Chapter 4 Insider

"Didn't it be well planned at the beginning?" She asked, "Why did you hit a snag everywhere, and what kind of snag did you hit?" "It's hard to explain in one word." Gu Yingchun shook his head, unwilling to talk deeply. Mrs. Luosi made indirect remarks, but she still couldn't let Gu Yingchun reveal his unspeakable secrets.So much so that Mrs. Snail was a little angry.But just when he was about to say a few words of complaint, he thought of a radical method. "Brother-in-law, just tell me, I will never tell stories when I go back, I will only speak for you in front of Mr. Da."

Hearing this, Gu Yingchun was very disturbed.If she still refuses to say anything, it means that she is really afraid that she will go back and "speak the truth".At the same time, listening to her tone, it seemed that she suspected that he had mishandled him, or even had selfishness, so that "nothing was accomplished".This unprovoked misunderstanding is not willing to accept it silently. Therefore, Gu Yingchun suppressed his excitement, thought for a while and replied: "Fourth sister, I was originally 'knocking out teeth and swallowing blood', and I have to accept the grievances. Now it seems that I have to say it! But, fourth sister , I have a word, I must first declare that I have absolutely no doubts that Fourth Sister will tell stories in front of my uncle."

"I know, I know." Mrs. Snail smiled triumphantly, "I'm not pushing like this, how could I force you to speak out?" Hearing this, Gu Yingchun knew he had been duped, "I mean it. But," he said, "now it seems that I am telling the story." "Brother-in-law," Mrs. Snail said seriously, "I'm not a person who doesn't know the importance. Of course, I will think about what you can and cannot say about what you tell me. If you refuse to tell the truth in order to avoid suspicion, you are not yourself. people." The last sentence implicitly had the meaning of reproach, which made Gu Yingchun feel that he should tell the truth: "Speaking of it, I can't blame Lao Mi, he has his own difficulties—"

"It's him!" Mrs. Snail stepped in and said, "I was a little suspicious just now. I'm afraid it's him who is the gossip. Sure enough. How is he doing in Fukang?" "I don't know about his situation in Fukang. I only talk about myself. I also don't know what offended Lao Mi. It's a bit embarrassing for me—" It turned out that the failure to buy the silk reeling factory was due to Mi Ben's constant obstruction and destruction in the dark.He let the wind out, saying that Hu Xueyan had no intention of setting up a new-style silk reeling factory, and that Gu Yingchun had made a big hole in the real estate business, so he bought short and sold short, hoping to make something out of nothing to make up for his shortfall.If there is a silk reeling factory that wants to sell it, it is best to find another customer, otherwise it will be nothing in the end, and it will be a waste of time.

This remark makes people half-believing, what they believe is that Gu Yingchun is not unknown in Shanghai shopping malls, and his credit is also very good.Just seeing that he failed to cooperate with Xu Yuzhai, but he was safe and sound, it can be seen that he is not someone to wait for. What is suspicious is that Gu Yingchun's situation is indeed not good, and what is even more inconceivable is that Hu Xueyan has always opposed the new style of silk reeling, so why did he suddenly change course?Everyone knows that Hu Xueyan values ​​one thing: keep what you say.Everyone couldn't remember what he had done that contradicted his promise.

Because of this, it was very difficult for Gu Yingchun to negotiate with others, because the other party had an attitude of hypocrisy and obedience.Of course, as long as there is no obvious reason for breaking up, even though the negotiation is difficult, the negotiation will continue and a preliminary result will be reached sooner or later. At that time, the target of Gu Yingchun's negotiation was Huang Zuoqing, the proprietor of Gongheyong.He built factories at the same time as Jardine Matheson Co., Ltd. and Ping Ping Foreign Firm. They are similar in size and have hundreds of silk looms. They bought Italian and French silk looms. , Huang Zuoqing agreed, Liu Hefu handled it, and hired an Italian, Maddens, to guide the factory and train the workers. This person has good skills, but his character is very bad. The biggest problem is lust.

It turns out that most of the workers at that time were female workers, who were called "Sister Husi".In order to help the family, Xiaojia Biyu mainly uses domestic helpers. The work is done by getting the materials at home. The old ones are like embroidery and pasting tin foil, and the new ones are like pasting matchboxes and sewing military uniforms. , in groups, ostentatiously pass by, but it is unprecedented, so watching sister Husi go to work and get off work has become a scene.These young women are used to showing their faces, so they are naturally more open-minded in their actions and words, and debauchery and open-mindedness are just the difference between getting in and out of bed, and as time goes on, there will often be cases of prostitution. , especially "Little Widow", many people got involved.Of course, this is "reciprocal". Female workers will not be bullied if they have a male job backer. If the backer is a foreman, the benefits are even greater, at least they can be transferred to a department where the work is easy.On the other hand, if the foreman fails to achieve what he wants, he can take revenge on public welfare and private interests, and transfer to the most bitter silk reeling room, where boiling water and steam are like hot summer all year round. Occasionally there is wind in the middle of the summer, and the silk reeling room is hot and stuffy. After a meal, the whole body will be soaked. Male workers can be shirtless and wear shorts, but female workers can only wear a "wet cloth shirt". Once the machine is turned on for twelve hours, this fiery "wet cloth shirt" Just have to wear it all day.It’s okay in summer, but casual workers in winter, when the cold wind blows, the “wet cloth shirt” turns into “iron clothes”, and it’s not surprising that people get sick, so a foreign reporter visited the silk reeling room and called it “a veritable living hell.” ".

The foreman is like this, and the engineer is naturally more powerful. Madens regards ravaging Miss Husi as his right, and uses the unscrupulous foreman to get whatever he wants. Huang Zuoqing often receives complaints and asks Liu Hefu to warn Maddens. After a few days, he quickly returned to his old ways. After several times, Huang Zuoqing couldn't bear it anymore and planned to fire Maddens. Unexpectedly, Liu Hefu signed a very disadvantageous contract with him, and if he was fired, he would have to pay huge compensation.For this reason, Huang Zuoqing was very frustrated, and it was difficult to do business, so he decided to give up Gonghe Yongpan to Gu Yingchun.

The conditions were all negotiated, and the factory building, wealth production, and inventory of 80,000 silver were "kicked off".Gu Yingchun informed Mi Benchang to draw out the bank notes according to the number, but the answer he got was: "It is inconvenient to call according to the order." "What?" Gu Yingchun was surprised, "Isn't there a 'money' there?" Of the 500,000 silver that HSBC lent at the beginning, except for the 200,000 that Zuo Zongtang borrowed, the rest was specified by Hu Xueyan, and was lent to the cocoon company run by You Wu in order to buy a new-style silk reeling factory. Ben Chang didn't deny it, but he had his own opinion.

"Brother Ying Chun, Mr. Da has a saying like that, 'Dead shops are opened by living people', but if I am a backer, if I only listen to him, it is like an abacus. He dials and I move. I'm not a living person, but I'm more breathless than a dead person. Don't you think so?" Gu Yingchun gasped, and stammered, "Your words are good, Mr. Da's words must be counted." "I'm not saying it doesn't count, it doesn't count now. Yes, the money doesn't belong to me, why don't I give it to you?" "Why is there no money? It was specified for this purpose."

"That's right, I specified the purpose. But, Brother Ying Chun, you have to think for me, and you have to think for Mr. Da. Several times when you talked about the silk reeling factory, you always said 'difficult, difficult' , I don’t know when it will be successful.’ If you say that the negotiation will be successful soon, and the payment will be made in ten days and half a month, I will naturally keep your money. You are not sure, how can you blame me? " "You don't have to worry about whether I'm sure or not. If you point it out to me, you will stay." This was very rude, Mi Benchang said with a sneer: "If you asked Mr. Da to explain it immediately, allocate it to you according to the amount, and set up a booklet to count it as your deposit, I would not be eligible to use your money. Before it came under your name, the money belonged to Fukang. The money in Fukang belonged to Mr. Da, but the money in Fukang belonged to me, Mi. I don’t want money to be so tight in matters of being paid and being loyal to others. To use this money flexibly, just because of a word from Mr. Da who is far away in Hangzhou, hold on to this money, and wait until you don’t know when it will be used, do you think there is any reason for this?” These few words really refuted Gu Yingchun to the point that he couldn't argue with him, and he didn't want to argue with him anymore. But Mi Benchang still had something to say: "You know, Mr. Da's business is getting bigger and bigger, because one dollar makes a business of eight or ten dollars. Mr. Da often says, 'Eight jars and seven jars. Cover, cover and cover without wearing clothes, just know how to do business. "Based on the current cash in the market, there are more than eight jars and seven covers? At most, it is only half. I want to make him not wear clothes. How easy is it?" Brother, let me ask you, someone came to withdraw money today, and there are only two hundred thousand silver in the treasury. For the silk reeling factory? Mr. Gu, Mr. Gu, I, Lao Mi and you, at that time, don’t say that it’s Fukang’s money, even if it’s the official money from Liangjiang Governor’s Yamen, it will be raised tomorrow to pay the brothers , I have to use it. If the customer can’t get through this hurdle, there will be a wave of runs immediately, and Mr. Big will be finished.” "Fourth sister, as long as what Lao Mi said is true, even if I refuse to help, I have nothing to say. Because although they are all doing things for my uncle, each has its own authority and has its own difficulties, I can't blame him. .” "Then," said Mrs. Snail immediately, "are you blaming him now?" Gu Yingchun replied honestly: "Yes. A little bit." "In this way, it's Lao Mi who didn't tell the truth! Otherwise, you wouldn't blame him." Mrs. Snail asked, "Which words are not true?" "Isn't it still a position?" At this point, Gu Yingchun was on the verge of making a move, "He can adjust his position, and the money designated to buy the silk reeling factory has not been moved at all, and it is still the same. At HSBC." Upon hearing this, Mrs. Luozhi was moved. "Brother-in-law," she asked, "how do you know he hasn't moved?" "I've heard people say it." "which one?" "This—" Gu Yingchun replied, "Fourth sister, you don't need to ask. My news is very reliable." Mrs. Snail understood a little bit that Zhou Xiaotang, who was in charge of the general account in Fukang, was not on good terms with Mi Benchang, maybe he had leaked the news. "My brother-in-law wants me not to ask, so I won't ask. But I want to ask my brother-in-law, what should I do now?" "There is no need to talk about buying the silk reeling factory. Now I have 80,000 silver, but I can't buy it. Huang Zuoqing saw that I couldn't get the silver, so I found another account and sold it for 95,000 silver." When Gu Yingchun said this, he shook his head, with a very ugly expression on his face, "Fourth sister, what makes me most sad is that I have been living on the beach for decades, and I heard a sentence that made me vomit blood." "Oh!" Mrs. Snail was very sympathetic, "You speak out, and I will vent your anger for you." "Out of anger?" Gu Yingchun shook his head again and again, "Then it will become a 'rebellion in the nest', no good, no good." "Even if I don't ring, you still have to say it. If you feel wronged in your heart, it will be comfortable to say it." Gu Yingchun pondered and said: "Okay, let me say. That day——" That day—two days before Mrs. Luoshi arrived in Shanghai, Huang Zuoqing posted a post asking Gu Yingchun to have flower wine.The business failed, but friends are still friends. Gu Yingchun went to the appointment on time, and the venue was very lively. Huang Zuoqing invited nearly twenty guests, two tables of mahjong, one table of Pai Gow, and Qian Dayang's heads were hit.Next, we ate flower wine, and the "Shuangshuangtai" was set up. There were no fewer than fifty people in the round called by the guests, and the three large rooms in the whole building had to be opened up to accommodate four tables of wine. The host and guest were Chen Hesen, the "opium king" of the Chaozhou gang who bought Gong Heyong, and Gu Yingchun was also invited to sit at this table.While the singing and singing were noisy, Huang Zuoqing raised his glass to Gu Yingchun and said, "Brother Yingchun, I would like to toast you a glass of wine. If it weren't for your inconvenience ten days ago, I wouldn't have negotiated peace with 'Da Wang'." Yong, that’s 15,000 taels less. Speaking of which, your brother picked me to earn the 15,000 taels, shouldn’t I make a toast?” After speaking, he laughed and let himself do it liquor. After finishing this paragraph, Gu Yingchun said again: "Fourth sister, do you think that he didn't deliberately embarrass me? At that time, I really burst into tears." Mrs. Snail was also sad for him, and he was even more aggrieved, "Does Mr. Da know about this?" She asked. "How can I tell Mr. Da about this? But buying Gonghe will never make it. I have already written to Mr. Da." "I haven't heard of it in Hangzhou." Gu Yingchun thought for a while and said, "Actually, when you left Hangzhou, my letter hadn't arrived yet." "Okay! I won't talk about it in this chapter. As for Lao Mi holding back the money and deliberately going against you, I must ask him about it." "No!" Gu Yingchun said, "Please Fourth Sister, please take care of the overall situation. The current situation is not good, and it all depends on everyone's concerted efforts. If you ask him, there will be right and wrong. No matter what, please keep it in your heart." "You know, I am the same as Seventh Sister. I have grievances in my heart, and I can't eat." Mrs. Snail said, "As long as I don't 'sell the plaintiff', how will he know where the news about me comes from?" of." Seeing that her attitude was very firm, Gu Yingchun knew that she couldn't dispel her intentions, so she thought for a while and said, "Fourth sister, you think that if you don't mention my name, he won't be suspicious of me, you are lying to yourself. You always You need to have a reasonable statement to hide it from him." "Tell me, what should I say?" "Do you know anyone at HSBC?" Mrs. Snail thought for a while and said, "There is Zhang Jitong, who seems to belong to HSBC Bank." "That's right, Zhang Jitong is the 'Second Writer' of HSBC." Gu Yingchun asked, "Is Fourth Sister familiar with him?" "His wife, we used to be little sisters. Last year, he came to Hangzhou to see me." "Okay! Then there is an explanation. Fourth sister, if you must ask about this matter, you can tell me like this when you see Lao Mi, you said, Gu Yingchun told me that Fukang's position is extremely tight, but I I heard from Zhang Jitong's wife that Fukang has more than 200,000 silver coins, which have been stored in HSBC and have not been touched. Let's see what he says." "I understand. I will not show my feet at all. I will go to see Mrs. Zhang tomorrow morning and act as if it is real. I think he must have nothing to say. At that time, I will blame him a few more words to vent your anger for you." .” "There is no need to talk about the word venting." "Okay, let's not talk about venting, let's talk about your consummation." Mrs. Luosi said in a hurry, "Even if this matter is not for you, it is not for Ruixiang, but for Seventh Sister. You still have to treat me to this wedding wine while I am here." .” Gu Yingchun finally agreed.So Mrs. Luoshi explained the plans discussed with Grandma Qigu one by one. Up to now, Gu Yingchun has nothing to say except to say yes. After breakfast the next day, Mrs. Luosi urged Ruixiang to go out.This was agreed the night before, but because Ruixiang had to go out all day and had to arrange a lot of trivial housework, it was delayed. Qigu's grandma kept urging her again and again, and when she was getting impatient, she started We boarded the car together, and it was already eleven o'clock on the watch. "Just now in front of Grandma Qigu, I can't tell. It's reasonable for me to urge you. I have to go to Mrs. Zhang's house first, and take a short ride to Fukang to issue bank notes. The time is not right now, and it's time for lunch. If you go, you must stay. If you go to Fukang in the second half of the day, you won’t be able to do anything. Don’t be impatient to look at the jewelry, or you will regret it in all likelihood. Now, there is no other way, the Zhang family has no choice but to not go.” "It's all my fault." Ruixiang said with a smile, "Madam, why didn't you tell me earlier?" "I didn't know you were so good at grinding! Touch east and west, forgetting to lose time. Oh!" Mrs. Snail took special care, "I told Mr. Mi later that we are from the Zhang family. Don't say anything, so as not to expose Xiyang mirror." Ruixiang agreed, and accompanied Mrs. Luosi to Fukang in a sedan chair. Mi Benchang naturally treated him like a guest of honor. His politeness was very thoughtful, and he asked Mrs. Hu and the whole Hu family one by one.Then he was perfunctory to Ruixiang, and asked with a smile: "Miss Rui, when will you treat us to a wedding?" Ruixiang blushed and didn't answer, Mrs. Luoshi said, "Hurry up, hurry up!" She said, "That's why I came to the bank today, and I want to pay two thousand silver. Grandma Qigu also has a brochure here." I took out Grandma Qigu's booklet and looked at it. She deposited more than 4,500 taels of silver, and Mrs. Luoshi decided to withdraw 2,000 taels. The total was 4,000 taels of silver. , make it clear, we're going to talk about Gu Yingchun. "Mr. Mi," she asked leisurely, "how is the market in Shanghai these days?" "Not good, not good! The money is getting tighter and tighter." "Where is our Fukang?" "Of course it's tight." "Since it's tight," Mrs. Snail put on a puzzled expression, "Why do we have more than 200,000 silver in HSBC and don't move?" Hearing this, Mi Benchang's heart skipped a beat, and when he was having difficulty answering, Mrs. Budao Luosi added another sentence, which made him heave a sigh of relief. "Is this money loaned out by HSBC?" "yes." "The money lent by HSBC will of course have to pay interest. Although there is interest in HSBC, the interest on lending must be high and the interest on deposits must be low, right?" "yes." "The money borrowed from him is deposited with him, and the difference in interest is paid for nothing. Mr. Mi, I don't quite understand how this calculation is done." At this time, Mi Benchang had already thought of a very clever reason that could be evaded, so he answered leisurely: "Mrs. It was discovered in the first year. Let’s have dinner first, and I will slowly tell Mrs. Luo Si.” It's already lunch time, and Mi Benchang has already prepared, so Mrs. Luosi is not welcome.However, there were no diners to accompany him, and Ruixiang's identity was different, so he refused to share the same table with Mrs. Luoshi, but it took a lot of time to make arrangements. In the end, he divided two dishes and asked Ruixiang to eat at another place. Mi Ben often accompanied Mrs. Luoshi while eating and talking. . "Mrs. Luo Si, Fukang has money deposited in HSBC, presumably Ying Chun told you?" "No." Mrs. Luoshi replied calmly, "I went to see Mrs. Zhang today. Their master is also in HSBC. She told me." "Uh, is Gong Zhang Zhang, or Li Zao Zhang?" "The bow is long." "Then Zhang Jitong?" "Yes, their master's name is Zhang Jitong." Mi Ben often thought that Mrs. Snail was obviously lying.Zhang Jitong and him were also friends, and they were still playing cards together the day before, until one o'clock in the night, Zhang Jitong was a big loser, and he had to play four more rounds to "pull the car bar". At that time, someone said: "Old Zhang, you always have to go back at twelve o'clock. If you don't return to the camp tonight, are you afraid that Mrs. Zhang will punish you to kneel down on the abacus and push the toilet lid?" It turned out that Zhang Jitong was afraid of guilt, so he teased him like this, but he patted his chest and said, "Don't worry, don't worry, the tigress went back to her mother's house in Changshu the day before yesterday to eat her nephew's wedding wine." This is the so-called "disguise", and it can be further confirmed that Gu Yingchun leaked the news of HSBC's deposits.But he never said anything, on the contrary, he showed an expression of apology to Gu Yingchun on his face. "Mrs. Luosi, Fukang's deposits and loans have accounts to check. Of course, the money deposited in HSBC also has accounts, but the interest paid every month does not appear to be a loss in the accounts. What's the point? This The difference in interest is one and a half centimeters, so it costs about 400 taels of silver per month, I just opened the booklet and counted it as a legitimate expenditure." At this point he stopped and looked at Mrs. Snail's expression. Of course she looked surprised, "Is it a legitimate expense?" She asked, as if she had heard it wrong. If she remained calm, Mi Benchang would not be sure whether she had listened to his words, but it was normal to be surprised, and he would be more sure that he could dispel her doubts. "That's right, it's legitimate expenses. It's an indispensable legitimate expense, just like socializing with officials during festivals." He said, "Mrs. Snail, as you know, Fukang relies entirely on deposits from the public and big households. It’s lower than others. Why do you want to save Fukang? It’s because it’s reliable. If someone has doubts about being unreliable, it doesn’t matter if one or two deposits are made. There's only one way to go." "Oh! Which way?" "Dead end. It's either a rope or three-dollar opium." Mi Ben often said, "I only have the next life to repay Mr. Da." No matter how shrewd Mrs. Luosi was, she couldn't help but be moved by Mi Benchang's deliberate expression of loyalty and responsibility, "Mr. Mi, don't say that! As long as you have solid strength, there will be good results." She said, "Your loyalty , Mr. Big knows." "It's worth offending someone just because of Mr. Da." Mi Benchang immediately brought the conversation back, "Mrs. Luoshi, with the golden signboard of Fukang, I don't need to solicit deposits, they will come to your door. My approach, It is to polish our gold-lettered signboard so that it is not a little unclean. The money is stored in HSBC and the interest is paid back, which is my way to protect the gold-lettered signboard." "Hmm! Hmm!" Mrs. Snail thought for a while and said, "You mean that Fukang has more than 200,000 silver in HSBC. If you don't touch it, it seems that Fukang's position is very rich, so people don't worry about withdrawing it. .” "That's right. Mrs. Snail, you are really an expert." Mi Ben often raised his glass, and took a big sip by himself, his complacency was beyond words. "It turns out that there is such a trick in it. It is a last resort to say it." "I had to do it first, and then I realized the trick. It's really the right thing to do. Even if the money is not tight, it should be done like this. One time, the fifth aunt from Zhoudaotai on Avenida Fada came to withdraw money, and I said, do you want to transfer the money?" HSBC? If you want to deposit in HSBC, I will give you HSBC notes. Not only is it convenient to transfer money, but also there is no need for 'discount' in and out, which is more cost-effective. Mrs. Snail, what do you think she heard me say?" "I can't guess, what did she say?" "She said, forget it, forget it. Our master said that money is tight in the market now, and Fukang is afraid that there will be no cash at the time of emergency, so it is better to deposit it in a foreign bank. Now hearing what you say, I am not very big. I'm sorry. It's better to keep it with you. Mrs. Snail, I figured out a trick at that time. Our golden signboard needs to be wiped with foreign copper rubbing oil. What is foreign copper rubbing oil? For business, I have to go to all foreign banks to open accounts, such as when I met the fifth aunt of the Zhou family who came to deposit and withdraw accounts. I asked her which foreign bank notes she wanted, and she said which one was the one. Isn't the sign louder?" Because Mrs. Luozhi listened to what he said, she was able to go deep. At this time, she heard a question: "The method is very good, but this time, there is a large position placed there?" "Where, where!" Mi Benchang shook his hands, "Isn't that stupid?" "What if you're not stupid?" "There's another trick here. Open an account in each bank and deposit three or two thousand silver. When the bill is issued, I will transfer the full amount of the position first, so that I won't be in trouble." "Can you make it?" "It's in time, it's in time. Here, this is the advantage of the phone. Pick up the receiver and shake it over, saying that there is such a thing, and the pilots there will take care of it for us." Mrs. Luosi learned a lot from his discussions. She had heard Hu Xueyan talk about the key points of Chinese bank management a few times, and she was not an outsider, but she didn't know the details about the situation of foreign banks. At this time, she heard Mi Benchang speak clearly , she is careful when things happen, so she naturally refuses to give up the opportunity, so she asked next, how to deal with it?And why did they deal with it for Fukang? "There are many ways to deal with it, but the same thing remains true, that is, to delay for a while until we adjust our positions to make up." "What if it's out of order?" "That's right, I'm not afraid of 10,000, just in case. This kind of situation has never happened before, but I have to guard against it. When it comes to this, it depends on ordinary communication. I have friendship with the 'Combado' of foreign banks." Well, those "foreign bankers" have to socialize frequently, so if the position adjustment is out of order, as long as I notify them, they will replace it for me. Three days at most." Mi Benchang repeated again, "However, this kind of situation has never happened before." "Oh," Mrs. Snail asked again, "Which foreign banks do we have dealings with?" "There are all of them." Next, Mi Benchang counted on his fingers.Among the foreign banks in Shanghai, the most famous is HSBC, whose English name is "Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank Co., Ltd.", but the oldest bank is Yili Bank.The English name of this bank is: Chartered Bank of India, Australia and China.However, the Hong Kong branch and the Shanghai branch have different translations. According to the transliteration in Hong Kong, it is called Standard Chartered Bank. for Macquarie Bank. "McGalley was established by the imperial decree of the Queen of England. However, this foreign bank was specially opened for the British to do business with us in India and Australia. It focuses on deposits and remittances. It is purely a commercial bank. The official style is different." Mi Benchang said again, "Since Mr. Zuo came to Liangjiang, Mr. Da has not repaid his foreign debts, and the relationship between Fukang and HSBC has weakened. So now I am Xiang Mai. Gary, work hard. By the way, please ask Mrs. Snail to tell Mr. Big." "Okay, I see." Mrs. Luoshi was very impressed with Mi Benchang's long-sleeved and good at dancing, and of course her perception changed. She felt that he was doing it for his own duties. If he wanted to be worthy of his boss, he would inevitably offend his friends.However, he was bragging in front of Gu Yingchun, and wanted to vent his anger on him.Now that it has become anticlimactic, it seems ashamed of Gu Yingchun. Thinking about it like this, a look of embarrassment inevitably appeared on his face.Mi Ben, who is good at observing words and expressions, immediately asked: "Mrs. Luoshi, do you have something to say? It seems that you are not willing to say it. It doesn't matter. I have been with Mr. Da for many years, just like the younger generation. Mrs. Luoshi, you are an elder. If you If there is something wrong with me, please feel free to say it! I am, I am——a book bag with a sentence called 'If there is something, change it, and if there is nothing, it will be strengthened.'” Mrs. Snail was very sincere when he heard his words, and felt that it was okay to reveal a little bit, so she said very implicitly: "There is nothing wrong with you. Mr. Da entrusted Fukang to you. Of course, you will take care of Fukang. It is only right and proper. However, sometimes You should also take care of your friends, after all, we are all in the same boat.” This is tantamount to venting the bottom line. Mrs. Snail is trying to hold back the money that should be paid to Gu Yingchun for him to ask the teacher. Mi Benchang immediately admits his mistake and expresses his apology: "Yes! Yes! I corresponded to Chun because I thought of Fukang. The lifeblood of Mr. Da's career has been handled a little too much. In fact, public is public and private is private! My friendship with him will not change. Now I ask Mrs. Snail to tell him what I should do to apologize to him. I will definitely obey .” "If you don't make it up, it's serious." Mrs. Snail suddenly had an idea, "There is a chance to protect your friendship." She looked out and didn't say any more. Mi Ben often thought about it for a while, and then he could understand, referring to Gu Yingchun's favor.She took a look just now, in case Ruixiang would hear it. "I understand. I'll do it and make fun for him." It is not surprising to say that it is a heavy gift, if it was Mi Ben who volunteered to organize this happy event for Gu Yingchun, and put in so much effort, it would show the friendship of a friend.Mrs. Luosi was very satisfied, but she was afraid that he was trying to save face, so she had to add another sentence: "Mr. Mi, you said it yourself!" "Don't worry, Mrs. Luoshi. I will do it well." Mi Benchang then said solemnly, "However, public affairs are public affairs, and private affairs are private affairs. The various situations I just talked about with Mrs. You don't have to talk to Yingchun about it." "I know." Mi Ben often entertained Mrs. Luosi while changing his mind.It turned out that he also had some great ambitions. Seeing Hu Xueyan's "flowers and brocade" career, he couldn't help thinking that "a man should be like this", thinking that although he is highly valued, he is a buddy after all, and he should also create a career.This thought started five years ago, but it didn't become a reality until the end of the previous year. It turned out that he had a cousin named Chen Yisheng, who had been doing North-South goods business with the Shachuan Gang. That year when he escorted the goods to the North, an accident happened on board, a mast broke suddenly, injured his leg, and became disabled. Qian Yinzi, please go back to his hometown in Ningbo to recuperate. Mi Ben often goes home to celebrate the New Year, and they often spend time together. They talked all night on New Year's Eve, and the result came to fruition. Mi Ben often thought about how many times, if he told Hu Xueyan that he wanted to start a business, Hu Xueyan would help him, but it must be a small-scale start-up, and he had to resign from Fukang.It is not a smart way to become an abbot of a small thatched nunnery instead of being an intellectual of a big temple. You can't be a bank, and you can't be a silk cocoon, because this conflicts with the career of the "boss".His problem is: First, he doesn't know which kind of business will recover quickly.Because he has enough strength to mobilize three to five million yuan, but it is only a temporary turnover, and it goes back and forth. It can't be seen that he is embezzling public funds.Secondly, he can't show up. If he does, people will ask him where his capital comes from, and he is even more afraid that Hu Xueyan will say: "Entrepreneurship is difficult. You must concentrate. You can no longer be my backup. Otherwise, the hunchback will stumble. , both ends fell apart', you have delayed yourself, and you have also delayed me.'" Then, there was nothing to talk about. These two problems were solved by Chen Yisheng.He said: "If you want to talk about recycling quickly, there is no better way than goods from the north and the south. The goods must be ordered in advance, and the goods must be collected first, and the goods will be calculated when the goods arrive. The goods from the south are sold to the north, and the goods from the north are sold to the south. One ship does two transactions. Just two or three back and forth, Brother Ben Chang, you will be the big boss in no time." "Seeing that you speak so well, why can't I find anyone in this business among my friends?" "It's not that you can't find it, it's just that you don't know about it." Chen Yisheng said, "The cost of doing this business is very heavy, and it is not something ordinary people can do. As for those who are really rich and want to do this business, they can't afford the hard work. In the north-south goods business, if you are not an expert, don’t understand the market, and don’t know how to look at the goods, even if you personally escort the ship, you will definitely let others eat it. Therefore, rich people always let others do it. As long as there is no danger, It's always profitable." "By the way, something happened to Wang Yanghai, the ship sank, and the goods were sent to Sea Dragon King, what should we do then?" "That's the risk. But it's safe to have an insurance company now." "Was there no insurance before?" "Without insurance, you have to do the same thing. One out of ten trips may cause an accident. Even if one accident happens, the profits from those trips are worth the loss of this trip." Hearing this, Mi Ben was often moved. "Yisheng," he said, "it's a pity that you are lame." "My foot is lame." Chen Yisheng patted his head, "My brain is not broken. And after recovering from the injury, at most I can't move easily, and it's not like I'm sick and unable to get up from the bed." Mi Ben often thought that if Chen Yisheng were to come forward, since he was already in this line of business and backed by many wealthy people, no one would know the source of his capital.I was afraid that he would be black-hearted, so I kept silent. Of course, Chen Yisheng also saw Mi Benchang's intentions, and really wanted to take this opportunity to cooperate with him. One made a fortune and the other made a small fortune. Seeing this situation, he couldn't help being disappointed.But he had his way, and moved his old mother out. Chen Yisheng's mother was Mi Benchang's aunt, and on the fourth day of the Lunar New Year, he invited Mi Benchang over and said, "Ah Chang, you and Yisheng grew up together, your two-year-old dead mother even ate my milk. Cousins ​​who look like brothers and sisters like this, why do you refuse to say something to your synonym?" Of course, Mi Benchang couldn't admit it, otherwise it would not only hurt his feelings, but also cut off the future cooperation, so he pretended a reason: "It's not that I don't want to say that the money is not mine, I have to think about it carefully." , Let’s talk when we think about it.” "I understand what you mean. You are afraid of risks. Risks are nothing more than the first, that the road is not going well, and the second is that Yisheng is sorry for you. If you are afraid of accidents on the road, then don't talk about it. As for saying that Yisheng is sorry for you, that is I'm sorry. To burn the 'God of Wealth paper' tonight, I asked Yisheng to swear a curse in front of the God of Wealth Bodhisattva, to show his heart." At the time of Yijiaozi that night, it was the fifth day of the first lunar month, the birthday of the God of Wealth Bodhisattva Zhao Xuantan, and every family burned the God of Wealth paper. Chen Yisheng was ordered by his mother to make a heavy oath when burning the paper, and then discussed with Mi Ben often. It was agreed that one would contribute money and the other would work hard, and Mi Ben would get two shares of the profits, while Chen Yisheng would get one share, but within a year, neither of them would use the surplus, so as to accumulate their own capital. So Chen Yisheng went to Shanghai again and rented a house in Shiliupu to live in.When Mi Benchang received the 50,000 silver capital allocated by Mi Benchang, he began to recruit troops and bought horses. He transported a shipment of southern goods to Yingkou in Liaodong Bay, and returned from Yingkou to Tanggu, Tianjin, where he loaded the northern goods and went south. It took exactly two months to arrive and return, and the settlement was settled. ，五万银子的本钱，除去开销，净赚三千，是六分的利息，而宓本常借客户的名义，动支这笔资金，月息只得二厘五，两个月亦不过五厘。 宓本常之敌视古应春，就因为自己做了亏心事，怕古应春知道了会告诉胡雪岩，所以不愿他跟阜康过于接近。但现在的想法却大大地一变，主要的是他有了信心，觉得以自己的手腕，可以表现得大方些，再往深处去想，胡雪岩最信任的就是螺蛳太太与古应春，将这两个人笼络好了，更是立于不败之地，局面越发得以开展。 就这一顿饭之间，打定了主意，而且立刻开始实行，自告奋勇带个伶俐的小徒弟，陪着螺蛳太太与瑞香，先到他们宁波同乡开的方九霞银楼去看首饰，然后到抛球场一带绸缎庄去看衣料。宓本常在十里洋场上也是响当当的人物，奉命唯谨地侍奉在两个堂客左右，不但螺蛳太太觉得面子十足，瑞香的观感亦为之一变——平时听古应春与七姑奶奶谈起宓本常，总说他“面无四两肉”，是个难缠的人物，如今才知道并非如此。 到得夕阳西下，该置办的东西都办齐了，账款都归宓本常结算，首饰随身携带，其余物品，送到阜康钱庄，凭货取款，自有随行的小徒弟去料理。 “螺蛳太太，辰光不早了，我想请你同瑞姑娘到虹口去吃一顿大菜。”宓本常又说，“今天月底，九月初三好日子，喜事要连夜筹备才来得及，我们一面吃，一面商量。” “多谢、多谢。吃大菜是心领了。不过商量办喜事倒是要紧的。我把你这番好意，先同应春说一说，你晚上请到古家来，一切当面谈，好不好？” “好、好！这样也好。” 宓本常还是将螺蛳太太与瑞香送回家，只是过门不入而已。 螺蛳太太见了古应春，自然另有一套说法，她先将宓本常是为了“做信用”、“叫客户好放心”，才在汇丰存了一笔款子的解释说明白，然后说道：“他这样做，固然不能算错，不过他对朋友应该讲清楚。这一点，他承认他不对，我也好好说了他一顿。” "Why bother?" “当然要说他。世界上原有一种人，你不说，他不晓得自己错，一说了，他才晓得不但错了，而且大错特错，心里很难过。宓本常就是这样一个人，为了补情认错，他说九月初三的喜事，归他来办，回头他来商量。”螺蛳太太紧接着说，“姐夫，你亦不必同他客气。我再老实说一句：他是大先生的伙计，你是大先生的好朋友，要他来当差，也是应该的。” 听得这一说，古应春唯有拱手称谢。但也就是刚刚谈完，宓本常已经带着人将为瑞香置办的衣物等等送到，见了古应春，笑容满面地连连拱手。 “应春兄，恭喜、恭喜。九月初三，我来效劳，日子太紧，我不敢耽误工夫，今天晚上在府上叨扰，喜事该怎么办？我们一路吃、一路谈，都谈妥当了它，明天一早就动手，尽两天办齐，后天热热闹闹吃喜酒。” 见他如此热心，古应春既感动又困惑——困惑的是，宓本常平时做人，不是这个样子的，莫非真的是内疚于心，刻意补过。 心里是这样想，表面上当然也很客气，“老宓，你是个大忙人，为我的事，如此费心，真正不安、不敢当。”他说，“说实在的，我现在也没有这种闲心思，只为内人催促、螺蛳太太的盛意，不得不然，只要像个样子，万万不敢铺张。” “不错，总要像个样子。应春兄，你也是上海滩上鼎鼎大名的人物，喜事的场面不可以太俭朴，不然人家背后会批评。原是一桩喜事，落了些不中听的闲话，就犯不着了。” 这话倒提醒古应春了。七姑奶奶是最讨厌闲言闲语的，场面过于俭朴，就可能会有人说：“古应春不敢铺张，因为讨小老婆的场面太热闹了，大老婆会吃醋。”倘若有这样的一种说法，传到七姑奶奶耳朵里，她会气得发病。 这是非同小可的一件事，古应春很感谢宓本常能适时提醒，让他有此警惕。因而拱着手说：“老宓，你完全是爱护我的意思，我不敢不听。不过到底只有两天的工夫预备，也只好适可而止。” “当然、当然，一定要来得及。现在第一件要紧的是，把请客的单子拟出来。你的交游一向很广，起码也要请个十桌八桌，我看要另外借地方。” “不，不！那一来就没有止境了。请客多少只能看舍间地方大小而定。” 于是细细估量，将内外客厅、书房、起坐间都算上，大概只能摆七桌，初步决定五桌男客，两桌女客。 “本来天井里搭篷，还可以摆四桌，那一来'堂会'就没地方了。”宓本常说，“好，准定七桌，名单你开，帖子我叫我那里的人来写，至晚明天下午一定要发出。菜呢，你看用哪里的菜？” “请你斟酌，只要好就好。” “不但要好，还要便宜。”宓本常又问，“客人是下半天四五点钟前后就来了，堂会准定四点钟开场，到晚上九点钟歇锣，总要三档节目，应春兄，你看，用哪三档？” “此道我亦是外行，请你费心提调。” “我看？”宓本常一面想，一面说，“先来档苏州光裕社的小书，接下来弄一档魔术，日本的女魔术师天胜娘又来了，我今天就去定好了，压轴戏是'东乡调大戏'，蛮热闹的。” 古应春称是，都由宓本常作主。等他告辞而去，古应春将所作的决定告诉七姑奶奶，她却颇有意见。 “我看堂客不要请了。”她说，“请了，人家也未见得肯来。” 本来纳宠请女客，除非是儿孙满堂的老封翁，晚辈内眷为了一尽孝心，不能不来贺喜见礼，否则便很少有请女客的。上海虽比较开通，但吃醋毕竟是妇人天性，而嫡庶之分，又看得极重，如果是与七姑奶奶交好的，一定会作抵制。古应春觉得自己同意请女客，确是有欠思量。 “再说，我行动不便，没法子作主人，更不便劳动四姐代我应酬。”七姑奶奶又说，“如果有几位堂客觉得无所谓的，尽管请过来，我们亦就像平常来往一样不拘礼数，主客双方都心安，这跟特为下帖子是不同的。你说是不是呢？” “完全不错。”古应春从善如流地答说，“不请堂客。” “至于堂会热闹热闹，顺便也算请四姐玩一天，我赞成。不过，东乡调可以免了。” 原来东乡调是“花鼓戏”的一种，发源于浦东，所以称为“东乡调”，又名“本滩”，是“本地滩簧”的简称。曲词卑俚，但连唱带做，淫冶异常，所以颇具号召力，浦东乡下，点起火油灯唱东乡调的夜台戏，真有倾村来观之盛，但却难登大雅之堂。 “'两只奶奶抖勒抖'，”七姑奶奶学唱了一句东乡调说，“这种戏，怎么好请四姐来看？” 看她学唱东乡调的样子，不但古应春忍俊不禁，连下人都掩着嘴笑了。 “不唱东乡调，唱啥呢？” “杭州滩簧，文文气气，又弹又唱，说是宋朝传下来，当时连宫里都准去唱的。为了请四姐，杭州滩簧最好，明天倒去打听打听，如果上海有，叫一班来听听。” “好！”古应春想了一下说，“堂客虽不请，不过你行动不便，四姐可是作客，总要请一两个来帮忙吧！” “请王师母好了。” 王师母的丈夫王仲文是古应春的学生，在教堂里当司事，也收学生教英文，所以称他的妻子为“师母”，七姑奶奶也是这样叫她。但七姑奶奶却不折不扣地是王师母的“师母”，因此，初次听她们彼此的称呼，往往大惑不解。 螺蛳太太即是如此，那天王师母来了，七姑奶奶为她引见以后，又听王师母恭恭敬敬地说，“师母这两天的气色，比前一晌又好得多了。”便忍不住要问：“你们两位到底哪个是哪个的师母？” “自然是师母是我的师母，我请师母不要叫我小王师母，师母不听，有一回我特为不理师母，师母生气了，只好仍旧听师母叫我小王师母。” 一片叽叽喳喳的师母声，倒像在说绕口令，螺蛳太太看她二十五六岁年纪，生就一张圆圆脸，觉得亲切可喜，自然而然地便熟悉得不像初见了。 尤其是看到小王师母与瑞香相处融洽的情形，更觉欣慰。原来瑞香虽喜终身有托，但在好日子的这一天，跟一般新嫁娘一样，总不免有凄惶恐惧之感，更因是螺蛳太太与七姑奶奶虽都待她不坏，但一个是从前的主母，一个是现在的大妇，平时本就拘谨，这一天更不敢吐露内心的感觉，怕她们在心里会骂她“轻狂、不识抬举”。幸而有热心而相熟的小王师母，殷勤照料，不时嘘寒问暖，竟如同亲姐妹一般，瑞香一直悬着的一颗心才能踏实，脸上也开始有笑容了。 在螺蛳太太，心情非常复杂，对瑞香，多少有着嫁女儿的那种心情，但更重要的是古家的交情。因此，她虽了解瑞香心里的感觉，却苦于没有适当的话来宽慰她，如今有了小王师母能鼓舞起瑞香的一团喜气，等于自己分身有术，可以不必顾虑瑞香，而全力去周旋行动不便的七姑奶奶，将这场喜事办得十分圆满。 当然，这场喜事能办得圆满，另一个“功臣”是宓本常。对于他的尽心尽力，殷勤周到，不但螺蛳太太大为嘉许，连古应春夫妇都另眼相看了。 果如七姑奶奶的估计，堂客到得极少，连一桌都凑不满，但男客却非常踊跃。当堂会开始时，估计已经可以坐满五桌了。 由于是纳妾，铺陈比较简单，虽也张灯结彩，但客堂正中却只挂了一幅大红缎子彩绣的南极寿星图，不明就里的，只当古家做寿。这是七姑奶奶与螺蛳太太商量定规的，因为纳妾向来没有什么仪节，只是一乘小轿到门，向主人主母磕了头，便算成礼。如今对瑞香是格外优遇，张灯结彩，已非寻常，如果再挂一幅和合二仙图，便像正式结缡，礼数稍嫌过分，所以改用一幅寿星图。 瑞香的服饰，也是七姑奶奶与螺蛳太太商量过的。妇人最看重的是一条红裙，以瑞香的身份，是没有资格着的，为了弥补起见，许她着紫红夹袄，时日迫促，找裁缝连夜做亦来不及，仍旧是宓本常有办法，到跟阜康钱庄有往来的当铺中去借了一件全新的来，略微显得小了些，但却更衬托出她的身材苗条。 到得五点钟吉时，一档《白蛇传》的小书结束，宾客纷纷从席棚下进入堂屋观礼。七姑奶奶由仆妇背下楼来，纳入一张太师椅中，抬到堂前，她的左首，另有一张同样的椅子，是古应春的座位。 于是便有人起哄地喊道：“新郎倌呢？新郎倌！” “新郎倌”古应春为人从人丛中推了出来，宝蓝贡缎夹袍，玄色西洋华丝葛马褂，脚踏粉底皂靴，头上一顶硬胎缎帽，帽檐正中镶一块碧玉，新剃的头，他是洋派不留胡子，越显得年轻了。 等他一坐下来，视线集中，自然而然地看到了七姑奶奶，下身百褶红裙，上身墨绿夹袄，头上戴着珠花，面如满月，脸有喜气，真正福相。 再看到旁边，扶着七姑奶奶的椅背的一个中年妇人，一张瓜子脸，脂粉不施，天然丰韵，一双眼睛，既黑且亮，恍如阳光直射寒潭，只觉得深不可测，令人不敢逼视。她穿的是玄色缎袄，下面也是红裙，头上没有什么首饰，但扶着椅背的那双手上戴着一枚钻戒，不时闪出耀眼的光芒，可以想见戒指上镶的钻，至少也有蚕豆瓣那么大。 “那是谁？”有人悄悄在问。 “听说是胡大先生的妾。” “是妾，怎么着红裙？” “又不是在她自己家里，哪个来管她？” “不！”另有一个人说，“她就是胡家的螺蛳太太，着红裙是胡老太太特许的。” 那两个人还想谈下去，但视线为瑞香所吸引了。只见她低着头，但见满头珠翠，却看不清脸，不过长身玉立，皮肤雪白，已可想见是个美人。 她是由小王师母扶着出来的，袅袅婷婷地走到红毡条前立定，古家的老王妈赞礼：“新姑娘见老爷、太太磕头：一叩首、二叩首、三叩首、兴！” 小王师母便将瑞香扶了起来，七姑奶奶抬抬手喊一声：“你过来！” 老王妈便又高唱：“太太赏新姑娘见面礼。” 这时螺蛳太太便将一个小丝绒匣子悄悄递了给七姑奶奶，她打开匣子——也是一枚钻戒，拉起瑞香的手，将戒指套在她右手无名指上。 “谢谢奶奶！”瑞香低声道谢，还要跪下去，却让螺蛳太太拉住了。 这就算礼成了，不道奇峰突起，古应春站起身来，看着螺蛳太太说道：“四姐，你请过来，应该让瑞香给你磕头。” “没有这个规矩，这算啥一出？” 说着，便待避开，哪知七姑奶奶早就拉住了她的衣服，适时瑞香竟也走上前来，扶着她说：“太太请坐。” 小王师母与老王妈亦都上前来劝驾，螺蛳太太身不由主，只好受了瑞香的大礼。乱轰轰一阵过去，正要散开，奇峰又起，这回是宓本常，站到一张凳子上，举双手喊道：“还要照照相，照照相。” 这一下大家都静下来，听从他的指挥，照了两张相，一张是古应春、七姑奶奶并坐，瑞香侍立在七姑奶奶身后，一张是全体合照，螺蛳太太觉得自己无可站位置，悄悄地溜掉了。 照相很费事，第二张镁光不亮，重新来过，到开席时，已经天黑了。 女客只有一桌，开在楼上，螺蛳太太首座，七姑奶奶因为不耐久坐，行动也不便，特意命瑞香代作主人，这自然是抬举她的意思。螺蛳太太也觉得很有面子，不由得又想到了宓本常，都亏他安排，才能风风光光嫁了瑞香，了却了一桩心事，成全了主婢之情。