money player

"jewelry?"

"What? Golden beans."

"Golden beans cost 175 yuan?" Narcissus exclaimed in surprise, "That's outrageous!"

Another pipa player, Furong, chimed in, "Jasmine, which place did you ask that about?"

"Which other company could it be? He Qinglong."

Furong: "24K?"

"22 out of 10".

Narcissus: "Jasmine, a 22-opening bottle isn't worth 175 yuan. This price won't hold; you'll lose money if you buy it."

"I want to buy some gold coins to keep on my person. Gold coins are so small, you can hide them anywhere."

Furong chuckled and said, "You don't need to worry about saving money. I heard that a generous Mr. Huang from Siam has booked your mansion. Is he going to take you back to Siam?"

Jasmine spat, "He'd better dare to bring her. His business depends entirely on his wife. Even if he had a million guts, he wouldn't dare bring his mistress back to Siam. Narcissus, why don't you introduce me to your man? I'll redeem myself and bring a dowry of over ten thousand."

Furong chimed in, "Bring me along too, my dowry will be double that of Jasmine's."

“Alright, when the master comes to Lion City next time, I’ll tell you to come to my residence and flirt with him. Maybe he’ll take a liking to you.” Narcissus replied with a faint smile.

Furong said softly, "Narcissus, I really envy you for meeting such a good man. Why am I not so lucky?"

"You brought this on yourself. Why did you have to raise a son-in-law? He ran off with your money."

"It's all in the past, why bring it up again?"

"You were the one who brought it up," Jasmine retorted lightly, then turned to Narcissus and said, "Narcissus, you have so many connections, do you know where I can buy cheap gold beans?"

"Did you see the shop under renovation opposite Lin Kee Tofu Pudding in Chinatown?"

"The one with the 'Goodman' sign?"

“That’s the one, the gold shop owned by a red devil I know.” Narcissus deliberately lowered her voice. “He has gold mines in Africa, he’s been secretly mining them without paying taxes to the British, and his capital is much greater than that of a gold shop.”

Furong: "You need to pay for what you dug yourself?"

Narcissus glared at Hibiscus. "You think you can do business without any investment, just drink some water, lie down on the bed, and start mining? People need food and horses need money. Even if you don't pay taxes, you still have to give the British some benefits. Otherwise, how can you mine in peace?"

"You're the one making money without any investment; I have a lot of capital..."

“Hibiscus, shut up! Narcissus, continue! Red-haired devils, one ounce… oh, red-haired devils by the ounce, how much does one ounce cost?”

“In Singapore, you definitely have to sell by weight. I didn’t ask how much one tael was, but he said I could buy it for 20% less than the market price outside, and the more I bought, the cheaper it would be.”

As soon as Narcissus spoke, several people gasped in surprise.

Jasmine asked eagerly, "How much is too much?"

Narcissus hesitated slightly, then said in a guessing tone, "A hundred taels would probably be considered a lot."

“A hundred taels isn’t much,” Jasmine said casually, then looked at the others and said, “The ladies here can easily scrape together a hundred taels. Hibiscus, do you want to buy some?”

“Who wouldn’t want cheap gold?” Furong picked up the 555 cigarette pack on the table, took out a cigarette, and said, “Narcissus, are those foreigners planning to ship in bulk?”

"Horn said he has a lot of gold stockpiled, by the ton."

Furong lit a cigarette, took a puff, and said calmly, "Let's invite that foreigner out for coffee. If he can leave us some benefits, we can introduce him to buyers."

Furong's words caught the attention of the others. They were all popular pipa players, and their customers were all rich and powerful. Who wouldn't love cheap gold? If the foreigners gave them a small profit margin, not much, just ten or five dollars per tael, each of them could easily earn tens of thousands of dollars.

Everyone surrounded Narcissus, urging her to make an appointment with the foreigner.

Narcissus readily agreed without any prevarication.

After the pipa players dispersed, Shui Xian took out her abacus and fiddled with the beads to estimate how much profit Goodman would make from this market trend.

At that time, the price of gold in Singapore was about 157% of the international price. Gold Coast Industries supplied Goodman with gold at a price that was half a percent higher than the international price. By shipping at 75 percent, the profit was about US$4.7 per ounce, which was not a huge profit, but it was still considerable.

Having estimated the figure to be approximately $23, Narcissus put the abacus aside and leisurely picked up her coffee cup to take a sip.

"Shaofen, before dinner time, take that 2.8-ounce gold bracelet to Jasmine."

"Manager, should I pass on a message?"

"No need, just give her the bracelet, she knows what she's doing."

As soon as she finished speaking, Narcissus picked up the newspaper on the table, turned it over, and looked at the advertisement that took up half the page—Oriental Pearl Tower, blowing away the sweltering summer and preserving time.

Chinatown.

At the Singapore branch of Hong Kong Manufacturing Group, manager Chen Hongzheng is reconciling accounts with Luo Tingke of People's Convenience Store.

Chen Hong held up the shopping vouchers from People's Convenience Store and counted them. "17, 18, 19... Manager Luo, there are 19 in total, right?"

Luo Tingke nodded. "That's right."

“Nine checks are 9500 yuan.” Chen Hong fiddled with the abacus beads a couple of times. “Add the payment of 190 yuan for the goods, and it’s a total of 9690 yuan. I’ll have the cashier send the checks to your office tomorrow.”

"No rush, no rush." ​​Luo Tingke waved his hand. "Manager Chen, I need to trouble you to mention to your sales staff again to help promote the dust covers and sockets from People's Convenience Store. Your fans are selling so well, but my sockets are not selling well, and I have a large amount of unsold stock. I'm in a hurry."

"Manager Luo, I give instructions every day, but your sockets are too expensive, so it's no use giving instructions."

"Our sockets are high-quality and safe; they're not the inferior products sold elsewhere, and their purchase price isn't cheap. Manager Chen, I'm only doing this to cooperate with you..."

Chen Hong waved her hand to interrupt Luo Tingke, "Manager Luo, stop talking, stop talking, I'll help you think of a solution."

"thanks, thanks."

Chen Hong smiled and said, "Don't thank me yet. Tomorrow, please issue me three shopping vouchers, each worth ten thousand yuan."

Luo Tingke gasped, "Such a big deal, Manager Chen got a huge order from the government?"

"Look at the weather, it's much hotter than in previous years. The supply department published a tender advertisement in the Straits Times, and luckily, Oriental Pearl won the bid."

"Huh, Hong Kong goods can win bids too? Did Manager Chen find a British agent?"

In Singapore's colonial government, bulk commodities were procured centrally by the Ministry of Supply. Specialized procurement by departments required approval from the Ministry of Finance. Tender advertisements were then published in the Straits Times, and suppliers submitted quotations, which were evaluated by a committee composed of colonial officials.

Generally, British manufacturers are given priority, followed by British manufacturers in Australia and India. Only when there are no suitable options will Hong Kong manufacturers be considered. Local Chinese businesses are usually not considered, even if the price is extremely low.

Products like electric fans, which are manufactured in the UK, used to be exclusively owned by British manufacturers.

"Manager Luo, you didn't know?" Chen Hong asked in surprise, "The Oriental Pearl Tower has more than one brand. The one sold in Singapore is a London brand, British goods."

"The boss's doing?"

Chen Hong nodded. "Sir, the road was paved a few months ago, thanks to a unified procurement initiated by the Governor's Office. The store will be coming to install it for the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Education tomorrow. Manager Luo can send someone to go with them. The sockets can be covered by the repair fee, so no approval from the Ministry of Finance is needed."

Luo Tingke smiled ingratiatingly, “People’s Convenience Store is an agent for ice and cold drinks. Manager Chen has many connections, please help me out. I want to secure tropical allowances and welfare supplies from the colonial government and the army.”

"People's Convenience Stores can make business simply by opening the door and waiting for customers to come in. Does Manager Luo need to work so hard?"

“Manager Chen, you may not know this, but doing retail business isn’t just about small, piecemeal deals. Large customer purchases are also very important. Only with large sales volumes can you negotiate better prices with suppliers.” Luo Tingke cupped his hands in a gesture of respect. “Manager Chen, please do me a favor. I only need to break even; all the profits will be at your disposal.”

Chen Hong smiled faintly and said, "Manager Luo, you're making things difficult for me."

"Manager Chen, there's no need to be troubled. Although we share the same boss, we are actually independent and each of us has a direct supervisor."

Chen Hong was silent for a moment, then said, "Okay, I'll try my best."

"Thank you, thank you very much."

After Luo Tingke left, Chen Hong persuaded a customer who came to buy an electric fan to leave. The function of the store is to display products, provide after-sales service, and supply goods to wholesalers and retailers; it does not do retail.

On the positive side, an appliance brand needs to cultivate a competitive market. The first step is to vigorously expand its dealer network, accepting all dealers who can sell products. Then, it needs to weed out the less capable dealers, keeping only the top-performing dealers in each region. Only in this way can a high-selling dealer network be built.

On the darker side, an appliance brand needs to "raise pigs" (i.e., raise pigs). Distributors are the pigs, and the brand must hold onto most of their profits in inventory. This way, the brand has a buffer zone. In the event of a sudden accident, the brand can use distributors as scapegoats or coerce them, giving itself time to react.

Whether it's for the good or the bad, the first step is to act from the distributor's perspective and protect their interests. The retail department should not take small orders and compete with the distributor for business; it should only focus on group purchasing.

After resting for a while, Chen Hong took out a file folder from the drawer and took out the "Bus: Passenger Experience Improvement Plan," which was made by Xian Yaowen to persuade the bus company to install electric fans on the buses.

She read the plan, reinforced her memory of some key points, and then packed up her documents and headed to the bus company.

South Africa.

In Johannesburg's Old Town, at the intersection of Commissioner Street and Main Street, there are densely packed two-story Victorian or Edwardian buildings, with shops on the ground floor and residences or hotels on the upper floors.

The signboard is a blend of Chinese and Western styles, featuring both English words like "Café" and "Grocery" and Chinese words like "restaurant" and "grocery store," but the Chinese words are more prominent.

The air was filled with a mixture of soy sauce, spices, cooking fumes, and cigarette smoke, a stark contrast to the modern atmosphere outside the city.

This is a Chinese community in Johannesburg, which can be called Chinatown.

A café, or grocery store, is not a shop that sells vegetables. It is a coffee shop that also sells groceries, candy, cold drinks, simple hot food, and alcohol. It can be classified as a neighborhood convenience store.

Huang Ji Vegetable Shop was owned by Huang Rengui, an early immigrant from Taishan. He arrived early and seized the opportunity. In just over twenty years, Huang Ji Vegetable Shop grew from one shop to seven, and Huang Rengui became the king of vegetable shops, no longer needing to personally manage them.

Huang Ji Vegetable Shop, the one near the Central Police Station, belongs to Huang Rengui. The first floor is a vegetable shop, and the upper floor is Huang Ji Hotel.

Yuan Jifa, the marketing manager of Hong Kong Manufacturing Group, is staying at Huang Ji Hotel. He is sitting in the vegetable shop at the moment, having a simple breakfast of fish and chips.

Sitting next to him was Sarah Millard, an English Jew whose grandfather came to South Africa to pan for gold and owned considerable property in Johannesburg. Her father was not as shrewd as her grandfather, and before she grew up, the Millard family fortune had been squandered.

She and her family spent some time as "white trash" in a shantytown on the western outskirts of the city, living among impoverished white African Americans who had lost their land, as well as new immigrants from Lithuania and Poland.

Fortunately, after World War II, the relationship between the Union of South Africa and Britain underwent a subtle change. The import of British industrial goods into South Africa was no longer as unimpeded as before, and the role of trading companies as intermediaries became more and more obvious, which allowed both her and her father to find a job in trading companies.

However, South Africa not only has racial discrimination, but also gender discrimination among white people. Women have very low legal and social status. In terms of employment, there is not only unequal pay for equal work, but also marriage barriers. Many professions require women to resign after marriage to ensure that the job is left to male breadwinners.

Her job didn't have this requirement, and she wasn't married, but because she refused to accept the unspoken rules, she was forced into marriage and also coerced, which led to her losing her job.

She didn't want to go back to being a white trash collector, so when she saw a job posting in the newspaper, she came to apply even though the interview was in Chinatown.

Yuan Jifa only chatted with her for a few words before deciding to hire her. The reason was simple: Sarah's previous job mainly involved handling electrical parts shipped from Germany and imported through British channels.

In order to develop its industry, South Africa imposed high tariffs on imported electrical appliances. As a result, some clever people set up electrical appliance assembly plants, imported electrical parts from abroad, assembled them in South Africa, and then sold them under their own brands.

In this way, they not only avoid high tariffs but also meet localized production policies and enjoy tax benefits.

Yuan Jifa ate his fries with a frown, while Sarah held a pen and signed an agency contract.

South Africa's legal foundation is "Roman-Dutch law." While joint-stock companies have the concept of legal persons, they do not have a concept similar to a legal representative; the closest equivalent is an agent.

A Hong Kong manufacturing group plans to establish an electrical appliance assembly plant, "HK," in Johannesburg. Fan parts from Hong Kong will be imported into South Africa at low tariffs, then repackaged and sold under the South African Thales brand.

Yuan Jifa clearly remembers putting the seventh French fry into his mouth when Huang Rengui's daughter, Huang Haoyang, walked into the store carrying a food box and went straight to Yuan Jifa's table.

"Brother Yuan, don't eat this anymore. I brought you meatball porridge."

Upon hearing the sound, Yuan Jifa was instantly at a loss. He quickly composed himself, put on a smile, and turned to face Huang Haoyang. He wanted to meet her eyes, but his gaze was involuntarily drawn to the large mole on her left cheek. He sighed inwardly again, "Such long golden hair."

"Ms. Huang, you've gone to so much trouble. Actually, fried fish is quite nice."

Huang Haoyang opened the food box, took out plates and bowls and put them on the table. "Brother Yuan, fried fish is sold to black people. We can't get used to eating it. I also brought you some fermented bean curd today. I made it myself."

As Yuan Jifa watched the food being piled up on the table, his Adam's apple bobbed involuntarily. He had already experienced Huang Haoyang's cooking skills at the Huang family home, and they were excellent. If Huang Haoyang hadn't been lusting after his good looks, he wouldn't have been so polite and would have finished everything on his plate.

He married young, at the age of sixteen, through a matchmaker. His wife was not ugly and was virtuous, managing the household very well. Even after he took two more concubines, his wife never became jealous.

Now that his three wives are living in harmony and raising their children well, he has no intention of taking on a fourth wife. He only engages in casual affairs outside the home, and even if he encounters a fairy, he will not bring her home, let alone Huang Haoyang.

However, Huang Haoyang wasn't the only one sitting on the other end of the barber's pole; her father, Huang Rengui, was also involved. He was a local tyrant in the Taishan Association and held a leadership position in the South African Chinese Association. If they wanted to successfully establish HK, they couldn't afford to offend Huang Rengui.

In South Africa, people are divided into four classes: first class whites, second class people of color (Chinese are classified in this category), third class blacks, and fourth class Indians.

About a century ago, British colonists transported large numbers of Indians to the Natal colony in South Africa as indentured laborers, mainly to do hard manual labor in sugarcane plantations.

The status of indentured laborers was essentially that of "semi-free slaves." Although they could gain their freedom after the contract expired, it was difficult for them to return to India. This marked the origin of the South African Indian community, and this starting point established their underlying socio-economic role.

Hong Kong needs assembly workers. Considering only cost, using Indians is the best choice. However, taking management into account, the best strategy is to build a team of workers with Chinese as the core and Indians as the branches.

The Tangshan company has 10 Taishan customers who have been on credit and are headed to South Africa. They are already at sea and will work for Hong Kong for the next two years. They will only start looking for a way to make a living after they have paid off their travel expenses and accumulated some savings.

A batch of fan parts is already floating at sea and will be cleared through customs in Hong Kong in the next couple of days. The establishment of HK is imminent, and Yuan Jifa cannot offend Huang Rengui, otherwise there will be problems with the factory site and recruitment.

Yuan Jifa weighed the pros and cons once again and decided to endure the humiliation and continue to disgust himself for the profit share promised by Xian Yaowen.

His smile grew even brighter as he accepted the chopsticks offered by Huang Haoyang.

Simonds Street.

A financial street in Johannesburg, the heart of the banking industry.

Gold Coast Industries' South Africa office is located in a building on this street. Chu Xuyifei, with a cigarette in his mouth, sits in the chairman's office.

The rural population in Japan after the war was severely depleted, and widow villages were everywhere, making it very easy to obtain Japanese identities.

During the course of his business operations, Matsunaga Shinhan reclaimed a lot of rural land and needed some farmers who only existed on the register to become landowners. Coincidentally, the Armadillo Squad also needed some Japanese identities. Thus, Savings Fei became Savings Fei, a large landowner in Hokkaido, leaving his wife to manage the family business while he went to South Africa to make a living.

The reason for going in circles and pretending to be a Japanese person is that Japanese people have special privileges in South Africa and are called "honorary whites," who can enjoy the same status as whites.

As for why Japanese people enjoy special privileges, it's simply because of self-interest.

South Africa recognized the enormous potential trade value and industrial capacity of Japan. South Africa needed to export raw materials and import manufactured goods from Japan.

Furthermore, there are not many Japanese in South Africa, and those who are there are either diplomats or trade representatives of large trading companies such as Mitsui and Mitsubishi. They all have considerable spending power, and money talks. Their status is naturally incomparable to that of the Chinese and Indians who come to "beg for food".

Savings Fei held a map of gold mines in Johannesburg, filtering for suitable acquisition targets.

Gold Coast Industries cannot remain shrouded in secrecy forever; legalization is an inevitable step. The extracted black gold also needs to be legally processed and allowed to flow openly into the international gold market. There is a great need for a cheap, abandoned gold mine in South Africa that has been completely mined out but is suitable for telling the story of discovering a new vein.

Western suburbs.

In the South African branch of Edward Biopharmaceuticals, a subsidiary of Newman, Huangfu Huafeng, fully clad in protective gear, stood outside a glass isolation layer, intently observing the experimental subjects—a female chimpanzee codenamed King Kong and a former Japanese soldier codenamed Godzilla.

Last night, Huangfu Huafeng paid out of his own pocket to decorate the wedding room for King Kong and Godzilla. There was no banquet, but the wedding night was very well done and meticulously planned, leaving the newlyweds quite satisfied.

After observing for a long time without finding any changes in Godzilla, he went to the dissection room next door and dissected a corpse infected with an unknown virus.

The unknown virus was the reason he came to Africa. It was a virus carried by chimpanzees that had infected humans through both sexual and blood transmission and was rampant in several primitive tribes.

This virus can be classified as a sexually transmitted disease, which is precisely the main target of Elizabeth Hospital's efforts.

……

"Grace, the spy story is thrilling and even more exciting."

"I still insist on listening to love stories."

“Okay.” Sin Yiu-man shrugged. “Before I tell you the story, I have a question for you.”

"Come on."

"What do you think is the true essence of film? I want your own answer, not one defined by others."

Kelly paused for a moment and then said, "I haven't thought about this question. What's your answer?"

"Product placement".

"What?" Kelly exclaimed, "Are you kidding me?" (End of Chapter)