"I believe you met a devout and respectable missionary, but I wonder what happened to this missionary, and is he still a missionary at Temasek?"

"Well, five years ago he was at Temasek, and he should still be now. Zhao Dagui said uncertainly.

The original owner's father had been to Temasek many times to do business, working as a sailor and selling tea or something, and the original owner did go to Temasek twice when he was young, but the missionaries and the like, naturally Zhao Dagui made it up.

"However, the last time I saw him, I painted a portrait of him as a keepsake.

Because I have great respect for this priest, I always carry it with me to show to the consul. ”

Zhao Dagui took out a painting and showed it to Bafur and Mai Huatuo, which was actually a Chinese-style painting with a brush, and the painting skills were quite average, with the head of a gray-haired, rather kind old Westerner, and his name under the drawing paper.

"Well, Albert Einstein, this doesn't seem to be a pure English name, but a Germanic name, or a Jewish one. After reading it, Bafur said with some hesitation.

"Albert's name should be more Jewish. Mai Huatuo nodded beside him and said.

Zhao Dagui quietly wiped a cold sweat on the side, being able to speak English is naturally an advantage, but it is also difficult for people to accept this naturally.

As for this painting, it was painted in advance by Zhao Dagui during this time to dispel the possible suspicions of others.

A modern person travels back to ancient times, and he must be cautious in everything.

After seeing this painting, the doubts in Bafur's heart were dispelled, and he felt that this Zhao Dagui might really meet a Western missionary by chance, and then learned English and some simple Western knowledge.

"I remember that your government has been restricting contact between people in China and foreigners, and even strictly prohibiting each other from learning languages, how can you think of learning English?"

"Hehe, I was also young and ignorant at that time, and I didn't even know that there was such a law, and as soon as the missionary said that he wanted to teach new knowledge, he immediately went to learn it, and did not think about anything else.

However, you're right, I didn't know about it until I was growing up, and I kept it secret, not daring to let people know that I could speak English. Zhao Dagui immediately snorted.

"I see, it's a miracle. The doubts in Bafur's heart were not completely dispelled, but he felt that there was no point in holding on to this matter, so he put it down and asked directly:

"I'm afraid you're here today for more than a simple visit. I wonder why the gentleman taught me?"

Well, Zhao Dagui admits that the above crepe words are just a brain supplement in his head, and what Mr. Consul said is actually the most common "How can I help you?" in English. , will never use this kind of classical Chinese language.

Hearing this, Zhao Dagui knew that the drama was coming, and the identity confirmation level was passed for the time being, and then it was up to him to see what benefits he could get from the consul.

"In the next time, I heard that your country has opened a port in the magic capital, and I came to celebrate, and second, I want to inquire about it, after the opening of the magic capital, I will do business with the merchants of your country, and I don't know what kind of regulations to abide by. ”

"Oh, you want to do business with us English merchants?" said Bafour, a little surprised, but then thought it was reasonable.

A Chinese who learned English by chance appeared at the British consulate a few days after the opening of the port, not for business, then for what.

"I don't know what business you want to do?"

"I have been in business for generations in my lower family, and I have been doing business with my elders since I was a child, from tea, porcelain, silk to grain and cloth, I have done almost everything, and my family is quite rich.

When doing business with the merchants of your country, I will naturally sell whatever the merchants of your country want to buy, and I will buy whatever the merchants of your country want to sell.

It's just that I don't know whether to register a business house with you or go through other procedures when doing business with British businessmen in the magic capital, so I came to visit you. ”

"Do you want to register a business firm with me, not on your government's side?" Bafur keenly grasped the anomaly in Zhao Dagui's statement, and immediately asked.

"Our Qing government is not very supportive of Chinese people doing business, and we have to report to the government to register the firm, not to mention the cumbersome procedures, even the tax rate is extremely high, so it is better to register your name here.

It is said that your government negotiated with the imperial court in Jiangning and negotiated a very favorable tax rate, isn't it?"

Zhao Dagui replied very sincerely, and he was also helpless in his heart, he wanted to get a regular trading house to do business with the British, but he wanted to find a government-registered trading house in the magic capital, he couldn't even make up the money in the middle, and what was even more terrifying was that he didn't know who should be paid for it.

"That's right. Bafur replied absentmindedly, but his heart was in turmoil.

To be honest, if Zhao Dagui just wanted to do business with British merchants and act as agents for some goods, Bafur would be very understandable, after all, there were not no Chinese merchants willing to do so from Guangzhou to Dinghai.

However, it is a bit shocking to register a firm directly in the UK, at least Bafur has never encountered it before, and he never even thought that he would encounter such a situation within a few years of arriving in the magic capital.

Bafur looked at Zhao Dagui carefully, and felt that the other party seemed to be sincere but was actually extremely shrewd, and the clothes he was wearing were too new, and he might have just bought it, or maybe even wore it for the first time (this is a good guess).

Thinking about it this way, this Zhao Dagui's actions are full of deliberate artificiality, and he is not like an ordinary Chinese gentleman who maintains good intentions towards the British, as he himself said.

Thinking of this, it suddenly dawned on Barfur that he was either the most daring adventurer he had ever seen in his life (a liar, to put it bluntly), or an ordinary person who didn't know the real business model and just wanted to make some money by speaking English.

No matter which of the above types of people this Zhao Dagui belongs to, he must belong to the kind of person who will leave after taking a handful, and is not the kind of steady, reliable, trustworthy, experienced and powerful Chinese businessman that the British government and businessmen need most, commonly known as a business partner.