In the past two months, Chengdu citizens have fallen in love with the fast, convenient, and cheap rickshaws, and the business of the car dealership is getting better and better as expected by the small teapot, and the income has gradually increased from more than 200 yuan per car per day at the beginning, and gradually increased to more than 500 yuan now, and the monthly income per car is equivalent to 15 taels of silver.

When settling accounts in the second month, this result shocked the little teapot brothers and Shopkeeper Deng.

Fifteen taels of silver is thirty silver dollars, excluding the nine five yuan of the driver's wages, repair fees and taxes, the monthly profit of each car is as high as twenty-one five yuan, rough calculation, it only takes half a year to recover the vehicle investment.

The brothers were overjoyed, and they all said that if the eldest brother hadn't come up with a uniform dress for the coachmen and a uniform sign for the vehicles, I am afraid that there would not be the good situation we have today.

The eye-catching signs and car numbers written in paint on the car, as well as the uniformly dressed coachman, let the guests sit at ease, and the car dealership of Master Chen in the south of the city also learned a few days ago.

Little Teapot was not complacent, he saw a potential problem, so he resolutely launched a new plan that he had prepared: the contract system, despite the opposition of everyone.

On the 20th day of the fifth month of the new calendar, more than 50 people from the car dealership gathered together with great joy and deep gratitude and infinite hope to draw a pledge on the "Contract Contract" in duplicate and press their own handprints.

From now on, the rickshaw they rely on to support their families will "belong" to them, and they only need to pay 16 yuan a month to the car dealership, and after a year, the car will really belong to them, and after a year, they only need to pay 3 yuan a month in business tax and management fees, and the rest of the income will belong to them at their own disposal, almost being their own boss.

Don't think that the little teapot is kind and not profitable, you must know that at present, only Jetta car dealers in the city can repair bicycles and rickshaws, three masters recruited from the arsenal that are going to die, the level of car repair is very high, and all spare parts are only exclusively operated by Jetta car dealers, the profits in this can be big, not to mention the kerosene business that is getting bigger and bigger, and the profits are amazing.

These are all small meanings, and another big stroke of the small teapot is sacrificed one after another:

One hundred brand-new rickshaws were delivered to the dealership and assembled, and more than 2,000 coolies who had read newspaper advertisements waited at the door of the dealership with their guarantors and guarantee documents, trying to become a member of the Jetta dealership.

Nowadays, the reputation of Jetta car dealership is far and wide, the shopkeeper is kind, and the management is well-managed, and it is the hottest thing in the whole city of Chengdu to become a person in Jetta car dealership.

These 100 rickshaws, for the time being, did not cost a penny to the small teapot, all of them were sold on credit to Jetta Dealers by the far-sighted wealthy businessman Genjiro Tsuka, and they would be settled after six months, and the price was very favorable: 120 silver dollars each.

Just when the little teapot and the second shopkeeper Luo Fat were busy, the British rich gentleman Luo Baiting sent someone to call the small teapot.

The little teapot instructed Luo Defa and Ma Pole to say a few words, and quickly rushed to the British foreign store, took the green tea offered by the shopkeeper, and politely asked Luo Baiting, who was sitting opposite, why was he in such a hurry?

Luo Baiting's gradually fattening face was still the same calm smile, he flicked off the cigarette ash on the big cigar, pinched it out, leaned forward slightly, and smiled heartily:

"Xiao, I have to regret to tell you that from now on, you can no longer buy the rickshaws of this production, because our fifteen hundred rickshaw parts and twelve pieces of advanced processing equipment will arrive tomorrow, and I ask you to assemble all these spare parts within a month and sell them all, can you do it?"

The little teapot was taken aback: "Sir, didn't you say that it will arrive at the beginning of next month?" I have already told you about the purchase of a hundred rickshaws from the Tsukagen Comptoir, and I have obtained your consent before, and now I ......"

"Haha! Please don't get excited, my dear friend. ”

Luo Baiting interrupted the little teapot and explained very kindly: "I don't have any opinion on selling a hundred rickshaws on credit from the Tsukasa Yuan Trading Company, on the contrary, I also praise you for this, if you hadn't told the man himself frankly about our cooperation in opening a bicycle factory, I'm afraid they still thought that they could occupy the bicycle and rickshaw market in Sichuan, and you made the man retreat."

"The only thing I don't understand is that I am a generous gentleman on the surface, but extremely greedy in my heart, how can I give you such preferential and generous terms, a total of more than 10,000 yuan of goods will be settled in full after six months, which is very surprising to me."

The little teapot knew what Luo Baiting was suspicious of, but so far, he didn't know why Genjiro Tsukasa gave him such a big discount, so he could only frankly state his opinion:

"For Mr. Tsukasaki's generosity, I am also thinking about it repeatedly, and the terms of the half-year payment are still proposed by him, but after the fact, I speculate that the old-fashioned rickshaw we purchased is being reduced in price all over the country, and the wheels with a rubber belt wrapped around the steel rim are indeed lagging behind, and compared with the pneumatic tires of bicycles, it seems to be so far behind by an era!

"Therefore, I think that the general price reduction of old-fashioned rickshaws is inevitable, and it is necessary to sell them as soon as possible before the goods are eliminated, which is probably the real intention of Tsukagen Ken to sell to me on credit, after all, Shanghai, Yanjing, Tianjin, Guangzhou and other big cities have begun to sell rickshaws with pneumatic tires."

Luo Baiting nodded: "Your analysis is basically the same as mine, which is the real reason why I came to you today and hope that you can sell all the 1,500 old-fashioned rickshaws within a month, judging from the current fashion trend, we will have to replace the next batch with rickshaws with pneumatic tires." ”

"There's no hurry!"

The little teapot smiled and said: "Sir, if it is possible, I would like to ask you to bring in another two thousand of these old-fashioned rickshaw parts to come back and assemble them, taking advantage of the rare opportunity when the old-fashioned car parts are facing elimination and significant price reduction, wouldn't it be good for us to make some more?" ”

Luo Baiting was pleasantly surprised: "Xiao, are you sure?" ”

Little Teapot said confidently: "I am sure, we have successfully opened the kerosene sales market in seven counties around Chengdu, and have 17 strong third-level dealers, many of these customers are very optimistic about the rickshaw passenger transport business, and five of them have signed a rickshaw purchase entrustment agreement with me, and the number has reached more than 800 vehicles."

"I expect that in the coming period, the order volume of old-fashioned rickshaws will increase significantly, because the population and city size of more than a dozen counties around Chengdu are not small, and the market has great potential. Again, judging from the current Chengdu market, there are at least 2,500 vehicles, and you may have seen the people queuing up to buy and contract at the door of our car dealership and in the yard in the past two days, no less than 2,000 people! ”

After drinking half a cup of tea, the small teapot continued to state under the blazing gaze of Luo Baiting:

"Last but not least, continuing to sell vintage rickshaws is in line with the local situation, pneumatic tires are good, but the cost and difficulty of repair and maintenance have also increased correspondingly, at least they need to be inflated frequently, and they require pumps, tire repair glue and skilled tire repair technology, which are things that locals do not have and do not want to do in a short period of time, so I suggest you think carefully."

Luo Baiting stood up excitedly: "Does this still need to be considered?" Tomorrow I will immediately send a telegram to Shanghai, entrusting my brother to buy back another 2,000 spare parts Xiao, you are the best, and establishing a close cooperative relationship with you is the most correct decision I have made since I came to China, for which I want to thank God! ”

The little teapot couldn't help but laugh, and when she saw Luo Baiting's wife and daughter coming over when they heard the sound, they hurriedly stood up and greeted politely.

After spending a long time with each other, Little Teapot realized that the white girl she saw on her second visit to the foreign company was Luo Baiting's daughter, who was 16 years old this year and came to China with her mother after finishing secondary school in the UK.

Mrs. Roberting happily poured a cup of fragrant coffee for the teapot and ordered her servants to bring fruit and snacks.

After a moment of greetings, the little teapot once again turned the topic to the cooperative construction of the factory:

"Sir, at present, it seems that due to the constraints of electricity, it is no problem to temporarily set up the factory in the yard diagonally opposite, but if according to our development plan, it will not be long before the yard opposite is not enough, I don't know what Mr. arranges?"

Roberting pondered for a moment:

"Shaw, maybe we need to buy back a steam generator. I'll figure out a way to do this, you still need to do a lot of work, and I also want to refer to your practice to recruit from the Sichuan Arsenal, after all, those boilers, foot stamping machines, electric welding machines, etc. all need skilled technology. ”

The little teapot quickly weighed it in his mind, and realized that Luo Baiting had no intention of distributing the factory shares to himself, and he was slightly out of shape.

However, it is no wonder that with his current financial resources, he is indeed not qualified to expect anything, and to be able to obtain the distribution rights of British kerosene, small industrial products and rickshaws has greatly exceeded the expectations of the previous small teapot, so he can only bury his disappointment and unwillingness deep in his heart, stand up at the right time, and politely say goodbye:

"Thank you, Madame, for the delicious coffee, and if there is nothing else, I will take my leave for now."

"Dear Xiao, we will be glad if you can stay for dinner, and our daughter Betty would like you to see her piano skills, and Johnson will be here later."

Mrs. Luo, who is thin and plump, sends out an invitation.

The little teapot was embarrassed, this was the third time that Mrs. Luo had issued a similar invitation, and it was a little unkind to refuse again.

Seeing this, Luo Baiting smiled slightly: "Dinner time is coming, Xiao, stay and have a drink, I still have a lot of things to ask for your opinion." ”

"It's better to be respectful than to obey." The little teapot had to agree.

As soon as Johnson said that, Roberto instructed the two Chinese guys to say a few words and led everyone to the backyard.

Covering a wide area, dotted with flowers and trees, the reading yard is very neat and elegant, a hundred-year-old lush hibiscus, full of vitality, everywhere shows the owner's cultivation and unique aesthetics, it can be seen that the Luo Baiting family attaches great importance to the quality of life.

The dinner was very rich, steaks, salads, grilled sausages and whitebait soup, the taste was very delicious, the two Indian servants were neatly dressed and well-trained, except for the small teapot in a light robe in the banquet, all dressed luxuriously and formally, which made the little teapot secretly ashamed, so he simply refused the high-grade red wine, and motioned to the Indian servant to hand him half a bottle of Sogra whiskey, the mellow and unique Sogra whiskey, which was the favorite of the small teapot for two lives.

Twenty-five-year-old Johnson was very happy to drink whisky with a teapot, a young white man who had come from England four years ago to pan for gold in the East, traveled to major cities in the north and south of China, and finally ended up penniless.

It didn't take long for Johnson, a Cambridge graduate in England, to become Roberton's right-hand man, usually representing Roberin in his dealings with the teapot, if not for the decision-making of his surname.

Zhuang Sen this person has a good surname, frank and enthusiastic, diligent and studious, not only fluent in Chinese dialogue, but also can speak a lot of Sichuan slang, but the tone has not yet been grasped in place, in recent months the small teapot with the help of Johnson, the English level has made great progress, and the basic dialogue has been decent.

The dinner was warm and pleasant, and the little teapot cleverly led the topic to Betty, whom the Robertings loved, and sure enough, the atmosphere was harmonious, and the laughter continued, which had the expected miraculous effect, and the little teapot's empathetic and elegant conversation also made the Roberting family like him even more.

After the delightful dinner, it was finally the turn of the tall and plump and rather beautiful Betty to perform, she walked to the piano and sat down, stretched out her white and slender fingers, moved a little, and the little teapot followed the example of the Robertings, pinched half a glass of wine, and gathered around Johnson, who had become a business partner and friend.

Johnson's blue eyes were now fully focused on Betty's seductive neck and fair shoulders, and the focus was on the deep cleavage that could not be hidden above her half-breasted dress.

Perhaps it is the difference in the times or national aesthetics, the little teapot did not feel that the youthful Betty was amazing, his eyes have been on the exquisite German piano and Betty's skillful fingers, a beautiful and very emotional song is played, the little teapot woke up, quickly put down the wine glass, and applauded enthusiastically with everyone.

Betty thanked gracefully, then turned to the teapot and asked with a little sly, "Shaw, can you understand?" ”

Mr. and Mrs. Luo Baiting were a little embarrassed, and hurriedly coughed in a low voice, reminding their daughter to be polite, Zhuang Sen looked at the excitement with his eyebrows, he had never had the upper hand in his relationship with the little teapot during this time, so he was happy to see the little teapot deflated.

The little teapot didn't look embarrassed at all, it was still that faint smile:

"Miss Betty's piano level is very high, and it can be seen that she has worked so hard, and without years of hard work, she would not have played so well, and this Schubert's "Serenade" has a special charm under Miss Betty's fingertips, and I almost forgot where I was."

Everyone was very surprised when they heard this, but they didn't expect that the young man in front of him with long braids and a robe still knew about Schubert, and they couldn't help but look at each other with curiosity.

Betty opened her mouth, revealing a mouthful of beautiful white teeth, and it took a while for her to come back to her senses, her face full of disbelief: "This is amazing...... Xiao, you also know music? Why don't you play a song for us? ”

Zhuang Sen, who was afraid that the world would not be chaotic, echoed continuously, and Luo Baiting and his wife also looked at the little teapot with great interest, and the little teapot had to bite the bullet and said:

"This ...... To be honest, Miss Betty, I rarely play the piano, my level is very poor, I just like it, in contrast, among the many Western instruments, my favorite is the guitar, but you ...... here"

"Xiao, you are dishonest, I understand you, since you say so, you will definitely play the piano, you will! It's just that you still stubbornly maintain the ridiculously modesty and reserve of you Chinese, right? ”

Johnson was very unrighteous and wanted to see the little teapot make a fool of himself.

Mrs. Roberting took a few steps forward and made a request very enthusiastically:

"Xiao, let's play a song, we all want to hear different styles of performance, and I believe that your music level is as good as your business talent."

It would be even more ugly not to agree, so the teapot shrugged its shoulders, sat down generously in the seat vacated by Betty, moved its slightly stiff fingers, closed its eyes slightly, played a small peculiar note, looked for the feeling in its memory, and finally played a beautiful prelude under the gaze of several pairs of curious or suspicious eyes, and then played it intently.

The fingers of the small teapot became more and more flexible, and the smooth and beautiful notes continued to flow out of the black and white keyboard, and the surprised Roberting family and Johnson were soon brought into the charming artistic conception by the beautiful rhyme.

Although the little teapot playing skills are not as good as Betty's, his musicality is very good, and his interpretation is very delicate and sincere, without the slightest show-off of fancy, listening to the Roberting couple is fascinated, listening to Betty's cheeks flushed, her eyes are blurred, and Johnson can no longer close his mouth when he opens his mouth.

Ten fingers slowly left the keyboard, the aftermath was still echoing, the little teapot stood up, and greeted everyone embarrassedly: "I'm sorry, I haven't played music for a long time, and there are a few places that are rusty." ”

Mrs. Roberting exclaimed excitedly:

"No, no! Honey, it's great, really, it's the most beautiful piano piece I've ever heard, I didn't expect it...... Dear Shaw, please forgive Betty for the joke she just played with you? You see, Betty is also impressed by you! ”

Betty walked slowly, her pretty face was flushed, her eyes were shining, she pursed her red lips, and smiled apologetically: "Xiao, what is this song called?" Can you send me the score? ”

The little teapot vaguely found a trace of the feeling on the stage back then, and thought to himself that if he hadn't made a rich second generation as a brother, how would he have the opportunity to accompany him to learn piano? Later, in order to pick up girls, they formed a band together, because they couldn't stand the ridicule of the keyboardist who was obsessed with a decadent temperament, and it took more than half a year to practice hard to achieve today's achievements, what can you do if you are a foreign girl? You've got Richard. Is Clayderman level?

The little teapot didn't dare to joke about his future, so he thought about it for a moment, so he said with embarrassment: "This song is called 'Adelina by the Water', and I heard a priest humming it many years ago, when I was still wandering on the street, and often went to the church north of the drum tower to get bread. ”

"Chengbei? The Catholic Church of the French? ”

Luo Baiting asked with some surprise, as if he was recalling something.

Betty pursed her mouth: "Impossible! Xiao, you're lying, if you hadn't received rigorous training since you were a child, you wouldn't have been able to play so well, and I don't believe you could write such a great tune just by listening to someone else's singing, it's undoubtedly a fantasy! Unless you are a genius, more than Beethoven, Schubert and Chopin! But is it possible? ”

Johnson also said solemnly: "I very much agree with Betty's opinion, Xiao, you seem to be hiding a lot from us, it is better to be honest." ”

The little teapot looked at this, looked at that, and finally spread his hands helplessly: "What I said is the truth, if you don't believe it, who can tell me what the name of the song I heard just now?" Have you heard it before...... Didn't you? That's right, I'm not a genius, and I haven't received much musical training, the most recent contact is the Chinese four-stringed qin, and I am no stranger to the guitar, there is one thing I need to say without modesty, my memory is very good, as long as it is a good song, I can remember it after listening to it once or twice, if you don't believe it, I'll do it again. ”

After speaking, the teapot returned to the piano and played the "Serenade" that Betty had just played, although the fingering was not as skillful and fancy as Betty's, but the musicality and rhythm were very good, bringing everyone a different feeling, winning the sincere applause of the Roberting couple and Johnson.

The little teapot politely said a few words, looked at the one-meter-and-five-meter-high floor clock on the wall, and without waiting for everyone to speak, he preemptively said:

"Betty, I promise you, next time I come I will give you the score, it's almost nine o'clock in the night, I must return to the car dealership as soon as possible, arrange the work in the near future, tomorrow I have to go to Ya'an, to inspect the strength of the two third-level agents there.

"Ya'an occupies a very important position in our work, because it is a transportation hub to the Kham-Tibet region, and if we do Ya'an's work well, the vast market in the Kham-Tibet region will be opened."

Betty still didn't give up, and when Roberting saw this, he came out to play a round, recognized the professionalism of the little teapot, understood the importance of his work, and then gave the little teapot out very happily.

The little teapot was far away, and Luo Baiting returned to the hall, shrugged his shoulders to his wife and daughter who were looking at each other, coughed lightly, and said kindly:

"Honey, I know that a miracle happened tonight, and I don't understand the reason for it, but, since Xiao doesn't want to say it, it's not good for us to spy on other people's **

"Xiao is an amazing Chinese, with a high talent and learning ability, which Johnson can testify, I believe you also deeply understand, so I think such a collaborator should be our best choice, we should respect him like a gentleman, right?"

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