money player

In the next few days, Wu Huoshi and Lin Baocheng ran around for a factory site for Huaguang Garment Factory.

It is not difficult to choose a site. The most suitable places are Banqiao and Sanchong in Taipei County. The government has long designated large tracts of farmland in these two areas for conversion into industrial development.

The east side of Sanchong is adjacent to the Tamsui River, which will facilitate the transportation of goods by water in the future. Therefore, the land price is slightly higher, at NT$100 per ping, which is lower than the NT$150 in the Kaohsiung Port area, but nearly twice as expensive as the land near the railway in Taichung and Tainan.

Although the price was not cheap, and although the land in Sanchung that was slightly further away from the Tamsui River could be half the price, Xian Yaowen directly selected a narrow strip along the Tamsui River and went to the Production and Construction Management Committee again and again. His land application started with a figure of 30 pings, but was rejected again and again. The figure was changed to smaller and smaller, and finally at 5 pings there was room for negotiation.

For the 5-ping plot of land, Xian Yaowen promised the Production Management Committee that the number of workers would exceed 2 in five years and more than 5 in ten years. This impressed Yin Zhongrong, the big boss of the Production Management Committee, who paid 500 million yuan for the land in one go, and the Production Management Committee's vigorous land acquisition operation began.

5 pings is about 17 hectares, which is slightly more. The official compensation standard is NT$5000 per hectare for the best paddy fields, NT$3000 for general compensation, and a maximum of NT$3000 per hectare for dry fields and hillsides, but generally can only be assessed at NT$1500 per hectare.

Banqiao and Sanchong are exceptions because they are planned as industrial areas, which requires large-scale land acquisition. Farmers with land are likely to become landless farmers, and the compensation is relatively high, up to NT$8000 per acre.

But this compensation has little to do with the farmers. After the 5-square-meter plot of land owned by Huaguang Garment was demarcated, the land within the range began to change hands at a high rate. Some people purchased the land from farmers using the lowest compensation standard, and then obtained compensation from the Production Management Committee at the highest standard, earning the difference.

The 17A plot of land can actually make a profit of more than NT$10, which exceeds the land compensation difference. The reason for this result is that smart people adopted the trick of installment compensation and land exchange. They gave the first installment, and it is still to be determined when or whether the subsequent installments will be given. The land exchange not only exchanges bad land for good one, but also reduces the area.

I have to say, the way he eats is extremely ugly.

Of course, no matter how ugly it gets, it is only because of the "last straw". 500 million divided by 17 A equals 30 Taiwan dollars. When Xian Yaowen went to fight for the non-existent "three links and one leveling", the only response he got was tax preferential policies, and he had to figure out the rest himself.

He received 30 yuan for his relationship, but didn't give a single cent back to the company. He is really well-mannered. He ate everything cleanly without even having to wash the dishes.

Inspired by this, Xian Yaowen also decided to adopt the principle of not wasting. 5 pings out of the 5000 pings were used as the factory site for Huaguang Garment, and the other 4.5 pings were sold to Prince Construction for NT$500 million. In other words, Huaguang Garment did not spend a penny and got 5000 pings of land for free.

He and Wu Huoshi signed a drawer agreement, which stipulated that Huaguang Garment would receive 4.5% of the future profits generated by the 20 square meters of land, and Wu Huoshi would receive half. The agreement was for 20 years.

There's no way. Michelle is a shrewd man, and Zhou Xiaoyun is a shrewd man and his brother-in-law. They are using the name of China Garment to do things. If he doesn't leave enough benefits, he will be easily eaten alive.

As a result, the initial NT$2000 million capital for the Prince's construction was reduced by NT$500 million, and after deducting previous expenses, it was less than NT$1500 million.

By mid-May, the Prince Enterprise organization was basically completed and business was in full swing.

Prince Capital invested in Mingxing Chemical shares, invested RMB 160 million, and held a 32% stake.

The main product of Mingxing Chemical Co., Ltd. is Mingxing Floral Water. It was formerly the Mingxing Perfume Soap Factory, a listed company in mainland China. In 1949, Zhou Wenzhi, the second generation of the factory, arrived in Taipei via Hong Kong with the formula and restarted the journey with those who had earlier set up a branch in Taipei City.

Xian Yaowen affirmed the investment decided by Francesca. Although Zhou Wenjie is a woman, she is very capable. She can take the Mingxing Perfume Soap Factory to the stock market and go further to enhance the popularity of Mingxing Floral Water. He believes that she can also be successful in Taiwan.

If it were not for the inability to bring large amounts of assets to Taiwan, Prince Capital would not have had any investment opportunities at all.

The first trade of Prince Trade, 1000 tons of Penglai rice, has been sent to the East.

This trade does not go through Kobe's "special duty-free channel" and is declared at customs normally. The profit is very low, but only half of the funds will return to Taipei. The other half will be loaned to the East Asia Chamber of Commerce, exchanged for goods in Okinawa and shipped to South Korea for cash. Then, it will be exchanged for goods in South Korea and shipped to Hong Kong for cash. The funds will flow back to the offshore account controlled by Prince Enterprise (USA).

A sum of money circulates among four companies, directly generating three profits.

The second trade of bamboo weaving, straw hats and other handicrafts and coal has also been loaded. The former is sent to Southeast Asia, mainly Vietnam, and the United States. Southeast Asia is handed over to Long Xuemei for connection, and the United States uses Jinji Trade's customer channels to realize cash; the latter is sent to Hong Kong, with several false transactions made on the books and actually resold to the mainland.

Prince Trading sent a business letter to the mainland, asking whether it could purchase anthracite from North Korea on its behalf.

At the same time, a business letter was sent to Wanbang Company to negotiate the matters of smuggled transportation.

Wanbang's cargo ships transport goods for customers, but not all of their deadweight tonnage can be used up every time. So it is absolutely no problem to cram dozens of tons of cement into the corners. Taizi Trade has taken a fancy to this transport capacity, which can help lower transportation costs.

They import high-grade cement from the West under the pretext of Taiwan, and then challenge Taiwan's import quota. Part of the cement enters Taiwan according to the quota, and the part that is not given the quota cannot be thrown into the sea, so they have to take advantage of it and transport it to Hong Kong and sell it cheaply.

As for who the buyer behind the scenes is, Taiwan had better not ask. Just don't give the quota, but if they continue to complain, it will inevitably be suspected of going too far.

Prince Trade is devoted to the party and the country, but he got a cold shoulder. Why can't he save himself?

The East Asia Chamber of Commerce followed the alliance's approach and obtained an export quota of 10 tons of ammonium sulfate, and allocated 5 tons to Prince Chemical. It is now having a headache over how to land this batch of fertilizers.

The note approved by the Allied General naturally required compliance with the general framework of US aid, the customers could only be South Korea and Taiwan, and the price was US$50/ton, which was lower than the international market price of US$80/ton.

Japan lost 10% of its cargo ships in the war. In the previous few years, the Allies did not allow Japan to build ships on a large scale. Japan could only rely on foreign cargo ships for export. There was a tacit understanding among friendly merchants in the shipping industry that it would cost a high price to undertake Japan's transportation business. The freight cost of transporting fertilizers from Japan to Taiwan was about US$ per ton.

Taizi Chemical borrowed transportation capacity from Jinji Logistics and undertook transportation in the name of Wanbang, charging high prices on the surface and giving rebates secretly. On the premise of ensuring that Wanbang got a reasonable profit, the freight cost could be reduced to US$3/ton.

That is, the cost for Prince Chemical to transport fertilizers to Taiwan is US$53 per ton. If settled in New Taiwan dollars, Taiwan would be very happy to pay US$65 per ton. The problem now is that Prince Chemical wants to settle part of the payment in US dollars and is dissatisfied with the New Taiwan dollar exchange rate of 7.5, and is in a stalemate.

In fact, Xian Yaowen has no opinion on the Taiwan dollar settlement and exchange rate. He just talks just for the sake of talking. He was too easy to talk to at the beginning and could not wait for Taiwan to reciprocate. He would only think "this one is easy to bully, so I will bully it next time." It is human nature. No one would not pick on soft persimmons, but if they choose to hit hard stones, honest people will only suffer endless losses.

Prince Chemical is neither an honest person nor a troublemaker. It does not give face to the national government, but it will give face to a specific official. That is, it is close to the official and far away from the government, talking nonsense and waiting for a responsible official to stand up.

This time point has not yet arrived, because no one has approached Xian Yaowen to discuss this matter so far.

Xian Yaowen was not in a hurry. It didn't matter if the talks broke down. At most he would lose some money on shipping and ship the fertilizer to West Germany. He could export it to West Germany or lend it to West Germany to export to the Netherlands, France, or Italy. As long as he could get the money back, it would be fine.

Looking at the world's fertilizer trade, the situation is a bit chaotic. For example, West Germany's fertilizer production capacity has not yet recovered to its pre-war level, and its output is still insufficient for its own use. However, the Allies not only restricted West Germany's production capacity recovery, but also did not allow West Germany to maintain a large total amount of fertilizer, because fertilizer and explosives were separated by only a layer of paper.

So, a funny picture appeared. West Germany not only exported fertilizers but also imported the same fertilizers. For example, ammonium sulfate was exported by West Germany and also imported from the Netherlands.

Of course, in addition to circumventing the restrictions of the Allies, there is also the possibility of testing trade exchanges and opening up trade channels. After all, the European Union was not the result of overnight achievement, but the result of decades of running-in.

For European countries, the current number one imaginary enemy is the Soviet Union, but the United States is not a good thing either. Banding together for warmth is a perfect way, but first you have to wait for the opponent to be killed and silently shout for the US-led decolonization.

Before the colonies of Britain and France were weakened, they would think they were superior and would never be able to sit down together and discuss cooperation fairly.

Xian Yaowen sat in the pavilion in the garden, holding a copy of Vondel's "Adam in Exile" in his hand, recalling his days in exile and thinking of the windmills in the Netherlands.

The technology of synthesizing ammonia from coal will become obsolete. The United States is already experimenting with the technology of synthesizing ammonia from natural gas, but coal is still the mainstream in the world, and the world's energy structure is still dominated by coal, accounting for more than half of energy consumption, oil 30%, and natural gas less than 10%.

In terms of energy utilization efficiency and transportation costs, it is an inevitable trend for natural gas to replace coal. Based on the analysis of historical development trajectory, this will indeed be the case in the future.

If you want to invest in the energy industry, now is a good time to invest in natural gas. Once natural gas creates profits, you can then switch to the depressed coal industry.

Undiscovered gas fields flashed through his mind, and he crossed them out one by one. So what if he was a prophet? They were all hard nuts to crack and he couldn't tackle them with his strength.

After reviewing all the gas fields, his mind stopped at the Groningen gas field.

Land in the Netherlands is mainly privately owned, so in theory it is possible to purchase the farmland where the Groningen gas field is located in advance at a low price, except for the low-lying reclaimed areas that are owned by the government.

The Netherlands has a unique Erfpacht (surface lease) system that allows individuals or companies to lease public land for a long period of time without owning the land.

Excluding public land, it is possible to buy 80% to 90% of farmland, but according to Dutch law, land ownership does not include underground mineral deposits, oil and gas belong to the state, and individuals only own surface rights.

Even if you buy the land, you will not automatically obtain the right to extract natural gas. The government can expropriate the land at any time for resource development and compensate for surface losses at market prices.

This means that owning the land is useless, and a government concession must be obtained from the Dutch government to mine. If the concession cannot be obtained, the most that can be obtained is a tiny amount of compensation from the mining companies and a small profit from the price difference.

If he wants to get more benefits, even mineral shares, he must make friends with the Dutch energy consortium.

How to make friends?

Xian Yaowen put down the book, picked up the map of Indonesia on the stone table, and looked towards the western part of West Irian. This was the area of ​​control retained by the Netherlands after the signing of the Netherlands-Indonesia Round Table Agreement in 1949. Dutch companies such as Royal Shell and Unilever still control Indonesia's oil, rubber, tin and other resources.

He pounded his fist on the stone table and roared, "Shameless, shameless! What crime did the Indonesians commit to have their land occupied and their economy plundered?"

As a man with conscience and sense of justice, he felt that he should support the Indonesian people in their nationalist struggle free of charge, kill the Dutch workers, arrest the Dutch capitalists, jail them, demand ransom from their relatives and friends, and compensate the persecuted Indonesian people.

"Send a fax to Narcissus, asking her to find out if there are any important Dutchmen in West Irian. Send a telegram to the Third Brother Squadron, asking them to send Indonesian members to lurk in the eastern part of West Irian, Indonesia, and wait for an opportunity to find out about the Dutch shipping and dock conditions, and draw a detailed topographic map of the dock."

"Yes."

After the confession, Xian Yaowen began to study the four airports in Dutch West Irian, thinking about how to knock down all the planes at once and leave no chance for the hostages to escape.

If there are hostages worth his attention in Dutch West Irian, he will have to make a big deal. The bigger the fuss, the easier it will be for him to hide. The Indonesians beat the Dutch, so they are right wherever they go. He plays the trick of arresting first and rescuing later, so he is not right wherever he goes.

There are two very important points in order to make this happen. The first is the existence of a hostage, and the second is absolute confidentiality. The action of silencing the witness afterwards must be arranged in advance, and several remedial measures must also be arranged.

The risk was too great, and he needed a backup plan.

He hummed "Katyusha" and took out a notebook to draw a sketch of the BM-13 rocket launcher, wondering where he could get one to copy.

It is not difficult to develop multiple rocket launchers, but it is more difficult to imitate them. If the airport is attacked by using a rocket launcher covering design, the shrapnel from the explosion must have a strong Soviet flavor, so that the water can be muddied.

Even if we can't get the gun body, we must get a rocket. I wonder if the US military has any duds.

When drawing, a name popped up in his mind: "Sophia van der Viken". In 1949, she married Fritz Philips, the third-generation heir of the Philips family, a typical political marriage.

The Philips family is the founding family of the Philips Company. During the German occupation of the Netherlands, Fritz Philips' father, Anton Philips, fled to the United States with part of the company's capital, leaving Fritz Philips to struggle. He survived the difficult times with great wisdom, so he was designated as the family heir.

It is worth mentioning that Fritz Philips’ grandfather was Karl Marx’s cousin.

Sophia van der Viken comes from the Van der Viken family, which can be traced back to Johan van der Viken in the 16th century. He had a great influence on the Dutch East India Company, but the strength of the Van der Viken family was not passed down. The current Van der Viken family made its fortune in the Dutch colonial trade era of the last century, and the place of its prosperity was Indonesia.

A few years ago, the Van der Viken family was still a top family in the Netherlands. The family inherited part of the legacy of the Dutch East India Company and controlled sugarcane, coffee and rubber plantations in Java and Sumatra.

It owns the Dutch Trading Company, which monopolizes the export of Indonesian agricultural products to Europe; it owns the Rotterdam Commodity Exchange, which dominates the futures trading of coffee, cocoa and spices; it holds shares in the Royal Netherlands Steamship Company, which monopolizes Indonesia's shipping network; and it controls the Dutch Commercial Bank, which provides financing for colonial enterprises.

The Van der Viken family was once ranked the third largest family in the Netherlands, after the Vanderbilt-Van Laan family of Royal Dutch Shell, the Van Hollen family which controls ABN AMRO, and the Van Hollen family which owns shares in Philips and Unilever.

During the Japanese occupation of Indonesia, the Van der Viken family suffered heavy losses and lost nearly $10 billion in wealth; in 1949, the Netherlands recognized Indonesia's independence, and the Van der Viken family had to pay a transition tax to the new government, about 30% of annual profits.

Today, another huge crisis is about to hit us. This is the path that all colonized countries will take after independence - nationalization.

The Van der Viken family has realized this major crisis and knows that Indonesia is not a place to stay for long. They are now planning to flee Indonesia. Sofia Van der Viken marrying Fritz Philips should be one of the family's strategies.

Xian Yaowen searched his mind for memories. If he remembered correctly, the Van der Viken family had invested heavily in Congo's mineral resources. Unfortunately, Congo's independence came and the family suffered another heavy blow. They gradually withdrew from the ranks of the top families in the Netherlands. After the 1980s, unless you paid special attention, you would never hear any news about this family.

But in fact, until he traveled through time, the Van der Viken family still had assets of more than 10 billion euros.

The backup plan is to make friends with the Van der Viken family, help them make the right choice, evacuate as many assets as possible back to the Netherlands, and seize the opportunity of European industrialization.

I just wonder if there are any female members in this family who are in their twenties, about the same age as Sofia van der Viken, but not too rebellious.

Sofia van der Veen will be a well-known figure in the next decade or so. In a few years, she will divorce Fritz Philips and marry Albrecht Thyssen, a member of a branch of the Thyssen family. Her second marriage did not last long. After the divorce, she became a European feminist fighter, funded the European feminist movement, broke with her family, and publicly criticized the Van der Veen family's colonial history.

A woman is married to two men. It is estimated that there are few women of marriageable age in the Van der Viken family. Let's find out the situation first.

Amidst the busyness, charming clouds hung in the sky.

There was a new person beside Xian Yaowen, Liang Saizhen, who was wearing a mix of Japanese and Western styles.

"This is a nice outfit, like a daughter of a wealthy family."

Liang Saizhen looked down at the clothes and asked, "Does it look good?"

"It looks good." Xian Yaowen nodded. "Have you become acquainted with the American military club?"

"Well, but not well. The Americans have loose crotches, but their nerves and mouths are tight. I can't get any useful information out of them."

Xian Yaowen put his arm around Liang Saizhen's waist and said, "Americans are famous for having loose crotches, but this is Taipei, not Tokyo. The Americans here are different from those in Tokyo, so we dare not go too far."

Liang Saizhen smiled and said, "Don't worry, sir. I didn't let the Americans take advantage of me. However, the lady Lan you asked me to pay attention to has a very loose skirt and a wild look. I saw her enter the private room more than once."

"What are you doing in the private room?"

"They should be discussing business. The Americans, the merchants from Shanghai, and Mrs. Lan."

"Oh, have you seen Lian Qing?"

"I've seen her twice, both times with other Americans. She's probably not Mr. Lucas's lover."

Xian Yaowen chuckled and said, "How can she be a lover? A toy or a tool is more appropriate. Do you know where I can play with her?"

“Almost all the bars on Zhongshan North Road are there, and Americans and businessmen from other provinces would go there to hang out.”

"Do you know who the boss behind this is?"

"Officers and members of the Green Gang."

"playing what?"

"Roulette, poker."

"Have you been there?"

Liang Saizhen shook her head.

"Can you play?"

"meeting."

"I'll give you 5 Taiwan dollars. Go over and play. After you lose three or five times, each time you lose more than the last time. When you lose everything, let me know."

"Sir, do you want me to attract attention?"

"I want some people to know that you are mine, but I don't want them to have any hard evidence. Do you understand me?"

"I understand." Liang Saizhen nodded, then looked at Qi Longque, "Do you want me to owe a gambling debt and ask you to send someone to redeem me?"

"Not so good. The image of a female gambler is not pleasing. Go and lose your money first, and we'll discuss this later."

"it is good."

Liang Saizhen did not stay for dinner, but sat for a while before leaving.

Soon, Lin Wanzhen, who had not appeared for a long time, came over. The wounds on her face had healed and she had regained her beauty.

When she sat opposite Xian Yaowen, she looked shy and her body was shy.

Xian Yaowen stared at her face for a while, "Are you well?"

"Ah."

"Stay for dinner." Xian Yaowen pointed to a stack of newspapers on the stone table. "Read the newspapers and circle the important reports."

"Ok."

Lin Wanzhen put away her shyness and picked up a newspaper to read it carefully.

Xian Yaowen put away his books and notebooks and went to tend to the summer violets that had just been planted a few days ago under the tree.

Singapore.

In the garden of Narcissus Manor, Narcissus was also taking care of Xia Jin. She was not alone, Xian Yuzhen was helping her.

Xian Yuzhen is already a member of MI5 and is currently receiving targeted training in Singapore.

"There are not enough flowers. We need to get more sun."

"Sister Shuixian, it may be because you use too much nitrogen fertilizer. Change it to high-phosphorus and potassium fertilizer."

"Fertilizers have a fixed amount. We only apply fertilizer once every two weeks. Don't use too much." Narcissus lifted her bangs that were blocking her view. "What do you want to eat tonight?"

Xian Yuzhen chuckled, "I'm not picky about food, anything is fine with me." (End of this chapter)