"Bang!" A thick stack of documents fell on the desk in front of Wu Jianzhang, smashing Wu Jianzhang's teacup on the spot. Then, the Chinese roar of US Consul Qi Liyun, who was half-baked, also poured into Wu Jianzhang's ears...

"Wu! I will express my strongest protest to you! You and I have been friends for many years and closest friends! If you want to build a factory, why should you abandon me, the closest friend? Why should you contact businessmen from other countries and discuss? This is your repayment for our friendship?"

"I won't say anything! This is the cooperation plan between our American textile company and you, and it has given you the biggest and most discount! If you still think I am your friend, you will sign your name on the contract immediately! Otherwise, we will not be friends or enemies in the future!"

Hearing this series of angry roars, the poor comprador Wu Jianzhang not only stared at the eyes bigger than eggs, but also completely lost his mind. He quickly picked up the documents that Qi Liyun had thrown in front of him and looked at them carefully. He saw that there were some commercial cooperation plans that he could not understand at all, as well as the factory establishment plans and equipment procurement lists, and the cotton supply and transportation prices of major cotton production areas in the United States. The more he looked, the more confused he became, Wu Jianzhang couldn't help but ask Qi Liyun in confusion: "Mr. Qi Liyun, what do you mean? Why can't I understand?"

"Wu! You underestimate our American intelligence personnel too much!" Qi Liyun was completely furious and patted the table in front of Wu Jianzhang and shouted: "Your grandson surpasses Wu, abandon the United States that have always been friendly with your Wu family, and secretly negotiate with other countries to establish a textile factory! Since your Wu family wants to build a textile factory, why don't you talk to us the United States first? What do you mean? Do you think we Americans are not friends enough to you?!"

"Surprise?" Wu Jianchang once again stared at the same time as the eggs. After waking up, Wu Jianchang immediately screamed in his heart, "It's bad! It must be the little bastard who caused me another trouble!"

"Wu? Why don't you sign?" Qi Liyun became even more angry and shouted again: "Sign it now! If we sign it, we will still be friends! Then your Wu family wants to build a steel plant and cooperate to open a bank. We can all discuss it! Otherwise, you just don't treat me as a friend!"

"Mr. Qi Liyun, I really don't know anything!"

Wu Jianzhang wailed, and quickly bowed and bowed. He tried his best to explain that he had no idea about the situation. He had to wait until he asked his unfilial grandson to ask clearly. After all, he finally agreed to accept Qi Liyun, who had been dealing with him for many years, and agreed to wait until Wu Jianzhang understood the situation clearly. However, Qi Liyun refused to give up and pointed at Wu Jianzhang's nose and shouted: "Wu, remember, if your family wants to cooperate in building a factory, the first choice is us American businessmen! Otherwise, you will be responsible for all the consequences!"

Wu Jianzhang, who didn't even know what a textile factory was, agreed with a frown and tried his best to send Qi Liyun away. Then Wu Jianzhang had just ordered his servants to prepare a sedan chair to return home immediately. However, Prussian Consul Ah Huawei rushed directly to the lobby of the customs office, and threw a stack of documents in front of Wu Jianzhang, and he also shouted immediately...

"Wu! Your family wants to establish a joint venture steel plant with the West, why don't you look for us Prussians? Don't you know that our Krupp Steel Plant in Prussia is already the most technologically advanced steel plant in Europe, especially good at smelting iron ore containing various impurities! Tell me immediately the amount of your investment and the scale of the iron plant. I will give you the best price for steelmaking equipment! Also, what is the situation when your family wants to build a textile factory and a bank? These Prussian merchants are willing to join the business with you, and you can discuss any conditions!"

"Wu, I'm so sad! Everyone says you are the Chinese who understands the West the most. Don't you know? When we Dutch people established a financial center in Amsterdam, John Cow and Gaul Chicken were still counting wooden sticks to keep accounts! If you want to open a joint venture bank, why don't you come directly to us Dutch people who understand finance the most? Don't say anything, fill in these forms immediately so that we can know your specific plans so that we can start our next cooperation! Also, the banks we established in joint venture must have semicolons in five trading cities in China, with us Dutch people serving as general managers!"

Don’t blame the Western countries for making such a big deal. China’s market is too big. The Chinese people who have been brainwashed by the Qing Dynasty for more than 200 years are too closed and ignorant. The Qing court, who deserves to be guilty, are even more ignorant and conservative. Western merchants, not to mention establishing modern factories in China, are even more difficult to sell goods in the inland! Two years ago, Shanghai Port, which has become the fourth largest port in Asia, accounts for 46% of the total annual import textiles. It is possible to establish a modern textile factory in Shanghai, purchase and process on site and sell on site, saving astronomical transportation costs and labor expenses. Of course, merchants in Western countries are eager to find it and must seek this precious opportunity at any cost.

In addition, Wu Jianzhang's official status is also a point that Western powers attach great importance to. No one knows the troubles of establishing an industry in China than Western powers who are determined to open up the Chinese market. There are also various incredible and absurd restrictions. If Wu Jianzhang, an official, comes to handle this matter, it will not only reduce countless resistances and restrictions, but even if there are many troubles, it can also be solved by Wu Jianzhang, an official. It is far better than the back and forth of the Western powers one by one. When encountering various delays in pushing the committee, the hard work will be in vain and fruitless.

In a treasure mountain without knowing it, and being restricted by the times and knowledge, the poor comprador grandfather Wu Jianzhang didn't know that the consuls of the great powers were actually here to give him money. On the contrary, he cursed the precious grandson who had been in trouble all day long in his heart. He finally sent away the seven or eight consuls of the great powers who came to intimidate and entangle. The first thing Wu Jianzhang did was to get on the sedan chair and go home, and then immediately sent someone to call the precious grandson in front of him, and threw the thick document that the consuls of the great powers into front of him and yelled: "Say! What's going on?"

Wu Chaoyue really didn't know why his comprador was so angry this time. He picked up the documents with Chinese translations in great confusion and looked carefully. After a careful look, Wu Chaoyue found that most of these documents were genuine commercial cooperation contracts, as well as performance reports and quotations for various modern spinning machines and looms. They even included raw material quotations, technical guidance, skilled technicians and training workers and other preferential conditions. In addition, Prussia's contract to establish a joint venture steel plant was also accompanied by ore test reports for the Yeshan Iron Mine near Shanghai, as well as steel smelting equipment and mining equipment recommended.

In this era, only Wu Chaoyue among Chinese people knows how valuable these things are, so after reading them, Wu Chaoyue immediately cheered and asked happily: "Grandpa, where are the contracts and equipment quotations? I have been at home today, why haven't I heard of any customers coming to negotiate business with our house?"

Seeing the happy appearance of his baby grandson, Wu Jianzhang was completely stunned. It took him a long time to come back to his senses and asked angrily: "Are you still happy? Are you really planning to build a textile factory or steel mill? What kind of bank are you going to build?"

"Grandpa, I've wanted to tell you about this a long time ago." Wu Chaoyue nodded quickly and said, "Grandpa, believe me, we will never suffer any losses when we pay to build factories and banks with foreigners, and we can make a lot of money! Now the industrial foundation of the Qing Dynasty is basically zero. If we take the lead in building these modern factories, we can not only make a lot of money, but also benefit the people. We can even seize the blank market of North Korea and Japan and completely monopolize the entire East Asia industrial products market!"

Wu Jianzhang was even more stunned and exclaimed: "You really want to do these things? Do you understand these things? Don't you fail to build any factories and ruin our Wu family's property first?"

"Grandpa, listen to me." Wu Chaoyue was not embarrassed, and immediately took out the coquettish method left by his ex-master. While holding Wu Jianzhang's thin arm, he tried to explain to Wu Jianzhang various benefits of establishing a modern factory in Shanghai, as well as how high profits can be obtained by seizing the current blank mainland Chinese market, and how many jobs can be created for poor people after establishing a modern factory.

Not to mention, Wu Chaoyue really found the right person to persuade him this time. If it were someone else, no matter how simple Wu Chaoyue said it, it might not be able to understand the other party. Wu Jianzhang was different. He made a fortune by business and had a natural sense of sensitivity to business. He was also supervised by Shanghai Customs. He knew more than anyone how much textile products Shanghai Port should import from overseas every year. So after listening to the explanation and analysis of the baby grandson as simple as possible, Wu Jianzhang was not immediately moved, but also understood that the baby grandson was not making a fool of himself, but really wanted to do business and make money for his family.

After calming down, Wu Jianzhang calmed down and thought for a long time, he asked Wu Chaoyue a key question, saying: "How much money do you have to spend on these?"

"I don't know yet." Wu Chaoyue replied frankly and said, "Grandpa, don't worry, I won't start textile factories, steel mills and banks right away. I also need time to adapt and accumulate experience, so I want to build textile factories first, and then consider steel mills and banks, so the initial investment will not be too large."

After stroking his white beard and thinking for a long time, Wu Jianzhang asked again: "Then are you planning to cooperate with merchants from that country to open a factory?"

"I am stupid and I will go to find a businessman from a country to cooperate in opening a factory. It can offend people and be easily controlled." Wu Chaoyue replied with a smile: "I plan to engage in bidding. The businessman from that country has the best conditions. I will cooperate with anyone so that I will not offend others and will not suffer losses."

Bidding has appeared in Britain as early as the 18th century. Wu Jianzhang, who has been dealing with foreigners all year round, knows it, so Wu Jianzhang nodded slightly, very satisfied with the wisdom of his baby grandson. However, Wu Jianzhang was still extremely worried and hesitantly said: "It would be nothing to ask you to give it a try, but what if the court does not agree?"

"It's okay, I've already thought of a solution." Wu Chaoyue smiled and said, "Just change the name and call the factory a workshop. No problem can be found in the court - the court will not even be allowed to open a workshop, right?"

"Call the factory? You can think of it!"

Wu Jianzhang laughed and thought for a moment. Compared with other Chinese people in this era, Wu Jianzhang, who was very open, made up his mind and decided to support his baby grandson on the right path. So Wu Jianzhang had a brief calculation and nodded quickly and said, "Okay, I will give you ten... No, I will give you 150,000 taels of silver to build a factory with foreigners! But I have the words first, and it is easy to say anything after making money. If I lose all, don't expect me to give you more than ten taels of silver every time!"

"Good grandpa! Only grandpa is good in the world!"

Wu Chaoyue never expected that the comprador grandfather would give him 150,000 taels of silver as startup funds as soon as he made a move. He hugged Wu Jianzhang's thin arm tighter and shook his numbness to thank him. Wu Jianzhang kindly touched the forehead of his baby grandson and sighed in his heart: "Anyway, it's all yours. As I am still alive, I will help you take the right path. Otherwise, if I close my eyes, even if you and that unfilial son have lost all the property I have accumulated with hard work, I will not be able to control it."

…………

When Wu Chaoyue was ecstatic, thanked his comprador grandfather at home, Zhou Lichun, the leader of the Tangwan Gang, who was once an ally of the Wu family, also entered the home of Shanghai magistrate Yuan Zuqi from the back door under the guidance of Yuan Wuba, the former county magistrate, and was warmly received by Yuan Zuqi.

When the wine was almost over, Yuan Zuqi, who had already received Yuan Wuba's report, naturally began to make a cliché. He asked about the reasons why Zhou Lichun and his brother Liu Lichuan turned against each other. Zhou Lichun, who was dissatisfied with the sworn brother, broke his promise and repented, did not hide it. He confessed the incident and told the truth. Yuan Zuqi was naturally overjoyed when he heard this. While fanning the flames, he took the opportunity to test whether Zhou Lichun was willing to turn against him and serve himself who had lost the help of the Bird Party.

The reason Zhou Lichun promised to help Liu Lichuan in time was to covet the golden territory of Shanghai Wharf. Now Liu Lichuan broke his promise and regretted it. He also knew that the Bird Party supported by Yuan Zuqi was once a dominant of the wharf. He heard Yuan Zuqi's temptation and temptation. Of course, the two of them were love and intentional, so they immediately flirted with the adulterer of Chai Lie. After quickly forming a mutually beneficial alliance, Yuan Zuqi whispered: "Lichun, if you want to make a fortune in Shanghai Wharf, the most difficult thing to deal with is not the courageous Wang Guochu, nor the untrustless Liu Lichuan, but Wu Ashuang behind Liu Lichuan. So, you must first help me and help me get the ironclad evidence that can defeat Wu Ashuang!"
Chapter completed!