An extraordinary life journey through old Beijing courtyard houses

Then I got busy with my own things.

Jiang Baobin spent a whole day running around, but the result was a huge disappointment to him.

I didn't expect that rapiers would be so hard to find, or more precisely, that it would be hard to find a sword that suits his hand.

They do have Arabian knives and knives used by Caribbean pirates.

Not to mention Japanese swords, there were so many that every shop had more than one.

After much deliberation, this guy went to the "Western Gentlemen's Club" at "No. 8, Taijichang Street" again that night...

The wool comes from the sheep; if you want a good sword, you have to find a way to get it from foreigners.

As a result, the flowers I planted with care did not bloom, but the willows I planted unintentionally thrived, and I unexpectedly ran into an acquaintance again.

Jiang Baobin greeted him warmly, "Hi, Thomas, long time no see!"

The latter gave a mocking smile: "Hey, Jiang, it's been a long time indeed. You've probably been looking for me, haven't you?"

Jiang Baobin laughed heartily: "It's not that serious, you're the boss of such a big company."

"Now that they've made a fortune, why would they care about the small amount of money we bet?"

Do you remember Thomas?

Previously, as witnessed by Elizabeth, there was an arrogant fellow who made a bet with Jiang Baobin about the war outside the Great Wall.

That's him!

The major battle outside the Great Wall concluded at the beginning of the month.

The result, of course, was a crushing defeat for the Kuomintang, with 55 troops wiped out...

Jiang Baobin pressed further, "I heard you went back to the Americas. Were you there to purchase raw materials?"

Thomas remained noncommittal, clearly not wanting to discuss it further, but he was surprisingly straightforward when it came to bets:

"Alright, you don't need to remind me anymore, lucky lad! Come to my company tomorrow."

"To your company?"

"Here's your prize money. You don't think I carry that much cash with me all the time, do you?"

Jiang Baobin suddenly realized: "Okay, I'll go tomorrow."

If you're getting paid, of course you have to offer a compliment:

"Thomas, with food prices soaring these days, you must have made a fortune, right?"

Thomas grinned broadly, overjoyed.

Jiang Baobin then inquired about the purpose of his trip:

"Thomas, do you know where I can get a rapier?"

Thomas's eyes darted around, and he pointed to a table, saying:

"Did you see that woman?"

As he spoke, the guy gestured with his hands to form two large, round balls on his chest.

"She definitely has some at home. As for whether you can get your hands on them, that depends on your skills."

Jiang Baobin looked over and said, "I don't recognize her. She looks Spanish?"

"That's right, very hot. Her husband just died in a duel for her, so..."

As he spoke, the guy raised an eyebrow and gave a wicked smile.

"Ah!" Jiang Baobin exclaimed in surprise, "How come there are still people dueling these days..."

Thomas scoffed, "There's never a shortage of idiots."

Jiang Baobin asked curiously, "What do they do? Are they in trade?"

Thomas raised his hand to call the waiter, looking nonchalant: "Why do you care so much?"

"You want a sword, right? I guarantee she has one."

"You know what? Her luggage was shipped here."

He then flashed a lewd smile again: "Buddy, I heard she's a noblewoman. The rest is up to you."

Jiang Baobin glanced at him and said half-jokingly, "Why do I have a feeling you have ulterior motives?"

Thomas shrugged, speaking in a nonchalant tone: "You figure it out yourself."

Jiang Baobin had already concluded that this guy was up to no good.

Since we've run into each other, I might as well try my luck: "Thomas, I have some money on me and I'd like to buy some food..."

Before Jiang Baobin could finish speaking, the guy had already shaken his head vigorously:

"No, no, no, there's no stock. It's been strictly controlled by your government."

Jiang Baobin rolled his eyes—only a fool would believe you.

This guy still wanted to try and negotiate: "Thomas, I'm offering gold and silver, and price isn't an issue."

Thomas's eyes gleamed with greed, but in the end he shook his head.

Jiang Baobin was helpless; this was the current situation—even with money, you couldn't buy anything.

Everyone was hoarding goods and speculating, hoping to get rich overnight, but the result was...

Okay, they've all gotten rich now; those who have goods are the bosses.

This also includes Jiang Baobin, who is a moderately shrewd businessman.

Today's newspapers all reported that rice-buying frenzy has broken out again in Nanjing and Shanghai.

In just one day, Nanjing alone lost one to two hundred tons of rice, affecting dozens of rice shops.

The government was forced to issue a city-wide announcement...

Why rush to buy them? Because they're unavailable, and even if they were, they couldn't afford them.

Now Jiang Baobin wants to get involved, isn't that taking money out of Thomas's pocket?

He'd be a fool to agree.

Jiang Baobin, who was ruthlessly rejected, said, "I'm helpless too - when fortune comes, you can't stop it."

I can sit at home and have the God of Wealth delivered to my door. What can I do?

Thomas then took the opportunity to complain about Jiang Baobin, still holding a grudge about what had happened before:

"Jiang, are you regretting it now? If it weren't for your interference, you would have sold Smith Company."

"But if our two businesses merge, not only will your business be fine."

"Even Elizabeth would have made a fortune, instead of being like this now."

"We can only watch as Weinberg gains a monopoly and rakes in huge profits!"

Jiang Baobin shrugged. Arguing about this kind of thing until tomorrow morning wouldn't yield any results.

Humans are simply insatiable.

For example, this Thomas.

If he hadn't made a fortune, Jiang Baobin wouldn't believe he would so readily give back the money he lost gambling.

Even so, they were still not satisfied and always wanted to earn more.

They'd love to suck the blood out of the people before they'd stop!

If Smith Corporation were truly handed over to him, he would be no less cunning than Weinberger.

Alas! No matter where we go, the common people can't escape this plundering.

In order to survive, they could only watch helplessly as their wealth was plundered!

This is truly a case of one incompetent general causing the downfall of an entire army!

When those in power act recklessly and haphazardly, it is always the ordinary people who pay the price.

Those who feast to the point of being bloated and fat are always the corrupt officials and unscrupulous businessmen.

So it's better to just collapse quickly and stop harming people!

Since they couldn't see eye to eye, Jiang Baobin and Thomas had nothing more to say to each other.

He probably felt the same way, so after the waiter brought the wine, he took it and went to chat with other people.

Once he calmed down, Jiang Baobin quietly observed the woman Thomas had pointed to.

First of all, she is very beautiful and around thirty years old.

Her attire was elegant and luxurious, radiating beauty, and she was absolutely worthy of her noble title.

After looking at it for a long time, Jiang Baobin finally settled on only one issue—

There's definitely something going on with this woman, and it's something serious.

Otherwise, given her looks and demeanor, it's impossible that she could have sat alone for so long without any men approaching her.

You know, foreign men are all like stallions.

They're either in heat or on their way to heat...