Zhu Tian: The Fiery Years Begin with Taking Qin Huairu as a Concubine

Chapter 271 Negotiation
Nefertari Vivi knelt down with a plop and said:

"Sir! Please forgive me once. I need this job. I am willing to accept any punishment!"

Zhang Kaiwu looked at Father Lou and said with a smile:

"Dad! Let's forgive her when we can! She's so sincere, why don't you take a few people to punish her, and we'll just forgive her!"

Zhang Kaiwu's character was really unpredictable. Father Lou couldn't understand his purpose and quickly declined, saying:

"Kaiwu! I'm not in good health and I don't have that hobby anymore, especially since she's a foreign woman. Lou Zhichong, take a few people with you and give her a slight punishment."

All of a sudden, five people stood up and said they could go up. Some of them might have stood up too slowly just now and were too embarrassed to stand up.

Zhang Kaiwu looked at the waiter with a smile, then looked at the five aspiring young men and said:
"Go and talk to these five people, and try to get their forgiveness. If they agree, then forget it!"

Nefertari Vivi took a deep breath, looked bitter, and took them to the back to communicate.

The foreman breathed a sigh of relief. As long as the problem could be solved, the rest was none of her business. This was not the first time that Nefertari Vivi looked down on others.

Today I met a very ruthless person, but I suffered a great loss.

Those who can take a plane are either rich or noble, can you give them a look?!

The supervisor and another waiter came over quickly, poured wine for everyone, and introduced the origin of the wine to everyone.

Introducing the time when the plane will arrive at the destination.

Zhang Kaiwu and Lou's parents were chatting and smoking cigars. The smell on the plane was really not good.

Father Lou looked at him strangely for several times, still not understanding why he did that. Was it a test?
When the plane was about to arrive, the five people came back in a serious manner.

There is a faint smell of curry on the body.

Ha ha ha ha ha!
...............

The plane was really smoked by cigar smoke. After getting off the plane, Zhang Kaiwu couldn't wait to take a deep breath of fresh air. Hong Kong City is still a small city with a total population of less than 1.5 million.

The central area is about the same size as Beijing, but except for that one street, it is not as prosperous as Beijing.

He handed Lou's father a checkbook and said to Lou's parents:
"Dad! This is the company's checkbook. Go to the airport and exchange it for some Hong Kong dollars. Use it to find a place to live."

"You guys go and arrange your own affairs first and find a place to stay. I have something to do and may be busy for a few days. If you want to find me, I will be staying at the Peninsula Hotel."

There is only one big hotel in Hong Kong now, and that is the Peninsula.

Father Lou said quickly:

"You are alone in this unfamiliar place, why don't you bring a few people to help you?!"

It will be difficult to handle things with you guys, Zhang Kaiwu said with a smile:
"No need! Go get busy!"

Zhang Kaiwu wanted to do serious work, and they really couldn't help him.

The current governor is Germain Liebesmann, a fifty-year-old Great British man who has only been in office for two years. It is really difficult to evaluate his personal performance.

Because his attitude is very strange, the entire port city is now preparing for war, and Comrade Lao Ge controls all military power, including municipal power.

Zhang Kaiwu was also inside the airport building, exchanging a check for two thousand Hong Kong dollars, thinking silently.

The Hong Kong dollar is still very valuable now, because the current monetary policies of all countries are basically linked to the price of gold.

One thing many people don’t know is that the ownership of Great Britain’s overseas territories belongs to the royal family and has nothing to do with Great Britain.

Including the former India, Hong Kong, Africa, Australia, Fiji, and many other places...

But just this year, Great Britain abolished the House of Lords' right to participate in ordinary affairs, and it can only participate in legislation and review.

Seemingly there is nothing wrong, it actually turns the House of Lords into a puppet.

This means taking back the rights of the entire British royal family and those nobles, and they will no longer be able to participate in actual management.

So people like the Governor are actually in a very awkward situation this year. It is different from what everyone imagines. He is not actually listening to the Governor of the British government, but to the title of the Elizabeth family.

But! The three armies were nominally under his command, but now it wasn't Elizabeth's family that paid their salaries! ?

If you think seriously about the Governor's situation, it is extremely embarrassing and uncomfortable.

Ha ha ha ha ha!
The port city is now just a port city with important transportation routes. It has only one dock and no manufacturing or clothing industry. Simply put, it is nothing.

It is even poorer than Beijing. Beijing at least has many rich families and small factories.

Elizabeth has to pay for the maintenance of the Governor's Palace here out of her own pocket, otherwise she would be too poor to maintain it decently.

Otherwise why would India become independent! ?
It was because the mess in India was so big that Elizabeth had no money to pay the salaries, and they started a non-resistance movement. She was so sad that she said:
"I just don't have any money now, you guys should be independent now!"

As a result, the Indians refused to agree. They cried and shouted that they did not want independence, they would not resist and would not cooperate and wanted better treatment.

Since you have ruled for hundreds of years, why do you say you will not rule anymore? We still have to be ruled.

They really couldn't afford to feed them, although the Indians didn't eat much, there were too many of them. Elizabeth was determined to abandon them, even the military equipment, and only then was she able to escape and have the foundation for India.

So when you see the behavior of some countries, it seems very strange and incomprehensible, and these are all due to historical and cultural factors.

The Indian leaders dare to go around the world crying poor and begging for food, and they are used to it. All Indian leaders will go to Elizabeth's house to cry poor as soon as they take office.

"We were very happy to be slaves in your house back then! But now it's really hard to do things on our own! Is there anything you don't want in your house? Can you give it to me?"

The same goes for Hong Kong City. The ruling House of Commons of Great Britain is trying desperately to get rid of it, and Governor General Germain Liebesman has been negotiating with several parties to get the House to invest in public welfare construction.

But! This is obviously a non-returnable thing, who is willing to invest? The three armed forces are trying to reduce their expenses as much as possible and think of ways to cut them.

So, Governor Gerhon Liebesman went around collecting donations and organizing charity activities.

With the example of India in front of us, Elizabeth in Hong Kong threw up her hands and cried poor, saying, "I have no money now!"
You can go to the House of Commons to ask for the salaries of the three armed forces. I really don’t have a penny. Do whatever you want.

Therefore, the three armed forces in Hong Kong City vigorously engaged in their own gray business to pay their own salaries.

Comrade Lao Ge is now in a dilemma between three parties, and is being bullied by all three parties. He is the governor-general in the most difficult situation in history.

Even the country wants to retain a port for trading in order to deal with the economic blockade, but in fact it has no interest in this place at all.

Zhang Kaiwu also didn't know what kind of person this governor was. Was he using money to attack others? Or was he just negotiating terms and doing his job impartially?
Because Lao Ge is a person who cares very much about his reputation and has a very good reputation. Now all he has left is his fame.

The school, houses, clinics, and girls' dormitories built behind the port city were all named after him, even a fireboat was named after him.

My teeth hurt a bit!

………………

Let's see what happens first, seeing is believing.

Zhang Kaiwu took a black car at the airport, agreed on a price of five dollars, and went to the Governor's Mansion to meet Ge Hong Liebesman.

Cars were driving on the streets, which were in ruins and had not been long since the end of the war.

It’s been more than a year, almost two years!

This is an important transportation route in Southeast Asia, and it was bombed particularly heavily. It was bombed several times by the American people and several times by the United States.

The port city is now out of money, and even the roads have not been repaired, and there are huge craters everywhere caused by shells.

The streets were full of children and women in tattered clothes, and because the weather was very hot here, the clothes were even more tattered than those in Beijing.

Many boys and girls, regardless of gender, were only wearing half a pair of pants, and many of them ran around naked.

The men are basically coolies who make a living by working at the docks, while the women and children fish and catch shrimps, and grow some vegetables between the houses to supplement the family income.

Fish and shrimp are very cheap now and are not worth much.

Therefore, people in Hong Kong like to cook various cornmeal porridge and rice porridge, so that they can save some money.

The whole port city is now full of characteristic huts, which are houses built of wooden boards, about ten square meters, and a family of ten people live in. This is a little different from the thatched houses in Beijing, and the port city is particularly afraid of fire.

Because of the war, there are many kinds of iron barrels here, and the locals call them water and fire pots.

Everyone is basically illiterate, and depending on what's inside, they describe it as a water jug ​​or a fire cupping jar.

In the end, they were collectively called water and fire cups, and many houses had roofs or walls made of those iron cups.

In addition, there is free trade here, there is no public housing, and land is free now. Because there is no statistics on these things now, if you want to build a house, just build it yourself.

There is no land deed or household registration. As long as you can prove that the house is yours, the land can be used for your family.

There are only a few primary schools, one and a half high schools, and half of the University of Hong Kong in the entire Hong Kong city.

Because the University of Hong Kong was destroyed by a small bomb, half of it was destroyed, all the girls' dormitories were gone, and there is still no money to repair them.

Later, the Governor went to Great Britain to raise money to build the girls' dormitory area, and the girls' dormitory building was named after him.

The few brick houses that can be seen in the city now are basically the houses of the rich, but it is not worth mentioning the level of those rich people.

This governor actually has a similar personality to Yi Zhonghai, but he is a decent man and always goes to wealthy people or charitable organizations to raise funds.

Thinking of the bomb in the small days.

Zhang Kaiwu was shocked. Could it be that Lou Bancheng's wives and children were killed in the explosion?
If you think about it carefully, it's impossible. His wife and children should have come to Hong Kong City only two years ago, and the war would have ended long ago.

Lou Bancheng wouldn't be so stupid as to send his wife and children to death.

But in this terrible environment, Lou Bancheng's wife and children must have a hard time. They can only live off their savings and might even starve to death in a few years! ?
Of course! Hong Kong City now also has a prosperous place, that is the south bank of Victoria Harbour, near Yau Tsim Mong.

As an important world operation center, the cargo throughput here is amazing, at least by today's standards.

Exchanges and banks are basically located at the ports, which are the transit centers for food and various materials from various countries.

So everything here is cheap, it’s the export price from all over the world, and it’s also very convenient to sell the popular goods.

This is the main transportation route in the trade zone, and Zhang Kaiwu was attracted by this convenience, without any other reason.

.....................

The black taxi stopped at the Central Asia Ring Road, where the Governor's Palace is located.

Zhang Kaiwu handed him five dollars, and the driver took it with a smile and drove away.

He walked towards the two-and-a-half-story building, next to which was a three- or four-story bell tower or machine gun fortress. This was a typical European building.

It is about 700 square meters, with a backyard of more than 2,000 square meters. The house faces north and south, and Taiping Mountain is opposite.

Although the house is not very good, it is now the tallest and most beautiful house in the neighborhood!
From then on, this place was surrounded by high-rise buildings and even Mount Taiping could not be seen.

There was also a group of British guards wearing silly top hats standing guard at the door. If Zhang Kaiwu hadn't been dressed so well, their bayonets would have been pointed at him.

Zhang Kaiwu said openly:

"I'm Zhang Kaiwu. I need to meet Sir for something. Please let me know."

The guards were confused and made an internal call, then took him inside.

Governor Ge Hong Liebesman was waiting for him at the door. Although it was impolite to have someone visit him suddenly, he still had some etiquette and courtesy.

Zhang Kaiwu took a look and saw a British old man in his fifties, with a skinny body. He inherited the fine traditions of Great Britain, with a big nose and most of his hair gone.

He also inherited the dressing habits of Great Britain. In such hot weather, his suit, vest, shirt, trousers and leather shoes were meticulously dressed and his face looked serious.

Zhang Kaiwu introduced with a smile:

"Hello, Sir Libesman! I am Zhang Kaiwu! Chairman of Kaiwu Pharmaceutical Company and Kaiwu Steel Group of the United States. Nice to meet you!"

Governor Gerhon Liebesman looked at him with his empty hands, short-sleeved shirt and trousers, not even a suit.

There was no appointment, how could someone come to visit for the first time, and he was a tough karate guy! ?
I was stunned by his attitude for a moment, and then I quickly said politely:
"Hello, Mr. Zhang! Come sit in the study and try some of my coffee."

The two of them sat down in the study, and the maid brought them coffee. It seemed that this lord was really poor.

I don't know if the Governor is pretending. His annual income of 4837 pounds is still very high. According to the current conversion rate, it is almost US dollars. There is not even wine and cigars in his house. This is too indecent!
Zhang Kaiwu took out two cigars from his pocket with a smile, handed one to the man, and then fiddled with it leisurely.

He smiled and said:

"This is a cigar given by a friend. Sir, please try it and see how it tastes."

Governor Ge Hong Liebesman's serious face showed a rare embarrassment. He explained:

"That's a bit rude. The cigar in front has been smoked out and the new one hasn't arrived yet."

He sniffed the cigar and praised it:

“This is a top quality Cuban cigar, very good!”

The two men talked for a while and took a few puffs of cigars. The Governor asked:

"Mr. Zhang! You came to me, maybe there is something going on?"

Zhang Kaiwu smiled and said:

"I actually want to open a factory in Hong Kong City, so I came here to take a look and get to know the Governor."

Zhang Kaiwu's words were quite impolite, and Governor Ge Hong Liebesman was a little unhappy. He smiled and said:

"It is certainly a good thing for Mr. Zhang to come to Gangcheng to set up a factory. I will provide you with free land, try my best to arrange water and electricity for you, and give you tax concessions."

Zhang Kaiwu smiled and said:

"Is that all? What I want to run is not a small factory. To be more precise, it should be a steel group company."

Governor Ge Hong Liebesman looked at him in surprise and asked with interest:

"Mr. Zhang! Excuse me for asking, how big is this company?!"

Zhang Kaiwu pointed to the map on the wall and said with a smile:

"The company may be one-third or one-quarter the size of Hong Kong City. The final investment is estimated to be several hundred million US dollars or more. The number of workers may be at least more than 100,000!?"

"Because there are so many things involved and the amount is so large, my current Citibank account may be a bit inconvenient in the future. I may also open a bank or something like that."

Governor Ge Hong Liebesman stared at him for a long time. Strictly speaking, the port city now has only one ship factory, which can only do repairs.

If the scale Zhang Kaiwu said were true, half of Hong Kong City would have to serve him in the future! ?

Zhang Kaiwu blew out a smoke ring and knocked off the cigar ash.

Looking at the dazed Governor, he asked:

"Any questions? I also have a large Kaiwu pharmaceutical company in America, which may be the largest pharmaceutical company in America in the future. Next year, I will go to Yinni to open a large pharmaceutical company, and maybe a steel company."

Governor General Ge Hong Liebesman said with a smile:

"Sorry! I lost my composure just now. Do you really want to build this company in Hong Kong City!?"

Zhang Kaiwu smiled and said:

"Of course, it could also be built in the Philippines, India, or places like the United States. It depends on the conditions and advantages of your place. I just have this idea."

Governor General Ge Hong Liebesman said excitedly:

"I will give you the most favorable terms. The land will be free to use, taxes will be exempted for twenty years, and I will give you the title of Justice of the Peace."

“The most important thing is that the factory area can be self-governing, and you are responsible for internal security.”

(End of this chapter)