Back to Ming Dynasty with Industrial Revolution System

Chapter 1813
"Mr. Li, this is Edward, a businessman from Newcastle."

"This is Philip the merchant from Edinburgh."

"Mr. Li, it's a pleasure to meet you. It's our luck to meet you in London. I didn't expect you to be the founder of Imperial Chemicals. The products of your factory are very popular. Our dyeing workshop uses the dyes and colors produced by you. Very colorful."

At a banquet held by a group of businessmen from the British Isles, Sir Henry took Li Jinde to attend to expand the influence of Imperial Chemicals.

Li Jinde appeared here, talking and laughing happily with a group of businessmen from the British Isles.

Especially when the businessmen in the British Isles were not generally able to speak Chinese, he could talk to them in the local language, which shortened the distance with them.

Li Jinde is probably the wealthiest of the group, with his net worth probably measured in millions of pounds.

You know, the royal family of England currently allocates only 40 pounds to the Royal Navy every year.

In the City of London, anyone with assets above £10 can be considered a wealthy businessman.

Li Jinde's net worth of one million pounds is only guessed by these British businessmen. No one knows how much money Li Jinde has, only that Li Jinde has earned hundreds of thousands of pounds in profits from Europe over the years.

Just as nobles look at each other's titles to distinguish dignity, merchants also have their own internal methods of status division, that is, capital.In short, whoever has more money, who has unique products, resources, and channels will be respected by the other party.

Taking advantage of the rare opportunity to come to Europe, Li Jinde helped the branch of Imperial Chemicals in London to get to know more local businessmen and form a business network.

"How long do you plan to stay in London?" Sir Henry asked Li Jinde while holding a wine glass.

"I will go back with our envoys. When they leave, I will leave." Li Jinde replied.

"Oh? So, you came to London with the ships of your envoys?" Sir Henry knew that the envoys from China were visiting various countries in Europe at this time.

"It's safer to come with the envoys. Anyway, I have been working here for a few years, and I have business here, and I also need to help take care of Sir Greenville and Mrs. Grace's estate." Li Jinde clinked glasses with Sir Henry.

"They have a lot of territory in Devonshire, which is also quite a fortune." Sir Henry was a little envious.

Sir Greenville and Mrs. Grace are both noble squires, and they only have one daughter. When there is no son to inherit the family business, Europe allows women to inherit, so there are many duchesses and countesses in Europe. After all, there are many queens , then Selina inherited many manors of the two and became a big landowner in England.

Lord Greenville and Mrs. Grace moved to the Eastern Capital, and their territories were handed over to others for management and rent.One of the important purposes of Li Jinde's visit is to check the rental status of these manors and to check the funds.

Although Li Jinde is not short of money now, it is his wife's assets after all, and if something happens in the future, there is still a piece of land that can be used as a retreat.

"How are Sir Greenville and Mrs. Grace doing in the Eastern Capital?" Sir Henry asked.

"It's okay, but it's a pity that I'm still getting old and have some minor illnesses from time to time." Li Jinde replied.

"It's like this when I get older. My two sons are also adults. I feel that time flies. Those of us who are businessmen don't know what to do with so much money. We spend very little of our property. There are very few, and they can only be left to future generations." Sir Henry seemed to have thought of something, "I heard that you have a daughter, maybe we can consider marriage, with one of our family in the East and the other in the West's connections and business, in the future The business can definitely grow. What do you think?"

He is very optimistic about Li Jinde's Imperial Chemicals, and Li Jinde has more assets than him. If the relationship between the two can be shortened by marriage, the future cooperation will be smoother and there will be no disadvantages at all.

But Li Jinde shook his head: "I'm afraid you are late, my daughter has already married. But the dog has no family yet. If you have a daughter, maybe you can consider it."

Sir Henry showed a rather disappointed expression when he heard the words: "That's a pity, I don't have a daughter."

"Maybe this is destiny. I don't think we can maintain our cooperative relationship without marriage at all. As long as we have common business interests, the cooperation will continue. On the contrary, if we lose common business interests, even if both parties In-laws can also break up the relationship. Is this not the case with the royal marriages of European countries? For example, the wife of King Charles of England is a princess from France, but the relationship between you and France has not improved, and you still cooperate because of interests. Or hostile." Li Jinde said.

"Mr. Li, what you said is not unreasonable. Only with common interests can we become friends." Sir Henry said, "You invested in the New England Tobacco Company I founded, and I will not let your investment go to waste. Although The tobacco production in North America is not enough now, but I believe that we have invested hundreds of thousands of pounds, and the tobacco business will bring huge profits in the future. Please believe my judgment. I wish us a happy cooperation in the future.”

"The operation of the New England Tobacco Company will be handed over to you. If you have any difficulties, you can contact me by telegram. If you can do it, I will provide you with the necessary help." Li Jinde said.

Previously at the London branch of Kyushu Bank, when Li Jinde found Sir Henry, Sir Henry borrowed a sum of money from the London branch.

This sum of money invested in North America is to prepare for the establishment of a tobacco company, grow tobacco in North America, and then sell it to Europe and other regions.

After considering the prospects of the New England Tobacco Company, Li Jinde thought that the company seemed worthy of investment, so he directly contributed [-]% of the capital, while Sir Henry and other businessmen accounted for [-]%.This is a very exaggerated ratio.Li Jinde alone accounted for [-]%, and dozens of other businessmen accounted for [-]%.

However, Li Jinde does not think that tobacco companies will be the main business, and he still focuses on the chemical industry.Li Jinde did not intend to participate in the operation of New England Tobacco Company, but sent someone as a director to participate in the establishment of New England Tobacco Company. He had the power of decision-making and supervision, but he did not usually manage it.

Li Jinde also did not expect that the value of the New England Tobacco Company would rise one after another in the future and become a giant company, so that the descendants who inherited [-]% of the shares he held would probably live comfortably for hundreds of years.

(End of this chapter)