Chapter 2235
"Li Nai, you're in a good mood today! Chef Fan heard that you were coming, and he even cooked a few big dishes himself. After all the talk, it turns out that it's not you who's eating the food, it's us!" Later, Ning Qi joked to Li Nai at the banquet.
Li Nai responded with a smile: "Then I'll have to offer Chef Fan a few more glasses of wine later!"
Fan Wei, who was in charge of the logistics and cooking work of the Cross Travel Group, is now the boss of several restaurant chains, with hundreds of disciples and disciples under his command. Naturally, the daily meals for the people at Fort Victory no longer require his own hands. Only on rare special occasions would Fan Wei make an exception and cook the food himself.
The main reason why Li Nai received such special treatment was that in his early years, at Fan Wei's request, he organized a group of young people with cooking experience from Guangzhou and sent them to Sanya to serve as his apprentices and helpers. , which can be said to have been a great help to Fan Wei. Fan Wei later developed his own industry and relied on the manpower provided by Li Nai, so he also felt special gratitude to Li Nai.
In fact, there were quite a few time-travelers like Fan Wei who had personal dealings with Li Nai. At that time, Furifeng, as Haihan's main business partner in Guangdong, not only provided Haihan with various resources, but also dealt with them by the way. A lot of private help for these time travellers. Naturally, these favors were remembered by Li Nai, who came to Sanya most frequently.
Therefore, every time Li Nai comes to Sanya, the treatment he receives is far beyond that of ordinary foreign businessmen. After all, many people in Haihan's senior management have long regarded Li Nai as one of their own. And this kind of special interpersonal relationship formed in a special period may be difficult for anyone to replicate in the future.
Of course, this is not a big deal in Li Nai's eyes. He has long been accustomed to getting along with these high-ranking officials in Haihan in this way. He knew that although these people were extremely majestic on the outside and followed the rules, privately they were all normal people with seven emotions and six desires. If there was any difference, it would probably be that the knowledge and intelligence of these Haihan people were far inferior. They are super ordinary people, but this does not prevent me from interacting with them.
During the dinner, everyone in Haihan would also take the initiative to ask about the current situation of Li Nai's family and Furifeng, and Li Nai patiently answered them one by one.
Nowadays, the scale and geographical scope of the industries operated by Fulifeng have far exceeded those of the past. Some new industries are launched overseas almost every month. Even Haihan, an important partner, may not understand the recent developments of Fulifeng. development. Li Nai also happened to understand Haihan's needs for overseas markets through such exchanges, so as to make adjustments to the business direction of the family industry.
The two parties have cooperated for many years, and the level of tacit understanding between them has been very high. Many cooperation projects do not even require meetings to discuss and study. Just a few simple discussions in an informal setting such as a dinner party can set the intention and framework, and then leave the specific matters to each party. Just let my men take care of it.
Regarding the special cargo that Li Nai personally escorted this time, he also took the initiative to mention it, but he knew that these high-ranking Haihan officials would not pay too much attention to these small things, because even if Haihan did not impose any restrictions on these small actions of the Dutch, and The amount of steel that can be purchased from Daming is only a fraction of Changhua's production capacity, and is not enough to pose a real threat to Haihan.
Haihan imposed restrictions on it, firstly, so that Freifeng could obtain some direct benefits from it while monitoring the Dutch trade conditions in Guangdong, and secondly, it actually put pressure on the Dutch in disguise, making them realize that they were Your behavior is under Haihan's supervision, so don't try to use any crooked ideas.
Sure enough, after hearing Li Nai's intention to come, Tao Donglai smiled and said: "You can take care of these things as long as you don't miss the formalities when handing over and transferring. But the Dutch are probably much more nervous than you, after all. If they are found to have incomplete procedures, they will be in trouble!”
Li Nai responded: "When I came to Sanya at the beginning of the year, Su Keyi from the East India Company once vaguely mentioned to me that he hoped to have broader cooperation with Fulifeng so that the East India Company could use Fulifeng Carrying out trading activities in various business stores. However, I didn't answer the question at the time. When I handed over the goods to him today, he offered to treat me to dinner. I guess he will bring it up again. "
"This is a good idea!" Schneider heard clearly from the side and immediately understood the meaning: "Using your Furifeng store to carry out trade activities in the name of cooperation is the plan to circumvent It has passed the restrictions of our country... Su Keyi has stayed in Sanya for several years, and it has not been in vain. He has learned a lot of strange things! ”
Relying on a certain company's store or other industries to form joint ventures, this kind of business method is not uncommon in Haihan, but if the Dutch plan to do this, the situation is a little different.
Out of wariness of its counterpart, the East India Company, Heyhan set many restrictions on the Dutch's trading activities on the mainland coast north of Ambrosia Island, especially the area where they were allowed to carry out trading activities. All the trading ports under its jurisdiction are except Taiyuan Port on Taiwan Island.
In this way, most of the Dutch business activities in this area are under the direct supervision of Heihan, and the supply and market price of certain commodities can be adjusted at any time depending on the development of the situation, just like controlling the Dutch Purchasing steel products in Foshan is the same.
Su Keyi's plan was obviously to find ways to bypass these restrictions and expand the East India Company's trade freedom in these areas. If successful, it would really be possible to hide the truth and avoid Haihan's surveillance.
"Su Keyi has been in Sanya for so long, how come he doesn't know about the relationship between Furifeng and our country? If he talks to Li Nai about this matter, how can there be any possibility of keeping it secret?" Ning Qi raised a new question in confusion.
Schneider explained: "I think Su Keyi knows this, but he probably still thinks that money can make the world go round, and he wants to try to see if this road can work. It's just that he miscalculated the relationship between Li Nai and us, and he also Before I even got to the point of proposing specific conditions, I was already exposed by Li Nai!”
Li Nai smiled and said: "This is probably because I haven't been to Sanya that much in the past two or three years, which may have given him the illusion! But even if I reject him, he may go to another firm to lobby. You must be careful.”
"Li Nai's reminder makes sense. Let's not forget that the Dutch are also very smart in doing business. They have experience in trading around the world and will definitely have many methods..." Schneider paused here and changed the subject. Said: "Of course, we will also have targeted measures. I will make arrangements later to deduct the goods sent by Li Nai for two months first, as a reminder to Su Keyi."
Haihan, who is in a strong position in the South China Sea, can give some eye drops to the East India Company's overseas agencies. It is really a simple matter. If Su Keyi didn't figure it out from the punishment he received and still tried to find other merchants to join forces, then Schneider would naturally use more serious means.
"When I come to Sanya this time, only Su Keyi wants to have dinner with you? Your business is not going well now!" Tao Donglai joked and changed the subject.
Li Nai responded: "Speaking of this, there is someone who wants to treat me to dinner, and he also invited officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to come forward and wait for me at the port."
"Who?"
"Prince of the Joseon Dynasty." When Li Nai reported the answer, he was also observing the expressions of Ning Qi and Schneider. Since Tian Zheng from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs came forward to contact the matter, he felt that these two people should know about it. Sure enough, Ning Qi took over the conversation and said: "The Prince of Joseon seems to have something to ask you. When Tian Zheng reported it, I asked him to arrange the matter. It seems that Tian Zheng is very efficient in getting in touch with you so quickly. Passed.”
"Please teach me?" Li Nai was a little confused after hearing Ning Qi's words: "I have nothing to teach this prince. Even if it is the knowledge of business, there are famous teachers like Mr. Shi in Sanya. Who should I go to? Be a teacher!”
Schneider smiled and said: "You don't have to belittle yourself. I have taught you almost all the knowledge I can teach you. When it comes to business skills, at least in the Ming Dynasty, there should not be many people who are better than you."
Although Schneider and Li Nai were not named masters and apprentices, they did teach him a lot of business knowledge. These things were different from Li Nai's family skills. They were more theoretical knowledge of business and economics. There is really no semicolon in this era, and it can only be learned under Schneider's disciples.
Based on the theoretical knowledge that Schneider imparted to Li Nai, if he could understand 50% to 60% of it, it would be enough for him to maneuver in the shopping mall and become a legend. However, Li Nai's interests are too diverse and it is unlikely that he will focus all his energy on business, so Schneider does not have high expectations for him to completely inherit his mantle.
Ning Qi actually probably knew why Li Zhi wanted to meet with Li Nai, but he didn't want to give Li Nai too many hints in advance. That might make Li Nai communicate with him too purposefully, and the effect might be counterproductive. . Therefore, he ultimately did not express any more opinions on Li Nai's doubts.
After dinner at Fort Victory, Li Nai sat and chatted with the senior officials for a while. It was not until these people all wanted to go home to rest that he stood up and said goodbye.
The carriages of Haihan's senior officials returned to their residences under the escort of private guards, and Li Nai also got on his own carriage and returned to his private manor.
This manor is idle much more often than it is inhabited. Usually, several people have to be arranged to clean, plant and maintain the house here, but Li Nai is still happy to spend money to maintain the daily operation of the place, so that every time he When you come to Sanya to stay, you will truly feel like going home.
Back at the manor, the housekeeper sent several invitations. Although Li Nai only arrived at Victory Port this afternoon, it was obvious that someone with good intentions had already gotten the information and took quick action.
Li Nai looked through it, and sure enough, there was an invitation sent by the Prince of Joseon, inviting Li Nai to gather at Qingfeng Tower in the city at noon tomorrow. The time and place were all decided by Li Nai beforehand. Obviously, the information conveyed by Tian Zheng was very accurate. The only difference was that the host became the crown prince of Joseon.
"Go to this appointment tomorrow first. If there is a time conflict, you can go back for me first." Li Nai was tired from traveling and drank a little more for dinner. By this time, he was already tired and was too lazy to look through all the invitations slowly. After posting it, I handed it over to the housekeeper for processing. Although he didn't know why the prince of Joseon asked him to meet with him, since he had already agreed to Tian Zheng, he couldn't refuse anymore.
The next morning, at three o'clock in the morning, Li Nai woke up from his sleep. He washed and got ready. After seeing that it was almost time, he took the carriage out.
When they arrived outside the Qingfeng Building, Li Nai got off the carriage, and the sharp-eyed waiter at the door immediately greeted him: "The third young master hasn't been here for a while, please come inside quickly!"
Li Nai smiled and said: "I'm here for the banquet today. Is the master's house here?"
The waiter responded: "It's here, the third young master, please follow the younger one!"
The waiter took Li Nai to a private room on the second floor. Sure enough, Tian Zheng and the crown prince of Joseon, Li Zhi, had already arrived. When the two saw Li Nai, they also stood up to greet him.
Li Nai had already met Li Xie when he came to Sanya on business at the beginning of the year, so there was no need for Tian Zheng to introduce his identity.
After sitting down, Li Yan took the initiative and said: "I would like to ask Mr. Tian to invite Brother Li to meet on your behalf. It is really presumptuous. Please don't blame Brother Li!"
Li Nai smiled and said: "Your Majesty, you don't have to be polite. Usually when someone invites me to dinner, I'm happy to keep the appointment. What's more, the Crown Prince is the host today, so I should just say sorry."
Seeing Li Nai's relaxed expression, Li Zhi seemed to have no resistance to this meeting. He relaxed a little and responded with a smile: "Brother Li, you can thank Mr. Tian. If it weren't for his help, it would be difficult for me to have such a smooth appointment." To Brother Li.”
Tian Zheng hurriedly waved his hand and said: "It's a trivial matter, nothing important. Both of us are young talents. It's a rare opportunity to sit down and communicate together. Of course I'm happy to facilitate this."
Li Nai tested Ning Qi's attitude during the dinner yesterday and confirmed that the meeting was indeed facilitated by the authorities. No matter what the real purpose of the Joseon Crown Prince is, Haehan officials should be happy to see it come to fruition, and by understanding the attitude of Haehan officials, Li Nai will be able to better grasp the scale of conversation with the other party.
Although Li Zhen was not too old, he had a very calm temperament. He first invited the two of them to sit down, and then chatted with Li Nai about some current events without rushing to get to the point.
After three drinks and five dishes, everyone was a little tipsy. Li Zhi then started to introduce the topic: "After coming to Haihan, I heard various rumors about Brother Li. I had a chance to meet him last time in Sanya. , I admire Brother Li’s talent very much and have always wanted to find another opportunity to ask for advice in person. However, Brother Li is busy with official duties and I cannot leave Sanya for the time being, so I can only wait until Brother Li comes to Sanya before I can invite you to meet. .”
(End of chapter)