"Tony, what does Russian serf mean? Is it the same as black slave?" Heidi asked Tangning while reading the newspaper during breakfast that day.
Tangning knew that what Heidi was reading was the discussion and report in the newspaper about the "General Decree on Peasants Freed from Serfdom" issued by Russian Czar Alexander II, so he took a sip of coffee and replied: "Although it is different in name
, but in fact they are all the same! The serf owners can also order the serfs to do anything at will, and they can also buy, sell and give away the serfs."
"Are these serfs black slaves?" Heidi asked again.
Tangning shook her head and replied, "Of course not!"
"Where did you buy it from?" Heidi asked.
"No need to buy it, these people are Russian farmers themselves!" Tang Ning explained.
"What?! Does that mean they use the people in their hometown as slaves?" Heidi couldn't help but exclaimed.
Tangning nodded and replied: "Yes! So compared to these serf owners, we are still relatively noble. At least we don't bully people of the same skin color, the same country or even the same hometown!" (While writing this, a sudden thought occurred to me.
Don’t write another book about serf owners?)
Heidi nodded and agreed: "Yes, it's really hard for me to accept using white people as black slaves!"
While the two were chatting, the butler suddenly came in and reported: "Boss, Mr. Zena wants to see you!"
"Oh? What's wrong with him?" Tang Ning asked casually.
The butler shook his head and replied: "I don't know this, but judging from his appearance, it should be a big deal!"
"Okay then, let him wait for me in the reception room!" Tangning ordered.
A few minutes later, Tangning walked to the reception room and asked Zena, "Thomas, what do you want from me?"
Zena hesitated for a moment, and then replied: "Boss, I, I want to resign!"
"Resign? Can you tell me why you want to resign? Is it because you are not satisfied with the salary or for some other reason?" Tang Ning asked with a frown.
Zena quickly waved his hand and replied: "Boss, don't get me wrong, the salary you offered me and Stevens is already the highest among our peers. I resigned because I want to do business in China!"
To be honest, Zena's reason was really beyond Tangning's expectations. She couldn't even believe her ears: "What?! Are you going to China?"
Zena nodded and replied: "Yes, we are going to China in the far east. I heard from a friend that China has signed a contract with us, so we can do business in China, and there is nothing there, even coffee.
There are no museums, but there are so many people in Europe, so I thought it would be easy to make money there!"
Tangning reacted and felt that what Zena was talking about was the "Tianjin Treaty" signed during the Second Opium War. Although the Second Opium War was dominated by Britain and France, Russia and the United States were also involved, so in fact "
The Treaty of Tianjin was signed between the Qing government and Britain, France, Russia, and the United States.
Among them, what attracted Zena was "the opening of ten cities including Nanjing as treaty ports", "foreign merchant ships can freely sail into the treaty ports along the Yangtze River", and "foreigners can travel to the mainland to do business."
Although there are these contract terms, to be honest, Tang Ning is not optimistic about the prospects of foreign businessmen, especially small businessmen like Zena, going to China to do business. However, it is not convenient to say this. After all, she has never been to China, so it is difficult to say it.
It's hard to be convincing. Besides, this is not Tangning's biggest concern: "Then will Stevens go with you?"
Zena shook his head and replied: "Stevens said that he felt that he was very happy here thinking about how to improve bicycles all day long, and after experiencing the previous experience of opening a flour mill, he found that he was not suitable for business, so he did not plan to go
Got it!"
Hearing what Zena said, Tangning breathed a sigh of relief, because as long as Maxim, the great master, didn't leave, no one else would matter. So Tangning encouraged, "That's it, Thomas. Actually, I'm very encouraging."
If you are a young person starting a business, especially if you have the courage to start a business in the far East, your courage alone is already admirable!"
Then he kindly advised: "But I heard that Chinese people don't like to drink coffee. They like to drink tea, and the tea they drink is not the same as ours, so I suggest you not to open a coffee shop there."
Pavilion!"
"What?! There are still people who don't like drinking coffee? How is this possible?" Zena couldn't help but exclaimed, but then he reacted: "Thank you boss for the reminder, I will definitely investigate it when I get to China and then
Then decide whether to open a cafe!”
Although Tangning knew that Zena most likely didn't listen, she tried her best to remind him. Whether you take it seriously or not is your problem.
After Zena left, Tangning thought about it and felt that to be on the safe side, she should talk to Maxim. So she went to the factory to find Maxim and said to him: "Stevens, I heard Thomas is leaving, don't you?"
Will you leave?"
Maxim shook his head without hesitation and replied: "Don't worry, boss, I am very happy working here, so I will not leave."
"That's good. In fact, I am very optimistic about you. Not only is it a bicycle factory now, I will also improve some things after this, and I will need your help when the time comes!" In fact, Tang Ning was telling the truth.
, there are many small inventions of this improved form in his mind.
Hearing what Tang Ning said, Maxim was very excited: "Boss, what else do you want to improve?"
Originally, Tang Ning planned to tell Maxim about this after the bicycle project was completely completed, but now seeing his expression, she thought about it, picked a project that was easier to complete, and said, "For example, I want to improve the suitcase.
For a while, because carrying the suitcase was really tiring, I thought about putting four wheels under the suitcase, and finally a telescopic metal pole on top, so that I could pull it on flat ground!
"
Yes, Tang Ning is actually talking about a trolley case. Although this little thing looks very simple, it was actually not invented by an American pilot until 1991. However, Tang Ning feels that the market for this thing should not be small, after all.
Nowadays, many people take boats and trains.
PS: Thanks to book friends "Golden Coffee Bean", "Be the Luckiest Zaizai", "The Fish Who Loves Pears", "There is a Dream in the Floating Life", "mjcq", "Jiehuang Xuantian", "Nalan Yuan"