Chapter 341: Business Competition?

Chapter 338 – Business Competition?

Liverpool, Merseyside, Lime Street.

Liverpool, as the core city of transportation in the United Kingdom, and even an important hub for maritime transportation in all of Europe, more than 40% of the transatlantic trade in all of Europe has to be transited from Liverpool.

As the King’s Cross of Liverpool, Lime Street has always occupied an extremely special position in Liverpool’s municipal planning and transportation planning.

One kilometer west from here is Liverpool’s busy docklands.

Standing on a tall building looking west.

Lined up from north to south are the Old Docks, which specialize in the African and Irish trades, the Salterhouse Docks, which are mainly oriented towards the grain and timber trades, the St. George’s Docks, which are mainly oriented towards the West Indies trade, the King’s Docks, which are full of trading vessels from the Americas and the Baltic coast, and the Queen’s Docks, which are mainly applied to the fishing business in Greenland.

And on the fringes of the five great wharves is the domain of the builders, the Brunswick wharf, financed by the Customs Service, is expected to be completed next year, after which the young scion of this family of Liverpool wharves will assume the heavy responsibility of the timber trade between Britain and the Canadian colonies, and will be responsible for the continuous importation of century-old oak for the construction of large battleships for the Royal Navy.

Just a block away on Lime Street is Liverpool’s famous Maritime Workshop area, where countless workshops specializing in the production of ship’s ancillary equipment gather, from marine cables, sails, and copper rivets wrapped around the bottom of the ship, to a simple iron component, or a barrel for storing fresh water and the crew’s favorite beer mugs, anything that can be used on a ship can be purchased here.

Such an important area has naturally attracted the attention of major import and export trading companies and real estate developers.

Ever since Liverpool’s port attributes were recognized in the 17th century, land prices here have been steadily rising. Although Liverpool’s trade was hit by the Napoleonic Wars at the beginning of the century, after Napoleon, the biggest short-seller of Liverpool’s property prices, was defeated at Waterloo, the price of land in Lime Street has started to grow with a vengeance, just like Liverpool’s import/export throughput.

Nowadays, those who are able to take a piece of land in Lime Street are either the local old aristocrats, the best of the rich, or those with a long history of traditional organizations.

And when it comes to Liverpool’s long-established traditional organizations, as the citizens of Liverpool often joke, if God is the boss, then the Liverpool Association is the second.

Liverpool Association members often gather in the club hall, more than a dozen full head of silver hair is quietly nestled in the sofa while watching the newspaper while drinking tea.

For this group of old guys, before going to the company to sit in the club has almost become a habit.

In this kind of place where businessmen gathered, you would always hear a lot of reliable gossip. And these news, often inadvertently let you make a fortune or save your pocket jingling money.

“John, although I did not go to the banquet last night, but I heard that the boy from London seems to give you a mouthful of new municipal construction plans? The total value of two hundred thousand pounds?”

Old Gladstone switched his left and right legs and continued to cross his legs, his face buried in the newspaper without lifting his head, “It’s just a bit of wind, giving us a pie. In my opinion! In the end it may not be possible, Mr. Hastings probably does not want to make too much trouble with us, so after reprimanding the Customs Department for its work, he wants to come up with some sweeteners to keep the guys hanging on.”

Old Pocket Watch Roswell chimed in, “That’s right. Those robbers at the Treasury are dogs, and when they see money they bite the bullet and won’t let go. It’s not so easy to pick a few crumbs out of their rotten teeth. A superintendent of Scotland Yard, he may not even be able to apprehend all the criminals in London, what makes him confident that he can wrestle with the Ministry of Finance?”

The silver-haired old gentleman took a look at the two of them and said suspiciously with a raised eyebrow, “Yo! Is this God’s eye opening and the sun coming out in London? When did you two old things even get to talk together?”

Roswell held his teacup and savored the tea, “Lowe, that’s a harsh thing to say. Aren’t John and I talking toward you?”

The old gentleman Lowe narrowed his eyes, “Is that so? Toward me, I didn’t hear a thing, but the sound of a pocket watch going off is buzzing in my head. My dear Mr. Rothwell, it turns out that your new factory is not in London, but on my doorstep instead! You two aren’t planning to eat the 200,000 pounds together without the group, are you? What an appetite!”

Rothwell for the yin and yang completely do not pay attention to, the same is a member of the Liverpool Association, how to take the friendly businessmen, the old pocket watch but the study of twenty or thirty years.

He spoke, “Lowe, and you honestly why you do not believe it? The municipal construction project is just a preconceived idea for the time being, do you know what a preconceived idea is? Preconceived ideas are things without a plan, as long as the shovel doesn’t fall on the ground, then it can’t be counted. And weren’t you going to send someone to give that ungrateful Londoner a little taste of his own medicine? Said what: I ran a ship in Africa, a ship of slaves is only eight thousand pounds, and may be infected with malaria or something. This time the guys do not allow you to participate is also to take into account your health, malaria you can not handle, if infected with cholera is not worse?”

When Mr. Lowe heard this, he was so angry that he raised his cane and tapped the floor: “Roswell, do you know anything about municipal construction, you old watchmaker? Are you going to pave King Street with pocket watches? You fucking even made the clock hanging in the church tower to go out of the way, you are not afraid that God will send down divine punishment and take you old undead!”

Roswell sneered back, “Yeah! You know about municipal construction, and you’ve been studying the streets every day since you stopped running boats. After studying it for ten years or so, at the end of the day, that road that was paved, when it rains, you can leap my pants leg of mud when you step on it, this is the construction quality of the construction company under you.”

Lovi sniffed and reddened with anger and emphasized, “And that’s not because the city council allocated the wrong amount of money for the project? If those sons of bitches would deliver at least seventy percent of the work like the Brunswick Docks supervised by the Customs and Excise Department, I guarantee that the streets of Liverpool could be paved better than the halls of the Palace of Westminster!”

The others, seeing that their old buddy was getting antsy, rushed out to placate him.

“Lovie, you’re a professional at this. If this plan really succeeds, it’s more than likely that your company will still win the bid. Those of us who are inexperienced, even if we are given the project in the end and are told to find planners and construction workers on a temporary basis, we won’t be able to get enough people together!”

“Roswell, you’ve almost got it too. You’re a pocket watch businessman, what’s the point of following and getting involved in engineering and construction matters?”

Roswell pulled his bow tie and said contemptuously, “Originally I didn’t want to open my mouth. But Lowe’s disrespectful attitude towards Mr. Hastings really made me look at it a bit. I don’t know what kind of rude person it takes to rant and rave at a gathering of decent gentlemen, proposing to the group to take out Britannia’s most talented young musician and researcher in the field of electromagnetism.”

“Musician? Researchers?”

“When did that youngster latch on to such two layers of identity?”

Seeing that everyone was confused, Roswell couldn’t help but feel a little smug as he spoke in feigned surprise, “You guys actually still don’t know? Wow, sorry, I almost forgot, although all of you here are elegant and classy Liverpool gentlemen, not every gentleman is keen on scientific endeavors and musical arts. Still, I would suggest that it would be best for all of you to pay proper attention to these areas, lest you become like Lowe, whose entire body exudes a whiff of thuggishness.”

Roswell hadn’t been complacent for long, when on that end, Old Gladstone, who had been silent and quietly watching the show, suddenly opened his mouth and squeezed, “Robert, then again, how did you know about Mr. Hastings’ other identities? It couldn’t be that Catherine told you, could it?”

Roswell did not care that the truth was punctured by old Gladstone, not only did not care, the old pocket watch even took the opportunity to pull up his daughter’s stature.

“Yes, it was my girl who told me. She has always been very fond of science, music, but wherever there is something new in London, she wants to get it back and study it. That phonograph, for example, she begged me to buy it for her when it first came out. Although it was quite expensive and she had to buy the records to go with it, what’s the point of her father spending a little money in order to cultivate her refined tastes? Although Catherine wasn’t born into an aristocratic family, the temperament inculcation I provided her with was definitely of an aristocratic level.”

Old Gladstone originally simply wanted to yin and yang a few words about this old man who looked at him with disdain, but as soon as he heard that Roswell actually dared to compare with him about his children’s education, the old Gladstone, who had been a strong man all his life, instantly rose up with a competitive mentality.

He purposely did not look at Roswell, but just sipped his tea without moving: “Oh? Is that so? Catherine studied at Harrow or Eton, and was her university education at Cambridge or Oxford in England? Or Edinburgh or Glasgow in Scotland? Wow, really, a London University like Mr. Hastings would be fine. With Lord Brougham, the Chancellor, to back it up, it’s always a slight advantage.”

When Roswell heard this, the springs of exasperation popped out of his mouth. Old Gladstone knew full well that no matter whether it was Harrow Public School, Eton, or the universities he mentioned such as Cambridge and Oxford, none of them accepted women for admission. Even the University of London, currently the most enlightened in all of Britain, at best only allowed women to occasionally sit in.

If he asked such a question, he was clearly looking for trouble.

But Roswell also understood why this old thing was squeezing him at every turn, it was only to stir up the budding love between his son and his own daughter.

Knowing where the other party’s pain point is, Roswell accurately said: ”Yes. Catherine as a girl, in terms of learning and insight, of course can not be compared to William such a young talent. But precisely because she has deficiencies in this area, that’s why she needs a capable husband to bring her along. But fortunately, although Catherine was not very learned, she was very similar to William in her taste in music. John, please convey for me my thanks to William for his willingness to accede to my daughter’s impertinent request to go and ask Mr. Hastings for a copy of the score of ‘To Hastings’ signed by Mr. Chopin on her behalf.”

Halfway through his sentence, old Gladstone thought that the old pocket watch had finally died, but when he heard the rest of it, the peak of the drama caused his heart to flutter, and he almost spat the tea he had been drinking into his mouth into Roswell’s face.

“What did you say? This is simply nonsense! How could this boy, William, do such a stupid thing! Doesn’t he know that Mr. Hastings has a lot of work to do day in and day out? Where does he find the heart to care about such trivial little things!”

Speaking here, old Gladstone hurriedly stood up to say goodbye to all the old fellows, “Breakfast is almost over, I have to go to the company to have a good rummage through the accounts, to see if there are any missing tariffs that have not been reported. By the way, I would sincerely suggest to you all that it would be a good idea to go over the accounts for the last few months while it’s still early in the day. Mr. Herbert of the City Council communicated to me yesterday that they are in full support of Mr. Hastings, and the Customs and Excise Department and the Port Authority look as if they are going to be in earnest. At a juncture like this, you all must not disgrace our Liverpool Association.”

Unexpectedly, before he had gone far, Lowe stepped forward and stopped him, “John, about the municipal building works?”

“That one, huh? That …… “Old Gladstone smiled and moved his hand on his shoulder away a little, “That one is postponed for discussion.”

With those words, Old Gladstone was like an eagle jumping off a cliff, and with a flutter of his wings, he intended to fly out of the hall.

At this very moment, a speeding carriage brought a sky of smoke and dust, and leaned against the door of the Liverpool Association Club with a tail.

Before the car stopped, two people came down from the car.

They were sweating profusely as they ran and shouted, “Gentlemen, something is wrong! Superintendent Hastings, he …… he was assassinated in front of the Golden Lion Hotel!”

“Huh?!” Old Gladstone’s smile froze, and even his stomping out left leg stayed in place, “Who did it?”

As soon as these words came out, the old gentlemen who had just been burying their heads in the newspaper put down the newspaper as if they had an appointment, and looked at Lowe behind Old Gladstone in unison.

Roswell also screwed the clockwork slap on the head, couldn’t help but burst out a foul language: ”Lowe? Are you a fucking idiot? If he dies, you’re waiting to pave the way for the Close Cavalry Regiment!”

Lowe was also shocked to the point where his old face turned white as he glared angrily, “Roswell! You think I’m you, I have a fucking brain! If I was planning to finish him off, what the hell am I doing following along when you guys are paying your share!”

Roswell’s eyes rolled as the old pocket watch cupped his chin and analyzed, “Maybe you’re doing it to clear your name, too?”

Lowe at this time only hated to go back in time to give himself a slap in the face at the beginning, he had nothing to say nonsense ah!
He swore to God, “I swear to God, if I really did this, let me accompany Mr. Hastings to hell.”

The messenger who came to report the news heard this and hurriedly clarified, “Mr. Lowe, don’t rush down yet, Mr. Hastings is still up there.”

“That’s right, he suffered a small injury. But overall still alive and kicking, and even has the heart to throw a tantrum.”

Old Gladstone breathed a sigh of relief when he heard this, “Has the doctor been sent over?”

“The doctor has been contacted to stitch him up, Mr. Kessler of the Board of Health himself, and a better surgeon could not be found in Liverpool.”

It was only when he heard this that old Gladstone finally put his heart at rest.

He wiped the cold sweat on his head and stared back at Lowe for half a day before he opened his mouth and asked, “Lowe, tell me the truth, you really didn’t do it?”

Luo Wei burst into a rage and said, “What are you all suspecting me of?”

Roswell frowned, “The one who assassinated Prime Minister Percival before was also a merchant, and that assassin, Bellingham, was also in the import/export agency business, plus you spoke out of turn before. Lowe, it’s really hard for us not to suspect you.”

Seeing that the crowd was focusing their attention on him, Lovi was so anxious that even his brain became good.

He defended, “Can I be the same as that Bellingham? Bellingham because in Russia was seized to cause bankruptcy, want to compensate but by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Finance kicked back and forth, this is desperate to carry a gun to run to the House of Commons squatting people. And he kept arguing that he was trying to assassinate the ambassador to Russia, but had misidentified him, and that’s why he shot the prime minister. Mr. Hastings, for one thing, didn’t bankrupt me, and for another, I knew what he looked like. What reason have I got for leaving a business of four or five thousand pounds a year to arm-wrestle with the gallows?”

Roswell was full of misgivings, “Do you believe Bellingham’s defense? Killing the wrong man just so happens to be the Prime Minister, that’s an amazing coincidence. Lowe, are you colluding with the East India Company people and planning to screw us over?”

“East India Company?”

The merchants present immediately wrinkled their noses when they heard this name.

Someone even directly rushed at old Gladstone and opened his mouth, “Although Lowe may not have been involved in this, the East India Company really had the motive to do this. Ever since we united with that group of people in London to urge the Parliament to pull out their Indian region franchise, they have always hated us with a passion.”

“If that’s true, John, you’re in danger, too. Everyone knows that the first Liverpool merchant ship to sail to India, the ‘Kingsmill’, is your property. If this time the matter becomes a big deal, and then the Parliament turns to support Bristol to replace Liverpool, then we will all be blind.”

Hearing this, old Gladstone’s face also became more and more ugly: “East India Company? It is not without this possibility …… Speaking of which, I remember that Mr. Hastings has people from the East India Company around him. If it’s really their doing, then this hand of their preparation is really enough ah! But …… aren t they afraid of being found out? Last time the charter was renewed, they lost the Indian franchise. If this time the matter is also situated, then wait until the next renewal, they estimate that they will not even be able to keep the Chinese tea franchise ……”

Roswell heard, pulling the old Gladstone to go out and said: “What’s impossible, the dog is just jumping over the wall. Let’s go, let’s go to the Golden Lion Hotel to take a look, we have to take ourselves out first, and then we can consider how to give that bunch of sons of bitches in East India a little color to see. If they make false accusations, we’ll sit back and leave them with nothing! The East India Company? Oh, yeah! We, the Liverpool Association, are no pushovers either!”

(End of chapter)