money player

"Spring sail, spring of spring, sail of canvas."

"Spring sails?" Li Yueru chewed for a moment, "Spring is in the air, the river is full of sails, and there is a sense of vitality. What a good meaning."

"A thousand sails pass by the side of the sinking boat, and a thousand trees spring ahead of the sick tree."

"Yes." Li Yueru nodded, "Li Chunfan or Xian Chunfan?"

"plum."

After discussing the child's name with Li Yueru, Xian Yaowen went home to wash away the bad luck and then went to Lixia Farm in Lim Chu Kang.

A few days ago, the farm was busy with building houses, digging ponds, and sowing seeds. Wen Banxia, ​​who was "interning" at a grocery store, had to come over to help. The couple simply lived in the new house that had not yet been built.

When Xian Yaowen arrived, he saw an "8"-shaped depression on the ground. Many people were carrying dustpans and carrying the excavated pond mud to an open space not far away. Some people were mixing the pond mud with straw and manure for fermentation, which would be used to cover the fields in the future to increase fertility.

Near the unfinished pond, you can see Xian Guangli swinging a hoe with great force in the middle. A higher ridge is deliberately left in the middle of the "8" shape. Its current function is to facilitate the entry and exit of people carrying soil. When the pond is completed in the future, this ridge will be meaningless.

Perhaps, it does have some meaning, serving as a link between the previous and the next, to express the owner's homesickness.

The most labor-saving way to dig a pond is to dig it into an irregular circle. Initially, it is planned as a circle, and during the actual excavation process, the difficult-to-dig rock layers are avoided, and finally an irregular circle is obtained.

Directly planning it into an "8" shape will increase the difficulty of excavation, but it will echo the pond in Wenchangwei.

There is a pond in Wenchangwei called Hetang, which is in the shape of an "8" with a ridge in the middle.

Xian Yaowen looked back at the house. Its shape was just an enlarged version of the old house in Wenchangwei. The positions of the doors and windows were exactly the same. There were also two Chinese tallow trees in front of the door, but they were smaller than the ones in front of the old house.

Whenever Xian Yaowen saw the Chinese tallow tree, he felt annoyed. He was familiar with the one on the left, while Xian Yaowu was familiar with the one on the right. When they were young, they each had one tree, and were often hung on the tree and beaten by Xian Guangli.

However, there are caterpillar eggs on the Chinese tallow tree, and they are delicious when roasted over fire.

When Xian Yaowen was hesitating between pain and fragrance, Wen Banxia, ​​who was carrying a bucket of water, walked out from between two tung trees, and he hurried to meet him.

"Mom, such a big bucket is so heavy, why are you carrying it by yourself?" Xian Yaowen said as he grabbed the shoulder pole with both hands and lifted it up and put it on his shoulders.

Wen Banxia, ​​who was free of burdens, laughed and said, "It's only 150 to 160 kilograms, not that heavy. Why are you here? Aren't you busy today?"

"I have to come even if I am busy."

"Got to go?"

"Ah."

"When will you come again?" Wen Banxia said reluctantly.

"I'll come back once the house is ready. I want to invite people over for a feast."

"Is Yaowu coming?"

"Mom, you don't have to wait for Yaowu to come. When you find a convenient day, I'll ask Shuixian to buy you a plane ticket. You can fly to Hong Kong and stay there for a few days, and then bring Yaowu with you when you join the group."

"Just me?"

"Dad may not be willing to leave."

Wen Banxia glanced towards the pond and said, "Yes."

As they were talking, the two of them arrived at the pond. Xian Yaowen put down his carrying pole, and Wen Banxia shouted into the pond, "Masters, take a break and come over to have a bowl of mung bean soup."

After shouting, he went to the side and lifted a cloth cover, revealing a basket of bowls. He placed the bowl next to the bucket, picked up a bowl and scooped some for Xian Guangli, then walked towards the shade of a tree not far away.

There was a depression in the shade of the tree, and people couldn't see the bucket when they sat down.

Wen Banxia is worldly-wise. When eating the same meal, the boss and the waiter eat separately to give the waiter space to eat enough. It is also free for him to take some home if he wants.

There were four bricks under the shade of the tree, which originally were two seats. Wen Banxia removed one of the seats and gave a brick to Xian Yaowen.

Xian Yaowen stood the brick up horizontally and sat on it.

After a while, Xian Guangli came over, picked up the bowl on the table, sat down, pursed his lips and blew on the soup, creating ripples and a hole, took a sip, smacked his lips twice, and held the cigarette in his hand between his lips.

"We've worked hard these past two days, so make the soup thinner tomorrow and add a dry one."

"Hey."

Xian Guangli took another sip of the soup, chewed the green beans and said, "Are we leaving now?"

"Yes."

"Be careful yourself."

"it is good."

They sat on the farm until snack time was over. Xian Yaowen helped Wen Banxia carry the bucket and bowls back to the house and then left.

In the evening, he had dinner with Johnson and the Governor's secretary at the Raffles Hotel. After handing out the envelope, he also proposed the plan of speculating in Orchard Road land. Johnson, who had been blocked by him and whose deadline was approaching, was quite interested in it. The two sides initially reached a 50-50 distribution plan.

After dinner, we moved from the restaurant's private room to the cafe and sat for a while. Grace, who had made an appointment with us, came. She was not alone, but was accompanied by a young man who was about 24 or 25 years old.

As soon as Grace sat down, she said, "Adam, let me introduce you. This is Michael Sandberg, who has just joined HSBC for less than two years and is now my right-hand man. Michael, this is Adam Hepburn, Mr. Xian Yaowen, a VIP client of HSBC."

Xian Yaowen extended his hand and shook hands with Sandberg, who looked a bit friendly. "Just call me Adam."

"Hello, Adam. To make my work easier, I gave myself a Chinese name, 'Shen Bi'. You can call me by that name."

Xian Yaowen looked at Grace with a smile, "Which Bi?"

Grace glanced at Xian Yaowen and said, "The Bi of Fu Bi."

Bi is a tool for correcting bows and crossbows, and can also refer to a person who serves as an assistant. Shen Bi couldn't even pronounce the two words "Shen Bi" correctly, and he probably had not been influenced by Chinese culture before. The possibility that he gave this name himself is very small.

Either it was Grace's recommendation, or Shen Bi invited an "expert".

Xian Yaowen turned back and said to Shen Bi: "OK, Shen Bi, let's keep in touch later."

After the greetings and ordering coffee, Grace said, "I still have 600 million sales to complete this quarter. You need to help me."

“Deposit or loan?”

"loan."

“Do I still have such a large credit limit at HSBC?”

"No." Grace said directly: "You help me half, and I will handle the procedures."

"You also pay the interest?" Xian Yaowen teased.

Grace said sternly, "RM300 million, two years, 5.75% annual interest, to be repaid in one lump sum upon maturity."

"I'm helping you, right?"

Grace nodded.

"OK, I'll help you with this."

“The loan agreement needs to be signed in the name of the company.”

"no problem."

Grace said to Shen Bi: "Michael, please step aside for a moment. Adam and I will have a private chat."

Upon hearing this, Shen Bi left and found a table far away.

Grace changed her seat and sat next to Xian Yaowen. She tilted her head and whispered, "I saw you at the St. No Synagogue. What do you want to do?"

"I am Jewish. Is it not possible for me to trace my roots?" Xian Yaowen said with a faint smile.

"Adam, I want to hear the truth."

HSBC had already checked all of Xian Yaowen's information, the only thing it didn't know was where the money in London came from.

Xian Yaowen said bluntly, "I want to make a big investment in the United States, and I need a Jewish identity."

"How much good can being Jewish bring you?"

“At least there are no drawbacks of being Chinese.”

"I can help."

Xian Yaowen laughed and said, "Cancel each other?"

Grace said calmly: "Equivalent?"

Xian Yaowen's face straightened, "What do you want?"

"Dean Company of America, still 30% of the shares, up to 100 million pounds, I'm fine with it."

"You trust my investment vision so much?"

Grace smiled and said, "Adam, I believe that American Dean will not lose money. British Dean is very good. I like the shareholders you introduced."

"Judy?"

"Uh-huh, you slept with her?"

Xian Yaowen glanced at Grace's face and said, "It's hard to believe that you would ask such a question. I wouldn't be surprised if it was Michelle. So, you are no longer the innocent and pure Grace that I knew at the beginning?"

"I'm still pure, thank you. I know what kind of person Judy is, Adam, how does it feel to invite your lover to your wedding?"

"Very good, my Parisian lover gave me a big red envelope."

"Judy isn't your lover?"

"No."

"I think it can be, including Margaret."

"I know that Babylonian mathematics has a long history, but I have never heard of Iraqis using abacus. How come your abacus beads hit my face?"

"There's no abacus in my hands, but there is an abacus in my heart." Grace said with a faint smile.

"You are awesome. I admire you." Xian Yaowen gave a thumbs up. "Forget about Margaret. She has more disadvantages than advantages."

"Margaret is pretty, don't you like her?" The smile on Grace's face became more and more intense.

Xian Yaowen spread his hands and said, "Grace, I still like the old you who couldn't smile."

"I have finally learned to laugh, and I don't want to go back to the past." Grace picked up the coffee cup, took a sip, and said, "You went to St. No Synagogue instead of the Mahabbey Synagogue on Waterloo Street. Isn't it because it is closer to home?"

"No." Xian Yaowen picked up the coffee cup, "I actually saw you that day too."

"I see. I'll introduce you to Moser when I get the chance. Do you want to meet Marshall?"

Xian Yaowen nodded, "That couldn't be better."

"I can arrange it. When is convenient for you?"

"I'm leaving Singapore soon and will come back at the end of the month."

"uh-huh."

……

Perhaps the yellow sand of Dubai knew that Xian Yaowen had been holding back on Dubai, so he was greeted by a sandstorm with yellow sand flying all over the sky. He sat on a camel, wearing an Arab headscarf, and walked towards Kothari's manor.

Beside him followed Ying Bolu, a transport protection team from the Golden Squadron, and some members of the unformed Falcon and Camel Squadrons.

When approaching the urban area, the members of the Falcon and Camel groups left the team one after another. The transport security team buried the long tools and radios they carried with them in the sand, leaving only the short tools on their bodies.

The closer to the city, the weaker the power of the yellow sand. Soon, the scorching sun penetrated the yellow sand and shone directly on the back of Xian Yaowen's exposed hands, and visibility gradually returned to normal.

Qi Longque, who was on the back of another camel, raised his hand and signaled the team to stop. He approached Xian Yaowen and said, "There is a camel team coming up ahead. They may be here to pick you up. They are less than 40 meters away."

Xian Yaowen nodded and patted the camel's hump. The camel understood and knelt down on the ground.

He got off the camel, quickly took off his combat uniform, took Qi Longque's shirt and trousers on the ground and put them on. After getting dressed freshly, he sat back on the camel's back, and the team continued to move forward.

Within three minutes, the two camel caravans met. Xian Yaowen saw Kothari in the opposite team. Next to Kothari was an Arab man dressed very formally. If his guess was correct, it should be Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum, the future Sheikh of Dubai.

Both parties dismounted their camels at the same time and met in the middle.

"Adam, you're finally here." Kotari gave Xian Yaowen a hug.

"Kothari, I'm sorry, I've been so busy with all these things, and I found time to get married twice. I have nine wives now, so I shouldn't be far behind you, right?"

Kothari let go of Xian Yaowen and laughed, "Adam, please keep working hard. I have fifty-seven, and the youngest is nine years old."

"Beast." Xian Yaowen cursed inwardly and said with a smile: "I will continue to work hard. Is this Prince Al Maktoum?"

Rashid stepped forward and said in fluent English: "Mr. Adam, welcome to Dubai. You can just call me Rashid."

"Salaam." Xian Yaowen shook hands with Rashid, "Prince Rashid."

"May Allah grant you peace." Rashid returned the greeting and said, "The weather is not very good today, Mr. Adam, let's go into the city quickly."

"OK."

The three of them got back on the camels, and the two camel caravans merged into one and headed towards the city in a mighty manner.

The direction they were heading was not Rashid's "bedroom" but Kothari's manor. Half an hour later, the camel caravan arrived at its destination. In the garden of the manor, Rashid and Xian Yaowen greeted each other again, and then made an appointment to meet tomorrow. After a while, Rashid left.

Kothari took Xian Yaowen to the door of the guest room, left a message "dinner will be at six o'clock", and then left as if trying to hold back a laugh.

Xian Yaowen held back his laughter subjectively, but Kothari did not show it. At this time, it was just past noon and lunch time in Dubai had just begun, but Kothari thought that he didn't need to eat lunch and would stay in the guest room for half a day, so it was easy to guess what was behind the door.

He silently guessed in his mind that there were two, then he put his hands on the door and pushed it. The two doors slowly opened, and a golden light rushed out from the gap between the doors. What met his eyes was a tacky yet magnificent decoration, a golden ocean.

Glancing to the right, he saw four maids standing in order from tallest to shortest. His eyes fell on the shortest one, who was less than 1.2 meters tall and aged...

"Son of a bitch."

Xian Yaowen cursed and walked into the room. Amidst the unanimous "Salaam", he came to the opposite side of the tallest maid. After further confirming that she was mixed-race, he said, "Can you speak English?"

The maid bowed and said, "I will, Mr. Adam."

Xian Yaowen did not respond. He walked to the second shortest maid, grabbed her chin and gently pulled it down, while opening her mouth to let the other party understand what he wanted to do.

The maid understood and opened her mouth obediently.

He glanced at the maid's teeth. The permanent teeth were visibly immature, and the development of the jaw was also seen to be still in progress. If nothing unexpected happened, her age would not be more than fourteen years old.

He loosened his hand and walked to the youngest little girl. In her frightened eyes, he reached out and touched her belly. It was flat, not bulging at all.

If she has food in her stomach at her age, her belly will normally be slightly bulging. If it is deflated, it definitely means she hasn't eaten.

Looking around, Xian Yaowen saw a fruit plate on the table with green grapes lying in it. He walked back to the tallest maid and asked, "What's your name?"

"Alia, Mr. Adam."

"You didn't have lunch?"

"No."

Xian Yaowen pointed at the little girl and asked, "What's her name?"

"Ayesha."

"How old?"

"Ten years old."

Xian Yaowen frowned, "How old are you?"

Aria shuddered and stuttered, "Eight years old."

"Where is the bathroom?"

Aria pointed to a door.

"Let the three of them eat the grapes, and you follow me."

Xian Yaowen walked to the bathroom door, pushed it open, and saw another golden light. He was too lazy to look at the dazzling decoration, so he went straight to the center of the bathroom, took off his clothes, walked into the round pool, dived into the cool water, and let the coolness flow through his expanded pores throughout his body.

After holding his breath underwater for a while, he rushed out of the water, wiped his face, opened his eyes and saw Aria, naked, walking towards him.

Arab women have deep and dark eyebrows and eyes with layers of different shades, giving people a mysterious feeling. Alia's eyes are very deep and difficult to penetrate.

Alia has a great figure, with curves in all the right places, a peachy butt, and a hint of stretch marks on her belly, which greatly enhances her charm.

Taking in Aria's figure, Xian Yaowen leaned over the edge of the pool.

Aria walked into the pool, wet her whole body, then walked out of the pool, took a piece of soap-like object and smeared it on her body. After her whole body was covered, she came in front of Xian Yaowen, bent down, and smeared it on Xian Yaowen in a more special way.

"Alia, how many children do you have?"

"One, Mr. Adam."

"Aliya, don't mention Mr. Adam all the time. How old is he?"

"Three years old, ya..."

"How long have you worked here?"

"Less than a week."

"Are you free?"

Arabs have always had a tradition of selling slaves. The earliest slave trade was that Arabs plundered black people and then sold them to the Portuguese. Even today, slavery still exists in the Arab region, and naturally there are still slaves.

"Yes."

"You can speak English and work in the pearl trade, why do you want to do this job?"

Aria was stunned for a moment, then said meaningfully, "I am a woman."

Xian Yaowen looked up at Aria and said, "Happiness is something you have to fight for yourself. Have you ever slept with Kothari?"

Aria shook her head, "No, the four of us are gifts that Kothari sahib prepared specifically for Mr. Adam."

"Does your husband know what you are going to do?"

"know."

"Were you forced to do this?"

Aaliya shook her head, "Kothari sahib didn't force me, I took the camel."

"How many?"

"Six."

"Where's the camel?"

"at my house."

At this point, Xian Yaowen had a basic understanding of Aria's English level. Her accent was a pure Yorkshire accent, which showed that her father was most likely from Yorkshire. However, her vocabulary was small and she made too many grammatical errors, which showed that she learned English in a good English environment but did not undergo systematic study.

In this way, he outlined a general picture. When Aliyah was a child, she lived with her father, but later her father abandoned her and her mother here and left Arabia, and she began to live in an Arab environment.

Her father was probably a businessman who had done business in Arabia, or a soldier who had been stationed in Arabia. It could be said that her background was very common and there was nothing strange about it.

The Americans can't control their pants, and the British are not much better, they also sow seeds wantonly.

A mixed-race person like Aliya, without the protection of her father, will not be looked up to by the Arabs. Instead, she will be excluded and oppressed. Xian Yaowen can relate to this. His equality is earned through fists and tact.

"So, you and your husband know exactly what you're going to do, and you both agree?"

"Yes."

"Your husband didn't force you?"

There was another moment of silence before Aria said quietly, "The child and I need to eat."

"How many wives does your husband have?"

"Three."

"What's your rank?"

"third."

"How long will it take you to work six camels?"

"Half a year."

“Good price.”

According to Xian Yaowen's understanding of prices in the Arab region, six camels can buy out a young, ordinary-looking woman. The younger she is, the cheaper the price; the better she looks, the more expensive the price.

"Kothari sahib is very kind."

Xian Yaowen smiled faintly, "You are very kind. Did you let them eat grapes?"

"Yes."

"Did you eat it?"

"No." Aria shook her head and said, "Mr. Adam, grapes are very expensive in Dubai."

"Grapes are not cheap anywhere in this season. I don't know if they will have some left for you. But it doesn't matter. I'll ask Kothari for some later and you can eat them all by yourself."

"Thank you, Mr. Adam. You are also a kind person." Aria said happily.

"No need to thank me. I want to hear you talk about Dubai. You can talk about anything. I'm interested."

Hearing this, Alia started talking about some trivial things in Dubai. Xian Yaowen listened carefully, extracting useful parts bit by bit from the useless information.

The bath lasted nearly three hours. Only when Alia could no longer give any useful advice did Xian Yaowen change into an Arab robe and walk out of the bathroom.

Glancing at the fruit bowl, he saw that the grapes were empty. He stopped and said to Aria who was following behind him, "Leave the three of them here, and you follow me out."

"Yes."

After leaving the room, Xian Yaowen waited for a while. After Aria closed the door, he pulled Aria's hand and asked her to walk side by side with him.

"What's the name of the oldest one there?"

"Baitullah."

"Where's the other one?"

"Fariha."

"What does respectively mean?"

Just now in the bathroom, Xian Yaowen had asked about the meaning of the two names, Alia and Aisha. Alia means noble, and Aisha means lively and lucky.

"Baitullah means virgin, and Fariha means happiness and joy."

"Oh, how old is Fariha?"

"Twelve years old."

“Are Aisha and Fareeha free?”

"No."

Xian Yaowen nodded without saying anything else. He walked left and right and came to the hall. The Indian housekeeper came up to him and led him to the garden.

In the garden, Kothari sat on a wooden platform covered with a white cloth. On each side of him was a maid holding a ceremonial fan to fan him. In front of him was a low table filled with fruits and drinks. Opposite the low table were two uncovered rectangular metal boxes filled with long ice cubes.

Lying in his arms was an Indian woman, dressed as a "saint". It was unclear whether it was a bad taste or the woman was really a prostitute from an Indian temple.

The Indian woman was peeling grapes in her hands and put each one into Kothari's mouth.

Kothari was holding a book in his hand. The cover of the book had turned yellow. Judging from the layout of the text on the cover, it was most likely David Ricardo's "Principles of Political Economy and Taxation", an 1817 edition.

He happened to have a copy, but he was reluctant to look through it, so he kept it carefully and bought a recently printed version to review it and learn new things.

As soon as the Indian butler stepped onto the wooden platform, Kothari noticed it, he looked up and suddenly a smile appeared on his face.

When Xian Yaowen came and sat down opposite him, he smiled and said, "Are you satisfied with the gift?"

Xian Yaowen patted Aria's thigh and said, "I am very satisfied with her."

Kothari glanced at his watch. "Three and a half hours, and you only enjoyed one?"

Xian Yaowen shrugged, "I want to buy Aria. Help me talk to her husband. I don't have a camel, but I can pay in pounds."

Kothari laughed and said, "Adam, you are a guest, how can I let you pay the bill? I will buy it and give it to you."

"Thank you, and Aria's baby."

"No problem." Kothari said cheerfully, "What about the other three?"

"If possible, I want Aisha and Baitullah. I want to take Aisha with me, and Baitullah..." Xian Yaowen pointed to the tent where the transport and protection team was not far away, "My men need to relax."

"Adam, are you sure you don't want to keep it for yourself? I carefully selected the Baitula."

Xian Yaowen hugged Aria and said, "Having her is enough for me."

"Okay." Kotari spread his hands. "The gift already belongs to you. You have the final say on how to deal with it. Do you need something to eat to replenish your energy?"

"uh-huh."

Kothari whispered something in a maid's ear, and then said to Xian Yaowen, "I'm afraid you can't get used to the food in Dubai, so I'll ask the kitchen to make you a bowl of beef noodles in clear soup."

"Kotari, you are very considerate." After saying that, Xian Yaowen muttered in his heart, "How many of Ma Bufang's men has Kotari recruited? He even has a chef who can make Lanzhou beef noodles."

The beef noodles arrived quickly and in a short while, two bowls of steaming noodles were placed on the low table.

Xian Yaowen scooped half of the noodles from his bowl into Aria's bowl and asked Aria to take it outside to eat. He picked up a grape from the fruit plate, held it in his hand and peeled it carefully, then peeled half of it and put it in his mouth and took a sip.

"There's a bit of water loss."

"It's good that the grapes can retain this moisture after being stored for half a year." Kothari picked up a grape and held it in his hand. "Last year, I predicted that the weather would be particularly hot this year, so I ordered thousands of tons of grapes from Azerbaijan. All of them were preserved using Afghanistan's Kanjina technology. I started selling them last month, and I recovered my investment after selling less than 400 tons."

"I'm willing to spend any amount of money to eat chilled grapes in the hot spring in Arabia. Kothari, you've seized a good business opportunity, but I admire you more for your relationship with Azerbaijan."

"Adam, it's nothing. The Soviet Union's member states are divided into Russia and others. The two are completely different concepts."

Xian Yaowen nodded, "I also have a fruit business in Hong Kong, but it's not as successful as yours. I've encountered some problems, and I'm working on solving them."

"Long term?"

"Yes."

"Need some Indian fruit?" Kothari asked with interest.

"I am interested in apples and black plums, but black plums are not easy to preserve and will be damaged too much during transportation. I can only collect some high-quality products and send them by air, and the quantity will not be too large. As for apples, if you have connections in Himachal Pradesh, we can talk about it."

Kothari smiled and said, “I have.”

“So, your gold business has reached Himachal Pradesh?”

"Adam, I'm also doing other trades besides gold."

Xian Yaowen thought for a moment and said, "If you have last year's inventory, send two tons to Hong Kong first. I'll try to sell it. If it sells well, we can discuss the details later."

"OK."

The two chatted about business trivia, but they tacitly did not mention the main topic. It was not the right time to talk about it yet, so they talked about other things to warm up the atmosphere, and the main topic could be left for tomorrow when the weather was not so hot.

They chatted for half an hour until the noodles became clumpy. Xian Yaowen observed Aria out of the corner of his eye and then "suddenly" remembered that he wanted to eat noodles. He declined Kothari's offer to make a new bowl, took a few bites of noodles and put down his fork.

At around 4:20, Xian Yaowen took Alia back to the room for a nap. The other three were no longer there. The Indian housekeeper appeared in time and explained that Aisha was arranged to live in the guest room and Baitullah was arranged to live in a servant room. As for Fareeha, no explanation was given and Xian Yaowen did not ask any further questions.

After the room returned to silence, Xian Yaowen lay down on the bed, and Aria sat cross-legged beside him, massaging his body.

"Aliya, did you hear the conversation I just had with Kothari?"

Aria paused, "Yes."

"I'm buying you to give you your freedom. You can go back to your husband, go anywhere you want, or work with me."

Xian Yaowen sat up and leaned against the back of the bed. He stretched out his hand to hold Alia in his arms and gently stroked her cheek. "I will be doing business in Dubai soon and need someone familiar with the place to serve as a guide. You are familiar with the place and can speak English, so you can do it. Please consider it carefully and give me an answer before I leave Dubai." (End of this chapter)