The wind blows from the South Sea

Chapter 117 Little Paris

After the agreement was reached, Mr. Blucher received a deposit of 8000 pounds and arranged for manpower to move the goods and load them onto the ship nearby.

This was a big deal, and the person responsible for loading it onto the ship was also a local Chinese-owned mule and horse shop. They quickly mobilized more than 40 mule and horse carts and more than 300 people to start orderly shipment.

Philadelphia and Mr. Blücher stood outside the warehouse, supervising the moving of workers, and chatting about all kinds of topics, from literature, religion to women.

By being able to complete this big deal, Philadelphia and the Saigon "Yuan Yun Tong Trading Company" he represents have verified their profound strength, won enough respect from Mr. Blucher, and laid the foundation for stabilizing Saigon's business district.

Only with enough strength can we have equal dialogue.

This was vividly experienced by Philadelphia. He stood beside Mr. Blucher and talked and laughed freely without feeling at all disadvantaged.

His performance and the power behind him have also won the attention of Mr. Blucher, which is a very good signal.

No one would think that Mr. Blucher and his companions could make such a large arms deal without concealing the truth.

Behind them, there must be higher-level figures hidden.

Mr. Blucher immediately showed a satisfied smile, took the initiative to reach out and hold Philadelphia, and said enthusiastically;

"Since the master is so interested, Dali and his brothers will naturally accompany him to the end."

The Chinese workers worked hard and efficiently, and more than 40 mules, horses and carts were transported in an orderly manner.

But Feng Guohui never relaxed his vigilance. He always only looked at the results, not the process.

After the French colonists invaded, they selected Saigon as the core city of colonial Indochina, and established the Governor's Palace here, investing heavily in construction over many years.

It only takes half a day

No matter how enthusiastic and sincere you are, any change may happen before the ketch cargo ship leaves the Saigon River and enters the sea.

"It's a rare trip here. Now that the business is done, let's have a good two days in Saigon City and see why it's called Little Paris?"

There are many Western-style carriages, sedan chairs and rickshaws for rent at Sai Kung Pier, as well as coolies and porters, small vendors and salesmen carrying burdens, which looks quite lively.

Saigon is located in the southern part of the Mekong Delta, which is the most prosperous and has the longest history of development. It continues for more than 80 kilometers south along the Saigon River before entering the vast sea.

But the brigantine had no intention of staying here for a long time, and immediately set sail. After all, the more time you stay in someone else's place, the more danger you will have.

The more than thirty capable men brought by Fan Dali have been dispersed, and the surrounding area of ​​three kilometers is under surveillance to prevent Mr. Blucher from taking advantage of him.

Feng Guohui gave a slight nod, and they got into the carriage and quickly drove away.

Don't look down on these low-level people who are trying to make a living. Seventy-eight out of ten people are gang members.

Money and silk move people's hearts. After all, this is French territory, and the worst case scenario must be prevented from happening.

This celebratory cocktail party respects the host's arrangement, but I will be disrespectful. "

It seems like there isn't much of a problem.

Feng Guohui watched the ketch disappear from the end of his sight. He did not follow the ship. Instead, he breathed a sigh of relief and told Fan Dali beside him;

A group of people got into the carriage talking and laughing. When Philadelphia left, he secretly paid tribute to Feng Guohui with his eyes.

There are no coastal forts along the Saigon River, and the brigantine can sail into the harbor unimpeded.

Good thing so far

“This is truly a perfect transaction. Your firm’s strength and credibility have been verified. We look forward to more cooperation in the future and the scope can be further expanded.

Generally speaking
One pound is worth five silver coins, but in actual exchange there is often a premium of varying degrees, which depends on the amount of exchange, the background of both parties to the transaction and the current price, which will all affect the final exchange rate.

Chinese people who are trying to make a living overseas especially like to stick together. If they want to avoid being bullied, they must have a strong clan or community behind them, so that they can live with more self-esteem.

More than two hours have passed. Fully loaded mules, horses and carts are traveling between the warehouse and the dock, and more than half of the goods have been loaded and unloaded.

As agreed in advance, Philadelphia handed the small box full of pounds to Mr. Blücher, who then handed it over to his assistant for cleaning.

Although it was already close to four o'clock in the afternoon, it was almost dark when we reached the estuary.

The cargo was packed to the brim, and only then did Feng Guohui smile.

With prosperous commerce and a large population, it is the central city of the Southwest Peninsula.

"Hahaha... welcome."

The entire arms transaction was worth 17.8 pounds, equivalent to 90 silver coins. In exchange for so much pound hard currency, 93.6 silver coins were spent in Singapore.

The French came in four carriages with a dozen people in total. After getting the money, they quickly began to count it, and from time to time they took out the banknotes and inspected them carefully.

Unless the French contact the naval fleet to block it, otherwise, there will be no loss of this important ordnance.

Saigon is a central city with a long history in South Vietnam. Influenced by Chinese culture, Ming and Qing-style buildings with flying eaves and brackets can be seen everywhere in the city.

As a trustworthy partner, I can introduce Mr. Qian to more friends. I believe they can’t wait to get to know Mr. Qian. "

The ketch loaded with goods immediately hoisted anchor and lowered its sails, slowly left the dock under the control of the sailors, and headed towards the waterway.

Fortunately, we are in a transit trade port like Singapore with a huge transaction volume. If we go to other places, there is no way to exchange so many pounds at once.

I think it's time to pop the champagne and celebrate.

Philadelphia also smiled and said; "I will stay in Saigon for a long time in the future to learn more about each other and develop further trade ties.

"Hahaha... let's go then."

Not long after, the point delivery was completed, and Mr. Blucher gave Mr. Blucher a "no problem" affirmative look.

Arriving in the central city of Saigon, you will be surrounded by typical three- to four-story French buildings, with arched windows and exquisite stone carvings, decorated with gorgeous colonnades, revealing the elegance and graceful charm of French architecture.

The fusion of Chinese and Western architecture makes the whole city unique.

Since he had come here, Feng Guohui was not in a hurry to go back. Instead, he asked his men to spread out in twos and threes and wander along the streets.

Soon, he discovered the differences between the French colonies and the British colonies.

in british colonies

White British people generally serve as the middle and upper levels of the police, and most of the grassroots police officers are local indigenous or Chinese.

For example, in India, the grassroots police officers are high-caste indigenous people. In Singapore and Hong Kong, the grassroots police officers and police officers are Chinese.

And in the French colonies
Many of the grassroots police officers patrolling the streets are French. Often a French police officer leads two local indigenous police officers on patrol, including Chinese and Vietnamese.

As for the mounted policemen along the street, they are all French whites.

In the Dutch colonies, there were almost no white people in the patrol house. At most, some white civil servants could be seen in the municipal council or other important positions. This is the difference between the three

France is more willing to manage its colonies personally and is willing to invest a lot of money in construction. It regards the colonies as French overseas territories, builds new water conservancy, roads, bridges, docks, schools, etc., and promotes French and religion.

This is true in Saigon, and even more so in Algeria and Morocco, where it has a greater influence.

The British colonies were different. They pursued a dual governance structure, controlled a wider area with minimal investment and manpower, and won more colonial benefits.

At this point, the Netherlands has done a more thorough job.

The British are willing to build new railways, docks, roads, schools and other infrastructure in the Indian subcontinent to promote English and colonial culture. They are experienced and experienced and worthy of being a veteran colonizer.

Because the Netherlands has a smaller population and weaker national power, it has almost no investment in the colonies. It just asks and plunders blindly. It has a high status and even rarely communicates with the local indigenous people.

Therefore, after more than 200 years of colonization, there were very few natives in the entire East Indies colony who knew the Dutch language, let alone spread their religion and culture.

Feng Guohui walked and watched all the way, and kept eating some flavored refreshments at roadside stalls, such as pig blood porridge, Ningbo glutinous rice balls, osmanthus cakes, fried fried cakes, etc. After a while, his stomach was mostly full.

in this marketplace
Most of them are Chinese or local snacks from the Southeast Peninsula. It is also a favorite place for the public to visit. It becomes more and more lively as dusk approaches.

The real French restaurant is so high up that you must wear a suit or tuxedo to enter.

only this

This has isolated the vast majority of the citizen class, and only the French and some wealthy Chinese businessmen can enjoy it, which seems to be highbrow.

Feng Guohui wandered in the street, carefully observing the uniqueness of this society that blended China and the West, and the uniqueness of the French colony.

As I walked, I heard the familiar sound of gongs and drums.

This aroused Feng Guohui's strong interest. He walked over and saw that it was a Cantonese opera club with lanterns and bright lights.

"Master, let's go in and have fun for a while?" Fan Dali carefully observed Feng Guohui's face and then asked.

Feng Guohui nodded and said, "Go in and listen to the show for a while to see if the taste is authentic."

"I understand, little one." Fan Dali responded.

Then he turned around and gave some instructions to the people around him, telling others to spread out nearby and pay attention.

He accompanied Feng Guohui with a few capable people and entered the Cantonese Opera Club with great swagger. At this time, the sounds of gongs, drums and singing became louder and louder.

The Cantonese Opera Club is a typical Hui-shaped teahouse style. On the front stage, the opera singers sing and play hard, and the melodious opera tune hovers above the teahouse.

There are more than a dozen Eight Immortals tables in the atrium of the tea house, and about 60% of the audience are seated. In the corridors on the first and second floors, there are also some spectators leaning on the railings to watch, and they burst into applause from time to time.

The best location is, of course, in the atrium.

Under the attentive guidance of the tea waiter, Feng Guohui and Fan Dali sat at the main table in the atrium, and the people around them sat on the Eight Immortals table next to them.

Four plates each of melon and fruit snacks were quickly served, followed by a pot of tea and towels. These are all part of watching a theater and are considered basic expenses.

After Feng Guohui sat down, he quickly realized that this opera was the traditional "Mu Guiying Takes Command". This opera is good because it is lively, festive, has singing halls, and is often requested when holding large banquets.

On the stage, Mu Guiying held a flag on her back and was fighting several enemy soldiers with a bright silver gun in her hand. The short gun thrown from the enemy's hand was picked and flicked by the flag on her back and returned to the enemy's hands accurately. .

The last short spear was thrown towards the enemy. Mu Guiying lowered his waist and kicked his leg squarely into the middle of the short spear, sending the short spear back into the enemy's hands.

This fight was smooth and compact, climaxing with the sound of gongs and drums, drawing cheers and applause from everyone.

This round of fighting shows off all the skills.

Feng Guohui was also very happy to see it. He called the waiter over with a smile and said, "Well done, I'll give you ten flower baskets."

"Thank you Master Feng for the generous reward. I thank Master Feng on behalf of Flower Boss. Once the show is over, Flower Boss will definitely come to thank you in person." The tea waiter respectfully thanked me.

"Well..." Feng Guohui replied nonchalantly.

The waiter here stood up straight and shouted loudly: "Ten flower baskets from the six tables, Mr. Feng Flower Appreciation Boss, thank you from the Tongxin Cantonese Opera Club!"

This voice overwhelmed the singing and the sound of gongs and drums on the stage, and attracted applause from the crowd of spectators.

This is the practice of the Cantonese Opera Club. One flower basket is worth one silver coin, and ten flower baskets are worth 10 silver coins, which is equivalent to the annual income of an ordinary worker.

With a wave of his hand, he was rewarded.

It's not a small amount of money, but in Feng Guohui's eyes, this little money is just a sprinkling of water, and he doesn't care at all.

never thought

This move aroused the displeasure of the table in front. Several young men sitting at the Eight Immortals table in the first row immediately turned their heads and murmured, obviously they didn't have anything nice to say.

With a wave of his hand, Dr. Tea was called forward again.

few minutes
Dr. Tea once again shouted: "Tongxin Cantonese Opera Club has thanked Tongxin Cantonese Opera Club for the 15 flower baskets presented to Mr. Chen. Thank you very much Mr. Chen for your generous gift."

At this time, Mr. Chen, who was sitting in the first row, stood up, clasped his fists and saluted the booing audience on the left and right, then turned his head with a provocative look on his face and shouted:
"Pu, you old mother, where did this street boy come from to cause trouble in my place? If you want to make trouble, I, Mr. Chen, will give you a ride and throw it into the Saigon River to feed the bastard."

This is the first row of tables, and a few men who look like noble slaves have stood up. They stretched out their hands and pointed at Feng Guohui, pointing at the table and yelling provocatively. They were very arrogant.

How come... watching a show can cause disputes?

Feng Guohui was so fed up at this time. You have to be like these scoundrels to show that you are not classy enough.

Are you going to ignore him?

It was buzzing around like flies, which was annoying to hear and disgusting to look at.

Feng Guohui's face turned cold, and he called Dr. Tea and said, "I'll reward you with 100 flower baskets and see if he follows?"

After these instructions, Dr. Cha was startled for a moment, and then shouted loudly with great joy;
"Stop for a moment, stop the play.

At table No. 6, Boss Feng generously presented 100 flower baskets. The Tongxin Cantonese Opera Club congratulated Boss Feng on being as blessed as the East China Sea and as long as the everlasting pines on the Cangshan Mountain.

Mr. Hua and all the colleagues of the Cantonese Opera Troupe... thank you for the reward..."

This voice shouted, shocking everyone.

The opera singers and gong and drum musicians on the stage all stood up, faced the direction of table 6, and bowed deeply at ninety degrees to thank them.

This is because the opera actors and actresses on the stage are all playing princes, generals and ministers, and it is not easy to kneel down to thank them, so a compromise method of bowing is used.

Such a large reward is rare to see once a year.

When the song is finished, the leader of the troupe will come with all the actors and actresses to thank them. This is a rule.

(End of this chapter)