An international passenger liner entered the dock.

At the door of the pier, a dark-skinned boy with a smile on his face kept asking the guests in English and French: "Sir, do you want to take the car?" ”

This person is naturally Chen Qiang.

Although the old Shanghai was the largest city in the Far East, the port at this time was far less busy than in later generations.

The kind of international passenger ships that come across the ocean are not every day, there is only one passenger ship from the United States in ten days, there are slightly more passenger ships from Europe, but there are passenger ships from Southeast Asia every week.

In comparison, there are many more passenger ships from the upper reaches of the Yangtze River, Chongqing, Changsha, Wuhan, and Nanjing are all big cities, and shipping is more economical than iron wheels, and there are several passenger ships arriving in Shanghai every day. Even the wharf of Suzhou Creek is visited by boat every day.

Therefore, Chen Qiang is not able to pull foreigners on the dock every day, but every time he pulls a foreigner, he can earn two or three oceans.

Foreigners who come to Shanghai are not all rich people, many of them can't get along in China, so they come to the Far East to pan for gold, and some people have to run away because they are in debt, so they definitely don't have much money, so they don't tip very much.

Chen Qiang tried his best to avoid pulling some "poor foreigners", and gradually, he also learned a set of skills to observe words and colors, to distinguish whether a foreigner is rich or not.

Whether a guest who has just come off an ocean liner has money or not depends not on the way he dresses, but on his spirit.

Ships in this era were not fast, and the time spent on a steamer was also long, for example, from Shanghai to Los Angeles, the ship traveled for a month.

A normal person who stays on board for a month will definitely be mentally affected, and when the passengers disembark, the difference between taking first class and taking third class will be obvious.

The first-class cabin is well-fed and well-lived, and there are all kinds of entertainment, while the third-class cabin is poorly fed and lived, and even the range of movement is restricted.

In those days, taking the third class cabin on an ocean liner was actually a very painful thing.

For example, the famous Titanic, the first class cabin has a large bed, sofa, and independent bathroom, and you can enjoy a glass of red wine with a sea view when you are idle, while the third class cabin is a bunk bed in a multi-person room, and the space is crowded.

For example, the first-class restaurant is a standard Western restaurant with dedicated waiter service, while the third-class restaurant has long tables and chairs without armrests. In first class, you can eat Maryland fried chicken, charcoal-grilled steak, Norwegian anchovies, Bolognese sausage, pudding, all kinds of cheeses, fresh fruits and vegetables, and in third class, you can only eat bread, muffins, sweet corn, boiled potatoes, and oatmeal.

That's the gap between Jack and Screw.

If the Titanic had not sunk but arrived in New York successfully, when disembarking, the screws in the first-class cabin would still be bright and charming, and maybe it would have gained a few pounds; Jack in the third-class cabin will definitely not be as handsome and chic as Xiao Li's performance, and it is estimated that he will be sluggish and floating.

Therefore, Chen Qiang distinguishes whether the foreigner who has just gotten off the ship is rich, mainly depends on the other party's spiritual outlook, if the other party's spiritual outlook is very good, it means that he lives at sea very nourishingly, and he must be a rich man who lives in first class; If the other party is not in a good mental state and is weak enough to walk, then there is an eighty percent probability that the person lives in a third-class cabin, and the other two percent may be kidney deficiency.

has the appearance of Jack, no matter how class he sits, he should have kidney deficiency when he gets off the ship.

……

Another passenger ship has arrived, this is a passenger ship from London, which has previously docked in Hong Kong, and Shanghai is the terminal of this passenger ship.

The passengers disembarked one after another, and a family of four among them entered Chen Qiang's sight.

"A man and a woman with two children, it seems that they are in good spirits, especially those two children, their faces are ruddy, indicating that they have not suffered on the boat, and this family must be rich!" Chen Qiang thought to himself in his heart.

Children's adaptability and resistance are not as good as adults, this kind of ocean voyage, children are very likely to get sick, even if they can stay healthy, but after such a long journey, the child's complexion will not be too good.

But these two children are really energetic, and it is obvious that they live in first class and get the best enjoyment on the ship, so they can be in good spirits.

Chen Qiang greeted him without hesitation.

"Sir, do you need a car?" Chen Qiang asked in English.

When the other party heard English, he immediately turned his head, but saw that it was a Chinese who spoke, and his face suddenly showed an expression of surprise and vigilance, obviously he did not expect to meet a Chinese driver who could speak English just after getting off the boat.

Seeing that the foreigner did not speak, Chen Qiang thought that the other party was a Frenchman, so he asked in French, "Sir, do you need a car?" ”

The foreigner looked even more surprised, and then asked in English, "Do you still speak French?" ”

"Yes, but not as fluent in English." Chen Qiang replied in English, and then he asked, "Sir, where are you going, I can take you there, I am a coachman, I can take you anywhere in Shanghai, and if you need it, I can also be your tour guide." ”

The foreigner was a little hesitant and a little tempted.

Think about it from another perspective, if the Chinese go to a foreign country and get off the plane and are unfamiliar with the place, there is a taxi driver who can speak Chinese to run to pull business.

Chen Qiang then persuaded: "Sir, there are not many people in Shanghai who can speak English, so I can send you to a hotel or a guild house run by the British, where you will meet your compatriots." ”

"Okay, take me to the hotel, I need to find a place to stay first." The foreigner finally let his guard down.

"Then I recommend the Licha Hotel, the British Duke of Edinburgh used to live there when he came to Shanghai, and the hotel operator is also British." Chen Qiang introduced.

The foreigner nodded, obviously the name of the Duke of Edinburgh, and the background of the British business, would make him have a good impression of the Zari Hotel.

Chen Qiang helped the family carry their luggage and walked to the parking place.

"Rickshaw?" The foreigner's wife exclaimed.

"Yes, ma'am, cars are still scarce in Shanghai. But rest assured, rickshaws are just as comfortable and safe. Chen Qiang replied.

"But you only have one car, and we have four people, and we have luggage." The foreigner's wife spoke.

"Wait a minute, I'll call you another car right away." Chen Qiang said and walked to the side of the road, where there were several rickshaws waiting for business.

Chen Qiang picked a relatively new car and said to the driver: "Liu Laosan, follow me to the Zali Hotel!" ”

"Latsians?" The coachman named "Liu Laosan" asked.

"Yes, foreigner, don't you want to pull?" Chen Qiang asked with a smile.

"There is no reason not to do business if there is no reason! It's just that I'm afraid that I won't serve people well, so I won't speak the words of foreigners. Liu Laosan said.

"I'll say, just follow me with confidence! Let's go, everyone is in a hurry. Chen Qiang urged.

……

The man and a child took Chen Qiang's car, while the foreign woman took Liu Laosan's car.

Chen Qiang pulled the car and trotted slowly, he knew that this kind of rich man didn't care about how fast he ran, but cared about the comfort of riding the car, and the slower the car, the more stable it was. And you can also take a look at the view of the first city in the Far East.

While running, Chen Qiang introduced: "There is a café owned by Italians over there, if you want to drink pure Italian coffee, you can go there, and they also serve pizza." ”

"The one in the corner in front of you is a French-owned western restaurant, where you can also taste French wines."

"There's a telegraph office in that place, and if you want to send a telegram, you can go there. Of course, the Recha Hotel also has this service. ”

"You go down that road and it's the Bund, where the British consulate is."

By the time Chen Qiang arrived at the Zari Hotel, he had already introduced the surroundings.

This foreigner was obviously very satisfied with Chen Qiang's service, he had just arrived in Shanghai, and it was when he was not familiar with the place, and it was no exaggeration to say that he couldn't even find a place to eat. And after Chen Qiang's introduction, this foreigner seems to feel that he has become half of Shanghai!

The foreigner got out of the car, took out a banknote and handed it to Chen Qiang: "Thank you for your explanation, let me know about this city." ”

Chen Qiang hurriedly took the banknote and looked down to see that it was a seated statue of the goddess Britannia, and there was also a number "10".

"Ten shillings! This trip is really profitable! ”

……

Sending the foreigner's family into the hotel, Chen Qiang took out eight cents and handed it to Liu Laosan.

"It doesn't take so much. The road is not far, five cents is enough. Liu Laosan said.

"Take it! The rest is counted as the reward given to you by the foreigner. Chen Qiang replied.

No one will think that there is little money, Liu Laosan heard this, so he directly put the money in his arms, and a flattering smile appeared on his face, and he became much more polite when talking to Chen Qiang.

"Brother Chen, if you have such a business in the future, you still have to find me, no matter how far away I will run for you!" Liu Laosan said with a smile.

The five-cent business, and finally eight cents, this is equivalent to a single business to do two orders of money, Liu Laosan is naturally very happy in his heart, and in the face of Chen Qiang, who brought business to himself, he naturally wants to kneel and lick without discipline, although he is more than ten years older than Chen Qiang, but he still calls Chen Qiang "brother".

"Don't worry, I won't be able to forget you if I have business in the future!" Chen Qiang agreed with a bold face.

The two were talking, when they saw two foreigners coming out of the Licha Hotel.

Chen Qiang immediately greeted him and asked in English and French, "Sir, do you need a car?" ”

"Let's go to the French Pavilion." This time it was two Frenchmen who replied directly in French.

Chen Qiang led the two Frenchmen to the car, and then said to Liu Laosan: "Let's go, our business is here!" ”

……

In the evening, Chen Qiang returned home, took out the 10 shilling note, and laughed beautifully.

This is a 10 shilling note issued in 1928, which is still very new and has a very textured touch.

The shilling is the coin of the British pound, and 1 pound is equal to 20 shillings. The 10 shillings in Chen Qiang's hand are equivalent to 0.5 pounds. That's not less than money, and it's probably enough for a taxi ride in London.

Before World War II, the gold content of the pound was very high, and the exchange rate between the pound and the US dollar at that time was stable for a long time at about 4.8 US dollars per pound. It was not until after World War II that the pound began to depreciate gradually, all the way to its current level.

In fact, the exchange rate of the currency of the colonial countries that came from the gold standard era was relatively stable, because the implementation of the gold standard required the country to hoard a large amount of gold as reserves, and as long as this batch of gold was still there, the exchange rate of the currency would not fluctuate greatly.

At that time, Britain was an empire on which the sun never set, with colonies all over the world, and also plundered gold from all over the world.

Until the outbreak of World War II, Britain consumed a lot of gold for the war, while the United States obtained a large amount of gold, and at the end of World War II, the United States' gold reserves accounted for four-fifths of the world's gold reserves, and the United States also established an international monetary system with the US dollar as the common currency.

According to the calculation that 1 pound is equal to 4.8 US dollars, the 10 shillings that Chen Qiang got are equivalent to 2.4 US dollars. According to the calculation that 1 US dollar is equal to 2.4 silver dollars, this 10 shillings is equivalent to 5.76 fast oceans, excluding the eight cents given to Liu Laosan, Chen Qiang also made a net profit of 5 oceans.

You can earn five dollars for pulling a car, which is something that other drivers can't even think of.

"Knowledge is wealth! If I don't speak English, where can I get such a big business? Chen Qiang let out a long sigh, and then lay down on the bed.

A gust of wind blew, came in through the crack in the grass shed, and fell on Chen Qiang's body, making him shiver with cold.

"These leaky grass huts are not good in winter!" Chen Qiang looked around and found several gaps. Then he said to himself:

"You can't live in a slum all the time! Now that I can make money, I should rent a decent house, at least not leaking around. ”

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This chapter is close to 4,000 words.,I'm almost two chapters on top of others in this chapter.,Cheekily ask you for a few recommendation votes.,Thank you.。