money player

Upon entering the reception room, Sin Yiu-man saw a little old lady sitting on the sofa. She had a round, oval face, and her black and white hair was neatly combed. Two thin eyebrows that drooped from the middle to the sides covered her small eyes. Her gaze was sharp and bright, filled with shrewdness, calmness, and insight into the world, without a trace of gentleness or kindness.

She wore a dark cheongsam that suited her age; it was dignified without being extravagant, yet it possessed an incomprehensible value.

The elderly woman had her legs crossed, wearing a pair of dark brown chunky-heeled leather shoes adorned only with simple leather bows. The shoes were simple and elegant, but the soles appeared to be made of a very thin and soft material, unsuitable for outdoor walking.

These shoes are more comfortable than practical and not very suitable for formal occasions, but the soles already show the marks of the foot shape and walking habits, making them a pair of old shoes that their owner loved.

The little old lady is Soong Ai-ling. Her life has largely slowed down, and she lives behind the scenes, having reached a point where she talks more and does less legwork. In the future, she will mainly deal with the second generation of the Kong family.

Soong Ai-ling was sixty-two, barely old enough to be his great-grandmother. Sin Yiu-man stepped forward and bowed slightly, "Madam Kong, your son Sin Yiu-man greets you."

“Mr. Xian, there’s no need for such formalities. Please come and sit down.”

Upon hearing this, Sin Yiu-man walked to the single sofa diagonally opposite Soong Ai-ling and sat down. After Soong Tse-ven sat down on the single sofa opposite him, he raised the letter in his hand slightly higher and said, "Mr. Soong, this is some pastry that my wife asked me to bring to your daughter, Miss Manyi."

"Madam Xian is very kind. I will convey Manyi's thanks."

Sin Yiu-man nodded in acknowledgment, and seeing no servants appear, he placed the snacks on the coffee table.

“Mr. Xian, I heard from old acquaintances in Taipei that you are making large-scale investments there. Why aren’t you personally overseeing the arrangements in Taipei? Why are you in the United States?” Soong Ai-ling said.

Sin Yiu-man looked embarrassed and said, "Mrs. Kong, to my shame, a while ago I was building a restaurant in Taipei. Because I wanted to open as soon as possible, I was more concerned about the progress of the project. One day I went to the construction site and happened to encounter a rainy day. So I asked someone when the rainy season in Taipei was. I learned that the typhoon season in Taipei was coming soon. I also heard about some of the situation of last year's typhoon season."

That evening, a friend I had just met invited me to drink. I couldn't refuse his hospitality and drank a few more glasses than I wanted. When I was feeling dizzy, my friend suddenly asked me if I knew any quick money-making opportunities.

"Wine and women... drinking is a killer! I couldn't resist showing off a bit and came up with the terrible idea of ​​stockpiling firewood, mosquito coils, rice, oil, and salt before typhoon season. Making a million in ten days or two weeks wouldn't be a problem."

Sin Yiu-man sighed, "Sigh, I regretted it the next day when I sobered up. Later I heard that he took it to heart and really started hoarding supplies. I thought out of sight, out of mind. The typhoon season hadn't even arrived yet, so I left Taipei early to go to New York to take care of my business here."

Upon hearing this, Soong Ai-ling was instantly displeased. This little bastard seemed to be implying something. Everyone knew that she, Old Lady Soong, had made her fortune by profiting from the national crisis. But then she thought that the young man had no reason to be sarcastic towards her at this time; it was probably just a coincidence.

Her soft laugh rolled out from deep in her throat, low and cool. "Mr. Xian's insight into opportunities to make money is truly keen."

"I am ashamed, I am ashamed. I only know some trivial tricks that are not respectable, unlike Mrs. Kong who has a deep vision and a strategic plan for the financial securities industry in the United States."

"Mr. Xian, where did you hear that I was trading US stocks?" Soong Ai-ling asked seemingly casually.

"At lunchtime in the restaurant, Mr. Burke from Burke Rothschild Investment Company suddenly came to see me. During our conversation, I mentioned that I wanted to visit Mr. Song. Mr. Burke mentioned that Mrs. Kong was one of his major clients."

Soong Ai-ling asked suspiciously, "Are Mr. Xian and Mr. Burke old acquaintances?"

Sin Yiu-man hesitated slightly and said, "Mr. Burke and I only met for the second time today, but... there may be an unusual relationship between us."

Soong Ai-ling instantly understood the implication in Sin Yiu-man's words. She stared at Sin Yiu-man's face for a moment, comparing it to the old man's appearance in her memory. Due to her preconceived notions, the subtle similarities were magnified, and she came to the conclusion that the two were cut from the same mold.

Now, the situation has changed. Sin Yiu-man has a father who can make waves on Wall Street, and Soong Ai-ling's mentality has also changed. No matter how close her sister is, she can't be closer to her husband and children. In today's environment, even being closer to her than $2000 million seems a bit of a stretch.

When does Mr. Xian plan to visit Taipei again?

"My work in the United States has come to a temporary halt. I'll be setting off in the next day or two, but I'll be making a detour through Europe to check out the business there."

“My son Lingwei hasn’t been to New York for a while, and I miss him very much. I would like to trouble Mr. Xian to help me bring him some things.”

"I will definitely deliver it."

A busy and fulfilling day passed quickly, with a date with Rachel and a deep conversation with Bernard Garrett.

Due to the time difference, while he was asleep, people in West Germany were working hard.

Metzingen, a small textile industrial town in Baden-Württemberg, has had textile and garment manufacturing as its mainstay industry since the 19th century.

The industry comprises a few large enterprises and numerous small and medium-sized textile factories and tailor workshops, forming a dense local production network. It is the town's largest employer, attracting labor from the local area and surrounding regions, and many families' lives are directly or indirectly linked to the textile industry.

Romeo's general manager, François Sérusier, and Norbert Hrabal, from the law firm of Hrabal Victor, appeared in the town to visit Hugo Boss, which was once the town's largest garment manufacturer.

Hugo Boss was founded by Hugo Boss in 1924. During the Great Depression, it was on the verge of bankruptcy. Hugo Boss reached an agreement with his creditors, leaving him six sewing machines so that he could start over.

Driven to the brink of despair, Hugo Boss was forced to unleash his potential under pressure. He joined the Nazi Party, became a member of the SS, and subsequently joined the German Labor Front, the Reich Air Defense Association, the National Socialist People's Welfare Association, the Reich Military League, and the Reich Sports League.

With numerous accolades bestowed upon him, Hugo Boss's fortunes turned around, and he received orders for uniforms from the SA, SS, Hitler Youth, the postal service, the national railway, and later the German Wehrmacht.

During the war, Hugo Boss made a fortune. After the war, through some unknown means, his Nazi Party affiliation was not thoroughly investigated; he was only fined tens of thousands of marks. However, he must have paid a considerable price in private, otherwise his son Siegfried Boss and son-in-law Eugen Holly would not have so readily received Sérusier and his companion.

It's important to know that Sérusier made it clear that he was visiting Hugo Boss to conduct investment research and expressed his intention to acquire 40% of Hugo Boss's shares.

The reason for being interested in a clothing company that produces workwear and only recently started producing ready-to-wear suits is that Hugo Boss will eventually create two luxury brands, Hugo and Boss, and become Germany's number one luxury clothing brand.

This is only one reason. Another important reason is that, like many German companies, the Metzingen garment factory faced the problems of reconstruction and inventory backlog after the war. As a result, a most direct and effective way to clear inventory emerged:

Selling directly to the public at discounted prices right at the factory gate, this most primitive "factory direct sales" model has attracted a large number of customers from the surrounding area to come and find bargains, and has initially established a reputation for "buying cheap and good clothes in Metzingen".

In the future, the outlet model (brand discount center) will become very popular in Metzingen, which will become a shopping paradise, attracting tourists from Germany, the European Union and even the world to buy clothes here.

As the saying goes, it's better to be safe than sorry. If Juliet's brand is outmatched by other brands, then they should secretly prepare some underhanded methods, such as helping their competitors gain fame and recognition—their seasonal new products, priced at only one percent of the flagship store price, are all over Metzingen, with the biggest difference from the genuine products being that their quality is superior.

Not only are they sold cheaply, but they are also given away free of charge to vulnerable groups. Every homeless person and drug addict on the street gets one, eliminating inequality and allowing the proletariat to wear noble luxury brands.

If that doesn't kill them, then we'll have to resort to something even more ruthless: provide terrorists with "bomb bags" from a luxury brand. After just five, six, seven, or eight explosions, people will develop a conditioned reflex and immediately avoid bags from the same brand. Don't expect them to buy them again.

If that's not enough, they have to resort to their trump card: turning a certain brand's clothing into human bomb uniforms. The person is blown to pieces, but the tag remains unharmed, and the advertisement on it can even be filmed in close-up—$15 a piece, second one half price.

The latter two methods were a bit too ruthless, and Sin Yiu-man's idea was to avoid using them unless absolutely necessary.

While things were busy in Metzingen, things weren't idle in West Berlin either.

With her camera in hand, Zhou Yueyu strolled through the streets of Berlin, pointing her lens at passersby to capture the clothes they wore and to experience the unique West German aesthetic of "restrained pragmatism"—Nüchternheit.

She would also walk into clothing stores on the street and chat with the shop owners to learn about the clothing market in West Berlin. She would watch the shop owners make clothes skillfully and see how to make the most of the fabric. She would cut a piece of fabric so that there was almost no waste. Even scraps of fabric the size of two fingernails could be used in clothes.

As the conversation deepened, she learned how scarce fabric was in West Berlin. Although cloth ration coupons had been abolished, it was still difficult to buy affordable fabric on the market. If one wanted to buy freely, one could only go to the black market to buy expensive goods.

Large numbers of East Germans voted with their feet and flocked to West Berlin. They needed basic clothing, not fashion, but something that could be worn immediately, was sturdy and durable. However, due to limited raw materials and the slow rebuilding of large factories, there was not much ready-made clothing available on the market. As a result, the front shop and back factory model sprang up everywhere in West Berlin.

She also learned about the popular clothing styles and colors in West Berlin: black, gray, dark blue, and brown. These colors are dirt-resistant and the dyes are easy to obtain.

In another clothing store, she saw the owner rushing to make an interesting shirt, which had a collar, an upper part of the chest, and a strap at the back, making it somewhat similar to women's underwear.

The shop owner said this kind of shirt is called a "fake shirt," and that it should be worn under a sweater when it gets cold—it's both presentable and economical. Zhou Yueyu interpreted it as a fake collar, giving it a romantic Shanghai-style name: "savings collar."

After visiting several clothing stores, Zhou Yueyu gained a deeper understanding of the clothing market in West Berlin. When she turned her attention back to street photography, her lens inadvertently captured Zhao Lian's figure.

Rio's pier.

Quan Xu sat in the car, peering around furtively through the window like a thief. In the passenger seat was a samba girl with her head buried between Quan Xu's thighs.

The samba dancer is Carmen Miranda, Jeon Woo-gang's girlfriend of only two days, and the two are currently very much in love.

However, before Miranda, he took advantage of the time while renaming the George Chen Law Firm to George Chen Victor to win over Anna Lin, a college student who worked part-time at the firm.

Lin Anna is a student, a virgin, and Chinese. With these three conditions, if you sleep with her and dare to say "it's just for fun," she'll kill herself on the spot.

Quan Xu hated himself for not controlling his crotch. He used to be so open and carefree, but now he could only sneak around like a thief.

Suddenly, he pushed Miranda's head away, lifted his buttocks, and with a flurry of afterimages from his hands, he transformed back into human form in just a few seconds.

A moment later, Lin Anna appeared outside the passenger window. She glanced inside and saw that the "slut" had taken her seat. She sat down in the back seat with a stiff face and handed a form to the driver.

"The coffee beans have been loaded onto the ship. I've counted them, and there are exactly 2000 bags."

Quan Xu glanced at the order form. "Half to Singapore, half to Marseille?"

"Ah."

Quan Xu put the order away, muttering to himself, "It's a pity I received the news too late this time. I don't know when I'll be able to find a bag of coffee beans for $48 again."

West Berlin, Friedrichstrasse.

There is a Jewish community center on the street, which was originally a magnificent neo-Romanesque church, now a ruin. When it is inconvenient for Jews in West Berlin to go to the synagogue on Rickstrasse in East Berlin, they will gather here to worship.

For some Jews, doing business is instinctive; they will never stop doing business as long as they are alive.

East Germany's currency was the East German mark, and West Germany's currency was the West German mark. In order to create the illusion that the East and West German marks were of equal value, East Germany enforced an official exchange rate of 1 East German mark to 1 West German mark.

但这个汇率只是自嗨，黑市的兑换汇率在5:1至10:1之间波动，近期的汇率稳定在7:1左右。

The purchasing power of East German currency was distorted, and the supply of goods in East Berlin was not as abundant as in West Berlin, which led to the emergence of large-scale smuggling trade.

Every weekend, some West Berliners would bring East German marks, exchanged on the black market, to East Berlin for cheap spending, making a penny feel like five or six cents – the thrill of it was indescribable.

Anyone with a bit of business sense would come up with all sorts of ways to smuggle things through checkpoints. Coffee, cocoa, chocolate, cigarettes, nylon stockings, and medicine could all fetch high prices in East Berlin because East Germany's agriculture had recovered earlier, and the prices of food such as eggs, butter, and meat were much lower than in the West. The money earned could then be used to buy agricultural products.

Those with better economic acumen establish well-organized smuggling gangs, carrying a few kilograms at a time, frequently shuttling between the two sides like ants moving grains.

Of course, this is just a small-scale, unsavory activity.

Even on days not designated for prayer, many Jews were still seen at the site, chatting in small groups and engaging in various kinds of business.

Zhao Ming arrived here with his assistant, Hans Rothwald. Rothwald was a Jewish man born in Berlin. When the situation in Germany turned against him, his father took his family to Paris. After living there for a few years, they realized the situation was also not good and quickly fled to London.

He fled east and west, managing to save his life, but losing his fortune time and time again. Impoverished and destitute in London, Rothwald had no choice but to return to Paris to find a way out. There were no good options in Paris either, so he resorted to black market trading, which led to his recruitment by Zhao Lian, who was carrying out a large-scale invasion.

Zhao Ming stood in a corner, lit a cigarette, and had two bags at his feet.

Rothwald struck up conversations with people, hawking his wares. Not retail, but rather shouting out which items he could offer in bulk.

A moment later, a Jew came up to Zhao Ming and pointed to the bag on the ground.

Zhao Ming nodded. The Jewish man squatted down and rummaged through the bag. In no time, a shirt and several pieces of Vereinen chocolate appeared in his hand.

Vereinen, a verb meaning to unify, is a brand exclusively for Germany. It is a sister brand to the French Seine River and the South Korean Pyeonghwa, making the same naan bread but dressed in different colorful designs.

Zhao Ming recalled Rothwald to act as his translator, and business negotiations began.

"Shirt price?"

"12 marks, minimum order of 100 pieces."

"Can the price be reduced?"

"No bargaining for orders under 1000 pieces."

"Can you maintain a long-term supply?"

"can."

Zhao Ming talked to potential clients one after another, and in less than an hour, he had a large number of orders in his hands.

At this moment, Zhao Lian was sitting in a café on Spencer Road, talking with Colonel Pierre Martin, the commander of the French 11th Infantry Regiment.

The U.S. military’s attitude toward troops stationed in various locations engaging in smuggling and black market business is one of explicit prohibition and high-profile crackdown. Although this strictness is only superficial, it is absolutely not allowed in practice.

The French army, on the other hand, adopted a "Fermer les yeux" attitude towards the involvement of troops stationed in West Berlin in smuggling, meaning they turned a blind eye and pretended not to see it.

The French army supplied the black market in West Berlin with French wines, brandy, cheese, and foie gras, all of which were extremely expensive luxury items. The main customers were political, business, and cultural elites in West Berlin and even West Germany.

By catering to the "tastes" of these people, France was able to cultivate a pro-French West German leadership, which was crucial at a time when the century-long Franco-German enmity had just ended. A bottle of Bordeaux wine was more effective than a political pamphlet in corrupting and winning over the target.

Of course, the smuggling market also vividly demonstrates the diversity of consumption and quality of life under capitalism, which stands in stark contrast to the scarcity of resources under the planned economy of East Germany and the Soviet bloc. This in itself is the most powerful form of anti-communist propaganda.

The Frenchman seemed to be saying silently, "Look, by allying with us, you can gain not only freedom, but also a refined and elegant life."

France suffered heavy losses in World War II, and its military strength and resources were far inferior to those of the United States. Maintaining its presence in West Berlin was already difficult, and it did not have enough resources and energy to severely punish every soldier involved in smuggling. Maintaining the stability and superficial unity of the troops was a higher priority.

Allowing soldiers to earn extra money through smuggling is tantamount to a "morale boost" that does not require government funding. This helps stabilize morale and makes soldiers more tolerant of the pressure and inconvenience of being stationed on the front lines of the Cold War.

The French understanding of discipline differs from that of the US and UK, leaning more towards pragmatism and realism. As long as smuggling activities do not jeopardize core security or trigger major diplomatic scandals, the top leadership will "fermer les yeux" (meaning they are not subject to smuggling).

A combination of factors led to smuggling and black market activities being openly discussed within the French military stationed in Germany, without much taboo.

"Zhao, how often do you send me a gift?"

"Did Mrs. Martin like the gift I gave her?"

Before coming to West Berlin, Zhao Lian delivered a key to a safe deposit box in Antwerp to Martin's house. The safe contained cash, gold bars, and diamonds worth a total of $20.

Martin said with a bright smile, "My wife loves it, especially the diamonds."

"Colonel Martin, I have another gift for you at Christmas, no less than this one, only more, but I can't tell you the exact number right now."

"How much stuff do you want to see brought into Berlin?"

“Yes.” Zhao Lian nodded. “The more I earn, the more generous the gifts I will give you.”

As he spoke, he took a slip of paper from his pocket, placed it on the table, and pushed it toward Martin. “This address is occupied by a beautiful German lady who is waiting for a gentleman to have dinner with her.”

Martin unfolded the note and saw the address of an apartment on Elector's Avenue. He guessed that Zhao Lian had prepared a high-class "sugar baby" for him and smiled ambiguously, saying, "I'm really looking forward to dinner."

Tokyo has Panpan, West Berlin has Sugar Girls, and Electoral Boulevard is the activity area of ​​high-class Sugar Girls. Their targets are high-ranking military officers and wealthy businessmen stationed there, who aim to earn money and create a temporary home and a warm haven for them.

“There is a shipment in Marseille that urgently needs to be transported to West Berlin.”

"what?"

Martin knew perfectly well what could enter West Berlin and what couldn't.

"Shirts, coffee beans, chocolate."

Martin paused for a moment, then said, “You transport the goods to Strasbourg, and I’ll take care of the rest of the journey.”

"Okay." (End of Chapter)