money player

"Mr. Perry, this is Jiang Axin's investigation report."

In Tokyo, in the private room of Jushui, Watanabe Atsushi handed a document to Jack Perry, the manager of Jinhai Company.

Jack Perry took it and read it carefully. "President Watanabe, Jiang Axin's spending in Japan is very extravagant?"

"Yes, according to calculations, Jiang Axin spent 15 US dollars in Japan in one month, and the funds came from the difference in payment for goods delivered by Mitsui in Japan."

"The difference in payment?"

"Mr. Perry, Taiwan has foreign exchange controls that intercept the payment received by exporters and force them to convert it into Taiwanese dollars. Some exporters will require buyers to pay part of the payment outside Taiwan."

"Saoga, Mitsui & Co. and Yongguang Tea are still cooperating?"

"Yes, Toyo's tea fields have only recovered 60% of their pre-war levels. Mitsui has taken over the North American, North African and Soviet markets. Occasionally, Toyo's tea alone is not enough to fulfill orders, so we need to purchase from Taiwan's old channels."

During the Japanese occupation period, the export of Taiwan's tea was controlled by the Toyo Company, among which Mitsui Norin, a subsidiary of Mitsui & Co., was the largest tea exporter. Almost all of Taiwan's veteran tea merchants had cooperated with Mitsui Norin.

"President Watanabe, I heard that a peace treaty is about to be signed?"

"Yes, the United States is already pushing for the signing of a peace treaty to restore East Asia's sovereignty. By then, East Asia's international trade rights will also be restored." Watanabe Atsushi said uncomfortably.

The restoration of sovereignty over the East was not good news for those who were dependent on the Allied Powers.

"President Watanabe, Jinhai Company is positioned as a non-political tea trader. It only makes differential profits from tea trade and does not care which country the tea supplier comes from. It only cares about the quality and price of tea. Is Watanabe Trading Company interested in establishing a tea trading subsidiary and cooperating with Jinhai to export tea?"

"Mr. Perry, such an important matter is not something I can decide. I must report it to President Gao Ye for his decision."

The future of Youmo Agency and Watanabe Trading Company is in jeopardy, but the importance of Xian Yaowen, the nominal chairman of Watanabe Trading Company, has increased dramatically. Once Youmo Agency can no longer rely on the Alliance Headquarters or the support it receives is reduced, the people in Youmo Agency will have to rely more on Xian Yaowen, who has a good relationship with the Alliance Headquarters but does not rely on the Alliance Headquarters for survival.

Therefore, whether it is Watanabe Atsushi, Arisue Seizo or Suzuki Keiji, they all hope that Xian Yaowen will become the true president of Watanabe Trading Company to ensure everyone's favorable living conditions.

The reason for this is that since the merger of Watanabe Trading Company and East Asia Trading Company, everyone in the Arimichi Agency has been able to receive a considerable dividend on a monthly basis from "tariff-free trade".

"I am waiting for Chairman Watanabe's reply. I also ask Chairman Watanabe to investigate the tea export situation of Mitsui & Co., Marubeni, Itochu Corporation and Shizuoka Tea Group. They will all become our competitors."

"no problem."

It was almost one in the morning when he left Kabukicho. Jack Perry returned to the hotel but did not rest. Instead, he took a shower and sat at his desk, flipping through a thick stack of documents.

Time waits for no one. If Jin Hai wants to become a leader in the tea trade, he must seize every minute to catch the great changes in the international tea trade. Once this opportunity is missed, Jin Hai may miss the chance to be the leader, and he will also lose the chance to restore the family glory.

As a descendant of a fallen aristocracy, it is his responsibility to make the Perry family's name resound throughout Great Britain again.

Ritz Hotel.

It was tea time, and many nobles and celebrities in the city were enjoying tea here. Judy and Shi Yiguang were also there, eating scones and drinking Keemun black tea they brought with them.

After taking a sip of tea, Judy said with emotion: "I still like the taste of Keemunxiang."

"I don't have high requirements for tea. Assam tea, Gilling tea, Ceylon tea, Taiwanese tea, Kenyan tea, any black tea is OK." Shi Yi Guang put a piece of scone into his mouth and wiped the crumbs off his fingertips.

"Lily, you have to pursue the quality of life."

Shi Yiguang disagreed and said, "I was only talking about black tea, not green tea. After living in Hong Kong for many years, I'm used to drinking green tea."

"I don't like the taste of green tea." Judy spread her hands and said, "Adam started to engage in tea trade and asked me to introduce him to the relationship in Kenya. I don't have any acquaintances with high positions there. Lily, do you have any?"

Shi Yiguang nodded gently, "I haven't contacted Adam for a long time. I will send him a telegram."

After talking about business, Judy started to talk nonsense, "Have you set a date for your wedding?"

"Not yet. We might talk about this on the Countess's birthday next month. What about you? Have you started a romantic relationship?"

"I haven't met anyone I'm attracted to yet. I'm pretty bored. Let's go to a bar together tonight?"

"Who is there?"

"Margaret, Billy."

"OK."

New York, Chinatown.

Quan Xu was shopping with his assistant Charlie Chan.

Charlie Chan is the third generation of Taishan people living in the United States. He was born in Chinatown in San Francisco, grew up in Chinatown in New York, graduated from Columbia University, and was Jessica Clark's senior.

Because my grandmother is a descendant of French students who studied in the United States and my mother is from Fujian, she can speak Taishan dialect, Cantonese, Minnan dialect, English and French.

"Well, how much is this?"

The two entered a tea shop, and Quan Xu pointed at the Keemun black tea and asked the owner.

"7 dollars a pound." The boss could tell that Quan Xu was not speaking Cantonese, so he answered in Mandarin.

Quan Xu exclaimed, "It's so expensive."

The boss said mysteriously, "Don't complain about the high price. Don't you know that the Americans have imposed tariffs on Tangshan tea? A 50% tariff. There is no Tangshan tea imported through formal channels on the market now."

"Boss, please don't treat me as if I don't understand, okay? The Americans don't impose tariffs on tea that transits through Hong Kong. Whether it's declared as re-exported goods or falsified documents, the cost is not much higher. The increase from 4 yuan to 7 yuan is a bit excessive."

Suddenly, the boss looked at Quan Xu with new eyes and said, "Young man, since you are knowledgeable, you should know the principle of buying high and selling high. Liantai Bank has raised its price, so I have to follow suit. How about this, since you are knowledgeable, if you buy a few more pounds, I will charge you 6 yuan."

"Who wants to buy tea in pounds? Give me half a pound for 6 yuan."

Quan Xu haggled with the boss for a while and bought half a pound of Keemun black tea for $3 and half a pound of jasmine tea for 60 cents.

Then, I spent more than two hours running around the tea shops in Chinatown, finding out the retail prices of various teas, and bought four types of tea that had a market in Chinatown - Keemun black tea, jasmine tea, Longjing green tea, and Tieguanyin.

Keemun black tea is the most expensive and has lower sales.

Longjing Green Tea is the second most expensive and is a high-end product that most people cannot afford.

The sales of Tieguanyin are decent, and almost every Fujianese will buy it, but there are less than 50,000 Fujianese in the United States, so the market potential is limited.

Jasmine tea has considerable sales volume and is indispensable to almost every Chinese family. The tap water in the United States has a smell and if you don't use something to deodorize it, it will taste sandy.

Fortunately, I have been able to gain a foothold in the United States and have some financial resources. I can afford to drink mature jasmine tea without having to fool myself by making tea dregs into high-foam or low-foam teas. Otherwise, if I want to do tea business, I have to think of how to drive up the price of tea dregs.

It's okay to hype and make some inflated money, but it's not okay to insult intelligence. Forcing customers to drink urine by pressing their heads and forcing them to praise it as authentic is a bit too much.

At afternoon tea time, Quan Xu and his friend sat in the Lu Yu Tea House at the intersection of Wu Street and Baiye Street and ordered two cups of aged Pu'er.

This tea is very expensive, sold by the cup, one dollar a cup, and not everyone is qualified to order it. Only Chinese people of a certain age and status are qualified. Quan Xu was able to drink it because of Charlie Chan.

Chinese living in the United States usually "buy" a wife from their hometown, or find an Irish woman who works in a menial job. It is basically impossible for them to marry a decent foreign girl. The fact that Charlie Chan's grandfather was able to marry a French wife is enough to prove his extraordinary status. He was one of the founders of the former Chinese Benevolent Association, now the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association.

Charlie Chan's father inherited the family's legacy and took on a position at the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association. He was also one of the important figures in the On Leung Hall, so the Chen family had a lot of reputation in Chinatown.

But when it came to Charlie Chan's generation, his father did not want his son to inherit his legacy. He expected Charlie Chan to study hard, walk out of Chinatown, wear a suit and tie, and go to work in an office building in a well-dressed manner.

The two of them didn't have lunch. As soon as the freshly baked barbecued pork buns were served on the table, Quan Xu picked up one with his left hand, put it in his mouth and took a bite, while holding the pen in his right hand, he kept writing on the paper.

“Charlie, how much is a pot of jasmine here?”

“Unlimited water for 50 cents.”

“What about other tea rooms?”

“From 25 cents.”

"It's not cheap. Coffee in the restaurant is only 15 cents, and you can get refills." Quan Xu wrote two pages, looked up at Charlie Chan, "Do you know who the owner of Luen Tai Bank is?"

"Chen Cansheng and I are from the same family. My grandfather and his grandfather came to the United States together."

Quan Xu said noncommittally: "Sir, you are already engaged in tea trade. The United States will produce black tea and Longjing green tea. You can say hello to Boss Chen and make way for Keemun black tea and Longjing green tea. Sir, you can supply other teas to Liantai Bank at a low price."

Charlie Chen looked embarrassed, "Secretary Quan, I can't tell you this. Brother Chan Sheng won't agree."

Quan Xu lit a cigarette, took a puff, and said calmly: "Lian Tai Bank has a branch in Hong Kong. The manager is Li Boxiang, who is responsible for purchasing jasmine tea, Tieguanyin, ginseng, angelica, longan, mushrooms and other commodities from the mainland, and forging re-export commodity documents through the relationship with the Hong Kong Customs.

There is a Mr. Chen who does rice business in Cholon, Vietnam. He should be your relative. "

Quan Xu picked up the teacup and took a sip of tea. "The Pu'er tea we drink is brought from Yunnan by Luen Tai Hang via Vietnam. Mr.'s tea trade is not just his, the shareholders include senior military and police officers in Hong Kong, senior NYPD officers, senior FBI officers, Parisian nobles, and heirs of New York white business families, covering a wide range of areas.

I asked you to say hello as a courtesy before force. Keemun black tea and Longjing green tea don't sell many pounds a year. Boss Chen should take a step back and supply the goods to Liantai Bank at a low price, so that we can all make money in harmony.

If they don't withdraw, the Luen Thai ship parked at the Hong Kong dock will be subject to a surprise inspection by customs, Mr. Chen at the Embankment will be accused of being a North Vietnamese spy, and Mr. Chen here will be investigated by the FBI for suspected secret trade with Tangshan. I wonder if Mr. Chen can withstand the investigation?"

Charlie Chen was shocked. This set meal has been arranged?
Quan Xu took out an envelope from his suit pocket and placed it on the table. "Give this to Boss Chen. Inside is the supply price of tea, New York price."

After he finished speaking, Quan Xu picked up a barbecued pork bun with chopsticks and ate it while looking at the customers in the teahouse.

The Luk Yu Tea House here has the same name as the Luk Yu Tea House in Hong Kong, but the two have nothing to do with each other. The grade here is not as high as the one in Hong Kong, both in terms of positioning and the quality of dim sum.

There are no female customers coming here alone. Women need to be accompanied by their family to enter. Although located in a big city, the rule in the countryside that "women cannot show their faces in public" is enforced very well.

There is also a culture of sharing tables here, with strangers drinking tea at the same table, but Taishanese and Fujianese will automatically separate themselves, and will never sit at the same table without an appointment.

All kinds of people come here. Chamber of Commerce bosses discuss business and sign contracts here, using the tea table as a meeting room.

Gang members including An Liang Tang are discussing their numbers here.

The teahouse also operates as an information agency, where new customers inquire about jobs, rental information, and even smuggling channels.

Here, scholars and writers wrote family letters, read the Overseas Chinese Daily, and talked about current affairs in their homeland. The most talked-about topics at that time were the Korean War and land reform.

Thousands of miles away from home, people care more about their families. Those immigrants who have not put down roots and spread out would rather live a hard life and tighten their belts to send money back to the countryside in Tangshan.

It's a pity that not all sincerity will be rewarded. It's okay if you send money to your parents, but if you send money to your brothers and sisters or even nephews and nieces, there is a high probability that you will feed an ungrateful person and become a mule in the far west that spits out gold coins on time.

The situation in America is slightly better, but in Sago Lane in Singapore, there are too many unmarried souls waiting to die. At the moment they breathe their last, there are still people in the countryside of Tangshan who are worried about them - the old guys haven't sent money back, could they have a lover?

All kinds of thoughts were running through Quan Xu's mind. He had some spare money and was thinking about entering the motel business. He was also thinking about opening a teahouse in Chinatown and finding a concubine from Taishan to run the teahouse.

The hula hoop became famous overnight and Jessica received a handsome dividend. She devoted herself to her work and spent all her time on childhood fun and school. She also began to become independent, bought an apartment and moved out of his place. Their relationship as boyfriend and girlfriend was already showing signs of being in name only.

My husband is really good at judging people and his words come true. He had said that Jessica is a career-oriented woman and shouldn't take love matters too seriously.

He didn't take it seriously, nor could he take it seriously. He just wanted to start his own small business and follow the instructions given by his husband. Occasionally, he would think of Xian Yuzhen, whom he had caught a glimpse of at the Xian family. She was a woman who was making great strides towards perfection and was perfectly suitable to be a wife, but he didn't know whether his husband would give him a chance.

The gentleman has a plan for everything and has seized the initiative. All his businesses are on track. He is far behind the gentleman. It would be better for him to follow the gentleman closely after accumulating enough experience to go solo. If he wants the gentleman to pay attention to him and even develop him into his sister-in-law, he has to work harder and show greater value.

Soon, he put his mind back on running around happily, and began to think about another instruction from his master - to target the underground money houses in Chinatown, find out the truth first, and then recruit them when the time comes.

The gentleman said the next stop is the bank.

A few hours later, the lights in New York came on, and Hong Kong was filled with the chirping of birds and the fragrance of flowers.

Cen Peipei got up early, did morning exercises on her rooftop, and then sat in the master's study. Yesterday, Cheryl rejected Miss Wang's request for a zero-dollar purchase. Today, there might be a reaction from Taiwan. The master is in a tiger's den and must be worried.

After sending a fax to New York to verify that the signal was clear, Cen Peipei made herself a cup of coffee, took the book she had read yesterday from the bookshelf, turned to the page with the bookmark, and continued reading.

A little later, Wang Xiamin sat opposite, holding a glass and sipping Mingqian Longjing tea.

The ground floor of Building No. 5 was transformed into an experimental kitchen, where Cai Jinman and several cooks were studying the stove. The temperature of the fire was very important to the taste of the dishes. The principle of the Xian family was people-oriented, emphasizing that tools should adapt to people, and people should not adapt to tools as much as possible.

In Building No. 9, Zhou Ruoyun had already woken up. She was lying on the bed, rubbing her belly gently, feeling the little life growing inside.

On the rooftop of Building No. 6, Aisha followed Xian Yuzhen's routine, while Camilla curled up in a recliner, her hands covered in black, eating mulberries bite by bite. The mulberries, which had just been brought in from the mainland yesterday evening, had been placed on the fruit stand early in the morning.

There was no one in Building No. 3. Su Lizhen sat on the train from Baoan to Yangcheng, listening to the beautiful music. Besides, besides, besides, woo…

This is the atmosphere of the Xian family, everyone is an early bird.

Xian Yaowen naturally got up early as well and did not bring too many small items with him. The same went for Qi Longque and the other two, who only brought a telescopic tactical stick.

I did morning exercises at my usual pace, and when I ate breakfast, I consumed more carbohydrates than usual. There were dark clouds covering the sun, so today might not be a peaceful day. (End of this chapter)