Volume 2: The crown and the hat are all over the capital, and the spirit is full of energy and enter the foggy city Chapter 202 Yuan Buwei
Subtitle of this chapter: The founding of a nation started with empty talk
The Great Demon City of Seris was far away in terms of distance, but the "Minshi Xinjiao Movement" that was to take place at the end of 1921 was very close in terms of time.
As we all know, this financial crisis has had a profound impact on Seris' history.
Without this trend, small and medium-sized ethnic capital might not have found it as difficult to survive as it did later.
Because since then, the Chinese stock market has never recovered. Not only the government, but also the French Concession and then the Nationalist government have strictly controlled it, and even completely banned futures trading. Moreover, the private sector is also afraid of the rope after being bitten once, so that those national enterprises that really need funds have no way to raise funds from the stock market.
At that time, even the stocks of well-known companies such as the Commercial Press, China Merchants Group and Bank of China were ignored.
If it weren't for this trend, Chuan Lin Beitui might have become a stock market expert instead of a logistics expert in the future.
They could have lived a happy life in Shanghai, but in the end, if they didn't want to jump into the Huangpu River, they had to go to the Pearl River, so they went to Guangzhou to join the magnificent era.
Without this trend, Yuan Hongjian's great-great ...
No kidding, let's be serious. If Yuan Hongjian didn't have a broken system, he would definitely make a fortune in this financial boom, and then...
"Pika Pika meow..."
"Master Ball, haven't you heard the saying that men don't keep cats and women don't keep dogs? I don't want to be a cat owner!"
"Neo, what's the name of your movie... has it started filming yet?"
"Mr. Baker, Orphans of Famine started filming earlier this month, and Mr. David Griffith is now in Maine with the crew."
They didn't necessarily go to Ireland to shoot the film. California is nothing like Ireland.
Maine is the northernmost state on the east coast of the United States and the northernmost part of New England. The latitude, climate, terrain and vegetation there are similar to those of Ireland, so they went there to shoot the film.
"Neo, do you think such a huge investment can be recovered?"
"Mr. Baker, I have great confidence in Mr. Griffith, the great director. Considering the recent situation and the values of the American people, and the fact that I wrote the script myself... In short, I think this film cannot lose money."
At this time, Louis Baker also spoke up and said, "Grandpa, don't you like "The Twelve" very much? The success of this movie can be said to be entirely due to Neo's script. And I watched him write that script with my own eyes, or to be more precise, it was 'they'. The situation at the time was like this..."
Huang Zongyi was once again mesmerized by his uncle's talent. He simply found twelve writers to write an outstanding film script. Mr. Hongjian's talent was truly unfathomable.
"I see!" Mr. Baker raised his glass again happily and said, "Then I wish your movie a success."
"Thank you, Mr. Baker."
After finishing the cup, "Wall Street Miracle" asked again: "Neo, when will you return home?"
"June." Yuan Yan replied confidently: "Mr. Baker, I will leave as soon as I get my Ph.D."
Old Mr. Baker asked casually, "Oh, are you sailing from Vancouver to pick up your bride?"
In fact, the fastest route from northeastern America back to Northeast Asia at that time was to take a special train from Seattle to Vancouver, and then board a ship to cross the Pacific Ocean. It would take at least two months to reach Japan and China at the fastest.
Our Master Yuan explained: "Mr. Baker, I plan to go to the British Isles to meet some old friends and make some new friends..."
In addition to the Seres, the new and old friends he was going to meet also included a very, very, very important Japanese "friend".
If Yuan Yanshu wanted to become an old friend of the Japanese people, he had to establish a relationship with this person.
"Then I will go to the Netherlands to meet with William II. Although I cannot be his secretary this time, I still want to thank him in person for his kindness. After meeting him, we will board the ship from Amsterdam."
In this way, Yuan Yanshu and his team actually went in a circle, which was much farther than the previous route and took much longer. But is this the right way to go?
In this way, the four gentlemen finished their dinner while chatting. As usual, they went to the smoking room for after-dinner drinks.
"Mr. Yuan, here's your Bloody Mary." This time, before he even gave any instructions, the waiter brought his drink.
"Ah? Do you remember what I drank?"
"Of course, Mr. Yuan. We remember all the guests who have come."
"Well, don't give me this drink next time. Try the tomato-flavored Wu Jia Pi instead."
"Hmm... I understand, Mr. Yuan."
"Okay, you go out first."
"Yes, Mr. Yuan."
After finishing the matter, our Master Yuan raised his red wine glass and said to the "Wall Street Miracle": "Mr. Baker, thank you again for your gift."
The old fox raised his glass, smiled at him and said, "Nio, I treat you as a real junior. So if you have anything to say, just tell me directly. There is no need to be so polite."
"Okay then..." Yuan Yan suddenly put down her wine glass and took out a cigar.
“Snap!”
As he fiddled with his cigar, he said nonchalantly, "Mr. Baker, I have a return gift."
"Oh, what kind of gift is it?" The octogenarian also lit a light cigar and asked with interest.
Master Yuan raised his head and looked at Mr. George Baker , then looked at Mr. Louis Baker, and finally gave his nephew a meaningful smile.
He coughed to clear his throat, and said in his deep baritone voice: "Gentlemen, seeing this jewelry sent by Mr. Baker reminds me of the story of our ancient Seris..."
"More than two thousand years ago, China was not a unified empire like it is today. It was like Europe, with self-rule by kings, division by princes, and numerous city-states. That's why it was called the 'Warring States Period'..."
"Around the time of the First Punic War between the Romans and the Carthaginians (264 BC), a wealthy merchant named Lu met a prince from the western Qin State in the capital of a country called Zhao. The prince was a hostage to ensure peace between the two countries. However, because the relationship between the two countries was very tense, the life of the Qin prince in Zhao was not very happy..."
"After returning home, the businessman surnamed Lu asked his father how much profit he could get from farming. His father replied, ten times."
"He asked again, how many times more can you earn from trafficking in jewels? His father replied, a hundred times."
"He finally asked, what about helping a prince get the throne? Mr. Lu replied..."
Master Yuan stopped and asked Mr. Louis Baker, "Louis, what do you think the old father would say?"
Mr. Baker was no fool, so he replied, "I think he would say ten thousand times, or even countless times."
"Bingo!"
"You're right." Yuan Yan nodded and said, "So he immediately set off for Zhao State, found a way to get to know the prince of Qin State, sent him back to the country, and helped him ascend the throne. And this businessman named Lu also became the prime minister and nobleman of Qin State, and later..."
The ending was too gloomy, so I won't talk about it. Anyway, these two foreigners don't know and don't need to know the ending of Lu Buwei.
"Gudong!"
Huang Zongyi understood the meaning of the story his uncle told better than the Bakers, so he was so surprised that he lost his grip on the wine glass and it fell to the ground.
Fortunately, there was a thick carpet in the smoking room, so the valuable crystal glass did not break, but only made a dull sound.
"So..." Mr. Baker said slowly, "Neo, the prince of Qin you are talking about is you, or... Mr. Huang?"
"Hahaha..." Upon hearing this, our Master Yuan laughed out loud and said, "Mr. Baker, I really hope that I can become the prince of Qin. Unfortunately, I am not the son or relative of the former president of China, and my family is extremely ordinary..."
"The most important thing is that my motherland has a population of 400 million and tens of millions of square kilometers of land. I don't think I have the ability to become the master of China. Instead..."
He pointed at the dumbfounded Mr. Huang and said, "My nephew..."
Huang Zongyi was even more frightened when he heard this, and he stammered, "Mr. Yuan...Uncle, I..."
"Children should not interrupt when adults are talking!" Yuan Yan turned around suddenly and shouted in Chinese in an unpleasant tone.
"Um……"
Young Master Huang, who was only a few years younger than him, really didn't dare... maybe deep down he didn't want to interrupt him.
How could a person, a man, a young man, a young man from a good family not have ambition?
Master Yuan took this opportunity to change the subject, staring at the "Wall Street Miracle" and asked sincerely: "Mr. Baker, how is your retirement life?"
Mr. Baker said calmly, "It's OK. I play mahjong at home, listen to the radio, read novels, and play golf when I have the chance. It's quite enjoyable..."
Yuan Yan suddenly looked into the old man's eyes and continued to ask: "Then don't you feel that something is missing?"
Even if his "Eyes of Nothingness" don't activate any skill, it would be difficult for ordinary people to lie under his gaze.
"Hmm..." "Miracle of Wall Street" hesitated for a moment and said, "To be honest, it is indeed a little more boring than before..."
For some people, work is just a necessary means of making a living, but for others, work is a pleasure that brings a sense of accomplishment, and even the meaning of their existence.
Maybe this is the difference between Wynner and Luther.
"Yes, Mr. Baker."
Yuan Yan pointed to her head and said, "Our human brain ages much slower than our body..."
This is common sense to the time travelers from later generations. Later studies have confirmed that brain cells do not decay with age. In addition, some parts of the brain can continue to grow. Humans can continuously improve their brain functions and intelligence, even when they are seventy, eighty or even ninety years old.
His tone softened as he continued, "Mr. Baker, I understand why you took the initiative to retire. It's not because you are not energetic enough, but to reassure your clients."
For people like George Baker, work is a pleasure, if not the meaning of life. But eighty is a bit too old for any profession, including politicians.
If he were a lifelong dictator, there would be nothing anyone could do. But Mr. Baker is a financier in a capitalist free society, and his age would affect the confidence of his clients and partners.
Therefore, when the "Wall Street Miracle" heard this, an expression of sympathy appeared on his face.
"Mr. Baker, don't you want to do something big in the last ten...those few decades of your life?"
“……” Old Mr. Baker smoked a light cigar and remained silent.
Our Master Yuan did not continue, but turned to "His Holiness the Pope" and said: "Louis, do you still remember your ideal?"
"My ideal..."
Mr. Baker's eyes sparkled, and he nodded firmly, "Of course I remember!"
What ideals can a left-wing young intellectual have? Nothing more than a "fair, just and righteous" universal society.
Yuan Yan suddenly asked loudly: "Then where can you realize your ideal? America? Europe?"
"this……"
This young Mr. Baker did not leave any mark on the later generations. In Master Yuan's opinion, he either became an ordinary person or died in a place like the battlefield of the Spanish Civil War.
He suddenly stood up, walked to Huang Zongyi, pointed at his nephew and said, "You also know that Mr. Huang is the son of the richest man in Southeast Asia and even among the Chinese. He is a prince in any way, right?"
"So you should understand that the gift I gave to your Baker family is him!"
“…”
When Yuan Yan suddenly saw the two Bakers looking thoughtful, she knew that they were both touched.
He immediately started the final blow and said with a smile: "Mr. George Baker, Mr. Louis Baker...You are not talking, don't you think I want you to pay?"
“Hahaha…” Our Master Yuan stopped smiling and said seriously, “It’s vulgar for us to talk about money!”
"And will my nephew be short of money?"
"Uncle, I..." Mr. Huang looked embarrassed and wanted to say something.
Well, at this point in time, he was really short of money. Of course, he was not short of the "small money" for daily expenses, but the "big money" for the great cause of building a country.
It was not until Huang Zhonghan immigrated to Singapore that he divided his conglomerate and gave part of it to several of his more outstanding sons, including Huang Zongyi.
However, Mr. Huang died too early, his inheritance was too large, he had too many children (a son was not yet born when he died), and his will was not very appropriate, so the Huang family later fought a protracted and devastating lawsuit.
Our Master Yuan pretended not to hear, but shook his head and said: "Gentlemen, it is not just a matter of money to let this prince get his country..."
