Sun Yuanqi's face was a little embarrassed: "She is the inner brother of the younger brother...... "At that moment, let Lilith meet the Sun brothers with Chinese etiquette.

After saluting like a ceremony, Sun Yuanqi continued to ask: "Why, it seems that the two brothers know her?" ”

Sun Duosen said bluntly: "Why don't you know?" I've had a lot of dealings, but fortunately, this meeting, if it didn't really become a big flood and washed the Dragon King Temple - the family didn't know the family."

The brothers may feel that what they did before was bullying their younger siblings, and some details cannot be said. But Lilith has a pungent personality and grew up in the United States, so she naturally knows everything and says everything. Listening to her say this, Sun Yuanqi understood the ins and outs of the matter.

It turned out that the brothers Sun Duoxin and Sun Duosen did not study to the talents of their uncle and grandfather Sun Jianai, but inherited the business talents of their grandfather Li Hanzhang, and actively participated in the establishment of the industry for a long time. First, the brothers were in Yangzhou to run salt, and they first rented salt tickets from their uncle He Weijian, the great-grandfather of He Zuoxiu, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and then disposed of salt trafficking. The profits of the salt monopoly are amazing, but risks and profits coexist, especially the robbery of bandits and horse thieves, which cannot be prevented. Moreover, with the decline of the late Qing government's control over the local government, the sale of illicit salt was everywhere, and the profit margin gradually shrank. After some time, the brothers decided to change their careers.

After sufficient market research, they found that the foreign flour milled by foreign steel mills was very profitable, so they bought land and set up a factory in Shanghai in the 24th year of Guangxu (1898) and began to set foot in the flour processing industry. After preparation and construction, it was officially put into operation in 1900, and the factory was named Fufeng Flour Mill, which was also the first machine-made flour mill in China at that time. Because the quality and color of the flour in Fufeng Factory are comparable to that of foreign flour, but the price is much cheaper than that of foreign flour, it quickly won the market in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, and the brothers also made a lot of money.

In March of this year, Lilith, who had already worked hard in the United States, decided to move to the Far East to open up a new battlefield. She first went to Japan with a large amount of money to investigate, and then came to Shanghai, and found that the Chinese's pursuit of food has reached the peak, and the sales of MSG are very optimistic; And there is his brother Tony here to take care of, it's really not good, and there is still a husband in Beijing, isn't it? After weighing, it was decided to invest in a monosodium glutamate factory in Shanghai.

The plan was settled, and Lilith purchased the necessary equipment from her father, Mr. Bergman, and on the other hand, looked for a suitable supplier of raw materials in Shanghai. The main raw material for the production of MSG is flour, and the company of the Sun brothers is the largest machine-made flour mill in Shanghai, so Xiao Nizi naturally came to the door, hoping to reach a purchase agreement.

In Lilith's opinion, this is a long-term bulk purchase, and the price should be much cheaper than the market price. But when the two brothers saw that Lilith was a foreigner, they were very unhappy, so they wanted to show a little patriotism in the mall, and the bid was only a little cheaper than the market price. Through investigation and calculation, Lilith found that the profit margin of the Fufeng factory was very large, and it could be reduced a lot, so she met again and again to negotiate. But the brothers didn't budge at all: you don't want to buy it? Then you go and buy foreign imported flour

After listening to Lilith's statement, Sun Yuanqi couldn't cry or laugh: Tell me, what's going on?

At the end of the Qing Dynasty, China's national industry was mainly a combination of government and business, such as the Hu Xueyan family and Qiao Zhiyong family in the early stage, and the Zhou Fu family, Sun Jianai family, Zhang Jian family and so on in the middle and late period. In the end, these large enterprises declined rapidly because of officialdom frustration and family entanglements. In view of this, after knowing this relationship, Sun Yuanqi was reluctant to cooperate with Lilith's MSG Factory and Fufeng Flour Mill. Moreover, Lilith plans to produce instant noodles in the future, which requires a lot of flour. The supply of raw materials is in the hands of a single manufacturer, and that is completely a way to die.

After knowing Lilith's identity, Sun Duoxin patted ** and promised: "Since it is my brother and sister who want to buy it, we will definitely give the best price"

Sun Yuanqi became more and more worried, and he had secretly made up his mind in his heart: when he went back in the evening, he would definitely talk to Lilith that in addition to buying flour from the Fufeng Mill, it was best to build another flour mill somewhere else. Since Fufeng Factory can make a fortune by grinding flour, there is no reason why it will not make money without building its own factory. Even if it doesn't make money, it can still be sold indirectly to its own MSG factory, isn't it?

When the other welcoming personnel saw that Sun Yuanqi had a family member coming, they didn't bother much, but only said that they would send invitations when they were free in the next few days, and they dispersed. Sun Yuanqi and his entourage, Lilith, and Tony, together with Sun Duoxin, came to the Sun Mansion located at the intersection of Wukang Road, Huashan Road.

After the opening of the port of Shanghai, the ten-mile foreign field was prosperous and abnormal, and the Puxi area became a good place for flowing gold and silver, and the dignitaries and dignitaries all bought land and built houses here, and Li Hongzhang, who was an important minister in the late Qing Dynasty, was naturally no exception, and his family accounted for more than half of a Huashan Road. Of course, the Li family did not eat alone, and cut the land into pieces and resold it to relatives and friends. The Sun brothers, as Li Hongzhang's nephews, also got a piece of the pie.

Sun Mansion is a group of small pale yellow western-style buildings in Spanish style, high and low, uneven, and there are many free rooms. At the kind invitation of the two brothers, Sun Yuanqi lived here. As the saying goes: "A little don't win a newlywed." "Sun Yuanqi lived in Shanghai for a few days, went out to socialize during the day, and at night he and Lilith were turned over by the red waves and turned the phoenix, needless to say.

Of course, for a few more days in Shanghai, it was not that Sun Yuanqi was indulging in gentle township and deliberately delayed, but that he had to do it.

At the beginning of the 20th century, the Yangtze River shipping was mainly from Hankou to Shanghai, and was operated by 9 companies from 5 countries, including Britain, Germany, Japan, France, and China. Among them, there are four largest in Japan, including Osaka Merchant Marine Company, Nippon Yusen Company, Hunan Steamship Company, and Daito Steamship Company. The largest are the two steamship companies of Swire and Jardine Matheson in the United Kingdom, as well as the China Merchants Steamship Company. The water flow of the Yangtze River channel is turbulent, and the riverbed is very shallow in many places, so for the sake of safety, the passenger capacity of river ships is much smaller than that of sea ships. Central China and East China are the most densely populated areas of the Chinese, with repeated commercial and trade activities, and the Yangtze River, as the main artery of transportation, is under great transportation pressure. Even a big man like Sun Yuanqi who is from the second rank needs to wait a few days before the cabin can be arranged.

During his stay in Shanghai, Sun Yuanqi was not idle, in addition to exchanging feelings with some official eunuchs, he had to go to Nanyang Public School every day to give lectures at Nanyang Public School, which had been renamed the "Higher Industrial School of the Ministry of Commerce", and he had to talk to Xia Ruifang about the next plan when he was free.

Now that Sun Yuanqi has been reappointed as the Hubei Provincial Envoy, the Commercial Press has been able to cooperate with Jingshi University to set up a bookstore, which is attached to the Hubei Provincial Envoy to facilitate the promotion of textbooks in an official capacity.

Upon learning of Sun Yuanqi's arrival in Shanghai, Cai Yuanpei also rushed over from Suzhou to report on the size of the Suzhou Middle School and Primary School affiliated to Jingshi University over the past year. After Tony and Lilith met Sun Yuanqi, they gave him a total of $100,000. Sun Yuanqi left 20,000 yuan for his own use, and the rest was divided equally between Zhang Yuanji and Cai Yuanpei.

Although Cai Yuanpei has entered the cave room, met old acquaintances, and been in Jinshi, he can hold a check for $40,000, and his hands are still a little trembling: "Baixi, are you so relieved Cai?" ”

Sun Yuanqi naturally knew that when Cai Yuanpei was running a school, he would invite some people who were inclined to be the best to be teachers, and he would preach some agitating words in the classroom, so that there might be some ** elements hidden in the school. But Sun Yuanqi is more willing to believe in Cai Yuanpei's moral character. Besides, who doesn't have a little bit of their own political leanings? Besides, this world is the world of the best after all. Once the wind and clouds change color, maybe a few dragons and snakes will jump out of the school to change the fate of the country and the nation, isn't this a blessing for the world and a blessing for the school?

The laissez-faire approach to Cai Yuanpei's school policy does not mean that Sun Yuanqi does not have his own requirements: "Mr. Heqin, I can be trusted. Please use this money to establish affiliated schools of Jingshi University in Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Anhui, Jiangxi, Hunan, Hubei, Guangdong and other provinces, preferably one in each province in the early stage, and then gradually roll out as needed. We do not interfere with the operation of the school, and there is only one request, that is, the school can only use the textbooks of the Commercial Press, and no other books can be taught in the classroom; Students must complete each year's studies in accordance with the regulations, quality and quantity. ”

The reason why Sun Yuanqi insisted on such a request was not to give the old school an excuse to attack. As for how teachers preach to students after class, it is not the responsibility of the school.

Three days later, China Merchants sent someone to deliver the ticket for the steamer. Knowing the date of the cruise, Sun Yuanqi and his party began to get busy again, and the unpacked luggage and gifts from relatives and friends had to be repacked

The day before departure, Sun Yuanqi packed up his things in the house and did not go out. In the morning, the porter of the mansion entered the house to report. On the first day he moved in, the Sun Mansion knew that this was the distant brother of the head of the family, and he heard that he was already a high-ranking official from the second grade, so he naturally worked hard to serve him.

Hearing that the porter said that there were three young people who came to visit, Sun Yuanqi took the post and looked at it, which said Chen Qiansheng, Zhang Shizhao, and Liu Shipei. It seems that I have heard these names before, but I am not very familiar with them, and I only think that the students of Nanyang College came to ask questions, and hurriedly asked them to be invited into the house.

For students, Sun Yuanqi has always been a non-showman. Seeing the three of them walking into the courtyard, he greeted them with a smile, and said, "Three brothers, Sun is polite."

They are not like others, they kowtow when they come up, but bow down and bow: "See Lord Sun"

Seeing that they were similar in age to himself, Sun Yuanqi waved his hand casually: "If we meet in private, don't mention what Lord Sun is not Master Sun, just call me Sun Baixi." By the way, you are students of Nanyang College, right? ”

The three of them shook their heads in unison: "No." ”

Sun Yuanqi said curiously: "Then who are you?" ”

The leader was a little older, and then said: "We heard that Master Sun needs staff, so the student Chen Qiansheng and others came to recommend themselves."

Seeing that he was here to apply for a staff member, Sun Yuanqi didn't dare to slack off, let the three of them into the house, and sat down in different priorities. Before the servant served the tea, he asked about the situation: "Speaking of which, I don't know your general situation. Why don't you tell us about yourself? ”

The person sitting at the top had thick eyebrows and a wide mouth, and he hugged his fists when he heard the sound: "Student Chen Qiansheng, the word Zhongfu, a native of Huaiqing, Anhui, a talent in the 22nd year of Guangxu, has entered Hangzhou Qiushi Academy and Tokyo Higher Normal School for accelerated study......"

As soon as he sat down, Sun Yuanqi smelled a peculiar smell, which he could ignore at first, and finally it was so thick that he wanted to make people sick. In order not to be rude, Sun Yuanqi tried his best not to cover his nose with his hands, but he couldn't help but look around to find the source of the smell.

Obviously, the first target of suspicion was Chen Qiansheng, who was only one table away from him. I saw that the white stars on his black clothes were incalculable, and at first I thought it was a pattern. When I looked closely, the hairs all over my body stood on end: what else could that dense layer of not lice be?