Chapter 2170
The Business Management Office under the Zhoushan Colonial Zone Administrative Committee is a two-story building with gray exterior walls. The entire building is in a concave shape. There are more than ten offices and a conference room on the upper and lower floors. This office was only completed and put into use last year. Now every day from early morning to sunset, the open space outside the Business Office is always filled with various carriages, sedans, and rickshaws, all for the purpose of picking up and dropping off various official matters. Businessmen from all over the world go through the formalities.
Before that, the Business Office and the Management Committee were working in the same place, but the constant flow of visitors every day would inevitably affect the normal work of other departments. Later, Shi Diwen also felt that it was a bit troublesome and approved it with a stroke of his pen. A new office building was built for the busy business office.
This was not the first time that Yu Chengli came here to do business. Soon after he arrived in Zhoushan, he went to the Commercial Office to complete the relevant registration procedures according to official instructions, so that he could purchase land and real estate on the island. But he found that whenever he came here to do errands during working hours, it seemed that he could not avoid waiting in line, and today was no exception.
Looking at the conspicuous slogan on the outer wall of the office building "Recruiting investment with hard work", Yu Chengli couldn't help but admire the straightforwardness of the Haihan government, and its ability to elevate the social status of businessmen to the level of setting up a yamen to handle related matters. To a degree that was unheard of during his time in the Ming Dynasty and Japan.
However, this method of using eye-catching slogans to publicize the people seems to be very common in the areas under Haihan rule. When Yu Chengli visited the towns on Zhoushan Island before, he also saw the words "Grasp Production and Promote Development" scrawled on the wall at the head of the village. ", "Raise more pigs and trees, if you want to get rich first build roads" and other slogans.
Yu Chengli didn't know how effective this kind of propaganda technique was, but in his opinion, it at least showed that the Haihan government attached great importance to propaganda work, while the local officials of the Ming Dynasty were not meticulous in their governance of the people. To such an extent. If the main function of the Ming Dynasty government was to ensure local stability, then the Haihan government was more active in guiding the people to engage in production and business activities.
Whether this approach is good or bad, Yu Chengli has never been an official and cannot tell the pros and cons, but one thing is obvious, that is, the wealth of the people in Haihan is indeed far greater than that in the Ming Dynasty. Moreover, Zhoushan was just an overseas enclave occupied by Haihan from the Ming Dynasty, and it was able to operate in a prosperous manner. One can imagine how wealthy it was in the country.
And this is why Yu Chengli decided to stay and wait and see for a while after coming to Zhoushan even though he had a rough start after coming to Zhoushan. He did not quickly choose to leave Zhoushan like some other businessmen who felt that they could not compete with local businessmen.
Yu Chengli's idea was simple and direct. Since the people of Haihan Kingdom were so wealthy, it must mean strong purchasing power. Baiquan Town's purchase of silk cloth as labor rewards proved this from the side.
Although the town office used public funds for procurement, the distribution targets were the families of ordinary soldiers. This was an absolutely unimaginable situation in the Ming Dynasty. The high-end silks and satins in their own inventory may not be sold directly to these farmers, but if the sales target is enlarged to Haihan Country, then there should be no worries about sales.
Yu Chengli believes that as long as he takes a longer-term view, he will definitely be able to make money from Haihan Kingdom. Although the process may not be as smooth as before in Hirado, the business prospects should be better. After all, the trade scale of Zhoushan Dinghai Port alone is far greater than that of Hirado, and the Haihan government's support for trade activities is obviously greater. As long as it survives this difficult period at the beginning, things will surely get better in the future.
He came to the Commercial Office again today to visit Yang Yun and see if he could get the officials to provide him with some help so that he could smoothly go to other islands under the jurisdiction of the Zhoushan Administrative Committee to conduct trade activities.
Although foreign businessmen can enter Zhoushan Dinghai Port with simple registration, they need to apply for another official permit to engage in trading activities on other islands under the jurisdiction of the Zhoushan Management Committee. There is no official detailed explanation as to why there are such strange regulations. Yu Chengli believes that this may be because there are secret military facilities on some islands, so foreigners are not allowed to enter and exit at will.
No matter what, since it is an official rule, just follow it. Yu Chengli looked at the queue in front of him. Yu Chengli could only shake his head silently and asked Yin Changxing to step forward and help him queue first.
After waiting for about half an hour, we finally arrived. Yu Chengli entered the reception room and explained his purpose to the staff.
"Master Yang has gone out to do something. If you are willing to wait, I can take you to the second floor to wait."
Yu Chengli felt cold, but decided to try his luck. Otherwise, even if he waited until tomorrow, he might still have to queue up.
So the staff took him to the conference room on the second floor and asked him to wait for the notification. Yu Chengli groaned secretly when he saw it. It turned out that there were several people sitting in the conference room before him, and looking at their clothes, they were all businessmen from the Ming Dynasty. Obviously, he was not the only one waiting to see Yang Yun today. The queue downstairs is not over yet, you have to queue up again when you come upstairs.
Fortunately, the reception conditions on the second floor were pretty good. You could sit in the conference room and wait slowly. Someone even brought you a cup of hot tea. It was a very considerate gesture and Yu Chengli couldn't find any faults.
After waiting for about half an hour, someone came into the conference room and announced that Mr. Yang was back, and asked everyone to go in one by one in order. Yu Chengli had no choice but to continue waiting patiently. At this time, he was no longer at the end of the queue. After him, three more businessmen came, all waiting to see Yang Yun.
I waited until lunch time before finally arriving at Yu Chengli's place. But the notice from the staff made him feel chilled again: "It's getting late. Mr. Yang said that we should work after lunch..."
However, the staff member changed the topic and continued: "Mr. Yang said that it's hard for you to wait for a long time, so I invited you to have lunch. Please come with me!"
Naturally, the businessmen would not miss this opportunity to have private contact with senior officials of Haihan. They immediately followed the staff to the collective canteen of the management committee and arranged a separate table for them.
Not long after, Yang Yun came over and apologized to everyone: "I'm really busy today. Please wait for a long time. I'm sorry!"
Everyone stood up quickly to greet him, not even saying what he said. Yang Yun greeted everyone to sit down, and then took the decision to order the dishes.
"We still have business to do in the afternoon, so there will be no wine for lunch. Let's eat more food. Although we don't eat much here, we must be full!" Yang Yun didn't show any airs. As soon as the food was served, he invited everyone to eat. .
Yu Chengli originally planned to chat a few words about what he had to do while eating, but seeing that Yang Yun had already picked up the bowl and started eating, he didn't want to be too abrupt, so he could only swallow back the words that came to his lips. It seems that Yang Yun's previous notice that he would work after lunch was not a lie.
This collective canteen provides services to the staff of the management committee and subordinate agencies, so the quality of the food will naturally not be bad. Although they are all common ingredients on the market, the cooking method has strong Haihan characteristics, focusing on the use of spices and various seasonings, and it tastes very good with rice.
Yang Yun ate three large bowls in one go, and drank another bowl of seaweed and egg drop soup, then put down his chopsticks still unsatisfied.
Yang Yun put down his chopsticks. Naturally, the other people at the same table would not be ignorant and continued to eat with their bowls. They all put down their bowls and chopsticks in a tacit understanding and wiped their mouths. By the way, they praised the food in the cafeteria and expressed that they would like to eat again if they had the opportunity. Come again. Yang Yun was also very satisfied with the knowledge and interest shown by everyone. He tapped his knuckles on the table and said, "Has everyone eaten? Okay, let's go back to work now!"
Returning to the office building of the Business Department, Yu Chengli finally got the opportunity to meet alone.
Yu Chengli only reported his name, and Yang Yun asked: "If I remember correctly, Boss Yu came to Zhoushan from Hirado, right?"
Yu Chengli responded quickly: "Master Yang really has a good memory. I am one of the businessmen who evacuated to Zhoushan with the East China Sea Fleet."
Yang Yun nodded and said: "So how is the situation recently? Have you selected a suitable location on the island? If you need to build a commercial warehouse, I can recommend the official construction team to you. The price is guaranteed to be fair and the quality is reliable. Even the construction costs can be paid to you. Haihan Bank loan advance ”
Yu Chengli said: "Thank you Mr. Yang for your kindness. However, I have not decided whether to purchase land in Zhoushan yet. I am still traveling around towns recently to investigate the market conditions and promote the inventory on hand."
Yang Yun smiled and said: "Boss Yu is very patient! I remember that Boss Yu is in the textile business. How is the sales in the local market?"
Speaking of sales, Yu Chengli couldn't help but smile bitterly: "The competition in the local textile business in Zhoushan is fierce. It is really difficult for a small person to compete with the big merchants with a small profit business, so he can only go to the countryside and have a try." Good luck. But the effect is mediocre. So far, not even half of the inventory has been sold.”
Yang Yun put away his smile and asked with a sincere expression: "How can I help Boss Yu?"
Yu Chengli felt that it was very comfortable to deal with officials like Yang Yun. The other party had no official airs and would proactively ask about the practical difficulties encountered by the operators and offered to help. This was not exactly the purpose of visiting him. ?
Yu Chengli said: "I have recently traveled to various villages and towns on Zhoushan Island, and I also want to visit other islands within the jurisdiction. I heard that this requires separate application procedures, so I would like to ask Mr. Yang if there is anything convenient. How can the villain make the trip as soon as possible? ”
Yang Yun was silent for a moment and responded: "Is this the request?"
Yu Chengli was not sure what Yang Yun meant, so he had to say cautiously: "If Lord Yang feels that this is inappropriate, you might as well give the villain a clear path."
Yu Chengli thought to himself that if Yang Yun wanted to ask for benefits, the price he could offer would not be too high. After all, it was difficult to make much money with the goods in stock now, so a small loss would be regarded as a win. Although he had prepared in advance, if Yang Yun's price was too high, he might as well just discount the inventory to his local counterparts.
Then Yang Yun said: "Boss Yu, this request is not difficult. I will just give you a permit. It will indicate the islands you can go to. If someone asks, you only need to show this certificate."< br>
Yu Chengli did not expect Yang Yun to agree so readily, and quickly stood up to thank him. Yang Yun motioned him to sit down, then took a pen and paper, handwritten a permission certificate, signed and stamped it with the seal of Zhoushan Commercial Office, and handed it to Yu Chengli: "Look again, is there anything missing on it?" < br>
Yu Chengli stood up and took it with both hands. He read the content written above carefully. Even the validity period was specifically stated as thirty days from today. It was indeed consistent with Yang Yun's description. I thought that with this official document in hand, he could Free access to all major islands in the Zhoushan Archipelago.
"Thank you, Master Yang!" Yu Chengli carefully put away this official document, then took out another envelope from his arms and presented it to Yang Yun's desk: "Thank you for your kindness, Master Yang, please don't dislike it."
< br>
Yang Yun did not reach for Yu Chengli's envelope, but motioned for him to sit down first: "It just so happens that I have something else I want to ask Boss Yu."
Yu Chengli didn't know what he meant, but he knew that Yang Yun probably didn't have any ill intentions towards him, so he sat back down and waited for the other party to ask questions.
"Is Boss Yu familiar with the situation in Nagasaki Port?"
The question raised by Yang Yun was completely beyond Yu Chengli's expectations. He was stunned for a moment before coming back to his senses and responded: "I've been there a few times."
Yang Yun nodded and continued to ask: "Did Boss Yu have any trading activities in the local area before? Have you ever dealt with the Nagasaki officials?"
Yu Chengli became more and more unsure of Yang Yun's intentions, and could only answer cautiously: "The villain went to Nagasaki just to deliver the goods. He had no dealings with the government, and he never did anything detrimental to the Haihan Kingdom. ”
Yang Yun smiled and said: "Boss Yu has misunderstood. I am not investigating whether you have done anything detrimental to our country. I just want to hear your views and insights on the transnational trade activities of Nagasaki Port."
Yu Chengli thought to himself, could it be that the Haihan people thought that conquering Hirado was not enough, and they also wanted to take away Nagasaki Port? As a result, Japan will no longer have a formal foreign trade port. In the future, it will probably not be as convenient for foreign businessmen to do business with Japan.
Yu Chengli believed that the possibility that Yang Yun would only ask him about this kind of question was extremely low, so he did not dare to hide anything. He could only answer honestly based on what he knew: "In terms of prosperity, Nagasaki Port is not as prosperous as the war." The former Hirado Port, but because Nagasaki Port is under the direct jurisdiction of the shogunate, many merchants are more optimistic about the future development of Nagasaki Port. In addition, the shogunate has continued to modify the trade system in recent years, slowly changing the destination of Western merchants. Nagasaki, in order to strengthen the control of cross-border trade. To be honest, if this war had not broken out, it is estimated that the villain would have gone to Nagasaki to open another shop in a year or two. "
(End of chapter)