The wind blows from the South Sea

Chapter 48 Yingchun Tower

When leaving the seaside pier, Feng Guohui always felt that there were some malicious eyes. When he looked over again, they were hidden among the noisy and busy people at the pier.

This once again sounded the alarm in Feng Guohui's heart. He knew that there were many people in Surabaya who hated him to death.

Every time we go out, we are cheering each other, not to show off, safety is the most important consideration.

Yingchun Tower in Surabaya City

When Feng Guohui and his entourage arrived, the shopkeeper and waiters of Yingchun Tower came out early and led them enthusiastically to the second floor seating area.

Everyone was already hungry, so the waiter in the shop brought dishes of big fish and meat, focusing on the benefits.

I started eating it immediately and it tasted really delicious.

The entourage sat at three tables in the lobby outside, and what was served was large basins of fish, large basins of meat, and large basins of vegetables, all piled high on top of each other. This is the favorite style of the Jianghu man.

People these days are short of fat and water in their stomachs, and everyone has an astonishing appetite. Eating three or five bowls from a pile of rice bowls is a trivial matter, and there are not many opportunities to get rid of it.

In the elegant room

Only Zheng Xiucai, team captains Fan Dali and Wang Guozhen, accompanied by Feng Guohui, the spokesperson of Nanyang Company, sat on an Eight Immortals table. There were several exquisite side dishes and a pot of wine in front of them, and they sat here to drink slowly.

Fan Dali and Wang Guozhen were like gourds. They put down their chopsticks after taking one bite of the food in front of them. Listening to the cheerful voices of the brothers outside, they felt like they were sitting on pins and needles here.

Zheng Xiucai took the initiative to raise the wine glass to toast, and the two of them quickly picked up the wine glasses to accompany them, and drank down the wine in one gulp.

Seeing their restrained looks, Feng Guohui drank all the wine in his glass and cursed;

"Pu, your mother, Shaozi, do you have to be so reserved when you eat with me? You are as delicate as a girl, but you also look like I want to eat people.

If you want to eat out, go away, but I remind you two that you are not allowed to drink while eating out. "

"Okay, then we brothers will go outside and wait." Fan Dali and Wang Guozhen were overjoyed when they heard this. They nodded quickly, bent down, clasped their fists, and immediately turned around and ran away.

It's too uncomfortable to eat in this private room. The atmosphere is so dull that it's hard to breathe, but I don't dare to be too presumptuous.

Nanyang Company's management system is more like an army. The chief holds the power of life and death. After Feng Guohui opened up a new trade route on the southern route, his majesty grew. His subordinates saw him like a mouse seeing a cat.

Out of private room

Fan Dali and Wang Guozhen straightened their backs immediately. After a while, they saw that the three tables in the lobby outside were messed up with cups and plates, and they immediately started to curse;

"Damn... you guys are so filthy on the streets, you don't even know how to leave some for me."

"Go away and bring me that plate of meat."

After kicking away the brother who was in the way, the two men threw themselves on the table like hungry ghosts and started killing everyone.

Fan Dali reached out and took the half-eaten pork elbow with five-spice sauce from the plate, then bit into it, making it dripping with juice.

Wang Guozhen directly placed a freshly served roast chicken in front of her. Covering the plate with one hand, she pulled off the chicken leg and put it into her mouth, chewing it happily.

Several people nearby quickly used chopsticks to put some vegetables into the bowl. They ran to the side with the bowls in their hands with smiles and squatted at the top of the stairs to start eating.

Anyway, I just made a lot of it, and I will be full after eating two more bowls.

Seeing this, several ministers sitting at the table pushed the half-eaten pot of roasted fish over and asked cheerfully;

"Two gentlemen, what's the matter... instead of enjoying good wine and meat in a private room, why are you here to grab food?"

"Eating shit, I sat there talking and didn't even dare to breathe. I couldn't eat a single bite of food and both my brothers were suffocated to death." Wang Guozhen explained after swallowing a mouthful of meat. .

"Hahaha... No wonder?" Everyone laughed, and the atmosphere was very lively.

At this time, two young men, a man and a woman, came up from the stairs, it was Qiao Peiyun and Qiao Zhongxing.

When Fan Dali saw it, he quickly put down the pickled elbow in his hand and threw it into the vegetable basin. He glanced around the crowd with warning eyes.

Then he picked up his sleeve and wiped his mouth, then went up to her and said, "Miss Qiao, Mr. Qiao, do you two have any advice?"

"Brother Feng is here?" Qiao Peiyun's voice was clear and clear, like pearls falling on a jade plate.

Fan Dali knew that his boss was quite interested in this beautiful young lady from the Qiao family, so he did not dare to neglect her at the moment, so he nodded and said, "Please stay a moment, I will go in and report back."

The noise outside could already be heard in the lounge.

Zheng Xiucai opened the door from inside, stretched out his hand and said, "Mr. Qiao, please come in, Miss Qiao." Then he said to Fan Dali, "Dali, please instruct the shopkeeper to brew a pot of fragrant tea, prepare two new sets of bowls, chopsticks and Some food and wine will be served."

"I humbly obey my orders." Fan Dali respectfully responded.

In the elegant room

With a warm smile on his face, Feng Guohui stood up and said, "When Cao Cao Cao Cao arrived, Xiucai and I were discussing that we wanted to visit the Qiao family. Brother Mo Zhai and Miss Qiao came. It was really gratifying."

"Ashamed, ashamed, this is such a bother." Qiao Zhongxing looked polite, but there was indeed guilt on his face.

He is a standard gentleman and would not disturb others while they are dining. It is indeed rude for the relationship between the two parties not to be so intimate.

But Qiao Peiyun couldn't help but couldn't sit still after hearing the news, and she didn't trust her little sister to come alone, so she had no choice but to bite the bullet and follow.

Qiao Peiyun is not so particular, and her personality is somewhat familiar.

When she saw Feng Guohui, her eyes brightened and she walked in with her little hands behind her back. He was quickly attracted by the dishes on the table and said one by one; "Wow, so many delicious dishes."

I remember……

Brother Feng said last time that he wanted to treat me to tea when he had free time. What's the point of drinking a lot of water? Why don't you treat me to a meal? "

"Peiyun, don't be unreasonable." Qiao Zhongxing reprimanded, raised his hands and bowed his hands and said humbly, "My sister-in-law has always been arrogant, so I ask Brother Feng to forgive me if I don't do anything good."

"Brother Mo Zhai is having an affair. Your sister is very smart and has a pure heart. She is not bound by common etiquette. She has a sincere and frank temperament. There is nothing better than that." Feng Guohui said, waving his hand for everyone to sit down.

At this time, a waiter served fragrant tea, took away the used dishes, and added two sets of bowls and chopsticks.

Qiao Peiyun heard that Feng Guohui and his party went to the dock, and asked some novel things, but Feng Guohui answered them patiently.

Hearing that Feng Guohui was interested in acquiring land in the bay from the Hu family to build a new wharf, Bank of China Qiao also expressed interest.

He said;

"To be honest, Brother Feng, I actually mentioned this matter to my father after I returned from my study tour in China, but it was not recognized, so it was all in vain!"

"Oh, I'd like to hear the details." Feng Guohui drank tea and glanced at Feng Peiyun's pretty face as if nothing.

At this time, this pretty girl was sitting there drinking tea dignifiedly, but a red cloud flew up on her cheeks for no reason.

Qiao Peiyun obviously didn't use her eyes to see, but she could clearly feel the panic-stricken gaze.

Qiao Zhongxing is a person with a pure mind and did not feel the secret interaction between the two at all. He said with a straight expression;

"Brother Hu, I think

Since the opening of the sea during the Qianlong Dynasty, the interactions between Nanyang and China have become increasingly close, and foreign merchants have come in droves.

In addition to the chaos of the Opium War, it is absolutely impossible to return to the past policy of seclusion and isolation, and it will be difficult to recover!

Nowadays, maritime trade is becoming increasingly prosperous, especially the large-scale trade of grain, rice, opium, and foreign cloth exported from Siam to the coastal provinces of the mainland. The demand is growing.

The island of Java is located in a remote corner, but it is rich in products, including grains, rice, kapok, oil palm, spices, coffee, cocoa and other products, all of which can be used for large-scale maritime trade.

The import of silk, porcelain, pottery pots and other products from the mainland, as well as more immigrants, are also excellent two-way trade channels, which can increase the current trade by more than ten times.

Thanks to the unlimited market power of mainland China, the local economy in East Java has soared and the market has become more prosperous. It can be said to have the best of both worlds! "

Speaking of here

Qiao Zhongxing's face inevitably showed a hint of loneliness. He was not the eldest son of the Qiao family. His elder brother now ran the Qiao family's business store in Batavia and acted in a regular manner.

If no accident

The position of the next patriarch of the Qiao family will definitely fall on his brother and has nothing to do with him.

At best, it can only be responsible for a business in one place.

Therefore, Qiao Zhongxingkong was ambitious and unwilling, and could only plan to wait until the situation in China calmed down, then return to the mainland to study and pursue a path to gain fame.

The fact that Qiao Zhongxing had such a vision moved Feng Guohui's heart and felt that he was a talent that could be developed.

After all, he was born in a big business family, has a profound foundation in Chinese studies, and is proficient in using English, Dutch and foreign languages. He is no stranger to business management in his daily life.

If he could be the person in charge stationed in Malacca, he would be a good candidate.

But he was not in a hurry to recruit, but thought about it and said;

“Frankly speaking, this idea is correct and highly feasible.

But there are two difficulties with this matter;

First, when transporting goods to the mainland, should they be handed over to the eight major banks in Guangzhou for unified purchase, or should they be operated by themselves?

If it were acquired by one of the eight major banks, although the funds would be withdrawn quickly, the profit would be meager. If they were to organize the supply of silk and ceramics, they would be ripped off.

If you run your own business, you must have a reliable local partner, otherwise your funds will be in great danger and you may lose all your money.

Secondly, pirates are rampant in Luzon and the land and sea are unstable, which is difficult to deal with without strong strength.

If Brother Mo Zhai wants to operate the coastal route from Surabaya to the mainland smoothly, he needs experienced maritime merchants and strong relationships with the mainland, both of which are indispensable.

Presumably Master Qiao was also concerned about this, so he declined the matter out of caution. "

Although Qiao Zhongxing was unwilling to do so, he thought it made sense, so he sighed and stopped talking.

At this time, the waiters had already brought the newly prepared dishes to the table, which were delicious in color and aroma.

Feng Guohui looked at Qiao Peiyun who was eager to try and Qiao Zhongxing who looked unwilling, and said with a carefree smile;

"When the food is delicious, it's better to drink and have fun, and other things should be discussed in the long term. Come... have a drink!"

Zheng Xiucai raised his glass in agreement and said, "Yes, yes... let's have a drink.

Faced with the victory in boxing, Qiao Zhongxing temporarily put aside his depression, raised his glass and said with a smile: "Brother Feng is really a hero among people. Qiao admires him endlessly. I will lend him a glass of water and wine to offer flowers to Buddha."

"Hahaha... do it!"

(End of this chapter)