Sheng Xuanhuai is now supervising the Tianjin Customs, in 1882, Li Hongzhang asked Sheng Xuanhuai to build a telegraph line from Shanghai to Guangdong, Ningbo, Fujian, Xiamen, but because of the lack of funds in his hands, he began to use his power to embezzle customs money and grain, to subsidize the telegraph business, confusing the funds of various departments, and was reported and exposed. Fortunately, all parties interceded, and finally passed without danger. Sheng Xuanhuai sometimes wonders, why is it so difficult to do things in the Qing Dynasty? I really envy the people in the Northeast, who are full of gangsterism, and they fight when they don't agree with each other, and they issued a statement a few days ago, and they will be autonomous.

It is said that the governors of various localities are now in a state of self-government, most of the money and grain are in their own hands, their own business is done, and the soldiers are also raised by themselves. But like the big businessmen who directly show their autonomy, they are definitely the only ones in the scorpion. In addition, it is the ancestral land of the Qing Dynasty over there, and it was full of wind and rain for a while. Later, Dashang sent two airships around the city of Beijing, and then dropped a bomb in a wilderness in Xizhimen. The old and young masters of the Qing court have finally learned to shut up! It is as if the autonomy of the Northeast no longer exists.

"This Wang Yi can really make trouble." Sheng Xuanhuai was listening to someone introduce the situation in the Northeast. "You mean, they vote for the village chief?"

This man is in his thirties, and he speaks and does things neatly, so he is deeply appreciated by Sheng Xuanhuai. "Yes, their self-government has appointed nearly 100 supervision groups to be stationed in each village, and every adult in his or her sanity has the right to vote, and anyone can run for election, and the village head is elected every three years, and can be re-elected for one term, after which he is not allowed to run for election again."

"Why don't you do this above the county level?" Sheng Xuanhuai asked.

"I heard that Wang Yi thought that the villagers only knew about the situation in the village, but not the situation at the county level, so the county officials were selected by civil servant training instead."

"No checks and balances?" Sheng Xuanhuai put down the Chinese manuscript and asked with a smile.

"Yes, local citizens*, who have the right of veto on local budgets and the right to submit for recall of local officials. It is held at the same time as the election of the village head, plus the election of the citizens* of the autonomous region, and the three are one, so it is also called a three-in-one election. ”

"Their officials at or above the county level are difficult enough to do, and they are also in charge of the top and bottom, as well as the anti-corruption bureau and the newspaper supervision."

The man smiled and said, "My lord's words are so, but the official salary is very high. Wang Yi said that this is *, and it also corresponds to the cool law of raising integrity. If a government official commits a crime, the crime will be increased by the third degree, and the property must be made public. ”

"Who else wants to be this official?" Sheng Xuanhuai said with a smile.

When the two were talking and laughing, someone came to report: "Mr. Xi has arrived." ”

Sheng Xuanhuai immediately got up to greet him, but before he went out, he suddenly turned around and said to the subordinate who had told him about the situation in the Northeast before: "Write everything you know about the Northeast and hand it over to me at night." ”

The subordinate bowed and said, "Yes! ”

Xi Zhengfu, a native of Dongshan in the late Qing Dynasty. The second comprador of the British HSBC Bank in Shanghai. Now that people are middle-aged, they look kind and polite.

"Brother Su, please take a seat." Sheng Xuanhuai was very enthusiastic, and at this time a servant offered tea.

"Brother Xingsun is looking for me, I don't know what is going on?" After Xi Zhengfu took a sip of tea, he smiled straight to the point.

"Recently, I heard that there was a little problem on the ground in Shanghai?"

* Sheng Xuanhuai said very vaguely, Xi Zhengfu smiled after hearing it, and said: "Recently, domestic tea has been competing with Indian tea and Ceylon tea, while raw silk has encountered competition from Japan and Italy, so sales are difficult. The virtuous brother also knows that the tea silk business needs the support of the money bank loan in these years, otherwise the business will not be able to continue. However, the tea silk business is not good now, so the business of the money village can be imagined. In order to prevent certain problems, our bank collects money in advance to prevent financial risks. Therefore, they no longer give loans to the bank, and let them lend money abroad. ”

"Understandable." Sheng Xuanhuai said with a smile.

"I heard that more than 50 small money banks have closed down......," Xi Zhengfu said.

"Could it be that there is no silver in the market anymore?" Sheng Xuanhuai began to ask about what he wanted to know at this time.

"I guess so...... In order to prevent its own losses, the powerful Shanxi ticket number also changed the practice of temporarily not recovering the loan, and limited to the ninth lunar month (October 1 - 30 of the Gregorian calendar), the silver released out of the market was withdrawn together with hundreds of thousands of taels and closed no more. At this time of year, the business of Shanghai's money banks is similar to the weather, and the number of big money banks has increased from 78 at the beginning of the year to only 10 now, and no less than three or four hundred money shops have closed down. ”

"I didn't expect the situation to be so ruined!" Sheng Xuanhuai sighed with emotion, with a posture of worrying about the country and the people. However, Xi Zhengfu could see the excitement flashing in his eyes, as if a hunter was about to capture the most proud prey of his life.

"The current situation in Fukang is very bad, Hu Guangyong and Master Hu are now operating the export silk industry, hoarding raw silk, and monopolizing Juqi. I heard that it was 'the silkworm breeding villages and towns in Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces, and all of them were given a deposit, so that they should not be sold to outsiders, and they were completely sold to the Hu family. 'The backlog is so strict, I'm afraid there will be big problems in the current season. ”

Sheng Xuanhuai fell silent for a while, and after a while, he raised his head again and smiled: "Lord Hu is also for the country and the people, and he wants to take back the raw silk pricing power that I control in the hands of foreigners in the Qing Dynasty, and his heart is commendable, and his heart is commendable." ”

Xi Zhengfu smiled and said, "It's exactly what the adults said." ”

After seeing off Xi Zhengfu, Sheng Xuanhuai walked around in his study, tossing and turning for more than half an hour, and seemed to have finally made up his mind. So he sat down in front of the bookcase and began to write hard. After a while, he raised his head and said in a loud voice: "Sheng Fu, Sheng Xi." ”

Two subordinates walked in and said, "Master, you command." ”

"More than a dozen letters here were sent to me at the telegraph office, and they were sent overnight without delay." Sheng Xuanhuai said with a stern expression.

Sheng Fu and Sheng Xi agreed, bowed and exited the room.

Sheng Xuanhuai thought for a while, and said, "Sheng Lu, prepare the horse!" ”

Sheng Xuanhuai rode directly into the Yamen of the Governor of Zhili. Li Hongzhang was reading the official document, and heard the report from the subordinate that Sheng Xuanhuai asked to see him, and it was not too early to see the time, so he wondered in his heart, so he ordered: "Please." ”

"Xingsun is so busy, I don't know why?" Li Hongzhang is still holding a shelf there.

Sheng Xuanhuai looked happy and said, "My lord, a godsend!" ”

There was no beginning or end to what he said, of course Li Hongzhang couldn't figure out what was going on, so he hurriedly said: "Xingsun, don't worry, talk about something slowly." ”

After taking a sip of tea, Sheng Xuanhuai looked excited and said with a smile: "My lord, if we wanted to bring down Zuo Zongtang, we had to bring down Hu Xueyan first, but now the opportunity has come!" ”

When Li Hongzhang heard this, he raised his eyebrows and said, "Oh? I wonder where this opportunity came from? ”

"Today, Xia Guan met with Xi Zhengfu, the big comprador of Shanghai HSBC. I learned a message from his subordinates...... "Sheng Xuanhuai began to repeat Xi Zhengfu's original words word for word from beginning to end.

Li Hongzhang pondered for a moment after listening, and then said: "I didn't expect there to be such a thing!" ”

"My lord, my subordinates have sent a message to buyers from all over the world overnight, asking them to refuse to buy Hu Xueyan's raw silk. But the lower official is here to ask the adults for one thing! ”

Li Hongzhang said with a smile: "I don't know what Xingsun wants? ”

"Please come forward, let Su Songtai Road, Jiangsu Province, Jianghaiguan Road, Shao Youlian Shao delay Hu Xueyan's salary, the longer the better." Sheng Xuanhuai got up and arched his hand.

"It's easy!" Li Hongzhang agreed very casually.

"Don't worry, my lord, the rest will be handed over to the subordinate to ensure that nothing goes wrong!"

Li Hongzhang laughed and said, "If this is the case, the official is waiting for good news." ”

can abolish the money bag of his lifelong political enemy Zuo Zongtang, how can Li Hongzhang not like it. After Sheng Xuanhuai left, he instructed his subordinates to warm wine and hot dishes, pour themselves drinks, and Lao Huai was greatly relieved.

Hu Xueyan also felt the cold of the harsh winter at this time, even if he was in the south and the climate was warm, the cold still penetrated into the bone marrow, making people tremble unconsciously.

The old Ximen Hu family's mansion was in a tense atmosphere in the house. Jingshi, Zhenjiang, Ningbo, Hangzhou, Fuzhou, Jinling, Hankou, Changsha, more than ten Fukang shopkeepers have rushed back from other places. All of them took the local news and began to negotiate urgently. And Hu Xueyan, the big shopkeeper of Fukang Qianzhuang, was calmly listening to the shopkeepers' reply.

"Big shopkeeper, since you transferred 800,000 taels of silver from our Hangzhou to pay for raw silk silver for turnover. Within a few days, rumors spread in Hangzhou that our Fukang was about to close down. Now the owner of the shop began to withdraw the money from the bank. We did everything we could, but the other side didn't want to listen. Today, only 30% of the silver is left in the treasury, and the number of people queuing up every day is increasing day by day, and there is no sign of abating. If we continue like this, it won't be long before we have no silver to redeem in Hangzhou. Big shopkeeper, you better think of something as soon as possible. ”

Several other big shopkeepers also said at this time: "Since the run in Hangzhou, a similar situation has gradually begun to appear on our side. Although there is still silver in other local banks, it is far from being able to solve the near fire, and I hope that the big shopkeeper will make a decision as soon as possible. ”

The run itself has the air of conspiracy, and there is nothing groundless in the world. If you want the other party Hu Xueyan, there are only a few people on your fingers. And one of them is most likely to do this, is Sheng Xuanhuai.

In fact, there is no right or wrong thing in the business field. At the beginning, Sheng Xuanhuai was forcibly removed from the supervision position of China Merchants Steamship Bureau because of a report letter from Hu Xueyan. Now it's just a meeting, and the gurney China Merchants Bureau has also fallen into the hands of Tang Tingshu, Xu Run and others, and Sheng Xuanhuai almost went to prison for this. To say that Sheng Xuanhuai does not hold a grudge for this. It's simply impossible. In addition, both of them participated in the struggle between Li Hongzhang and Zuo Zongtang, and the situation is clear that either you die or I die. So stumbling on each other and stabbing each other is also a very understandable thing.

Hu Xueyan has been speechless, he has been in business for many years, he is not unaware of the danger of the current situation, the capital chain is so tight, there is a danger of collapse at any time. However, if you can't control the source of silk and let foreigners purchase raw silk at a low price, then the raw silk that you have hoarded for nearly a year will not be far away, not to mention that you will have no return. The only way to do this is to hold on and continue to put pressure on foreign businessmen to force them to accept their offers. In this way, we can break the monopoly of foreigners on the price of raw silk, so as to establish a huge raw silk trading empire of our own!

However, the situation in front of him was critical, Hu Xueyan pondered for a moment, and finally spoke in the warm expectation of the shopkeepers: "Shopkeeper Ma, how much silver do you estimate they can give us for the Shanxi ticket number?" ”

The expression on the face of the shopkeeper was like eating bitter gourd, and he shook his head and sighed: "Big shopkeeper, this matter is mysterious." Now the Shanghai silver number, the ticket number will shrink the silver root very tightly, and the silver will not come out. I have looked for the big shopkeeper of Sanjinyuan, although their family did not say that they would not help us. But I can also see that there is a limit to what they can do, and most of them are based on years of affection, and let out a little bit. In my opinion, it doesn't make the slightest difference whether you let it go or not. ”

Hu Xueyan's eyes narrowed after hearing this, and he secretly smiled bitterly in his heart. He is clear about the strength of Shanxi people, but he has a deep understanding of the temper of Shanxi people. Now there are dozens of Shanxi ticket numbers on the market, of which the scale is no longer under Fukang, at least four or five. Pingyao's Rishengchang, other Dashengchuan, Dadeheng, Dadetong, can also take out millions of taels of silver casually. But the problem is that the old Xi'er of Shanxi is not called in vain. People have the truth that people do business, business is good, it is easy to say, if business is not good...... I don't even want to borrow it.

Hu Xueyan sighed, the world is hot and cold, the icing on the cake is easy, and it is difficult to send charcoal in the snow...... But then again, if others fall into a field like their own, I'm afraid Fukang won't give out money.

The shopkeeper continued at this time: "Yesterday, I convened the shopkeepers of all silk shops to prepare to join forces again to cut off the silk source of foreigners, and they were all present, but when I talked about the problem, they were all sad faces, and most of them were nervous about money. Less than half of them are really willing to fight the foreign bank to the end. Originally, there were a few shopkeepers who wanted to enter the raw silk industry, but when they saw that the situation in front of them was not good, they now have no intention of joining. Other shopkeepers who originally wanted to continue to follow up with us are now hesitating. ”

Hu Xueyan tapped his right finger on the tabletop, but his left hand was clenched into a fist under the table, trembling.

This incident hit him more than the run on Fukang. After decades of shopping malls, Hu Xueyan has never felt like today. He can resist Fukang's affairs, but once there is a problem with the monopoly of raw silk, that will collapse in an instant.

Now that Hu Xueyan is advancing and retreating, this raw silk is like a mass of trouble, and now it is all wrapped around Hu Xueyan's body. wants to withdraw immediately, but now it seems to be wishful thinking.

From last year to the present, Hu Xueyan has hoarded 14,000 bales of raw silk, although this part was purchased by other merchants in the raw silk alliance, but the silver money was lent from Fukang. According to the average price of 80 taels, this is more than 11 million taels of silver. There were foreign businessmen who came to bargain with him before, and were willing to add six million to buy all the raw silk, but when the raw silk was in the tightest demand, the bids of other foreign companies could make eight million taels of silver for Fukang, so Hu Xueyan at that time directly rejected this transaction request without even thinking about it. Later, Japan increased the price of 3 million to buy raw silk, but Hu Xueyan still refused.

But now sitting in the city of sorrow, Hu Xueyan wants to say that he does not regret it, it is also self-deception.

Looking at these big shopkeepers in front of him, they have followed him for many years, but when foreigners bought them at a higher price, these people did not raise objections...... It seems that someone has turned down his offer to make a joint acquisition...... By the way, it is the Northeast people, the big merchants, and their price alliances, they are in the Andong Silk Factory, cotton factory, textile factory, embroidery factory, garment factory. I also heard that last year, they fought with the Japanese and the French, and they forced the Oriental and Western people to be wiped out, and they also recaptured Ezo and Ryukyu. Later, 75 million taels of silver were repatriated from Japan. It's just that now people are using spontaneous silk in the Northeast, and they have come to Jiangsu and Zhejiang to collect silk before. However, their own monopoly on production, as soon as they saw that there was no silk source, they did not come back.

Hu Xueyan suddenly saw a glimmer of hope, and the person became excited for a moment, and said: "Ma Zhang, if Sanjinyuan is unwilling to lend us silver, then you can go to Rishengchang Dashengchuan, Dadeheng, and Dadetong to take a trip." We are not too much, not too little, how much can we borrow. Sue them, as long as you can open the silver to us now, I, Hu Xueyan, swear, will never treat them badly in this life. If there is something in the future, just a small note three fingers wide, and I, Hu Xueyan, will personally go and handle the matter for them. ”

"Got it, big shopkeeper, I'll do it in a moment. I don't want to show this old face, I kneel on the door frame for them to do laundry and cooking, even if I dig the door and steal the hole, I will also do this! The shopkeeper assured with his chest.

Although everyone didn't know why Hu Xueyan suddenly regained his momentum, he also wanted to have a backbone in his heart. After Hu Xueyan arranged a qiē, he suddenly got up and said, "Prepare the carriage and horses immediately, I'll go to Shanghai!" ”

But at this moment, a series of hurried and panicked footsteps came, messy to the point of worrying, especially at this critical moment of stormy and stormy, everyone heard different information.

"Big shopkeeper, big shopkeeper!" The two showcase-looking people shouted before they entered the door.

As soon as Hu Xueyan heard it, he knew that it was the two shopkeepers of his Futai Silk Store and Zhang Ji Silk Store, Qiao Shopkeeper and Liu Shopkeeper. He was stunned, although he didn't know what was going on, but he also had an ominous premonition.

"What's the matter, bring them in!"

The two shopkeepers were pale and panting, and both of them looked sad and angry as soon as they entered the door. Because he was so excited, he was a little stumbling when he spoke.

"Big Palm...... Shopkeeper! …… Big...... Big...... Big things are wrong! Zhao Xingtian and Chen in their later years, the two of them signed a contract with a foreign bank behind everyone's backs today! Dispose of all the raw silk on hand at a low price! ”

These words are like a dagger, and it seems to cut everyone's throat in an instant. They were shocked and speechless, and there was a silence at the scene, and the silence was terrifying!

"What did you say!?" Hu Xueyan couldn't believe what Qiao and Liu's shopkeepers said at all.

They had to repeat it all over again.

"Zhao Xingtian and Chen in his later years have secretly sold the raw silk in their hands to a foreign bank at a low price."

At this moment, the sanity returned to the minds of all the shopkeepers present, and everyone understood that the raw silk monopoly had collapsed in an instant, and the embankment of thousands of miles collapsed in the anthill! Now this anthill has finally appeared in the midst of everyone's fearful waiting.

Once a large number of raw silk merchants begin to supply, the supply of a large area will inevitably cause the price of raw silk to plummet. The foreign bank will occupy the absolute initiative on the scene, and the situation between the two sides will now end with the sharp turn of the raw silk monopoly.

The raw silk monopoly alliance is over, Fukang is over, and Hu Xueyan is over!

"These bastards!"

Hu Xueyan was taken aback, it was really a thousand precautions, and it was difficult to prevent thieves. This is a complete leak of confidence, even if he is desperately trying to persuade the shopkeepers of other families, I am afraid that in today's situation, everyone is also thinking of running early and surpassing the birth, and no one can be willing to go into the coffin with Fukang anymore.

After going around the house a few times, Hu Xueyan, who hated more and more when he thought about it, grabbed the teacup on the table and slammed it to the ground. The porcelain pieces were flying, but no one dared to move them.

"What can you do?"

Hu Xueyan looked coldly at the big shopkeepers around him, but without exception, they all had their heads that were unstoppable and high on weekdays. Everyone was flustered, and they had raw silk worth more than 11 million taels in their hands. It could have frightened any foreign businessman, but now it has become a super giant mountain that crushes all the industries of the Hu family.

"Prepare the horses!" Hu Xueyan didn't look at everyone present anymore, and shouted directly to his subordinates.

To solve the current situation, Hu Xueyan has only two ways out, either to find someone to sell the raw silk at a fair price, or to hire a ship to transport all the raw silk for export. The first one is not to say, in addition to foreign companies, whether there will be other merchants to buy raw silk. The second one is even more difficult, but the steamship China Merchants Bureau in Shanghai is in the hands of Li Hongzhang, and his old rival Sheng Xuanhuai holds real power in it. If you want them to help, it is tantamount to begging for fish, and there is no possibility at all.

And at the moment, it seems that there is only one that can really help me get through the difficulties...... Big business!

Dashang controls the textile alliance in the northeast in Anton, and at the same time, he also has a super fleet of foreign transportation - Qichang Foreign Company. Everyone in the industry knows that although Qichang Foreign Bank has a foreigner's brand, it is the big businessman who really controls and operates, and it is Wang Yi!

It was also at this moment that Hu Xueyan began to face up to his junior for the first time! Control the source of goods, control the logistics, based on the local and external development. Originally, I thought that standing under the wings of Lord Zuo, a single qiē problem would not be a problem. But now it seems that he is more self-reliant than the king of the king, and it is not a little worse.

At the headquarters of Shanghai Dashang Bank, the bosses of six money banks are in the conference room, waiting for the arrival of Ding Xiaotian, general manager of the Shanghai branch of Dashang Bank. Today's Ding Xiaotian is a well-known romantic figure in Shanghai, he is not very old, only twenty-seven or eighteen, he is polite and polite, and the jade tree is in the wind. Talking to people, with a smile on his face, his affinity is vividly reflected in Shanghai's rich socialites and courtesans.

Don't look at the situation between Li Hongzhang and Zuo Zongtang, but Ding Xiaotian can be left and right, and no one can pick out any of them.

Although because of the rectification movement at the beginning of the year, his mentor Li Yuzhen resigned. Ding Xiaotian knew the situation, all the crimes were so-called by those unscrupulous relatives and friends in the teacher's family, and the teacher was just affected. Ding Xiaotian will inevitably have some grievances in his heart, after all, the teacher is innocent, why did the chairman transfer the teacher! But now new news has come, Li Yuzhen has become the dean of Dashang School of Finance and Economics. Ding Xiaotian was really relieved, and he also became more and more admired for Wang Yi from his original disappointment. Wang Yi is humane, and he is protecting Li Yuzhen by doing so.

Of course, the new chairman of Dashang Bank is Nie Xiong, the original president of the Guangzhou branch of Dashang Bank, and he was at the same level as Ding Xiaotian before. Now that Ding Xiaotian has been overtaken, he has no dissatisfaction with this. Because Nie Xiong is his senior brother, he is no longer below him in terms of ability. If someone else was on top, Ding Xiaotian would definitely not be convinced, but Nie Xiong couldn't say a single one! Of course, if he can take over the entire Dashang Bank and sit in the position that his mentor has struggled for many years, Ding Xiaotian naturally recalls that this is also his lifelong wish. It's a pity at the moment, but it's not unacceptable.

"You shopkeepers work hard, my little brother was telegraphing just now, I'm sorry to delay you."

The showcases of other money banks, who dare to say a word. Although Ding Xiaotian has a good temper, these people dare not offend. The people have a lot of money in their hands, and they still expect to borrow money from the hands of the big merchants, so they have to be kind and kind one by one, and their attitude is low, I am afraid that they will have this grandson in front of their father.

"Mr. Ding, you are polite, but you have waited for a while, you should be."

Ding Xiaotian sat down at this time and started a family routine with everyone first.

"Shopkeeper Wang, I heard that I just got a big fat grandson, congratulations!"

"Xie Ding is always worried, when the child is full moon, Ding will always enjoy his face and drink a glass of water and wine in the cold house."

"How is this possible! Am I that kind of person, how can a glass of water and wine be enough, how can I get drunk before resting, and if I don't get drunk, I won't return! …… By the way, everyone goes together, and no one can be left behind. You can not give me face, but you can't help but give us the face of the king's shopkeeper, do you hear! ”

Everyone in the conference room laughed and gossiped for a while before they got to the point.

Before speaking, Shopkeeper Sun sighed and said, "Mr. Ding, the situation in Shanghai is difficult now, and foreign banks, as well as Shanxi ticket numbers, have begun to stop lending. The entire Shanghai area has tightened monetary policy, and our business has become increasingly difficult. ”

The others also sighed and said that they were lucky to have established a stable partnership with Dashang a few years ago. It's just that compared with other banks, Dashang Bank has a relatively high loan interest, so the profit from borrowing from them is relatively small. Therefore, there were more than a dozen money banks before, and now there are only five or six of them that have really gone all the way down with the big businessmen.

"I already know about this, and now the silk tea business is difficult to do. When the British smuggled tea bushes to Ceylon and India, I knew that sooner or later there would be this day. But I never thought that this day would come so quickly. Raw silk faced competition from the Japanese and Italians, and sales were also poor. Coupled with the shipping trade monopolized by foreign banks, I am afraid that the shopkeeper Hu Da, who provoked the monopoly war of raw silk, is now like being roasted on a fire. ”

"That's what Mr. Ding said!" Everyone has a sad look. To put it bluntly, Hu Xueyan's monopoly of this raw silk supply, whether he really wants to get back the pricing power of raw silk for the Qing Dynasty, or to obtain monopoly profits, fundamentally speaking, it is also a rebellion against the exploitation of the Qing Dynasty by foreign forces.

"By the way, the matter is now a foregone conclusion. Your business shouldn't be implicated, right? Ding Xiaotian asked.

"No, although we don't have any other money to make much money on weekdays, but we are all under the big tree to enjoy the shade, with Mr. Ding covered by you, plus the investment strategy report you gave us, we didn't invest money in the silk shop and the tea shop, so everything is fine."

Speaking of which, these shopkeepers really want to thank Ding Xiaotian. It is precisely because of the investment report of the big businessmen that they switched to other businesses, and the big businessmen were not optimistic about Hu Xueyan's raw silk monopoly at the beginning, but now it has become a prophecy. This makes all the shopkeepers convinced, and there are big businessmen and masters!

"That's right, let's not come this time for business...... In fact, it is also for business matters. ”

Ding Xiaotian smiled and said, "Slow down, you will never abandon the big businessmen, and the big businessmen will not be merciful." Although I don't dare to pat my chest, I don't dare to pack a ticket. But what can be done, we will definitely do it. “

"Then let's talk about it, we heard a while ago that the Northeast is self-governing. Now we don't have much business to do in Shanghai, I don't know if Mr. Ding can introduce us to buy and sell, otherwise the cash in our hands has nowhere to invest, and it is a pity to save it. “

"That's it!" Ding Xiaotian was happy and said: "No problem, we have opportunities in the northeast, and the new government has also put forward many industrial support policies. The project over there is very easy to find, as long as you can operate with peace of mind, it is not a problem. ”

"Thank you so much, Mr. Ding!"

Several shopkeepers got up at the same time and thanked Ding Xiaotian. At this time, Shopkeeper Sun, who had spoken before, continued: "Mr. Ding, I still have something to ask for here!" ”

"You say, you say!"

"Me...... There are two sons, one is seven years old and the other is eight years old, and they have invited a family to teach some basic knowledge. Later, I heard that your group has an affiliated college, which recruits schoolchildren from the age of seven or eight to carry out Western education. As you know, our family is all merchants, and those who are in power don't look down on anything but the money in our hands. And we don't have the ability of Hu Xueyan and Sheng Xuanhuai, so we don't expect our descendants to glorify their ancestors and take the top exam......

Before Shopkeeper Sun finished speaking, Ding Xiaotian knew what he meant, and said with a smile: "I understand what Shopkeeper Sun meant, don't you just want to send the two children to the Affiliated College of Dashang?" No problem, the chairman of the board of directors and his old man are educated and classless, as long as I am a Chinese child, then I can enter the school. But ......"

Shopkeeper Sun was taken aback, "But how?" ”

"But our chairman's school is free for the poor, but a wealthy family like you has to charge some fees."

"How much does that cost?" The one who asked this was the shopkeeper Li who had not spoken on the side.

"Not much, a student for an academic year, a hundred silver dollars!"

A few shopkeepers heard the joy and said, "No problem, isn't it just a hundred silver dollars a year." In this way, I have to express some meaning no matter how I say it, I am willing to contribute five thousand silver dollars to fund the chairman's college. ”

When the others heard this, they seemed to be determined and shouted along.

"We also came, and it just so happened that there were many children and nephews in the family, so let them go together. In the future, there will be no way to support a family! ”

Ding Xiaotian suddenly smiled intriguingly and said, "Since you all want to donate some silver, then I will give you an idea." Of course, it's up to you to decide! The others nodded and listened, and Ding Xiaotian continued: "Our chairman's Dashang Affiliated College is not short of silver now, if you donate, you can't make a splash if you throw that money inside." However, I do know that Miss Shen, the chairman's fiancée, has recently established a new non-governmental charity group called the Red Heart Society, which specializes in good deeds, open policies, and transparent finances. Since there is no effect on the chairman's side, I think it would be better to let Miss Shen blow a pillow wind. ”

After saying this, he was happy, and the others also laughed, since ancient times, heroes have been sad to pass the beauty pass, and everyone knows it in their hearts.

"In that case, very good!" Shopkeeper Sun and others were overjoyed. "Then I don't know how to donate this money?"

"This matter is simple, we have an account number of the Red Heart Club in Dashang Bank, as long as the money is deposited in it, the money account will pass after a two days, and the other party will be able to receive the donation. If you can't wait, you can also use telegram exchange and deposit money directly in our head office, which is faster, but you need some telegram non-fees. ”

"I'll pick the second one!" Shopkeeper Sun is obviously very active in blowing the pillow wind for Wang Yi. When the other people saw it, how could they let it go lightly when they had such a good opportunity to run off the door, so they also joined in the fun.

Not to mention, two days later, when Shen Yatou suddenly found out that there were 50,000 extra Dashang silver dollars in the account of the Red Heart Club, she was also taken aback. Later, I learned that it was the collective donation of the shopkeeper of Shanghai Qianzhuang, so I told Wang Yi about it that day.

Looking at the happy smiling face of the girl who has not been in a good mood recently, Wang Yi was naturally happy, and sent a telegram directly to Ding Xiaotian to express his gratitude to the shopkeepers. When he made a request over there, Wang Yi naturally agreed. Anyway, there is a business, I want to be a big businessman, give technology, and give training. This group of Shanghai money shopkeepers can be regarded as having an eye for it, and began to donate regularly, although the amount was not large, but it was more expensive. Wang Yi felt that these people were very good, and it also gave them more opportunities.

But in this case...... Blowing pillows is really a good possession.

Of course, that's all for later. Ding Xiaotian was chatting with the shopkeeper of this group of money banks about business matters, it was not too early, he wanted to invite these people to have a light meal together. By the way, inviting Miss Song to come out, drinking together, chatting, relaxing, and contacting feelings are all very normal social activities on weekdays. But the sudden uninvited guest made Ding Xiaotian's relaxation plan come to naught.

It was not someone else, it was Hu Xueyan!

The two are also old acquaintances, and they have made many transactions before, but on the issue of purchasing raw silk, the two families have strict differences. So for a long time, the two sides didn't have much contact. Today, Hu Xueyan suddenly came to the door, Ding Xiaotian didn't ask, in fact, he was clear in his heart!

At this time, Ding Xiaotian had changed his face completely different from that of the day, although he was smiling, it made people feel unfathomable. Even Hu Xueyan, who is accustomed to seeing the world, doesn't know what the young man opposite is thinking about at this time.

"Brother Ding Xian, Hu is presumptuous, I hope you will forgive me."

Ding Xiaotian smiled slightly and said: "Brother Xueyan is polite, our big businessmen open the door to do business, and we welcome customers from all directions, customers are like the Jade Emperor, how can there be any presumptuousness." You can come at any time if you want. Even if there is something and I can't come in person, I will pay a visit. ”

When Hu Xueyan heard this, he felt a little less nervous.

"I don't know why Brother Hu came this time?"

Hu Xueyan sighed, shook his head and said: "Brother Ding Xian is here to accompany you, at the beginning, you tried every means to dissuade the foolish brother from monopolizing the raw silk trade, but unfortunately at that time, the foolish brother was blinded by money and was confused." As the so-called good words are hard to persuade damn ghosts. Now that the foolish brother has fallen to this point, he is also to blame, and he should not have come to the door to ask for mercy. But my Fukang is very involved, if they are all those eunuchs, I Hu will admit it. But there are many civilian homes in it, the foolish brother can't bear it, they are bankrupt because of me, and I came here today to hope that your group can see the situation in the past, lend a hand, and relieve the siege in front of Fukang. ”

After hearing this, Ding Xiaotian was speechless for a long time, he knew that the raw silk hoarded in the entire Fukang was at least more than 10 million taels of silver. Even if the big businessmen are wealthy, they will not spend 10 million taels to go to waste. Besides, that's just the backlog on raw silk. If you count all the debts of Fukang's system, the silver amount is as high as 20 million taels of silver!

This can't be called a hot potato, in other words, ordinary people are simply touching death, dying next to each other, and hiding as far as they can.

Hu Xueyan looked at Ding Xiaotian without saying a word, suddenly stood up, and then couldn't help but say, he knelt down in front of Ding Xiaotian, kowtowed, what man had gold under his knees, all of them were thrown out of the clouds, the old tears were crossed, and his voice was choked.

"Mr. Ding, please, save Fukang!"

A sixty-year-old man knelt down in front of him, and Ding Xiaotian didn't feel a taste in his heart. But this matter is not something he can call the shots, and this matter is widely implicated, and it can be mixed with the open and secret battles of the two bigwigs, Li Hongzhang and Zuo Zongtang. Dashang is not involved in this kind of thing. Although they have contacts with both sides, they have also kept their distance, and now once they enter this matter, I am afraid that the balance will be broken. As for the consequences, it is difficult to predict.

Ding Xiaotian pulled Hu Xueyan up, sighed, and said, "Brother Xueyan, I can't hide it, I can't be the master of this matter!" ”

Hu Xueyan nodded, he knew that Ding Xiaotian was telling the truth.

"I can ask the head office for instructions, but this matter is not for General Manager Nie to decide, and in the end, the chairman of the board of directors has the final say."

"Understood!"

"I'll call the headquarters now, it's hard to say the outcome of this matter, Brother Xueyan still has to be mentally prepared."

"Thank you!" Hu Xueyan didn't dare to ask for more.