Reason is Hu Chuyuan's greatest characteristic, allowing him to find a way to live in peace in this chaotic era, allowing him to find a safe place to live in the jealousy of the Qing political axe and the Manchu nobles, but it also made him lose a lot of fun that only belongs to men.

In short, Hu Chuyuan is not a very man.

For his love life, he rarely pursues that kind of bizarre fantasy and passion, but is very pragmatic, and especially wants to spend this life slowly and leisurely with Wu Shuzhen.

Whether you are rich or poor, smooth or difficult, you can spend your life like this.

Sometimes, he really can't let go of the little concern for Pan Limei in his heart.

He thought, this is fine, although it is a little unfair to Wu Shuzhen and Pan Limei, but after all, they can justifiably spend the next few decades together.

Wu Shuzhen is not only Hu Chuyuan's wife, but also his best assistant in the business field, and even in the diplomatic world, and the guests who will visit later are Butterfield and Sir Keswick, so Wu Shuzhen stayed, made a pot of tea for everyone, prepared some snacks, and paid tribute to the obligation of a hostess.

The two knights, who were already regular customers, soon entered the large study accompanied by the escort, and sat down directly in the reception room.

When Wu Shuzhen was preparing refreshments, Hu Chuyuan and his two old friends asked about Britain and Hong Kong, and asked about their two families.

After a while, everyone got to the point.

Today's Swire & Co. is the first British-funded foreign company, second only to Wanqi & Co. in China, but on a global scale, relying on the huge colonies of the entire British Empire, Swire & Co. is definitely the world's largest trading company.

Today, Swire & Co. is very large, listed in London, Hong Kong and Shanghai, with a total of 24,307,850 shares issued and a total market capitalization of 237 million pounds, and Hu Chuyuan holds a total of 9,770,500 shares through the Wells Fargo system, accounting for 40.195% of the total shares, and is undoubtedly the largest shareholder.

At present, Swire & Co. operates eight major industries: financial investment, international trade, mineral resources, port and shipping, department store retail, real estate, colonial plantation, and steamship manufacturing.

In the financial sector, the holding holds a 21.4% stake in HSBC, a 34.97% stake in the Royal Bank of Scotland, a 12.56% stake in Crédit de la Crédit, and a number of UK regional and colonial banks, including shares in several insurance companies and bond companies.

In terms of mineral resources, Swire & Co. is mainly focused on Australia and Africa, with a number of gold, iron, manganese and nickel mines, as well as two medium-sized oil wells, with iron ore and oil as its main investment direction.

In addition, Swire & Co. is now the largest port operator and shipping company in the Asia-Pacific region through the acquisition of British Steamship Company and Bird Moving Steamship Company, including port development in the U.S. market.

Compared with the current momentum of Swire & Co., Jardine Matheson is much more convergent, with a market value of only 1/5 of the former.

Of course, the budget size of the two companies is also very different.

After reading this year's budget communiqué submitted by the two people, Hu Chuyuan did not make a decision immediately, and continued to take a sip of black tea.

After a while, he put down the budget communiqué of Swire & Co., and said, "There is no problem with this one, so let's decide, and do our best to win the gold mining rights of the Transvaal." As for the final direction of the various free states of South Africa, I don't think they can compete with the British, as long as there is gold, they will still be defeated by the British after all. However, it will take many more years. ”

Butterfield elegantly put down the black teacup and said: "Yes, according to the information we have received, for the time being, Britain will not start a war with the Boers for the next ten years, but if it continues like this, the situation will be difficult to say." In addition, the Boers were too close to the Germans, which was probably the reason for the inevitable war. ”

Hu Chuyuan nodded slightly, and said: "No matter what decision the British Empire will make, first be sure to take the gold mines in the Transvaal, as for the gold mines held by Rhodes, you also have to find a way, whether it is subversion, plotting, joint ventures, in short, ......!" ”

Butterfield said: "Don't worry, I will do everything I can to force Rhodes to give up De Beers's gold mine to me, otherwise, I will forcibly buy his diamond mining company on the stock market." ”

He said it elegantly, but it was also full of bloody cruelty.

This is the business of this era, where the strong have everything.

Hu Chuyuan no longer has any problems.

South Africa and Australia, the main strongholds of Swire & Co.'s British Mining Company, are unlikely to make concessions.

After thinking about it for a while, he said: "The market in southern Africa is not the most familiar location for us, and if Rhodes is interested in cooperating, we can consider merging." After the merger, we will continue to inject capital and dilute his shares. ”

Butterfield sneered and said, "This is also a better way, then, I will try my best to lobby him." ”

Hu Chuyuan bowed slightly, and then said to Sir James Keswick: "Now, let's talk about the matter of Jardine Matheson in earnest!" ”

Sir Keswick smiled politely, "Good news awaits you, my esteemed Chairman of the Board!" ”

Hum.

Hu Chuyuan laughed weirdly, if he remembered correctly, seven or eight years ago, it was this person who shouted the most fiercely, threatening to let him get out of Shanghai Beach and never set foot in the silk industry again.

The result is quite tragic.

He thought, this is probably because money can make the devil grind!

In short, he is now the largest shareholder of Jardine Matheson, and three years ago, Jardine Matheson and Swire & Co. were still fighting for the position of the largest British foreign firm in the Asia-Pacific region, and the two sides were roughly the same in terms of industrial distribution.

Now there is a huge gap.

At present, Jardine Matheson is basically only concentrated in Hong Kong to operate real estate and credit business, and at the same time relies on Hu Chuyuan's strength to operate international trade between the Asia-Pacific region and Europe, mainly in the silk industry, tea industry, and hemp industry, and is also the largest silk and linen textile distributor in Europe.

Hu Chuyuan knew very well where Jardine Matheson was going, but he didn't think Sir James Keswick could take on this responsibility.

Because Keswick is old.

Keswick not only aged physically, but also aged his heart and thoughts, and more importantly, he lost his ambition and just wanted to rely on Hu Chuyuan's position in China to maintain the current Jardine Matheson market.

Hu Chuyuan was not in a hurry to say anything, but was silent...... Looking at James Keswick's gray hair and old wrinkles almost indifferently, his almost stern gaze made James Keswick feel flustered, and even Butterfield secretly pinched a cold sweat.

The three men were silent for about a few minutes.

Hu Chuyuan suddenly spoke, but he said slowly and politely: "Sir Keswick, I think Jardine needs to increase its efforts to re-establish. It seems like you could recommend a couple of younger candidates to me to run some of the more dynamic industries. ”

"Oh?"

James Keswick was a little noncommittal, but he understood what Hu Chuyuan was talking about.

He also thought for a moment in silence, and finally replied: "My nephew, William Tony Keswick Jr., should be a good young man, and his friend, the grandson of Madison, Hugh Barton, is also a good young man. ”

Hu Chuyuan nodded without much expression and said, "It's up to you to make your own decisions, but you can tell them that what I need is a more courageous Jardine, just like Sir William Jardine's once did." The future of Jardine Matheson is in the UK mainland and South Asia, with the real estate industry as the main core, and at the same time to hotels, retail department stores, food, textiles, Jardine Matheson can also operate new banks and financial companies, not too large, after all, Hong Kong Wells Fargo Investment Bank and HSBC are supporting. ”

James Keswick nodded silently, stretched out his hand, and said to Hu Chuyuan: "Then...... That's it, my honorable Chairman of the Board. ”

There is no doubt that this will be the last time they will meet, and the next time they will come to report to Hu Chuyuan on the general ledger...... It's going to be a young Keswick.

Hu Chuyuan stretched out his hand and shook hands with James Keswick, cold blood hidden in his skin.

He has already made his own request to shift the focus of Jardine Matheson to the UK mainland, Hong Kong and Singapore.

Whether or not this can be done is a matter for the Scottish family of Keswick.

If they can't do it, Hu Chuyuan will not hesitate to change the family, or change someone, or force the Keswick family to withdraw from the Jardine family.

Hu Chuyuan's schedule is always very tight, and this meeting has run out of time.

The people waiting in the welcome building were all rich or noble, including Tu Renshou, who was preparing to go to Beijing to serve as the Qinzheng supervisor of the Daqing Banking Bureau, Qu Hongji, who was preparing to go up a step in the officialdom and go to Taiwan to serve as the second governor, and John Yang, the former US ambassador to China, who was about to leave China, and Fang Yangqiao, Li Bi'an, and Ye Chengxin, the three bigwigs of the Ningbo Business Gang.

Waiting in the Yongyuan Welcome Building, even if you can't see Hu Chuyuan, you can communicate with other bigwigs, and it is definitely not in vain to come here.

Kang Youwei met Xu Run here, and before that, Xu Run didn't know who he was at all.

Hu Chuyuan didn't have time to see them, so they chatted first, Qu Hongji also invited a few Ningbo bigwigs to Taiwan to help and fund the establishment of a volunteer school, and several Ningbo bigwigs couldn't wait to pat Tu Renshou's sycophants - food and clothing!

Hu Chuyuan was about to send Butterfield and James Keswick away, Li Cunyi hurriedly walked in, and as soon as he entered the door, he said to Hu Chuyuan: "My lord, there is a distinguished guest!" ”

That's a big deal.

There are very few people who can be called a "distinguished guest" in Hu Chuyuan, haven't you seen it, Taiwan Governor Qu Hongji has been waiting for a quarter of an hour, and it is his turn to be Tu Renshou below.

Hu Chuyuan raised the corners of his eyebrows and looked at Li Cunyi quite strangely.

Li Cunyi is also a general now, leading the Fuwei battalion beside Hu Chuyuan, usually stationed in the West Garden, responsible for protecting the Hu family's family, he came to report, that is, someone came in directly from the West Gate.

Li Cunyi stepped forward and whispered to Hu Chuyuan in a low voice: "Prince Alcohol is here in person." ”

Hu Chuyuan's face sank quietly, Prince Alcohol is here, he is indeed a distinguished guest, but the problem is also here...... He could only come secretly for one thing, and it was also the last thing Hu Chuyuan wanted to ask.

He hurriedly sent Butterfield and the two out of the door, and then asked Chen Shanyuan, "Who else is behind?" ”

Chen Shanyuan told them one by one.

Hu Chuyuan instructed without thinking: "Please Tu Renshou and Qu Hongji stay in the West Garden...... After a while, I will invite them into the West Garden, and John Yang's itinerary will be arranged for tomorrow, so he said that I have something particularly important to do, and I will personally go to the consulate tomorrow to give him a meal. As for those Ningbo masters...... Let them come back the day after tomorrow! ”

Chen Shanyuan hurriedly said: "No, the day after tomorrow is the quadrennial chief shopkeeper conference, and the chief shopkeeper and the big shopkeeper from all over the country will come over, I'm afraid you won't be busy!" ”

"This ......!"

Hu Chuyuan then remembered.

The rules are the same, the big shopkeeper and the chief shopkeeper of each family meet once every four years, share a big dividend, receive rewards for meritorious service, punish in public, and some things are family rules, business rules, and old rules.

The shopkeeper made a small mistake, and if the prostitute was arrested or reported, he would be beaten in public.

If the shopkeeper of the ticket number secretly raised a second wife, married a concubine, and secretly hid a loan...... That is a direct punishment out of the door, informing all peers, and the collective will never be used.

A big proprietor with a ticket number like Hu Chuyuan, if he marries a concubine, he has to explain the reason clearly to the chief shopkeepers, who are virtuous, trustworthy, righteous and courteous, so that such a person can do the business of ticket numbers and serve the public.

This kind of conference is very important, especially for the Hu family, which will be held for four or five days in a row.

Hu Chuyuan thought for a while and said: "Let a few Ningbo bigwigs stop waiting for the time being, my family is going to hold a general meeting, and there are distinguished guests coming over today, let's delay until six days later, and tell them that I don't have any major problems here." ”

Chen Shanyuan replied and asked, "What about Mr. John Yang?" ”

Hu Chuyuan said: "Invite him to live in the Yinghua Pavilion, I will spare time to invite him to dinner in the evening, and give him food by the way...... The time was set at eight o'clock in the evening, so Tu Renshou and Qu Hongji also came together and went together. ”

"...... this?"

Chen Shanyuan was speechless, thinking, Master, you can eat this meal late enough, and you are not afraid of starving those masters to death.

Finally arranged all the personnel properly, Hu Chuyuan got up and asked Li Cunyi to accompany him to meet Prince Alcohol and the seventh generation of Style Lei.

Although this kind of thing is rarely encountered, the rules of the Hu family are very clear, when you encounter such a guest, you will go directly to the West Gate, and then invite you to live in the Splendid Villa in the back garden of Nanyuan.

Hu Chuyuan arrived all the way to the splendid villa in Nanyuan, although the villa is small, but it adopts a unique layout of the scenery of northern England, transplants a large number of European shrubs, constitutes a kind of small garden with both Jiangnan charm and exotic interest, and there is no trace of artificiality at all, as if living in the mountains.

Entering the Chunlan Hall of the villa, Hu Chuyuan saw that Prince Alcohol, who was nearly fifty years old, was sitting in the guest chair drinking tea, and he had a vague sense of restlessness, and he would cough heavily from time to time.

As soon as Hu Chuyuan entered the door, Prince Yiyun's eyes lit up, and he immediately got up and said, "Lord Hu, excuse me!" ”

Knowing that the matter must be a particularly tricky thing, Hu Chuyuan was not easy, and reluctantly smiled: "Lord Wang, let you wait for a long time, please take a seat." ”

Prince Yiyun also smiled a little reluctantly, sat down again, and said with a smile to Hu Chuyuan: "I didn't have to wait for a long time, not to mention that your Yongyuan Bili Jiangnan, known as the head of the Jiangnan garden, even if you don't come for a day, this king is happy to walk around the garden alone." ”

Hu Chuyuan smiled: "That's good, you stay a few more days." In fact, there is nothing else, the top of the garden is in the splendid villa, you look here, other gardens in the south of the Yangtze River will not be in your eyes. ”

Prince Yiyun sighed with deep agreement: "That's true, this king has only seen a few times in your splendid villa, and he is already convinced, and he has never seen anything in his life." It can be described as a natural and natural, a model of the combination of Chinese and Western, the beauty of the mountains and the exquisite setting into one, the two set off, it seems to be the interest of the mountains, but it is far better than the mountains, it is by no means comparable to other gardens, known as the first garden in the south of the Yangtze River, it is definitely worthy of the name! ”

After listening to him, Hu Chuyuan said with a smile: "The prince cares so much about this garden, does he want to run a garden for Lafayette?" ”

Yi Xun nodded silently and said yes, and whispered to Hu Chuyuan: "Master Hu, you are a smart person, this king secretly came to Shanghai to find you alone this time, so what is the matter, you should be very clear in your heart, so you don't need this king to waste words, right?" ”

"...... this?"

Hu Chuyuan hesitated, and then chuckled helplessly, he wanted to say that he didn't know, but Prince Alcohol still had to say it clearly.

Today, since Prince Yiyun is here, he wants to force Hu Chuyuan to make a statement.

Hu Chuyuan thought about it, but laughed again, and said: "Lord Wang, if you have anything to do with the lower officials, then please say it directly, I will not refuse, even if it is inconvenient, I will find another way." ”

His words were already beautiful enough, and at the same time, he also left room for himself.

"Good!"

Prince Yiyun was very happy, and immediately lowered his voice and said: "This king wants to ask you for help to buy a garden for the queen mother that is the first in our Qing Dynasty, how much does it cost, this king asks you to do whatever it takes, and it will be completed within three years." Wait for the great thing to be done, and the king will repay you ten times the profit. ”

Hu Chuyuan smiled bitterly and said, "Lord Wang, there is no third person here. I'll tell you the truth. I don't care if the money is not money, I don't care if I don't have the power, I don't care even more, to be honest, I never cared. If this thing can really be done, even if it is smashing the pot and selling iron, I will do it for you. The crux of the problem is not the garden, even if I buy the queen mother a world's first garden, if her old man doesn't want to return to politics sincerely, what can you and I do to force her old man to be anxious, you ...... I'm afraid I won't be able to escape, I'm ...... I'm afraid I'll have to go into exile! ”

(To be continued)