Our Hurd, this Hurd is really the idol of all the adventurers who came to East Asia. The best Westerner in the Qing Empire was Hurd and the other was Sir Gordon!
However, Sir Gordon's wealth was earned with his life, which most people cannot envy, while Hurd relied on knowledge and financial and tax knowledge that is not uncommon in Europe!
This is very enviable, because under the influence of hundreds of years of mercantilism, basically European intellectuals know how to calculate accounts and understand economics. In fact, others can do Hart's job!
Simpson is not only a gold medal reporter and writer, but also a very famous artist and traveler. Such a person is very well educated and naturally has no problems with financial accounts!
On the way from the pier to the British Embassy area, Simpson and his friend's sedans moved forward side by side. The curtains on both sides were opened, so the two could chat casually and see the exotic scenery along the way!
From this bizarre case in Guo Ju's family, they talked about the magical literati tea, and the two of them were very happy about this tea that was completely picked by the lips of virgins!
The conversation about tea naturally turned to the tea business. A friend who had been here a year earlier cursed the European tea merchants, "These bastard liars know how to use fermented black tea to deceive consumers. In fact, the most beautiful tea in China is always fresh!"
"It's difficult to transport the freshest tea over long distances. The tea leaves may have fermented themselves when shipped from mountains and seas to Europe. We Europeans don't have the luxury of drinking top-quality fresh tea!"
"I can only use shelf-stable black tea instead. Now I drink Maojian, Biluochun, Guapian... and even Beijing people's favorite flower tea every day!"
"Each one is much better than what we drink... God, if I go back to China that day and never drink such good tea again, I will really go crazy!"
Simpson found it difficult to understand his friend's reluctance. He retorted, "It takes three months for the fastest clipper ship to arrive from Shanghai to Europe. Could it be that these fresh spring teas cannot be preserved for even three months?"
"I have tasted it. These fresh teas have also been dried and fried. They should be able to be stored for three months, right?"
"Hey...you don't understand, the business here is too big!"
"Let me tell you clearly, European tea merchants are not willing to sell this kind of top-quality tea. On the one hand, it is because the European black tea market has already formed a habit!"
"You can already make a steady profit by selling cheap black tea. If you sell new flavors of tea, the market will need time to adapt. This will cost money!"
"On the other hand, the transportation cost of this kind of fresh tea is relatively high, and the output is not large, so it is difficult to achieve economies of scale. It is not easy for businessmen to make money!"
"Finally! And the most critical point... Nowadays, the Chinese are eyeing the coastline of Asia, and we can't afford to offend them when doing business!"
"They are all Chinese and have advantages in connections and culture, so the truly top-quality teas are monopolized by those Chinese businessmen!"
"I estimate that in the future, the European high-end tea market will be dominated by these Chinese businessmen sooner or later!"
"Haven't you noticed the clues about Lip Tea? The entire tea mountain can only produce more than 100 pounds a year. This amount of output can only be circulated in a niche circle, and there is no way to expand the business!"
"God bless our Hurd. If he hadn't controlled the customs in the Qing Dynasty, it would have been even more difficult for us to do business in Asia!"
As a British person, Hurd naturally has to consider the interests of his own businessmen, and at the same time he also brings advanced European customs management experience. At least all procedures will be institutionalized!
After comparing with the tax collectors of the Qing Dynasty, Simpson realized how civilized the tax officials in his country were. At least they collected taxes and issued a receipt for you!
How much tax should be paid for each shipment of goods is public, there will be no bribery problem, everyone can clearly calculate it!
But this is not the case in the Qing Dynasty. All financial transactions are chaotic. You have no idea how much taxes you should pay and how much expenses you should spend!
The friend pointed forward and said, "Here we are... across the Huangpu River is our British Embassy District. Remember, if you want to avoid a lot of trouble in China, try to deal with Chinese businessmen!"
"Although they are very arrogant and not as groveling as other Qing businessmen, at least they have rules and it is very safe to do things with them!"
Unexpectedly, Simpson learned a good lesson at his first stop in China. After eating a welcome banquet prepared by his friends and the embassy counselor in the evening, Simpson returned to the hotel and began to take notes. These were all written after returning to China. Original source material for the weekly series!
Time is very tight. The Qing Emperor's wedding is scheduled for the beginning of October in the Western calendar. There are only less than two months to go before this date!
Simpson must rush from Shanghai to Beijing within this time period!
Originally, he wanted to take a Chinese steamer all the way north to Dagukou after resting in Shanghai, but he did not expect that the scheduled steamer could not come due to an accident caused by a Nanyang typhoon!
Simpson's plan was completely disrupted. They searched for many merchant ships but found no suitable ones. In the end, they had no choice but to take the Grand Canal and head north to the capital!
He only stayed in Shanghai for two nights before packing his bags and setting off. At first he chose the land route, from Songjiang Prefecture to Suzhou Prefecture to Changzhou Prefecture, then changed boats from Zhenjiang and went all the way north along the canal!
Since the important day of Emperor Tongzhi's wedding is still two months away, the northbound route of the canal during this period has a green light, and all ships going south must give way to ships going north!
Because you don’t know whether these boats are for officials or gifts. Anyway, delaying a boat heading north may be a lawsuit!
"Simpson, I sent my men to send a telegram. My friends over in Zhenjiang are helping you find a ship. They will definitely find you the highest ship. I will ensure that you reach the capital safely!"
The British Embassy hired a group of local escort agents from Jiangnan. These locals who were familiar with the ground could escort Simpson to Zhenjiang safely!
It was really eye-opening for Simpson. When the little pennant embroidered with a tiger on the escort office was raised, none of the checkpoints along the way made things difficult for them. Many businesses gave way to the official road to let them walk in the middle!
There was no words on the way, and the war horses almost broke the bones of him and the Indian servants. When they arrived in Suzhou City, the escort saw that the foreigner couldn't hold on anymore, so he had to rest here tonight!
After choosing a time-honored restaurant in the city, the group washed up and prepared for dinner, but at this time Simpson discovered a problem!
He has no money!
