ATPnovel Chapter 91 New Home and Registration Ticket
Chapter 91 New Home and Registration Ticket
Indeed, no one wants to stand against the East India Company.
Chen Wenbin dared to stand up to that old guy, Colbrook, but only against him personally, not against the entire East India Company; the two are completely different.
Chen Wenbin shrugged and said, "Eric, I'm a rich man, of course I'll choose to solve problems with money! You just need to consider how to fulfill my request."
"Yes, Your Excellency, your wealth is truly enviable!"
Eric nodded in agreement. He knew how wealthy this guy was; the exorbitant profits of Robin's Pharmacy alone were enough to make everyone in the know envious and jealous!
Their daily turnover is thousands of pounds; they make money faster than pirates!
In fact, he chose to accept the other party's commission and risk going to the Far East because he knew that Chen Wenbin was definitely a wealthy employer and had close ties with the royal family... It is said that the King owns shares in Robin Pharmacy.
Most importantly, he learned from some sources that Dr. Robin was about to be granted the title of baron!
This is a title that can be passed down through generations. Of course, we must seize the opportunity offered by such an important figure!
Therefore, he devoted himself to devising strategies for Chen Wenbin.
"...In addition to immigration, I also suggest that you engage in some freight trade to offset some of the immigration costs."
He introduced them as if they were his own treasures:
"Although the East India Company monopolized the shipping routes east of the Cape of Good Hope, they did not rule out increasing ocean shipping capacity... In fact, ocean shipping capacity from Britain to the East has always been in short supply."
You could set up a trading company that primarily deals with immigrants from the East, but when the merchant ships sail from England to the Cape of Good Hope and India, they could carry goods needed by the East and then resell them at reasonable prices to the East India Company's trading posts in Africa and India.
As long as the price is agreed upon beforehand and the interests of the East India Company's shareholders are not harmed, you, in your capacity, can certainly negotiate this matter.
In addition, the immigrant ships in Guangzhou could also accept commissions from the East India Company to transport some silk, porcelain, and tea... However, the insurance premium needs to be negotiated carefully, otherwise, in case of an accident, they might be subject to a large claim!
Eric Lofrat had worked for the East India Company for five or six years, and although he had never eaten pork, he had seen pigs run, so he gave Chen Wenbin a lot of good ideas.
Chen Wenbin could tell that he wanted to climb the social ladder by clinging to his leg; his light blue eyes practically screamed "ambition."
However, he wasn't afraid of ambitious people; he was afraid that those who slack off and coast through life would hinder his important plans. So, after passing the interview, he readily gave him a platform and position where he could showcase his abilities.
The general manager of Pacific Trading Company earns an annual salary of £120 and 15% stock options!
The reason he was given 15 percent of the shares was that organizing immigration required Eric Lovelat and Vincent Robinson to forge their own path, and without shares, their initiative could not be motivated.
In any case, Chen Wenbin's main goal was Han Chinese immigration; the profits of the trading company were secondary.
……
Two days later.
Chen Wenbin spent £3888 to buy a three-story private mansion with 25 rooms in Bloomsbury from the Russell family.
The next day, he, his fiancée, his father-in-law, and a group of others moved into the new house.
Honestly, given the current market conditions, he definitely overpaid for this house.
For the same price, or even a few hundred pounds less, he could have bought a similar house in Mayfair, a better location. However, the difference is that the latter is actually a 99-year lease, while the house in Bloomsbury is freehold.
Although freehold ownership involves higher taxes, Mr. Chen has plenty of money... A house where you can see the British Museum to the south just by opening the curtains on the second floor, and it's freehold, so paying a little more tax is perfectly acceptable!
Moreover, this house is not something an ordinary person can buy. The Russell family intends to turn Bloomsbury into a permanent cash cow that can generate rental income, and they will not easily sell the real estate.
If they hadn't been so envious of Robin Pharmacy's huge profits and insisted on investing, Chen Wenbin wouldn't have been able to buy a house with permanent ownership; at most, he could have gotten a long-term lease of 99 or 199 years.
Although a 99-year lease term is longer than most people's lifetime, it is practically permanent ownership for an individual.
But Chen Wenbin wants assets that can be passed down through generations, and if there's a perpetual option, he'll choose perpetual... Of course, he doesn't know whether London house prices will still be the same two hundred years from now.
After moving into his new home, Chen Wenbin rented a similar house belonging to the Russell family nearby for the incredibly low rent of £100, which served as the location for Robin Hospital and also as a pharmacy.
As a renowned physician in Europe, he finally began to see patients in his office.
In fact, he has a lot on his plate right now. Not only does he have to worry about the construction progress of the factory in the South District, but he also has to formulate the plan for "Robintown" in North Bloomsbury, interview doctors, craftsmen, and students, and engage in necessary social activities... In short, his time is fully scheduled, and he hardly has any time to go to work.
Unfortunately, he had previously turned away so many patients, many of whom were high-ranking nobles, using excuses such as being too busy or developing new drugs, that they couldn't wait any longer. So they pleaded with him through various channels to see patients as soon as possible... In the end, even King George III was pressured to summon him, hoping that he could spare some time to fulfill his duties as a doctor...
There was no other way; he couldn't afford to lose his image as a miracle doctor. So he announced that he would see patients on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings according to the appointment list, prioritizing the consultations and hospitalizations of seriously ill VIPs.
In addition, continuing his North American practice, every Sunday morning he would see ten ordinary patients for a fee of one shilling... as long as they could manage to get a registration ticket.
As soon as the news broke, "Dr. Robin's appointment ticket" was sold for more than fifty pounds that very day!
Later, because the news spread that Dr. Robin didn't care who came to see him with a registration ticket, the price of the ticket tripled, eventually reaching £160!
Even Chen Wenbin thought it was absolutely insane when he learned about it!
For the first two days, he simply sent Anthony, James Hawley, and others to the slums of South and East London to pick out a few poor people who couldn't afford medical care and give them registration tickets. Unexpectedly, those poor people sold the registration tickets and instantly became financially independent...
Left with no other choice, he had to reclaim his right to issue registration tickets and asked Pastor Davis to contact the London Baptist Church to help him compile a list of patients each week. After all, he wasn't doing this to make money, so he might as well let the church help him spread his reputation.