It was late at night, and the small teapot was still tossing and turning, unable to fall asleep. I got up and added charcoal to the brazier several times, and still felt bone-chilling.

Tang Wulin's sudden arrival made Xiao Teapot very upset. According to his original intention, he was beaten to death and was unwilling to go to the British foreign business again, because he lied to others and was not so calm.

But the current situation is that he can't do it. Although Tang Wulin is friendly and looks very honest, Xiaochake would never dare to reject Tang Wulin. If he annoyed Tang Wulin, a direct threat might come. No matter how bad the children and relatives of Chengdu were in the city, they still lived in the city within the Ximen Gate. For more than two hundred years, they had peace of mind and enjoyed the support of the Sichuan people and enjoyed the privileges of high numbers. Even if they killed people in the street, the various yamen in Chengdu and even the governor of Sichuan could not control them. The only thing they could manage was the Chengdu General who represented the Qing emperor in charge of Sichuan.

Therefore, if a person like Tang Wulin made a ruthless move, the consequences would not be able to bear the current small teapot, so he would not dare to refuse Tang Wulin's request no matter what.

After several months of experience, Xiaochao has gained a more intuitive understanding of the world and is often in torturous reflection. In the end, he has only one choice: get rid of the current difficulties of life as soon as possible, and then consider the next step of development. After all, in such an era where there is no equality, it is very difficult for him to survive as a person as a lowly as an ant.

In a daze, the small teapot was woken up by a slap in the door. He quickly put on his cotton coat, hurriedly got up, walked through the front hall of the back hall and opened the door. Seeing that it was the smiling Ma Gan and Wu San, Rodfa, he called them in and asked Ma Gan to cook water and make tea by himself, and went to wash alone.

After packing the teapot, I returned to the main hall. Ma Gan and a few of them had already brewed hot tea and sat together to chat.

Seeing that the little teapot was still full of long hair, Rodfa took out a delicate comb from his arms, let the little teapot sit down, and began to comb his hair:

"Brother, I haven't seen you have neat hair for so many years. It seems that you have to ask a wife to come back. Her hair is like a chicken coop, and she has no face when she goes out."

Ma Gan and Wu Sanyi laughed. Ma Gan touched his neat braids and shook them out in a show of flaunting: "It doesn't matter if the guy doesn't want to ask for a wife. When the teahouse opens during the New Year, he quit the teahouse and moved back. A few little girls at home can't do anything else, and combing their hair and braiding is first-class."

Xiaochashu laughed and said, "I really want to do this. Maybe after the New Year, I will quit this job and move in. However, I cannot treat a group of younger brothers and sisters as servants and maids. In addition to letting them do some housework, I want to teach them to read and write. I can't be blind all my life, right? The second and third brothers, you two are the same. Just learn to read and learn how to calculate and calculate. If you can't even understand the account book in the future, you will be embarrassed."

"By the way! I agree with my brother's statement. I can squeeze out half a day every day to be a gentleman for my second and third brothers!" Rod was furious and echoed loudly, thinking that he would really become the gentleman of Ma Gan and Wu San, and I guess he would feel very happy.

Since Ma Gan went to a foreign business with Xiaochashu, he was quite touched after coming back, and he had already made up his mind to learn to recognize words as soon as possible. Wu San, who practiced martial arts every day, regarded reading and writing more difficult than climbing to the sky. However, under the threat of Xiaochashu's reasonable and well-founded, Wu San had to face bitterness and agree with a gritty attitude.

The brothers talked and laughed, but before lunch time came, Wu San naturally went to the back hall to cook rice, Ma Gan went out to buy meat and vegetables, the literate elder brother Xiao Teapot and the youngest Rodfa continued to sit and drink tea, in the name of discussing the education issues of the brothers and more than a dozen girls.

After lunch, the little teapot changed into the body-faced clothes, leaving the third and fourth brothers to watch the door, pulled Ma Gan out in a hurry, and told the details of the man Tang Wulin coming to the door yesterday evening, which immediately aroused Ma Gan's alertness and concern.

Ma Gan was reluctant to take risks for Tang Wulin, whom he had never met, and the little teapot had no choice but to use the credit of Jianghu as an excuse. When the two walked to the intersection of Longxing Street, Ma Gan suddenly stopped and pulled the sleeve of the teapot and asked, "Brother, what do you say when you see a foreigner later?"

Xiao Teapot replied helplessly: "What else can I say? I thought about it all night last night but didn't understand it. Finally, I felt that since we decided to do business well, we must deal with foreigners in the future. Only by abiding by the rules and being trustworthy can we last long. I was forced to tell lies last time. Who made us crazy poor? But if we always talk lies in the future, I have made up my mind to go to the tea shop in front to buy two boxes of good black tea, and when we meet, we will be honest with each other. To be honest, I believe that foreigners will not make things difficult for us."

"Ah!? Do you really want to give a gift?" Ma Gan was very reluctant to let it go.

"Give it! Must give it! And I'll give it to Qimen black tea. Foreigners like that thing, especially the British, let's go!"

After a while, Ma Gan held the top black tea wrapped in a gift box, lowered his head, followed behind the small teapot and stepped into the foreign company's door. Looking at the things he bought from the three silver dollars in his hand, he gritted his teeth with a distress. However, the small teapot acted calmly and had a smile on his face. When he entered the door, he did not forget to nod to the two Manchu men guarding the door.

As the end of the year approaches, the watch business of foreign companies is surprisingly good. The officials, gentry and rich men dressed in luxurious clothes and shiny braids, with twenty or thirty women and servants, divided into piles and crowded in front of various counters, carefully selecting various watch jewelry, and exclaiming and acting coquettishly. Instead, there is no one in the semi-open living room, as if everyone has no time to sit and is fighting for time to spend money.

Unlike the last time, in addition to the two young Chinese guys, there were two white women in gorgeous furs and jewelry-like manners added to the counter, and Roboting, the boss of the foreign company in decent suits, who were busy and happy to face a group of rich silly men.

Seeing that the little teapot was so busy, he didn't go up to say hello. He led the nervous gang and walked straight to the living room, sat openly on the couch, waiting patiently.

More than an hour passed, and there were finally fewer guests. Robo Ting, who had already seen the small teapot, walked over with a smile on his face, greeted him with a few warm greetings, and sat down happily under the compliment from the little teapot from the bottom of his heart. The small teapot then stood up respectfully and gave him a gift.

Robbing stood up politely, took the gift and thanked him happily, shouted at the white woman in her thirties at the counter, had a brief conversation, and turned enthusiastically to the small teapot to introduce:

"Dear Xiao, this is my wife. She likes your gift very much. Even the queen of our British Empire likes this kind of black tea. You are so kind!"

"Must howl! I like it very much, thank you!" Mrs. Roboting thanked the little teapot. Her awkward Chinese Mandarin was far inferior to her husband.

The little teapot bowed slightly gentlemanly: "I am very happy to see you, madam, in my opinion, you are more beautiful and charming than the Queen of England."

Mrs. Luo covered her mouth with exaggeration and exclaimed. Luo Boting laughed loudly. Only Ma Gan was scared and thought to herself that you are too bold, right? How could you praise her wife for being beautiful in front of others? And she praised her as more beautiful than the queen of the country. Isn’t this a big disrespect?

But strangely, the foreigners were not only not angry, but were happy, which made Ma Gan even more incredible.

Mrs. Luo gave a few simple greetings, and walked towards the white girl at the counter with a gift. Roboting signaled everyone to sit down and asked about the purpose of the little teapot.

The little teapot showed a look of shame on his face, and slowly revealed his identity as a poor boy, as well as the nonsense he had said when he sold the jade pendant last time, and finally apologized very sincerely.

Roboting's face changed several times, from happy to surprise, from surprise to frowning, from frowning to contemplation, and finally to a calm smile: "Xiao, I'm glad you can tell me these things. You are an honest person, at least more honest than most people I met in China. You don't need to be upset about the jade pendant, because I feel that I bought a very satisfied thing, worth the money, and there is no deception. I accept other apology. Not only do I accept it, but I also hope to be friends with you. If I have the opportunity in the future, I am still willing to cooperate with you, because your honesty and courage have moved me, dear friend!"

"Thank you! Thank you for your generosity. Please take care of and give me some advice in the future."

The little teapot stood up and thanked him sincerely, feeling that the foreigner with a beard under his hooked nose was not as bad as he thought.

Roboting signaled to the little teapot to sit down and drink tea: "Xiao, please forgive me for taking the liberty. I feel that you came here today, not just an apology, right?"

The little teapot quickly put down the teacup, told him about the preparations for the rickshaw shop, and humbly solicited Roboting's opinions.

Roberting was very interested and asked in detail, then made his own suggestions: "Xiao, are you interested in buying rickshaws made in the UK? Our British products are better than those of Japan, and they are of great quality and design. Why do you only consider buying Japanese products?"

The little teapot explained: "Does rickshaws be produced in the UK? The price must be very expensive? Sir, the products in the UK are indeed good, but they are too expensive and we can't afford them..."

"No, no! Xiao, your understanding is wrong, completely wrong!"

Roberting was excited and spread his hands to defend himself: "Maybe you don't know that rickshaws have been popular in Shanghai and Tianjin for many years. Moreover, the popular rickshaws in China are not made in Japan, but are made in Japan, and ordinary bearings are bought from the UK or Germany, and they are assembled at their Shanghai factory... I think we can buy rims, tires, spokes, bearings and other spare parts from the UK, and then produce them in Chengdu. In this way, the price will be very cheap. Are you right?"

The little teapot was startled and immediately realized what Robo Ting meant. He thought calmly and asked in confusion:

"Sir, my purchasing power is limited. It's just a few cars business. I dare not think too far, and it's not worth bothering. But did Mr. say that, have you had other ideas long ago?"

Roboting nodded and said with a smile:

"Xiao, you are the smartest young man I have ever met. I am deeply surprised by your good business talent. Xiao, I want to tell you the truth. I have twelve British-made bicycles that have arrived in Shanghai and will appear in this business in about half a month to twenty days. But I didn't think of rickshaws before. It was you who reminded me, my friend, I suddenly discovered that in Chengdu, a metropolis with a population of more than 400,000, rickshaws may be more expensive than bicycles that can only be consumed by aristocrats."

The little teapot shook his head in embarrassment: "Sir, with your strength, it is very easy to start a factory. Buy spare parts and iron screws from the UK, buy two welding machines and a few man-made cutting machines, and you can produce suitable rickshaws according to your wishes.

"But we can't do it anymore. Due to insufficient funds, we can only buy a few cars for the time being, and then slowly accumulate through our own efforts and slowly increase our capital. Our ancestors have a motto that a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step, rather than a dream that is not capable of realizing."

Roboting was deeply surprised. Unexpectedly, the young man in front of him knew advanced mechanical equipment such as electric welding machines and cutting machines, and he spoke generously and clearly organizedly. He was neither humble nor arrogant in his words, and he faintly revealed the wisdom of ancient China. He couldn't help but look up at the small teapot, think about it for a moment, and asked kindly:

"Xiao, I have a question I want to hear your opinion. According to your estimate, how many rickshaws can be sold in the entire Chengdu?"

Xiao Teapot has considered this issue for a long time, and he just said it without thinking:

"There wasn't too much demand at the beginning. After all, rickshaws are still a new thing in Chengdu, and no one knows what will happen. But as long as they are done, people can accept it completely. You just need to look at the situation in Shanghai. According to statistics from the Chengdu Daily last month, the number of people in Chengdu has reached 450,000. This number does not count the number of residents in the surrounding counties and towns. This means that rickshaws and even bicycles have a large market.

"I roughly calculated that there are more than 20 carriages and horse carriages specializing in passenger transport, with a total of various sedans and more than 1,500 passenger carriages. This number does not include the number owned by the government and wealthy families. Therefore, I expect that Chengdu, with a population of hundreds of thousands, will need at least 1,000 rickshaws. Rickshaws only need to be pulled by one person, which will be faster and more stable. I believe that it will soon replace the backward sedans and horse carriages. If more than a dozen surrounding counties are added, the number will at least double, and it will increase year by year."

Robbing's eyes lit up and he was very grateful:

"It's very good! Xiao, you are not only foresight, but also a person with a rigorous nature. Do you think this is good? Three days later, come to me and we will continue to communicate about this promising business opportunity."

"This? Sir, I...I don't really understand what you mean."

The little teapot vaguely thought of something, but I was not sure.

Roboting smiled slightly and said:

"Authentic, this is a good business opportunity, but before practice, every step requires repeated analysis to be decided. Chengdu has developed rapidly in the past two years. The thermal power plant of the Government Investment Promotion Bureau has been put into construction and will be operated soon. The largest commercial display area in southwest China is built in Qingyang Palace in the west of the city. After completion, it will become a concentrated display and sales area for goods around the world. Various machine factories, light bulb factories and hardware factories run by you Chinese themselves have appeared one after another. Private cement plants in Longtan Town, the eastern suburbs have been put into production. These companies have almost shown amazing vitality and profit expectations, so I really want to do something."

The little teapot was stunned when he heard it. He never expected that the private enterprises in Chengdu in this era were so energetic, which was very different from the situation of feudal ignorance and backwardness in his impression.

Roboting was very satisfied with the reaction of Xiao Teapot: "So I said, Xiao, the opportunity is coming, right in front of us, so I want to set up a bicycle factory in Chengdu, not only producing bicycles, but also producing rickshaws. Of course, we should still focus on assembly in the early stage...

"Xiao, you are a rare talent and accept new things very quickly. I think you can help me well. Our next cooperation will definitely be very pleasant. I am confident that I can do it well and maybe it can be promoted to other aspects. Xiao, I am afraid you don't know that I have many Southwest agency and distribution rights for products from various British and American countries, including British kerosene, which has now successfully occupied the Chengdu market."

Xiao Teapot admired Roboting's wisdom and ability very much, but he didn't want to be a foreigner's dog. Although he was so poor that Roboting's leg hair was thicker than his thighs, Xiao Teapot still delusionally chose an equal cooperation position, although he had no capital and no courage to say it.

What should be said has been said. Xiao Teapot got up and said goodbye. Before leaving, he whispered to ask if Roboting was still interested in Chinese antiques. Luo Boting was stunned, then smiled knowingly, and told Xiao Teapot in a low voice: As long as it is really valuable, he will be willing to spend money.

The little teapot was politely bid farewell to the Roboting couple and left the foreign business. Before leaving, the little teapot even pulled out a few carefully prepared English words, which attracted the Roboting couple and laughed comfortably.
Chapter completed!