money player

Chapter 80 Causeway Bay, the future
I was pretty lucky. After Zhang Yang, four more people came for interviews, and only one passed directly. The other three were OK, and one of them was very popular with Xian Yaowen.

This person’s name is Zhong Lin. He worked at the Lanzhou Machinery Factory during the Anti-Japanese War. Tian was the head of the Human Resources Section under the General Affairs Section. Since the Lanzhou Machinery Factory mainly produced some military equipment at the time, the Japs’ reconnaissance and infiltration were very frequent. In addition to He is responsible for personnel work and also plays the important role of counter-espionage to a certain extent. It is conceivable that Zhong Lin, as the unit chief, must have a good way of knowing people.

At two o'clock in the afternoon, Xian Yaowen showed up at the Peninsula Hotel on time, and Zhou Xiaoniu had already arrived.

As soon as Xian Yaowen came to his seat, Zhou Ruoyun stood up and said hello.

"Mr. Xian."

"Miss Zhou." Xian Yaowen stretched out his right hand, shook hands with Zhou Ruoyun who stretched back, and said with a smile: "I still like the way you looked when you called me a rogue."

“Mr.

“Whether it’s the original meaning or the extended meaning, I don’t think philistine is a derogatory term, but I think aloof is a derogatory term. Behind a noble person, there is often a person or even a group of people who are philistine for his aloofness. Sima Zhong was a noble man, and the philistinism of the entire Western Jin Dynasty made his famous saying come true."

"Why not eat minced meat?"

"Yes, Miss Zhou, this is the fourth time we have met. Am I honored to know your name?"

Zhou Ruoyun blurted out, "It's obviously the third time."

Xian Yaowen chuckled, "I was also at the HSBC dinner, but Miss Zhou was so overwhelmed that she didn't notice me."

"Really?" Zhou Ruoyun asked unconsciously and immediately began to introduce himself, "My name is Zhou Ruoyun."

"Good name. Next, I will call you Zhou Ruoyun, and you will call me Xian Yaowen, so that the conversation we are going to have will not be so 'philistine'." As he said this, Xian Yaowen laughed out loud, "Zhou Ruoyun, your brother Zhou Xiaohuan and I have a relationship. We've met each other a few times, and when you called me this morning, I was still wondering that it wasn't him who wanted to talk to me."

"Xian Yaowen, am I not qualified to talk to you?" Zhou Ruoyun said falsely.

"You understand that's not what I mean." Xian Yaowen waved his hand, "Forget it, let's not dwell on this, how about we get to the point directly?"

"Okay." Zhou Ruoyun nodded and said: "You know my second brother, so you should naturally know about our Zhou family's Yangtze River Cloth Industry. In Hong Kong, the number of fabrics produced by Yangtze River Cloth Industry every month ranks first in the same industry, and the number of fabrics produced by the Yangtze River Cloth Industry is the highest in the industry. The quality is also well-known by word of mouth. If you choose Changjiang Cloth as your fabric supplier for China Garments, you will definitely not go wrong.”

"I have heard about Yangtze Cloth Industry's reputation, but you have to see it to believe it. Zhou Ruoyun, I need many kinds of fabrics. Let me tell you first, and you can listen to what we can provide."

"You said."

“Cotton, silk, linen, flannel, lace, nylon.”

"Cotton and silk are the main products of Yangtze Cloth Industry and can be supplied at any time; linen and flannel are also produced, but the quantity is not too large. If your demand is large and stable, our Zhou family is willing to improve it for you Production capacity; lace is not produced; you can’t find nylon in the whole of Hong Kong, and the technology to make it is only available in Western countries.”

"It's pretty good to be able to provide four kinds." Xian Yaowen nodded, "I have learned about the fabric prices of all the fabric industries in Hong Kong, and I have a rough idea. I want a large quantity of goods, and I can't accept that price. If we really get to the point of negotiating cooperation, Changjiang Cloth must give me a lower offer."

"The price can be negotiated."

"I need Yangtze Cloth to provide one piece of each fabric for free for trial production. Whether we can discuss cooperation next will have to wait until I test the quality of the fabric."

Zhou Ruoyun said angrily: "Do you need a piece of cloth for trial production?"

The standard for a piece of cloth in Hong Kong is 1000 meters. Xian Yaowen is definitely a lion.

"Because I am very sincere in cooperating with Changjiang Cloth Industry, I am prepared to try it a few more times with a responsible attitude."

"Xian Yaowen, don't go too far. I'll give you one of each kind at most."

"Your counteroffer was too harsh, and the price was suddenly reduced by more than 30 times." Xian Yaowen sighed, "Okay, that's you, just one horse."

Zhou Ruoyun glanced at Xian Yaowen and said with a hint of ridicule: "Thank you for treating me differently."

"I should. I want to ask you something. My recruitment brochure has been sent to your school for a while, but I have never received a call for an interview. Does your school not take it to heart?"

"In fact, the Office of Student Affairs takes your matter very seriously. I am responsible for posting your recruitment brochure, but the students only see it as a joke."

"In this way, it is understandable that the proud man of heaven would not like my little temple, but I still plan to try again. When your school starts, I plan to hold an on-site job fair. Then I will ask you to help call some classmates to join in the fun. "

"I can help, but don't have too much hope. Zhonghua Garment is not attractive to students, even if your salary has reached a thousand yuan." Zhou Ruoyun admired Xian Yaowen's persistence, but also couldn't bear it.

"I understand, but I still have to try. Maybe I can recruit one or two."

Xian Yaowen believes that the salary of 1,000 yuan must have touched the heartstrings of a group of students. However, Chung Hwa Garments has a low reputation. People are worried that the high salary is just a gimmick. They are also worried about the prospects of Chung Hwa Garments. There are other high-paying job opportunities with a bright future. It is necessary to take risks that are like a joke.

After talking about business and chatting for a while, Xian Yaowen and Zhou Ruoyun said goodbye to each other.

When it was still quite early the next day, Xian Yaowen personally hung a vertical banner hot-stamped with "Chinese Clothing's First Step to the World" on the rooftop of the workshop. The fabrics from Changjiang Cloth Industry were delivered to Zheng Zhiping, who continued to hang the vertical banner. width.

He originally scorned this kind of formalism, but reality told him that it was better to do something about it. He could keep a low profile, but Chinese clothing must be high-profile, otherwise it would not look like a sycamore tree and would not attract Phoenix at all.

In the morning, the exam was held first. After the exam, Zhong Lin was immediately interviewed for the second time, and then he was immediately put on the job. Xian Yaowen took him to interview other people.

At noon, I hurriedly went to inspect the "eyeliners" without eating lunch. I went around and informed the Sham Shui Po eyeliners of those who left their resumes yesterday, and asked them to inform the applicants to go to the shop today or tomorrow morning for interviews. .

Then, return to the store entrance and continue fishing with Jiang Taigong.

One day, two days, four days in a row, qualified personnel were in place one by one, and the positions were basically complete except for the designer.

He was not idle and wrote invitation letters to several designers whose names he had seen in fashion magazines. He spoke sincerely and offered generous treatment, hoping that they would travel thousands of miles to Hong Kong to create a new world. He pays more attention to one of the designers, Hubert de Givenchy, and has two more pieces of stationery than others.

I also sent strategic cooperation invitations to several up-and-coming small brands such as Schiaparelli and Balenciaga. I hope everyone can sit down to discuss important issues and stay together.

In the meantime, he received a letter from Hepburn and wrote her a reply, informing her that his clothing business was starting to take off and asking her for authorization. He would establish a sub-brand "Audrey" that belongs only to her under the secret banner and will Start creating the Audrey Goddess series.

Along with the letter, he also sent two design drafts he drew. In one, the two "cups" are replaced by two butterflies spreading their wings; in one, the two butterflies become two holding hands. The poached eggs are golden yellow and very appetizing at first sight.

On the day of the Lantern Festival, Xian Yaowen also went to Causeway Bay. Starting from the central area, he shuttled between some old tenement buildings. He also passed some villas with a certain Nanyang style and saw some Fujianese speaking Hokkien preparing for the festival. San Kueh or Yuanxiao.

Causeway Bay is dominated by the Fujian people. Many Nanyang residents from Fujian buy land and build buildings here. Some of them are dedicated to acquiring old buildings from fellow residents in the area and rebuilding them. Real estate development here is booming.

There are many nightclubs in the area. When you walk into one, you can see the singers rehearsing and humming some Hokkien songs. It can be seen that the positioning is very clear, and they are doing the business of Fujian fellows.

I didn’t see any chicken stalls in the area, but I did see some chicken stalls on the first floor standing at the corner of the stairs soliciting customers. Most of them looked pretty good, much better than the ones he had seen in places like Sham Shui Po and Yau Tsim Mong. He asked When I asked about the price, I was told it was only eight yuan, so it was a bit hard to bargain. No wonder the quality is high and the price is here.

Someone asked someone about the location of Hu Wenhu's Haw Par Villa, and went to take a look. Xian Yaowen then went to the Causeway Bay Magistrates' Office, where the future Tin Hau MTR Station will be. He found a high place and took out his telescope to look at the sea. He saw something in the direction of the east corner. During the construction, truckloads of earth and rocks were dumped into the cape. It will probably not be long before the cape at East Point will turn into land, and Lantern Island (Kili Island) will soon be connected to the land.

During the craze for visiting Nanyang, most of the Fujianese who went to Singapore transited through Hong Kong, and some of them had a short stay in Causeway Bay. This is why wealthy Nanyang uncles like to live in Causeway Bay and invest here.

The Lee Hysan family owns most of the land on the west side of Causeway Bay, which is being developed intensively. On the east side, there are a group of wealthy Nanyang Arbors who are repurchasing old buildings and rebuilding them. The reclamation project in the east corner is already in progress. The development trend of Causeway Bay has already begun. Basically, Causeway Bay will definitely develop into the Causeway Bay he is familiar with, and there is little chance of it going off the rails.

After looking to the east, Xian Yaowen looked to the west, looking at the land with the word "profit" written on it. His nationalist blood couldn't help but burn. He wanted to seek justice from the Lee family on behalf of the tens of thousands of compatriots who had been harmed by opium. Why can the opium family still live so well? Why can I still own a large amount of land?

Revolution must be revolution, and land reform must be land reform. The land of the Li family should be distributed to ordinary people, and it should be distributed to Xian Yaowen, a poor common man in Wenchangwei, Baoan County.

Xian Yaowen's face was twisted with jealousy for a while, and his blood gradually cooled down. He could just fantasize about dealing with the Li family, but it was impossible to take action. Even if he sent the Li family to follow in the footsteps of Li Hysan, the benefits would not fall into his hands. Instead, you will become a victim of some people's flaunting of themselves.

Putting aside the unrealistic ideas, Xian Yaowen took out his notebook and drew a sketch of Causeway Bay.

In his plan, Secret Bra will only take the high-end route. The products produced in the factory will go directly to the stores directly operated by him or franchisees who pay to join but the management rights are in the hands of Secret Brand. They will not be sold through other channels. For goods, in its home base of Hong Kong, the secret brand needs a self-built flagship store.

Xian Yaowen came to Causeway Bay to confirm the development potential here, and also to take a look at Russell Street, also known as Rat Street.

Russell Street, in the 21st century, is a place that anyone who cares about real estate should know. It will set the highest rent record in the world. At that time, it was a street where famous brands gathered, but now it is all-encompassing, full of grocery stores, food stalls and sales. The shops selling various goods are not much different from other lively streets.

There are differences. There is the Causeway Bay Tramway Factory, a subsidiary of Hong Kong Tramways, on Russell Street. There are many tram workers in the factory. There are also a large number of workers who actively participate in organizations with a fighting spirit after boring work, such as pro-leftist organizations. The Hong Kong Tramways Workers Union and the Victoria Tramways Free Trade Union are under the jurisdiction of the Hong Kong and Kowloon Trade Unions Federation, which has a clear political stance and is pro-Taiwan.

At the beginning of December last year, the tram workers launched a non-violent non-cooperation movement and proposed "five major demands" to the tram company. By the end of the month, the tram company still had not agreed to the tram workers' conditions. Therefore, the tram workers went slack on work that day and the conductors did not sell tickets to the public. , citizens can ride the tram for free.

Afterwards, the tram company took strong measures to close the Russell Street tram depot and fired all the conductors. As a result, by the end of January this year, the tram union and 1 groups held a condolence meeting for tram workers at the Russell Street tram depot, which finally broke out. Clashes between police and civilians resulted in dozens of injuries on both sides.

The whole incident was shrouded in a strong political atmosphere, and the police deported three union members afterwards.

In the face of political incidents, the Hong Kong government has always been more vigilant, but its handling method is relatively soft. People suspected of being partisan do not dare to sentence or detain people, but only dare to deport them to the country where they belong.

The Hong Kong government's attitude has little to do with Xian Yaowen, or it can be said to have a lot to do with it. Let's just say that the tram factory land on Russell Street can be used to contact Jardine Matheson and Co., buy it from them at a slight loss, and then It will continue to be handed over to the tram plant for free use.

There is no need to rush this matter, and there is no need to rush. You can completely move to the back. With the current development trajectory of Causeway Bay, if Xian Yaowen does not intervene and push hard, Russell Street still has a long way to go before it wants to get rid of the nickname of Junk Street.

In fact, there is no point in being anxious. He has almost planned where to go with his money. Apart from eating, drinking and having sex, he has less than 50 in Hong Kong funds that can be used freely. He can't do anything more if he wants to.

Moreover, given the development pattern of Causeway Bay and comprehensive consideration of the progress of reclamation, it is more appropriate for the flagship store to be built in the current core commercial area of ​​Causeway Bay, "Dakeng".

Xian Yaowen spent a long time at high altitudes, and finally drew a circle to the northwest of Dakeng, and found land to build the flagship store in this area.

……

He was so busy that he didn't get home until lunch time. Xian Yaowen parked the car in the garage on the ground floor and ran to the construction site of the other two new buildings that would be built soon. He also went to see that the back side was almost completed. The parking lot, according to William Chen's suggestion, is to occupy it first and then pay the fine. There are ten parking spaces, and it is built to a standard that can park trucks.

One parking space has been occupied by Liu Ye Shuwan to stock up on rice and noodles, and two more are reserved for Xian Yaowu and Zheng Yueying. Needless to say, Xian Yaowu has to equip him with a car no matter what. Zheng Yueying bought the 13th floor of Jinbalun Road at a low price. The office space has not been given to her as the reward she deserves, so giving her a car is just a reward.

He hasn't figured out how to use the remaining seven, so he will leave them empty until he thinks about it.

After inspecting the completion site, Xian Yaowen went to the ground floor of Building No. 2 again to say hello to the newly moved fruit shop owner and bought some fruit. There was not much fruit at the beginning of spring, so he could only buy some citrus and persimmons.

After finishing the favors and etiquette, I went back to the fourth floor of Building 1 to wash up, and then went down to the dining room on the third floor. Everyone who should be there was there. Unexpectedly, Su Lizhen was also there, sitting in Xian Yaowu's seat, giving Zheng Yueying a With a questioning look, Zheng Yueying nodded slightly.

Seeing this, Xian Yaowen walked to his seat and sat down. He picked up his chopsticks and put some food on his plate, silently announcing that dinner was ready.

After eating a few bites, Xian Yaowen said to Wang Xiamin: "Amin, I haven't paid attention to your piano learning for a few days. Can you play more complicated music now?"

Wang Xiamin nodded, "Teacher Zhang taught me "New Colorful Feather Dance" and I can now play it completely."

"Oh, play it to me tomorrow morning."

"Okay, sir."

"Tomorrow you take the time to find Liu Baozhang and ask him to help find a servant. You will be in charge of the future, and you should also search for it. I only have one additional request. Don't look for your fellow countryman. You are the one who can cook Hangzhou cuisine. Enough. It would be best to find someone from the border area between the north and the south who can cook and make some pasta.

Once everyone is there, as long as it's not an important day or guests are coming, you don't have to worry about cooking. "

As he spoke, Xian Yaowen leaned close to Wang Xiamin's ear and lowered his voice and said: "Go back and tell your mother to help keep an eye on the girl who is waiting for you. She must have studied for a few years and be docile. Don't worry about the size of your pelvis, as long as she Just be healthy and look good.”

"Finding a wife for Mr. Er?" Wang Xiamin asked.

"Auntie, the wedding won't be held, but the bride price can be according to the rules for marrying a wife, so I won't treat the girl's family badly."

"When I'm looking for Chief Liu tomorrow, I'll drop by home."

"Well, tell your mother about the pelvic matter. She should know about it herself and don't tell anyone else."

A big pelvis makes it easier to have children. This is a saying that has been circulating for a long time. Generally, when marrying a wife, people prefer a partner with a big pelvis and big breasts. A big pelvis makes it easier to give birth, and the probability of dystocia is low. Big breasts produce enough milk, and the child is less likely to go hungry.

The concubine is looking for her, in case Xian Yaowu often sneaks out and messes around, and it is best not to get pregnant with the child. Xian Yaowen hopes that his eldest nephew is the son of the younger brother and sister that the matchmaker is marrying. To put it bluntly, Xian Yaowu will also be used by him as a marriage tool, and anything that hinders the marriage will It was better not to happen.

Xian Yaowen emphasized again, and Wang Xiamin understood what he meant. It turned out that it was not that he didn't care about the size of his pelvis, but that it was best to find someone who was not easy to conceive. Although she didn't understand her husband's intention, she still nodded meekly.

After saying that, Xian Yaowen turned and glanced at Su Lizhen, who was sitting on the other side of him. Seeing that she was very reserved, he comforted her and said, "You can be casual with me. You don't have to be too restrained. Also, I will let him do it when the time comes." If you move away, unless you do it on purpose, it will not be easy for you to meet each other in the future."

Su Lizhen put down her chopsticks, turned her face, looked at Xian Yaowen's face with her big watery eyes, and said softly: "Can I live a better life than before?"

Xian Yaowen pointed to the six dishes and one soup on the table, "Isn't it better now than before?"

Su Lizhen's eyelashes fluttered a few times, and then there was a hint of determination in her eyes, "I want a child, the sooner the better."

"Oh, let's eat first and talk after dinner."

Xian Yaowen turned back, stopped talking, and focused on eating.

(End of this chapter)