The two steam freighters slowly approached the Baishitan Wharf in Dongguan one after the other, and now the Baishitan Wharf has formed a scale, and it is easy to berth cargo ships of thousands of tons, and at least five cargo ships of thousands of tons can be berthed at one time. The Breaking Waves cargo ship and the Bibo cargo ship, under the command of the captain Chen Boss and Chen Gensheng respectively, docked at the berth without danger.

"Lord Kwong, Master Li, we have arrived at the shore. You see the people on the dock are coming, and I'll introduce you when you get off the boat! Captain Chen said politely. Shopkeeper Chen took care of him along the way, thank you very much! "Shopkeeper Chen! I won't be hypocritical, Li will repay me in the future! "The two adults are so polite, please!" Under the guidance of Boss Chen, the group began to disembark.

On the dock, Pei Gejin, Qin Fan, Wang Xiaoer and others waited. There have been contiguous factories at the wharf along the river, and the Jardine Match Factory and the Glass Branch have formed a scale. In addition, under Qin Fan's planning, many related workshops were built, which basically formed the prototype of the industrial zone. Under the pull of this, discerning businessmen and industrialists also set up factories in the vicinity, and the function of the White Rock Beach Pier gradually came into play.

"Hey! Boss Chen, it's been replaced by a steam cargo ship, and the shotgun has been replaced! Seeing Boss Chen's happy appearance, Pei Gejin shouted loudly. What is this, in two months we can add two more steam freighters, and Mr. Deng said that by the end of the year, a fleet of 10 steam freighters will be formed, and then it will be called spectacular! ”

"Mr. Deng is a business wizard! It's incredible, Qin is fortunate to be a member of the Deng Group, which is the creation of God! "Qin Fan didn't know when he heard it." Boss Chen, Mr. Deng, okay! The other brothers are all right, 5 years have passed, I really miss them! Wang Xiaoer was clamoring beside him.

"Who are these two・・・・・・?" Pei Gejin saw two white-faced scholars standing behind Boss Chen, and couldn't help but ask. "Brother Pei, this is Mr. Deng's letter!" After reading the letter, Pei Gejin hurriedly stepped forward and said politely: "The two adults are rude, please forgive me!" "Meet Mr. Pei in Xia Kwong Jiazhi!" "Meet Mr. Pei in Xia Li Tong!" The two sides greeted each other and introduced each other, so it was not lively.

Then Wang Xiaoer led the guests to Guangzhou City first, and Pei Gejin and Qin Fan stayed behind to hand over to Boss Chen. Silk, tea and other commodities transported by cargo ships should be handed over to Qin Fan, and at present, in Qin Fan's business field, commodity wholesale business has become the main business, and shop retail has become a side business.

The two of them inspected the goods, and after settling the people who had come with the ship, they entered a living room and took their seats in an elegant courtyard near the dock. Maybe they were used to it, and the two of them took out the secret letter brought by Boss Chen to check it. Soon, after reading the letter, the two of them said to Qin Fan: "Brother Pei, Mr. Deng said in the letter that Li Tong served as the commander of Dingming County in Guangxi, and asked me to fully assist, just because I want to open up Guangxi's commerce and trade, simply open up the Northern Sea Route, and use this opportunity to expand our trade." Master Li served as the prefectural commander in Dingming, and the next step for our trade to penetrate into the northern region of Vietnam. ”

"Mr. Deng's strategy is simply unbelievable and unfathomable. Brother Qin! I'll leave it to you over there in Guangxi. This Lord Kuang is going to take up the post of Changjiang County Commander in Hainan, and Mr. Deng asked me to help. There is iron ore in Changjiang County, Hainan Island, and in the future, Dongguan will build an iron-making plant, and the iron ore will be transported directly from Hainan. In addition, the land on Hainan Island is fertile, so Mr. Deng asked us to vigorously prepare for the construction of a manor, and in the future, Mr. Deng will recruit displaced people from the hinterland of the Central Plains and reclaim a large amount of land. ”

Pei Ge Jinxi continued: "This time the cargo ship brought a lot of pig iron and coal, in addition to two steam engines and acid making equipment, Mr. Deng said that he would build an acid factory. Our plant and personnel are ready-made, and next month foreign technicians will come to install the equipment, and Mr. Deng will let us prepare the raw materials. I want to accompany Lord Kuang to Hainan Island to take up my post, and the family affairs will be handed over to you for the time being! ”

The next day, Pei Gejin personally accompanied Kuang Jiazhi and Li Tong to meet the Governor of Liangguang with gifts. In the past few years, Pei Gejin has been moving around frequently with the Governor and has a good personal relationship. The gifts were all rare, and with Pei Gejin's face, the Governor summoned them. The plot of the meeting does not need to be repeated, the governor said a word, and the procedures for Kuang Jiazhi and Li Tong to take up the post were quickly completed. Pei Gejin personally accompanied Kuang Jiazhi to Hainan Island, and Wang Xiaoer accompanied Li Tong to Guangxi by land.

Sailboats sail in the sea, and the Lingding Ocean in the subtropics is warm and pleasant, and the scenery is beautiful. The people who followed Pei Gejin to Hainan Island this time were: 10 bodyguards specially assigned to Kuang Jiazhi, 10 mining personnel, and 20 people who were engaged in business and ran estates. In the past few years, Qin Fan and Pei Gejin have recruited a large number of personnel in case of urgent need in accordance with Deng Zixuan's instructions.

At this time, Kwong Jiazhi and Pei Gejin stood on the bow of the boat and looked out into the depths of the sea, and the sea breeze was gently blowing, which looked very pleasant. "Mr. Pei, when he came to Guangzhou, he realized the scale of Mr. Deng's business even more, and he did not expect that his business was all over Lingnan, especially Mr. Deng's connections in the officialdom." Kwong Jiazhi was moved.

"Yes! Mr. Deng is a generation of geniuses, and we have followed Mr. Deng in vain. Lord Kuang, the Governor has already taken care of it, you don't have to worry about Hainan Island, you can rest assured that you can do it boldly. Mr. Deng instructed that for your safety, 10 bodyguards were specially assigned to you. "Mr. Deng is really thoughtful, and I will not disappoint his expectations!" "Master Kuang, Mr. Deng's ambition, you must be very clear, I hope you don't have any scruples!" "Mr. Pei, don't worry, I know it in my heart." Pei Gejin saw Kuang Jiazhi's resolute face, and a stone fell to the ground in his heart.

The sailboat made a short berth at the Zhanjiang pier and then crossed the Qiongzhou Strait and headed straight for Hainan Island. Hainan Island is called Qiongzhou, and there are 13 counties in Haikou with the prefect Yamen, and this administrative level has continued in the Ming Dynasty, and there has not been much change since the Qing Dynasty. Perhaps because of the war, or because Hainan Island has suitable soil for survival, the population of the southern coastal provinces has continued to migrate to Hainan Island, and the population of Hainan Island has grown to more than 2 million people. Qiongzhou is an outstanding person, and the famous Qing official Hai Rui is a native of Hainan Island.

Since the establishment of Hainan Island, successive imperial courts have selected local people as officials, firstly, to stabilize the local people's hearts, and secondly, to let officials govern with peace of mind, and at the same time to play a role in stabilizing the frontier. Kuang Jiazhi's appointment broke the rules for people from other provinces to come to Hainan Island to be officials for the first time, Deng Zixuan considered this, so he had to go to the upper line, with the governor's decree, the prefect of Qiongzhou would not make things difficult in every way. Otherwise, Kwong Jiazhi will not be able to gain a firm foothold on Hainan Island at all, and will even roll up and get out. You must know that the Chinese have a very serious sense of vernacularity, and the local shili is intertwined, especially in places like Hainan Island.

Deng Zixuan not only wants Kuang Jiazhi to gain a firm foothold on Hainan Island, but also has to make achievements. A few years later, Deng Zixuan will support him to be the prefect of Qiongzhou, and in the future, he will firmly grasp Hainan Island, which is an important part of Deng Zixuan's jihua. Between the Leizhou Peninsula and Hainan Island is the Qiongzhou Strait, a distance of about 20 kilometers, and when the Haikou wharf appeared in view, Kwong Jiazhi was visibly excited.

"Lord Kuang, look at this Haikou and Guangzhou are incomparable, it can be described as a poor and remote country!" Pei Gejin stood at the bow of the boat and couldn't help sighing. "Brother Pei! Frankly, it is not easy for me to be a county magistrate at my age, and I am very content. And all this is completely Mr. Deng's initiative, I can become a county parent official in my thirties, which is rare since the Manchu Qing Dynasty, do you say I am qualified to be hypocritical? Kwong Jiazhi had mixed feelings in his heart, perhaps he had a lot of thoughts on the way to office, and he felt Deng Zixuan's extraordinaryness even more.

Pei Gejin smiled and said: "Lord Kuang is motivated, but I heard that the officials of Qiongzhou are all local officials, and they will definitely exclude people from other provinces, you can't be merciful, let them see your energy." The seven-grade sesame official will also want their lives, you have to be tough when you visit the prefect, don't let him underestimate you! "Brother Pei! Don't worry, I know how to do it! ”

The sailboat came to a depressed dock, and everything looked so desolate. The group went ashore, but fortunately there were two covered carriages on the dock, Kuang Jiazhi and his family got into a carriage, and Pei Gejin and others got into a carriage. After loading the gifts into the carriage, Pei Ge ordered ten bodyguards to get into the carriage, while the others stayed at the dock to unload the goods and wait for news.

The two carriages stopped at the entrance of the prefect's yamen, Pei Gejin looked at the prefect's yamen, and felt very shabby, and Kuang Jiazhi handed the name card to the somewhat stunned official. At this time, the prefect of Qiongzhou was closing his eyes on the bed in the back hall, this guy was five short, his face was fleshy, a white braid was sparse, and he was about 60 years old.

"My lord! The order of Qiongshan County from the capital has arrived! I saw a sharp-beaked monkey gilled master hurriedly walking into the report. When the prefect heard this, he sat up lazily, and after a few clicks, he took the name card and checked it. "My lord! The county order that came this time is a little unruly, and it is a person from other provinces! The master said cautiously. The prefect casually threw the name card aside and said, "Let him wait outside!" After saying that, he lay down and closed his eyes to recuperate.

An hour passed, and everyone showed an anxious look, but Kuang Jiazhi was very determined and still waited in a hurry, Pei Ge waited impatiently and secretly thought: Sure enough, now I will start to make things difficult, and if I can't do it, I must provoke him. Having made up his mind, Pei Gejin shouted to the officials: "Isn't it just a broken prefect's mansion, what's the big deal, what is half a garlic to pretend." When the guests come, they have to treat each other politely, not to mention that we are the officials of the imperial court. ”

The two officials who guarded the door were stunned and were about to exert their authority, when they saw a group of big men standing behind Pei Gejin staring at them, and they were so frightened that they hurriedly went in to report it. After hearing the panicked report of the officials, the prefect suddenly became angry and said: "Change clothes and ascend to the court!" "This trick really worked, and after a while, Kuang Jiazhi was recruited into the lobby." The lower official meets the prefect! Kuang Jiazhi bowed slightly, but did not kneel. Bold, your little county order actually insulted this official, come and take it down for me! Suddenly, several officials swarmed up.

"Wait!" Kuang Jiazhi waved his hand to stop it, and then unhurriedly took out a letter from his arms and said: "Lord Prefect, I have a letter from the Governor here, please take a look!" The prefect was stunned when he heard this, and immediately waved his hand to let the official retreat, and the master took the letter and handed it to him. The prefect sweated when he saw half of his head, and he knew that the person who came was not good. This guy's eyes rolled and immediately filled with smiling faces.

“haha！ Misunderstand! Misunderstand! The official thought that he was here to make trouble, so he asked Kuang County to come to the back hall to talk! "The lower officials are disrespectful, please prefect Haihan!" Kwong Jiazhi pushes the boat down the river. "It doesn't matter! Anyway! I didn't expect Kuang County Ling to be so young, my Qing Dynasty is really talented! Entering the back hall, Kuang Jiazhi ordered the gifts to be brought in, and Pei Gejin commanded people to carry the gifts into the back hall.

When the prefect saw a group of fierce men and precious gifts, he was both surprised and apprehensive, and he was even more convinced that Kwong Jiazhi's background was unfathomable. There is a little prefect who is puzzled, since this young county magistrate has a tough backstage, and weishenme goes to Qiongzhou, a closed place, to be an official, weishenme does not choose a fat difference? Thinking about it, the prefect is not easy to ask, and the answer to this mystery will not be known until he returns to the field.

The prefect set up an unprecedented banquet to warmly entertain Kuang Jiazhi and Pei Gejin and his party, and the next day he politely sent Kuang Jiazhi on the road.