Fox of France

"Your tea leaves are not good enough." Captain Van der Sar first picked up a handful of tea leaves with his hands, put them under his nose and smelled them, then chewed some tea leaves in his mouth, then shook his head and said, "Obviously, it's not Darjeeling at all or simply, it's not any tea grown at high altitudes. It's very astringent, and the aroma is not pure, and it doesn't have the grape flavor of Darjeeling's black tea. This is the most inferior tea. The price you want is too high."

"Ah, you are an expert, this tea is indeed not from Darjeeling, but you also know that the production of Darjeeling is limited, where can I get a whole shipment of Darjeeling black tea? But it is indeed from the Himalayas The tea leaves at the foot of the mountain, of course, are located at a lower altitude than Darjeeling, and the quality is not good enough. But it is still good for making milk tea. And you also know that because of the war, the price of tea has risen a lot. Given your price now, you can make a lot of money sending these things to Europe.”

"You're right. But you also have to consider that the reason for this situation is that transportation is difficult. Now, a large number of transportation ships are used for war-related affairs, coupled with blockades and inspections, naturally The price of these things has risen. But you should also understand that we have to get your goods back to Europe, and the cost is different from before. Strictly speaking, things from India, except for a few, such as fire nitrate Apart from things, other things, including tea, are all contraband, and they can't be sold directly by dragging them to the market. There are a lot of channels to go through, and a lot of money will be spent.

Let's put it this way, if I buy tea from you and then sell it in Europe, at least 70% of the money I earn will be used for management, and the remaining 30% will be shared with the sailors so that I can get more? So, at your price, I have nothing to earn, no, brother, your price of tea should be lower. "

Of course, what this Frenchman said was not a lie. Indeed, most of the European markets are now closed to products from Britain and British colonies. Luxuries like tea are strictly restricted. But legally speaking, it is not impossible to legally sell tea in Europe. The way to do this is to declare that the tea leaves are captured trophies.

After the war, the British announced that they would allow civilian ships to attack the ships of countries at war with Britain and profit from the capture. In response, France also announced that civilian ships were allowed to attack British ships and profited from the captured spoils. Well, it's basically a return to the privateer system from many years ago.

Of course, there is a lot of room for movement in how to determine whether it is smuggling or loot. To do this, you need to go through special channels and spend a lot of money. Therefore, what the Frenchman said is not completely unreasonable. It's just that it's not just the French who need money to go out of their way, the British themselves also have to go out of their way for this.

"But Captain, you can do this business, you have connections, don't you? Compared with those guys who have no connections at all, you should be able to save a lot of money, so you have already made a lot of money."

"Yes, I still make money. If I don't make money, who will do this? I do have connections, because I have old connections. When I pass through these connections, it saves time, money and effort compared to ordinary newcomers. But this savings, I ran out with my ability, and I deserve more profits from it. And now you ask me to give you the profits because I have the ability to get higher profits than others. Do you think this is inappropriate?"

So the two argued about the price of tea, and in the end the French had the upper hand. After all, the British, especially those still in India, needed money more. Besides, even if you earn a little less with the French, you can get some back on the ticket. Just now several captains have asked the French about the price of their tickets.

"Black, it's really fucking black!" This is the unanimous emotion of the British captains about the price of the French boat ticket. At the same time, I couldn't help but have the idea of ​​"a man should be like this". However, considering the reality, although they feel that the price increase must be increased, it is difficult for them to really charge the fare according to the French standard. Because many of those passengers are guys with very good backgrounds, they have nothing to do with the French, so they have to slaughter them casually, but if you can't cure the French, can I not cure you?

But as Napoleon said in power: "As long as the determination does not slip, there are more ways than difficulties." A captain came up with such a way.

"We can use different cabins to distinguish those with status from those without status, and then we will keep the price of the tickets for the upper class at a reasonable price, mainly slaughtering those lower class people. Although the meat on their bodies is Less, but it’s still meat after all.”

"In addition to this, I suggest that we should also cooperate with those passengers who are really influential." Another captain said, "The people in the lower class are not stupid, they certainly don't want to be slaughtered like this. Want to make a fuss. Especially if we give first class a discount and just raise their prices."

"How do you talk about cooperation?" Someone asked.

"We can't make the price of the first class too cheap. On the contrary, if the lower class is increased by 1%, the first class will also be increased by the same amount, or even more. Only in this way can we create panic and sell the tickets. Then wait for the ticket After getting the money..."

"After the ticket money is in hand, the first-class ticket money will be refunded in full, and the ticket money collected by the lower-class cabin will be shared with the first-class passengers. This is fast and safe, and it is a good way. I just don't know about those 'higher-class passengers. Will the people's teeth be too good, if they are like those big shots in India, give us a 30-70 cent, or even a 20-80 cent, it will be meaningless."

"They probably won't. They know what they can do when they are in that position. The big guys in India are able to split the bill with us because they can help us do things we can't do, or let us Things that can be done can’t be done. But now the big shots in our first class have no real power in their hands. Of course they still have power and connections with the upper echelon of India. So now they can only be regarded as For brokers with status, if we share with them, I think 28, or even 19 is possible, and it will be eight or nine of us."

The plan was made, and the captains assigned the tasks. Everyone acted separately.

Soon, rumors began to circulate in the port. It is said that the French have sent a new army to South Africa, and this time, it is a warship aimed at the situation in the East. Well, it is the "Free Market" sold to the British. The previous paragraph of ", in that whaling operation, the "whale" that disgraced the British Navy.

"Oh my god, you don't know yet? The French warship is a sail-steam hybrid warship. The French had already put it in the museum, but now, they have changed her and changed the original The broadside guns were removed and replaced with turrets, and then she was sent here. When this ship sails with sails, it is no slower than ordinary sail cruisers. After starting the steam power, it is even slower than ours. Any ship in the east is faster, and with new cannons and shells, we don’t have a ship in the east that can match her. If she kills us, we will all become prisoners.”

"Didn't the French send us here? Would they still?"

"The French sent us here to blackmail our money. You don't know what virtue the French have? The contract he sent us here has been completed. And the French know exactly how much valuable things we brought. Very, do you think they will come to rob again?"

"Don't we already have a boat here? Hurry up and let us get on the boat! How long will it take to wait like this? Isn't that too dangerous?"

"I heard that all the goods on the ships that are coming now have not been sold. If they want to go to the market to sell them, they may not make any money. If they don't make money, they may have to raise the fare."

As soon as they heard the words "raise the fare", everyone changed their faces together.

"No way, at least they are our own people, so they shouldn't be as black as the French, right?"

"Probably not, although... I'm telling the truth... some British people are at least as black as French people, and people who are closer to our blood want to drink our blood."

"I heard that there are simply not enough places on our ships. This time there is no way to take so many people away. There will be many people, or even most of them, will be left here, waiting for the next few batches. .”

"Ah? We have to wait for the next few batches, but next year?"

"Not to mention anything else, staying here will cost a lot of money every day. Well, if this continues, I will find a job to carry bags at the pier."

"Yes, yes, we must go to India as soon as possible, the sooner the better."

"I heard that many of the people who came here are rich and prestigious, and they probably bought all the tickets first."

"I heard that tickets will be sold publicly soon. It is said that first-class tickets will be sold first, followed by second-class and third-class tickets."

"What's the price for second and third class?" someone asked.

"Who knows now? Wait, it should be just a few days." Someone said.

So everyone sighed uneasy together.

After another two days, news of first-class ticket prices finally began. Many people think that if they want to stay here until next year, they might as well spend more money, buy a boat ticket and leave.

However, the price of the first class is very high. Although they have a higher tolerance for the price of the ticket after being slaughtered by the French, the price of the first class announced today still discourages most people. of.

However, the sales of first-class tickets were very hot. In less than half an hour, all the first-class tickets were sold out. As for the second-class tickets, it is said that they will not be sold until after lunch at noon.

So the British stranded in the port took this opportunity to discuss.

"The fare for the first class ticket is really too high. But just like that, it was sold out at once. I don't know what the price is for the second and third class tickets?" one person said.

"Tom, no matter how expensive first class is, rich people can afford it," said another.

"It's not that simple, Jim." Another person said, "Those rich people can afford it. But they are willing to spend so much money, it can still explain the problem. You know, most rich people, in fact, the more The more money you have, the more you refuse to let go; the more you refuse to let go, the richer you are. They are willing to spend money like this, just because it is really not safe to stay here for a long time."

"We are on the land of a neutral country, the French...they shouldn't trample on the neutrality of a neutral country, right?" one person said. However, from his weak tone, it can be seen that he actually does not have much confidence in his own words.

"French? Even if the French directly send the army in to arrest people, how dare the Portuguese turn against the French? Maybe they will take the initiative to cover up with the Chinese." Another person said.

Everyone was silent again, and finally Jim sighed again: "It depends on the price of the second-class and third-class cabins. No matter what, try to buy the tickets as much as possible, otherwise, in case the French If the hybrid warship really comes, it's over!"

"It's cheaper than staying here for a few more months. Buy as much as you can, otherwise, God knows what it will be like after a few months?"

This point of view has been supported by more people. Everyone ate while anxiously waiting for the sale of the second-class tickets.

The number of tickets for the second class is much more than that of the first class, which is also normal, because the guests of the second class are usually crowded into one room by several people. Therefore, the time for ticket sales is naturally much longer. And the all-important fare - certainly not cheap. Although compared to first class, he is much cheaper. But compared to the previous peacetime price, this ticket price has doubled several times, and it is even twice as expensive as the previous first-class price. But compared to the fare of the French, it is really not too expensive. Considering the loss of staying here, coupled with all kinds of terrible rumors, ticket purchases are still very enthusiastic. In the afternoon, all the second-class tickets were also sold out.

The rest is the third-class cabin. The third-class cabin is actually the cargo hold that has just been emptied. All people can only sleep on the ground there. In terms of conditions, it is not even much different from the slave ship. But even under such conditions, even if the third-class ticket price is still high, the tickets are still sold out quickly.