money player

Chapter 138 Maybe the enemy

“Sofia, did William mention my other business to you?”

"Adam, I want to relay the evaluation of a gentleman. He said that your analysis of the situation on the Korean Peninsula is very brilliant and has a very high possibility of becoming a reality. That gentleman is a very important person to me. Adam, I count your business. In addition, I want to introduce you to another partner."

"Is it Mrs. Ge?"

"Yes, Marlene is very interested in doing business." There was a trace of imperceptible sarcasm on Sophia's face.

"We can make an appointment to discuss the details." Xian Yaowen nodded and said, "Sophia, can you mobilize ships to protect our business?"

"Adam, ships are impossible. Patrol boats and gunboats are fine, but there is a price to pay."

"It doesn't matter if you pay a little price. I just want safety. Is it calculated separately or is it included in your share?"

Sophia thought for a moment and said, "Just count."

"I want to meet the person who took the 'price', and I have an obligation to make it clear to all partners where the money is being spent."

"I will arrange."

Xian Yaowen picked up the teacup and took a sip of tea, "I'm going to London soon, do you need me to bring you something?"

"Thank you, no need. I'm going back to England in July."

"uh-huh."

The conversation between Xian Yaowen and Xian Yaowen ended in a friendly atmosphere. This conversation made up for the missing links in the smuggling business, and the business can be carried out with confidence and boldness.

Leaving Fenyu Pier, Xian Yaowen came to the Indian Temple in Happy Valley.

The Hindu temple is a place where thousands of Hindus in Hong Kong hold religious and social activities. Indians living in Hong Kong, regardless of whether they have Hindu beliefs or not, also like to go to the vicinity of the Hindu temple in their free time because it is easy to make friends with fellow residents here.

Xian Yaowen's appearance is very eye-catching in the Indian temple, but no one stopped him from entering. Except for some people paying attention to him along the way, his movements in the temple were not restricted.

After visiting all the shrines including the main shrine, Brahma, Vishnu and his wife, Shiva’s family, monkey god Hanuman, etc., he came outside the temple again, placed himself among Asan, and smelled the subtle differences in each person. Curry flavor.

If Sophia hadn't brought up the army business, he wouldn't have paid attention to the Indians in Hong Kong for the time being. Now that she mentioned it, he would inevitably face Harry Shalilila, and he had to come to smell Asan in advance.

There are now about 20,000 South Asians in Hong Kong, mainly Indians and Nepalis. The former are now divided into Indians and Pakistanis. Every Sunday, Broadway theaters will show a Hindi movie. The venue was packed.

From a historical perspective, there have been two waves of Indians living in Hong Kong. One was when Hong Kong was opened as a port, and the Indian entourage brought by British officials and businessmen who came to Hong Kong became the first batch of immigrants; the second was in the 1920s. At the end of the period, the world economic crisis spread to India, which directly led to various crises such as the collapse of Indian banks, bankruptcy of factories, and unemployment of workers, triggering a wave of arrivals in Hong Kong.

For Indians living in Hong Kong, Hong Kong is the territory of the Chinese, not their hometown. Since the opening of the port, Indians living in Hong Kong have a saying: "Make money in Hong Kong, enjoy yourself and go back to India." How hard can they work in Hong Kong? In the year, he saved money to return to his hometown in fine clothes, buy a house and land, marry four or five wives, and become a wealthy man.

While groups of Indians were traveling back and forth between Hong Kong and India, the Shalilila family was an anomaly. They had taken root in Hong Kong for eighteen years and formed a family.

Today, there are two brothers in the Shalilila family. The eldest brother, George Shalilila, is now 30 years old. The younger brother, Harry Shalilila, is now 28 years old. They run a Shalilila company, specializing in laundry, clothing and tailoring stores, with ten branches. With several factories, Hong Kong's garment industry is second only to China Garments.

Speaking of the Shalilila family, Harry occupies the core position of the family.

In the early years, Harry's father was an antique dealer, selling jade, amber and other relatively valuable items. It can be said that Harry's family was very wealthy at first. Later, Harry's father discovered that China had huge market potential, so he When Harry was 7 years old, he decided to move to Yangcheng to continue his antique business.

At first, just as he expected, they transported jade, amber and other cultural objects from India to China, and then transported these cultural objects together with the cultural objects purchased from China to the United States for sale. The business went smoothly at first, but Harry's family What they don't know is that a disaster is approaching them.

In 1929, a global financial crisis broke out. The capitalist market economy suffered an unprecedented blow. Waves of unemployment and bankruptcies came one after another. There was a serious lack of demand in the market. In this case, the Harry family business has also suffered a huge blow.

During the financial crisis, ordinary people had no money, so naturally no one bought Harry's family's products. Eventually, Harry's father's industry declared bankruptcy, but he was not discouraged. He decided to come to Hong Kong with the remaining money and start over. , intending to make a comeback.

But what their family didn't expect was that one of Harry's brothers stole the only money left in the family and disappeared, and the family's life suddenly fell to the bottom.

Under this situation, the Harry family could only choose to do some very low-level jobs to maintain their food and clothing. Harry, who was 9 years old at the time, joined the army of scavengers and collected waste newspapers in exchange for a meager income to buy food to maintain their food and clothing. .

This life lasted for three years. At the age of 12, Harry entered a silk shop as an apprentice, where he was exposed to sewing skills for the first time, which laid a solid foundation for his future entrepreneurship. Harry's apprenticeship lasted for 4 years. Four years later, he chose to say goodbye to the master of the silk shop. At the age of 4, he went to work as a salesperson in a foreign trade company.

With Harry's efforts, it only took him three years to become the sales director of a foreign trade company, with a monthly salary of US$19, which was already a lot of money in Hong Kong at that time. Just when Harry felt that his contribution After he moved the gods and received the reward, a big change hit him again.

Since 1939, the little devils have been trying to attack the rich land of Hong Kong. This military threat has also made Hong Kong's already bleak economy worse. Many foreign trade businesses have been seriously affected. The company where Harry works is also affected by this crisis. Unfortunately, it closed down during the crisis. Harry lost his job again and became a member of the unemployed army.

In 1941, the Japs directly invaded and occupied Hong Kong, which became the last straw for Hong Kong's economy. Many people were without jobs or even homeless.

But Harry did not lament the injustice of God in the crisis, but actively looked for business opportunities. Finally, he discovered that under the current circumstances, the sewing business was very booming. Whether it was Japanese military uniforms or ordinary people sewing and mending their own clothes, they needed help from people who knew how to sew.

So Harry opened a sewing company in an area where trade was protected. After that, more and more little devils came to Harry's sewing shop to buy military uniforms, and Harry's business was getting better and better. This person must first work hard on his mind and body, and another accident hit Harry again.

Like other businessmen who made a lot of money during the Japanese occupation, once the Japs left, the large amount of military notes in Harry's hands instantly turned into a pile of waste paper. The tailor shop he had worked so hard to run became a bubble again. It had been hit several times. Harry was not discouraged and had no money to hire workers, so he and his family sewed clothes by themselves, relying on the only remaining sewing machine to try to make a comeback, and targeted the British army to develop customers.

After thinking for a long time, Harry decided to use some of the British army's necessities in exchange for tobacco, alcohol and other supplies that the British army had seized from the Japs. In the process, Harry established a good relationship with the British army, especially the British commanders. Although the profits gained through reselling are limited, the camaraderie is priceless.

During the commodity exchange with the British army, the British army officer successfully noticed Harry and secretly investigated and found that Harry was a particularly reliable businessman. So the British army commander found Harry and asked him why he helped the British army with low prices. What do you want to get by exchanging supplies?
Harry answered truthfully that he was a tailor and had a sewing shop, hoping to provide clothes to the British army. The British officer was moved by Harry's sincerity and agreed to the deal. At this point, Harry's sewing shop was officially on the right track.

The above paragraph is about Xian Yaowen spending a pack of cigarettes at the door of the Indian temple. According to one of Harry's supporters, as the most successful person among Indians, Harry's deeds are very popular among Indians. It is widely circulated, and many people regard him as their idol and goal.

After leaving the Indian temple, Xian Yaowen went to Tsim Sha Tsui again. Near the tenement house in the sales department of Nathan Road, he met a group of Indians sitting on the roadside chatting. He bought a few glasses of sugarcane juice for them to moisten their throats. Listen to the composite version of Harry's story again, corroborate the two stories with each other, remove the parts that are too glorious and majestic, and try to restore the truth.

Obviously, terms such as "a particularly reliable businessman" and "impressed by sincerity" are all nonsense. Xian Yaowen can guess the key to Shalilila Company's ability to take over the Army's business without seeing it in person. He can't guess. The clear part is only the difference between eating dry stock or taking quota. I hope that the officers of Great Britain will not be so blind that they take quota. In this way, it will be easier to apply eye drops when necessary in the future.

Sin Yao-man is not very interested in the Army's business. His Chinese identity and tactics will give this business a political color. Looking at the comments in the newspapers, we can analyze that the leftists in Hong Kong are very radical at this time, and he must dare to take over it. The goals of the Army's business are too big, and there is a very high possibility of being labeled as a traitor or a traitor.

It's best if the water in the well does not interfere with the river. Harry is in the army business, and he is in the navy business. Without struggle, he can hide well behind the scenes. No one will bother to dig him out, and no one will give him money. Apply eye drops.

After finishing the story restoration, Xian Yaowen asked Qi Longque to drive to Temple Street.

More than a minute later, the car stopped at the entrance of Senji Mahjong Playhouse. Qi Longque got out of the car and entered the store to look for Aye.

In order to make it easier to find someone when something happens, Ah Ye usually hangs out at the Senji Mahjong Playground when he is not working. Even if he is not there, he will try his best to go to a place with a phone to play.

This is the helplessness caused by inconvenient communication. The trajectory of the movement is circled by the phone, and there is no choice but to have fun. "Xiansheng."

After a while, Aye got into the car.

"Aye, do you know that there is an uncle named Harry? He is the one who owns several tailor shops."

"Xia Lilai is very famous."

"Yes, that's him." Xian Yaowen nodded, "Go and find out about him. I want to know how many people there are in his family, how many shops and factories there are, and how many workers there are in each shop and factory. , where is it. Don’t rush this matter, ask slowly and carefully. "

"clear."

Xian Yaowen took out an envelope and handed it to Aye, "I'm about to go on a business trip for a while. I'll give it to you in advance for this month and next month. You can take it and share it with the brothers."

At this time, Harry and his eldest brother George were chatting in a bungalow on Waterloo Road.

"Harry, a few days ago more than 40 Chinese garment factories united to form the Garment Manufacturers Association. Have you heard about this?"

Harry took off his wrap skirt and put on a black suit. He tidied himself up in the mirror before turning his head and showing his white teeth, "Of course I know they made such a big noise. George, what do you want?" say what?"

George frowned and said, "Harry, I'm worried that the Chinese bosses will unite to boycott our Shalili La Company."

Harry smiled contemptuously, "The Chinese clothing-making skills are indeed worth learning, but when it comes to doing business, they are still far behind."

He climbed up from the bottom step by step and experienced several major crises. Although he was young, he was already weathered. When it came to doing business, Harry was very confident.

"Of course I believe in your mind." Although George was older than Harry, he admired his younger brother from the bottom of his heart, but he still said worriedly: "Our company does not yet have perfect weaving technology, and the raw materials must always come from Buy from the Chinese, if they join forces to boycott us..."

"George, your understanding of the Chinese is too shallow." Harry walked barefoot to the shoe cabinet in the corner, picked out a pair of black leather shoes, put the shoes on his feet with a shoehorn, and took two steps to try. Comfort, then stood still, looked at George, and smiled, "The Chinese are different from us Indians. We Indians are docile at heart and can be easily enslaved. The Chinese are docile on the surface, but very aggressive at heart.

If you look at the history of China, you will see that China was strong and prosperous in several periods after eliminating an enemy that was powerful enough to destroy the country. This is because only when faced with the threat of the destruction of the country and the destruction of the family can the Chinese be truly united.

In the business world in peacetime, it is a fantasy that Chinese businessmen can avoid squeezing and scheming among their peers. How can they really unite to boycott big customers like us?

George, relax, just the day after they held the trade association, more than one Chinese boss came to me privately and reduced the garment manufacturers association and other garment factory owners to nothing. The purpose was to Take a few more orders from our company.

In Hong Kong's garment industry, only Chung Hwa Garment is qualified to be our competitor, but its development model is completely different from ours. There will be no conflict between us and Sin Yaowen. "

George shrugged his shoulders, "It seems that my worries are a bit unnecessary. You should tell me these things next time."

"George, you only need to keep an eye on the workers to complete the company's orders. I will take care of the rest." Harry pointed to the clothes on his body and asked, "How do I look like this?"

"All you need to do is handle the company's orders. I'll take care of everything." Harry, who had put on sloppy clothes, pointed at himself and asked with a smile, "How do I feel about my outfit?"

“Excellent!”

"I think so too. It's time for me to go." Before leaving the house, Harry took another deep look at George and smiled at him: "Don't worry too much about the Chinese garment factories. The British are already helping me contact the US military in Okinawa. With the military uniform business of Saipan garrison, Shalilila Company will only grow bigger and bigger, you have to have confidence in me. Goodbye, another night of spending a lot of money."

North Cape.

In front of a wealthy residential area, mainly composed of rich people from Shanghai, supplemented by Nanyang and Jinshan Abo from Fujian and Hainan, opposite a fruit shop, Xian Yaowen leaned on the car, holding a few pieces of paper in his hand and looking at it carefully. , Beside him, Liu Rongju also leaned on the car, staring at the customers coming out of the fruit shop.

If the dwarf mules were serious about inquiring about market information, they would be more efficient than police officers and intelligence officers, because they are in the market and know exactly where to inquire.

Xian Yaowen held a list of fruit bars and fruit shops in Hong Kong in his hand. The store name, store address, owner's name and family information were all available. He read line by line until the last line of the last page. Xian Yaowen turned forward again. Find the information corresponding to the fruit shop opposite, read it through again, and then look up at the door.

After looking at it for a while, he turned around and said, "Liu Sheng, what do you think is a better name for our fruit practice?"

"What do Xiansheng think?"

"Because our target customers were mainly Shanghainese at the beginning, I thought about using Lao Koehler, Pidgin Bang, and Lao Jiachang as names. Later I thought about it, these names are too targeted. Now Hong Kong has The rich people are mainly Shanghainese, but that doesn’t mean it will always be like this. Maybe in a few years people from other places will surpass Shanghainese.

I naturally hope that the business can continue for a long time. We must consider not only the present, but also the future. It is better not to have too much local color in the name. Perhaps it is a good idea to start from the characteristics of the fruit itself. "

"What are the characteristics of fruit?" Liu Rongju thought for a moment, "Sweet?"

"Well, Gantian means sweet and delicious. If you add the word "gan" next to the word "gan", it means so sweet. Apple is so sweet, and pear is so sweet. It's so sweet."

"Sweet fruit..." Liu Rongju chewed for a while and said with a smile: "This is a good name. The more you chew, the more interesting it becomes."

"Just use this?"

"I have no opinion."

"Okay, now that the name has been decided, let's talk about how to allocate the shares. The stock capital is 10, and I will provide 7, plus provide Guoxing's operating ideas, operating strategies, and foreign supply organization, as well as loan channels to provide cold room construction funds. "You contribute 3 yuan and are responsible for the daily operations of Guoxing. I will get six shares and you will get four."

Liu Rongju totaled the gains and losses and felt that the share allocation was very reasonable, so he nodded.

Xian Yaowen raised two fingers, "Let me add two points. First, when you or I no longer want to do it, the shares must be sold to the other party first. Only if the other party is unwilling to buy, can they be sold to others.

Second, the main reason why I am looking for you to cooperate is because of your status as the leader of Dongfuhe. Gantianguo only enjoys the convenience brought by this status, but does not bear the losses caused by the conflict between the societies. You want Gantianguo to Line and '东福和' should be separated and should not be confused with each other. "

"What should I do if I ask people from Dongfuhe to work for Guoxing?" Liu Rongju was a little dissatisfied with Xian Yaowen's statement.

"It is your obligation as a shareholder to do basic things. If you do complex things, it will be calculated separately. If you do it, the bank will give you a commission for handling the work. You can calculate it however you want. It will not be discounted because of your status as a leader."

Hearing this, Liu Rongju's dissatisfaction dissipated and asked instead: "How to distinguish between basic and complex?"

Xian Yaowen raised his finger and pointed at the fruit shop opposite, "Find someone to keep an eye on this store for ten days. I want to know how many customers come to this store to buy fruits in these ten days. The identity of the customers and the fruits they buy must be recorded one by one. , this is the basic.

When the investigation report comes out, I will consider whether to open this store. If I want to open it, it will be a complicated matter, and I will naturally give a benefit fee to the specific person responsible for it. "

(End of this chapter)