Chapter 28 Shopping malls

Although Zhu Funian's "handle" has been obtained, Hu Xueyan has put it aside. He has always done things in a good way, and the only big thing in front of him is negotiating the details of the partnership with Pang Er.Due to the sincerity of each other, the negotiation was quite smooth. Hu Xueyan did not hold any name in Hengji, but he had to do some rectification for Hengji first.Regarding this aspect, Pang Er said that he didn't ask any questions, and said that if Hu Xueyan lacked funds, he could draw a group of long-term deposit accounts to add capital to Fukang in a disguised form.

Therefore, the two sides found witnesses to write the partnership contract. Hu Xueyan invited You Wu, and Pang Er found his father, Sun Dacun, who specialized in exporting tung oil.After the contract was signed, Pang Erda invited witnesses and the people in charge of Hengji, including Zhu Funian, to have a banquet, and announced on the spot that Hu Xueyan would be given the power to search for money, inspect colleagues, and reorganize. Hu Xueyan then also stood up and spoke, expressing that he would never change easily, please do things as usual, don't be half-hearted, and the words are not many but to the point, everyone seems to have taken a reassurance.Of course, only Zhu Funian was an exception.

On the second day, Zhu Funian invited Hu Xueyan to Hengji to "see things".He had made up his mind a long time ago, and when he arrived at Hengji, he sat down in the accounting room, and the people in charge came to see each of them. He asked about everyone's experiences, and then got up to say goodbye. Zhu Funian asked him to look at the accounts, and he replied: " Not busy. Take your time." Part of this is to give Zhu Funian a break, to see if he will make up for his "spending account" by himself, and part of it is the truth, because there is a major matter that is directly related to his immediate interests.

Zhu Funian has already informed the big Ben Gilbert of Jardine Matheson about the changes in Hengji's personnel.This unexpected change was naturally a big blow, but Zhu Funian was still not convinced, and urged Gilbert to say: Hu Xueyan is not strong enough, as long as Gilbert sticks to the original proposal, he will be forced to sell at a bargain price. Therefore, when Gu Yingchun met with Gilbert again, explaining that Hang Kee's silk was also in his hands, and asked to make the deal according to the original negotiated price, Gilbert flatly refused, still using the sharp drop in European silk prices as an excuse, and only agreed to do so at the same price. Buy at 15% off.

The matter became a stalemate, and Hu Xueyan was quite embarrassed. If he insisted on the original price, if he couldn't make a deal, not only would he not be able to afford it, but the silk would also deteriorate, and it would be difficult to explain this to Pang Er. If Pang Er laughs at him, the reputation he has worked so hard to build in the mall will be greatly reduced.At the same time, there is another layer of worry. Maybe Zhu Funian has already told Pang Er that his goods can be sold to Gilbert at the original price, and he can handle them by himself. The difficulty is that in order to standardize the steps, it is easy to control the overall situation in the future, and you have to suffer a little loss now, but you will never feel comfortable in your heart, which will affect the partnership relationship between each other.

"I'm thinking, Gilbert is probably also 'hard-headed'. Could it be that he can't buy our Chinese silk, and those foreign silk factories stop using looms to produce silk and satin? I don't think there is such a reason?" This statement triggered Gu Yingchun's inspiration, "Yes," he said happily, "I have a way to find out his truth!" "That's great." Hu Xueyan cheered up, "I just want to know the cards in his hand. It seems that the 'three decks landed' are all the same? If not, we are holding on to that card, not ourselves. hurt yourself?"

"That's it. I'll go find out right away." "Come on slowly!" Hu Xueyan pulled him back and said, "How do you start, tell me first!" "Gilbert heard Zhu Funian's words, and he naturally thought that it was safe and sound. If you can't buy our goods, you can at least buy Hang Kee's. If you have goods, of course you have to book a ship's berth for loading. I will inquire about it from the ship company. See if he has booked a space?" Gu Yingchun said again, "There are a lot of goods, and one or two ships still can't fit them, so we have to make a reservation first. So we must find out."

"Yes! This is a good way." Hu Xueyan had a very quick mind, and said at the time, "Unless he really doesn't want to do this business, if he wants to do this business, he not only needs to pay our price, but also has to pay extra." Gu Yingchun laughed.As the mood turned from heavy to relaxed, he teased Hu Xueyan jokingly: "Uncle, you are really, if you get the wind, it will rain! If you can't give you three points, you will open a big red dyeing workshop." "Listen to what I'm saying, and you'll know I'm not talking nonsense." According to his judgment, Gilbert thought that he would give in sooner or later, so the shipping space on the ship would not be refunded. If he could negotiate with the shipping company and snatch the space booked by Gilbert at a high price, foreigners would buy it. If you can't get out after the silk luck, you will come to transfer your EQ to yourself, wouldn't you be able to earn him another fortune.

"This is wishful thinking." Gu Yingchun said, "But you might as well try it." Speaking of this, he made inferences, and still felt that Hu Xueyan's words were very useful, "Uncle, the method you said may not work, but I Come to think of it, you can use this argument to force him." "Hmm, um!" Hu Xueyan understood, nodded and said, "You please! I'll wait for your reply." So Gu Yingchun went to find a friend named Chen Shunsheng, who was from his hometown and worked as a comprador for Taikoo Shipping Company, responsible for soliciting passengers and cargo transportation.Taikoo is also the capital of the British, and Jardine has goods to deliver, so of course it entrusts Taikoo.

Sure enough, when I asked, "Yes, there is such a thing." Chen Shunsheng replied, "First, I booked the space for two ships, but when the time came, it was said that the goods were not in order, and it would be postponed to the next two ships, and a loss of 400 taels of silver was posted. .” "So when will the next shift arrive?" "Ten days after one shift, another shift will take half a month. It will take ten days to unload and load the goods at the port." Chen Shunsheng asked, "Why do you ask?" When entrusting someone to do things, of course, you must meet each other with sincerity, and if you are a friend from the same country, you don't have to worry about him "telling the truth". Therefore, Gu Yingchun told the story of the fight with Gilbert, and then asked Chen Shunsheng to "force He pushed."

"After a delay, it will be easier to talk." Gu Yingchun said in a low voice, "I ask you to ask Gilbert if the goods are ready? Can they be shipped by then? If not, you should tell them as soon as possible. So that Taikoo can recruit other customers." "Understood. I can help you with this." "Thank you, thank you. I'll treat you to a drink of flowers and wine tonight, and listen to your news by the way." "In such a hurry?" "Please, please!" Gu Yingchun begged with a long bow, "Please just make a trip." It's hard to get rid of affection, Chen Shunsheng really left his own affairs behind, and went to run for Gu Yingchun.In the evening at Yiqingyuan, he brought news of Gilbert. "He said wait for three days. If there is no reply in three days, we can talk about it." "What do you mean by 're-discussion'?" Gu Yingchun asked, "Is it talking about the extension of the flight schedule, or is there no space at all?" "Why not? Of course!" Hearing this reply, Gu Yingchun was very satisfied, which shows that Jardine Matheson must buy silk, and will come to negotiate within three days. Hu Xueyan also thinks this view is good, but he advocates pushing it further. This is to ask Chen Shunsheng to tell Gilbert again that a customer is very urgent to ask for a cargo space. He must give a definite answer within three days. Full price charged. "This pressure is not enough." Hu Xueyan said again, "We have to find a way to make Gilbert think that we don't want to do business with him anymore, so he will panic. Look, can we find another foreigner to connect with? , bluffing?" "No! Foreigners are more united than us, and they communicate with each other, and which foreign firm does which business, completely obeys their domestic orders, and will not suddenly change to another business. Bravado can't hide Gilbert." Gu Yingchun He also said, "There is a way. Let's spread the word and prepare to set up a shop, specializing in foreign houses, and write directly to foreign manufacturers to negotiate. Let's see what Gilbert says?" "This is also a way. However," Hu Xueyan pondered for a while and said, "there is a good saying: 'Think about yourself in the first half of the night, and think about others in the second half of the night.' Talk'. Everyone's talk is hard, and we can't turn the corner by ourselves. We're going to make a way out for Gilbert. Don't you think?" "I've thought about it too. I'm afraid that if we want to turn things around, he thinks we are weak and puts on airs more and more. Wouldn't it be more rigid?" Hu Xueyan was unable to make a judgment on this concern, because he didn't know much about the business rules of foreigners and Gilbert's temperament.I just compare my heart to my heart, and I refuse to bow my head, and I believe Gilbert is the same. If there is someone who goes through the needle and builds a bridge, things will be easier to get through. "Uncle!" Gu Yingchun looked at his hesitant look and reminded him, "Foreigners do business with profit and reason, as long as we stand up to our principles and have a firm attitude, foreigners don't care about face and will naturally Come here to say good things to you with a smile. So don’t half-heartedly let foreigners see through, and things will be very difficult.” Hu Xueyan respected the opinions of experts the most, and Gu Yingchun had a lot of dealings with foreigners, so he naturally listened to him, "That's good!" He said, "Let's show him a firm attitude, please Fifth Brother You Two boats, we'll load them up." "This, this means, never sell it to him?" "That's right! Tell the outside world that our silk has been converted into domestic sales and is going to be sold to Hangzhou Weaving Yamen." "So, what about Hang Kee's stuff?" "I'll tell Pang Er about this. Asking Pang Er to take care of Zhu Funian is also hiring a ship to transport to Hangzhou." Gu Yingchun kept his mouth shut, thought about it for a while, and replied resolutely: "Yes! We will do this. However, what Pang Er said to Zhu Funian is very important." "Of course! I know." Hu Xueyan said, "Zhu Funian will naturally persuade him not to be involved in us, and sell the silk to Gilbert. Pang Er only needs to say: 'What about Hu, what about us , Gilbert wants to buy silk and someone to connect with Hu.' That's a success." According to Hu Xueyan's estimate, Zhu Funian will of course tell Gilbert about Pang Er's attitude, and Gilbert will definitely turn around.If you ignore it, then the deadlock really cannot be resolved.Although I have suffered heavy losses in this regard, Jardine Matheson no longer has to think about buying silk in China. As soon as he thought of it, he did it, and as if he was serious about it, Yuji Silk Store opened a warehouse, and the bags of silk were sent to the inland wharf by cart for loading. On the other hand, Pang Er listened to Hu Xueyan's words and acted according to plan.He has a bit of a son-in-law's temper when doing business, and he likes to lose his temper. He found Zhu Funian and asked him to hire a ship to transport silk to Hangzhou. "Second Young Master!" Zhu Funian asked, "Why is this?" "Stop selling silk to foreigners! Is that okay?" "That doesn't need to be shipped to Hangzhou. Who will sell it to Hangzhou?" "Sold to the Weaving Yamen." "Second young master, isn't that right!" He said, "Since the hair grows, there has been an imperial decree in Beijing. The tributes of all weaving yamen have decreased. Why would they buy our silk? This makes sense, doesn't the second young master not understand? Understand?" "I don't understand, you understand!" Pang Er's voice became thicker, "Unless someone picks us up, how can foreigners know about our situation? Tell the foreigners that he has foreign money and it's his. I don't care. He came to China. Doing business, turning it over and over again, trying to take advantage of everything, being a bully to us Chinese? Get the hell out of here!" This kind of situation has been encountered more than once, and Zhu Funian also knows that he is only in a momentary mood. When a clerk meets a boss with a temper, he can't be serious, otherwise he might as well pack up and leave early.What's more, although Pang Er has a temper, his imperial servants are quite generous. A position like Hang Kee is a "golden rice bowl", and it is not easy to find it again if you lose it.So think about it, I would rather be scolded, and say what should be said, so that I can appear to be "loyal". "Second Young Master, it's no wonder you lost your temper. It's not right for a foreigner. However, since he came to do business, of course there is no reason for him to return empty-handed. In my opinion, silk must be bought, but the price varies—" "Don't talk about it. I can't do it without a 'sand shell'. Even if I pay my price now, it depends on my happiness to sell it or not." "Second young master, business is business after all." He tentatively said, "Do you want me to talk to foreigners again? If you agree to our price, it's better to sell it early, and you'll make money and have no trouble." "I don't care. Go talk to Mr. Hu and see what he says." Hearing these words, Zhu Funian felt a sour taste rushing to the top of his head, and immediately changed his mind, and went back to the accounting room, muttering to himself: "Damn, let him go. Let's see how long he can last with this stuff?" These words were aimed at Hu Xueyan. It turned out that he was "loyal" to his boss. At this time, he decided to sacrifice the interests of his boss and attack Hu Xueyan in disguise. He really hired a boat, loaded it overnight, and prepared to sail directly to Hangzhou. However, Gilbert couldn't hold back anymore. On the one hand, Chen Shunsheng came to urge him, and on the other hand, the other party's silk showed signs of changing to domestic sales. Hu Xueyan didn't know about these situations, he only heard from Pang Er that Zhu Funian volunteered and was willing to reopen negotiations with Gilbert.He also said that he had told Zhu Funian that everything was up to him.That being the case, no matter how well the negotiations went, Zhu Funian should have a discussion with himself.Why was he not seen, but actually hired a ship to load the goods?It is obvious that there has been a change. "If Zhu Funian is willing to talk about it, he is the most suitable person." Gu Yingchun also said, "But now that we have become stiff with him, it is inconvenient for us to show weakness in front of him, so we have to ask Pang Er to ask him." Hu Xueyan groaned before answering, Gu Yingchun looked at one side, he had to look at two sides, one side was easy to find a solution, but it took a lot of time to take care of both sides. "Pang Er, in his capacity as the owner, asked him, how is the matter going, why not?" "There is nothing you can do, but that is a last resort. To put it in your polite words, it is the worst policy." "What is the best policy?" Hu Xueyan answered the question somewhat irrelevantly: "Looking like Zhu Bajie, in our Hangzhou dialect, we call it 'not into the tune'. Now it's like singing an opera. I and Pang Er sang the 'Yizi tune', and he sang the 'Bazi tune'. , do not match at all.Our tune is high, and we can't lower it halfway through the singing. Even if we lower it to accommodate him, the play won't make much sense. " Gu Yingchun savored his analogy for a while, and suddenly realized, "I understand!" He said, "The best strategy is to ask Zhu Funian to raise the tune and let him tune in!" "Not bad at all." "It's a good idea." Gu Yingchun looked at Hu Xueyan's face, but couldn't figure out what kind of medicine was sold in his gourd, so he asked honestly, "Will the plan come out?" "Here! Just rely on this." He took out a piece of paper from his body and lifted it, and Gu Yingchun recognized that it was the "Fuji" receipt and payment list copied by Tong Xing. "Look at it, what's wrong with it?" Gu Yingchun looked it over carefully, but couldn't find anything wrong with it, "I can't see it." He shook his head, "I'm a layman in bank business." "You don't need to be an expert, you can tell based on common sense. As a clerk, even if he is a brain in Hengji, the amount of money in and out is at most tens of thousands of silver, and it will be exhausted. Therefore," Hu Xueyan pointed to the list Said, "There are problems with these large sums, especially this one. Receive 50,000 and pay 50,000. Which one was received and which one was paid? If it is Hengji's business, the position is temporarily turbulent. No transfer, he has the money, and he advances 50,000 on his behalf, which is reasonable. Now that it is a transfer, I can conclude that the 50,000 received is from Hang Kee. If Heng Ji wants to pay the repayment, pay it directly Now, why do you need to make a transfer in Fu Ji's account?" When he said this, Gu Yingchun also felt very doubtful, "Then," he asked, "Little Grandpa, why don't you expose him in person, so that he has to buy your account?" "If you want to expose it face to face, I would have done it a long time ago, just to save his face. I have a reason. You will wait here for my news tomorrow morning."