Chapter 474 London Exchange
London in August is in a stuffy and hot weather. Even if there is a little drizzle in the sky from time to time, it still cannot relieve the irritability of London citizens.
There are five major exchanges in London, and the exchange in the city is also called the exchange in the city because it is located around Westminster Abbey and the city government, and it is surrounded by the famous aristocratic and wealthy businessmen in London, coupled with the prosperity of business. Noble Exchange.
As the name suggests, the amount and number of transactions are larger than those of the other four exchanges, and the buyers are quieter, gentlemen, and not impatient to do business at all.
On this day, the sky was drizzled, but inside the Noble Exchange, they didn't care at all. There were still people coming and going, each doing their own thing.
It's just that today, the atmosphere in the exchange is extremely dull, or in other words, getting more and more dull. Most of the buyers who come and go have serious faces and frowns, and they all look like others owe them millions of pounds. I knew I was in a bad mood when I went up.
Even the guards standing guard at the door had a stern face, without the gentle and respectful smile of the past.
"Dum—" In front of the exchange, a leather-covered carriage parked in front of the exchange, causing a splash of rainwater on the floor tiles at the door. The carriage was parked firmly, and it looked like an old driver.
The large carriage was pulled by two horses. The surface was hollowed out and carved with a large number of beautiful patterns. A well-dressed groom sat high in front, pulling the reins.
The doorman immediately smiled, took out an umbrella from behind, and walked over to support the people in the carriage, while the other moved a chair as a footstep.
Although, he understands that this is a rented carriage, and the people inside are probably not nobles, so these are what he has to do.
The nobles and the rich don't need him to do it at all, and the servants have already taken care of them.
The action of serving has been deeply engraved in my mind, and I will not wait because of the identity of the guest. Attentive service is a must.
Inside the carriage, a well-dressed young man in his twenties, with short black hair and a hint of excitement and nervousness on his face, appeared to be a novice.
He got out of the carriage a little uncomfortable, hid under the umbrella supported by the guard, and looked curiously at the magnificent and gorgeous exchange in front of him.
At this time, another person came out from behind him, with short light-blond hair and tight-fitting clothes. There was no tension on his face, but he seemed to be taking it for granted, enjoying the service.
"Richard, come with me!" The buff and indifferent man behind came out later, but he naturally looked like a leader, and ordered proudly.
"En!" The brown man seemed to be shocked by the beautiful exchange. After hearing the order, he slowed down, quickly hid under the umbrella, and walked over with the guard.
Soon, after walking a few steps, the two of them came to the exchange, and they no longer needed to hide from the rain.
After arriving at the destination, the buff man immediately took out a silver coin from his wallet and threw it into the hands of two guards, leaving behind two guards who bowed, and then brought Richard who was nervous behind him to the exchange .
The nervous Richard followed behind the buff man, step by step, looking around with curiosity on his face.
"Bowen, the 'noble' exchange really lives up to its reputation!" Richard exclaimed.
"That's it!" Bowen, who was leading the way, immediately replied, then realized something was wrong, turned his head, and whispered beside him:
"The people who come and go here are either nobles or well-known businessmen in London, and everyone's net worth is no less than ten thousand pounds.
So, don't make loud noises here, and don't look around, remember, we are buyers on the exchange at the moment, pay attention to our identity! "
After teaching his cousin a lesson, the man named Bowen immediately changed into a confident appearance. With his well-dressed appearance, he looked like a big shot.
"En, er!" Richard, who was like a younger brother, nodded immediately. Even though he was wearing noble clothes, his civilian temperament was undoubtedly revealed.
Several well-dressed gentlemen passing by frowned quickly, gave him a disgusted look, and then left quickly.
Richard closely followed his well-developed cousin Bowen, secretly looking around, the surprise in his eyes couldn't stop.
Immediately, under his curiosity, cousin Bowen didn't go to the crowded and busy hall with non-stop transactions. Instead, he took a detour, walked to a side path, and came to a side hall.
In the side hall, there were only a few dozen people, and the names of a dozen large companies were written on the blackboard in front of the hall.
As for the dozens of people in the side hall, they looked even more serious than the so many buyers in the hall with bitter faces, and they looked like they could eat people.
Richard panicked when he saw this, so he could only follow closely behind his cousin and stop looking around.
Bowen in front of him walked steadily, with a look of calmness, as if he had really developed, with a face full of confidence.
He came to the big blackboard in the center of the side hall, and looked at the young man holding chalk without looking at him.
Above it, the United Kingdom government bonds, and some corporate bonds selling French land purchase certificates.
Because part of the land in France was occupied by England, many nobles and wealthy businessmen used this to set up land companies, sell bonds, and then use the money from the bond sales to buy land from the military.
Using contacts to buy land at a low price, if the British army wins in the end, then sell it at a high price, and corporate bonds are the guarantee for the company's future income.
Now, it’s all about French bonds. The French Protestant situation is unfavorable, and the city of Orleans has been besieged for more than a month. Of course, these buyers have serious expressions.
The Protestant situation is unfavorable, so the Normandy and Brittany regions occupied by the British army are in danger.
These corporate and government bond prices are naturally much lower.
Seeing that the atmosphere in the side hall was not quite right, and seeing that the prices of these corporate bonds were about to break through the reserve price, Bowen chuckled lightly and swaggered to the sales window.
"Give me a thousand pounds in government bonds and other French land company bonds!"
Looking at the dumbfounded salesperson at the window, Bowen suddenly felt extremely happy.
"What? Is this man sick?"
"The situation in France is unclear, how could anyone dare to buy bonds arbitrarily? I'm afraid they've been hit on the head!"
"Ah! Another fool who barged in regardless!"
The other gentlemen who were frowning at the side were amazed to see Bowen buying a thousand-pound bond so recklessly.
Fortunately, everyone is a gentleman, and they will not make a lot of noise. Although Bowen didn't hear clearly, he felt that none of the words were good.
He felt that it was a bit embarrassing for him to pretend to be aggressive this time, and he lost face a lot!
(end of this chapter)