Wall bid farewell to the military academy and returned to Shanghai. It could be said that he was returning to his hometown in glory. The poor sailor who used to work on the ship suddenly became a gentleman.
Yes, Wall looks like a gentleman now, but it would be more appropriate to call him an American upstart.
Liu Qingbei took him to a tailor in Shanghai to make him a decent suit, complete with a civilized hat and a cane. He wore a custom-made embroidered cloak. This cloak was custom-made by Shumei who was very attentive to him. It is said that Shumei gave him a hard time.
A huge killing.
He cut his hair again and found someone to trim his beard. But first he went to find his good brother Bai Qiwen. Bai Qiwen was from North Carolina. He was a few years younger than Wall, but he was not lacking in
With an adventurous spirit, he followed the Chinese through the wilderness of the west to San Francisco, and then followed Wall from San Francisco to distant China.
However, it is difficult for poor people to live anywhere. In Shanghai, he could only work for the capitalists and was exploited by the capitalists like ordinary Chinese. He was already tired of this life.
Today, when he saw his friend Hua Er for the first time, he couldn't help but rub his eyes.
"Oh my God! Am I dreaming? Do I miss my friend Hua Er too much?" Bai Qiwen thought in his heart.
"The embroidered cloak he is wearing must be handmade. It costs several hundred silver dollars to order it in Shanghai, and you have to wait in line. When did Wall become so rich?"
"Hi, my brother Bai Qiwen, how are you?" Wall said in English.
"Wal, oh, my dear Wall, is it you? Am I dreaming? How did you get rich?" Bai Qiwen asked excitedly.
"Oh, my friend, you are not dreaming. I have made a fortune. I have met a generous Chinese boss. Now I am coming to you to make a fortune with me. Bai Qiwen, you are my best friend.
How could I forget you when I had the chance to make a fortune?"
"Really? Great, I'm going to quit this damn job right now. I don't want to work on this damn mail ship anymore."
"No, no, why do you want to leave here?"
"Wal, have you changed your mind again? Wal, I have never done anything to feel sorry for you." Bai Qiwen asked in confusion.
"Oh, you misunderstood what I meant, Bai Qiwen. I meant that after we bought it, we will soon form a fleet, a fleet that can run to San Francisco."
"You really shocked me, Wall. This must be the idea of the big boss behind you!"
"That's right, Bai Qiwen, you will be the owner of this fleet from now on. You don't have to worry about anything, and you can get a salary of thousands of yuan every year. How about it? Are you willing to do it?"
"Of course I am willing, for this price I can sacrifice my life for him." Bai Qiwen said excitedly.
"Let's go. I'll help you change your outfit first. You don't look like a boss."
The first stop at Hual went smoothly. Together with Liu Qingbei, he registered the West Coast Company in the name of Bai Qiwen. Bai Qiwen was the legal representative of the company. The company hired a Chinese Li Kaicheng (actually dispatched by Huaihai Company) as general manager.
All specific matters are handled by General Manager Li Kaicheng.
The company will have a fleet of five mail ships and five cargo ships. These ships were purchased in Shanghai, along with the sailors and captains of these ships.
Dong Shuheng has mobilized 2,000 people from the farm through Huaihai Company and is preparing to send them to work in the United States. Most of these people are single men on the farm. They were told that they would be sent to work on a mainland in the east for five years, and the salary would be twice that of the farm. Many families
Let the bachelors in your family sign up, because if you go out and do this for five years, you can get a wife and have children after you come back. Of course, whether these people can come back in the future depends on their own wishes.
These two thousand people will go to San Francisco with a shipment of goods. Of course, Bai Qiwen will also have to go. His task is to spend money to buy land and mines.
At the second stop, Wall went to see Pastor John Cena. Mr. Cena was also shocked when he saw Wall dressed well. Could it be that he had some bad luck and made a fortune.
Wall first expressed his gratitude to Mr. Senna for his help. Then, he told Mr. Sena that there was a senior official of the Qing court who was very interested in American culture and hoped to meet him. When he heard that this official turned out to be
As a general in Jiangsu Province, Mr. Senna was so excited that his eyes almost popped out.
He usually couldn't even see a small Shanghai county magistrate. Now a general in charge of an area wanted to see him.
"Oh, Wall, God bless you, my boy, you have done me a great favor. I think I can leave now to see the general." Mr. Senna was impatient. He had already come to China.
It's been two years, and if there are no more achievements, the guild may have to transfer him back, and he may have to spend his remaining days in a small church in the sweltering south of the United States.
Senna knew that the general was not looking for him simply because he wanted to understand the culture. But with the knowledge of these Qing officials, he would definitely be able to convince the general to let him preach.
As Wall expected, Mr. Senna's matter was settled easily.
Next, Wall asked to see the American Minister Marsali. When he learned that Wall wanted to set up a security company, in order to express his gratitude, Mr. Senna specifically expressed his support for Wall in front of Marsali and was willing to vouch for Wall.
.
Marsali also wanted to increase the influence of the United States in the Shanghai area, so he also strongly supported Hua Er's establishment of a security company.
"Mr. Wall, in order to avoid unnecessary disputes, your security company will be entirely your personal behavior. All your actions are commercial behaviors and have nothing to do with the United States of America. I hope you can understand this."
"Oh, that's no problem, Mr. Minister, our Yangtze River Security Company is just a commercial company composed of a group of explorers in Shanghai. We only provide defensive security services to our clients." Wall said, he understood Marsali.
Meaning, the United States is still betting on both sides between the Qing court and the Taiping Army.
After completing the procedures in the concession and completing the registration of the company, Wall symbolically recruited dozens of mercenaries in the concession and purchased a batch of artillery. As for the guns, the Huai Navy people will bring them all over when they arrive. Dong Shuheng dispatched
Zhang Guangshun of the Ministry of Armed Forces serves as the manager of the security company, assisting Wall with the company's logistics work. In fact, he is also the staff officer and quartermaster of the 103rd Regiment.
After making these preparations, Wall still has to find customers for his company.
These matters are mainly led by Liu Qingbei. But Wall must show up.
These wealthy businessmen now hiding in Shanghai are more willing to believe in foreign guns and cannons than the Qing army.
Liu Qingbei met a wealthy businessman named Yang Fang in Shanghai. Yang Fang was a speculator and was best at doing business. This man was a translator. After years of hard work, he was now almost the richest man in Shanghai.
Huaihai Company is strong, has hot-selling products, and is protected by force. It also controls the transportation channels to the north and west. Who doesn't try to curry favor with them?
Yang Fang knew that Liu Qingbei was Huai Haijun's spokesman in Shanghai, so he naturally flattered him in every possible way. He even wanted to marry his daughter to Liu Qingbei, because Liu Qingbei was working for others.
Liu Qingbei couldn't make the decision in this matter. In the end, it was Dong Shuheng who made the final decision and Liu Mingyuan agreed to the marriage.
It must be said that Liu Qingbei and this girl from the Yang family also have an eye for each other, otherwise he would not take the initiative to report it to his father.
In this way, Yang Fang firmly boarded the ship of Huaihai Company.
He is very business-savvy. He invested in a large-scale cotton spinning factory in Songjiang by purchasing the equipment of Huaihai Company. With the blessing of Songjiang's old cotton spinning base, he was able to make a lot of money every day, which was much better than his previous work as a comprador selling foreign goods.
Yang Fang was very confused when he learned that Liu Qingbei had brought a foreigner to see him today.
"Master-in-law, this is Mr. Wall!"
"Oh, hello, Mr. Wall." Yang Fang greeted Wall in English. He was originally an interpreter and could speak English, French and Spanish.
"Hello, Mr. Yang, nice to meet you! You speak English very well!" Hua Er took the initiative to shake hands with Yang Fang cordially.
"My father-in-law, Mr. Wall is planning to set up a security company in Shanghai. He will organize an armed force with combat effectiveness comparable to that of the British and French armies to provide protection for everyone. You are an old man from Shanghai, do you think this is feasible?" Liu
Qingbei explained.
"There's a lot to do!" Yang Fang's eyes lit up after hearing this, and he said excitedly.
"Qingbei, ask Mr. Wall, is he still a member? I can raise a sum of money for him here." Yang Fang keenly saw the huge business opportunities in this.
"Uh... Father-in-law, you may not need this, but this team still needs a middle man. If you don't mind..."
"No problem, I'll take care of it," Yang Fang said quickly. Let's not talk about whether this middleman will make money or not. How much will he earn from just favors? You must know that people in Jiangnan are panic-stricken now, and even their hair is covered with hair.
Rumor has it that they ransacked homes, bankrupted their homes, and plundered wives and daughters, scaring the wealthy businessmen in Jiangnan into not wanting them.
Some wealthy households are afraid of their long hair suddenly flowing down the river in their dreams at night. At this time, if he, Yang Fang, can help introduce a force that can defend them, then those rich people will not be able to squeeze through the threshold of their own homes.
"Mr. Yang, I can only assure you that my soldiers will never be weaker than the British and French troops in the concession."
"Mr. Wall, I personally absolutely believe in your credibility. I will contact good customers. But you'd better arrange soldiers to show everyone your combat power. I don't think those customers will bargain with you on the commission." Yang Fang
said.
"I think this is no problem. We will hold a martial arts performance at our camp in Lujiazui in half a month. I hope Mr. Yang can bring all our customers to the scene."