Australian Storm 1876

  Chapter 5 The Arrogant Old Man

   "So...you think it is a wise choice for us not to go to the gold mine." Li Fushou turned the tea cup in his hand and looked at the other side.

Fatty Chun smiled like Maitreya Buddha, with the spring breeze blowing on his face; "Hahaha... Li Gongzi is an outstanding man, and he is outstanding. Don't you hear the truth that the wood is beautiful in the forest, the wind will destroy it, I am afraid that he has a plan in his heart. No need for me to make this extra effort. After all, this is also a place for ghosts, and it is a British guy who has always been arrogant. Even if it is unfair, we can only suffer from it."

   "Although Liang Yuan is good, it will never be his hometown." The situation was far worse than expected, and Li Fushou could not help but sigh.

   "Although it is dangerous, this ghost's territory is full of unlimited opportunities. With Li Gongzi's amazing ability, he can only stand out within a few months."

   "Hehe...Thank you for your love, I am ashamed of it."

  Li Fushou smiled faintly, secretly startled by Fatty Chun’s keen observation.

  In this era, the innkeeper pays attention to welcoming guests from all corners of the world, sitting in and observing the situation of the five lakes, and his eyesight and insight are all first-class.

  Under Fatty Chun’s obese body, he has a delicate mind that can see more thoroughly than most Chinese gold diggers, which is very rare.

  After some greetings, the words are on the subject.

  Li Fushou does not hide his idea of ​​opening a restaurant in Chinatown. The money he earned is less than £40, and renting a store is enough.

  Fatty Chun deliberately made friends, Li Fushou bluntly expressed his thoughts, and asked him, a local snake who is familiar with the local situation, to refer to him and introduce himself to the right place.

  "Chinatown storefronts...Although there are tensions, but the rental price is expensive, here you can make a lot of money as long as you work hard, repair shoes, nail horseshoes, open a grocery store, and sell snacks."

  Fatty Chung thought about it and continued;

   "Now that Li Gongzi took three people with him, he also had some remaining money in his hands. The restaurant should not be too small, otherwise, he would not be able to use it.

  Uh...I thought of a place that should be suitable for Li Gongzi.

  Not far to the left of Chinatown, there is a large warehouse on Handel Street that wants to be sold, and leasing must be willing.

  This is a business from a down-and-out family in Florence, Italy. It was originally a warehouse for rubber and fur. It is less than 120 meters away from the archway in Chinatown. The location is very good and the size is also appropriate. "

   "Oh...what's the price?"

  "I heard that it was 420 pounds. Because the asking price was too high, it has been idle. It has been two or three years. The owner of the property is an Italian and a stubborn old Minelli man, it is difficult to talk."

   "Uh, go take a look."

  Such a high price made Li Fushou take a breath and immediately dismissed other thoughts.

  I thought that if the environment is suitable and the place is large enough, even if the price is higher, it will be cost-effective to rent. By the way, it will solve the problem of accommodation and living for a group of 4 people.

The scale of Brisbane city is small, which is equivalent to the 18th-line remote county town in the later western regions. Except for the towering Gospel Church and the Queensland State Assembly Building, most of the other buildings are British Norman-style buildings with three floors or less. The style is heavy and thick. Simple, with a round arched ticket.

  This rubber warehouse on Handel Street is also a typical Norman heavy style with a high red roof.

Although there is only one floor, it is much higher than the three-story wooden tenement. The thick oak door is covered with dust and cobwebs, the big iron bolts on the children's arms are rusty, and the yard door is thick with weeds. More than half a person tall.

  It seems that it has been abandoned for a long time.

Li Fushou looked around and felt very satisfied. This warehouse is a separate house, covering an area of ​​more than two acres. There are stables for loading carriages, water wells, fodder sheds and other facilities behind it, and it is also covered with dense weeds. .

  The building is very sturdy and the doors and windows are intact. As long as you replace some broken glass and clean it, it is a very good place. There is no need to worry about doing hotel business and accommodation.

  If it can be leased and operated, there will be the best place to stay.

  Not long after

A group of people found the old man Minelli in a nearby cafe. This was a thin, gray-haired old man. His gray-blue eyes showed a decadent and stubborn look, and his thin lips were tightly closed. He was sitting alone in the wood. Drinking coffee slowly at the table, enjoying the quiet days of the years.

  Looking at it like this, if no one disturbs him, he can drink until he is old alone.

   "Oh, you want to rent my warehouse?" Minelli looked at Li Fushou with a look of contempt.

  "I’m really interested, dear Mr. Minelli, you can call me [Li], and hope to get your approval."

"Wow... Your English is good, and you have some authentic Oxford accent. This is rare among the Chinese I have met. But I have always been disgusted with the British, and the same is true for you. It is best to start from My eyes disappeared, you white-skinned Oriental boy, I am not interested in sissy."

  Minelli spoke very meanly, raised his chin and looked at Li Fushou condescendingly, as if he was a proud Italian lord noble.

  Actually, he is nothing but an adventurer who lives in a remote and remote country, an old liar with no moral bottom line.

  Don’t look at him as owning a property worth 400 pounds, but his debts are much more than his assets. If he pays off his debts, he will go smoothly in a matter of minutes.

Originated from the arrogance of the colonists, a pure European identity alone is enough to make Minelli look down upon these braided Orientals. Even if he has already been heavily indebted and there are not a few pounds in his pocket, he is still very poor and tight. .

  The smile on Li Fushou's face gradually faded, and he glanced at Fatty Chun, and saw that he also had a helpless look on his face. Before he came, he reminded him that he was a difficult old guy.

  When you encounter rude people, you don’t need to be polite.

Li Fushou tapped on the heavy wooden table with his slender fingers, and said in a calm tone; "Old guy, this is just business. Commenting on me cannot show your superiority, nor can it change your current situation. I know that you are not the only partner in Brisbane. In the face of the British pound, there will naturally be a lot of collaborators. You can sit here and slowly rot with the warehouse, no one will care."

  "Orient Boy..."

"Damn old guy, you can call Mr. [Li], please keep the bottom line of civilization at the very least, and don't let your Italian companions feel ashamed of this. Your behavior has tarnished this beautiful country. You are so rude and unreasonable. To the point."

Minelli was stunned. Unlike all the meek and low-key Chinese he knew, Li Fushou reacted aggressively and aggressively; "Well, Li, I have to say that you are a young man with very sharp words. It moved me because I would not cooperate with infidels. I heard that there is a man who can perform magical oriental magic on the dock..."

  Speaking of this, Minelli's gray-blue eyes stared at Li Fushou, as if he was about to see something on his face?

   "That's me." Li Fushou admitted simply, there is nothing to hide.

   "Hey hey..."

Minelli laughed, and the layers of wrinkles on his face immediately came to life, regaining the brilliance of my youth; "I have traveled many places in my life, from the European continent to the American continent and back to Europe. It didn’t take long for me to come to Africa and Asia again, and finally to this place where birds don’t **** with the smell of gold. This is the last thing I regret in my life."

   After a pause, he continued to speak downward;

   "Look... I am indeed a down-and-out old guy who has failed in business, but I have a pair of insights and more knowledge than most people in this world..."

   "You want to make a fortune with your eyesight, am I right?"

   "Of course, why not."

  "Then you have to pay, old man, do you want to play a shilling or a pound game?"

Minelli's pocket is cleaner than his face now, and he can't even take out three pennies, but the old guy couldn't help but saw him smile slyly and said; "Don't you want to rent my rubber warehouse? You can use it. This money will be paid."

  He is extremely confident in his eyesight and rich experience. He is ready to empty the white wolf and earn dozens of pounds. If he is lucky, he may pay off the debt and still have a balance.

Li Fushou is also not a good match. It is impossible to leave the other party with the opportunity to empty the white wolf. He smiled and said; "As you wish, but before that we must draft and sign the lease contract, and I will pay you the corresponding lease fee. , As for how you spend it, it doesn’t matter to me."

   "What about the game?"

   "Waiting at any time."

"Uh... Okay, what are you waiting for? Let's go find a **** lawyer to do all this now. I will win the last copper penny in your hand. You, the Oriental kid who only speaks big words, are waiting to cry. Bar."

  More than an hour later

  The 18-pound rental fee that he had just received hadn't been warmed up, and Minelli, who was ashamed, lost the last shilling on his body, and once again became illegitimate.

   "How is this possible?" Minelli could no longer maintain his composure. He waved his hands and yelled wildly, wishing to tear the tall Chinese boy in front of him to pieces.

   "Old guy, you really need some luck."

  Li Fushou was in a good mood. He slowly put down his sleeves and took the initiative to shake hands with Attorney Smith, and said, “Thank you, Mr. Lawyer, for your efficient and professional lawyer service.”

Attorney Smith, who has a typical British hooked nose, stretched out his hand and shook it gracefully, and said with some restraint; “Congratulations to Mr. Li for successfully renting a satisfactory shop and getting back one year’s rent and deposit as soon as possible. I think This should be your first income from opening a business, a very good beginning."

   "Hehe... I have good luck."

   "Your luck is really good. You came across this self-righteous idiot, crying and yelling to give you the money." Attorney Smith watched all this coldly, and was impressed by the tall Chinese teenager in front of him.

After signing the lease contract, Minelli played a guessing game in the lawyer's office without leaving the house as soon as he got the rent. As a result, he simply knelt in front of the magical technique of "Three Immortals Returning to the Cave" in the ancient East. NS.

  It is impossible to play a rogue under the witness of a lawyer.

  Minelli paid a heavy price for his arrogance. He was too emotional and seemed hysterical, but no one cared about it.

  Stand upstairs

  Watching Li Fushou and his party leave the law firm from the window, the hypocritical smile on Lawyer Smith’s face gradually receded, revealing a trace of disgust.

  He is a standard white supremacist who belongs to the elite class of the British Empire. The influx of a large number of Chinese gold prospectors has stirred their sensitive nerves, and most of the anti-China motions originating from all over Australia are promoted by these people.

  To be honest, except for their lovely pound, Lawyer Smith doesn’t like these Chinese workers at all.

  (End of this chapter)