The first day of 1634 began in bright sunshine. On this day, whether it is the administrative organization and factories of Dongfang Port, the construction sites of Zhenhai Fort and Ping'an Fort, or the coal mines and coal washing plants by the coal river, the citizens of the East Bank Republic of China are given a rare day of rest.

Due to the lack of recreational facilities, most residents choose to rest at home, that is, drink or play cards, which has increased the sales of mahjong tiles in the supply and marketing cooperatives of Dongfanggang County by 30%, and even all kinds of expensive and restricted liquor have been sold out, which shows the good purchasing power of the citizens of the East Coast Republic today.

In the warehouse of the Oriental Port wharf, Xu Xinzheng, the new Minister of Trade, was holding a pen and nervously facing the ledger. The latest batch of woolen and cotton cloth produced by the machine textile mill was loaded last night and will be shipped to Colonia in a moment.

200 horses of woolen wool, 500 pieces of white cotton cloth, 100,000 pieces of red bricks, 50 tons of cement, 1,000 sabers, 500 pieces of tools and small hardware, and 250 tons of refined coal...... This is the largest export operation to La Plata organized by the Ministry of Trade since the beginning of the new year, and due to the heavy financial pressure, the Executive Committee is now rewarding any sector that can export, so the Ministry of Trade, under heavy pressure, organized such a large-scale export operation at the beginning of the new year. These commodities with a total value of more than 13,000 yuan filled the two big ships of "East Coast Eagle" and "Galician Exocet".

"Brother Xu, good news." Guo Zili, the captain of the frigate gunboat "Red Trout", rushed into the warehouse with a smile from the lieutenant and said with a mysterious smile: "In the future, our cotton will fall." ”

"What?!" Xu Xin was taken aback, then overjoyed, stood up and asked, "Xiao Guo, don't joke with me." What does it mean to have fallen? Could it be that Blanco guy is here? ”

"Blanco didn't come. But what's the use of him coming? There are only a few cotton plantations in Brazil, and most of them are still in the north, and now they are probably in the hands of the Dutch. Guo Zili pursed his lips and said, "It's from the Caribbean, the French!" I heard that Julien de Eblore was an old friend when he was in Bordeaux, Haluha! ”

"The Caribbean?" Xu Xin's mind raced through the information that the French owned many plantations in the chain of small islands in the Caribbean, such as tobacco plantations on St. Christopher's Island, cotton plantations on the western part of Haiti (i.e., Hispaniola), cocoa and sugar cane plantations on Grenada, sugar cane and tobacco plantations on Guadeloupe and Martinique, and so on. Interestingly, however, the French did not have an official presence on these islands, and the plantations were carried out by French farmers and large businessmen. This situation would not change until a few years later, when the famous Cardinal of Richelieu had cleared France of the divide and opposition, and at that time the French government announced that it would officially send officials to the Caribbean to govern the occupied islands.

"Did you come from Haiti?" Xu Xin asked.

"That's right!" Guo Zili smiled, "Let's go, let's take a look, I heard that this Miss Mathilde's family has a large cotton plantation in the western part of the island of Haiti, maybe the way to solve our raw material bottleneck is here." ”

"Let's go, let's see!" Xu Xin did not hesitate after hearing this, and simply put down the ledger in his hand and walked towards the door.

The two soon arrived at the docks. At this time, a three-masted galleon was moored beside the pier, and the fleur-de-lis flag fluttering high on the top mast indicated that it was a ship from France. On the pier stood a group of Europeans dressed in ornate and exaggerated styles, led by a man in his early thirties. He wears a triangular top hat with a fringed ribbon on the edge; Outside the bodice was a gown made of a blend of high-quality merino short wool and silk; He also wore a white shirt with large lace at the collar and cuffs; The lower body wears a pair of tight trousers up to a little below the knee, and below the knee is a pair of white stockings, which are fastened together by a button; He wore a pair of red riding boots on his feet, a gray wig on his head, and a layer of white powdered makeup on his face, looking extremely luxurious.

In addition to him, the most eye-catching is the tall young lady next to him. She wore no hat, a fontaine hairstyle, and a dazzling dress. The bodice is a brightly colored velvet corset, which squeezes the chest and lifts it up, while at the same time naturally tightening it at the waist and abdomen. The chest is embroidered with a large lace trim, flowers, bows and other ornaments, and the cuffs are also embroidered with beautiful bow ribbons. The bottom is a floor-length skirt, almost 5 meters long, and the corners of the skirt are carefully held in the hands of two maids. It is not for nothing that the European ladies of this period were called "walking gardens". This young lady doesn't look very old, she looks like she is in her early twenties, and her appearance is only above average, but she is better than her youth, and with this beautiful set of clothes, it still feels more eye-catching.

Yu Lianzheng, who was dressed in a lieutenant's light blue military uniform, was talking to this young lady, most of the time Yu Lian was talking about something, and the young lady was looking at him quietly. With the arrival of Xu Xin and the others, Yu Lian seemed to be reluctant to end the conversation with the young lady, and then walked up to Xu Xin and introduced: "This is Mr. Julien and Miss Mathilde from the Pasquier family in Bordeaux, their family owns a large cotton plantation in the west of the island of Haiti, and this time they came here to see if there are any investment opportunities." ”

"Alright, I know the way." Xu Xin looked at him amusedly, patted him on the shoulder casually, and said, "Go and accompany your female companion, handsome young man." As for the business side, I'll report to my superiors in a moment to see what kind of charter the boss has. ”

……

At the entrance of a small three-story building diagonally behind the administrative building was busy at this time, more than ten servants or maids were carrying large and small suitcases into this small building with a wooden sign hanging "Dongfang Hotel" at the door, and several of the largest and best rooms in the small building had been taken over by the housekeepers from the Pasquier family. In fact, there were no other guests but them at the moment, and in normal times there might have been some Poles, Swedes, Danes, or Russians living here, but it was so empty today that trade with Europe was temporarily suspended.

Sissoko, a former manager of the supply and marketing cooperative, who is now the manager of the hotel, prepared a welcome banquet for guests in the restaurant in the backyard of the hotel. The banquet was jointly organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Trade, and was personally attended by Gao Mo, a member of the Central Executive Committee. In addition to some vegetables, melons and fruits, Sissoko also managed to bring the finest beef ribs, fresh La Plata deep-sea cod, tuna, prawns, as well as wild ducks and jaguars sent from Duck Lake, which made Xu Xin and Tao Chenxi, who accompanied the leaders to the banquet for the first time, call corruption in their hearts.

"So, Julian, that means your family owns a cotton plantation on the western side of the island of Haiti with a radius of 1 lig (1 lig = 3 miles)? It's a real asset. Gaumore asked softly in French.

"Yes, high. My grandfather, one of the first businessmen to invest in Haiti, was the youngest son of an aristocratic family with no inheritance rights, and he managed his wisdom and courage to take ownership of this rich land after forty years of operating between the island of Haiti and France. His character is admirable, and his wisdom is beyond doubt...... Uh, sorry, I pulled away. Julien Pasquier put down his fork, apologized slightly, and continued: "In my father's generation, he used the cotton from the plantation to open a cotton mill in Bordeaux, producing some cloth, stockings and gloves, but unfortunately the profit was limited. In recent years, my father and I have become more and more inclined to convert the plantation into a sugarcane, cocoa or tobacco plantation, which is the most sought-after commodity and the most profitable for the family. ”

"What? Is your family ready to give up growing cotton? Gao Mo's heart sank, and now things are not easy to do.

"Don't worry too much, Gao." Julian wiped his mouth with a silk handkerchief, and then comforted: "I know that you need our cotton, don't worry." My father had officially made a document that a tenth of the land and slaves on the plantations on the island of Haiti would be transferred to the name of my dear sister, Mathilde, who still had a sufficient interest in running the cotton plantation. ”

Mathilde smiled reservedly at Gaumore and said, "I always thought it wasn't a good idea to switch to other crops halfway through. Maybe the land wasn't suitable for growing tobacco or sugar cane, or maybe the slaves didn't have the necessary knowledge to grow other crops, but I decided to continue growing cotton. Father's workshop is still functioning, and some cotton raw materials are needed, and of course, now join you, the East Coasters. Moreover, I have a good impression of the elegance and erudition of the people of the East Coast. With that, she turned to look at Yu Lian, who was sitting across from him and listening to their conversation, and Yu Lian smiled brightly at her.

Tao Chenxi saw that the two of them were flirting there, and couldn't help shouting in his heart, "Dog men and women!" Rich girl, what's coming at me, let it go. Xu Xin also thinks the same thing as him, and at this moment he is also thinking in his heart that even this little white face may not only be able to marry a rich woman and make a fortune from now on, but also have a smooth sailing career.

"Thank you for your compliment, and the members of the Pasquier family have also made a pretty good impression on me." Gao Mo raised his wine glass and motioned to the two: "Then, toast to our future cooperation!" ”

"Cheers!"

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