C84 (1/2)
Chapter 84 - Carnegie Family
The French Merchant Shipping's Lucky was in the opium trade, and was also involved in smuggling, but in essence, it was still a merchant, a merchant with morals. When the Lucky ship slowly approached the wreckage, Xiao Letian found that the whole sea area had turned into a mess.
”Oh god, this is so tragic …” Ke Xijia kept crossing himself on his chest. In the sea at the bow of the ship, one could smell the faint scent of blood. Broken wooden planks and floating barrels were everywhere. Amidst the chaos, the remains of human corpses were still floating in the air.
The fins of a shark could be seen from time to time. There were at least forty to fifty sharks on those fins. It seemed like the boat was doomed.
”Look, there's a small sampan ahead of us...” ”Oh my god, there's a man who's passed out. He's European …” The rowers hurried to the sampan and used ropes to haul the boat back to the Lucky.
The crew of the lucky ship searched the area for an hour before confirming that the only survivor was the European. When the sky began to darken and dinner was ready, the young man lying on the deck finally woke up.
”Oh, thank you …” I'm on a boat in that country? ” The man took a few sips of water to regain his strength.
”English? American? You are a Americans... We are the France's merchant ship Lucky, I am the captain, Ke Xijia, these Chinese are my guests … ” Ke Xijia said.
At this time, Xiao Letian also squatted down and asked in English, ”Friend, I am a friend of the American Minister Hua Ruohan and the Cleric Louis. I am willing to provide you with the necessary help.
”Ah?” The people of Qing could actually speak with such a New York accent … Oh yes, the merchant ship I am on originally wanted to transport a boat full of sugar to Ningbo, but met with this storm halfway. If it weren't for you, I'm afraid I would have gone to God.
During the conversation, everyone knew that the Americans's full name was Mike. Carnegie, inspecting the global market in the name of a sea merchant, was also a very common person. Most of them were the children of rich families who wanted to get some exercise, and the family gave them a sum of money.
For example, in this sugar trade, Mike had spent over two hundred bags of money to buy it. When he arrived in Ningbo, he would also sell the sugar along with the owner to earn some meagre travel funds.
Generally speaking, the sea merchants would be happy to help these young people because those who dared to play like this were all children with higher education and a certain background. Who wouldn't want to have more connections?
In the captain's room, Xiao Letian and Captain Ke Xijia invited the young people to dinner together. During the dinner, Xiao Letian asked Mike for his next plan.
”I have to go to Qing Country. As a commercial investigator of the clan, I have to understand the first-hand information about Qing Country. I heard that the Industrial Zones of Qing Nation is about to be activated, so I have to work hard for the clan …”
Hearing that, Ke Xijia and Ke Xijia looked at each other and laughed, then Ke Xijia said, ”Mike, my ship is preparing to send Mr. Xiao back, I will be returning home, I'm afraid I can't send you back to Qing Province. However, if you are willing to follow Mr. Xiao, you can travel together with him. With this Americans's friend, I think that you will definitely reap rewards from your trip to the Qing Nation … ”
Xiao Letian dipped some dry bread into the thick French soup, feeling the crispy taste in his mouth, his mind kept spinning, thinking. After some time, he thoughtfully asked, ”Mr. Mike, did you just say your last name is Carnegie?” I have a question. I wonder if you know someone named Andrew. Where are the Carnegie people? The Jews, they should be in the steel business... ”
He stared at Xiao Letian in disbelief. ”Why do you know my brother? My uncle's brother's name is Andrew Carnegie, and this time I received money from my brother to explore the market in Daqing... ”
Puchi … Xiao Letian spat out all of his tea in one mouthful, and the waves in his heart surpassed the storm that had just subsided. In his previous life, Xiao Letian had also read about this legendary Steel King before. Although Xiao Letian could not remember the date of that biography very clearly, he remembered one thing.
Shortly after the end of the Civil War, when Carnegie was thirty years old, he officially created the Carnegie Steel plant and quickly entered the fast track of his career. Right now, it was just when Carnegie was about to start. If he could get involved, the benefits would be countless.
In 1865, Carnegie established his own steel company, and it was this year that Xiao Letian met Carnegie's brother in Ryukyu.
Currently, Carnegie was not the richest man in the United States with a reputation all over the world. He was only a small accomplished steel merchant, so his Carnegie Steel plant should still be under construction. It was hard to say whether or not it would be put into production. For the current Carnegie, it was impossible for him not to pay attention to the huge Qingguo market.