An international passenger ship entered the dock.

At the door of the pier, a dark-skinned boy smiled all over his face, constantly asking guests who were passing by in English and French: "Sir, are you taking the bus?"

This person is naturally Chen Qiang.

Although old Shanghai was the largest city in the Far East, its ports were far less busy than later generations.

The kind of international passenger ship that crosses the ocean is not available every day. There are only one passenger ship from the United States in ten days, and there are a little more passenger ships from Europe, but there are a few passenger ships from Southeast Asia every week.

In comparison, there are many more passenger ships coming from the upper reaches of the Yangtze River. Chongqing, Changsha, Wuhan, and Nanjing are all big cities, and shipping is more economical than iron ships. Several passenger ships arrive in Shanghai every day. Even the docks of the Suzhou River, many people come by boat every day.

Therefore, Chen Qiang doesn’t get foreigners on the dock every day, but every time he sends a foreigner, he can earn two or three dollars.

Not all foreigners who come to Shanghai are rich. Many of them cannot survive in China, so they come to the Far East to make gold. Some people also have to run away if they owe debts. Such people definitely don’t have much money, so they won’t give them a high tip.

Chen Qiang tried his best to avoid attracting some "poor foreigners". Gradually, he also learned a set of skills to identify whether a foreigner is rich.

Whether a guest who has just arrived from an ocean liner has money depends mainly on whether he is dressed or not, but on his mental outlook.

In this era, ships are not fast and take a long time to ride a ship. For example, it takes a month to travel from Shanghai to Los Angeles.

If a normal person stays on the boat for a month, his spirit will definitely be affected. When a passenger gets off the boat, the difference between riding in the first class and riding in the third class will be obvious.

There are good food and good living in the first class cabin. There are various entertainments. For third class cabin, there are poor food and poor living, and even the range of movement is limited.

In that era, taking the third-class cabin of an ocean liner was actually a very painful thing.

For example, the famous Titanic, first class cabin has a large bed sofa and independent bathroom. You can also take a look at the sea view and enjoy a glass of red wine. The third class cabin has multiple rooms with bunk beds and a crowded space.

For example, in diet, the first-class restaurant is a standard Western restaurant with special waiter service, while the third-class restaurant is a long table with chairs without even armrests. First-class restaurant can eat Maryland fried chicken, charcoal grilled steak, Norwegian anchovies, boronian sausages, pudding, various cheeses, fresh fruits and vegetables. Third-class restaurant can only eat bread, muffins, sweet corn, boiled potatoes, and oatmeal.

This is the gap between Jack and Screws.

If the Titanic had not sunk but arrived in New York smoothly, when disembarking, the screws in the first class cabin were still bright and beautiful, and the charm was as good as before, and maybe they could gain a few pounds; Jack in the third class cabin would definitely not be as handsome as Xiao Li, and he would probably be depressed and his steps were floating.

Therefore, Chen Qiang decides whether a foreigner who has just got off the boat is rich, mainly depends on the other person's mental outlook. If the other person has a great mental outlook, it means that he lives very well at sea, and he must be a rich man living in first class cabin. If the other person is in poor mental state and is weak and unable to walk, then this person has an 80% chance of living in third class cabin, and the other 20% may be kidney deficiency.

With Jack's appearance, no matter how many class you take, you should feel kidney deficiency when you get off the boat.

...

Another passenger ship has arrived on the shore, which is a passenger ship from London. It has previously stopped in Hong Kong, and Shanghai is the terminal of this passenger ship.

The passengers disembarked one after another, and one of them was a family of four, and they entered Chen Qiang's sight.

"A man and a woman take care of two children, and it seems that she is in good spirits, especially those two children, with a rosy face, which means that she has not suffered on the boat. This family must be rich!" Chen Qiang thought to himself.

Children's adaptability and resistance are not as good as adults. This kind of ocean-going sailing makes children likely to get sick. Even if they can stay healthy, they will not look very good after such a long journey.

But these two children are really energetic. They obviously live in first class cabins and get the best enjoyment on the boat, so they are so energetic.

Chen Qiang went up to meet without hesitation.

"Sir, do you need a car?" Chen Qiang asked in English.

When the other party heard English, he immediately turned his head, but saw that the person who was speaking was a Chinese man, and his face suddenly showed an unexpected and vigilant expression. Obviously, he did not expect that he would meet a Chinese coachman who could speak English as soon as he got off the boat.

Seeing that the foreigner didn't say anything, Chen Qiang thought the other party was a Frenchman, so he asked in French again: "Sir, do you need a car?"

The foreigner's expression was even more surprised, and then asked in English: "You can still speak French?"

"I know a little, but I'm not as fluent as in English." Chen Qiang replied in English, and then he asked: "Sir, where are you going? I can send you there. I am a coachman. I can take you anywhere in Shanghai. If you need it, I can also be a tour guide for you."

This foreigner was a little hesitant and moved.

Thinking from the perspective of others, if Chinese people go abroad and are unfamiliar with the place to get off the plane, a Chinese-speaking taxi driver will come to start a business.

Chen Qiang then advised: "Sir, there are not many people in Shanghai who can speak English. I can send you to a hotel or club run by the British, where you will meet your compatriots."

"Okay, take me to the hotel. I need to find a place to stay first." The foreigner finally relaxed his vigilance.

"Then I recommend the Licha Hotel to you. When the Duke of Edinburgh from England came to Shanghai, he lived there, and the hotel operator was also British." Chen Qiang introduced.

The foreigner nodded. Obviously, the title of the Duke of Edinburgh and the background of the British management would make him feel good about the Zari Hotel.

Chen Qiang helped the family carry their luggage and walked to the parking place.

"A rickshaw?" the foreigner's wife exclaimed.

"Yes, madam, there are still few cars in Shanghai. But don't worry, rickshaws are as comfortable and safe as they are." Chen Qiang replied.

"But you only have one car, and we have four people and luggage." The foreign lady said.

"Wait a minute, I'll call you another car right away." Chen Qiang said, and walked to the side of the road where there were several rickshaws waiting for business.

Chen Qiang picked up a newer car and said to the coachman: "Liu Laosan, come with me to Zhali Hotel!"

"Charge foreigners?" asked the coachman named "Liu Laosan".

"Yes, foreigners, don't you want to?" Chen Qiang asked with a smile.

"There is no reason not to do business! I am just afraid that I can't serve others well, so I won't say anything from foreigners." Liu Laosan said.

"I will say, just follow me with confidence! Let's go quickly, people are waiting in a hurry." Chen Qiang urged.

...

The man and a child took Chen Qiang's car, while the foreign woman took Liu Laosan's car.

Chen Qiang pulled the car and trotted slowly. He knew that such rich people didn't care how fast they ran, but instead cared about the comfort of riding. If the car ran slower, it would be more stable. He could also take a look at the scenery of this No. 1 city in the Far East.

While running, Chen Qiang introduced: "There is a cafe run by Italians there. If you want to drink authentic Italian coffee, you can go there. In addition, they also provide pizza."

“The one at the corner in front is a French-run Western restaurant where you can also taste wines native to France.”

"There is a telegraph office in that place. If you want to send a telegraph, you can go there. Of course, the Licha Hotel also has this service."

"You follow that road and the Bund is there."

When Chen Qiang arrived at Zhali Hotel, he had already introduced his surroundings.

This foreigner was obviously very satisfied with Chen Qiang's service. He had just arrived in Shanghai and was not familiar with the place. It was no exaggeration to say that he could not even find a place to eat. After Chen Qiang's introduction, this foreigner felt that he had become half a Shanghai channel!

The foreigner got out of the car, took out a piece of paper money and handed it to Chen Qiang: "Thank you for your explanation, let me understand this city."

Chen Qiang hurriedly took the banknote and looked down. There was a seated statue of the goddess Britannia, and there was also a number of "10".

"10 shillings! This trip is really profitable!"

...

After sending the foreigner's family into the hotel, Chen Qiang took out 80 cents and handed it to Liu Laosan.

"It's not enough. The road is not far, 50 cents are enough." Liu Laosan said.

"Please accept it! The remaining rewards given to you by foreigners." Chen Qiang answered.

No one would think that the money was too little. After hearing this, Liu Laosan directly put the money in his arms, and a flattering smile appeared on his face. He became much more polite when talking to Chen Qiang.

"Brother Chen, if you have such a business in the future, you still have to look for me. No matter how far I will run away for you!" Liu Laosan said with a smile.

The business of 50 cents was finally obtained, which was equivalent to the money of two orders for one order. Liu Laosan was naturally very happy. When facing Chen Qiang, who brought his business to him, he naturally had to kneel down without any moral integrity. Although he was more than ten years older than Chen Qiang, he still called Chen Qiang "Brother".

"Don't worry, I will never forget you if I have business in the future!" Chen Qiang agreed with a generous look.

As the two were talking, they saw two foreigners coming out of the Licha hotel.

Chen Qiang immediately went up and asked in English and French: "Sir, do you need a car?"

"Let's go to the French guild hall." This time, two French people answered directly in French.

Chen Qiang led the two Frenchmen to the front of the car, and then said to Liu Laosan: "Let's go, our business is here!"

...

In the evening, Chen Qiang returned home, took out the 10 shillings note, and laughed happily.

This is the 10 shillings note issued in 1928. It is very new and has a texture to the touch.

Shillings are the auxiliary currency of pounds, and 1 pound is equal to 20 shillings. The 10 shillings in Chen Qiang's hands are equivalent to 0.5 pounds. This is not less than money, and it is probably enough to take a taxi in London.

Before World War II, the value of the pound was very high. At that time, the exchange rate between the pound and the US dollar was stable for a long time at around 4.8 US dollars. It was not until after World War II that the pound began to gradually depreciate, depreciating all the way to its current level.

In fact, the exchange rates of currencies in colonial countries that have passed through the gold standard era are relatively stable, because implementing the gold standard requires the state to hoard a large amount of gold as reserves. As long as this batch of gold is still there, the exchange rate of currencies will not fluctuate greatly.

At that time, Britain was an empire that never set, with colonies all over the world and plundered gold from all over the world. Britain had enough gold, so the gold content of the British pound was naturally relatively high.

Until the outbreak of World War II, Britain consumed a lot of gold for the sake of war, while the United States obtained a lot of gold. At the end of World War II, the United States' gold reserves accounted for four-fifths of the world's gold reserves. The United States also established an international monetary system with the US dollar as the general currency.

If 1 pound is equal to 4.8 US dollars, the 10 shillings that Chen Qiang got is equivalent to 2.4 US dollars. If 1 US dollar is equal to 2.4 silver dollars, the 10 shillings are equal to 5.76 US dollars. In addition to the 80 cents given to Liu Laosan, Chen Qiang also made a net profit of 5 yuan.

You can earn five yuan by pulling a train, which is something that other coachmen dare not even think about.

"Knowledge is wealth! If I couldn't speak English, how could I get such a big business?" Chen Qiang sighed and then lay on the bed.

A gust of wind blew, and came in through the gap in the straw shed, falling on Chen Qiang's body, making him shiver.

"This straw shed with air leakage is not easy to live in winter!" Chen Qiang looked around and found several gaps. Then he said to himself:

"You can't live in a slum forever! Now that I can make money, I should also rent a decent house, at least don't leak everywhere."

———————
Chapter completed!