won't come to shake me.
"Mistermeng, the business should be negotiated one by one, don't worry, we signed the contract for chemical equipment and bristles today, specifically for weapons and ammunition, I Lawrence said a big thing, don't say seventy-five mm guns, one hundred five, one hundred and sixty-six, two hundred and four I can get it, the quantity can still be guaranteed, of course, you have to be able to pay, the goods are not a problem" Lawrence said a little not as polite as just now.
"Oh, Mr. Lawrence, the goods are not a problem for you, and the money is not a problem for me, as long as you can ensure that the goods are delivered to the place I designate, the money can be fully loaded into your pocket, well, you see, this is HSBC's cashier's check of 10 million, it depends on whether you can put it in your pocket." Meng Chang knew that he was a little anxious, if he couldn't shake this old devil today, it would be difficult to handle things, so he reached out and took out the HSBC cashier's check he got yesterday from his arms, and brought a few today thinking about something.
Lawrence was stupid