The arrogance started from Chinatown

Chapter 761 San Francisco

Yuan Shikai and others stayed in San Francisco for two days and found a comprador to accompany them.

As a large number of Southeast Asian Chinese businessmen came to the United States, a new profession developed to help those Chinese businessmen understand the local situation and become familiar with all aspects of life, including the culture, customs and people who need to be paid attention to in San Francisco.

Even these men had some knowledge of the business scene in San Francisco and Central America.

He also works as a part-time translator.

This kind of person is usually called a comprador or interpreter here, and his fees are quite high, at least $5 a day.

Those compradors who are familiar with the business situation in San Francisco and Central America and have many connections can charge hundreds of dollars a day, and they also help to negotiate deals and charge other fees.

Those compradors who have many connections and charge extremely high fees are actually one person's business.

Chen Zhenghu.

He is the largest comprador in San Francisco, and also the human resources director of Chen Zhengwei's company. He recommends any talent he discovers to Chen Zhengwei.

But most Malaysian Chinese businessmen can’t find a way to meet him.

He has a group of people under him who are dedicated to helping these wealthy businessmen understand local conditions, build connections, and find investment opportunities.

Otherwise, how would ordinary people know about business news in the United States and Central America?

The kind of person Yuan Shikai and his men were looking for had nothing to do with Chen Zhenghu. He just spoke good English and was familiar with the local situation. He charged $5 a day.

Early in the morning, a man in his 20s ran to the hotel and called Yuan Shikai and others.

"Hurry up and change your clothes. I'll take you to watch the fun later!"

"Comprador Huang, what are we going to watch?" Yuan Shikai asked curiously.

"A new warship was launched today! Many people are going to the port now!" said Comprador Huang.

Hearing this, Yuan Shikai and his companions immediately became interested: "What warship?"

"Just like the San Francisco and Los Angeles before, it's a big ship with a displacement of more than 4000 tons! You won't see it in the Qing Dynasty!" Comprador Huang straightened up with a proud look on his face.

"And today it's not just one ship, it's three ships!"

While Huang the comprador went out to wait for the others, Kang Youwei changed his clothes while saying to Yuan Shikai and his men, "These people keep talking about your Qing dynasty, but they have forgotten where their roots are!"

"Wherever my heart is at peace is my hometown! They have taken root here... and they no longer consider themselves as Qing people!" Xu Shichang said.

If they had come a few years earlier, the Chinese here would still be thinking about returning to the Qing Dynasty.

However, in the past two years, this idea has gradually become less common.

Especially in the past two years, tens of millions of people starved to death in Henan, and some of those who fled the famine were sold here, and the news spread.

Here we have food and drink, we are not bullied, and there is hope for the future, so why should we go back?

The group changed their clothes, then checked each other's hats and put their braids in them.

Unlike the Malay Chinese who cut their braids when they arrived in San Francisco, they did not plan to cut their braids.

Yuan Shikai and Xu Shichang were prepared to wait and see before making a decision, while Kang Youwei and Zhang Xuecheng actually came here to study.

The group then set off for the port, which was already crowded with people.

"Comprador Huang, where are the warships? Aren't they the ones over there?" Zhang Xuecheng stretched his neck to look to the side and saw several torpedo boats parked on the shore.

"No, they should not have left the shipyard yet! The shipyard is over there!" Comprador Huang said to several people while standing on tiptoe and looking around for a long time, pointing his hand to the north of the port.

After waiting for a while, a whistle sounded in the distance, and the crowd immediately shouted, "Here they come!"

Then everyone saw several ships coming along the coast and slowly entering the port.

There was a sudden cheer from the crowd.

Yuan Shikai kept pushing people aside in the crowd, saying with a grin, "Thank you, brother, for broadening my horizons! I just arrived and have little experience."

Although Yuan Shikai was young, he was tactful and not annoying.

The others were pushed aside by him and couldn't get angry.

A group of people squeezed to the front, leaning against Yuan Shikai, and saw a huge warship about a hundred meters long entering the port. The ferocious muzzle and metal hull made people sigh at the sight.

The name Oakland was written on the hull.

"How magnificent! How awe-inspiring!" Yuan Shikai was fascinated by the sight.

The construction of this ship began as early as March 81. Because the main focus was on building torpedo boats, the construction of the ship was slowed down and it has only been completed now.

Behind the Oakland were two transport ships, which looked less noticeable, but they only lacked cannons and were equally large in size.

These two transport ships also began construction at the beginning of last year. They have a displacement of 3300 tons, a speed of 23 knots, a maximum speed of 25 knots, and are designed to carry 2880 people at full capacity.

However, according to Chen Zhengwei's opinion, they could be allowed to eat less when transporting people, as long as they don't starve to death. A maximum of 3300 people can be loaded.

These two transport ships are twice as fast as mainstream transport ships in other countries. It only takes 11-13 days to travel from San Francisco to Ryukyu, and a round trip of one month is possible.

While looking at the boat, comprador Huang quietly patted Yuan Shikai on the shoulder, motioning him to look away.

During the past two days of contact, Huang felt that Yuan Shikai was the most flexible and was also the leader among the few. Xu Shichang was the oldest, but Yuan Shikai was always the leader.

Yuan Shikai and his companions looked in the direction he pointed, and saw more than 20 people standing there, all wearing gentleman's suits and soft hats, led by a gentle young man. "That's Mr. Rong!"

"The one next to Mr. Rong is Lord Tiger!"

"Is that Mr. Chen?" Yuan Shikai and his companions were a little disappointed. They had heard people talk about Chen the Lao Hu before they came, and he sounded very magical, but now he seemed just ordinary.

"Tiger's last name is also Chen, but the Chinese in San Francisco don't call him Mr. Chen. There is only one Mr. Chen in San Francisco... You are late. Mr. Chen was still here a while ago. But aren't you going to Los Angeles? You can see Mr. Chen in Los Angeles!"

"This Mr. Tiger is a relative of Mr. Chen. He is lucky..." Comprador Huang said halfway and then took back the rest of his words.

If you continue talking about it, it will cause misunderstanding.

Only then did they realize that this person was not Chen Lao Hu.

After watching at the port for a while, he saw Rong Jiacai and others boarding the ship, while Yuan Shikai and others gradually dispersed.

"It's indeed a strong ship and powerful guns! How many ships like this are there in San Francisco?" Yuan Shikai asked.

"The San Francisco, the Los Angeles, and this Oakland! These ships were built by Mr. Chen himself. They are better than the British ships!"

"And the Warrior and Palmer we bought from the British earlier... they are both this big! Especially the Warrior..."

"As for the smaller ones, there are many of them, at least dozens of them..."

Hearing this, Yuan Shikai and Xu Shichang looked at each other. Why was Chen Zhengwei, a businessman, buying and building so many warships?
The two had also seen the Nanyang Navy from afar, and there was a huge gap between the two sides.

"So how many warships do the most powerful British have now?" Zhang Xuecheng asked curiously.

"Then I don't know..." Comprador Huang spread his hands.

When the group left the port and passed by a bookstore on their way back, Kang Youwei suggested going in and taking a look.

"Brother Guangsha, do you understand?" Yuan Shikai found an opportunity to fight back.

Kang Youwei pointed at Yuan Shikai and said, "I didn't expect Weiting to be so petty! You still remember the joke I made earlier."

"It is never too late for a gentleman to take revenge!" Yuan Shikai laughed immediately, and others also laughed.

Afterwards, everyone went into the bookstore and looked around. Kang Youwei asked Huang Xueban, "Are there any books worth reading here?"

"Then it must be this book... "Cicely's Love Letters", this is the book Miss Cicely wrote to Mr. Chen!" Huang Xueban was very familiar with these things and knew what these people were interested in. He immediately found a book from the bookshelf.

"Miss Cicely?"

"The most poetic girl in the United States is the daughter of the DuPont family! She met Mr. Chen in Chicago, and later when she was studying, she missed Mr. Chen constantly. She wrote many letters to Mr. Chen, and then bound them into a book!" Huang Xueban explained.

"Have you seen it?" Kang Youwei was indeed interested in this.

"I've seen her once from afar. She was so beautiful that I was speechless! But Mrs. Chen is also beautiful! Beauty goes well with heroes!" Comprador Huang said with a smile.

Then Huang pointed to half of the bookshelf and said, "These are all related to the Chinese!"

He randomly picked out a few books and said to them: "A Brief History of China, How Chinese People Think, Religious Beliefs of Chinese People, Voices of Chinese Americans, Education First, Chinese People's Educational Philosophy"

"So many?" Yuan Shikai and his companions were shocked.

"A lot of foreigners are buying these books now." Huang the comprador said with a smile, then looked around and whispered mysteriously, "I heard that Mr. Chen had someone write them, and there are new books almost every month..."

"What do you mean?" Zhang Xuecheng asked.

"It seems to be called something like culture..." Huang, the comprador, just heard a few words when chatting with others occasionally, and he couldn't remember clearly.

This kind of thing was not something he could know.

He then concluded:
“These books can help Americans understand and identify with the Chinese.”

"Are these books sold in San Francisco or...?" Xu Shichang asked.

"Who are you showing it to in San Francisco? There are people all over America!" Comprador Huang looked at Xu Shichang in confusion.

Yuan Shikai and Xu Shichang looked at each other again, and Xu Shichang whispered in Yuan Shikai's ear: "You have great ambitions in your mind and good plans in your belly!"

Regardless of whether this idea was proposed by Chen Zhengwei, it can be seen from this situation that Chen Zhengwei's plans are far-reaching and he is definitely not an ordinary person.

Yuan Shikai nodded deeply.

In fact, he hasn't reacted yet, but he can't show his weakness at this moment.

On the way back, I thought about it for a long time before I finally understood the reason.

Then he agreed deeply with Xu Shichang's words.

The group stayed in San Francisco for a few more days, visiting various places and seeing street politicians advocating racial equality.

The group was not satisfied yet, but decided to take a train to Los Angeles, and also planned to celebrate the New Year in Los Angeles.

Once on the train, everything seemed new to the group.

It was the first time for all of them to take a train.

Comprador Huang also accompanied them to Los Angeles.

(End of this chapter)