Meng Siyuan also had a big opportunity this time, he and Zhao Guanhou swore a knot, and also relied on this relationship to get acquainted with Cao Menglan, the champion lady.

Sai Jinhua is now famous in Jinmen, and there are many wealthy businessmen and even officialdom in Jinmen who are willing to come to her field. has both the name of Mrs. Champion and the relationship with Bassen, and many people want to be her guest of the scene, and they have raised their worth. Even with several consuls, she has some contacts, and the courtyard where she lives has now become a high-level social place in Jinmen.

Cao Menglan is good at dancing with long sleeves, and she is very good at coping with this kind of scene, and with her reputation, her business is becoming more and more prosperous. On the one hand, he is hanging on Basses, and on the other hand, he is already thinking about finding a higher backer and changing the court.

Meng Siyuan himself does not like women, only marries wives and does not take concubines. I met my wife when I was studying abroad, I have similar interests and a very good relationship, but there is no possibility for Cao Menglan in this regard. It's just that both of them have Zhao Guanhou as a friend, and they are very close to each other, he gave Cao Menglan some money, and Cao Menglan helped him introduce business.

This time it happened to be the Yamen of the Governor of Zhili, who wanted to make a batch of cloth to make military uniforms, and the number of this business was very large, and the stakes were also very heavy. The Yamen of the Jin State has a tradition of spending money at the end of the year, especially when Wang Wenzhao is about to hand over his duties, and he will not leave the balance for the next office. After the new army exercise, the queen mother was very satisfied with the quality she showed, and decided to imitate the Tessie army and change the troops into uniforms instead of uniforms.

In charge of this matter, there are several grain stations, and the grain stations that are mainly responsible for procurement are fascinated by Cao Menglan when they arrive in Jinmen. She only said a few words, and Liangtai happily agreed and handed over the business to Meng Siyuan. The government's orders are extremely profitable, but the amount of this batch of cloth is large, and the merchant needs to advance money. Coupled with the advances for several other businesses and the investment in new textile factories, Meng Siyuan's finances were in big trouble.

There is also a relationship between foreign counterparts to suppress it, deliberately pushing up the price of raw materials, and sweeping the goods on the market, making it difficult for Meng Siyuan to purchase goods. He is a native of Shandong, and he has a supply of goods in his hometown, but he can't save money on money. mentioned this, and he mentioned Pang Jinbiao again

"The ghost of the father and son is still lingering, although they dare not look for trouble openly, they secretly use a lot of despicable means. And then there are those people in the family, after the five beads were published in the newspaper, they were like crazy, and asked me to sell the beads back to them, and I had to put the treasures back in the ancestral hall, which was simply unreasonable. This time, it was they who put pressure on a few money banks not to lend me money and forced me to sell the five trick beads. I asked Cao Menglan to help me contact several Taixi bankers, and although they promised to borrow, they asked for shares. This is something I cannot tolerate, and I set up factories in order to revitalize the Chinese nation's industry. If foreigners buy shares, the fruits of this industry will be plundered by them, and they will only enrich myself, but it will not benefit the country. It is the dream of us international students to set up a factory industry to save the country, including my wife, who wants to revitalize the national industry. If my career ends up being a puppet of foreigners, I'd rather the factory go out of business. ”

He sighed, "I know that I am an idealist who is out of step with the times, but I don't want to bow to the times. Even if all people are pursuing their own interests, I want to leave something for the country and the nation. If Warby Bank doesn't work...... I'll sell that orb. It's just like that, I always feel sorry for the fourth brother, after all, you lost half a finger for it, and I sold it, so I won't have the face to see you. ”

"Second brother, it's far away. As long as you can get through it, you can pay any price, don't think about my business, we are brothers, I will naturally support you in what you do. It's just that I think that the bead is something left over from the old generation, and if it can be kept, it will be kept, and Mrs. Jenson, I will go and say a few words, whether it can be done or not, I can't say. Foreigners lend money, unlike us, they value mortgages, do you have collateral objects? ”

"Naturally, there is. When the family was divided, my house divided 230 acres of land in my hometown, and the title deeds of this part of the land were in my hands. I took this part of the land, as well as the real estate in my hometown, the grain store, and my wife, all to the Warby Bank. The borrowing period is three months, and my delivery period is three months. ”

"Three months? Half a year. The interest can be set a little higher, but the loan period must be long enough, because three months is the delivery period of the contract, and if you settle, even if I find a way for you, half a year will not be rich. Second brother, you still don't know enough about Daikin officialdom, and if you do this, you will suffer. ”

Meng Siyuan obviously didn't understand what Zhao Guanhou meant, and smiled confidently, "I have a contract in hand, who can break the contract?" Of course, if they insist on it for half a year, I am willing to lose some more interest, as long as I can negotiate the loan. ”

The celebratory banquet was held at Zhao Guanhou's new home, and the chef was brought by the Meng family. The first to come is Meng Siyuan's wife Zou Xiurong, who is also a lady, and she also has the experience of studying abroad, and Meng Siyuan is a classmate, and she is also a rare female leader in this era. As an international student, she is also good at socializing, has generous and decent manners, and gets along very well with Su Hanzhi and Jiang Fengzhi.

When it was getting late, a car stopped at the door of Zhao's house. This thing is a rarity at the moment, and everyone goes out by rickshaw and occasionally by horse-drawn carriage. Western-style cars, but few people have ever sat in them. The car door opened, and two dress-up beauties walked out of the car, one gorgeous and one beautiful, but it was Cao Menglan and Mrs. Jensen. The two seemed to be walking very closely, and after getting out of the car, they were still talking and laughing, holding hands and walking over and making a face-to-face salute with Zhao Guanhou.

Seeing him in a yellow coat, Mrs. Jenson smiled, "Congratulations, you have become the so-called adult of your country." It seems that my judgment was correct at the beginning, and you are a very worthy object of our investment. ”

"I lend you a good word. I hope we can cooperate for a long time in the future, and it just so happens that I have a business to talk to you about. Sister Menglan, I haven't seen you for a long time, why didn't Bassens come with you? ”

Cao Menglan chuckled, saw Su Hanzhi and Jiang Fengzhi coming out, deliberately leaned her body against Zhao Guanhou, and said coquettishly: "You little conscienceless, you still know that you haven't seen you for a long time, you are so ruthless, why don't you come to see me for such a long time?" Do you know how much I miss you? Come, touch it, my heart is very distressed. Holding Zhao Guanhou's hand, he put it on his chest, Zhao Guanhou hurriedly took a step back, Cao Menglan smiled as if she had just discovered Su Hanzhi and wanted to cover it:

"This is a brother and sister, right? Don't get me wrong, I'm nothing to do with your man, we're having fun. Crown, Bassens is in the barracks, and he can't come today. You don't have to worry. ”

Su Hanzhi was okay, and walked over to greet Cao Menglan, but Jiang Fengzhi turned her head angrily and ran all the way back to her room. Cao Menglan, who had won the first hand, sneered twice and whispered, "Little hoof, fight with the old lady, you are far from doing this trick." ”

Mrs. Jensen greeted Su Hanzhi generously, Su Hanzhi was embarrassed, and then stammered, "Kill...... Kill...... Kill a donkey? ”

"Madame, your Capetian language is so good." Mrs. Jenson smiled and switched to Chinese. The two exchanged a few words, and Zhao Guanhou stepped forward, invited Mrs. Jensen, and came to the reception room in the room.

After entering the room, Mrs. Jenson first looked at the ancient paintings hanging in the room and a few playthings on display, and then shook her head, "It's all fake, it's worthless." Then he smiled at Zhao Guanhou, "Guanhou, I discovered a secret today, the mother of the great thief Luo Ping, who actually can't speak Capetian." Do you think I should tell Consul Antoine about this matter personally, or should I let Consul Antoine come to the door and ask Madame Zun for verification in person? ”

As soon as she talked to Su Hanzhi, Zhao Guanhou knew that it was going to be bad, and Su Hanzhi's spoken language had always been hard. It's just that Zhao Guanhou writes things out, and she copies them, which belongs to the level of a scribe. Spelling is okay, but reading is not. What's more, Mrs. Jensen's Capetian language is fast, and there is a Belgian accent, Su Hanzhi can't answer at all.

His trick was exposed, and this kind of thing was also in the possibility of being thought of in advance, after all, this kind of thing, as long as he met someone who was interested in studying it carefully, Su Hanzhi lacked the talent to adapt, and it was easy to see through. Fortunately, Mrs. Jensen said it to her face, but there was no problem, so she had to shrug her shoulders

"Madame, you have a keen eye. It's true that I wrote all those things, and my wife is just a scribe. ”

"Oh, then why don't you sign your name instead of hers?"

"Because I don't want her to be an ordinary little woman forever." Zhao Guanhou handed Mrs. Jensen a cigarette and lit one himself

"She was a gentle and kind woman, who had all the virtues of the Oriental women of this era, but she was easy to ...... Ordinary. This is not a pejorative term, a person who does not deliberately ask for something, is actually a virtue. But for her, I always felt that it was unfair, she was just unlucky, if she hadn't been born in a country where men are inferior and emphasized that women are virtuous if they were not talented, or if her family was better, she would have been very good. I hope that she, in addition to being my wife, can have her own life, novels, or fame, which is just part of it. If possible, I would still like Madame to keep this secret, and I would be very grateful. ”

Mrs. Jenson listened to Zhao Guanhou's words, her smile gradually disappeared, her expression became serious, and she nodded solemnly, "As you wish, I will keep this secret, and I will teach her Capetian when time permits, as long as she is as smart as you describe, I promise that in a year, she will become the star of the social ball." Just, aren't you afraid? If she's too good, aren't you worried about not being able to control her? ”

"I don't want to decide her fate, I trust her, just as she believes in me. We trust each other, and nothing changes because the status of one of us changes. If I can't keep her with me, it only means that I'm not good enough. However, if I can be blinded by Mrs. Jensen, how can I not be good enough? ”

Mrs. Jenson's eyes were misty, and she was silent for a long time, until the cigarette was about to burn to her fingers, and then she hurriedly extinguished the cigarette. This has rarely been an embarrassment in the past. It's just that her demeanor is excellent, although a small oolong appeared, but she quickly covered up her gaffe with her elegant appearance.

"Well, I must say, I'm a little jealous of her...... She met a husband who was good enough, and even in Europe, a man like yours is just as rare. ”

"Thanks for the compliment." Zhao Guanhou thanked him, and then cut to the point: "Meng Siyuan invited his wife over, first, he wanted to invite his wife to taste his chef's skills, and second, there was a business for you to talk about." He had some difficulties in his business and wanted to borrow a sum of money from his wife for emergency relief, which amounted to about 200,000 capepers. ”

"Two hundred thousand?" At the mention of business, Mrs. Jenson's eyes gradually became clearer, as if she was back in her office, talking about business with customers.

"Huabi Bank has not carried out much business in Daikin for loans, mainly with the government of your country, and in terms of private loans, at least in Jinmen, there is not much business. If Mr. Meng wants to take out a loan, the first thing he needs is sincerity......"

"More than two hundred hectares of land, including the contents of the land, including mansions and country shops. Its location is on the outskirts of Dezhou and Jinan in Shandong, which I think is worth 200,000 francs. More importantly, Mr. Meng is an excellent businessman, he has an excellent reputation, and trustworthy repayment ability, and the loan of 200,000 yuan will definitely not become a bad debt. ”

"If there is so much land, I don't mind that debt becoming a bad debt, after all, in the country of gold, no one can default on the debt of foreign businessmen." Mrs. Jenson said proudly

In fact, Mr. Siyuan was also very famous in the concession, and Albiang, Capet, businessmen from these countries mentioned him. As for the content of the conversation, I can't disclose it, in short, you need to let Mr. Meng know that if I lend him money, I will also have to bear a lot of pressure. What's more, it's all about saving face, otherwise he'll either agree to us as a shareholder, or he'll not want to borrow a franc from us. ”

"I am honored to have this face in front of my wife. There is a saying in China, I also have a business to discuss with my wife. ”

"Business? Have you succeeded in convincing your Empress Dowager to agree to tear down the walls of Jinmen and build a tram track? If that's the case, I guarantee you'll get a hefty commission and your friend can borrow money directly from you without having to go to Warby Bank. ”

"No, of course not." Zhao Guanhou waved his hand, "The affairs of my country are definitely not as easy to handle as Madame imagined, even if it was Lord Zhang and Prince Gong back then, it was not so easy to convince the Queen Mother, let alone me?" I have two other businesses to talk to you about, and I have two small inventions on weapons. One is a throwing egg and the other is a trigger mine. If Madame wishes, I would like to transfer the patents of these two weapons to Madame, and repay Madame for her help to me. And when the two weapons are mass-produced, and then they are sold to my new army, I am also responsible for the process in between. ”

At this time, European countries were equipped with hand-held bullets, which were still ignition type, and the fire rope was lit with matches to detonate the bullet body. The explosive type developed by Zhao Guanhou must be considered advanced at this time. But being advanced doesn't mean it's going to sell. The ratio of cost to actual results, and even the tactics of the armed forces, have seriously restricted the upgrading of weapons.

Given the current situation in the Jin country, there are foreign teachers in the army, and there are bags in the concession to inquire outside, and it is impossible to hide the eyes and ears of foreigners, whether it is a new type of hand-kept ammunition or a trigger-type landmine. If the foreigner really likes it, he will soon be able to ask for the technology in various ways, and it is better to give it to Jensen as a personal favor. As for the Jin army, it has always lacked enthusiasm for the weapons developed by its own people, but it is extremely trusting of Taixi's friends.

The same weapon, Zhao Guanhou sacrificed, whether it was out of contempt for him or worried that he would be promoted too quickly, in short, the weapon would probably only be shackled to the high cabinet, or it would be taken away from him. However, if it was sold by Mrs. Jensen, a woman from Tessie, the Jin people were absolutely willing to buy it with a lot of money to show their determination to start a foreign business.

Moreover, and most importantly, Zhao Guanhou could not get anything by offering weapons to the imperial court, but if he gave them to Madame Jensen, he could earn a commission from the middle. As long as the purchase volume is large, his commission will be more, not only will he earn himself, but even Yuan Weiting can share the benefits from it, but it is really a good thing to kill multiple birds with one stone.

Wang Wenzhao's departure from the Yamen of the Governor of Zhili has become a foregone conclusion, and the next thing is Han Rong Zhen, for this person, Shigege was introduced to Zhao Guanhou. He is luxurious and pays attention to pomp. Summer fans, winter leather clothes, perennial pearls, pay attention to a daily change, never repeat. He is a master of silver like flowing water.

If he makes money like this, someone must send him money, Yuan Weiting is in charge of military affairs, and he is in charge of nearly 10,000 erlangs, which is Han Rong's direct subordinate. Clothing, armor, money and food are inseparable from Han Rong's deployment, and service is indispensable.

In addition, like King Qing, there must also be a heart. Lin Lin finally came down, and the cost was huge. If this arms business is negotiated, Yuan Weiting's own economic situation will also be greatly improved.

Mrs. Jenson listened to him introduce the two weapons, and nodded, "If they are really as good as you say, then we can do this business." In recent years, your country has placed too much emphasis on Prussia in the procurement of weapons. In fact, our country is also a European power, and its military technology is extremely good, so it is time for you to see the level of Belgium's military industry. When I get back, I'll have my technicians contact you to develop both weapons. If it can facilitate your purchase, then we can negotiate the commission. ”

After the big thing was discussed, Zhao Guanhou was relieved and made an inviting gesture to Mrs. Jensen, "The chef of the Meng family is good at cooking Lu cuisine." Today, I specially prepared duck loin duck strips and salt-fried shrimp. This craftsmanship is not inferior to the Dongxing Building in the capital, and the lady is invited to appreciate the light. ”

"Very well, I have always been supportive of your food, at least much better than Albion cuisine and Prussian potatoes. I brought a vat of margaux with me today, and it was a little bit of my heart to have someone bring it. ”

Originally, there was a saying that there were different seats for men and women in Jinguo, but Zou Xiurong studied abroad, and it was also Taixi's school, not to mention Cao Menglan. In this way, Su and Jiang were also pulled out by Zou Xiurong to participate in the banquet together, and men and women sat at the same table, but fortunately, there were no old-fashioned people among them, except for Su Hanzhi, who was more shy, everyone else was very natural. Jiang Fengzhi just saw that Sai Jinhua was not pleasing to the eye, and threw a few eye knives over, but the latter just didn't see it.

Seeing Zhao Guanhou and Mrs. Jensen talking and laughing from the living room, Sai Jinhua smiled exaggeratedly, "Look, treat good people as thieves, but you have missed the main owner." After such a long period of hard work, everything has been done, and what is the use of just staring at me. ”

"You!" Jiang Fengzhi was so angry that she wanted to turn her face, but she was dragged by Su Hanzhi desperately, so she could only sulk by herself. Meng Siyuan was overjoyed, hurriedly greeted him, talked a few words with Mrs. Jensen, and then pulled Zhao Guanhou aside and asked, "Fourth brother, how are things?" ”

"No problem, Mrs. Jensen agreed in principle to the loan. But then, you'll have to go to her bank and talk about some details, including checking the title deeds. As long as there is no problem with the title deed, it is easy to say that the loan will not take a long time, and there will be an answer in three or a few days. ”

Hearing that Mrs. Jensen had agreed to lend money in principle, Meng Siyuan breathed a sigh of relief and said to Zhao Guanhou: "I don't have it at hand now, as soon as my money comes back, I will immediately send 10,000 taels of silver to the fourth brother, which is what you deserve." ”

This rule was handed down from the general office of the national affairs yamen, and it is already an open secret that Zhang Hefei borrowed foreign debts, bought arms, and had a rule of 28 kickbacks with foreigners. What's more, the foreigners wiped out the Jiuji Meng family, without Zhao Guanhou's face, the 200,000 yuan loan would never be able to be borrowed, and giving him a 20% rebate would be considered the market price.

Zhao Guanhou smiled, "Second brother, are you scolding me?" We changed the post, my brother, what kind of kickback. This 10,000 silver, even if I buy candy for my little nephew, there is no need to mention it. But you yourself have a little bit of an eye, the foreigners' debts can't be relied on, and the government's business can't be careless, and if you don't pay attention, something will go wrong. You must pay attention to yourself, and you must read carefully all the details of the loan. If you can borrow money from elsewhere, then it is better not to borrow foreign debts. ”

With this, the atmosphere of the banquet was naturally very harmonious, and everyone pushed the cups and changed the lamps, which was very lively. Cao Menglan used her courtesan talents to create topics for the banquet and keep the scene warm. She said to Zhao Guanhou again: "Brother, have you heard? Something happened at the Martial Arts Academy. Ming issued an edict, Shi Jiyun and Zhou Dianchen took off their crowns and sent them to serve in the military station. ”

Sent to serve in the military station, it is to fill the army, as for the place, it is an extremely bad Yili, and most of them have no hope of coming back. Zhao Guanhou asked about Pang Yutang again, and Cao Menglan thought about it

"He seems to have been extraordinarily gracious, and only vacated from office, and there was no other punishment. His grandfather is a eunuch next to Banzai, and most likely the Son of Heaven pleaded with Lafayette. But no matter what, the Pang family originally said that there were two sons, one in the new army and the other in the business world, but now they have broken an arm. How's that, happy or not? ”

Zhao Guanhou knew that this was mostly done by the original foreign gunpowder and training, although there was no evidence, but the court did things, and everything needed evidence. Things involve the safety of the Queen Mother, as long as there is a general direction, the next thing is to deal with people. These people were just dismissed from their posts in the army, and they were obviously exalted and dismissed.

However, the treatment of them happened before the queen mother returned to power, and if they returned to power, the emperor used them, which was tantamount to admitting that what was unfavorable to the queen mother before was related to the emperor. Thinking about it, I also know that it is impossible for the emperor to do this, and the career path of these people is completely ruined.

A few months ago, he was still a pot leader in the county yamen, and he was like an ant shaking the mountains compared to the Pang family. Now his official position is also a fourth-grade, with a flower feather on his head and a yellow coat on his body, and Pang Jinbiao can also be regarded as high and low, if you take into account the identity of the new army, you will have to suppress him. And the next generation of talents of the Pang family is withering, and there is no hope for a career, only he is afraid of himself in the future, and there is no reason for him to be afraid of him.

As for that Pang Delu Pang eunuch, he didn't care much about it, no matter how powerful he was, he couldn't compare to Pi Ni Li. The queen mother handed over power, but the person was not dead, and she was praised in front of the old woman, and the emperor did not dare to do anything to herself. Thinking about it, in the future, he will eat the Pang family, and the Pang family will be helpless to take him, and he is really proud in his heart.

was in the middle of the staggering, but heard a faint cry in the distance, Su Hanzhi's face turned slightly red, "My father is sick again, I'm sorry, I swept everyone's interest." ”

Meng Siyuan and the others naturally said that it didn't matter, while Mrs. Jensen was thinking about whether there were any good enough psychiatrists in the concession who could introduce Su Hanzhi. Jiang Fengzhi held the ebony silver-tipped chopsticks in her hand, watched coldly from the sidelines, and said secretly in her heart: The husband is like this, Sister Hanzhi has not lived in vain in this life. (To be continued.) )