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Volume 4 Leviathan Chapter 65 De Yue Tower

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    Shanghai, Deyuelou.  Deyuelou was originally founded in Suzhou during the Jiaqing period of the previous dynasty. It is famous for its exquisite wine and food.  Later, as Shanghai developed day by day, Suzhou Deyuelou branched off and went to Shanghai. It grew and grew, and it was obvious that it had overtaken the original old restaurant. In the whole of Shanghai, Deyuelou is second to none for Suzhou cuisine.  .  By four or five o'clock in the afternoon on weekdays, the tables in the building are fully booked by diners.  But early this morning, the clerk in the store put up a sign downstairs saying "The building is full, please forgive me!". When several regular customers passing by asked, they found out that the Shanghai Textile Association had already closed this shop three days ago.  The moon building is booked.  There could have been 17 or 18 tables on the roof of Deyue Tower, but today only 4 or 5 tables were set up. In total, there were only 30 or 40 people in total, so it looked a bit empty.  There had been three rounds of drinking at the table. No matter whether they were the host or the guest, everyone's face was full of alcohol, and it was obvious that they had drunk a little too much.  "Everyone is going with me! Everyone is going with me!" A short, fat man at the main table stood up, raised his glass and shouted loudly: "Everyone is here today. It is a thin noodle for Mr. Huang of Yuxing Cotton Factory. Here is  Huang has a drink first to show his gratitude!" Before the short fat man finished speaking, someone from the next table said: "Fat Huang, what you said is wrong. Mr. Chen is here today, and there are others here.  Who wouldn¡¯t come?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right!¡± ¡°Not to mention Deyuelou, even if Mr. Chen says something to us, we¡¯ll have to rush over here!¡±  Fatty Huang was not angry at being insulted. He laughed: "That's natural, but I took this opportunity today and borrowed this glass of water and wine to express my gratitude to Mr. Chen on behalf of Shanghai's industrial and commercial community!"  At this point, he solemnly bowed and toasted to the person at the same table.  "Don't dare!" Chen Zaixing stood up. Like most people in high positions and accustomed to holding power, his red face always had a reserved smile, making it difficult for people to see what he was thinking.  He raised his glass and said with a smile: "It's really lucky for Chen to meet all the wise people today! How dare you say thank you!" "Mr. Chen's words are wrong. The price of rice in Shanghai has been rising over the years.  With the increase in the year, those rice shops took the opportunity to stock up on grain and raise prices, forcing all factories to pay additional rice subsidies to workers. Salaries already account for a large part of our textile factory's costs. If this continues, everyone's profits will increase.  The thinner it is, the harder it will be to do business. Mr. Chen shipped 8,000 tons of rice from Myanmar at once, cutting the price of rice by half. If nothing else, we have already saved money on rice.  , This is all the credit of Mr. Chen!¡± ¡°Yes, we work hard to do business, but those landowners, Mihang, sit there and do nothing. They just raise the price of food and give away our profits.  Fortunately, Mr. Chen acted righteously! " "That is, these landowners and rice merchants are obviously greedy, and they still pretend to beg for the people, saying that 'the harvest is not good' and 'the grain is cheap and hurts the farmers'.  What, have you read today's "Shanghai News"? The front page said, 'This year's harvest is extremely good, there is a surplus of grain, and the price of grain is low. Farmers are suffering. Please help us find a relief plan.'  When it comes to farming, we are not afraid that the farmers will not be able to pay the rent, but they will end up saving it on themselves!¡± ¡°I¡¯m afraid that most of these donations will end up on our heads!¡± There was a sigh at the wine table!  Sheng, there are precedents for this in previous years. When grain prices fell too much in good years, the court would usually use its own money or raise capital from major banks, banks and factories to buy grain and rice from various places and designate appropriate locations for farming.  The rice will be accumulated and sold one after another during the lean period in the coming years to keep rice prices balanced; at the same time, the tariffs on imported grains will be increased or the import of grains will be banned altogether.  No matter which method is used, it will increase food prices. Since workers' wages and rice prices have a very close linkage, it is extremely disadvantageous for textile factories that employ a large number of workers.  A young man stood up and said loudly, "Humph, this kind of thing should not be taken care of by the court at all. Prices rise and fall in the business world. It is a normal thing. Just accept your bet and admit defeat! The court has to take care of the food harvest, so let us weave cloth."  If there are too many, the court won¡¯t care if they can¡¯t be sold. It¡¯s natural selection and survival of the fittest!¡± This young man¡¯s words were fierce, but they appealed to many people. In the eyes of these factory owners, the business over the past few years has failed.  Things are getting harder and harder. More and more factories are opening, and they are getting bigger and bigger, but the market has not increased year-on-year. However, cost factors such as cotton and grain have become increasingly unfavorable, and workers' wages have also increased accordingly. Foreign countries  There are more and more competitors, but those landowners and rice merchants are trying every means to peel off a layer of skin from themselves. How can this continue?  These increasingly full-fledged bourgeoisie began to vaguely feel that they had to have their own voices in the court and speak for their own interests.  "Ahem!" Chen Zaixing said in a low voice.He groaned twice and said with a smile: "Although what this brother said is a bit biased, he is right in one sentence. There are too many weaving factories in Shanghai now. As far as I know, the largest textile factory in Shanghai alone  There are seventeen factories, and there are even more small and medium-sized ones. The price of cloth woven by so many factories has been very low, and there is no profit. Japan and North Korea used to be able to buy some of it, but at the end of last year, Japan also  The announcement of a 75% tariff on imported textile products will eliminate the Japanese market. This will not work. " "Yes!" "Yes!" There was a response from the crowd.  , these bosses all had sad faces on their faces, they had lost their appetite for the delicacies and wine on the wine table, and they all sighed.  "Ahem!" Chen Zaixing coughed twice, interrupting everyone's lamentations. In addition to opening up channels to export excess Burmese rice to China, he also had a more important purpose in coming to Shanghai this time.  That is to raise funds for the upcoming construction of the Yunnan-Burma Railway.  After three years of hard work, the two blast furnaces of Kunming Iron and Steel Plant have been built and iron production has begun. The exploration routes, technical preparations, equipment procurement and other work along the railway have also been initially prepared. However, if you want to build this railway, funds will be required.  There is still a big gap in the matter. Shanghai, as the largest industrial, commercial and financial center in Dashun and even in East Asia, is naturally the destination of Chen Zaixing's fundraising trip.  After years of development, the textile industry has become the largest industrial category in Shanghai and even the Jiangnan region. There is a bit of excess capital and output. Chen Zaixing hopes to draw some of the capital from it for railway construction.  "Everyone, this time I came to Shanghai. In addition to selling Burmese rice, I also sell tin, teak and other products. If you are interested, you can also talk to Chen. We are all friends and we can offer discounts on prices.  Well!" At this point, Chen Zaixing laughed.  Hearing this, everyone at the table became silent, and many people had troubled looks on their faces.  Finally, the businessman surnamed Huang who was sitting next to Chen Zaixing smiled bitterly and said: "Mr. Chen, it's not that we don't want to make this money, but it's just that we are in a dilemma?" "Embarrassed?" Chen Zaixing pretended not to understand, and raised his eyebrows slightly.  He picked it up and asked, "How did you start talking about this? If it's a problem with money turnover, it's not non-negotiable. What's the problem?" "It's not a problem with money!" The fat man Huang sighed.  : "I also know that teak and tin are both very profitable businesses, but the problem is that we are all in the textile business, and we don't understand these two industries. It's better to be experienced than to be a professional! That's fine, the most troublesome thing is  These things have always been bought and sold by British trading houses. If we make any move, I'm afraid, I'm afraid -" At this point, the businessman surnamed Huang could not continue.  "What are you afraid of?" "I'm just afraid that it will cause trouble!" When the businessman surnamed Huang said this, a layer of oily sweat oozed out from his forehead. He was already fat, and the layer of oily sweat on his forehead actually looked like it under the light.  The rock sugar elbows on the table are the same color.  "Mr. Chen, you are a noble person but you don't know the difficulties of us businessmen. Import businesses such as tin, teak, and foreign oil have always been handled by Taikoo and Yihe. If we get involved, I'm afraid there will be trouble in the future.  "A lot!" "Yes, Mr. Chen!" "Those foreigners are not easy to mess with. If you touch their business, you will get into trouble!" "Yes, many of our machines and parts must be imported from those companies.  , if we offend them, we will be in trouble if someone just cuts our necks!" There was a chorus of agreement at the table, and several businessmen simply talked about their own sorrows. It turns out that although Dashun has been in the country since the mid-19th century,  In economically prosperous areas such as Jiangnan, some industries using advanced industrial technologies have emerged, but these industries are mainly light industries with low investment and fast turnover. Even if there are some heavy steel and machinery industries, they are mainly military industries established by the government. These textile industries  The factory was far from comparable in scale and technology to the Western European powers at that time. It was controlled by others in terms of technology, equipment, capital, market and raw materials, so naturally it did not dare to offend these large trading houses that represented the great powers.  Chen Zaixing frowned slightly. He had known for a long time that British businessmen had made huge profits by monopolizing Myanmar's exports of tin ore, teak, grain, etc., so when he controlled Central Myanmar and Upper Myanmar, he planned to export tin and teak to Dashun.  They were waiting for Myanmar's specialty products in exchange for funds to build railways and develop military industrial enterprises. However, they did not expect that British businessmen would even have such tight control over the domestic market in Dashun. Although they could transport part of it to the country through the passage between Myanmar and Yunnan,  Today, when the Yunnan-Myanmar Railway has not yet been built, transportation costs are very high, and bulk commodities like these are simply unrealistic.  "The British have already controlled the sea. It seems that they still need to open up land transportation from Myanmar to the country first." Chen Zaixing thought to himself,??Now he is in a situation where a large amount of money is needed to build the Burma Railway; but if he wants to make money by exporting Burmese products to the country, he must first have cheap and convenient transportation lines. The two cause and effect each other, so  Like a pair of shackles, Chen Zaixing's neck was firmly stuck.
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