Chapter 238

Since foreigners have taken over the gateway to China, smuggling has become another way, even street vendors will quietly tell customers that his cigarettes are smuggled, cheaper than foreign cigarettes.

Why are they cheaper?

Because he sells shredded cigarettes, customers buy home to roll their own, so many people on the street smoking cigarettes rolled into a newspaper puffing smoke.

Everything from cigarettes to cars can be smuggled.

There is a dock in the city, which is a natural smuggling channel.

Most of the sea from the foreign ship, even if it is a Chinese ship, but also hung with the name of the foreign chamber of commerce, the Qing dynasty’s navy would not dare to go on board to search.

Foreigners smuggle Chinese people, Chinese treasures out, and then smuggle the Chinese rich people want to come in, especially good at business.

To put it politely, all the companies near the pier with the Chamber of Commerce brand, ten of ten are all dry smuggling, a clean one will not be there.

Therefore, when Miss Zhu mentioned smuggling, it was as cheap as going to the street and cutting half a catty of ham to cook soup at home.

Mr. Su was happy to tell Miss Zhu Er about things, in the past, he used to talk about things in the textbooks, but now he also told her about all the things that were not in the textbooks.

“Now the powers of all countries are withdrawing, some are forced to withdraw, some just take the initiative. Not all foreign nations find great interest in China.”

When the invasion took place, the countries formed a combined army and swarmed over the country. Now a few years later, China is full of holes, everything has been gutted. Even the palaces of the Qing emperors have been gone in and raided, and the Chinese have been trafficked as slaves all over the world, and the foreigners are digging in and finally going away.

After all, not all countries were so rich that they could drive ocean-going fleets as automobiles.

Robbery only once, often come and go but need to be supported by the interests. There is not enough benefit, many countries calculate, think they have earned enough, and then stay to lose money, then withdraw.

Mr. Su said, “These are people who can talk business.”

France, for example.

And the countries that have a permanent need for China’s interests impose the strictest blockade on China.

Japan, for example.

And then there are countries that are trying to hold back multiple powers, pulling one and beating the other, so they do business with everything, seemingly unbiased.

This one is the US.

The U.S. sold arms to both the Japanese and the national government. But the Americans are still more toward the Japanese because they opened up their technology to the Japanese and also helped Japan set up arsenals, but they have refused to sell their technology to the national government.

“We need arms, and we can only buy them from American businessmen. And it had to be settled in U.S. dollars.” Su Chunjun said.

Since he had entered Mayor Feng’s side, he had not maneuvered a business as big as buying arms. But now that he was able to enter Mayor Feng’s study, so it allowed him to turn over quite a bit of previous information, he took the opportunity to copy down quite a bit.

Now Mayor Feng was trying to buy a few batches of cheap grain, so as to alleviate this wave of food shortage in the city.

Once the food shortage caused a storm, it would be too much to clean up.

Mayor Feng still wanted to go out in style.

After finishing the breakfast gossip, Mr. Su went to work.

Zhu Yanshu confided in Zhu Er Miss after he left: ”Don’t meddle in the matter of smuggling and buying food, and don’t mention this matter in the school. This is for the principal to consider, the principal has more contacts than you and knows what to do better than you do. This kind of thing is not for you to get involved in, understand?”

Zhu Er Miss nodded, “Understand. I understand.”

Mr. Su had spoken so much, just for her to hear, could she still not understand?

Professor Dai also smiled and said, “Many of those international trading companies on the docks are not doing serious business. The most they do is smuggle slaves. There are also a lot of people who want to find them to smuggle them, but when they get on the ship, they can’t help themselves, most of them are sold in whole ships, and there are quite a few wild mountains there in the U.S., all of them needing manpower to go to work, digging mines, repairing railroads, and if they are sent there, they won’t be able to come back, and it’s across the sea.”

When he said this, he put to rest the idea that Dai Yucan and Shi Wuwei had thought of going to find a dock company on their own.

Dai Yuchan glanced at Shi Wuwei and asked, “Then if we go to study abroad will it be dangerous to take their boat?”

Shi Wuwei was filled with the thought that if they had two children in the future, the boy would be called Dog’er and the girl would be called Hua’er.

Prof. Dai said, “It will be fine. We’re not taking a cargo ship, we’re taking a British passenger ship.”

When they got to the charitable foundation, Miss Zhu Er also laid out the focus of their recent work: collecting food.

They still had more than four thousand dollars in their hands, and planned to buy all of it before winter and save it as sweet potatoes.

Although there are no more grain stores on the streets now, but money can make the devil work, as long as the money is in place, food can still be bought.

The foundation is full of dragons and hidden dragons.

A female classmate whose family’s father also worked for the government but hadn’t done anything for a long time and just went to meetings (dances, receptions) every day was introduced to a grain seller.

A bank Taipan, a genuine American, first name John, last name need not be mentioned, and the person did not intend to tell them.

Bank Taipan is the general manager of the bank. Foreigners in China to open a bank, management with all their own people, they still speak English in China, into the bank to do the work of the Chinese people have to learn to be able to talk to these foreigners proficiently before they can find a job.

Nowadays, the creditworthiness of the country is bankrupt, and the creditworthiness of any bank or gold store is not as high as that of a foreign bank. American banks are especially powerful. Citibank and HSBC once claimed that even if the United States went bankrupt, their banks would not go bankrupt, which is the confidence of capitalists.

This is the confidence of the capitalists. When the Chinese people saw the powerful ships and cannons of foreign countries, they inevitably felt that the foreign banks were just as reliable as the powerful ships and cannons.

So many rich people and businessmen were willing to put their family assets and other things in bank safes.

But over time, the bank would judge for itself whether these things still had any value – what if the owner had died? Wouldn’t that be a piece of property with no owner?

Of course, this is different from what the bank advertises. The bank advertises that it will protect its customers’ wealth forever, waiting for their descendants to come and claim it.

But the truth is, banks can also take their pick of the litter.

This female student whispered, “The American got drunk and said that there is a group of coffers to be repossessed, and the contents are unclaimed, so if you are willing to buy them, you can participate in their auction.”

Obviously, this news broke through the perceptions of many of the students here – there were quite a few people who believed in the credibility of foreign banks.

One male student then said excitedly, “They really dare to do that?”

The female student said, “I’m not lying, that’s it. My dad saw that auction list with the grain on it. My dad said ……” she lowered her voice, “It may be that the Jin merchants were trying to avoid trouble at that time, and put some of the things all in foreign banks.”

When she said that, everyone understood.

Because this is something that really isn’t new anymore.

Ever since the end of the Qing Dynasty, teams had been drawn up everywhere. The mountain kings bombarded you with chaos, and heads changed relatively quickly. Later on, they all got their names one after another and called themselves this army and that army, with a righteous look of pleading for the people.

These mountain king with each family army in the local, it is necessary to local rich gentry to support, so a moment around the big families have fled – mountain king and then rounded up to catch people.

Newspapers often write this kind of thing out to goblet readers.

A time in Sichuan so-and-so so-and-so’s family died, a time in Shandong where whoever and whoever with the king of the mountain to worship, each other for the children’s family, and so on and so forth, and so on and so forth.

When the big families run away, can not put hundreds of car things with them, so some of them will be specially entrusted to foreign banks, anonymity of the deposit, for future generations to leave a family base to rise again.

Zhu Er Miss tsk, “I think that family is all dead, the bank knows they won’t come back to look for it, so they just sold all the stuff.”

No matter how secretive and hidden the name is, it’s still easy for the bank to find out.

Zhang Ma just said that the newspaper was like an obituary board, and people from all over the world could find out from the newspaper when they died.

The bank, for its part, must have been able to ascertain that all the people were dead and gone, and that those who could come back to get what they had deposited were no longer there.

The female student said, “However, my dad can’t help me fetch an invitation to go to that auction …….”

Her dad, even if he could get in to the auction, probably wouldn’t be happy to help his daughter fool around.

The crowd then all looked at Zhu Er Miss.

Zhu Er Miss: “Me?”

She has nothing to do with the bank.

All the students fought with their eyes, and finally, Dai Yucan was recommended to speak to Ms. Zhu.

Dai Yuchan was not happy: “How can you trouble Mr. Su so much? What if it has an impact on their relationship? I can’t promise.”

She thought to herself, “Even if you guys don’t say anything, when Mr. Su comes back at night, Yan Yan will definitely tell Mr. Su about it. That’s why you can’t agree to it beforehand. It’s naturally good to be able to do it, and if you can’t do it, you won’t end up with people complaining.

The students couldn’t convince Dai Yucan, so they had to give up.

They also didn’t dare to talk to Ms. Zhu.

Since the last festival, Ms. Zhu seems to have a layer of aura of treachery on her body, and the general public has to worry about being sold out by her when they go to her.

Shi Wuwei said to Dai Yu Cicada, “People seem to see Yan Yan as some kind of formidable figure, thinking that she has an extraordinarily methodical approach to Mr. Su.”

He laughed, he also heard two female classmates envy Yan Yan, thinking that it would be even more impressive if she could subdue someone as powerful as Mr. Su. They had a small relationship behind their family’s back that didn’t go well, it would be nice if they had a few of Yan Yan’s skills.

But he usually looks at Yan Yan and thinks that she is just a fun loving girl with no means.

Dai Yu Cicada, however, nodded and said, “Yan Yan is quite good at this.”

This sister of hers was truly admiring Yan Yan for always having the upper hand with Mr. Su. She used to worry that Yan Yan would be coaxed by Mr. Su sooner or later, but now a year has passed, Mr. Su’s official position has risen higher and higher, but he treats Yan Yan as he always has, and the two of them have become more and more affectionate and intimate, and he is willingly instructed by Yan Yan, and it is not difficult for him at all.

But Yan Yan did not lose her temper in this indulgence either. She didn’t bully Mr. Su and hurt him out of his affection. She had always loved him, adored him, protected him, and made Mr. Su love her more and more.

Dai Yu Cicada had always felt that in love, she needed to learn from her sister.

Returning to Little Red House after class, Second Miss Zhu told Professor Dai and Zhu Yanshu about the news she got from the foundation about that auction list.

Second Miss Zhu asked, “Will Principal Tang be interested?”

Of course Principal Tang would be interested.

Professor Dai went to Principal Tang and told him about it, and Principal Tang immediately opened up his petty cash vault, pulled out several stacks of dollars, and enthusiastically said, “Come, come, come, take it and give it to Ms. Zhu.”

Prof. Dai reacted and quickly excused himself, “No, no, no, no! Principal, she’s still a child, she can’t go to the auction. If you plan to go, just go yourself.”

Principal Tang: “Oh, I don’t have an invitation. If Mr. Zhu can bring an invitation, I’d be happy to go in her place, but if I can’t go, I’ll have to ask Mr. Zhu.”

Prof. Dai: “No, no, no, no!”

Principal Tang: “Don’t refuse first, go ask Zhu first, in case she’s willing.”

Professor Dai returned to the small red building, he saw the telephone sitting next to the second Miss Zhu, Ms. Zhu stood behind her holding her arms, he rushed over and quietly asked: “What’s going on?”

Ms. Zhu sneered and whispered, “I told her to wait for Mr. Su to come back and then speak to him, she insisted on calling him right now, no, it’s over.”

Mayor Feng’s official residence.

Su Chunjun was standing there answering the phone, and not far behind him on the sofa, Mayor Feng and Cai Wenhua were playing chess.

Just now, as they were talking, an underling came to inform that there was a Ms. Zhu Er, calling for Mr. Su.

Ms. Zhu remarried, and Ms. Zhu changed her last name, which was published in the newspaper. Of course, Mayor Feng knew about it, and asked his family to pack a red envelope for Su Chunjun to bring back to congratulate Ms. Zhu on her new marriage.

Su Chunjun wanted to go outside to pick up, Cai Wenhua smiled and said: “Mrs. came to check. Don’t go outside to pick it up, just pick it up here, and we can help you with the conversation.”

Su Chunjun then picked it up on the house phone.

He said gently, “Yes? Okay, okay, I’ll think of something and see if I can get an invitation, okay, tonight? I’ll definitely be back early.”

He hangs up the phone, and Cai Wenhua smiles and asks, “Is there a party your wife wants to go to? I want you to get the invitations, if it’s not too much trouble you can get two and take Mrs. to have some fun.”

Although Su Chunjun and Zhu Er Miss haven’t really gotten married yet, but this fiancé couple lives under the same roof, Zhu Er Miss checking on the guards is so powerful that she wants Mr. Su to go back halfway across the city every day, and everyone knows that here.

Su Chunjun: “Mr. Cai is joking. Mr. Feng, Yan Yan heard a news that a bank Taipan of HSBC, American, called John, has an auction list in his hand, probably Jin merchants’ goods, and they now want to hold a private auction to sell some of the things in it.”

Mayor Feng and Cai Wenhua both stopped the chess in their hands.

This was not big or small news.

To say it was big, it didn’t help Mayor Feng’s current situation.

Saying it was small, but it was related to HSBC.

Besides, who knows what’s on that auction list?

There were dates and no dates to hit a shot.

Mayor Feng thought about it and instructed Cai Wenhua, “Xiao Cai, you are familiar with people, call for Xiao Su, find someone and ask for a few invitations to that auction.” He then said to Su Chunjun, “Just take Xiao Zhu’s classmates to have a look and have some fun, see what’s good and remember to come back and tell me about it.”

Cai Wenhua stood up hopelessly and said with Su Chunjun, “Yes, Mayor.”