The Qing Dynasty is about to end

Chapter 278 Shanghai Beach, Sister Yuegui, Selling Piglets (Seeking Tickets, Seeking Orders)
The Bund, downstairs of Lao Dexi Restaurant.

A Western-style four-wheeled carriage, escorted by ten cavalrymen armed with revolvers, stopped steadily on the main road of the Bund.

A Guangdong doorman standing at the entrance of a western restaurant stepped forward quickly and opened the door for the distinguished guest in the carriage. Then a tall man wearing a blue cloth gown, a western-style top hat, and carrying an exquisitely crafted cane came out of the carriage.

This person did not walk into the restaurant immediately. Instead, he turned around and stretched out his hand very gentlemanly, leading out a short, beautiful, mature woman wearing a tight jacket that highlighted her extremely charming curves.

The man was none other than Luo Xueyan, the Shanghai warlord who had just "returned victoriously to Shanghai". The woman with him was not Zhou Xiuying, the hostess of Yu Garden, but Xu Yuegui, the general manager of Yu Garden.

When Xu Yuegui got out of the carriage, she had a silver dollar in her jade hand, and handed it to the Guangdong doorman who opened the door as a tip. The doorman said in a flattering manner, "Thank you, Sister Yuegui."

Xu Yuegui nodded politely, then walked up to Luo Xueyan generously, took Luo Xueshuai's arm, and walked into the Lao Dexi Restaurant together in full view of the public on the Bund Street.

"The doorman just called you Sister Yuegui. Is he also your disciple?"

Luo Xueyan, who had just walked into Lao Dexi's restaurant, asked the woman holding his arm with a smile.

"Yes," Xu Yuegui admitted generously, "Thanks to Xue Shuai, all the Red Gang leaders in Shanghai are now my disciples. Most of the Cantonese and Fujianese who make a living in Shanghai are Red Gang disciples. They all know me. This Lao De Ji is a place you often visit. I have already made arrangements to replace all the Chinese guys here with reliable Red Gang members."

The so-called Red Gang is the Hongmen, also known as the Tiandihui. Because the Tiandihui has always been under the banner of overthrowing the Qing Dynasty and restoring the Ming Dynasty, it is not convenient to openly display its own brand. Therefore, there are various "vests", such as the Triads, the Sandianhui, the Hongmen, the Red Gang, the Xiaodaohui, etc.

Originally, most of the Tiandihui disciples in Shanghai used the Xiaodaohui sign, but after the last Xiaodaohui uprising, the sign was changed to the Red Gang.

Today, the leader of Shanghai's Red Gang is Xu Yuegui, the most trusted woman of Luo Xueyan and the manager of Yu Garden.

During the time when Luo Xueyan was fighting Su Sanniang, Xu Yuegui, in his capacity as the leader of the Tiandihui's Recruiting Hall, summoned all the Red Gang bosses in Shanghai and ordered them to become his disciples.

These Red Gang bosses are well-informed. Who doesn't know what the background of this Yuegui sister is? She is the general manager of Yu Garden and the white glove of Luo Xueshuai in Shanghai. Who dares to disobey? The Yu Garden secret door pistol team is not something that these people with knives and axes can deal with.

If the Secret Door Pistol Team cannot handle the problem, then the New Army’s Foreign Rifle Team will attack directly.

In the face of absolute strength, all the Red Gang bosses, no matter how senior they were, had to call her "Sister Yuegui" and perform the Hongmen salute of three nods of the phoenix, to express their recognition of Xu Yuegui as the leading sister of the Hongmen in Shanghai.

"Oh, what about the Cao Gang?" Luo Xueyan asked in a low voice as he walked upstairs with Xu Yuegui on his arm, "Are the people of the Cao Gang convinced?"

"The Cao Gang dare not disobey!" Xu Yuegui said with a smile, "If Xue Shuai is worried about them, I will go to Hangzhou in a few days and bring the guardian Panlong Staff to Shanghai!"

The headquarters of the Cao Gang has always been in Hangzhou. There is a saying that the Panlong Stick, the guardian stick given by Emperor Qianlong when he went to the south of the Yangtze River, is the treasure of the Cao Gang and the symbol of the leader of the Cao Gang.

However, the stick is now just a symbol and has no practical significance. The only place where the Cao Gang’s headquarters can really have the final say is in the city of Hangzhou.

"Don't worry about taking over the Cao Gang yet, they are the ones who need to be in a hurry!" Luo Xueyan said with a smile, "Yuegui, Shanghai Beach can't do without you now, so you must hurry up with the matter of Sanxin Company!"

"I understand." Xu Yuegui nodded heavily.

As the two were talking, they had already reached the door of a private room. Two short and sturdy men, wearing short shirts and long pants, with coarse cloth belts around their waists, were standing guard at the door. They were surprised to see Xu Yuegui and Luo Xueyan coming over, then they both bowed to Xu Yuegui and called her "Sister Yuegui" in unison.

Then, one of them opened the door of the private room attentively. Luo Xueyan and Xu Yuegui walked into the room, which was a luxuriously decorated room with a long table and a window facing the Huangpu River.

Inside the room, Wu Jianzhang and Wu Chaoyue, the grandparents and grandchildren, had been waiting for a while with the American Minister to China, Marshall, and the American Consul in Shanghai, Ma Hui.

Seeing Luo Xueyan and Xu Yuegui coming in, the four of them stood up together to greet them.

Luo Xueyan greeted them for a few words, and then sat down with Xu Yuegui at one side of the long table, facing the Huangpu River. The two Americans sat opposite them, while Wu Jianzhang and Wu Chaoyue sat at the two ends of the table.

Soon, a waiter brought coffee, milk tea and two plates of freshly baked bread. Luo Xueyan took a sip of coffee and ate a little bread, then smiled and pointed to Xu Yuegui beside him and introduced her to Ma Shali and Ma Hui: "This is Sister Yuegui, the boss of Shanghai Sanxin Company, and this is American Minister Ma Shali and American Consul Ma Hui."

Luo Xueyan spoke English when he introduced Xu Yuegui, and then spoke Chinese when he introduced the two Americans to Xu Yuegui.

Then, Xu Yuegui greeted Mashali and Ma Hui with a smile and the English she had just learned. They exchanged business cards and they became acquainted.

"Mr. Minister, Mr. Consul, Sanxin Company is a big business in labor export!" Wu Jianzhang immediately changed the topic to business with a smile.

"Labor export" is not a respectable business nowadays. This business has a nickname called "selling piglets." Even though Luo Yaoguo is now using Luo Xueyan's "small account," he is embarrassed to use his own name to do this kind of business, so he pushed Xu Yuegui out as a white glove.

In addition, the business of "selling piglets" is sometimes not a matter of handing over money and handing over people at the same time, but sending the "piglets" out first, and then waiting for the "piglets" to make money before collecting the money.

In order to prevent the "piglets" from escaping the debt, the "piglets"' wives and children are usually taken as collateral.
So this is a business that only gangsters can do!
Wu Jianzhang's grandson, Wu Chaoyue, glanced at the "female boss" pushed out by Luo Xueyan with a bit of lechery, nodded slightly, and then took over his grandfather's topic and said in English: "Sanxin Company is responsible for recruiting poor people who have no food to eat in China as contract laborers. Sister Yuegui is now the female boss of the Shanghai Red Gang. She will take care of the poor people's affairs. You two don't have to worry.

Tong Shun Hang will organize a fleet to transport people to California, USA. Tong Shun Hang is my family's business. My grandfather is already trying to buy a ship. He has already set his eyes on three paddle-steamer ships belonging to Jardine Matheson and Po Shun Hang. They can be purchased immediately and the crew can also be hired.

Qichang Foreign Trade Company was responsible for finding new employers for indentured workers in the United States. My grandfather was originally a major shareholder of Qichang Company. In the past few months, he bought some more shares and Xue Shuai also acquired some. However, American capital did not withdraw completely. Now American capital still accounts for 40% of Qichang Company.

HSBC was responsible for providing loans to Sanxin Company, Tongshun Bank, and Qichang Foreign Company, and also doing remittance business for contract workers. HSBC was a business jointly opened by my family and Xue Shuai's family. We also had connections in the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom and had ways to transfer money from there to Shanghai.

Now there are gold mines everywhere in California, and there is a severe shortage of labor. The labor cost is sky-high. My grandfather and I have calculated repeatedly that if a contract worker can be safely transported to the United States, it can at least provide a profit of 50 silver dollars for Sanxin Company, Tongshun Company, and Qichang Foreign Company. If 10,000 people are transported, it will be 500,000, and if 100,000 are transported, it will be 5 million!

HSBC's remittance business is a long-term business. Moreover, HSBC can also absorb remittances and deposits from wealthy people in the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom's territory in southern Jiangsu. It charges a 5% handling fee for helping them transfer money from their hometowns. It is really profitable!"

While the grandparents of the Wu family were talking about business with great excitement, Luo Xueyan was observing the expressions of the two Americans. When he saw the undisguised greed on their faces, he finally laughed and interrupted, "Mr. Marsali and Robert Sanxin's money may not be clean, but the profits of Tongshun Bank, Qichang Bank and HSBC Bank must be clean. These three banks are just starting out now and their business is not big, but they will definitely have great potential in the future. Do you want to seize this opportunity and invest tens of thousands of dollars?"

I guarantee at least a tenfold return in five years!

If you two are short of money and don't have these tens of thousands of dollars, you can borrow from HSBC. HSBC is a business between Lord Wu and me. We both believe in your credit. You don't need to provide any collateral. We can lend you the money immediately!

By the way, Mr. Wu has already asked the American manager of Qichang Bank, and he said that this is in compliance with American law, so you two can rest assured!"

Mashali and Ma Hui were already grinning from ear to ear. They both knew the law. After hearing what Wu Chaoyue and Luo Xueyan said, they knew that Tongshun Bank, Qichang Bank and HSBC Bank were all legal and good businesses!
Luo Xueyan is truly a Chinese Republican leader who grew up listening to stories about Washington, and a good friend of the United States!
(End of this chapter)