I want to be emperor

Chapter 1160 John’s Life

John Taylor took several of his subordinates to visit more than a dozen slightly larger customers and found that the amount of kerosene sold by these customers had declined slightly in the past two months.

Although the decline is small, it is still something worthy of vigilance.

After all, the current kerosene market is an incremental market, especially in indigenous areas like the Kingdom of England. After years of market education by the Chu people, local people have gradually accepted kerosene as lighting oil.

At the same time, as the local population increases, the economy gradually improves.

Logically speaking, local sales of kerosene should be increasing.

Under such circumstances, if kerosene sales also decline, there is only one reason, and that is that other competitors have appeared on the market, and they are still competitors who are not very disciplined and sell at low prices.

Because he also got the news that not only their trading company, but also the sales of two other local trading companies operating kerosene were not growing as expected.

There are only three kerosene wholesale companies in the local market, and their sales are not as good as expected... So where is the market?

With this question in mind, John Taylor continued his visit and went deep into the kerosene sales terminals on the streets, that is, those grocery stores.

Here, he discovered something was wrong... He saw kerosene sold at prices slightly lower than the market price in several stores.

And this kerosene does not belong to their three kerosene companies!

This means that a fourth competitor has appeared on the market, and this competitor is not very disciplined and actually engages in low-price dumping.

John Taylor continued to trace and followed the clues and found several small wholesalers, but he could not find any further... The kerosene from these small wholesalers seemed to appear out of thin air, with no obvious purchase channels.

In this regard, John Taylor has already made a rough guess. The kerosene must still be produced by Chu State Enterprises, but there is a high probability that it is not kerosene that comes in through regular customs channels, but smuggled in.

And behind this, there must be the participation of some Chu State enterprises.

John Taylor did not continue the in-depth investigation locally. Instead, he returned to the London Concession with people and information and reported the results of the investigation.

At this point, the matter has nothing to do with John Taylor.

Regarding the impact of smuggling on sales, this is something that the company's top management should deal with, and has little to do with him, a middle- and low-level permanent resident employee.

After John Taylor's investigative report was reported, it soon appeared at the company's British headquarters in Dover.

European Straits Trading Company acted very quickly and soon contacted the local Chu State officials and several other colleagues to start the investigation.

Smuggling can be found out if it is really investigated. Soon it was discovered that a newly established kerosene company owned by Chu State had abnormal purchasing and sales of kerosene.

Although their smuggling is only in indigenous vassal states, and what they evade is the customs duties of the Kingdom of England, you can smuggle...but you can't engage in low-price dumping.

It's just kerosene smuggling. Many kerosene companies and even quite a few Chu enterprises have done it in the vassal states, and they have done it a lot... The European Straits Trading Company itself has done it a lot.

For the kerosene shipped to the Kingdom of England for sale, only two or three tons of ten tons are taxed. This is normal practice!

But the question is, even so, what price should retail kerosene cost? Isn’t it great that everyone can happily make money from the natives and steal their customs taxes?

As a result, a fool came over and resorted to smuggling and dumping at low prices. Naturally, the European Channel Trading Company and several other kerosene companies could not tolerate it.

And the Kingdom of England is also very aggrieved, begging the people of Chu to make the decision... In the past, you only paid taxes on two or three tons of ten tons of kerosene, and everyone turned a blind eye, but now you still come here and pay even the slightest tariff. If you don’t pay, all the kerosene companies smuggled in... Brother Chu, we owe you a lot of loans, and we have to rely on tariffs to repay these loans.

As a result, several European kerosene trading companies cut off the supply of this new kerosene company that did not understand the rules after some operations.

At the same time, the European Kerosene Association also sent them a letter asking them to abide by business rules and stop messing around...otherwise you will not be able to survive in this industry.

This made the ignorant kerosene company restrain itself... It raised the price of kerosene that had been lowered, and not only smuggled it all, but also paid some tariffs to maintain fair competition in the kerosene industry.

Only then will this matter be over.

Although John Taylor did not play a role in this matter, he was the first to discover and raise the issue. He was also promoted by the Straits Trading Company and was promoted slightly by half a level. From leading a team to It became a large group with more than ten people, and the salary was increased by more than one yuan.

Don’t think this reward is light!

It is not easy for an Aboriginal employee like John Taylor, who has only been employed for a few years, to be promoted. This does not mean that he will encounter a ceiling problem, although there is indeed a ceiling... The key point is that there are many Aboriginal employees in the trading company. All of them are the ones who passed the test and were admitted at the end. They are all very capable and work hard and attentively.

And the higher you go, the more suitable positions there are... With so many people focusing on the few positions, the competition between them is still very high!

John Taylor's career has been relatively smooth in the past few years since he joined the company. However, if he proceeds step by step, it will probably take seven, eight or even more than ten years before he can make further progress... There are too few positions for higher positions, and there are too many seniors to compete. There are many capable employees, and he has no particularly obvious advantages.

This time, I took advantage of the opportunity to find an unruly kerosene company and eliminated trouble for the company in advance. Only then did I make great contributions and get promoted. Otherwise, it would take many years to see the hope of promotion.

The matter of smuggled kerosene and low-price dumping is quite important to the Straits Trading Company. If left unchecked, who knows which bold new kerosene company will spread it across the entire UK on a large scale after getting a taste of the sweetness? In order to engage in low-price dumping, the impact and losses will be huge.

This timely discovery and prompt handling can save the company a large amount of losses.

This allowed John Taylor to get a promotion and a salary increase.

This salary increase is actually quite a lot. His previous monthly salary was only five and eight yuan... But even this income level is considered a serious high income among the indigenous groups in the Kingdom of England. Those in their company Long-term workers generally earn only two or three yuan a month.

In the London Concession, long-term workers engaged in service industries and manual labor, such as waitresses in restaurants, generally earn only more than one yuan a month.

A rickshaw puller in the London Concession only earns about two yuan a month.

Chu Yuan is still very valuable these days.

The most important thing is that labor costs in indigenous areas are very low.

This abundant supply of cheap labor means that even a group of elite talents like John, who is already regarded as an elite among the indigenous people, can only receive an income of 5.8 yuan. After the salary increase, it is 6.5 yuan.

The Chu people who also work in the London Concession Branch of the Strait Trading Company and have the same level as him have a salary three times that of his... generally a monthly salary of more than 20 Chu yuan.

In this regard, in fact, not many Chu people are willing to work in places like the London Concession. Even if they work in Europe, Chu people tend to prefer direct territories such as Cadiz and Dover rather than London. Administrative territories such as concessions.

Therefore, the Chu employees working in the concession were either new employees who came for training, or they were those who had failed in the internal competition.

John was in a good mood after his promotion and salary increase, but when he returned to the apartment, he saw that Elizabeth was in a bad mood again...

After Elizabeth became pregnant with his child, she divorced her ex-husband... Originally, John Taylor was willing to marry her for the sake of the child, but he didn't expect to be disliked. At the beginning, Elizabeth admitted that she didn't need a husband and just asked him to provide child support on time.

In the past two years, a child was born, and Elizabeth would let him visit the child from time to time, but that was all.

After giving birth to the child, Elizabeth hired a labor maid to take care of the child. She used the money she received from her ex-husband when she divorced to open a fabric shop selling carpets, curtains, etc., because there was nothing in the London Concession. Although the business in the competing stores was average, it was barely passable. Anyway, he made more money than John Taylor.

To be honest, every time he meets this Elizabeth, John always feels uncomfortable... He usually avoids her whenever he can.

But I didn't expect that she would come to the door with her child today.

Before John could speak, Elizabeth on the opposite side said in fluent Tang dialect: "Why haven't you come over to see the child this month? The child has been clamoring to see his father recently."

John took the child she was holding and said while holding the sleeping child: "I went on business trips to several places in a row some time ago. When I came back, I was transferred to a new job and was busy, so I was left behind."

"I have sent a check for the last three months of child support, but you haven't received it?"

Elizabeth rolled her eyes at him: "I received the check, but you are the father of the child after all. It's not good for you not to see him for too long!"

John is silent!

Elizabeth ignored him and just watched him holding the child. After a while, seeing that he didn't move, she couldn't help but said: "You just want us to stand outside all the time? Open the door!"

John continued to be silent, silently taking out the key and opening the door...

After entering the house, Elizabeth took a few glances at the house, and then said: "After all, he is also a team leader of a big company, and he can be regarded as a well-known person outside. Living here is like a doghouse, where is the housekeeping hourly worker? No. It’s because you don’t like others, so you should fire them!”

John said: "The hourly worker who used to come here a while ago went back to his hometown in Norwich, and I couldn't find anyone suitable for him for a while!"

When the two people were talking, the child in John's arms woke up. After opening his big blue eyes, he saw John. Then he showed an excited expression and called daddy in an instant.

Seeing the child wake up, John, who had been silent until now, smiled and began to talk to the child softly and play with him.

Elizabeth on the side looked at the appearance of the father and son, and did not continue to say anything. Instead, she looked at the messy room again, and finally took off her long gloves and started to clean them up.

The house was so messy, with all kinds of debris scattered around, that she couldn't stand it any longer. She was afraid that her children would bump into and fall when they were walking around the house.

But she didn't tidy up too much. She just tidied up the messy things and mopped the floor... Then the small living room in the apartment became spacious and bright.

After finishing the simple work, Elizabeth said: "Go back and send the clothes to be washed. I can just throw a lot of worn clothes here, and I won't be afraid of the smell!"

John looked at the clothes in the frame on the side. They were the dirty clothes he had changed in the past two days, and the laundryman who provided his laundry service came to pick up clothes every three days... which would not come until tomorrow.

But... when the words came to his lips, he still didn't explain in the end.

I remember that when we first met, this Elizabeth was very gentle, but since the two separated, she has become harsh in words and can find fault with everything.

In the past, he would explain or even refute something, but it would basically attract more ridicule.

And for the sake of the two of them having a child in common, he couldn't say or do too much...

Therefore, let her say a few words if she likes, and he won't bother to explain.

Afterwards, Elizabeth also cooked a simple food supplement for the child... While waiting for Elizabeth to feed the child, John also went into the kitchen and made a simple meal.

Not the local food of the natives in their British region, but Chinese food.

As a decent working person, not only now, but also in the past, John Taylor's living habits and daily diet were all close to the Chu people. When he was still studying at East London Public School, he accepted all the Chu people. style education.

In addition, after working in East London and the London Concession for so many years, he insisted on maintaining his elite image day after day. Therefore, his eating habits, other daily habits and even thinking patterns have all changed with him. The Chu people are highly similar.

On the contrary, Elizabeth did not receive formal Chu-style education. She only briefly learned Chinese, and then came into contact with a few Chu people and many Chu-cultured natives at work, and then gradually changed some habits.

But even so, in the eyes of John, a serious shopping mall elite, everything about Elizabeth has a rustic flavor.

This was one of the reasons why John rejected her two years ago.

That is to say, she is indeed very beautiful. Her face and figure are beyond words. Among the many women John has seen, this one is the most in line with his aesthetic sense.

That's why he couldn't help but stay with her for a while... thinking that marriage was not possible, but falling in love was still possible!

But John didn't expect that so many things would happen between the two of them, that she got married and divorced, and became pregnant with her own child in the process. After Elizabeth's divorce, he tried to propose, but she didn't agree!

The last two people ended up in this embarrassing situation today: one is single, the other is divorced with a child, and then they raise the child together... The most important thing is that the child is John's biological child, not her ex-husband's.

After dinner, the child went back to sleep.

But this time Elizabeth said that it was getting late now and it was cold at night, so it was inconvenient to go back with the child, so she would not leave tonight.

Then he took the spare pajamas in the room and went directly into the bathroom...

Yes, this Elizabeth still stays here from time to time, even keeping daily necessities such as pajamas.

John was actually unwilling to do this. If you wanted to get married directly, John would be a little confused but would be willing to accept it... But this way he wouldn't get married, would sleep together from time to time, and would raise a child together.

To be honest, John couldn't accept it.

What does this mean if it’s neither good nor bad?

However, when he saw Elizabeth walking out of the bathroom wearing silk pajamas and pointing to the bathroom for him to quickly take a shower and go back to the room, he still couldn't help but swallow his saliva.

It was because he couldn't hold back back then that he ended up in his current complicated situation, but people can't change so easily, so he can't help it now...

So, I quickly went to take a shower, then returned to the room and got into bed!

Anyway, life is already fucked up like this, do whatever you want, get over it first!

(End of this chapter)