For Mr. Hill's request, Scrooge can't agree, although people send you a pit, but you still have to see if the pit can afford it. It's good for a netbird to catch a bird, but if you put a bull in it, it's probably going to be torn to pieces. But it's not necessarily good to reject people outright. Because sometimes, the more you refuse, the more people will think that you don't want him to make money. Why should you buy this thing for the Germans and not sell it to me? Is this discriminating against the businesses of our British Empire? You can't honestly tell him that heroin is a hidden danger, a drug, and addictive, and this is easy to prove, as long as the patent expires and the competition is released, it will be discovered immediately. If you really dare to tell him this, the news will be published in The Times early tomorrow morning. So, Scrooge had to be more tactful.

"Mr. Hill, I think you know how profitable heroin is." Scrooge thought for a moment and said, "The Germans can only sell these products within their own territory until the patent expires." The German market is already much smaller than the British market. So by selling these patents, and even trademarks, to the Germans, we lose much less market than if we sold these to the British. At that time, I was working on the development of ammonia synthesis technology and pesticide technology. The Germans also have a certain strength in chemistry and metallurgy, and we need their technical cooperation. In other words, the heroin patent deal is only one part of a large-scale technical cooperation deal. In this transaction, the Germans shared a lot of technical patents and scientific research with us, plus a sum of money, as well as some orders for weapons, including heroin and some of the technology we possessed. You know, Mr. Hill, that the market in the British Empire is much larger than in Germany, and therefore it is impossible for me to sell it to you only at the price at which I sold it to the Germans. After all, we buy and sell to make money. And for the time being, I don't have any bigger plans that require a lot of money and technology, so we can't replicate the model of cooperation with Germany between you and me. Unless you can come up with more than the Germans, enough to make us tickle. Otherwise, I can't think of a reason why I need to make such a deal with you. ”

Mr. Hill, however, was evidently prepared, and replied: "We are not unaware of what you have said, Mr. Macdonald, and we have such an idea. But I think that even though all the heroin on the market in the British Empire today belongs to your company, that situation should change when the heroin patent expires. Although the British Empire pursued a policy of free trade, local enterprises still had some advantages. You're right? ”

"Not bad." Scrooge replied succinctly. Although the British Empire, as the world's first, always likes to advertise itself as a defender of free trade, and even until later generations, when talking about famous drug wars such as the Opium War, they still like to defend themselves by defending free trade, but when it is someone's turn to move his domestic market, well, the British Empire will not be soft on trade protectionism. Anyway, since ancient times, double standards have been a necessary trick of international hooligans, and this has been the case until later generations, for example, a certain hooligan can shout that human rights are higher than sovereignty today, but tomorrow he can shout that sovereignty is inviolable; Another big hooligan can provide security guarantees to other countries one day, and the next day he will allow another big hooligan to split the territory of other people, and even pretend to be a good person and ask everyone to refrain from it. Anyway, at any time, a big hooligan who is not good at using double standards is not a qualified international big hooligan.

"So, we have this idea that you can invest in our company with these three years of patents and related technologies. In this way, even after the patent expires, you can steadily gain relatively good profits in the market of the British Empire. I think it's a good idea for both of us. Well, as you always say, Mr. MacDonald, it's a win-win solution. Hill said.

"So how much long-term dividends can you give me after that?" Scrooge asked.

"If you are interested, Mr. MacDonald, within my powers, we may give you an annual fee equal to one-fifth of the profits from the sale of heroin in our company for the duration of the patent and the use of the 'heroin' trademark. After the expiration of the patent, we can continue to pay you 1/12 of our heroin profit as a fee for using the "heroin" trademark every year. ”

Scrooge looked at Hill and wanted to praise him, saying, "Your shameless appearance is a little bit of what I was back then." "Because it's just a set of white wolf tricks with empty gloves. If we do not consider that the patent on heroin is in fact worthless, then consider what the Germans paid for the patent, and consider that Hill is now offering a quid pro quo on behalf of Edinburgh Pharmaceuticals, where they pay much less than the Germans. Considering that the British market is larger than the German market, theoretically they should have taken out more things than the Germans, but now, what they throw out is like sending flowers away. For a split second, Scrooge wanted to let this damn guy run headfirst into the heroin pit. However, Scrooge was a very rational person, and he held back.

"It's not a fair idea to me, because you're underestimating the credibility that the heroin brand has built up in the minds of consumers over a long period of time." "I could have waited until the patent expired, monopolized the market for a few years, and then sold the 'heroin' trademark, and I wouldn't have made less than you mentioned, and for me, that would be a more stable profit," Scrooge said. But what do you think, considering that you were the first to propose such a business to me, I can give your company a right of first refusal? ”

Obviously, Scrooge's decision did not satisfy Hill, but Scrooge knew that as long as he was willing to provide the British government with vital tube withdrawal technology, the British government should not stand up for something like heroin, which was about to expire. As long as Scrooge's statement could not be seen as discriminatory against the British Empire or anything, the British government would not interfere too much in the matter. Therefore, Scrooge decided to delay the negotiations for two years, and naturally there were no problems.

"Ah, Mr. MacDonald, we still hope ......," Hill continued.

"Okay, Mr. Hill, as long as we reach an intention to cooperate, the specific conditions, let's let the person in charge negotiate slowly." Scrooge said.

"Okay." Hill also knew that this kind of thing couldn't be decided in one word.

……

Thanks to the victory in the Franco-Prussian War, the large indemnity, and the mineral-rich Alsace and Lorraine regions, Germany's economic situation suddenly improved, and a large amount of money began to pour into Germany, and new factories began to appear in Germany, and among these factories, the most promising ones are ammonia and pesticide factories.

In France, however, the situation was different, the defeat of the war was a devastating blow to the French economy, with the loss of Alsace and Lorraine, and the loss of high-quality minerals, many steel mills had to starve for low-quality iron ore to produce steel. These steels look no different from those produced from high-quality iron ore, but when they are used, they are completely different. They are more brittle and also easier to break. In order to guarantee strength, a lot of things had to be made thicker than before. And this further increases the cost.

Another terrible thing is that the market for French factories has suddenly become smaller. Several northern provinces were occupied by the Germans as collateral for the French before they were able to repay their loans. The Germans set up cards on the road to the Nord Province and charged high taxes on goods entering the Nord Province, which caused the price of French goods to be raised to such an absurd level that they were almost uncompetitive in the Nord Province. Although the French are desperately propagandizing, the French should use French goods, support domestic production, or at least not use German products as much as possible. However, the economic form shì is stronger than this qiē. When the money in the hands of the common people is very limited, and there is no next meal after eating, what kind of enthusiasm can he have to support expensive domestic products? In the original time and space of Scrooge, the flower growers in the thirties of the twentieth century, didn't some people also shout for a boycott of Japanese products because of 918? But how effective is it? Because there is no tariff autonomy, coupled with the fact that the comprador is in power, the price of imported goods is far lower than that of domestic products, and the economic strength of the common people is too poor, as a result, the market share of Japanese goods is still rising. This situation cannot be changed by the willpower of an individual.

Without resources and markets, all industries will naturally wither. However, there are still bright spots in the withering. There are two things in common, one is finance and the other is foreign-funded enterprises.

France is not short of money, although the government is poor, and the common people are poor, but those who have money are not short of money, they only lack investment projects that can make money. Well, this kind of situation in which the government is poor and Grandei Nützingen is rich, and it is definitely a commendable phenomenon for some people who lack intelligence or have ulterior motives, who have a lofty name, called "hiding the wealth from the people". It is said that the best governments are those whose finances are so poor that the people are rich and the people are rich.

If you want him to give specific examples, well, look for them seriously, at least in the history of China, there are not few such examples, the most typical is of course the end of my Ming Dynasty. The treasury is empty enough to starve rats to death, and the tea tax in a certain province is as high as twelve taels of silver a year, but those Qingliu officials and those big businessmen are all unprecedentedly rich. This is really a good era of "retreating from the country and advancing with the people" and "hiding wealth from the people"! What, you say that at that time there were large numbers of peasants starving to death? Peasants, is that also a people? Even if it is a people, it is a low-class people, similar to the Vaishyas in India, and they belong to suspected human beings who walk upright on two legs. Well, starving to death can be regarded as eliminating the inferior population and reducing the burden on the earth. Of course, if they are willing to stay at home and starve to death honestly, then after death, maybe those real "people" occasionally think of them, and will sigh, and even shed sincere tears, and write a few poems expressing their noble sympathy, so as to win a smile from the fragrant red sleeves that accompanied him on the Qinhuai River. In this way, these starving people will be considered valuable and die unjustly. But those guys often "don't starve to death, but especially fight for the mantis", and actually rebel, wanting to destroy the hard-won good situation of "hiding wealth from the people", "Why don't you honestly starve to death at home, but come out to make trouble for the court?" Do you think that if you rebel, you will not die? (Donglin boss Hou Xun said when he interrogated the captured soldiers of the army, he can say such a high-level thing, no wonder his son later went to test my Qing Dynasty's fame) I don't know if starving to death at home is heavier than Mount Tai, and rebellion is lighter than Hongmao?

Anyway, now, if you want the Grande Nützingen to come up with money to run industry, so as to reduce the number of unemployed people and restore the economy, you don't even think about it. But the profit-seeking nature of capital also determines that Grande's money will not always be left in the secret room, it must be invested, so as to earn more money back. As a result, large sums of money began to flow abroad, where the economy was better. At this time, there are two markets with the best economic shape and the highest return on investment, one in the United States and one in Germany.

In the near future, Comrade Lenin said: "The working people have no Motherland!" This is a good point, because the fundamental purpose of any state institution is always to suppress the Vaishyas' rebellion more efficiently. As Heine, who preceded it, said in "The Textile Workers of Silesia", it was just a "false fatherland".

On the other hand, in fact, the capitalists have no homeland. Just as Monsieur Hummel was teaching little Francis the last lesson, when Colonel Rufer was lying on the balcony, when the lowly, lowly and constantly betrayed sheep fat balls were gritting their teeth and trying to save this "motherland" that did not belong to them, large sums of money began to flow out of France and into the capital markets of the United States and even the hostile Germans. The capitalists also have no homeland, but the capitalists know this, but Mr. Hummel and Little Franz do not know it.

There is nothing new under the sun, in fact, if you look at the story of the last years of the Ming Dynasty, the golden age of wealth hidden from the people, you will find that those who really resisted the Manchu Qing until the last drop of blood were Li Dingguo and Li Laiheng, who "did not do An'an starvation" "Arm Mantis", and most of those high-ranking people who thought the water was too cold were sitting on Junjie who knew the current affairs. In this matter, foreigners are actually no different from us.

The French capitalists quickly closed their factories, laid off their workers, sold the unprofitable machines at low prices, and poured large sums of money into the capital markets of the United States and Germany. They waved checkbooks and shouted "Buy, buy, buy!" Such a good shape shì, don't buy it or people? ”

The price of the railway in Scrooge's hands has risen rapidly in such a frenzy of funds, not only the railways in Scrooge's hands, almost all railways, whether they make money or not, whether they are rebuilt or not, even if your railway is from one no-man's land to another, except for Xiyangyang and the gray wolf, except for Xiong Daxiong Er, there is no possibility to see other creatures along the way, even if a bald head can't be found, there is no possibility of making a profit at all. There will also be people who are willing to buy it for a large price, because the person who bought it believes that there will be a more stupid fool who will buy it for a higher price.

More railways, more steel, more coal, more ...... More workers. American industry, nourished by the dividends of the Franco-Prussian War and supported by funds from France, inflated like a balloon that has been fully inflated. Everywhere in France, you can see that the chimneys that used to smoke no longer smoke, the factories are dismantled, the machines are loaded onto ships, and then shipped across the Atlantic to the United States, or across the English Channel, and then across the Danish Channel, to Germany.