money player

Lu Yansu stayed, ate a bowl of rice noodles, and left. Xian Yaowen did not take a nap; instead, he sat in his study reading Baghdad telegrams transiting through Hong Kong.

Narcissus and Nadim Pachachi reached an agreement whereby the latter would relinquish the operating rights of the Baghdad Film Studio and the Roxie Cinema, and would be willing to transfer half of his shares, on the condition that profits be guaranteed.

Sin Yiu-man tapped lightly on the desk, deducing the economic changes in Iraq after the Jews left.

Iraqi Jews have dominated Iraq's economy for thousands of years, and their sudden disappearance would cause immediate economic chaos.

First, there is the traditional Jewish business of credit. Iraq does not have a modern consumer credit system, and traditional credit relies on Sarahfs, a business that is 95% controlled by Jews.

Once the Jews leave, small merchants, farmers, and artisans in Baghdad will find it impossible to borrow money, liquidity in the market will dry up, and commercial activity will shrink sharply in the short term.

Secondly, Jewish trading companies had long-standing trust relationships with London, Manchester, and Mumbai. When Muslim/Christian merchants took over, foreign suppliers distrusted these new faces and demanded "cash on delivery," which caused import costs to skyrocket, prices in Baghdad to soar, and shortages of luxury goods and components to occur.

In addition, the departure of senior Jewish accountants and clerks from the Iraqi Railways, Post Office, and Ministry of Finance will plunge government agencies into years of chaos, with unclear accounts and lost documents becoming the norm.

However, Iraq is fortunate. The outbreak of the Abadan crisis in Iran and the involvement of the United States have prompted Britain to change its Middle East oil strategy. Britain is currently renegotiating oil profit-sharing agreements with Middle Eastern countries. The ratio that both sides can accept is 50/50. It is believed that after some more wrangling, a formal agreement will be signed.

The Iraqi government's sudden wealth, a windfall that allowed the poor to ignore losses in commercial tax revenue, enabled it to begin state-led economic reforms, filling the vacuum left by the Jews, and ushering in a period of national wealth but widespread poverty in Iraq.

When the government has money, it basically uses three main methods: water management, bridge and road construction, and hospital and school construction. In short, it's all about engineering projects.

Iraq will become a huge construction site. Baghdad has been threatened by floods for thousands of years, and flood control and irrigation projects are indispensable. The projects are large, but they are like a piece of pork belly, with only so-so profits and not creating many vested interests.

Bridges, roads, hospitals, and schools are different; they are at least three fingers' width of fat, enough to create wealth myths in bulk. Since wealth is "inconvenient" to store in Iraqi banks, Bankman has a very important need to win over this wave of savings business.

Egypt's powder keg won't be empty for long. The victory in the Suez Canal War will greatly encourage Iraqi revolutionaries. Revolution is only a matter of time. If the revolution is bloody and takes a no-holds-barred approach to killing the old rulers and eradicating them completely, a large amount of savings will become ownerless.

Bankman is certainly a man of his word and would never embezzle his clients' deposits. However, it would be difficult to deal with the situation if all his clients died. He couldn't just let the money sit idle and dormant. He had to give it a noble meaning and launch a vigorous targeted poverty alleviation campaign.

Of course, this wonderful thing is a bit far off. Right now, he should focus on the project itself. He doesn't have the ability to take on projects; that's a celebration for Iraq's "own people." But construction projects require construction equipment, and Jinji Trading Company is quite good at buying and selling to make a profit.

It is essential for Jinji Trading Company to establish a subsidiary in Baghdad to import engineering materials, including construction machinery, steel beams, steel bars, water pipes and oil pipelines, and high-grade cement. It is also necessary to first establish supply channels for masonry tools.

In addition, there are tasks to fill the trade gaps left by the Jews, such as cotton textiles, fine wool, rayon and silk, tea, sugar, and wine, as well as to increase public relations efforts for fans and establish sales channels for radios, refrigerators, and air conditioners.

Summer temperatures in Iraq can reach over 50 degrees Celsius. Once the water conservancy project is completed, the power supply situation will be greatly improved, and appliances related to refrigeration will definitely sell very well.

"If only there were a wave of looting and vandalism during the revolution, the old appliances could be smashed so that the new ones could be sold more easily."

As Xian Yaowen pondered, his hands flew across the keyboard, beginning to devise Jinji Trading Company's next development plan for Baghdad.

Soon, a plan was freshly drawn up. He picked up his pen and made revisions, then asked Quan Danru to type up a new one while he continued to think about the future of the Jewish dividend.

Yemen was the beginning, but they missed the boat. Iraq was the place where everyone was mobilized. Most of the Middle East will follow suit. After they finished picking up the scraps in Baghdad, they will move on to other parts of the Middle East, such as Egypt and Syria.

Although the subsequent bargains weren't as lucrative as those in Baghdad, every little bit helps, and when it comes to finding money, it's best to stick around it and keep what you have. Moreover, by taking advantage of these bargains, Jinji Trading Company could expand its business across the Middle East.

Most Middle Eastern countries have import-based economies and lack the objective conditions to develop import substitution. Import trade is a perennial industry, and once they establish a foothold, they will not have to worry about business for at least the next eighty years.

The next step for Jinji Trading Company is to split its business and finances by region, with the parent company connecting directly with its subsidiaries, and the subsidiaries bringing in influential local figures as shareholders to build a trading consortium spanning Asia.

In the long run, the parent body should be psychologically prepared for the collapse of the pyramid control structure, and mentally treat the offspring as a son who has already separated from his family. It doesn't matter if the bones are broken, as long as the meridians are still connected.

The Golden Seasons Trading Company is full of British elements, and its business is closely linked to the fate of the British nation. With the Commonwealth in the past and the Golden Seasons Trading Federation in the future, it is inevitable that the subsidiary shareholders will rebel. The relationship between leaders and the subordinates can be broken. Anyone who dares to dream of profit sharing will always have to pay the price of ruin and death.

What goes around comes around. Having taken advantage of the British, there will always be a day when he faces repercussions. There is a life-or-death test ahead for Sin Yiu-man. If he can get through it, the Kam Kee Trading Company will have a bright future. If he can't, the company may fall apart.

“Send a fax to Cheryl and have Sally resubmit a file on John Troutbeck.”

"Yes."

Sin Yiu-man turned around, pulled out a notebook containing information about Middle Eastern films from the bookshelf, and turned to the section on Egypt.

In the Middle East, Egyptian films undoubtedly hold a dominant position. The popularity of these films has made Egyptian dialect the "common language" of the entire Arab world. An Iraqi may not understand Moroccan dialect, but he can certainly understand Egyptian because he grew up watching Egyptian films.

As the saying goes, all of the Middle East speaks Egyptian; the Pharaoh's language is becoming increasingly international.

As for Egyptian films, there are no strong contenders in the Middle East. Türkiye produces a large number of films, but due to the different language families of Turkish and Arabic, there is little mutual understanding, and Arabs say they cannot understand them.

Iran produces a lot of films, but they lack their own style and can only make "filmfarsi," mostly low-quality commercial films that imitate Indian or Egyptian films—even dogs wouldn't watch them.

Lebanon is Egypt's backyard. Because Lebanon has snow-capped mountains, forests, and a more liberal and open social atmosphere that Egypt does not have, many Egyptian films are shot in Lebanon.

The famous Rachmaninoff brothers and the legendary singer Filhodz had not yet made their mark, and he planned to send someone to find Filhodz and offer her a long-term contract.

Israel doesn't have movies, only newsreels. Besides, Arabs have three main things to do: eat, drill for oil, and beat up Israel.

In other countries, the only connection between film and the production of audiences is that of film production.

From the perspective of the national government, the film industry is an economically dispensable sector with a tiny market size and negligible job creation. It would be more worthwhile to develop a sanitation worker skills training industry than to support the film industry.

However, the role of film in the cultural sphere cannot be ignored. Domestically, it can educate the people; internationally, it can export culture, enhance a country's soft power, and win international recognition.

Every Arab politician inevitably dreams of becoming an Arab king, crushing Egyptian cinema, exporting their own films, and developing other Middle Eastern countries as dumping grounds for their films. This idea is believed to have considerable market potential and could likely secure full tax refunds or symbolic tax payments.

Moreover, this idea can be copied and pasted. Fire a "Ballywood" shot in Baghdad, and then fire a "Dllywood" empty cannon in Tehran. The extraordinary significance of the film will make the rulers of both countries uneasy about outsiders getting too involved. It is certain that they will be discarded halfway through the process. It is just right to deceive them to death in the early stage and make as much profit as possible. Anyway, they will be kicked off the train halfway through, so who cares about the fate of those who come after them.

All roads lead to Rome, but if too many are blocked, then there are no roads left.

Friendship Films is about to launch a doomed film revolution in Baghdad, aiming not only to make money while standing tall, but also to live forever in the hearts of Iraqis.

A beautiful beginning that ends without a trace is always unforgettable; a doer's mediocre attempt to add something inferior will always be condemned by everyone.

This is a business with no initial investment, putting you in an invincible position from the start. Whether it succeeds or fails, you're guaranteed to make a profit. This kind of business is worth doing.

"Thanks to the top donor for the Jewish No. 1 gift, muah, love you!"

With a self-deprecating remark to himself, Sin Yiu-man leaned back in his executive chair, refining the details of the Baghdad cinema revolution once again.

The first step is to give Nadim Pachachi an explanation. We need to get him tangible benefits as soon as possible. We can't afford to ruin the first impression we make, or he'll really be seen as a robber.

This necessitates renewing the distribution agreements for Hollywood films, starting with tapping into the initial profits of the New Baghdad Studios era through distribution.

This isn't difficult; just send someone to run it and it will be done.

After stretching, Sin Yiu-man took out some stationery and started writing letters, beginning with Charlie Chaplin and then one to each of the Hollywood moguls.

The market you lost, your younger brother has taken back. Come over and sit down to share the spoils.

Quan Danru tore a piece of paper off the typewriter, checked it, and placed it next to Xian Yaowen. "Sir, it's finished."

"Leave it there, I'll look at it later." Xian Yaowen said without looking up, "Go to Dadaocheng to get your hair done a few more times these next few days. It's mostly Japanese-style barbershops there, and they're particular about the fineness of a shave."

The family needs a hairdresser. You should find one carefully, preferably someone with elderly parents and young children to support, someone with many responsibilities.

Looking for a woman?

"Hmm." Sin Yiu-man nodded. "Mainly serving the women in the family."

"Ok."

"Mid-Autumn Festival is coming soon, how about we go back to Hong Kong?"

Quan Danru shook her head. "My family doesn't attach much importance to the Mid-Autumn Festival."

"Alright, you can take care of the Mid-Autumn Festival gifts at home. The mooncakes sent from Hong Kong should arrive tomorrow. I'll give you a list, so you can prepare the gifts."

The list has two sides, A and B. I'll label them. I'll deliver side A myself, and you can deliver side B on the morning of Mid-Autumn Festival. Also, ask Amei, Chen Hua, and Tang Yiying how many copies they need, and prepare them all.

"it is good."

Xian Yaowen wrote the date on the letter, put down his pen, and turned to look at Quan Danru. "I've already made arrangements for what you told me last time. You'll probably be starting work at White Company in the next couple of days. Things outside are different from home, so be careful."

"Mm." Quan Danru nodded happily.

Xian Yaowen took a new sheet of letter paper and laid it on the mat, picked up his pen, and said, "You can train outside for now, and I'll call you back in a while. Remove the word 'life' from 'life secretary' from your resume."

"it is good."

Sin Yiu-man then continued writing letters, finishing all of them in one go.

After putting the envelopes in and filling in the addresses, he picked up the letter paper and took a closer look. He noticed the marks left by the pen through the writing and said to Xie Tingyun, "Tell the family to buy Gangu and Kran brand letter paper. From now on, important letters can only be sent on these two types of paper."

As he spoke, he threw the mat into the brazier, then carried the brazier to the yard and lit the mat.

As the flames roared, he recalled an idea from long ago—to register Java Paper in Singapore and set up a factory in Jakarta.

With the establishment of Bankman and the imminent launch of banking services, he soon needed a type of bank paper—thin yet extremely stiff, with almost no absorbent layer, where the ink dried slowly yet produced vibrant colors, and left no creases.

Before the widespread use of computers, developing this type of paper was of great strategic significance. There was no need to worry about market demand, as banks and other financial institutions, as well as archives, all had a strong need for it, and the business could be done for many years.

If there is any threat, it is the widespread use of ballpoint pens. Ballpoint pens do not require paper with good ink resistance. Once ballpoint pens show signs of becoming widespread, this business should be cut off quickly.

There's potential in bank paper, but it's unclear how high the research and development costs and difficulties will be, and how much of the historical trajectory of its development is accidental. If the accidental nature is extremely high, he might not have the luck, and diving headfirst into it would be like diving into a bottomless pit.

He was a little conflicted about whether to go ahead with it. Originally, his target for investing in the paper industry was food packaging paper. Would it be too big a step to go from food to banking?
After some hesitation, he decided to consult with someone knowledgeable about the research and development difficulties before making a decision.

He glanced at the brazier and saw that the fire had gone out. Just as he was about to return to his study, he heard the courtyard gate open. Looking over, he saw Tang Yiying and Li Moyun walking into the courtyard.

“Mr. Xian, I’m bothering you again.” Li Moyun said as he approached Xian Yaowen.

Xian Yaowen smiled faintly and said, "It seems that Madam Pu is quite fond of my family's mahjong tiles. Last night she was touching, rubbing, and slapping them, and she still wasn't satisfied. She came early this morning. If you really like them that much, I'll give them to you."

Upon hearing this, Li Moyun chuckled and said, "If you were to give me your card-playing partner along with the card, I would really accept it."

"You keep the mahjong tiles for now. I'll let my mahjong partner go hungry for a few meals to clean up her mess, and then I'll send her to your house clean and refreshed tomorrow."

Li Moyun gave a thumbs up and couldn't help but chuckle, saying, "Master Xian, you're amazing."

Sin Yiu-man stiffened his neck and said arrogantly, "Of course, you can ask around. Back when Father's father was selling miracle pills on the overpass, he was known for his generosity. Everyone who met him would praise him and say, 'You are really generous.'"

Hearing a fake foreigner making sarcastic remarks in Beijing dialect right in front of him, Li Moyun couldn't hold back any longer. Before he could even reach for his mouth, he was already grinning and laughing, "Mr. Xian, you are truly witty."

Xian Yaowen smiled faintly and gestured for them to come in, "Madam Pu, and this old lady, please come in."

Tang Yiying glared at Xian Yaowen and invited Li Moyun to walk into the house.

It seems they had arranged it yesterday. Fei Baoqi and Madam Lan arrived almost simultaneously. Madam Lan went in first, while Fei Baoqi stayed behind to talk.

She took a deposit slip out of her bag, "The 50,000 yuan we talked about yesterday."

"It's not that you don't need to take it."

“We’re doing business together, how can I not contribute capital?” Fei Baoqi stuffed the deposit slip into Xian Yaowen’s hand. “Take it.”

Xian Yaowen held the deposit slip, glanced at it, and asked in a soft "Huh?", "The date on it is today, and it's a one-year fixed deposit. What are you doing?"

Fei Baoqi chuckled and handed over a round personal seal. "It's an account opened in your name. I don't think you're short of 5 yuan, so I'll just deposit it for you. It has an annual interest rate of 31.2%, which is quite a good deal."

Due to the soaring prices that persisted for many years during the old Taiwan Dollar era, the bizarre exchange rate of 10,000 New Taiwan Dollars to 40,000 Old Taiwan Dollars, and the February 28 Incident, Taiwanese people have a great distrust of the New Taiwan Dollar and just want to convert their money into physical goods as soon as possible. However, Taiwan is short of supplies, which has led to a persistently high inflation rate.

In order to curb inflation and to build public confidence in the New Taiwan Dollar, Bank of Taiwan launched "Premium Fixed Deposits for Profit-Making Enterprises and Deposits by Depositors," or simply "Premium Deposits." To put it bluntly, these deposits offer very high interest rates. Initially, the interest rate for a one-month fixed deposit was 7%, and the interest rate for a one-year fixed deposit was 152%. The annual interest rate of 31.2% was the result of three reductions.

Xian Yaowen took the seal, glanced at it, shook his head and smiled wryly, "Sister, do you know that forging financial seals is illegal?"

Fei Baoqi chuckled and said, "It would be illegal for me to carve it for myself, but it's not illegal for me to carve it for you."

"why?"

“You’re not Taiwanese, so the personal seal is just a souvenir in your hands.”

"You're right, but it's illegal to use a personal seal to open a bank account, isn't it?"

Fei Baoqi laughed and said, "It's still not illegal. You're an American, so you have special privileges."

"Nonsense." Xian Yaowen laughed and scolded, handing the deposit slip to Xie Zhanran. "Go to the bank and tell them you're not going to deposit the money anymore, and want to exchange it for patriotic bonds."

Then he said to Fei Baoqi, "Sister, I know you wanted to give me a special gift, and I appreciate your thoughtfulness, but please don't do this kind of thing next time."

Fei Baoqi asked, puzzled, "Why?"

"You know, I exchanged NT$77.5 million as soon as I arrived in Taipei. If I deposited that money in a bank to earn interest, I could get NT$2418 million in interest a year. And in theory, I wouldn't have to pay taxes. What business can guarantee a 30% net profit every year?"

"Your statement is incorrect."

Xian Yaowen chuckled, "Are you saying you have too much money and the bank can't offer high interest rates?"

“Yes.” Fei Baoqi nodded. “The purpose of launching the Youli Deposit program is not to let you earn interest. Depositing tens of thousands of yuan is fine, but depositing more than that is disrupting the financial system and is a death sentence.”

"I understand this principle, but the bank doesn't have any explicit rules about how much you can't deposit or how much you can't get high interest. It's something you can only understand implicitly, not explicitly. If I pretend I don't understand, it's not unreasonable to deposit money that I don't need for the time being into a one-month fixed deposit, right?"

I don't think anyone would dare refuse in public; they'd only come to me privately. Sister, you're depositing 5 yuan in my name for a one-year fixed deposit. My only worry is that some people might overinterpret it and think I'm testing them.

Fei Baoqi said apologetically, "I'm sorry, I didn't think that much about it."

Xian Yaowen patted Fei Baoqi's arm, "It's okay, it's nothing serious. Everyone's waiting for you. Go inside first. I'm going to Jingmei later and won't be back until very late."

"Ah."

3pm.

Sin Yiu-man appeared at Ah Chu's door and bumped into Ah Chu, dressed as a peasant woman and carrying a hoe on her shoulder as she went out.

When Chen Azhu saw him, a smile bloomed on her face. "Come and have some dinner?"

"No, it was the second of the three visits to the thatched cottage."

Chen Azhu's smile grew even brighter, "I am but a commoner, working the land in Jingmei...hehehe."

Sin Yiu-man smiled and replied, "Going to weed?"

"Let's go to the tea plantation on the mountain."

"Oh, are we going to apply fertilizer today?"

"There's no time. We'll weed today and apply fertilizer tomorrow."

What kind of fertilizer do you use here?

“Manure is used a lot at this time of year. There are many people coming and going here, and many people need to use it. I fermented human excrement a month ago, and it is ready to use now.”

Xian Yaowen patted his shoulder and said, “No need to wait until tomorrow. You weed and I’ll apply fertilizer. I can carry about 300 jin at a time, so it won’t take many trips to carry fertilizer up the mountain.”

Chen Azhu looked delighted, but said politely, "You're a guest, I can't accept this."

"There's nothing to be embarrassed about." Xian Yaowen unbuttoned his suit jacket and asked eagerly, "Where do I put the manure bucket?"

Chen Azhu looked at Xian Yaowen's clothes and said, "If you don't mind, I'll take you to change into my father's clothes. Your clothes are enough for me to hire temporary workers for several years. It would be a waste to get them dirty."

"Alright."

Chen Azhu led Xian Yaowen into a small private room partitioned off in the shop, and took out a new jacket and trousers from a wooden box. "My father has to be swollen before he dies, so the clothes have to be made big, otherwise you really won't be able to wear his size."

"How did your father get this disease? I've never heard of schistosomiasis here."

“My father went back to his hometown, and he may have contracted the virus there.”

"Oh."

"You change here, I'll go out first."

"Ah."

After changing his clothes, Sin Yiu-man arrived with an empty manure bucket. He carried the bucket on his shoulder and followed Chan Ah-chu to the manure vat.

Upon reaching the latrine, Xian Yaowen deftly used a latrine ladle to scoop the already decomposed human excrement and urine, which had not posed much of an odor, into the latrine bucket. Once it was about 80% full, he covered it and moved on to another latrine bucket.

Watching from the sidelines, Chen Azhu saw that Xian Yaowen worked efficiently and knew he was experienced, so she felt relieved. (End of Chapter)