According to the international practice established by Qi Yu, all visiting warships from foreign countries must discharge the live ammunition in the gun barrels with a gun salute before they can go ashore to ask for permission.
As a China expert, Jones naturally knew this very well. Before Dahua's defenders could urge him, he took the initiative to complete this etiquette.
After docking, Qi Xiaotong received him as the head of state.
"Dear Her Majesty the Queen..."
"Huh? Your envoy's wording is wrong, please correct me."
"mistaken?"
"Yes, you should call me the respected President of Dahua."
this……
Don’t they all mean the same thing?
Jones smiled awkwardly and corrected himself: "Dear President of Dahua, on behalf of the British Empire, I would like to formally send you a request to establish diplomatic relations. You Chinese people often say that if you have close friends in the sea, your neighbors will be as close as the end of the world. I hope you will take this as your great cause. Please accept our sincere hospitality."
"What? You want to establish diplomatic relations with Dahua?" Qi Xiaotong was startled for a moment, then smiled: "Your country and Dahua are separated by sea and sky, and they are neither neighbors nor allies. Establishing diplomatic relations or not does not mean the same thing. Same?"
Jones laughed and said: "Now, we are in the booming age of navigation. For HNA, a distance of thousands of miles is just a blink of an eye. President Qi is a wise man, how can he have such superficial ideas? "The Analects of Confucius·Yan Yuan" says: Within the four seas, we are all brothers..."
Qi Xiaotong was too lazy to listen to his words and interrupted: "I don't know what kind of benefits we, Dahua, can get if we establish diplomatic relations with your country."
Talk about benefits?
Haha, then there is a way.
Jones quickly put on a very friendly face and said: "Look, your country's rich resources such as coal, iron ore, and timber are the first-class materials that our Western country urgently needs. Suppose that we can establish diplomatic relations with each other. If so, we are willing to start resource trade with your country with extraordinary sincerity and good prices."
Xiaotong rejected him without even thinking: "Miners and other resources are the core capital of Dahua. According to the provisions of the constitution, resources are only for domestic demand and not for foreign trade. Therefore, the idea of honoring the envoy is in reality Unable to implement."
Can't sell?
No problem.
It seemed that Jones was not surprised at all and was obviously prepared.
"Since resource commodities are not suitable, how about we switch to agricultural and sideline products?" "This... is possible. However, the decision depends on your specific bid."
"Haha, we are willing to pay a sky-high price!"
"What? A sky-high price?"
This sentence really shocked Qi Xiaotong.
All the buyers and sellers in the world are always asking for prices and paying back the money on the spot. Have you ever heard of a buyer taking the initiative to raise the price?
This move is really against common sense.
After calming down, Qi Xiaotong asked again: "I wonder what agricultural and sideline products from our country you want to buy?"
Jones also imitated the Chinese old man, stroking his beard and smiling, and then he took out a piece of black paste from his pocket.
"This is it!"
"Ah...where did you get this thing?"
"President, don't worry, Qiong will neither steal nor rob, and her background is definitely the right one."
"Well……"
It is not difficult to see from Qi Xiaotong's shocked expression that she still attaches great importance to this 'black bump'.
However!
These reactions of hers fell into Jones's eyes without missing a beat.
This made the latter even more convinced that Qi Xiaotong must have this object in his hand, otherwise, she would not ask in such a tone.
In fact, Jones was only half right.
Qi Xiaotong did control such a thing in his hands, but it was only used for manufacturing medical drugs, not for brewing the black ointment in front of him.
Of course, those growing things that are planted are not included in this list.
Objectively speaking, Qi Xiaotong has a lot of knowledge about this thing.
Although she had never formally studied medicine, she still learned a lot under the influence of Grand Master Meng Lanshan.
The old man once said very seriously that poppy can be a kind-hearted Bodhisattva or a bloodthirsty demon. Whether it is good or bad depends on how you use it.
In addition, his father Qi Yu also repeatedly warned that such things must be strictly controlled and must not be leaked. This is the bottom line of justice and must be strictly abided by.
With such strict control, how could it possibly leak out?
As for the origin of this object, Jones deliberately kept it secret.
This is not to say that he is very loyal to Duan Zicheng, but because he does not want to offend anyone who holds this thing. If the relationship is messed up, how can we do business in the future? However, facing Qi Xiaotong's repeated questions, he had to answer.
After weighing it, he responded in an ambiguous way: "I got this thing by chance from an old man with rich sailing experience. As for who he is, don't ask any more... Later, After many inquiries, I finally learned that this plant has been planted in Australia, so I went to look for it."
There was both truth and falsehood in these words, making it difficult for Qi Xiaotong to tell whether they were true or false.
In terms of origin, poppy is a unique product of South America, and is not original or unique to Southeast Asia. Since my father can bring it back across the ocean, why can't others?
Perhaps, the thing in his hand was not produced in Nanyang.
Thinking of this section, Xiaotong breathed a sigh of relief, and the tension on her face suddenly dissipated a lot.
Seeing that her expression softened, Jones quickly tried to test: "As far as I know, such a thing is not within the provisions of the Dahua Constitution. If I buy it at a high price, President Qi will not refuse it anymore, right?"
Frankly speaking, Qi Xiaotong wanted to use this to trick him.
However, she never forgets her father's warning, so how can she dare to act recklessly?
In the end, she had no choice but to politely refuse: "To be honest with you, Australia has just begun its political development, and its agricultural cultivation is seriously backward. With this little output, domestic demand is still unsustainable, so how can it be in vain?" What about increasing exports?”
"What are you..."
"I'm sorry, but my envoy's journey was in vain."
Well……
Chinese people often say that if a business is not successful, it is impossible to say anything, and once words are spoken, they will be sold.
Make a bid and add more!
"Ten taels of gold and one tael of cigarettes!"
"Uh...not for sale!"
"Fifteen taels of gold and one tael of cigarettes!"
"Oh... let's wait until later!"
talk about it later?
What does this mean?
Could this be a hint that the price is on the low side?
This is a bit difficult to handle!
To be honest, this price is already the limit of my rights. If it is higher, I will not be able to make the decision. Unless there is a nod from a higher-level person, it will have to be shelved.
Is it really going to be a waste of time?
Not willing~~
But at this moment, Jones' eyes suddenly flashed, and he couldn't help but get into the trap.
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