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Text Chapter 475 The Bankrupt Businessman

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    It was just dawn, and the cicadas outside the window were already screaming non-stop. When Liu Cheng woke up in the room, he felt that his whole body was covered with sweat, his clothes were sticky and clinging to his body, and he felt unspeakably uncomfortable.

    "This is the horrible weather in Taiwan!" Liu Cheng twisted his body uncomfortably and got up with a grumble. Last night, because the weather was too hot, he didn't fall asleep until very late. He thought it would be cooler in the morning, but he didn't expect it now.  The sun hadn't risen yet, but it was already so sweltering, which made him sleepless, so he simply stopped sleeping.

    Although the weather is hot, Liu Cheng is used to sleeping in small clothes. This is a habit he has developed since childhood and cannot be changed at all. However, the weather here in Keelung is too hot, so when he wakes up, all the clothes on his body are wet.

    Liu Cheng put on his shoes and came to the yard, washed his face with a bucket of water from the well, and then brought it to a small shed in the corner. After taking off his clothes, he took a few scoops of water to rinse, and finally even  I even threw my clothes into the bucket and washed them, then I twisted them casually and put them on again. The weather was hot anyway, so my clothes would be dried in a short while.

    This yard was rented by Liu Cheng before. Although the yard is not big and there is only one main room, the price is not cheap. If he hadn't just made money at that time, he might not have rented this yard.  But counting the days, the rent paid at the beginning is about to expire, and it seems that I will have to find a cheaper yard by then.  Thinking of this, Liu Cheng couldn't help but sigh, but there was an unmatched heaviness on his young face.

    Entering the east side of the room facing the window, there is a small table.  There are two steamed buns in the basket on the table, which I bought when I went home last night.  Four for a penny, he ate two last night, and the remaining two are his breakfast today.

    Picking up two hard steamed buns, Liu Cheng opened the wooden stopper of a glass bottle on the table, picked up the chopsticks and carefully took out a piece of bean paste from the inside, and then carefully spread it on the steamed buns.  His wife made this for him when he came out, mainly because she was afraid that he would not be used to Taiwanese food.  Liu Cheng was reluctant to eat it at first, but now it has become the only dish he can eat.

    After eating two hard steamed buns, Liu Cheng took the small table and a small chair at the door. In addition, he also carried a cloth bag with four items: paper, ink, pen, and inkstone. He now  I was writing letters for people on the dock, and my business was pretty good.  He can earn more than a hundred yuan in a day, and after deducting food and drinks in a month, he can still have more than two yuan left. However, next month he will find a new place to live, and he will also have to add rent. It is estimated that he can save just enough money in a month.  Not bad.

    Liu Cheng is just thirty-one years old this year and is originally from Tingzhou.  The family also had little land, and his father wanted to give the family a good background, so he kept letting Liu Cheng study, intending to let him take the exam to gain fame and honor his ancestors.

    Speaking of which, Liu Cheng is really a material for reading.  He was known as a child prodigy when he was very young, and he was among the best in every exam in the county school.  He became a tribute student when he was less than 20 years old and went to Chang'an to take the scientific examination. However, it was a pity that Liu Cheng still failed in the examination from a teenager to 30 years old. In order to take the examination, Liu Cheng also spent all his family's savings.  about there.

    Faced with this situation, Liu Cheng was also a little disheartened.  In addition, with the development of industry and commerce, the lives of relatives and friends around them, especially those who used to be worse than theirs, are now slowly getting better, and even living better than theirs.  In addition, he is already married, with a wife and children, but now he has to endure hardships with him. Even because he failed in many trials, there are many rumors about him behind his back.

    Liu Cheng was a very family-oriented person. He could be laughed at by the folks around him, but he didn't want his wife and children to suffer a little injustice along with him. In addition, he also lost confidence in the imperial examination, so he finally gritted his teeth and simply put down his status and married his wife.  After discussion, he gathered the money at home, and then he came to Taiwan with the money, ready to find a way to make a fortune.

    Speaking of which, Liu Cheng is a scholar after all, and he also likes to read newspapers, so he is also very clear about the situation in the Tang Dynasty and its surrounding areas. He knows that Taiwan is now occupied by the King of Qi, and that industry and commerce are encouraged there, and businessmen are treated very favorably. In addition,  There are many ports there and industry and commerce are very developed, so there are many opportunities to make a fortune. In addition, Tingzhou is not far from Taiwan, so Liu Cheng came to Keelung, Taiwan, with most of his family's money.

    Liu Cheng is a smart man, otherwise he would not have been known as a child prodigy since he was a child.  After he came to Keelung, he soon discovered that as long as he had money, he could easily find ways to make money with money.  Even if you are willing to put in the effort, you can make a lot of money by buying a large piece of land and then buying some slaves and opening a plantation. However, the initial investment is larger and the money comes in slowly.  .

    Liu Cheng didn¡¯t have much money in his hands, and he didn¡¯t want to make a fortune from land. In addition, after a period of understanding, he finally decided to invest his money in sea trade, a high-risk and high-yield industry.

    Speaking of which, Liu Chengye really has some talent for business. He first went to Fuzhou to contact a batch of silk, then shipped it to Kimai and sold it to a Persian merchant. As a result, he immediately made dozens of silks. If he had the guts,  ?It's big enough. If you transport silk to Luzon or Borneo and sell it, you can definitely make several times the money.

    With his first successful experience, Liu Cheng was very excited, and he made several more cargo trips between Fuzhou and Keelung, earning more than 300 yuan in total.  It was also at that time that he rented such a small yard in Keelung and paid the rent for a few months. He even planned to buy a yard in Keelung after making some more money and combine his family's property with it.  His wife and children all came to live with him.

    However, there are unforeseen circumstances, and sea trade is inherently an industry with great risks.  After Liu Cheng ran several routes between Fuzhou and Keelung, he found that the speed of making money through short-distance transportation was too slow, and it was troublesome to find someone to ship the goods. Finally, he decided to make a big deal and chartered an entire cargo ship himself.  , and then brought in a ship of cane sugar from Keelung, intending to transport it to Sixian City in South Korea, which is located in the north, and South Korea is full of wealthy Han people, and the demand for cane sugar is huge. It can be said that as long as it is shipped to  There, there is no need to worry about lack of sales.

    Originally, Liu Cheng's ship went to sea in September. It is said that the sea is generally calm at this time of the year, and there are few big waves. However, there are unforeseen circumstances, and no one expected that Liu Cheng's ship would go to sea in this relatively safe season.  However, they encountered strong winds and waves, and seawater poured into the cargo hold. As a result, all the sucrose in the sacks was soaked by seawater.

    If you switch to other goods, such as porcelain, you don't have to worry about seawater immersion. Even if you switch to silk, you just need to drain the water in time and find a place to clean it. Even if you lose money, you won't lose too much.  many.  But sucrose is most afraid of sea water. After all, it is something to eat. Once soaked in bitter sea water, even a fool will not eat it again, let alone sell it.

    All the cane sugar in the boat was destroyed, which confused Liu Cheng, who had always been smooth sailing. Although he was very careful in doing business and the payment for the goods was settled, the freight for his chartered ship had not yet been settled. Originally,  He planned to wait until the cane sugar ship was sold before settling the knot, but now it was better. Not only was the cane sugar gone, but he also owed a large amount of freight.

    By the time Liu Cheng returned to Keelung and paid back the freight he owed others, he would have less than a penny left in his body. No matter how frugal he was, the money would probably only be enough for him to eat and drink for a month, let alone  Don't say you want to make a comeback.  In the end, I had no choice but to write letters to people on the dock.

    Originally, it was not difficult for a scholar like Liu Cheng to find a decent job in a place like Keelung where job opportunities abounded. Even keeping accounts was much better than writing letters for others.  However, after Liu Cheng had been in business for several months, he was no longer willing to do business with others. Besides, with his scholarly temperament, he could not stand the control of others.

    As for working in a factory, he couldn¡¯t lose face, and the wages were not high, so in the end he just set up a letter-writing stall on the dock.  There are a lot of outsiders coming to Keelung to do business and work, and most of them can't write, so Liu Cheng's business is not bad, at least his salary is higher than that of ordinary workers, and he is very free.

    Of course, it's not that Liu Cheng has never thought about going home, but when he left home, he just wanted to make a good show so that his wife and children could enjoy the happiness with him. But now it's better, he has not made any money, and he has been reduced to living for others.  Writing letters for a living made him ashamed to go back. Even if he couldn't eat or sleep well in Keelung, he had no intention of going back.

    Liu Cheng carried the table and chairs to the place where he set up his stall. It was on the pier of Keelung Outer Harbor, not far from where he lived. There were also sycamore trees growing on the roadside, and his stall was located under one of the sycamore trees.  Under the shade of this tree, although it is still very hot, it is better than being under the sun.

    There are no telephones these days, and the only way to communicate with family is through correspondence, so as soon as Liu Cheng¡¯s stall was set up, a lot of business came to his door immediately. Liu Cheng spent the whole morning immersed in writing letters. Although the content of the letter was not much, it was  There were so many people writing letters to him that sometimes three or four people would line up together.

    Until noon, the sun in the sky became more and more fierce, and the ground was covered with smoke. Although the dock was still very busy, most of them were slaves working. As for the Han boatmen, they had already started to eat.  .

    Liu Cheng also felt a little hungry at this time. After all, he had been chewing steamed buns since yesterday and had not eaten well at all.  Business was good today. Liu Cheng thought he should have something good to eat. There was a good soup cake shop behind him. The soup cakes they made were very delicious. Each bowl only cost three pennies, and when the weather was hot, a bowl of iced soup was given for free.  The mung bean soup is of good quality and low price.

    Thinking of the cold and sweet mung bean soup, Liu Cheng also felt his mouth watering, and he was about to pack up and have a bowl, but at this moment, a business that had a huge impact on him came to his door.  (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to come to Qidian to vote for recommendations and monthly votes.
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