Looking at the fish on the table, Cheng Nuo suddenly felt in a trance that as soon as he came forward, this "fish" had already been hooked, and it was just an opportunity.

Now that he has come to the opponent's home field, it seems reasonable to make a logical request after getting closer.

"Righteousness does not seek its benefits, and it does not count its merits. Maybe I want to see what kind of medicine is sold in the other party's gourd, and see if it's a nourishing qi pill or a Jiuqu Broken Intestine Pill. ”

Cheng Nuo put down the rice and rice and deliberately burped, pretending to be full.

"Sure enough, as long as there is a little wind and grass on the beach, you can't escape the uncle's insight."

"We were born in poverty, and if we want to do business and make some money, we just have to work harder than others." Yu Qiaqing picked up the teacup, took a sip of tea and said with a smile: "Besides, the charity bazaar is such a big move, and the whole Shanghai Tang knows about it, how can there be someone missing." ”

"It seems that I am short-sighted, no wonder the uncle can make such a big industry, I have to ask the uncle to take a good lesson another day and teach me how to make the business bigger and stronger." For the sake of clichés, Cheng Nuo deliberately said good things.

"Eh, I don't dare to take this seriously, how can I, a person who hasn't even graduated from high school, give a class to a professor at Peking University, I can't let people know, I don't know what to say, my face is panicked." Although he excused himself, the wrinkles on Yu Qiaqing's face were about to smile like a flower, and he was obviously very useful for these kind words.

The foreshadowing was almost done, Cheng Nuo put the rice bowl a little farther away, and asked quietly: "Don't hide it uncle, thanks to the help of colleagues from all walks of life in Shanghai, with cornmeal as the mainstay, supplemented by winter clothes, the preliminary materials for the flood control in Zhili are almost ready, and they can be shipped to Tianjin as soon as the inventory is completed." ”

Yu Qiaqing took out a handkerchief, wiped his mouth and threw it to the corner of the table, as if he looked sad: "The water has not yet receded before the previous time, but now it is sudden, and the newly sown wheat seeds are half submerged, and there is no hope for early autumn next year." In addition, the rain is not sunny, all kinds of grain are squeezed and mildewed, and there are many people who gradually sprout, and there is no daylight. ”

Cheng Nuo nodded: "So this batch of supplies is life-saving food for them, and they are now worried about how to send them to Tianjin, if they are delayed on the road for a long time, I don't know how many victims will die early." ”

Yu Qiaqing clapped his hands, first asked his subordinates to clear the food, and let him serve a pot of hot tea: "At present, the countries of Taixi are drowning in hard wars, and there are Germanic ships loitering on the sea, and it is very difficult to transport by sea, and the freight is much higher than before, so many materials will not cost too low all day." ”

Although Yu Qiaqing is a big comprador, this guy is also a big dutiful son. Before going out to Shanghai, his mother specially instructed him: "If you make a fortune in Shanghai, you should do something that is beneficial to your hometown, and don't always think that your life is better." ”

After his career, Yu Qiaqing is like his mother introduced, giving back to his hometown for life, contributing a lot to the welfare of his hometown, and investing a total of 5 million yuan in his hometown Ningbo for the construction of his hometown, covering running schools, building banks, building roads, connecting telephones, creating clinics and so on.

Considering that his hometown is close to the sea and tidal flats, rich in cotton, but it is inconvenient to travel, and the people's life is poor, this direct local steamship port and steamship company was built with the initial purpose of transporting things from his hometown.

Although the Sanbei steamship he founded single-handedly only had three 100-ton small ferries in the initial stage, and only sailed in the vicinity of the Yangtze River Delta, he did not expect that during the First World War, Western capital had no intention of looking eastward, and the water freight rate skyrocketed.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Yu Qiaqing's ship port company developed rapidly, and the company's capital expanded rapidly to one million in just a few years, successively purchased several thousand-ton cargo ships, and expanded the route to other areas along the eastern coast of China, once leading to the South Seas, helping Yu Qiaqing to become the earliest steamship king in our country.

With such a historical background, the other party also asked knowingly, and Cheng Nuo instantly understood that he was waiting for him to open his mouth to beg him.

At that time, the other party will not only be able to pay a penny, but also take the disaster relief in vain, and even the freight that should be taken can be increased again, which is really a triple win.

The abacus was played so loudly, how could Cheng Nuo be as the other party wanted, and his mouth began to ramble: "The problem of water transportation was also what I was most worried about at the beginning, but now that I think about it, it is not a difficult thing." ”

The corners of Yu Qiaqing's mouth twitched slightly, and the cup she had just picked up was put down again, and she said quietly: "I heard that Mr. Tesla, a famous American scholar, has a very good personal relationship with you, and it is not that the American company is willing to lend a helping hand, so it is also very good, showing the friendship between the two countries." ”

Cheng Nuo shook his head and deliberately sold Guanzi: "No, if it is not my race, its heart will be different, it is better to hand it over to your own compatriots at this time." ”

Yu Qiaqing was secretly happy in her heart, at present, the largest shipping company in China is under her hands, so many materials are not handed over to herself, who else can there be, but out of "avoiding suspicion", she did not take the initiative to mention herself, and said with a smile: "This is very reasonable, my own food is the most palatable, and what steak pasta is, it is all a gimmick greater than the strength." ”

Cheng Nuo poured the tea full, took the initiative to hand it over to the other party, and said with a smile: "That's what I think, so aren't we just going to contact our own steamship company to use it more comfortably." ”

Yu Qiaqing took the tea and bowed her head slightly to express her gratitude, took a sip of tea, and after rolling her eyes, she suddenly smiled: "It seems that Xiao Cheng you already have a goal, I don't know which company is your first choice?" ”

"China Merchants Steamship is the one presided over by Li Zhongtang, and it has a long history." Cheng Nuo also took a sip of tea and said slowly: "Li Zhongtang once said that the steamship China Merchants Bureau can consolidate the coastal defense militarily, but the coastal defense cannot be gradually arranged without ships. ”

Yu Qiaqing only felt that the bitterness of the tea in his mouth was heavier than the fragrance, and he persuaded unwillingly: "The system of the China Merchants Steamship Bureau is 'official supervision and business management', which is to increase the revenue of the Manchu government, and it is essentially a foreigner, and this matter can be discussed again." ”

Cheng Nuo sighed and said: "During the Jiayin period, that is, the third year of the Republic of China, when I was still studying in the United States, the president of Mexico apologized to the United States for arresting Americans, but refused to salute the American flag, so President Wilson of the United States directly ordered the mobilization of 52 warships to send troops to Mexico.

At that time, thousands of U.S. Marines attacked the Mexican mainland and captured their harbor of La Cruz, resulting in the death of more than 200 Mexican troops, which greatly boosted the patriotism of Americans and enhanced their international prestige. ”

After a pause, Cheng Nuo continued: "And what about us at that time, the British McMahon privately took a large piece of Tibetan territory, but we had nothing to do. Now that the wolves on the East China Sea are gone, the jackals are eyeing each other and becoming people's swimming pools, uncle, I'm really unwilling! ”

Yu Qiaqing still has some patriotism in her heart, thinking of the original intention of the establishment of the China Merchants Steamship Bureau, and she can't help but sigh: "Li Zhongtang once said that the China Merchants Steamship Bureau can transport official grain and customer loans when there is nothing to do, and load reinforcements and ammunition when there is something. ”

Recalling the past of the steamship China Merchants, Cheng Nuo nodded and said: "Only one year after the establishment of China Merchants, Japan sent troops to occupy Taiwan, and China Merchants was ordered to send ships to transport troops to cross Taiwan and defend the island; When the Sino-Russian border was tight, the China Merchants steamship loaded the Anhui and Chu armies to the Shanhaiguan Yanghekou defense line, and of course, the Sino-French War, etc., which lived up to the original intention of the founding, and we should support it. ”

"But that's just a thing of the past, and it's very different now." In the face of such a big profit, Yu Qiaqing gritted his teeth and said: "The China Merchants Bureau is called the official supervision and business office, but it is actually a feudal yamen, with a lot of redundant personnel, sitting on salaries, chaotic management, extremely low efficiency, private fraud, corruption is rampant, 100,000 catties of grain from Shanghai, after arriving in Tianjin, it is already thankful." ”

"The world is declining, and people's hearts are not ancient." Cheng Nuo naturally knew about these situations, but he still had to do superficial work, deliberately not looking at Yu Qiaqing's face, and sighed and "thought" an idea: "Uncle, do you think that Dada Lunbu Company, I have a very good personal relationship with Zhang Lao, but I am a friend of the New Year, and he will not refuse to agree to this matter." ”

"This ......" Yu Qiaqing was speechless for a while, her face was almost unbearable, and after drinking the tea in the cup, she gritted her back molars and forced a laugh: "Brother Ji Zhi (Zhang Jian) invested 600,000 silver to establish Dasheng Lunbu Company, which can be regarded as the first private shipping company in Shanghai.

At that time, I was envious of others, and the people of the country were inspired, and I was also inspired by him, and spent 1.5 million silver dollars before and after, and followed this road. ”

The Qing government imposed various restrictions on Chinese merchant steamships other than China Merchants, stipulating that "only Chinese businessmen are allowed to attach shares within 50 years" and "no other people are allowed to make a difference".

Therefore, in the more than 30 years from 1873 to 1905, there was not a single private shipping enterprise in Shanghai. It was only after the Sino-Japanese War that these restrictions were lifted. Later, in the Wuxu Reform Law, the voice of "revitalizing industry, recovering rights and interests, and trying to be strong and suppress insults" was very high.

A group of bureaucrats, compradors, and businessmen successively set up factories and mines, banks, and shipping enterprises under the banner of industrial salvation.

Now that the "fish float" has sunk, it is time to walk the fish with a lever.

Cheng Nuo looked like he had met a confidant, deliberately ignored the second half of Yu Qiaqing's sentence, and pretended to be happy: "Although Zhang Lao's steamship company mainly serves the Dasheng Yarn Factory, the disaster relief is a matter of human life, and he is dedicated to saving the country and founding an industry for this matter."

Now that the local people are in trouble, Mr. Zhang has donated a large number of materials, and now he will come to him for help, this matter is definitely nothing to him, and all the problems can be solved. ”

Yu Qiaqing was in a hurry, no matter what, he was unwilling to give up the delicious food in his mouth, and he poured another cup of tea unwillingly: "The weather has been changeable recently, it is rainy weather from Shanghai to the north, and the sea situation is changeable. ”

Cheng Nuo was very considerate to refill the tea for Yu Qiaqing, and said confidently on his face: "Our Academy of Sciences is busy with marine weather forecasting, and at present, there are meteorological observation points in the East China Sea and the Yellow Sea through the Xujiahui Observatory, which can at least predict meteorological disasters at sea one day in advance, so the navigation problems caused by the weather are not big." ”

Looking at this tea, Yu Qiaqing didn't drink it, and it wasn't if she didn't drink it, it was too bitter, but don't drink it, and her heart was overturned again, and now she heard that the other party could predict the weather in such a large sea area in advance, and her mentality had quietly changed.

"Just predicting the weather in the two seas is probably not enough."

Cheng Nuo deliberately filtered the voice-over in his words, and said thoughtfully: "It's really not enough, after all, the weather is dynamic, and it is inevitable that some sudden situations make us unpredictable, and the forecast weather may not be accurate."

However, the problem is still under control, through the telegram we have cooperated with some weather stations in Japan and Nanyang, and they will notify us in advance in case of extreme weather, so that we can prepare as soon as possible. ”

Hearing this, Yu Qiaqing couldn't sit still at all, he was born in the sea and knew too well how important the correct weather forecast was for sea navigation. It can not only greatly reduce the risk of going to sea, but also shorten the shipping time.

The temptation to earn the most money in the most secure way in a limited amount of time is just too great.

In a trance, its importance even exceeded the plan of "killing three birds with one stone" this time.

A bird in hand is better than a hundred birds in the forest.

Before you get the actual benefit from the distance, you should catch the fish in your mouth first.

Yu Qiaqing shook his head, shook off what he thought was "empty head", and drank the tea in the cup again.

"Hey~ Xiao Cheng, I didn't expect you to be so powerful, and you don't show your face."

Cheng Nuo scratched the back of his head "honestly" and said with a smile: "After all, you can't just support the development of the domestic shipping industry in words, but you have to show it in actual actions, right?" I'm not thinking that there are so many like-minded people who can do as much as they can. ”

Yu Qiaqing's face didn't care at all, but he was shocked in his heart, so that his Sanbei steamship company seemed to be able to use this kind of weather forecast, and benefited a lot.

Unfortunately, he was still unwilling in his heart, as if he had made some decision, and said: "In this way, the steamer can go to Tianjin freely, and my worries are superfluous." But for the sake of the past, Xiao Cheng, I still want to say one more thing. ”

In the critical stage of "walking the fish", if the angler is careless, he may get off the hook if he makes a slight mistake.

Cheng Nuo was full of energy in his heart, and smiled again: "This is a good thing, as the saying goes, if you don't listen to your elders, you will suffer in front of you." Uncle, just say it, I'm absolutely listening. ”

Yu Qiaqing was very satisfied with this attitude, and said kindly: "Because Dada Wheelbu Company built the port earlier, the steamer I bought is small and old, and the tonnage is low and there is not much cargo to carry it, and there may be problems in the middle. ”

I almost introduced myself by name, but unfortunately Cheng Nuo just didn't eat this set.

"Uncle, we also expected this, isn't it just burning coal, we have already made an improvement plan, as a thank you to Elder Zhang."

"Can you elaborate?"

"Replacing the steam boiler with a furnace boiler to increase the pressure of the steam, and changing the original dark wheel to a paddle wheel for propulsion, etc., of course, this method is too troublesome, if we can, we will still use other means."

"But in this case, do you have the professionals to do it?"

After asking this, Yu Qiaqing himself did not believe that the Academy of Sciences did not have mechanical talents in this area.

Seeing this, Cheng Nuo was not satisfied, so he prepared the net in his hand, and said seriously: "Of course, disaster relief is important, and at the moment it is still mainly focused on small reforms to maintain stability, but in the future, we will definitely build our own steamship manufacturing company."

Whoever wants to cooperate with us this time will be sold to whoever our ship is sold first. ”

"How is the quality, price and craftsmanship compared to Tessie?"

"Good quality and low price, self-defeating!"

Now hearing this, the double desire in Yu Qiaqing's heart has been completely seduced, and it is simply uncomfortable.

Hold your bladder and run out quickly:

"I've had too much tea, and we'll talk about it later." By the way, your uncle and I also have a steamship company! ”

It can be said that it is better to teach people to fish than to teach them to fish, and it is better to teach people to fish than to teach them to desire.

Completely switch offense and defense.

(End of chapter)