Dominate the Country

March 15, the ninth year of Chengtian.

Lundberg set foot on the Port of Lushun in a bright spring season. According to the Western calendar, it is now the summer of May 1783, but in Port of Lushun, the spring breeze is still a little cool. The climate here is as cool as Lundberg's hometown Sweden!

Compared with the rainy season that has already begun in southern China, Lundberg obviously prefers the dry Lushun. In terms of living environment and climate, not only him, but also his brother Ekdal does not like Shanghai so much.

So after getting the support of his brother, Lundberg saw countless people going to sea to make a fortune, and his eyes were red with stimulation. He finally gave up his comfortable watchmaker career in Shanghai and chose to do business.

- Do cotton business.

Purchase cotton from India, and then find a port city with the highest price on the eastern coastal line of China and sell it.

Since China began to immigrate to North America, the prices of cotton and cloth in China have been rising, just like the current grain prices in China. Although the Chinese don't say anything, some of the goods they produce have obviously opened up the market in America.

Even if it is just a smuggling market.

The news from Europe is that French cloth has been unsalable in the Mexican market. Chinese textiles have seriously affected the direction of the Mexican market. The price of Chinese cloth of the same quality is much cheaper than that of the French, and the quality of Chinese cloth is even better. Because of the tariffs charged by the Spanish, the price of French cloth is too high to compete with Chinese smuggled cloth.

As an important port in the Northeast and an important link in the North American route, the status and tasks of Port Arthur are becoming more and more important.

Port Arthur has entered a busy period after March, but the workers on the dock are still wearing thick coats. It is very windy here, and they don't want to catch a cold because of the cold wind after sweating while working, so they have to pay attention to their health. Although the income of these dock workers is not low, no one is willing to give the precious salary to the pockets of hospital doctors.

Port Arthur's business covers a wide range of areas. Ships from countries and regions such as Japan, Britain, India, Southeast Asia, and the southeast coast have business here. They are like fish crossing the river, and there is an endless stream of them.

Some of them came to buy soybeans, soybean oil and bean cakes, and some came to buy furs. Lushun was the largest fur trading market in the north. Some came to buy ginseng or grain. Lushun was also one of the largest ginseng and grain trading markets in the Northeast.

Of course, many ships came to Lushun to sell goods.

Livestock, cloth, cotton and even slaves were all popular goods in the Northeast market.

The winter here was cold and long, and cotton and cloth were indispensable; at the same time, the Northeast had flat and fertile land, so livestock and slaves were also necessary.

In this season, Lushun Port had to unload and load more than ten large ships almost every day. Don't forget that in addition to these trading transactions established with the Northeast as the market, Lushun was also a vital link on the North American route.

Every month, there were ships departing from here to North America. Many factories and workshops emerged around Lushun, which could make paper, print, and produce cloth, ironware and other necessities of life. A large number of books, paper, cloth, livestock, ironware, hardware equipment, etc., had to be shipped from here to America. Some of these things belong to immigrants, and the other part belongs to goods needed for smuggling trade.

The dock workers who were paid by piecework were very busy, but they were very satisfied. Because they finally didn't have to receive the pitiful salary of 40 or 50 yuan, which was not much higher than the basic salary of 30 yuan per month. Because in the three coldest months of each year, the shipping business of Port Arthur shrank to the extreme, and the dock workers had almost no extra income except for the basic salary they could receive every month. It was like this there, busy all day long, although they were exhausted, but the salary they received made everyone's face bloom.

Lundberg landed on the land of Port Arthur again. This was his second time to the Northeast. Last time he brought a ship of cotton and sold it here for a good price. Then he went to Busan Port in Andong, but was disappointed to find that the price of ginseng in Busan was not cheaper than that in Port Arthur.

Although Lundberg did not think that those tree roots could really have the magical effect of bringing people back to life as the Chinese said, Chinese medicine has a set of wonders belonging to the Eastern culture, which many Westerners cannot understand.

But since ginseng has become the pursuit of countless Chinese, it has naturally become Lundberg's pursuit. Even though he is a rookie businessman who has just started his business, Lundberg is still crazy about profit.

Logically, the price of Busan ginseng should be lower than that of Lushun, just like the price of Lushun ginseng is much lower than that of Shanghai.

But Lundberg obviously "felt" wrong.

Helplessly, he bought a batch of copper ingots in Busan, as well as some local and Japanese handicrafts across the strait, including ten samurai swords handmade by Japanese swordsmiths. After returning to Shanghai, he made a small profit and made up for the time he wasted.

And this time, Lundberg reached an agreement with a British businessman in Pontianak, Nanyang, and purchased a large amount of cotton, and then he bought half a ship of cloth in Songhu Port.

Lundberg trusted his brother very much. His brother told him that if he couldn't find a more profitable business, he would just keep doing cloth and cotton.

Ekdal said this last summer, but it has not expired until now. After a long period of decline, the prices of cotton and cloth in China have now entered a rising period and are steadily increasing.

Now, Lundberg's loyal employee has immediately gone to the trade center in the Lushun Port area to inquire about the market conditions of various goods.

This employee is his brother's student in the Latin training class. Although he is not very old, he is very flexible and speaks fluent Latin. He is very trustworthy.

Lundberg likes the Chinese tradition of respecting teachers.

In China, it is almost unheard of for students to betray and harm their "teachers".

Therefore, Lundberg trusts him very much.

Therefore, although Lundberg is also eager to know the first-hand news here, he still decides to go to the tavern for a drink first. He Jian can be used to inquire about the news. His brother's student is named He Jian.

Lundberg glanced at the vaguely visible trade center in the distance. It was a rather imposing building with five houses on the front, three stories high, and a dark blue glazed tile on the roof. Its hall was very bright. Lundberg, who had been there once, was still impressed.

He could vaguely see that the two blackboards outside the trade center were crowded with people. There were many people, probably sixty or seventy if not a hundred. Moreover, these people were not all Chinese. Many of them were dressed very differently from the Chinese. They should be Europeans, Japanese, and Nanyang people and their followers. I just don't know if there are any Indians.

Those Indians with strange smells on them are very crazy. In order to gain greater benefits, they can advance from Nanyang to the north of China. White slaves, cotton, jute, tobacco leaves, and gems produced in India and Ceylon are all their flagship products.

Of course, the Chinese accounted for the majority of the crowd. Lundberg took out his telescope and looked around. He saw Japanese, Europeans, and Nanyang people wearing white hats in the crowd. The number of them roughly accounted for 20% of the crowd, which was not a small number. It must be said that the development of Lushun Port, which had just opened not long ago, was really good.

Ekdal had already obtained the yellow book, and he had applied for the red book. His brother was unwilling to return to the turbulent Europe. Lundberg certainly did not like the turbulent Sweden, but he had not decided whether to settle in China.

After all, it was so strange and different here.

In his heart, he would rather return to Europe. Returning to Europe does not mean returning to Sweden. He can go to London, Paris, Madrid, and Amsterdam. As long as he has money in his hands, he can live comfortably anywhere.

Although Western Europe, Southern Europe and Northern Europe are also very different, it is not that there is not even a church, right?

There is not a single church in the whole of Shanghai. This city is already quite large. There is one in Nanjing, which was left by the Jesuits during the Qing Dynasty. Chen Han did not explicitly prohibit missionaries from preaching, but they prohibited missionaries from moving around freely, and also prohibited the construction of churches on the grounds of the various actions of missionaries during the Qing Dynasty.

This is actually also restricting missionary work.

Lundberg has also been to Nanjing, but he has never been to the Jesuit church. Because the latter is Roman Monotheism, while the state religion of Sweden is Protestant Lutheranism. The two regard each other as heretics.

Ekdal has already thought about buying land in China and building a manor. But he has not yet decided whether to build a larger farm in the Northeast, or a smaller plantation in Qilu or Zhili?

Although the land in the hinterland of China is not as fertile as that in the Northeast, due to the climate factors in the Northeast, the land price is not as high as that in Qilu and Zhili, let alone Jiangnan. As for the Luo's Manor in Qixia Mountain, if it were moved to the Northeast, even in Liaonan where the land price is more delicate, it would be more than ten times the area.

Therefore, Miss Rovel's dowry was not shabby at all, but extremely rich.

Ekdal wanted to invest his money in the planting of soybeans and cotton. He was optimistic about the market of these two crops in the next few years or even decades, but Ekdal did not reduce his funding for Lundberg at all.

Because the funds he gave to his brother were all his accumulated savings, and the other money he needed was borrowed from Chinese banks as an associate professor, plus the Chinese friends and students he made over the years, as well as the investment funds raised, it is expected that he can raise 100,000 to 150,000 yuan, all of which he will invest in construction. However, this amount of money cannot build a large manor in Jiangnan. He must choose the north, and whether it is the northeast or the north, that is Ekdal's own consideration.

In the second half of this year, Ekdal will look for land, buy seeds, livestock, farm tools, and rent slaves from labor companies. Because he cannot afford slaves, in order to save money, he can only rent slaves from labor companies in the future.

Ekdal was really optimistic about cotton and soybean cultivation, thinking that these two crops could bring him a good income, so that his bold investment could get a rich return.

But Lundberg thought tobacco planting was the best.

In China, if you can't buy a tea plantation, it is also a great choice to establish a tobacco plantation.

The Chinese sell tea all over the world. In recent years, they have opened up a new market in the world of Tianfang. The export volume of tea, especially black tea, is increasing rapidly, and the price is also rising, especially for high-quality black tea.

Therefore, tea planting is a business that is sure to make money in Lundberg's mind. The reason for growing tobacco leaves is that the Chinese themselves consume a lot of tobacco leaves. The Chinese themselves are the largest tobacco leaf consumer in the world. There are few men here who don't smoke. When dealing with Chinese people, it has become a custom to hand over a cigarette when you meet them.

Whether drinking tea or eating, there are many people who never put down their cigarettes.

Although Indian tobacco has been entering China in large quantities recently, it is said that in the countryside of Bangladesh, the planting of poppies has been reduced on a large scale, but tobacco leaves and jute are increasing rapidly. The export targets of these two products are all China, and their profits are slightly higher than those of rice planting. Because food imports are now subject to tax.

Therefore, the influx of a large amount of foreign tobacco has made the domestic tobacco business in China no longer as profitable as before, but Lundberg still thinks that tobacco planting is still a good business. Although a large amount of Indian tobacco leaves poured into China, China's huge population market allowed them to quickly digest all of it. Lundberg had never seen a sharp drop in tobacco prices or strong fluctuations, but a steady decline. Therefore, although tobacco planting is no longer as profitable as before, it is better than the large demand in China and the profit is relatively stable. Many Chinese tobacco growers are still planting this stuff.

But Lundberg knew that although his brother was the most educated person in the family, he was also a stubborn person and would not listen to what he said. On the contrary, he would often consciously abide by what Ekdal said.

For example, this time, when Lundberg failed to find the sugarcane wine he wanted in Pontianak, he turned his attention to cotton.

The tavern in the Lushun Port dock area seemed to have improved since he came last time. The internal business area has expanded by at least twice, and it seems that the business is quite good. The owner of the tavern is still the middle-aged retired soldier who lost a leg. His wooden leg makes a "bang bang" sound on the floor every time he walks.

But Lundberg didn't dare to laugh at him. During his time in China, he was very clear about the power of soldiers in this powerful country.

This veteran could open a tavern in the best location of this busy dock, so he must have a background. He could never afford to offend him.

Moreover, many decorations on the walls of this tavern also exude this kind of "dignity" belonging to the army all the time.

A broken military flag was hung in the center of this tavern.

The military flag was stained black for a large area, and the red color was abnormally bright. There were bullet holes and some holes caused by fire. The tail of the flag was burned by fire for more than one-third, so Lundberg couldn't know which department this military flag belonged to, and he couldn't know the identity of the tavern owner. Because there were words on the military flag, that is, the positions of the organizational structure were all burned.

A saber that seemed to be stained with blood and a musket were placed crosswise in front of the military flag.

There were also broken guns, bayonets, and the top hats and official robes of Qing officials, as well as the ridiculous armor hanging on the wall.

The food served in this pub is very rich, including beer, sugarcane liquor, wine and Chinese liquor. There are also Western-style meals cooked by special Italian chefs, very rough Chinese dishes, and of course barbecue.

Lundberg asked for a small bucket of beer and asked them to serve him a barbecue.

He focused more on the guests in the pub.

There were many guests in the pub, most of whom were some rude sailors. They talked and laughed loudly, drank super spicy Chinese liquor, and boasted about their experiences and "glory" with saliva flying. They were all boring things, and the conversations of these people were worthless.

His employee He Jian hurried back when he had just finished his second glass. He said excitedly: "Sir, you are going to get rich."

"A fleet heading to North America has just collected 60,000 pieces of cotton."

"The professor's judgment is still correct. The price of cotton has risen again. It is now 38.5 yuan per bag, and each bag is still 100 jin. This price is nearly 10 yuan higher than the price we paid for cotton in Pontianak. Even after paying taxes, we can still make a lot of money!"

Lundberg's face was full of smiles, "What good news." He stood up happily and poured a glass of wine for He Jian himself: "Come on, dear friend, let's have a drink for the crazy cotton!"

"Haha..."

38.5 yuan per bag, this price really makes Lundberg laugh out loud in his dreams.