Chapter 2153
There are two main issues that Yin Changxing is worried about. One is whether the money deposited in the bank is safe and can be accessed at any time, and the other is whether he can conveniently use the bank's basic services as a North Korean.
"This is your account passbook. With this, it means that you are a member of the state-owned industry in Haihan! It records the balance in your account, which can be used to deposit and withdraw money at any Haihan bank in the future. Please keep it carefully!”
Yin Changxing took the passbook handed over by the staff and carefully looked through it. Unfortunately, he didn't know Chinese characters, so he couldn't confirm what the balance of his account was. He could only verbally report it to the other party. The number shall prevail. He didn't want to expose this shortcoming of his, so he made an increasingly serious expression to cover it up.
However, while Yin Changxing was going through the formalities, he saw people constantly coming in and out of the lobby, depositing money and withdrawing money, which made his worries slightly lessened. At the same time, he also noticed that some people took away not cash, but a small stack of banknotes.
Yin Changxing raised this question to the staff, and then he learned that this kind of banknotes was the "currency" circulating in Haihan. Although Yin Changxing had never seen this kind of banknotes, he immediately realized the advanced nature of this thing through the staff's explanation - it is not only easy to carry, but also does not have to worry about the quality of the currency. Compared with the currency in the circulation process Gold, silver or copper coins are more convenient.
However, after hearing this, Yin Changxing still felt that this kind of banknotes were not waterproof and easily damaged by fire, and they did not have the sense of security of carrying money, so he declined the staff's suggestion to exchange some banknotes first and try to use them in the market. . Anyway, he will continue to make a living with Yu Chengli recently, and there should be nothing to spend money on. It is not too late to slowly understand the circulation of this banknote in the market, and then decide whether to use it.
Yin Changxing carefully put the passbook into the waterproof oil paper bag given by the bank, and then put it into his personal clothes. This thing is all his current belongings, and he will carry it with him from today on.
Walking out of the bank, Yin Changxing felt that his back was a little straighter. He was now a person with property in Haihan, which was not a little higher than the Japanese refugees who were still detained in the immigration camp. Moreover, he had just asked someone at the bank that foreigners with accounts and assets in Haihan Bank would enjoy priority treatment when applying for naturalization in the future. This was very useful information to him, and he even briefly realized that he was already a A Haihan person’s delusion.
However, this illusion quickly disappeared from his mind. He noticed that the Haihan people on the street were all like the Haihan soldiers he had come into contact with before. They had their hair cut extremely short, which was obviously different from the foreign Han people. difference. Yin Changxing couldn't help but start to think about whether he should also cut his hair in the style of Haihan people, so that he might get more convenience in daily life.
But he was not sure whether there would be additional risks in doing so, such as being accused by the government of "pretending to be a Haihan national". After thinking about it, it was better not to take the risk. It would not be too late to make changes after naturalization in the future. , at least seek the opinion of his employer first, at least he knows Haihan far better than he does.
However, Yin Changxing actually overestimated his employer's understanding of Haihan. Yu Chengli only had the experience of visiting Zhoushan once, and the real dealings with Haihan officials had to start after the Hirado war. In terms of understanding Haihan's national conditions In terms of understanding of social conditions, Yu Chengli may not even be as good as the common people in several states and counties near Zhoushan.
This time, Yu Chengli was able to evacuate from Hirado to Zhoushan smoothly and unscathed. In fact, to a large extent, he relied on the "inside information" obtained by Portuguese businessman Gonzalez to stabilize his mood. Otherwise, Hirado would have been in chaos at the time. Judging from the situation, it is difficult to say whether he will choose some wrong response methods.
At this time, Yu Chengli, together with Gonzalez and a group of foreign businessmen who had evacuated from Hirado, were waiting for the meeting notice outside the office building of the Zhoushan Administrative Committee. According to Haihan official arrangements, foreign businessmen who evacuated from Hirado to Zhoushan will be able to enjoy some preferential treatment if they want to run industries locally to make up for their losses during the Hirado war.
Although the businessmen did not have high hopes that the Haihan official could completely make up for their losses, no one wanted to miss the opportunity to learn about the official’s specific measures. After receiving the notice, the businessmen all came to the management committee on time and wanted to see the official What arrangements will be given.
Most of the foreign businessmen who have stayed in Hirado for a long time are Han Chinese from the Ming Dynasty, and there are also a small number of Western businessmen from the Netherlands and Portugal. Although they were all allowed to take away as much of their belongings as possible when they evacuated, their houses and real estate were not. It cannot be discounted and taken away immediately. The more real estate there is, the greater the loss will be.
Yu Chengli originally used the house in Hirado City as a business store, which cost a lot of money. This time he was forced to evacuate Hirado. The Haihan people announced that they would completely raze the city to the ground after evacuating the entire Hirado City. So his store must be gone. Although Yu Chengli was heartbroken by the loss, it was not to the point of breaking his muscles and bones, so after arriving in Seogwipo, he could still spend money to connect with people to obtain information, and try to improve his local living conditions.
Because of the vital interests involved, everyone who received the notice rushed to the management committee earlier than the time notified. For fear of missing important information. Yu Chengli did not crane his neck at the gate to wait like others, but chatted quietly with Gonzalez on the side, listening to the latest news he had learned from the Portuguese business house on the island last night.
Haihan had been imposing restrictions on Portuguese activities in the north of the Ming Dynasty in the past few years. For a long time, Portuguese ships were prohibited from entering the waters north of the Yangtze River Estuary. It was not until the second half of last year that the Portuguese established an official commercial center on Zhoushan Island. Merchant ships were also allowed to enter the northern waters of the Ming Dynasty to engage in commercial activities.
This was mainly due to the active performance of the Portuguese Armed Fleet in the two battles in the south and north last year. They assisted the Haihan Army to defeat the two powerful enemies of Spain and the Manchu Qing Dynasty. This attitude finally made the Haihan Executive Committee Really recognized the military alliance with Portugal, thus increasing cooperation with Portugal in both trade and military fields.
It was against this background that the Portuguese Commercial Office in Zhoushan began to operate. Although it was called a commercial office, it actually assumed most of the functions of a diplomatic embassy, providing various information and services to Portuguese businessmen in Northeast Asia. Just because the ownership of Zhoushan is still in dispute, and the Portuguese did not want to offend the Ming Dynasty because of some red tape, they operated this institution in the name of a commercial hall.
Gonzalez didn't know much about the situation in Zhoushan, but he knew that there were official agencies of his own country on the island. As a new arrival, he should be able to get some effective help from the business office. So after arriving in Zhoushan, Gonzalez visited the Portuguese business office as quickly as possible and obtained some valuable business information there.
“Everyone I met there persuaded me to stay, and I guess it was no coincidence,” Gonzalez said. “They told me that the trade environment in Zhoushan was very good and that it was not only easy to get goods from The high-end goods of the Ming Dynasty are traded with merchants from various countries, and the most important thing is that it is very safe here. Even the Portuguese can be protected by Haihan and no longer have to worry about the threat of war. See, this place is obviously a large navy camp. I always feel that there will be a lot of inconvenience in the future. In my opinion, it is better to go to Ningbo Prefecture. It is only separated from Zhoushan Island by a water, but it is my Ming Dynasty territory after all. It must be better than this The islands where troops are stationed are much more peaceful." After hearing this, Yu Chengli still had concerns about the environment in Zhoushan. In his opinion, although Zhoushan is very close to the coast of Ming Dynasty, it is now considered a foreign country, and it is not possible to stay in his own country.
"Boss Yu, I also heard the news yesterday that the man in charge of Ningbo Mansion in your country is actually related to the highest officer of Zhoushan, General Shi, who led the Haihan fleet to attack Hirado. relationship, so I don’t think there’s much difference whether you choose to settle in Zhoushan or Ningbo.”
Gonzalez did not refute Yu Chengli, but just threw out another piece of information, letting Yu Chengli figure out the stakes.
After hearing this, Yu Chengli was a little hesitant. If the Ningbo Prefecture really colluded with the Haihan people, then the positive significance of choosing Ningbo would be very limited.
Gonzalez continued: "In addition, it is said that the taxes on Zhoushan Island are much lower than those in the Ming Dynasty, so many businessmen from your country actively choose this place as a trading location. A considerable part of the various shops on the island are run by businessmen from the Ming Dynasty. ”
No matter which country they come from, the common denominator among businessmen is the pursuit of profit. Businessmen will flock to wherever the profit from doing business is higher. Zhoushan Island has been able to become a regional trade center in just a few years, mainly due to the good trade environment created by various business policies adopted by Haihan authorities. This is also the part that Zhoushan authorities put the most emphasis on when attracting foreign investment.
The Portuguese businessmen who could come to Zhoushan had already traveled half of the world, and were naturally very sensitive to the pros and cons of the trading environment. The opinions Gonzalez received from his colleagues in his country were almost all positive comments about Zhoushan. Some even believed that the trade conditions here are not inferior to those of Sanya Port in the south, and it is expected to become one of the major trading ports in the Eastern world in the future. .
In comparison, Gonzalez, who comes from Lisbon, a famous port city in Portugal, has certainly seen much more of the world than Yu Chengli. When Yu Chengli was still struggling with the problem of a large number of Haihan armed forces stationed here, Gonzalez They are more concerned about the local social conditions and infrastructure level, which can reflect whether the local trade environment is suitable for long-term residence.
Since he has only been on the island for a short time, Gonzalez can only make intuitive judgments based on what he has seen and heard. In his opinion, the port facilities of Dinghai Port can be ranked among the top trading ports he has visited in the past. , the construction cost will certainly not be small. Rather than saying this is a military base, Gonzalez prefers to think that the large-scale garrison is to protect the trade environment here. After all, after a large amount of wealth is gathered here, it is difficult to guarantee that someone will not have a wrong idea about this place.
This is not Gonzalez’s unfounded worry. The bloody reality is right in front of him. He doesn’t know how the Hirado clan provoked the Kaihan people so much that they allowed them to launch a cross-sea expedition at all costs. However, after the Kaihan people succeeded, they destroyed the entire Hirado. The city was looted and all the people were shipped away, which fully demonstrated the need for strong armed protection in the trading port. Gonzales even believed that the Haihan people might just find an excuse to achieve their true purpose of plundering Hirado Port. Of course, this idea cannot be spoken out, otherwise once the walls have ears, you may be in big trouble.
The armed strength of the Haihan people obviously greatly exceeded that of the Hirado clan. Just the armed fleet that escorted civilian ships back to Zhoushan, Gonzalez believed that there was no other fleet that could match it in the entire East Asia region - -If there is such a fleet, it probably belongs to the Haihan Kingdom.
With such a powerful armed force stationed on Zhoushan Island, there is no need to worry about whether the local trade environment is safe enough. Gonzalez, who has just escaped from the war, currently values this condition the most.
Yu Chengli said: "Then let's see how much benefit the government can provide! If the conditions are right, we might as well continue to be neighbors here with Boss Gang."
Gonzalez smiled and said: "The Haihan people went through so much trouble to bring us back from Hirado. I think the conditions they offered will not disappoint us."
When the scheduled time was approaching, a man walked out of the building, holding a book in his hand, and said to the crowd watching at the door: "Bosses who came from Hirado to Zhoushan have been waiting for a long time. Please call your names next." Everyone please come forward. Each boss can bring an entourage and follow me in for the meeting later.”
After saying that, he opened the book in his hand and began to call names according to the list registered by the military. Naturally, Yu Chengli and Gonzalez were among them. After hearing their names, they took the initiative to stand next to the man.
There were less than twenty people on the list, so the roll call ended quickly. The man nodded with satisfaction and said: "It seems that no one is late, so please come with me!"
Immediately, everyone followed him into a conference room in the administrative committee office building. After everyone took their seats, the man put down the book in his hand, cupped his hands to everyone present and said, "Let me introduce myself first, Yang Yun. , is responsible for managing commercial affairs in the Zhoushan Management Committee, everyone is polite! ”
Everyone present was a fine person, and they immediately bowed their hands and said "long admirers" in return, and addressed each other as "Mr. Yang", hoping to leave a good impression in front of this Haihan official.
(End of chapter)