Chapter 955 Joint
After Hassan's ship docked, dock staff immediately boarded the ship and asked Hassan to assemble the crew. They then registered the ship owner, people on board, purpose of arrival, etc., and specialized medical staff inspected the ship on the spot. Conduct a simple check on the health status of the personnel. After foreign businessmen like Hassan arrive in Hong Kong, they do not need to undergo quarantine and observation like new immigrants to prevent the entry of diseases. However, the health department will still conduct quarantine as soon as the ship docks at the port, and the security department will also take this opportunity to conduct inspections. Are there any suspicious persons among the people arriving in Hong Kong?
In addition, the scope of activities of these personnel in the local area will still be restricted. Ordinary sailors can only move within the area designated by the port authority, while merchants are slightly larger and can trade in Sanya Port and Victory Port. However, if you want to go to sensitive areas such as Luhuitou Peninsula, Tiandu Industrial Zone, Fort Victory or the military zone on the east coast of Victory Port, you still need to apply separately and go through the corresponding procedures.
Hassan belongs to a gang of merchants and has no business or other capital background. Therefore, unlike some other "organized" businessmen, he has a special business inn in Sanya where he can stay, and he can only stay in designated hotels near the pier. Honestly speaking, the prices of these local hotels in Sanya are a bit expensive, but the conditions are still good. There are affordable eight-person rooms for sailors and crews, as well as single rooms that Hassan used to rent. The inside and outside of the house are clean. It is clean, the bedding is changed regularly, and all kinds of living tools are also complete. If you are a big boss who can afford it, you can also rent a courtyard or even a villa locally. Those with higher status can also stay at the guest hotel in Victory Port, where all kinds of accommodations are available.
Probably because the quantity of copper ingots claimed by Hassan when registering the goods attracted the attention of the officials, the port center soon sent someone to the hotel where Hassan was staying to confirm to him the type and quantity of the goods shipped this time.
"That's right, these registered copper ingots are on the ship now and can be inspected at any time. If you want to rush the transaction, that's okay." Hassan said to the staff at the port center with a smile: "This time we will get it from Manila. I have put a lot of thought into getting this batch of copper ingots. I hope you can understand that it is not easy for me to do this, and give me more care in the future.”
Hassan has consciously learned Chinese since he started traveling to Sanya. In addition, there are also Chinese among the crew on his ship, so he can speak Chinese very smoothly over time. It's just that he can speak but not recognize. Except for his own name, which can be scribbled crookedly, he can't read anything else.
This staff member had dealt with him before, and he recognized Hassan. Hearing this, he smiled and said, "This is easy to handle. I'll apply for an upgrade of your trading authority later. With the real things on the ship as proof, I estimate that it will take two or three days." The procedures can be completed within a few days, and you will have time to enjoy a higher level of treatment. ”
According to the regulations of the Ministry of Commerce, the trade between foreign businessmen and Haihan is restricted by the level of transaction authority. Primary authority can only purchase and sell basic daily necessities, agricultural and forestry products, and military supplies, weapons, navigation equipment, mechanical processing equipment, etc. , you must have higher trading authority to get the opportunity to place an order. In addition, for goods in short supply in the market, the purchase limit will also increase with the increase of trading authority. This is a very beneficial grading system for foreign businessmen.
In order to obtain an improvement in trading authority, in addition to gaining credit accumulation through daily trade, the fastest way to upgrade is to provide various materials and resources that Haihan urgently needs. Each port authority regularly publishes a demand list, and merchants only need to follow the diagram to transport the items listed on the list to Haihan Port. Copper, a strategic material, has always been at the top of Haihan's official purchase list. The copper shipped by Hassan to Sanya Port this time is almost equivalent to the current one-month output of the Shilu Mine. Naturally, it will be released after the declaration. It immediately attracted the attention of the Port Management Center.
Hassan's goal is to establish long-term relations with the Haihan people, so he naturally attaches great importance to the rules of the game they set. Before coming here, his plan was to take advantage of this opportunity to blackmail the Spaniards to upgrade his trade authority level for future use. You can buy more limited-purchase special products from Haihan Port.
If possible, Hassan even wanted to customize a fast sailing ship at Haihan's shipyard. Although he also knew that this new type of sailboat with excellent performance was expensive and had to wait for the shipyard's docking schedule, Haihan The sailing boat Dora's ability to run faster is far better than his current boat, and its unique sail rope system will also make the sailing boat's control no longer as easily limited by ocean currents and wind directions as before. It used to be a route that could only be run at certain times of the year. , it will be much simpler with this kind of ship. If I make two more trips to Sanya a year, I can earn back my investment in buying a boat in two years at most.
Hassan happily sent away the Haihan staff, asked his deputy to take care of the crew and cargo, and went out alone. This was not his first time here. He arrived at the train station with ease, then bought a ticket and got on the train heading towards Fort Victory.
After getting off the bus at Victory Fort Station, Hassan went straight to Victory Port Landscape Avenue. Nowadays, this place is the area with the highest concentration of local retail and service industries. Both local residents and foreigners like to come here to have a look, eat and drink, and enjoy the new Haihan-style life.
A concrete road about two feet wide stretches from Fort Victory to the port area. Both sides of the avenue are lined with rows of shops, restaurants, restaurants, medical clinics, cloth stores, rice stores, etc. The streets are bustling with people. From time to time, you can still see a group of five black-clad policemen, with hardwood batons half a foot long stuck in their waists, and copper whistles hanging on their chests, swaggering through the city in a column. There will be some little kids behind, lining up and following in the same pattern.
When Hassan came here before, he saw someone making trouble in the market. Soon the police arrived to deal with it. If the five people still couldn't deal with the situation, someone would blow a brass whistle, and soon the patrol police in the distance would The team will also come for reinforcements. Although these policemen are only equipped with wooden batons, they are very brave and decisive in handling emergencies. This is probably related to the fact that most of their personnel are veterans of the militia army. Moreover, when Hassan came last time, he had noticed that the captain of each patrol team was wearing a short firecracker around his waist. Its power may not be able to kill someone directly on the spot, but if he is hit by it, don't even think about it. Fleeed far away.
There are two masonry blockhouses outside the gate of Victory Fort in the north, where a platoon of militia soldiers is stationed to guard the suspension bridge leading in and out of Victory Fort. Hassan has never entered Victory Fort once, because outsiders must go through the corresponding application procedures to enter that place, and Hassan only comes here to do business, so there is no reason to go to Victory Fort to deal directly with the Haihan people.
Hassan looked at the Haihan flag flying on the Victory Fort from a distance, and thought that he would have to go inside this time. Before leaving Hong Kong, he planned to secretly expose the intelligence personnel deployed by the Spanish locally, so that he could successfully clear his name and land ashore, and then be an honest businessman.
Hassan planned to complete the communication with the other party first, deliver Sanchez's secret letter to the other party first, and wait for the other party's reply two days later before going to expose it. In this way, even if the other party is lucky enough to escape, he may not be able to associate the matter with him. After all, Hassan is not the only person who conveyed information to the Spaniards. Even if the Spaniards later knew that there was a whistleblower, they would not focus all suspicion on him. .
The meeting place that Hassan went to was a Han Chinese-owned grocery store called "Nanyang Pavilion". As the name suggests, this store specializes in various Nanyang products, including ivory, rhinoceros horns, jade and jewelry, medicinal materials and spices, etc., most of which are valuable. The upper side of the display counter in the store is even inlaid with extremely expensive glass plates, and a lot of money has been spent on this.
In addition to these groceries, the store also sells some books that are not commonly seen on the market. Most of them are single copies or even handwritten copies with smaller printing volumes. The average price is much more expensive than books sold in ordinary study rooms.
The items sold were not popular, so there were not many customers. When Hassan came to the door, the shopkeeper and the waiter responsible for greeting the customers were all sitting at the counter and dozing off. Hassan coughed twice, and the two men woke up from their sleep. come over.
"It's Captain Hassan! There are few visitors. Xiao Huang, go and make tea!" The shopkeeper quickly stood up and greeted Hassan: "When will you arrive in Sanya?"
Hassan responded: "I just arrived today. I'll come over after I've settled in. How is shopkeeper Su's business?" Shopkeeper Su smiled awkwardly and said, "Is business good? You've also seen it. What I sell in this shop is different." It’s expensive and not popular, and not many people come here.”
Hassan said: "That doesn't matter. Anyway, your boss doesn't expect to make much money from this shop. Besides, your business is not open for half a year. If it is open for half a year, it doesn't need to be as busy as a restaurant."
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"Nanyang Pavilion" is one of the industries under the name of "Qiong Lianfa", and the shareholders of "Qiong Lianfa" are now more inclined to do business, even if most of the products sold in this store are luxury goods, in the big boss In his eyes, it was just a small business. This store is only open to serve a very small number of high-end consumers, including time travellers. These people have strong spending power, pay more attention to the quality of goods, and are less sensitive to prices. And the Haihan people themselves are also one of the major shareholders of "Qiong Lianfa". Part of the profits that this store can make from the Haihan people must flow back to the Haihan people.
After the two chatted for a while, Hassan took out a small velvet bag from his arms and handed it to Shopkeeper Su: "These are the few gems I bought from Java this time. Shopkeeper Su, please take a look at them."
Shopkeeper Su admired them for a while, then nodded and said, "These emeralds are not bad, pure and bright. They only need a little polishing to sell them for a good price...are they also being put on consignment in our store this time?"
Hassan nodded and said: "Old rule, shopkeeper Su receives 20% of the selling price."
Shopkeeper Su smiled and put away the gems. This thing was not purchased from the store, and the profits earned naturally did not need to be recorded in the account. After selling, the 20% handling fee went into his personal pocket. This money came easily. joy.
Hassan then said: "Does my friend still come here often to read?"
"Come on, come here every seven days." Shopkeeper Su nodded and said: "Although he only reads books and doesn't buy anything, for your sake, we won't drive him away. Calculating the time, probably tomorrow He will come again. If you want to see him, you can come here at this time tomorrow and you will probably meet him.”
Hassan waved his hand and said: "I have other things to do tomorrow and I won't be able to come. If you see him, please give me a message. I will invite him to dinner at Zuixian Tower the day after tomorrow. Please make sure to come."
"Every time you come to Sanya, you invite your friend to have dinner at Zuixianlou. We have a really good relationship!" Shopkeeper Su didn't take it seriously and nodded and agreed to help him.
The person Hassan wants to invite is naturally not an ordinary friend, but an intelligence officer sent by Spain to lurk in Sanya. However, Hassan was just a messenger and did not know the other party's real name, where he lived, or what his occupation was. Every time he came to Sanya to contact him, he had to go through an intermediary to find a time and place to meet.
Of course, the Spaniards actually chose such a complicated connection method for their own safety. The person delivering the information was a subordinate of Qiong Lianfa. Even if the Haihan people had safety measures, it would be difficult for them to take such thorough precautions.
After Hassan finished talking about the business, he stood up and left. After a week at sea, he just wanted to relax, take a bath, get a massage, and then treat himself to a big meal.
Early the next morning, Hassan was woken up by his men, saying that Haihan had come to collect the goods. Hassan sleepily accompanied Haihan's people on board the ship to inspect the goods, then counted the copper ingots and unloaded the ship. Hassan and his crew were not asked to help during the process, but Haihan completed it relatively easily. This process.
"This is a check issued by Haihan Bank. You can go to the Fort Victory Head Office to withdraw the amount on the check at any time."
When Hassan took the check and looked at it, his eyes suddenly narrowed. The purchase price Haihan gave him was very good, and Hassan was a little doubtful whether the effect of the upgrade of trade rights had already taken place. Being able to make a fortune from the copper ingot trade was an unexpected surprise for him during his visit to Sanya.
"Captain Hassan, if possible, we hope that you can engage in the transportation and trade of copper ore or copper ingots for a long time. As long as you can guarantee the transaction volume and the price is easy to negotiate." Haihan's staff offered an extremely tempting proposition. condition.
Hassan thought to himself, but the problem is that after running this time, Spain will probably be offended. There will be no such good opportunity in the future. It would be great if Sanchez does not put a bounty on him.
(End of chapter)