Before Ito Hirobumi could continue, Fuyinji in the distance suddenly waved and said, "Ito... take me out of the city for a walk, I want to have a midnight snack!"
"There is a Sha Cha Noodles restaurant over at Nanshan Market that tastes the best. I'll change into civilian clothes and let's go eat..."
"Hai...I just obey the order of the young master. I will make arrangements right away. Let's go now!"
Ito trotted away with a smile on his face that was covered with flowers. How could it be different from the gloomy look on his face just now in the shadow of the city wall!
Xiao Letian doesn't want his child to become a flower raised in a deep palace. He wants his child to be a normal person first, a person with a sound personality, and then learn the emperor's mental skills at the top of the pyramid!
For Fu Yin'er, as long as the security work is in place, Xiao Letian is willing for him to go to the market or even go to the slums to let him know that most of life is actually bitter, and not all about eating meat. !
The fireworks show has lasted for a full three hours. The cost of Chinese cigarettes today is at least four to five million taels of silver. What kind of extravagance is this? Originally Xiao Letian refused, but he couldn't resist the unanimous vote of the big council!
After the victory of the Franco-Prussian War, the Chinese approved a large amount of celebration funds. Now that they have cut off so many concessions from the Manchus, this is a big event worthy of celebration. How can they feel sorry for that little money?
It’s not like the Chinese don’t have money. Nowadays, the Chinese financial industry is completely oversupplied with money. In the era of the gold and silver standard, slight inflation actually occurred. This shows how much impact the 1.2 billion gold francs compensation had on the Chinese. !
If you have money, you have to spend it. The trend of extravagance among the Chinese people has been on the rise recently. There is no reason for the Great Council to disapprove hundreds of thousands of taels of fireworks. In fact, including the parade performances under the city, floats patrolling the streets, song and dance performances, etc. Annuity red envelopes for the elderly, disabled soldiers, orphans and children, etc.
For the Spring Festival celebration in 1872 alone, the Chinese approved a total of 2.7 million taels of silver!
Xiao Letian's body ached from spending this money. While he was drinking and drinking, he secretly pulled his father-in-law and whispered, "The industrial zone must speed up the progress. My old Taishan, look at the way these people spend money. It’s really life-threatening!”
"The 1.2 billion gold francs can basically be repaid in three years. We have also invested a lot in gold and silver mines in Central and South America. There has been a net inflow of gold and silver currency!"
"But has the productivity within our Chinese community kept up? Not yet. The gap is still huge..."
"There is more money, but the quantity of materials produced cannot keep up, which will naturally cause prices to rise. You have to be more careful..."
Fan Yan glared at him, "Am I paying attention? Why didn't I pay attention? But the currency is coming like a tide. What can I do?"
"You haven't neglected the internal affairs of the Qing Dynasty! Nowadays, the purchasing power of southern banknotes is getting stronger and stronger, and the people are increasingly recognizing our banknotes. The central bank has been able to absorb a large amount of silver savings every month!"
"In the past few years, I have only built six silver vaults to store silver! There are too many, and I have been forced to reduce the scale of printing banknotes again and again. The purpose is to let the silver flow back to the market. I am really scared! "
"But it's useless. There are too many people in Asian countries who want to do business with us Chinese, so we can only print more banknotes and mint more silver coins!"
"You have to hurry up. The coin minting machines from the United States and Germany have been delayed for three months and have not arrived. If this continues, I will not use theirs. I will directly replace them with British machines!"
The old father-in-law hadn't reprimanded his son-in-law for a long time, but he found an opportunity to open up the conversation, but he didn't hold the door shut. The Four Heavenly Kings and other veterans around him all secretly laughed secretly as they watched the leader Fan Jianxun coming and going.
Xiao Letian scratched his head and said, "Yes...Father-in-law, it's whatever you say. I know your job is not easy, so I gave you some advice!"
"In the final analysis, money itself has no value. Do you think gold and silver can be eaten or worn? It only has value if it is converted into commodities..."
"This thing is just a target! If there are more target items than commodities, prices will naturally skyrocket. If there are fewer target items than commodities, prices will naturally fall and deflate!"
"So the first point we need to focus on is productivity. We have to produce more goods and then match them with appropriate currency supply!"
"There is really too much money now, and productivity cannot keep up... What should we do? Then we can only start with infrastructure first. We have to invest in so many special zones from the beginning, and we have to spend all the money on it!"
"You are an old man and have high moral standing. You have to persuade them in the big council! You can't spend money like this. Wouldn't it be good to buy more machine tools? Wouldn't it be nice to build more freighters?"
"Okay, okay... you are right, I will listen to you... but I have to ask you, my body is getting worse day by day, who are you going to choose to take over my class?"
"This Chinese central bank controls the financial order of the entire Asia. I can't do it until I die..."
Xiao Letian also frowned, "Why do you mention this during the Chinese New Year?"
"Why can't you mention it? You are the head of the Chinese nation. You can't follow the common people's rules and avoid taboos... Isn't it just death? I am mentally prepared, and you must be too!"
"You must consider and train your successor in advance..."
"Then...father-in-law, who do you think is suitable? You have to give me a list to think about!"
Fan Jian pondered for a while, "Hey... Actually, there are only a few candidates. We must have people who are familiar with the overall situation and have many years of contact with high-level people!"
"In fact, those leaders in the council can be considered, such as Mi Fu and Lao Niu. If you don't dislike the status of the rest, Hu Xueyan is also fine... Recently I saw that Sheng Huaixuan is a talent worth cultivating, but it's a pity that They are Li Hongzhang’s people!”
"If you are willing, you can transfer that boy Jin Sanshun to me from the navy. He does have two skills, but I guess you are reluctant to waste the navy's talents..."
"There is another one...Liu Henzhen...but he used to be a beggar, and it would be a bit unpleasant for the national body if word spread..."
"After much thought, these are the only ones who are reliable. Others say it's not possible, but it takes time to train them... These people have been exposed to real high-level operations and know how to consider the overall situation!"
Xiao Letian thought about it but couldn't make a decision quickly. "Then I'll think about it slowly. My father-in-law still has to rely on you during this period. How hard it is!"
"But I don't agree with what you said at the end. Why do you look down on Liu Hesheng? He became a beggar because of the war. It's not like he was eating, drinking, whoring, gambling or smoking..."
"Hey... I knew you had to say that!" Fan Yan sighed, "Actually, I have no prejudice against Liu Henzhen! But don't forget, the Chinese are no longer the small local warlords that no country recognized in the past! "
"We are now a country. Britain, France, Germany, and Germany have all changed their credentials with us. We are also a major power in the world! At this time, we really need to save face and cannot lose our national identity!"
"Isn't that an official from the foreign devils' realm who has several generations of noble status? But we have a beggar..."
Xiao Letian frowned. He suddenly realized that his father-in-law was old. He was really old. He was a bit stubborn and paranoid!
