The sun never sets in America

Chapter 189 Voyage: Japanese Characteristics and Investment
  "what……"

"My head is a little dizzy..."

In an izakaya called Miki House in Edo City, Bai Erwen climbed up from the tatami.

He turned his head and looked at the rosy-cheeked and naked bartender girl next to him, with a look of embarrassment on his face.

Originally, today was just to experience Japanese culture, so I separated from Luo Daniu and ran alone to the custom street with Chinese characters written on it.

The so-called custom street is actually a street for eating, drinking and entertainment in Edo Castle. Most of the customers here are men.

As for what we are here for, everyone understands and won’t say it out loud.

But Bai Erwen was different. He came to this street with a learning attitude.

So Bai Erwen came to this izakaya just to experience Japan's drinking culture and to really learn the culture.

It's just that the boss insisted on finding a girl to accompany him while drinking, and Bai Erwen sternly refused at first. After all, he was a serious man, only nineteen years old.

Then, I couldn't control it anymore, and finally, it ended up like this! !
  Well, these are all the reasons Bai Erwen made up to explain the incident later. To be precise, he came to experience culture. As for what culture, what other culture is there in Little Japan that is worth experiencing? ?
  "Smith Marseille..."

"Welcome next time..."

When Bai Erwen walked out of the Mikizaka Izakaya, the boss took his wife and said goodbye to Bai Erwen in half Japanese and half Mandarin.

The two of them also bowed to Bai Erwen who had already left.

The service attitude is indeed first-class. This is Bai Erwen's first feeling when he walks on the road.

The total length of this custom street is only [-] meters, but within this [-] meters, there are more than [-] shops including izakayas, Japanese brothels, hotels, Japanese sushi restaurants, Chinese restaurants, etc. on both sides.

Of course, the busiest time for this street is at night. After all, most of the people who come to this street are sailors and merchants who come to Edo Port. These people basically buy some Japanese specialties in Edo during the day, such as Japanese folding fans. Handicrafts and other Japanese specialty products to take home to your family.

Just like buying souvenirs at tourist attractions in later generations, they all leave a souvenir. As for whether this thing is useful or not, it is actually not important anymore. After all, happiness is the most important thing in life...

And at night, places like Customs Street easily become prosperous, and as soon as it gets dark, the businesses here will open.

Now Bai Erwen was walking on this street. Most of the shops were closed, and many people were still sleeping.

After all, at night, that's when they really have to work! !

Just like the nightclubs of later generations, Custom Street is the nightclub of this era, or even a nightclub street.

When Bai Erwen came to Custom Street last night, there were young girls in floral kimonos everywhere soliciting customers.

It was also at that time that he couldn't resist the temptation and walked into the Miki House Izakaya, ordered a bottle of sake and a few plates of Japanese side dishes, and finally played a guessing game with the beautiful woman in his arms.

From a conscience point of view, Bai Erwen wanted to criticize himself for being naughty last night, but in his heart, he kept telling himself that it was just for fun, just like playing games when he was a child, it was no big deal.

As Bai Erwen walked through the street, he looked critically at the shops with Japanese-style beauties painted on them.

Yes, we must criticize severely! !

...............

suck...

Bai Erwen was at a Japanese noodle shop, slurping a bowl of udon noodles, a large noodle made from wheat flour.

Some say it is native to Japan, while others say it was brought back by the Japanese envoys sent to the Tang Dynasty.

But no matter what, Bai Erwen's food was pretty good, and it was better than what the fat chef on the ship made. The noodles he made were as if they had not been separated. Eating the large noodles he made was like eating dough. It felt like he was still It’s better to make the same old cake, after all, it won’t taste so bad! !

squeak……

The door of the noodle shop was opened, and a man wearing a sheepskin cap and leather jacket walked in. The man was tall and he looked like a Han nationality.

After all, Japanese people are not that tall! !
  "A bowl of udon noodles, a plate of pickled radish, and a fried chicken steak." The man in the sheepskin hat ordered in Mandarin proficiently to the boss wearing a white turban. (Fried chicken steak is a delicacy passed down from the Han Dynasty. Because it is rich in oil and meat, it is very popular with the Japanese during this period. Just like Koreans in later generations like to eat fried chicken, it is a helpless choice due to scarcity of resources. )

"Okay..." The noodle shop owner wearing a white turban said in proficient Mandarin to the man in the sheepskin hat. (Because there are a large number of Chinese merchants and industries invested by Han Chinese in Edo, the popularity of Mandarin in Japan is second only to Osaka, which is better at doing business. Basically, it is a businessman who can speak a few words in Mandarin, and most of the nobles can speak it.)
  "Brother, do you mind if I sit here?" The man in the sheepskin hat said, standing opposite Bai Erwen who was still eating noodles.

Bai Erwen looked up and saw the man's enthusiastic smile. He hesitated for a moment, then nodded to indicate that he could sit down, and then lowered his head to eat the udon noodles in the bowl.

"Brother, what are you going to do in Edo City?" The man in the sheepskin hat chatted with Bai Erwen not long after he sat down.

"Brother, don't get me wrong. My name is Jiang Wensheng, and I am the manager of Beihai Company." The man in the sheepskin hat saw Bai Erwen eating the udon noodles in his bowl and did not answer him. He thought he suspected something was wrong with him, and then Report your own home.

"If you don't believe it, this is my business card." Jiang Wensheng handed the business card he carried to Bai Erwen's bowl. (The so-called business cards are actually pieces of paper, printed by the printing factory according to the requirements of the company or individual. In today's Han Chinese businesses, it is very important to have your own business cards, otherwise it will be difficult for others to remember who you are)
  Bai Erwen then raised his head, glanced at the strange-looking man first, and then picked up the business card on the table. The business card was composed of white and blue, with white on the bottom and blue on the font.

I saw the four characters Beihai Company engraved on the white paper, and the three characters Jiang Wensheng, the manager of the financial department, below.

He has also heard about this Beihai company. He only knows that this company mainly invests in Japanese trade and participates in the financing of Japanese companies.

As for the rest, he didn't know.

"I wonder what your brother's name is??" Seeing Bai Erwen pick up the business card on the table, Jiang Wensheng immediately enthusiastically asked Bai Erwen his name.

"My surname is Bai..." Bai Erwen only said his surname, but not his full name. After all, when you go out, you must not have the intention of harming others, and you must have the intention of guarding against others. This is an old saying, and he has always kept it in mind. .

"Mr. Bai..." Jiang Wensheng immediately changed brother to sir, which shows that he is a well-rounded person.

"I wonder if Mr. Bai came to Edo City for business or work??" Jiang Wensheng asked Bai Erwen again the question he asked at the beginning.

"Business, what's wrong??" After Bai Erwen finished eating the noodles, he pushed the noodle bowl aside. A waiter immediately took the bowl away. Then he picked up the white towel given by the store and wiped his mouth, and replied casually. .

"Business is good!!" Upon hearing that Bai Erwen was here for business, Jiang Wensheng's face immediately showed a warm smile.

Bai Erwen glanced at the other party in surprise. He didn't know what was so happy about doing business. If he was so happy doing business, then if he told the truth to the other party, he would still work for someone else. Wouldn't it turn from sunny weather to heavy rain soon? ?
  "Mr. Bai, don't get me wrong. I mean, Japan is full of gold right now and it's a good opportunity to do business." Jiang Wensheng looked at Bai Erwen's surprised look in his eyes and immediately knew that he was overly enthusiastic, so he explained immediately.

"Gold??" Bai Erwen didn't know what the other party meant.

"Mr. Bai just came here and didn't know that the shogunate is currently negotiating with the daimyo in other places to establish a unified national market and cancel the mutual payment..." Jiang Wensheng talked about the biggest thing in Japan at present, that is, the shogunate is taking the lead in several Surrender to the Japanese daimyo and create the so-called large domestic market.

You must know that the shogunate currently occupies the core area of ​​Japan, but there are still a large number of daimyo in other areas. Although they ostensibly submit to the shogunate, trade between various places is subject to taxation, which is the so-called rikin system.

This system has always existed in the Qing Dynasty. It was a mess made by various places for the sake of finance. This is like if a commodity in one country goes to another province, you still have to pay taxes.

This tax system does great harm to industry and commerce.

How Prussia developed was because it established a customs union in the German region, which was also the main basis for the later establishment of Germany.

After all, war is just a continuation of economic interests! !

The current situation in Japan is very similar to Prussia at that time. There is a powerful big brother, but there are also a bunch of younger brothers who work both covertly and covertly.

This is also the main reason why Japan currently wants to establish a unified national market.

If it were the original shogunate, they would never have the guts to do something like this that could easily cause the situation to get out of control.

But the current shogunate is no longer Wu Xia Amon. Since the arrival of the Han Dynasty, under the guidance and investment of the Han Dynasty, Japan has embarked on a historical track that is completely different from its original history.

Not only did the shogunate not decline, it became stronger and even had the possibility of glory.

The current shogunate minister, Tokugawa Ieki, is even praised by Japanese scholars as a wise king.

There are many people who say that they are wise kings every day. Even though Tokugawa Ieki is old, this is the way this person is. The more confident he feels, the younger he looks.

So much so that Tokugawa Iekei had the idea of ​​unifying all Japan.

And this national unified market was Tokugawa Ieki's test of the big names.

And Tokugawa Ieki relied on the new shogunate army that had been trained over the years.

In addition to an early Edo brigade, a Nagasaki regiment was organized at the end of last year, with a total number of more than [-] people. They all purchased the latest lightning rifles and storm artillery from the Han Dynasty, and even wore gray uniforms that imitated the Han Dynasty military uniforms. Military uniform, and even a Chinese-style flying saucer helmet.

I don’t know, I thought it was a certain unit under the Han Army! !

If you add in other sword-wielding samurai who surrendered to the shogunate, the Tokugawa shogunate now has a Han-style army that is known as one hundred thousand soldiers, not one hundred thousand, but at least [-], and nearly [-] people.

It can be said that you have a strong army and a strong horse. If you are Tokugawa Ieki, you will also have the idea of ​​unifying all Japan! !
  The unified national market is the first shot fired by the shogunate. It depends on whether other big names will take it! !
  "That's the thing, Mr. Bai. The whole of Japan is really full of investment opportunities now..." After Jiang Wensheng finished talking about what just happened in the Japanese shogunate, he said to Bai Erwen enthusiastically again.

"Since it's such a good deal, why are you, Beihai Company, looking for me? Why don't you just do it yourself?" Bai Erwen ignored Jiang Wensheng's temptation and directly pointed out the loopholes in it.

"This..." Jiang Wensheng was stunned by Bai Erwen's words and was speechless. He had a lot of words in his heart, but Bai Erwen suppressed them.

"Since Mr. Jiang is not willing to say it, I will leave first without accompanying you..." Bai Erwen picked up the snack box on the table and planned to leave. (Japanese snacks, bought by Bai Erwen before eating)
  "Alas..." Jiang Wensheng immediately stopped Bai Erwen, "Mr. Bai, don't be impatient, please listen to me slowly." Jiang Wensheng pulled Bai Erwen back to his seat and said politely.

"Mr. Bai doesn't know. Our Beihai company has recently taken on a big job, but it's still very troublesome now..." Jiang Wensheng said to Bai Erwen with some hesitation, "I wonder if Mr. Bai has heard of the Kanto Railway?" Jiang Wensheng Mentioned the Kanto Railway, which was hotly speculated last year.

It is said to be the Kanto Railway, but it is actually a railway that runs through the entire Kanto and Kansai. Because it starts from Kanto, it is also called the Kanto Railway.

"I know the railway, what's wrong??" Bai Erwen thought of the introduction about the Kanto Railway in the newspaper yesterday. He had no reaction at the time. After all, it was just a railway. It's not like he had never seen it before. Penglai Island is so small and there are so many more What about building a railway? For an island as big as Japan, what’s the point of building a railway? !

"This railway was originally well built, who knew..." Jiang Wensheng talked about the Kanto Railway controlled by his company. This railway was also built jointly by their Beihai Company and the shogunate. However, due to the recent cash flow problems of the Beihai Company, They can only temporarily suspend work. This suspension of work does not matter. The most important thing is that they have signed a contract with the shogunate. Once the deadline is violated, they will face the problem of reduction of shares and even fines.

This was something Beihai Company couldn't bear, so Beihai Company first approached banks and financial institutions for loans.

But everyone knows what kind of urine these people have. They basically give out umbrellas on sunny days and close them on rainy days. The benefits and costs are basically stuck on the profit line of Beihai Company.

They just want you to work for them for free! !

But Beihai Company was unwilling to sit still and wait for death, so it split its [-]% stake into small shares and sold them to private investors in exchange for funds. It could survive the current economic situation first, and then in the second half of the year, With the growth of the company's performance and the recovery of cash flow, this railway will eventually be built.

In fact, this kind of behavior is a typical financing behavior, but instead of looking for financing from banks and financial institutions, it is looking for small investors like Bai Erwen who seem to have the ability to pay.

To put it bluntly, it is just like issuing stocks in later generations, except that it is not issued to those institutions, but to retail investors. (At this time, Han had not yet established a stock market or securities, but it is said that the cabinet has planned to establish Han’s first exchange by the end of the year, in Jinshan City)
  Because of this, people like Jiang Wensheng who were in charge of finance were sent out to recruit customers. Just because he saw that Bai Erwen was young and easy to fool, and because he was a Han Chinese, Jiang Wensheng targeted Bai Erwen.

As for why it is not sold to the Japanese, it is a joke. The shogunate already holds [-]% of the shares. If it is sold to the Japanese, isn't this railway really going to be a free labor for the Japanese? ?

"How much does your lowest share cost??" Bai Erwen asked with some enthusiasm. After all, if it is true as he said, this railway will be very valuable in the future, then looking at it now, it should be an excellent investment opportunity. .

"The minimum is [-] yuan..." Seeing Bai Erwen's interest, Jiang Wensheng immediately stretched out a finger and replied to Bai Erwen, "Of course, Mr. Bai, if you want to buy more, it's not impossible, but the maximum is only It can reach [-]..." Jiang Wensheng then added to Bai Erwen.

This is also a check and balance method of Beihai Company. After all, compared with a group of small retail investors and one or two large investors, it is clear at a glance who is better! !

This is also the reason why they don't like to go to the rich people in Han, because these people don't care about [-]. What they want is the real right to participate, and this right must never be given. The top management of Beihai Company, I understand this very well.

In this way, the candidates for this financing have been fixed, which are small and medium investors, those who are best bullied.

For example, Bai Erwen! !
  "I'll go back and think about it first..." Bai Erwen pondered for a while, and then said to Jiang Wensheng that for such a big thing, even if he is very keenly aware that there is money to be made, after all, it is not just a few yuan, but a few hundred yuan, but a big deal. Starting from [-] yuan, this amount of money in this era is no different from hundreds of millions in later generations. Of course, he needs to think more about it.

"Come on, come on... let's eat first!!" Jiang Wensheng did not expect to make this order every time, but asked Bai Erwen to continue eating, "Boss, bring another chicken steak and side dishes..." Jiang Wensheng shouted to the boss inside arrive.

After Bai Erwen ate a piece of chicken steak, he told the other party that he had something to do and left.

Bai Erwen, who answered the hotel, looked at Luo Daniu, who was still reading comics and laughing, with a look of hesitation on his face.

"Old Luo..."

"What's the matter??" Luo Daniu put down the third comic of Superman Sun Haixing that he bought from Edo yesterday and asked Bai Erwen.

"What do you think, I sell the things my parents left me?" Bai Erwen mustered up the courage to mention the things in his house to Luo Daniu.

It was the stolen property that his father left behind when he was a bandit. Later, he was wanted by the Qing court and had to flee to Penglai Island, which was then Hawaii.

The reason why Luo Daniu has such a good relationship with him is because his family used to do the same thing, but his father died earlier and was taken to Penglai Province by Bai Erwen's dead ghost father.

"What did you say??" Luo Daniu's eyes widened immediately when he heard that those things were to be moved, "You have to think clearly, this is the only thing your parents left for you?" Luo Daniu persuaded Bai Erwen.

"No matter how good it is, it's still bloody. It's stolen property. If it's stolen property, you can't keep it!!" After hearing this, Bai Erwen shook his head and replied.

"Then what are you going to do after you sell them?" Luo Daniu said to Bai Erwen, still somewhat confused.

"Make a deal, make a real big deal!!" Bai Erwen looked at Luo Daniu's eyes, and suddenly an unprecedented brilliance burst out.

　Ask for a reward, ask for a monthly ticket
  　　
  　
  (End of this chapter)