Wei Ping knew that this was probably the last chance given to him by the Haihan people, and if he missed this village, he would really lose his use value, and with the current development speed of the Haihan people, in another year or two, they may no longer need the Yulin Inspection Division. After this thing is done, it will naturally be much better in the future, with Luo Shengdong's model in front, Wei Ping estimates that he can be a "agent" at worst, and the silver will definitely be greatly available at that time, and his personal freedom will no longer be restricted by the Haihan people.

But if you don't do this according to the requirements of the Haihan people, then the best result for you in the future is to be locked up in the Yulin Inspection Department until you leave your job, or the Haihan people no longer need the Inspection Department. After comparing these two compartments, Wei Ping already has a number in his heart.

Whether it was Ren Liang or the Executive Committee, they did not take Wei Ping's role too seriously. The encroachment of the crossing group on Yazhou is already in progress, and no matter whether Luo Shengdong's father-in-law can be pushed to the position of Zhizhou in the end, this trend will not change. Even if this goal is not achieved, it will only be a little more effort in the future, and it will not affect the expansion plan of the Crossing Group.

That afternoon, Li Nai and Wei Ping witnessed the arrival of the largest wave of overseas immigrants since the opening of Shengli Port. Five 400-gauge ships sailed into the harbor, each carrying hundreds of migrants. These were the first batch of "legal immigrants" to be brought back in large numbers from the Tu Son Peninsula in North Vietnam after the Crossing Group reached an agreement with the North Vietnamese regime.

There were more than 800 immigrants in total, of whom nearly 500 were South Vietnamese soldiers or civilians captured during the war, more than 100 were serious prisoners from the Thang Long prison, and the remaining few were recruited by the Trung clan from war refugees near Thang Long province. For the Trung family, this kind of trade in arms was very cost-effective in the short term, North Vietnam had a large number of prisoners of war, prisoners and thousands of war refugees to deal with, and the people in power were not willing to provide food for these people, rather than let these people stay in Annam and become a security hazard, it was better to hand them over to the Haihan people who were in dire need of population, in exchange for long-term discounts and stable supply of Haihan goods, especially arms. As for the overall quality of these immigrants, they are basically young and strong, and there is no sign of the North Vietnamese being mixed with the old, weak, sick and disabled in the middle.

Li Nai and Wei Ping were surprised to see so many young men constantly landing on the ship. They also knew that there had always been a relatively large gap in the labor force of the Haihan people, but the number of immigrants in Shengli Port had always been unhurriedly maintaining the rate of importing several hundred people per month, and when they came, they were scattered, at most one or two hundred, and there had never been such a large scale.

Li Nai was shocked and said, "Brother Wei has lived in Shengli Harbor for a long time, have you ever seen such a situation now?"

Wei Ping shook his head again and again: "It's the first time I've seen them transport back so many people at once! No wonder they've been building houses at the foot of the mountain in the west this month, just to receive this group of people." ”

In order to receive this batch of immigrants, the civil affairs department has been making preparations since returning to Shengli Port from Taodong. In the past 20 days, the size of the original quarantine area has been more than doubled, and at present, 1,200 people can be resettled in the quarantine area at the same time, which can basically meet the monthly import volume of between 2,000 and 3,000 migrants.

After disembarking from the boat, the newcomers were gathered in groups of 100 people and sat on the open space of the pier, surrounded by a large number of security guards and militiamen who had been mobilized in advance. Due to the large number of prisoners of war and convicts in this group of immigrants, the Executive Committee also paid special attention to the security problems that they might cause, and specially arranged heavy troops to maintain order on the docks. The Military Police Department has also been authorized in advance, and if one of the new immigrants takes the lead in causing trouble, then the Military Police Department has the right to take any on-the-spot measures that will help calm the situation, such as shooting a few disobedient thorns to make an example.

In reality, however, there was no such thing as the Military Police Department feared, and the newcomers were generally very submissive, which probably had something to do with the propaganda of the Haihan policy they received during the voyage. For the sake of the immigrants who were transported back this time, the civil affairs department also specially recruited a group of Vietnamese naturalized people who had a good appearance before, and let them act as propagandists on the ship to Vietnam to transport migrants, so that these immigrants can know what kind of place their destination is on the way here, and what rules they need to abide by after arriving here in order to live well.

Most of these immigrants were prisoners of war and criminals, and it was for this reason that they valued the life gained from this ocean voyage even more. If they hadn't made it, the vast majority would have been put to death, and their heads would have been hung on the gates of Thang Long to show off their martial prowess or to intimidate the populace.

Of course, even if these people come to Victory Harbor, it doesn't mean that their lives are over. In fact, a considerable number of them will be sent to Tiandu for mining, which is basically directly classified into the establishment of labor camps, and now all the labor reform personnel are concentrated in Tiandu Iron Mine to work for easy monitoring and management. After three years in the mines, these people have a chance to obtain naturalized status, but it depends on whether they are healthy enough to survive these three years.

According to the latest statistics released by the Military Police Department in October, more than 300 people have been sent to prison for labor reform punishment since the establishment of the labor camp six months ago, and more than 70 of them have been released because they have performed well or served their sentences, but they have not been able to endure high-intensity labor and have died in the labor camps. That is to say, one out of every four prisoners who are admitted to a labor camp will not survive the day when they regain their freedom, and there are even fewer people like Takahashi Minami who can still make a name for themselves after being born in a labor camp.

And the arrival of this batch of immigrants has supplemented the establishment of the labor camps, and it also shows the forward-looking vision of the Military Police Department's request for the expansion of military strength in advance.

However, some of these lucky people will escape the hard labor in the labor camp, and the civil affairs department will screen these prisoners of war and prisoners, and select those who have a skill among them, such as craftsmen, sailors, grooms, etc., these people will be assigned to various counterpart units to serve in labor, and the time required for them to obtain the status of naturalized citizens will be much shorter than that of the friends in the labor camp, as long as they do not make a big mistake within three months, they will be considered to have passed, and if there is a meritorious service table in the middle, this time will be further shortened.

A small number of refugees will be assigned to settle down in the newly built Iron Furnace Port after a short period of quarantine and observation. The Executive Committee intended to concentrate on the resettlement of North Vietnamese immigrants there in order to reduce the social unrest that might be caused by the arrival of a large number of North Vietnamese immigrants in Victory Port. After the completion of the first phase, the Executive Committee plans to gradually develop the vast coastal plain between the north of the port and Ling Thuy, so that more North Vietnamese immigrants will not be a problem.

On the same day, the "Haihan Bookstore" opened by the Guangzhou Office in Guangzhou also officially began to open for business. This bookstore was opened at the initiative of He Xi, the purpose of which was to prepare for the cultural export to the Ming Dynasty in the future, for which the Guangzhou Office spent another 1,000 taels of silver to buy a small courtyard in the city of Guangzhou.

Of course, because the current Tiandu Paper Mill is still in the stage of technical exploration of manufacturing toilet paper, the group itself does not have the ability to print and publish, and it is unlikely that it will want to publish its own books in the short term, so the bookstore is not for profit in the early stage, and the books displayed in the store are also a subset of various scriptures and histories circulating in the Ming Dynasty. As an important partner of the crossing group, "Fu Ruifeng" also sent several sets of hardcover engraved books purchased from Jiangsu and Zhejiang as congratulatory gifts to the bookstore on this day.

Compared with other peers in Guangzhou, "Haihan Bookstore" also has its own characteristics, the books in the store are not only for sale, customers can borrow them for free in the store, which is more similar to the nature of a small library. With Schneider, a business wizard, in command of the operation, speculation is naturally not a problem. A week before the opening, the whole city of Guangzhou was already full of rumors that the backstage owner of this bookstore was the most popular supplier of glass stationery in Guangzhou today, so on the opening day, in addition to attracting a large number of literati and ink writers to watch, all kinds of merchants who had been looking for sources of goods also sent people to find out.

Regarding this hype, "Fu Ruifeng" has also expressed dissatisfaction, because according to the agreement between the two parties, "Fu Ruifeng" is the only agent of Haihan glass products in the two regions, although this qualification is limited by time, but the agreement also stipulates that Haihan cannot directly sell glass products to other businessmen in the mainland.

Although the Haihan people could not directly sell goods to third parties in the mainland, if the third party went to Shengli Port to purchase on their own, it was not included in this restriction, and this is one of the propaganda purposes that the Guangzhou Office wanted to achieve. As long as these merchants were told where to buy their goods, they would naturally send ships to Victory Harbor to trade, and this would also make Victory Harbor's reputation as a free port more quickly and widely known.

As for Schneider's explanation, even the old fox Li Jifeng could only knock out his teeth and swallow it in his stomach, who asked him to send an inexperienced third child to Shengli Port to talk about business? However, fortunately, "Fu Ruifeng" has already received the most favorable treatment from Haihan, and at least in the future, the purchase cost will not be higher than that of any competitor, at least it will take advantage of the early appearance time and the deep impression of customers. Moreover, Schneider also said that the existing agent products of "Fu Ruifeng" still enjoy the exclusive agency right, and Haihan will not sell them in Guangzhou even if they want to sell them to others, and will never sell exactly the same thing, so as to appease the "Fu Ruifeng" side.

According to the prior agreement, the Guangzhou Office will not sell those exclusive goods that make Guangzhou businessmen blush at the "Haihan Book Company", but this does not prevent Schneider from using this to do a big publicity campaign, and by the way, teach "Fu Ruifeng" that good things do not necessarily need to be sold directly for cash to generate profits. On the walls on both sides of the bookstore, there are a series of notices about the activities during the opening period.

The so-called event, simply put, is a two-word lottery. This kind of trick that has been played rotten by various merchants in later generations is still relatively new in this era, and the prizes are indeed attractive, not only the popular matches, soaps, glass stationery, etc., but also the first prize and even a five-inch Haihan silver mirror that is difficult to see on the market!

Of course, this kind of lottery is not everyone is eligible to participate in the first consumption, then the lottery, the more consumption, the higher the level of prizes that can be drawn. You can participate in the lottery by spending one tael in the bookstore, and there is at least one box of matches as a commemorative prize, and you need to start with five taels to draw Haihan stationery, and if you want to draw precious colored carved glass stationery and Haihan silver mirror, the consumption amount will start at fifty taels. All the prizes are stacked behind the settlement counter, and the lottery is drawn on the spot, which looks very tempting.

At first, the visitors were just watching from the sidelines, but when someone really pulled out a note from the box that said "Haihan Glass Stationery Set" and received the real thing, the visitors could no longer restrain themselves from the notice, but it was written on the notice that the number of prizes was limited, and the lottery would last! Although the price of the books sold in the bookstore was 15% higher than that of their counterparts in Guangzhou, this still could not stop the enthusiasm of many visitors, who poured into the store to start selecting books, and wanted to try their luck while buying books.

Although the scene is a bit smoky, I have to say that the effect of this promotional method is simply amazing. Within two hours of opening the store, 40% of the books prepared in the store had been sold, and some people who could not buy the books they wanted did not hesitate to buy some books that were not originally planned for the raffle. There are even some people who bought books at the beginning and didn't get a prize, but when they go home, they can't think about it, and they come back to buy books and draw them. The steward sent by "Fu Ruifeng" to watch the ceremony was stunned in the courtyard, and it turned out that the business of the bookstore could still do this.

Originally, when He Xi proposed to be a bookstore, the Guangzhou Office felt that this thing was a loss-making business, because it did not have the ability to print and publish, and all the books had to be purchased from outside, and there was no cost advantage at all, but Schneider thought that this business would not only not be a loss, but could bring more business opportunities to the Guangzhou Office, and the facts also proved that Schneider's vision was unique.

"By the time the account is set up at night, it must be profitable, right?" He Xi said with a grin. Although he didn't know the cost of the books, he knew that Schneider had raised the price by 15 percent, and that the increase alone far exceeded the value of the raffle prize.

Schneider crossed Erlang's legs and said proudly: "I have already calculated this, if I want to draw all the prizes, the books in the store must be sold at least seventy percent, according to the current situation, if I don't draw all the prizes, I am afraid these people will not end." Removing the cost of restocking, you can earn at least a thousand taels today. We opened for three consecutive days to conduct a lottery, and we were able to earn back all the investment in this bookstore and what was left. ”

"Or Mr. Shi, you are very good!" He Xi fiddled with a large number of posts on the table with his hand: "Not only has it attracted the attention of literati from all over Guangzhou, but also so many merchants have come to the door to make an appointment, which is much better than the effect of our family visits one by one before." ”

Schneider nodded and said: "After going out for a few closed meals in the first few days, I felt that visiting the door was not a way, and I still had to rely on propaganda. You see, now these people have come to the door by themselves, and there is nothing to say on the side of 'Fu Ruifeng', which can be regarded as a preliminary opening of the situation. ”

"However, this bookstore can't do this for a long time, otherwise it will become a **, and after a few days, we still have to think about the cultural undertakings, which is a task that the Executive Committee particularly emphasized. He Xi was not carried away by the victory, and quickly returned his attention to business.

"Don't worry, I've thought about it a long time ago. Schneider picked up the tea cup and took a sip, and said slowly: "The Ming literati of this era are ashamed to talk about profit, and they are more important to reputation, although our lottery can attract temporary popularity, but in fact, many of the people who came today are joining in the fun, and this method is definitely not a long-term solution." Starting next month, we will hold a poetry club in Guangzhou, be the exclusive sponsor, take some money to invite a few local literary celebrities to be judges, and then take a few sets of high-end stationery out as prizes.

"As long as you spend money, you will definitely be able to make a few spokespersons. When He Xi heard Schneider say this, he basically understood his purpose.

"There is no urgency in this matter, cultural output is a long-term work, and it is not in a hurry. Schneider also began to flip through the various posts on the table: "It's really nerve-wracking to suddenly have so many choices!"

He Xi flipped out a post and said, "This seems to be a bit tricky, why don't we see each other first?"

Schneider took it and saw that it was a greeting post sent by a company called "Yongfeng Cloth Company". According to Schneider's understanding, the foundation of this cloth shop should be in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, and Guangzhou is just a semicolon. Schneider visited once at the beginning of the month, but the other party's shopkeeper was not in the store at that time, and there was no substantive contact. Unexpectedly, half a month later, this cloth shop came to the door by itself.

"Isn't the executive committee looking for a source of canvas goods? I think the cloth shop can get in touch with it, at least to understand the market. He Xi continued to persuade.