Chapter 42 Bleak foreign field (7-1)

The draft of the contract was drawn up, but since the establishment of a cocoon bank needs to be approved by the Ministry of Households before it can be opened, Mi Benchang used this as an excuse to wait for the "ministerial certificate" to be issued before signing the contract.How did Hu Xueyan and Gu Yingchun know that he had ulterior motives?I only think that signing a contract is just a formality. As long as the purchase of the new silk reeling factory is settled, the money can be used at any time, so they all agreed. After finishing all the things that should be done in Shanghai, Hu Xueyan braved the heat and rushed back to Hangzhou; it turned out that Miss Hu San's red luan star was moving, and someone acted as a matchmaker, and Mrs. Hu decided to betroth the only son of "Wang Shanren".

Wang Shanren's real name is Wang Caisheng, and he and Hu Xueyan have been friends for many years. When they were young, they were both store clerks who are nicknamed "counter hozen" by Hangzhou people. The difference is the industry. Wang Caisheng was an "apprentice" in a big sauce garden. When Hu Xueyan met Wang Youling again and his fortune was rising, Wang Caisheng was still working as a waiter in the soy sauce garden, but after Hongyang was pacified, Wang Caisheng changed himself and appeared as a gentleman. Some people said that his fortune was due to "looting while taking advantage of the fire"; A batch of gold, silver and jewelry buried by "Long Mao" was excavated.But no matter what the reason for his fortune is, it is a fact that he was invited by Hu Xueyan to deal with the aftermath, heal the wounded and rescue the dying, arrest the exile, do many good deeds, and win the reputation of a "good man".In the second year of Hangzhou Kefu, Wang Cai gave birth to a son, who was said to be retribution for doing good deeds.

That year was Yi Chou in the fourth year of Tongzhi, so Wang Caisheng's only son, nicknamed Aniu, was nineteen years old.Wang Caisheng wanted to marry Hu Xueyan a long time ago, but Hu Xueyan was really stupid because of A Niu's talent, and he was really stupid, so he refused to agree. He didn't know that he went to school this year and became a scholar; A Niu is honest and honest in nature, Miss Hu San will not suffer if she marries him, and besides, she is the only son; she will be favored by Weng Gu.As for family background, although Fu is far inferior to Hu Xueyan, he has a reputation as a "good man" to make up for it, which can also be said to be a well-matched family. The future is great, and it is really a good marriage with a good match.

These remarks are reasonable, and Mrs. Hu thinks that A Niu is the only son, and Miss Hu San will not be angry if she has no concubine after marrying her, so she decides to marry her and only writes to tell Hu Xueyan that there will be this time. He urged him to return to Hangzhou quickly because he was scheduled to "spread red" on the seventh day of July. When I returned to Hangzhou, I realized that the auspicious date for the Wang family's wedding had also been set, which was the fifth day of November; it was because Wang Shanren's old mother was dying, and she was anxious to see her granddaughter-in-law. If she died, it would take three years before the wedding was held. Too much delay.This reason was aboveboard, and Mrs. Hu thought it was true. Fortunately, the dowry had already been prepared, and all she needed to do was buy a batch of new foreign goods to add to the make-up.

But the scale of the wedding has to wait for Hu Xueyan to discuss; this matter has to be decided by four people, namely Hu Xueyan and his mother, wife, and concubine—Mrs. Luoshi.And these four people have two kinds of ideas, one positive and one negative. Except for Hu Xueyan, the other three think that the scene should be closed, but Mrs. Hu likes this little granddaughter the most, and she is afraid of wronging her; Mrs. Hu thinks that they should be treated equally She should be just as beautiful as her two elder sisters are, and Mrs. Luoshi imagined it for her daughter, because she set up an example there.As for Hu Xueyan, of course the richer the better, but the market is sluggish, and he is afraid of being criticized.

So after two days of talking, there was no result; in the end, Hu Xueyan came to his own conclusion: "The scene must be passable, whether it is big or small, the difference is limited; fortunately, there are still four months to go, let's see when the time comes." "The scene is for others to see." Mrs. Snail said: "The dowry is my own benefit. The third lady's dowry must be beautiful; this way, the scene will be smaller at that time, and it is not good for the outside world; internally , Third Miss won't feel wronged, even the man's family won't have anything to say."

This opinion is really comprehensive, Mrs. Hu and Mrs. Hu are very comfortable listening to it; Hu Xueyan thinks that only if this is the case, even if the show is not big, the dowry will not lose face. "Fourth Sister Luo's words are right. You can't wrong her in terms of dowry. But adding makeup can only be prepared." "The only way is to go to Shanghai." Mrs. Hu followed her mother-in-law's words and looked at Fourth Sister Luo at the same time. Fourth Sister Luo wanted to volunteer, but after a second thought, she decided to keep silent; because the Hu family is so talkative, no matter how hard they try, there must still be people gossiping behind their backs, and even making rumors: Miss San was not born by her, how could she be willing to spend money to replace her? The third lady adds makeup.

Hu Xueyan originally thought she would speak up, but seeing her silence, he had no choice but to make a decision, "You know Shanghai well, you go there." He said, "By the way, I'll also visit Grandma Qigu." "For Miss San's happy event, It is absolutely necessary for me to go to Shanghai. However, for things like jewelry, expensive is not necessarily good; I will buy expensive ones of course, I am afraid that when I buy them, the designs and styles will not suit Miss San’s liking. I think " Mrs. Snail said with a smile: "I will accompany the young lady to Shanghai, and ask her to go to foreign banks and silver houses to pick it up." , Pick out the dowry by yourself, and the news will make people laugh out loud." "You go!" Hu Xueyan repeated.

Mrs. Snail still did not make a promise, "I wonder if the third lady is interested in going for a walk?" She said to herself. "No need." Mrs. Hu: "What kind of jewelry does the third girl like, don't you know?" In the end, it was decided by Mrs. Hu, and Mrs. Luo went to Shanghai to buy it alone.Of course, she had to ask Miss Hu San's hobbies first, and Mrs. Hu's opinion. At the same time, the most important thing was that only Hu Xueyan could decide the total cost. "Her dowry has already used hundreds of thousands of silver. Now to add makeup, I can use up to 50,000 more." Hu Xueyan said: "Shanghai's money is very tight, and things must be cheap. At least 50,000 silver is worth seven." Universal."

When he arrived in Shanghai, accompanied by Gu Yingchun, he went to the German merchant Biefa foreign firm to ask, only to realize that Hu Xueyan's words were counterproductive.It is good to sell domestic production at a reduced price in order to get cash out of stock, but the price of imported products has increased instead. "Mr. Gu," the manager of the foreign firm explained: "The situation is getting tighter every day. The French prime minister has changed. The current one is called Ru Feili, and he is very tough. If China refuses to make concessions in Vietnam, he is determined to follow suit. China is at war. Ever since foreign newspapers published the news that the French navy admiral Guba went to Vietnam, the goods of various foreign firms immediately increased by 10% to 15%; now some things can’t even be bought at the bidding price.”

"Why is that?" Mrs. Snail asked. "Mrs. Hu, together with the war, French warships sealed off China's seaports, and foreign merchant ships could not come in; the goods were out of stock, and the price at that time, to be honest, was as much as you wanted, just asking if it was available, not whether it was expensive or not, so now Selling one thing for less, everyone took good things and put them away.” "No wonder!" Mrs. Luozhi pointed to the jewelry in the glass cabinet and said, "There is nothing here that is eye-catching." "Mrs. Hu's vision is of course different." The steward said, "We don't dare to offend regular customers. I will open the safe and ask Mrs. Hu to pick out what Mrs. Hu wants to buy." Mrs. Snail knows that foreigners in China, regardless of nationality, are very united; No, it's better to use the status of "big customer" to negotiate terms with him. "Let me tell you the truth, I am doing the dowry for the third lady of our family. We can negotiate a good deal. I can make you a business worth tens of thousands of dollars. Otherwise, to be honest, the big foreign firm on the beach is not you. Send a family." Hearing that it was a big business worth tens of thousands of silver, the manager did not dare to be negligent, "You can't be careless about the dowry of the third lady. Mrs. Hu, please sit inside!" He said, "If Mrs. Hu makes an order, give it to me first. , I’ve prepared everything according to the order, and I’ll send it here for you to see.” Mrs. Luosi had prepared a list, but she refused to reveal the details, and only said: “I don’t have a list. As long as the things are good and the price is cheap, I will pay more Buy some. Let me have a look at two pairs of diamond bracelets first." Clothing fashions are different between China and foreign countries. For Chinese customers, the most precious jewelry is the diamond bracelet. When the steward heard this, he knew that the dowry was true. With a big deal, he became more and more fawning. He invited Mrs. Luoshi and Gu Yingchun to the small living room dedicated to their top class, and specially found a foreign female shop assistant who could speak Chinese to entertain them; her name was Ai Dun, and Mrs. Luoshi called her "Miss Ai." "Miss Ai, where are you from?" "I was born in Edinburgh." Ayton replied while mixing milk tea.Mrs. Luosi didn't know the name of the place, so Gu Yingchun immediately explained: "She is British." "Oh!" Mrs. Snail said, "Your Britain is the same as ours in China. The old queen is in power." Although Aidun can speak Chinese, it is just a daily language. What "the old lady is in power" is just like Mrs. Snail, who was dumbfounded when she heard the place name "Edinburgh". Gu Yingchun had to rely on Gu Yingchun to clear things up: "She refers to your British Queen Victoria and our Chinese Empress Dowager Cixi." "Oh," Ayton was quite surprised, because she had also received many Chinese female customers, and besides Beili Jiaowa, there were occasionally noble ladies and ladies, but no one would mention the Queen of England in their conversations. Because of this, he became very fond of him and entertained Mrs. Snail for afternoon tea, which was very hospitable.Then, the steward brought three rectangular boxes, all of which were black genuine leather with gold letters on them. When the first box was opened, there was a pair of radiant platinum diamond bracelets inlaid on the blue velvet, which were inlaid very delicately. Looking carefully, although the box is new, the color of the platinum seems to be different, "Is this old?" she asked. "Yes. This is the favorite jewelry of Empress Napoleon." "I don't care about the queen." Mrs. Snail said, "It's always better to have a new dowry." "Both of these are new." In addition, the western pair, one set full of diamonds, the other set with red and sapphires, in terms of preciousness is the full set of diamonds, each with only four soybean-sized diamonds, connected with broken diamonds, it will shine when you hold it in your hand; When it comes to gorgeousness, it's the jewel-encrusted pair. "What's the price?" "This pair is 35,000 yuan, and the one inlaid with gemstones is 32,000 yuan." The manager said, "Mrs. Hu, I advise you to buy the one with all diamonds. Although it costs three thousand silver, it is actually more cost-effective than the one inlaid with jewels." Mrs. Snail refused, so she said, "Miss Ai, please put it on and let me have a look." Aidun wore it on one wrist, and stretched it out for her to appreciate carefully. Mrs. Luosi looked at it for a long time and then asked: "Seventh brother-in-law, what do you think?" "Okay, of course it's good to wear Quanzuan, but it's a pity that it's too plain." This view was exactly the same as that of Mrs. Snail, and she immediately made a decision, "It's a bride and an old lady, so it shouldn't be too plain." She said He said to the steward, "I've decided on something. Now I want to talk about the price. If the price can't be negotiated, the selection is useless. Let me ask you, when did this pair of bracelets come?" "More than a year." "Then what was your price tag a year ago?" "Thirty thousand." "I don't believe it. You only got two thousand silver, which is less than a cent." "I'm telling the truth." The steward took out a label from the interlayer of the velvet backing and said, "Mr. Gu, please read it." The label is indeed "30,000" in Arabic characters; Mrs. Snail also knows foreign numerals, and she thought quickly, and then said: "You said just now that it is cost-effective to buy a pair of diamonds, so it is not worth buying this pair." .It must be a random mark at the beginning, and I probably feel that I can’t bear it with my conscience, so I only increased by less than 10%, right?" "Mrs. Hu is really amazing." The steward smiled wryly and said, "I have nothing to say." Mrs. Snail smiled and said: "Everyone argues back and forth, even though it is reasonable, it hurts peace after all. In this way, I will definitely buy yours for the bracelet. Now let's look at other things first, and the price of the bracelet will be discussed at the end, okay?" ? "Yes Yes.". So I looked at crystal plates and bowls, perfumes, and all kinds of odd decorations; in order to get a good price for that pair of jewel-encrusted bracelets, the stewards set very reasonable prices on these things.The choice is over, and finally the price of the bracelet will be discussed. "There's a total of 12,000 here." Mrs. Snail said: "Our master told me that makeup can't exceed 40,000 silver; what do you think?" "Mrs. Hu," the steward replied, "you've got the 'Turning Heaven Seal', how can I fight it?" "You can't force yourself to do business. I can't agree on the price of the bracelet, so I have to look for it elsewhere. I've already negotiated the price of the bracelet, and I'll give you the ticket first." The manager was stunned, so he had to signal Aidun to entertain Mrs. Luosi for tea and snacks, quietly pulled Gu Yingchun aside, and said with a wry smile: "I am really convinced by Mrs. Hu's tricks. In order to accommodate, the things I saw later, They were all sold according to the original price. One of the large crystal chandeliers was sold by Sheng Daotai for three thousand silver, but we did not sell it, and it was only two thousand five thousand if it was sold to Mrs. Hu. If Mrs. Hu didn’t buy the bracelet, my business would be done. , the rice bowl is about to be smashed." "It's not that she doesn't buy it, it's you who don't sell it." "Where is it that I don't sell it? The price is wrong." Gu Yingchun said: "In this business, making money is second; if you don't make money, you make money! How do you say this? When Hu Caishen marries his daughter, the beautiful dowry is undertaken by a foreign company. Think about it, this sentence How much is it worth?" "It was because of this reputation that everyone accommodated, but the total price is 40,000 silver, this business is really impossible!" "Are you going to lose money?" "It's not a loss, but the market in the future—" "The future is the future, and now is the present." Gu Yingchun hurriedly said, "To be honest, the market is very bad, and rich people are fleeing; in the future, you may not have such a big business." The steward was silent for a while before he said: "If I agree to this deal, I will lose all my bonus." Gu Yingchun knew the rules in foreign firms, his salary was quite meager, and he relied entirely on the sales bonus. His expression did not seem to be telling lies, which showed that Mrs. Snail killed too much; it was an indirect proof that he had indeed bought a bargain. , so I feel that we should make a slight concession so as not to miss the opportunity. "You say this, I want to help you." He lowered his voice very softly, "I decide, please ask Mrs. Hu to subsidize you with five hundred taels of silver privately to make up for your loss." But what they have said before is to help him. If they refuse, they will become ungrateful, not only will the business fail, but they will also offend the big customers. It is really not a "business experience". After thinking about it like this, I have no choice, "Thank you, Mr. Gu." He said: "It just so happens that the big class is here, I'll explain it to him. Since Mr. Gu can make decisions for Mrs. Hu, then, if you promise me, you don't have to tell Mrs. Hu right now." Gu Yingchun understood that he was afraid that Mrs. Luosi would show her words accidentally. According to foreigners, this kind of behavior of secretly accepting customers' allowances was tantamount to cheating. .Therefore, he nodded heavily to express his full understanding. So, the manager complained to Mrs. Snail, and went inside to see the Taipan.Not long after, he brought out a foreigner, Fang Yi with blue eyes and two water chestnut beards that stretched upwards, Gu Yingchun knew at a glance that he was a German. Sure enough, it was Biefa's manager, Williams, who couldn't speak English, and Gu Yingchun couldn't speak German, so he needed an interpreter from the manager; after being introduced, he was politely greeted. Williams said that he also admired Hu Xueyan's reputation for a long time, and it was a great honor for him to be able to do a dowry in Biefa Foreign Firm because his daughter came out of the cabinet.As for the price, whether it will damage the cost is irrelevant. In addition to the price offered by Mrs. Luoshi, he plans to make a special silver plate as a gift. Hearing this, Mrs. Snail was very happy, and couldn't help but smiled at Gu Yingchun: "There is such a good thing, I didn't expect it." "Fourth sister, take it easy." Gu Yingchun replied, "It seems that there is something else to say." "Mr. Gu is really accurate." The steward said, "Our big class has an idea, and we want to ask Mrs. Hu's permission. It is to display the dowry of Miss Hu San in our foreign firm for a month. We will send a special escort to deliver the goods to Hangzhou." Halfway through his speech, Gu Yingchun had already given Mrs. Luoshi a wink; therefore, she just listened quietly, noncommittal, and let Gu Yingchun deal with it. "How are you going to display it?" "We set up half of the storefront and tied it up with red silk ropes as a showroom." "Would you like to explain?" "Of course." The person in charge said: "This is a matter for everyone to save face." "Yes, everyone has face. However, we need to discuss this matter." Gu Yingchun asked: "Is this a transaction? condition?" The person in charge seemed to be quite surprised—the buyer had no reason to disagree with his idea, so he asked: "Mr. Gu, is there any inconvenience in displaying it. "Yes, it may be a little inconvenient, and the reason is needless to say now. Whether it can be displayed or not, there is no rule yet, just ask your senior class, if we don't want to display, will this transaction fail?" The manager nodded, and talked with their senior class in German for a while, and replied to Gu Yingchun: "Our senior class said: This is an additional requirement, not a condition of the transaction. However, we really hope that Mr. Gu can Give us a face." "This is not my business." Gu Yingchun hastily argued, "As you said, this is a matter of everyone's face, and I hope to display it. However, Mr. Hu Da is For a senior member of the imperial court, his official voice is also very important. If you can't do what your Taipan wishes, please ask him to forgive you." As soon as the "official voice" was mentioned, the manager understood, nodded repeatedly and said, "Okay, okay. Excuse me, Mr. Gu, when can I hear the echo?" Gu Yingchun thought about it for a while and replied: "Well, you can make a list of the goods you saw today, indicate the price, and come to me tomorrow morning to discuss the payment method. As for whether it can be displayed, it may be possible tomorrow." Let me tell you, if you want to write a letter to Hangzhou, it will take half a month before you hear back." "Okay, I'll do as I told you." The steward replied, "Tomorrow I will personally visit Mr. Gu's house." Mrs. Luosi was very proud of this day's "Don't Fat" trip. She sat on the easy chair in front of Qigu's grandmother's bed, talked and talked, and talked about Gu Yingchun's secret promise of five hundred taels of silver for the steward. Mrs. Snail not only admits it, but also praises him for his good handling.Seeing this scene, Grandma Qigu was of course also very happy.