money player

The Mitpakine borough of Manhattan is an industrial area filled with slaughterhouses and packaging plants. Some small businesses rent offices in this area to save on rent, where you can find decent office space for as little as $2 per square foot.

The New York branch of the multi-level marketing company rented an office in this area, a fairly large loft office with a warehouse.

After leaving the flower shop, Sin Yiu-man sat in his car, listening to the song "Jambalaya" sung by the famous female singer Poon Pik-wah on the car radio.

Mixed vegetables, crayfish pie, fish and okra soup; because tonight I'm going to see my beloved.
Play guitar, fill jars with jam, have a blast! Good heavens, we're going to have a blast at the river mouth!

"You little rascal, what are you doing, acting like an idiot; I'm releasing the goods, why won't you take them; you said you'd love your country, is that true or false; kneel down, quickly express your gratitude, take the whole shipment; you little rascal, listen to me, bang bang; my girl, with the driver, bang bang~ bang bang..."

Following the rhythm of the radio broadcast, Sin Yiu-man hummed the lyrics he had made up on the spot.

"Mixed Vegetables" is a song he "created," a masterpiece that kills two birds with one stone: to give Pan Di Hua another boost and to hype up the word "Jambalaya."

The Mitpakine district is not far from Greenwich Village, and the car stopped as the song was coming to an end.

Lin Shuisheng, who was waiting by the roadside, stepped forward and opened the back door of the car.

"Xian Sheng".

Sin Yiu-man got out of the car, patted Lin Shui-sheng on the shoulder, and then handed him a red envelope, saying, "Sheng, you've worked hard. This is a red envelope to make up for your hard work."

"Thank you, Mr. Sin."

"You're welcome. How are you settling in in New York?"

“It’s great, everything you can find in Hong Kong is here,” Lin Shuisheng said with a smile.

"You'll get used to it. Any midnight snacks ready?"

"Ready."

"Okay, take me to the warehouse."

Upon entering the warehouse, Sin Yiu-man saw two workbenches, each surrounded by several female workers. One was ironing shirts, and the other was removing labels and logos from pockets.

After observing for a moment, he approached a female worker, handed her a red envelope, and said, "Thank you for your hard work, here's a lucky money for starting work."

Seeing the unexpected red envelope, the female worker was a little at a loss and looked to Lin Shuisheng, who was following closely behind Xian Yaowen, for help.

“This is Mr. Xian, our boss. Here you go.”

Upon hearing this, the female worker bowed slightly to Xian Yaowen and said, "Thank you, boss."

Hearing the female worker speak broken Mandarin, Sin Yiu-man knew that his Taishan dialect wouldn't fool her, so he switched to Mandarin mixed with Cantonese and said, "No need to be polite, the office has prepared supper, come and eat in three words."

One by one, he gave each of the female workers a red envelope. Amid the whispers of the female workers, he followed Lin Shuisheng to the place where unprocessed returned goods were piled up. He picked up a shirt from the cardboard box and examined its defects.

"Ah Sheng, where is the return rate the highest?"

"Sears has the longest return period, so its return rate is higher."

Sin Yiu-man nodded, brought the shirt to his nose, smelled it, and then put it aside. "In the future, we will sort through the returned shirts, pick out those that have been worn or have a strong body odor, pack them up and sell them to second-hand stores. In addition, we will donate a batch of shirts to Goodwill every two months."

"How much to donate?"

"Report this to Ah Liang and let him decide. Also, tell him that New York State allows businesses to apply for a small tax deduction for employing disabled people. If they need more people later, they can consider hiring two women with leg disabilities, one of whom should ideally be a female soldier who returned from the European battlefield."

"Ok."

Sin Yiu-man randomly inspected a few items from other cardboard boxes, then went to the area where processed returns were stacked, took out one item and checked whether the label and logo were cleaned up, and whether the size label attached to the outside was properly attached.

Returning the shirt to Hong Kong is impractical. The increased shipping and labor costs from the back-and-forth process would raise the total cost of the shirt, and defective items wouldn't fetch a good price, potentially resulting in a greater loss than simply discarding it.

In the United States, there are also knife sharpeners who walk the streets and alleys in pushcarts or baskets, ringing bells and calling out "Knife Sharpener!" instead of "Sharpen scissors and knives." There are also itinerant vendors selling needles and thread, which are common among the Jewish community.

There are also itinerant vendors who drive around chasing after the excitement. They rush over to set up stalls wherever there is an event in a town or city. The shirts that have been processed here are sold to these itinerant vendors. There is a tacit understanding between them. The itinerant vendors can boast that the shirts are genuine brand-name products, and they neither deny nor admit it.

"Was there any profit in the goods shipped out earlier?"

"Yes, five or six cents a piece."

"It's good to still have a profit, but profit isn't the most important thing. We must strictly control the quality before shipping. We can't let a single shirt with a label or logo get out, and we can't let a female worker take one away."

Sin Yiu-man's gaze sharpened. "If this gets out and causes a bad impact, this place will be a counterfeit factory, and Ah-sheng will have to take the blame. The pyramid scheme company will have no place for you. Take this seriously and treat it as an important matter."

Lin Shuisheng nodded solemnly, "Mr. Xian, I will definitely keep a strict eye on things."

Xian Yaowen patted Lin Shuisheng on the shoulder, "Let's go to the office. I haven't had dinner yet, and I'm a little hungry."

In the office, four desks were put together to form a long dining table, with various foods laid out in a row. Two tin buckets were filled with garlic crayfish, and next to the buckets was a basin containing a mixed vegetable dish, a famous dish from Nanjing. Further on was a tray containing a mixed vegetable dish, a famous dish from the Creole region of Louisiana.

Next were some more expensive Western dishes for the female workers to try, but Xian Yaowen didn't bother to look at them. He took a plate and filled it with a mixed vegetable dish that originated from Spanish paella, added some Nanjing mixed vegetables on top, and then added two small crayfish as a garnish. He then took the plate to the side and stood there to enjoy his meal.

A short while later, Lin Shuisheng came over and handed over a bill.

Xian Yaowen glanced at it and asked, "Did the company cover it or did you cover it?"

"I put it in."

"Will you receive cash, or will it be deposited into your Hong Kong salary account?"

"Deposit it into the account."

"The money will arrive tomorrow night."

As he spoke, Sin Yiu-man looked at the opposite wall, which was divided into two sections. The left side of the wall was painted with "Go west" and the right side with "Jambalaya". A little lower down, "Go west" and "Assorted vegetables" were written in cursive script.

These two are new brands from Chung Hwa Garment, specializing in the $2-$5 shirt market in the United States. Their main competitors are Levi's denim work shirts, J.C. Penney's eponymous shirt brand, Sears' Kenmore and Craftsman.

It's not a head-to-head competition, as each brand's shirts are different; rather, it's an implicit competition among customers in that price range.

There is no Phoebus Cartel (the Sun God Monopoly Alliance) in the shirt industry, no tacit agreement to lower shirt quality together, and every brand's quality standard is aimed at making shirts last for ten years.

The $2-$5 shirt market caters to ordinary blue-collar and white-collar workers. The former can wear a shirt for several years, while the latter, for image reasons, will replace their shirts when they are out of shape. If they are frugal, four shirts a year are enough.

Blue-collar workers are considered low-quality customers, and brands like "Going West" and "Assorted Vegetables" are not even considered. However, white-collar workers have to fight tooth and nail for their annual budget of four items. Given that income levels in the United States do not increase rapidly in the short term, if white-collar workers patronize other brands, they will have nothing to eat.

But while risking one's life is understandable, there are still techniques involved. The profit margins of going west and mixed vegetables are not yet sufficient to support a specialty store strategy. Department stores are the primary sales channel. It's like a concubine's son competing with the legitimate son; you can't afford to be too cowardly.

Besides, while holding a knife in one hand and trying to stab the other to death, the other hand is holding a pig's head and begging for OEM orders. The sales of the brand line and the sales of the OEM line of the MLM company are now at odds. They haven't started fighting with outsiders yet, but they are already clamoring that they must first pacify the internal before fighting the external. They might as well bring in an external big brother to kill their own enemy at any time.

The restructuring of the MLM company is inevitable. Sales of the OEM line will be returned to Chung Hsin Garment, and a new sales subsidiary will be established. Lin Hsing-liang's position as general manager of the MLM company needs to be revoked, a new general manager will be promoted, and the sales department of Chung Hsin Garment in the MLM company will be eliminated. The relationship between the two will be defined as customer and OEM.

Going a step further, before the establishment of Chung Hwa Garment, the plan for a shirt industrial park that had been brewing in mind was almost ready to enter the substantive research stage. Chung Hwa Garment established a subsidiary, Chung Hwa Real Estate, to build factories in Qilinwei and create an industrial park integrating production, logistics, and exhibition.

This plan supports Chung Hwa Garment's new source of income from rent collection and paves the way to the stock market, the largest pool of returns for shareholders.

Despite the many changes in Hong Kong, its essence remains the same: collecting rent. All grand plans must be based on the goal of collecting rent, otherwise they will only be castles in the air.

While thinking, Xian Yaowen chatted casually with Lin Shuisheng.

Lin Shuisheng is Lin Xingliang's cousin. He was sent to the United States for training. If he can succeed, he will become Lin Xingliang's confidant, or even his right-hand man. If he fails, he will be a crony who takes advantage of others. He will not be in a very important position, but he will give Lin Xingliang some face.

Lin Xingliang is no longer the boy he once was, nor the teahouse waiter he once was. He shouldn't dwell too much on the past, freezing Lin Xingliang in the past. Lin Xingliang is Lin Xingliang in this moment, and he should be given the respect he deserves in the present.

If he becomes obsessed with the benefactor who helped him rise to power overnight and can't get over it, that favor won't last long. Sooner or later it will be exhausted, and the relationship will take a big step towards alienation.

Constantly reminiscing about the past or asking if you remember it is like undermining the foundation of harmony, which is not a good thing. We should maintain stability in the present.

After eating, the meal was over quickly. After saying goodbye to Lin Shuisheng, Xian Yaowen asked Xie Zhanran to drive the night bus route "Owl" from the Mitpakine district to Mott Street to check on the security situation along the way.

After walking around, the conclusion was that the public security was far from ideal. The female workers were all recruited in Chinatown because they needed to process returns in a timely manner and speed up the return of funds. They worked the middle and evening shifts every day, and they might not be able to catch the last bus after work. For the safety of the female workers, it was necessary to make adjustments.

On his way home, he wrote down the adjustment measures in his notebook in the car, tore off the pages, and stuffed them into an envelope.

The next day.

Sin Yiu-man ate bagels and smoked salmon as he walked through the streets of the Jewish community in the early morning.

Suddenly, a backpack-wearing teenager walking towards him spotted him, pulled a booklet from his bag, and walked towards him, shouting, "Buy my jokes, and I guarantee you'll laugh until your landlord kicks you out!"

Sin Yiu-man glanced at the boy and saw a long, narrow oval face with a high and wide forehead, a receding hairline, large and round eyes with slight bulging, showing characteristics of mild hyperthyroidism. His cheekbones were flat and not prominent, and his chin was short and slightly receding.

He clicked his tongue lightly, secretly amazed. "Woody Allen looked like this when he was young. Tsk, he hasn't changed a bit in decades."

"Sir, a collection of jokes is only 10 cents."

Sin Yiu-man joked, "I'll ask you a question. If your answer satisfies me, I can buy two copies."

Woody Allen widened his big, round eyes. "Sir, you can ask a few more questions."

"No, I'll only ask one question. Listen, if a man in his fifties marries a twenty-one-year-old adopted daughter, do you think he should be sentenced to castration?"

In order to sell the joke collection smoothly, Woody Allen thought for a moment and gave what he thought Sin Yiu-man wanted to hear: "Should."

Sin Yiu-man handed over 20 cents and said with a smile, "I really like your answer. Congratulations on making a deal."

Woody Allen quickly took the money and handed back the two booklets. "Do you have any more questions, sir? I'd be happy to answer them."

"That's all for today, but maybe it will come next time." Sin Yiu-man waved the booklet. "Hopefully it's really funny."

“Trust me, your landlord will kick you out,” Woody Allen said confidently.

"Bye-Bye."

Perhaps because his performance just now made him seem easy to fool, just a few seconds later, another vendor approached Sin Yiu-man, "Sir, would you like a Jackie Robinson baseball card? There are only ten in the whole of America, and it will appreciate in value soon."

Sin Yiu-man looked at the vendor and saw that the man was a boy of about fourteen or fifteen years old, wearing a white shirt with the school emblem "Fallockway High School" embroidered above the chest pocket. This was a high school located in Queens. He had been there twice, once with his mother to support Bernard Madoff, who was still riding high in his youth, and the other time to catch the wave of the prom. Five dollars a set, no cheating.

That spring, he was eight years old. He went to the Columbia University dormitory manager's office and charmed the female dormitory manager to get a whole box of condoms. Then he went to the Family Planning Agency (PPEA) mobile van and charmed her again to get more condoms and AIDS awareness posters.

Then they rushed from one high school to another. Five dollars couldn't stop the surging hormones. Before graduation, they always wanted to leave behind some beautiful memories. Business was still pretty good. If they met a stubborn guy, the AIDS prevention volunteer ambassador would be online.

A memory flashed through his mind, and he smiled at the boy, saying, "Boy, baseball cards shouldn't be sold on the street. Next time, find the right target audience."

The boy asked earnestly, "Where should I go to sell them?"

“Collect cards from children in working-class neighborhoods and sell them to children in wealthy neighborhoods. Stay away from Wall Street, stay away from people in expensive suits, and stay away from Jewish communities.”

The boy understood immediately, and a look of joy appeared on his face. "Thank you, sir."

"what's your name?"

Sin Yiu-man liked the boy's intelligence.

"Karl Icahn."

Upon hearing this, Sin Yiu-man took out a business card from his pocket and handed it to Carl Icahn, saying, "When your business grows and you lack funds, call me and I will invest in you."

"Really?"

"uh-huh."

Carl Icahn glanced at the business card, then carefully put it away. "Thank you, sir."

Have a wonderful day, bye-bye.

Carl Icahn, the future "Wolf King" of Wall Street, is highly aggressive, and many companies have fallen victim to his schemes. He is the inspiration for Gordon Gekko, the protagonist of the movie "Wall Street," and one of the inspirations for Bobby Axelrod, the protagonist of the TV series "Billions."

Sin Yiu-man liked this boy who would eventually grow into a troublemaker. When a troublemaker stirs things up, opportunities will arise. He can sneak into the village, not fire a shot, grab the benefits and leave, and someone will put the blame on the troublemaker.

Continuing my stroll down the street, I encountered some teenage vendors, diligently trying to sell their wares to passersby, living life to the fullest. (End of Chapter)