money player

Orly Air Force Base.

The U.S. military's core strategic hub in France has three main missions: supporting NATO's European defense and the Korean War, stabilizing postwar France through the Marshall Plan, and...

A Douglas C-54 transport plane taxied and landed on the runway. A Ford Jeep drove towards the plane from a distance. A moment later, the plane's cabin door opened and the Jeep stopped at the doorway.

Wearing an Air Force uniform and sunglasses, Zhao Lian leaped from the cabin door to the ground. Ground crew supervisor Lieutenant Charles Gorman got out of the jeep and gave Zhao Lian a casual salute.

"Zhao, welcome to France. Have a pleasant trip?"

"It wasn't a very pleasant experience. I should have taken a commercial flight," Zhao Lian said, waving behind him.

His assistant and cousin, Zhao Ming, took two steps forward and handed over the canvas backpack.

Zhao Lian took it and handed it to Gorman, "Partagas D4."

“Wow, that’s great, I’ve finished my cigar.” Gorman took it without ceremony and said with a smile.

Zhao Lian raised his left hand and pointed to the watch face with his right hand, "A truck will arrive at the base gate in five minutes, loaded with Limousin steaks and Burgundy wine."

Gorman's smile grew even brighter. "Zhao, you are an angel."

Zhao Lian shrugged. "It's just a small gift."

"Ha, please come with me, Colonel Turner is waiting for you."

Zhao Lian got into the car with Gorman, and Zhao Ming followed with several canvas backpacks on his back.

The Jeep drove through the airport to the office area on the other side. Gorman escorted the two to the door of an office, informed them, and then left.

Zhao Lian took the canvas backpack from Zhao Ming and told him to wait at the door. He then pushed open the office door and met Colonel William Turner, the base commander of Orly Air Force Base.

He put down his backpack and took off his sunglasses.

Turner held a photograph in his hand, scrutinized Zhao Lian's face, glanced at the photograph again, and after confirming that it was the same person, he picked up the Zippo lighter on the table, lit the photograph, and threw it into the ashtray.

As the photo turned to ashes, he looked up at Zhao Lian and asked, "Which street were you born on?"

"I like Old Raven whisky, without the ice."

"Please take a seat."

Once Zhao Lian was seated, Turner immediately said, "The base has 30 packs of cigarettes, which must be transported away today."

"price?"

50 francs.

Zhao Lian nodded, "OK."

"20 military radios, 50 francs each."

"OK."

"20 tons of aviation gasoline, 26 francs per ton."

“Wait a minute,” Zhao Lian interrupted Turner. “The black market price is only 200 francs per liter, a difference of only 8.5 francs. I can’t do that.”

"Zhao, aviation gasoline cannot be sold to outsiders. You can only keep it for your own use, unless you want to get involved in a war."

"Alright," Zhao Lian said noncommittally, "Please continue."

"I can give you a batch of chocolates at a discount: Hershey's milk chocolate, Hershey's tropical chocolate, M&M's colorful coated chocolate beans, Tootsie Rolls chocolate fudge, Girardelli, Lindt, and Triangle."

“I’m not really interested in chocolate.” Zhao Lian opened one of the canvas backpacks and dumped a pile of chocolates on the table. “I need a few soldiers to help me sell them.”

Turner picked up a piece of chocolate and examined it closely. "Seine River chocolate, made in France?"

"Made in Hong Kong".

"How to cooperate?"

“We’ll sell it to you under the guise of PX stores. I only need to recoup my costs; the profits are all yours,” Zhao Lian said, handing Turner a price list.

Turner took the price list, looked it over against the chocolates on the table, then opened one chocolate, broke off a small piece to taste, and then opened another, tasting all the chocolates in different packages.

He nodded. "It tastes great, we can work together."

"Is it possible to deliver the goods to Naha Airport?"

"Sure, but you'll have to handle the Naha airport."

"no problem."

In France, legal channels for selling chocolate include state-owned stores, cooperatives, and franchised stores, corresponding to the three models of state-owned, collective, and private ownership, respectively.

State-run stores offer the cheapest prices, but purchasing dark chocolate requires sugar ration coupons, with a monthly limit of 200 grams. Purchasing milk chocolate requires children's nutrition coupons or a doctor's certificate.

Generally speaking, chocolate is rarely seen on the shelves. Everyone has a few relatives, and when you have a hot commodity in hand, you naturally become a "connector." With a connection, you are closer to heaven and can hear the blessings from heaven. "Prepare for sugar-coated bullets, but no matter what, big breast bullets and franc bullets, fire them all out."

The cooperative's prices were 20-30% higher than those of state-run stores, but the advantage was that the goods were on the shelves half the time.

Franchise stores are mainly department stores, and chocolate is used to attract customers. If you buy chocolate alone, you are likely to get the reply, "Unfortunately, we are out of stock today."

Besides legal channels, there is also the black market, one way being smuggling from overseas, such as Belgium and Switzerland, and the most important channel being PX stores.

American soldiers could buy chocolate from PX stores and resell it to vendors waiting outside the base for 1.5 times the price. The vendors would then sell it to black market wholesalers for 1.2 to 1.5 times the price. The wholesalers would then sell it to cafes and nightclubs for 1.5 times the price. By the time the chocolate reached the end customer, the price had increased at least threefold.

The second type involves farmers making their own products, factories using gray channels, or counterfeiting. Compared to the first type, this is a small-scale operation.

PX stores are one of the important sources of French chocolate, accounting for about 30% of the market supply. The reason they do not account for more is that chocolate is a rationed commodity in PX stores, unlike cigarettes, which, although limited to 30 packs per month, are practically exempt and are sold freely for 5 cents a pack.

For this reason, Zhao Lian's supply of affordable chocolates can be said to have provided a highly profitable channel for everyone at the Olli Air Force Base, and it was a relatively safe channel. If investigated, only the flight crew's extra income from transportation would be recognized, and everything else would be denied.

Turner was in a good mood. He handed Zhao Lian a cigar, lit one for himself, and said unhurriedly, "The base has 200 tons of scrap metal, which contains 2000 brand-new dismantled M1 rifles. 2 francs each, the scrap metal is a gift."

"No bullets?"

"No."

"Self-pickup or delivery included?"

"Transportation can be arranged, but the destination must be on the Oli-Naha route."

"Take out the gun and airdrop it into the Strait of Malacca off the coast of Singapore. I'll transport the scrap metal myself."

"Deal." Turner exhaled a puff of white mist. "Want some nylon stockings?"

“I’ll take as many as you have, but they have to be transported to Normandy in military vehicles. I plan to sell them to England.”

“Zhao, military vehicles aren’t exempt from inspection.” Turner chuckled. “In fact, the Paris police have been keeping an eye on the base. You’ll run into trouble if you don’t give them half the profits.”

Zhao Lian said nonchalantly, "It's okay."

“OK.” Turner shrugged. “That’s all I can offer. I need 10 units of penicillin injections. France currently has a shortage of 450 million doses. I can sell as many as you have. How many can you supply?”

"The prepared injection?"

"Of course not, I want the dry powder ampoule."

"As long as the price is right, I can provide as much as you need."

“I probably can’t give you the price you want,” Turner said meaningfully. “A vial of this injection sells for 1500 francs on the Paris black market, and I can only offer you 750 francs per vial at most.”

"Impossible, I have no profit at this price."

"You know whether there's a profit or not, and so do I. You can earn less from penicillin, but you can set the price for adrenaline."

In 1951, hospitals and clinics providing penicillin injections were required to provide adrenaline injections, which were key drugs for rescuing patients from anaphylactic shock and cardiac arrest.

After a moment's thought, Zhao Lian said, "The ratio of penicillin to adrenaline is 10:1. Adrenaline will cost 2500 francs per vial."

"Adrenaline is exported to the United States at a price of 350 francs per vial."

“I don’t get them for that price.” Zhao Lian took a puff of his cigar, exhaled a puff of white smoke, and said slowly, “The black market price in Paris is 1 francs per cigar.”

Turner, holding a cigar, pointed at Zhao Lian and said, "The figure of 1 francs is meaningless; it's a price only available in special circumstances."

Zhao Lian stared intently at Turner's face, and said without backing down, "Is the figure of 7000 francs any meaningful?"

Turner shrugged. “2000 francs.”

"Lowest price: 2300 francs."

"2200 francs, sold?"

"make a deal."

The main entrance of the base.

After directing the unloading of goods, Sylvie Mopi, the owner of Good Morning Vietnam, used a screwdriver to pry the small stones and brick fragments stuck on the tires.

Since Sin Yiu-man invested in Good Morning Vietnam and acquired a 40% stake, Good Morning Vietnam has changed its previous model of transporting goods for merchants. First, it went to the Highway Freight Bureau to open up the "French Transport Modernization" program of the Marshall Plan, obtained a low-interest loan, and purchased surplus US military GMC CCKW-353 trucks. Then, it went to the tax bureau to handle the truck depreciation tax deduction and diesel subsidy.

Then I started making friends, befriending civil servants from the Ministry of Public Works and Transportation, and frequently going out with people from the Roads and Bridges Bureau and the National Highway Fund.

During this period, Sylvie lost 30% of the shares in Good Morning Vietnam, which was a considerable loss. However, there was also an unexpected surprise: the contractor of the Paris ring road actually took the initiative to come to Good Morning Vietnam's door, calling them "brother" and insisting on contracting the work of transporting building materials to the construction site to Good Morning Vietnam. If they refused, they would immediately throw a tantrum.

Unable to refuse such a kind offer, I had no choice but to accept.

As a result, all the trucks from Good Morning Vietnam started running.

Although trucking is treated like an unwanted stepchild in France, the government supports rail transport and enforces a railway priority policy. Goods that can be transported by rail must allocate some to the railway, or else face consequences.

Trucking companies don't have much pricing power. The government sets profit margins for trucking, and anyone who exceeds them will be punished.

Two unfavorable conditions are there, but as long as there is enough business, profits are not a problem. Currently, Zao'an Vietnam has a shortage of trucks, but it has undertaken the transportation of building materials for three sections of the road to contractors. The trucks are running non-stop, day and night.

As for the nature of Good Morning Vietnam's business, Desais restructured it, changing it from a trucking company to an intermediary and leasing joint-stock company.

A separate general partnership with the same name and unlimited joint and several liability was registered. The partner was the driver, the transportation contracts were signed by this company, and the profits belonged to this company, unrelated to Morning Vietnam. Morning Vietnam provided strategic consulting services to this company, charging service fees, brokerage fees, and truck rental fees.

This approach avoids the French penchant for strikes—the drivers are all partners, so let them undermine their own team—and also makes it easier to exit in the future.

Sin Yiu-man is not optimistic about the future of the French trucking business. He has already enjoyed the benefits of post-war reconstruction, so he will wait and see. He will leave at any time if subsidies are reduced or even canceled, or if license restrictions are tightened.

By the time Sylvie had cleaned up a few tires, the cargo was almost unloaded. He went to the cab, retrieved an ice bucket, and distributed aluminum jugs to the drivers. They all leaned against the truck bed and drank their cheap, diluted Beaujolais wine.

At this time, truck drivers are used to drinking coffee to stay alert before starting work, and then relaxing with a glass of diluted wine after work. It's quite pleasant.

A moment later, Zhao Lian came over and whispered something to Sylvie. Sylvie then gave a signal, and all the drivers got into their vehicles and went back to the company to get trucks to transport the scrap metal.

"Ah Ming, you stay here and coordinate, I'm going to take care of something."

The truck had barely left when Zhao Lian followed.

……

"What's wrong?"

"There is a man, Ah Long Chen, the leader of the Qing Tian Gang..."

"Qingtian".

“Okay, Qingtian.” Alice shrugged. “A Long Chen controls many leather workshops, monopolizes the supply of low-priced leather, and sends thugs to threaten competitors. Last night, two leather warehouses belonging to Vietnamese merchants on Temple Road caught fire. It must have been his men who did it.”

"What's it to you?" Sun Shucheng placed the trimmed roses into the vase, arranged them nicely, and then picked up the watering can next to him and sprayed some water on the petals.

Alice straightened the roses she had trimmed and, following the same procedure, said, "Yang and I are trying to persuade the leather merchants on Temple Road to invest in the Leather City. We've convinced some Jews, Algerians and Moroccans, Vietnamese, Chinese, and local French people. Things are going well, but now this incident has happened, which will affect the plans for the Leather City."

"Increase conflict?"

“Yes.” Alice flicked her cigarette ash. “Yang and I had disagreements before… Betty, the obstacles to moving forward with the Leather City project mainly come from two sides: the Jews want better conditions, and the Chinese, Aaron Chen and Amei Li, are not just simple businessmen. Aaron Chen wants shares, and Amei Li wants to attract customers to Leather City.”

What kind of customers are you trying to attract?

“Ah Mei Li’s main businesses are brothels, sham marriages and loan sharking.”

Sun Shucheng frowned and asked, "A Chinese brothel?"

"Ah Mei Li runs a marriage agency, luring Chinese women from Hong Kong and Saigon to France..."

"No need to say anything more," Sun Shucheng interrupted Alice, not wanting to hear what followed.

She had been in Paris for quite some time, spending her time in the coffee shop listening to news from all sides. Moreover, Sin Yiu-man had involved her in some confidential matters, so she had a good understanding of the social hierarchy in Paris. She could picture Lee Ah-mei in her mind. Since it concerned her compatriots, it was better not to listen to everything.

What disagreements do you have with Mr. Yang?

Alice smiled and said, "Mr. Yang wants to handle the problem in a gentle way, while I prefer a more radical approach."

"how do you want to do it?"

“The most powerful gang in Paris is the Corsican gang. I plan to contact them, or…” Alice glanced at Sun Shucheng, “ask you for help.”

"what can I do for you?"

"Adam said, 'If you encounter a problem that's difficult to solve, come to me.'"

Sun Shucheng picked up a vase and walked into the shop. "Someone will contact you in a couple of days."

Alice chuckled, her gaze falling on the car that had stopped on the street. She watched Zhao Lian get out of the car, and as he approached, she greeted him, "Zhao, you've come to Paris again?"

Zhao Lian chuckled and said, "Miss Ferrera, it's been a long time."

"It hasn't been long since we last met," Alice said with a chuckle. "You came to see me?"

"No, I'm here to see Miss Sun."

"Oh, Betty is inside."

Zhao Lianxu removed his hat in greeting and then walked into the coffee shop.

A moment later, he and Sun Shucheng sat facing each other, and he took out a document and placed it on the table. "This is the coffee plantation that you bought in the Dolce-de-France department, and it is registered under the name of the Seine River Company."

He then produced another document, saying, "This is a share transfer document issued by Victor Law Firm. The gentleman asked me to convey his apologies to Miss Sun, as he did not have time to come to Paris to celebrate her birthday."

Sun Shucheng picked up the share transfer documents and flipped through them. "5% of the shares in Seine Riverside, was that a birthday gift he prepared for me?"

"This gentleman didn't explain."

"What do we do?" Sun Shucheng waved the document in his hand. "Just sign it?"

"Find Attorney Desais, he'll handle it."

Sun Shucheng nodded slightly. "Is there anything else? Please speak."

"I'm here to pick up something, C2025-96-787." (End of Chapter)