Chapter 2777
When everyone heard that Zhu Zian had picked up real estate in the city so quickly, they became interested and asked him to tell him the whole story.
Of course, Zhu Zian would not hide anything from them, so he told the details of how he asked his colleagues in the yamen to go see and book a house. He even told the truth about his plan to borrow money from Haihan Bank to buy a house.
Ning Zijing smiled and said: "Well, Zhu Zian, it turns out that you have planned to move out for a long time. It seems that this small temple cannot accommodate you!"
Of course, Zhu Zian saw that he was joking and responded with a smile: "Brother Ning is joking. I have good food and accommodation here for free. How can I find such a good thing in the world! It's just that now I'm starting to This place is quite far from Xingxianfang in the city, so I plan to move into the city. The courtyard has a nice environment and is very close to the Yamen, so it will be more convenient to do things in the future.”
Ning Zijing said: "I heard what you just said, the yard is not too small, and it is a bit wasteful for you to live alone. Later, I will hire two servants to take care of the yard, wash and cook for you, and take care of your life."
In order to show his candid attitude, Zhu Zian sent the servants he brought with him back to Shandong soon after arriving in Hangzhou, and he has been living alone so far. However, during the period after last year's provincial examination, he had been hanging out with Tao Hongfang and others, and he did not need to worry about food, clothing, housing and transportation. Tao Hongfang and others' servants made arrangements for him, so he did not have to worry about life problems at all.
But now that he has to move out of the inn and live on his own, Zhu Zian will inevitably encounter many life problems, and the easiest solution is to hire one or two experienced servants.
Zhu Zian's current financial situation is definitely not comfortable. He will soon have to borrow money again, and it is really difficult to hire servants. However, he also knew that Ning Zijing's suggestion was right. If he moved into the courtyard alone and had no one to take care of him, he might not be able to do simple tasks like boiling water for washing feet, and he would have to move back to the inn within a few days.
What Tao Hongfang noticed was Zhu Zian's plan to buy a house with a loan: "You borrow money from Haihan Bank to buy a house and then repay it in installments. Although it is indeed convenient, there is interest to be calculated for borrowing the money. With your current salary level , while paying back the money, you have to hire people at the same time, so you can probably only afford it by extending the repayment period.”
Zhu Zian didn't know about the interest on the loan, so he asked, "Then if I borrow money to buy a house, how much interest do I need to pay back?"
"About six points a year." Tao Hongfang was afraid that he didn't understand, so he continued to explain: "For every one hundred yuan you borrow from the bank, you have to pay back six yuan in interest a year, and one thousand is sixty."
After Zhu Zian calculated it, the interest he had to repay every year was much more than his monthly salary. Thinking about it this way, it seemed that it was indeed not cost-effective. But now I only have about two hundred yuan in my pocket. If I don’t borrow money from a bank, how can I get more than two thousand yuan to buy a house?
While Zhu Zian was hesitating, Tao Hongfang had already spoken: "Zian is not an outsider. How about we pool the money together and lend it to Zian to buy a house first, so we don't have to pay interest on the loan."
Just as Zhu Zian was about to refuse, Ning Zijing had already taken the lead in expressing his agreement: "That's okay, count me in."
Ha Jianyi and Bai Letong immediately expressed their willingness to help Zhu Zian. These people came from prominent backgrounds. Their fathers were in charge of the power of the country, and they indirectly controlled countless industries. A small sum of 1,800 yuan was naturally not a problem for them. Let alone borrowing it, even if it was a gift, there would not be much pressure. Now that Zhu Zian is considered a friend, it should be treated as a personal favor.
Zhu Zian said a few polite words, but when he saw that he couldn't refuse, he simply agreed. Although he was a little nervous for the time being, he was from a noble family in the previous dynasty and had seen a lot of the world. If he pushed back and forth with these friends for this little money, it would make the other party look down on him. Soon everyone returned to the previously discussed topic, the arms purchase negotiations between Haihan and the Japanese shogunate. Among them, only Bai Letong participated in the entire negotiation process because of his father's relationship, so he knew the details best.
According to Bai Letong, the shogunate envoy Masato Masato showed great ambitions at the negotiation table. Although his plan to purchase Majestic-class battleships was rejected by Haihan without hesitation, he did not give up his efforts to purchase high-end weapons and equipment. He turned around and took a look at the repeating rifles and breech-loading artillery equipped by the Haihan Army.
Although these weapons are also on Haihan's prohibited sales list, Masato Masuyama apparently did not realize an important principle of Haihan's arms sales, that is, any equipment that Haihan does not actively recommend can be deemed not for sale by default.
Of course, another possibility is that he may be aware of this, but he still has to try it shamelessly. If Haihan relents for some reason, it will be a great achievement.
It's just that this arms purchase negotiation is hosted by Bai Kesi, the head of Haihan Ordnance Industry, so the possibility of Masato Masato picking up the slack is extremely slim.
Baikes has been presiding over arms sales activities to various countries for more than 20 years. He has never seen any negotiation methods, and Masato Masuyama's superficial methods are naturally worthless in his eyes. And Bai Letong learned a lot by following him.
Bai Letong smiled and said: "The Japanese envoy has a simple idea. He always thinks that we will put price as the first priority. As long as we offer a high price, we can persuade us to sell the best equipment to the shogunate."
Ha Jianyi asked: "Then what is your father going to sell to them?"
Bai Letong said: "The Type 29 flintlock guns and the Type 31 field guns stored in warehouses everywhere are very suitable for the Japanese."
Tao Hongfang exclaimed: "Can these old antiques still be sold?"
Bai Letong said: "Hongfang, you don't know something about this. Although these weapons were finalized and mass-produced early, their combat performance is not bad, and they are simple to use. Normal people can learn it in just one stick of incense. The price is It is also moderate and has been very popular in the international arms market for many years.”
Ha Jianyi also said: "Hongfang, although these weapons are old, not just anyone can make them. We have sold at least tens of thousands of Type 29 flintlock guns over the years, and they have been bought back by various countries." The first thing is to disassemble and copy them, trying to steal our country's military technology, but no country has ever been able to make firearms with performance that is almost the same as the originals. As long as others cannot make it, these weapons will still be a symbol of combat capability. .”
Ha Jianyi's words reveal one of the essences of the arms trade. Equipment that can be sold at high prices or even monopolize the market may not necessarily be the most advanced in performance, but it is likely to be the most cost-effective. The weapons and equipment developed by Haihan in the early days still play an ever-lasting role in the arms market.
(End of chapter)