The temperature in Florence in August was close to 40 degrees Celsius. Even in Italy, which had a Mediterranean climate with hot and dry summers and mild and rainy winters, it was still considered a hot place.
As the scorching noon sun scorched the city, Marchioness Grace arrived at the Gold Shop Street near the covered bridge near the Arno River. When she got out of the car, the temperature outside was actually lower than inside. She opened the embroidered parasol with her right hand and gently covered her abdomen with her left hand with a feminine rhythm. She then walked towards the row of handmade gold shops.
The temperature inside the shops was even lower. For these old shops, they knew how to entertain their customers in such hot weather. A tall woman walked into the shop. Before the woman's face could be seen clearly, the people in the shop knew that a distinguished guest had arrived.
It was a top-grade dark-patterned silk material produced in China. Different thicknesses of silk were used in different positions during the weaving process. After dyeing the silk with the same color, it would produce a very delicate and exquisite dark-patterned effect. The Italian textile industry had tried to imitate it, the British textile industry had tried to imitate it, and the French textile industry had also tried to imitate it. In the end, the high-end textile industries in these countries gave up. In the competition with similar products in China, they found that their profits were unbearably low.
Although the prices of China products could be said to be reasonable, the dark-patterned silk material produced with this technology was nearly ten times more expensive than ordinary high-quality silk. It was definitely not something that ordinary rich people could afford. Apart from the material, the clothes of the noble lady who entered the shop were sewn by a top-grade tailor. The shop staff who had seen too many nobles could tell at a glance.
The noble lady didn't beat around the bush. She directly talked about the jewelry that the shop was best at. The staff could tell that the noble lady wasn't making jewelry for her family. Instead, she was making jewelry for everyday use. Even so, when the lady took out the small diamonds that were inlaid into the jewelry, the staff held his breath. The quality of these diamonds and the cutting technique were so high that one had to stare at them to understand.
After confirming the jewelry that she wanted to make, Marchioness Grace walked out of the shop. She got on the bus and told the driver to go home. As the saying goes, one doesn't look at color under the light. Grace had no choice but to come here to look at jewelry at noon. Wang Mingshan's activity was very good, and Grace got pregnant as she wished. After confirming this piece of good news, Wang Mingshan was still in Africa on official business. However, Marquess Grace was not too disappointed. What she wanted was her own status, the money she could control, and her own heir. Although Wang Mingshan was a happy lover, now that Grace had achieved her goal, there was no need for Wang Mingshan to be by her side.
The first thing Marchioness Grace did was to prepare the family heirloom jewelry. This was what European nobles were most particular about. They used the most precious gems and the most outstanding craftsmen to create family jewels. In aristocratic families, these jewels were prohibited from being sold by the family's legal documents. Many old Italian nobles were starving to death from poverty, but they still had jewelry worth millions. It wasn't that they didn't want to sell them, but the rules of their ancestors prevented them from selling these precious jewels for money.
Naturally, Grace's maternal family didn't have the money to make these things, but Grace was very willing to prepare them for her child. The top-notch jewels were naturally made by the top craftsmen of the top jewelry companies in the Marchioness' mansion. As for the less expensive jewels, they had to go to professional shops to make them. Of course, Grace was willing to put in the effort to make these jewels. Gold and silver were nothing to Grace, so she cleverly paid in cash. Wang Mingshan got those exquisite gems and diamonds.
With a heart full of expectation, Marchioness Grace waited for the shop to pack up the finished jewels and send them to her mansion. She wore a diamond ring on her finger and went to the banquet.
The car stopped in front of the entrance of the Tuscan Bank, and the waiter immediately ran to open the door for the beautiful walnut and shiny painted car. When Marchioness Grace got out of the car and walked up the stone stairs in front of the bank, the waiter followed beside her at a very appropriate pace. The door of the bank opened, and the waiter inside welcomed the most famous female banker in Florence in recent years.
Within ten minutes, Marchioness Grace entered the meeting room. There were many oil paintings on the walls of the meeting room, all of them were famous figures of the Tuscan Bank. If one looked carefully at the people in the meeting room, they would be able to find some similarities with the people in the oil paintings.
At this moment, Marchioness Grace felt a little guilty. These were all families that had inherited hundreds of years of history. How many city governments had been destroyed, how many kingdoms had been destroyed, and how many republics had been destroyed? Yet, these families still stood strong for hundreds of years. Perhaps it was because of the pressure in her heart, Marchioness Grace felt a strong urge to vomit. She quickly covered her mouth with a handkerchief and managed to protect her image. Even so, Marchioness Grace could still see the surprise in the eyes of the people in the meeting room, as well as a trace of contempt or negative evaluation. This caused Marquess Grace's face to turn red.
A wave of nausea rushed up, and Marchioness Grace was glad that she didn't come after lunch. If there was food in her stomach, she might really vomit. However, when she felt the changes in her body and the life in her lower abdomen, the mother-to-be suddenly felt a surge of courage.
Grace heard this from Wang Mingshan. When she asked Wang Mingshan if there were any famous figures in China in the past hundreds of years, Wang Mingshan thought for a moment and replied, "As long as they are alive, they are a miracle of life. This means that for the past billions of years, every time a new life was born on Earth, our ancestors survived and gave birth to a new life. Do you know how low the probability is? "
At first, Grace thought that Wang Mingshan was joking. She perfunctorily calculated the probability with Wang Mingshan, but after that, she was shocked. Even if it was just according to the 5000 years of human history, with a generation every 25 years, the probability of 200 generations being passed down was already very small. If the history of human existence was taken back to 50000 years ago, the probability was even more frighteningly low.
If she were to compare the inheritors of the past hundreds of years with her … thinking of this standard, Marchioness Grace immediately felt confident. What's more, standing behind Marchioness Grace was China, which had a history of 5000 years. This powerful country now spanned across Asia, Africa, and North America. In terms of area, it was no less than the United Kingdom, which had dominated Europe for hundreds of years. With such power and background, Marchioness Grace had no reason to show weakness to the heirs of these rich families.
With this thought in mind, Marchioness Grace felt her body become better, and all the discomfort she felt disappeared. She opened her mouth and asked, "Is everyone attending the meeting here?"
"We are missing one," the representative in charge of the meeting said expressionlessly. As soon as he finished speaking, the door opened and a man in his forties strode in. Seeing this fellow, Marchioness Grace's eyes couldn't help but narrow slightly. He was the fellow who had been vigorously promoting the US war bonds. She didn't expect him to actually attend this meeting.
Since everyone had arrived, the person in charge of the meeting said, "The issues discussed this time have all been written in the letter. Then, I hope that all the ladies and gentlemen can speak. "
"Madam Grace, may I ask why the profits of China's war bonds are so low?" The first question appeared.
Marchioness Grace wasn't surprised. The first batch of US war bonds was sold at a discount of 92%, and the interest rate was 6%. This wasn't as simple as 6 plus 8, or 14% profit. Rather, it was 14 plus 92, or more than 15% profit. In contrast, China's war bonds were 100% real money, and the interest rate was only 5%.
"If it is a 100% chance of victory, then 5% profit is also a realistic 5%. This is why China's bond profits are so low, "Marchioness Grace answered without hesitation.
"Could it be that the Chinese are so confident?" The man promoting the US war bonds asked this question before any other related questions arose.
Marchioness Grace could see that the US bond agent didn't want to hear too many ordinary questions. This was easy to understand. The difference in strength between China and the US was relatively large. If it was based on simple data comparison, no matter what, the US wouldn't be favored. Instead of continuing to be in such a disadvantageous position, it was better to go all out and directly compare the US bonds with China bonds. It seemed simple, but in fact, there was a lot of room for manipulation.
Marchioness Grace stood up and said with a smile, "I would like to ask all of you to pay attention to a fact. These China bonds are to be purchased with pounds and gold, and the repayment will also be made in pounds and gold. The maturity of these bonds is three years. Compared to China bonds, the US bonds are five-year bonds, and they are borrowed in US dollars and repaid in US dollars. Let's not talk about whether the US can win the war or not. If the US directly lowers the value of the US dollar before repaying, everyone's losses will be very large. In contrast, China bonds are much more reliable. "
It could be seen that Marchioness Grace's explanation had caused many representatives and shareholders of the Tuscan Bank to have a more positive view of China bonds.
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