The Shadow of Great Britain

602: Chapter 303: Business Competition?

602: Chapter 303: Business Competition?

Liverpool, Merseyside, Lime Street.

As Britain’s core transportation city and an important hub for European maritime shipping, more than 40% of Europe’s transatlantic trade passed through Liverpool.

Known as King’s Cross Street of Liverpool, Lime Street had always occupied an extremely special position in the municipal and transportation planning of Liverpool.

A kilometer to the west from here was Liverpool’s bustling dock area.

Looking westward from atop a tall building.

Arranged from north to south were: the old docks mainly engaged in trade with Africa and Ireland, the Salthouse docks focused on grain and timber trade, the Saint George docks primarily oriented towards the West Indies trade, the King’s Dock filled with ships engaged in trade with America and the Baltic Sea coast, and the Queen’s Dock mainly used in the Greenland fishing industry.

At the edges of these five major docks was the domain of construction workers.

The Brunswick Dock, financed by the Customs, was expected to be completed next year.

After that, this new addition to the Liverpool dock family would undertake the heavy responsibility of timber trade between Britain and the Canadian colonies, consistently supplying the Royal Navy with century-old oaks for constructing large warships.

Just a street away from Lime Street was Liverpool’s famous maritime workshop area, where numerous shops specializing in ship equipment gathered.

Anything that could be used on a ship, from navigational ropes, sails, and copper rivet sheathes for ship bottoms to simple iron fittings, water barrels, and sailors’ beloved beer mugs, could be purchased here.

Such an important area naturally attracted the attention of major import-export trading companies and real estate developers.

Since the 17th century, when Liverpool’s port attributes were confirmed, the land prices here had consistently risen.

Although Liverpool’s trade suffered significantly due to the Napoleonic Wars at the start of this century, after Napoleon, the greatest bearish force against Liverpool’s property prices, met his defeat at Waterloo, the land prices on Lime Street and Liverpool’s import and export throughput alike began a rapid retaliatory growth.

Nowadays, those who could secure a parcel of land on Lime Street were either the local old nobility, the most outstanding of the nouveaux riches, or those historically established traditional organizations.

Speaking of Liverpool’s historically established traditional organizations, as the locals often joked, if God was the boss, then the Liverpool Association was second in command.

In the club hall where members of the Liverpool Association often gathered, about a dozen silver-haired elderly men were quietly nestled in sofas, reading newspapers and sipping tea.

For these old fellows, stopping by the club before heading to their companies had nearly become a habit.

In such a gathering place for merchants, one could always hear many reliable rumors, which might incidentally lead to fortunes made or save one’s rapidly dwindling assets.

“John, I didn’t attend last night’s banquet, but I heard that the lad from London mentioned a new municipal construction project to you?

Worth two hundred thousand pounds?”

Old Gladstone shifted his legs and continued with his legs crossed, his face buried in the newspaper and not lifting his head as he replied, “Just a bit of rumor, giving us false hopes.

In my view, it’s unlikely to come to pass.

Mr.

Hasting probably doesn’t want to strain our relations too much, so after reprimanding the Customs’ work, he decided to give us some hope to keep us on the hook.”

Old pocket watch Roseville also chimed in, “Exactly.

The guys at the Treasury are like a rabid dogs, once they see money, they bite and won’t let go.

It isn’t easy to pry even crumbs from their rotten teeth.

A Scotland Yard inspector can’t even capture all the criminals in London, what makes him confident he can wrestle with the Treasury?”

The silver-haired gentleman glanced at the two of them, raising an eyebrow suspiciously, “Oh!

Has God shown mercy, is the sun shining in London?

Since when did you two old coots start agreeing on anything?”

Roseville, holding his teacup, sipped carefully, “Lowey, that’s rather harsh.

Aren’t John and I speaking up for you?”

Old gentleman Lowey squinted and said, “Really?

Speaking up for me?

I didn’t catch that at all, but the tick-tock of a pocket watch is buzzing in my head.

My dear Mr.

Roseville, it seems your new factory isn’t opened in London but quite on my forehead instead!

Are you two planning to secretly devour that two hundred thousand pounds together?

You two really have big appetites!”

Roseville completely disregarded the sarcasm.

As a member of the Liverpool Association too, he had studied how to handle fellow merchants for twenty or thirty years.

He spoke up, “Lowey, why won’t you believe me when I tell you the truth?

The municipal construction project is merely speculative, you know what ‘speculative’ is?

It’s uncertain.

Until the shovel hits the ground, it’s not reliable.

Besides, weren’t you planning to show that ignorant London lad what’s what?

Saying something like, ‘Back in my day when I ran ships to Africa, a ship full of slaves was only eight thousand pounds, and still there was a risk of catching malaria.’ We didn’t involve you this time considering your health; you couldn’t handle malaria, what if you caught cholera instead?”