I am a master in India

Chapter 105 Chickens and dogs ascend to heaven
Ron found Harry in a white uniform at the Port of Mumbai, where he was leading people to inspect a cargo ship entering the port.

"Dude, shouldn't you be on duty at the airport?"

"Temporary transfer," Harry waved his hand to let the cargo ship go, "We've received news that a batch of pipe organs will be shipped to Mumbai."

"Pipe organ?" Ron was stunned.

"It's just arms," ​​Harry said, not surprised. "Those gangs invented a code word to hide their tracks."

The organ is usually referred to as a machine gun, the pistol is called "mama," and bullets are "mama's children," or pills, capsules, and grains of rice. Grenades are called "potatoes," "stones," and "pomegranates."
Ron was amazed by what he heard, and at the same time he was a little surprised. This was the Indian version of gang jargon.

"Are you here to see me about something you want to declare at customs?" Harry asked.

"No, I want to import some equipment and parts. You know, I bought a piece of land and plan to produce some cheap electrical appliances."

"Are you serious? You really want to be a businessman?" Harry was a little surprised.

"I want to give it a try. Business in the tourism industry has been bad lately."

"That's true, but business doesn't make money that quickly." Harry advised him kindly.

In Harry's opinion, Ron's previous business was very good, such as the foreign exchange black market and drug smuggling, which made money very quickly.

Ron suddenly turned over a new leaf, and he actually felt regretful and sorry about it.

"We will continue with our previous business, but we have to wait until this storm is over."

"That's great, that's how it should be!" Harry was happy. Ron was doing his old job, so he got some money.

"But I can't just wait around. I have to find something to do. What suggestions do you have for importing equipment and parts?"

"Be more specific." Harry took him to a deserted part of the harbor.

"Injection molding machines, and motors, the kind used in fans."

"You'd better get this kind of equipment from Europe or America. If that doesn't work, Japanese goods will do. As for the motor, of course you have to get it from Lijiaopo."

"Lijiaopo?" Ron's eyes lit up as he thought of smuggling, one of the previous sources of profit for the Mumbai mafia.

Before 91, foreign goods were largely blocked from India due to the government's "import substitution" policy. Gangs profited greatly from smuggling watches and electronic products from Lijiapo.

Ron also worked as a broker for this kind of business last year, but with the relaxation of import policies, the profits from smuggling have dropped significantly.

Regardless, the Lijiaopo Industrial Park is booming. High-quality, low-cost electronic products are sold there, and cargo ships are constantly shipping them to all corners of the world.

"Goods shipped from Lijiaopo can reach Mumbai in just three or four days. There is no more suitable place than this." Harry knew all about this.

"In addition to electronic components, does Lijiaopo export any equipment?" Ron's eyes sparkled. Being able to pick up the goods in three or four days was perfect.

"No," Harry shook his head. "Even if there are, they're third-hand or even fourth-hand equipment. If something breaks, no one can fix it."

"Then let's import the parts from Lijiapo first, Harry. Do you have anyone to introduce to me?"

"Sheki Lanant, an import merchant from Madras. He has a lot of connections in Lijiaopo and maybe has connections in Europe and the United States as well." Harry gave a name almost without thinking.

"I will contact him and the goods will arrive from Singapore by then."

"I'll treat it as waste." Harry understood immediately.

As long as the imported goods were classified as scrap, a large amount of tax could be exempted. If Harry operated properly, Ron would not even have to pay a penny of tax and could receive the goods.

That's why he came to Harry. Otherwise, if he just wanted to import some spare parts, there would be plenty of middlemen in Mumbai who would be eager to do it.

As for importing equipment from Europe and the United States, Ron suddenly thought of someone.

Back home, Ron was searching in the study, while Nia was watching him in confusion.

"Baba, what are you looking for?"

"A business card."

"I put them all in the closet." Nia bent down and opened the closet door at Ron's feet.

Oh, this shape, the two petals look like blooming flowers.

Ron couldn't help but reach out and play with it, and he had the urge to move forward.

Nia screamed softly, her hands and feet went weak and she almost fell to the ground.

Ron quickly supported her from behind, holding the steering wheel firmly with both hands.

"Baba." Nia's hair was pulled and she could only raise her head.

"Did you find it?" Ron said calmly.

“Found it.”

"So soon?" Ron said with a little regret.

Nia handed him a small wooden box filled with his collection of business cards.

Gently helping her up and straightening the wrinkles on his pants, Ron began to pick and choose from the boxes.

Soon his eyes lit up, he picked up the business card and started to dial. Ron was not confident, he didn't know whether the other party had left India, but the call was connected.

"Leon?"

"It's me, you?"

"Ron."

"Oh, I remember!" Leon's eyelids jumped, "Victoria Railway Station!"

"Haha, you still remember." Ron laughed. It seemed that the human flesh train left a deep impression on him.

"I will never forget it in my life." Leon's tone was also smiling.

"I didn't expect you were still in India. That's great."

"I'm preparing to return to Europe, so how do you need help?" Leon spoke quickly. He knew that since the other party called, he must have something to ask for.

"I want to import some injection molding machines from Europe, but I can't find a channel. You work at Siemens, perhaps you have such a connection?"

"Wait a moment, I need a colleague from the Information Engineering Department." Leon directly used another phone next to him to dial the internal line.

Ron didn't have to wait long, about two minutes, before the other party's voice appeared again.

"Mainstream Arburg and Demag equipment, brand new, is priced around $10. If you don't mind using used equipment, you can get it for $3."

"Of course I don't mind! I probably need two or three, the sooner the better." Ron waved his hand excitedly.

He likes dealing with Westerners because they are simple and efficient. If it were an Indian, he doesn't know how many phone calls he would have to make and how many detours he would have to take to get this batch of equipment.

"I'll help you contact the seller when I get back, and you can discuss the details between yourselves. But it takes at least a month to travel from Europe to Mumbai by sea."

"It's okay, I can handle the time. Anyway, thank you, Leon."

"Just don't let me take an Indian train next time."

Ron hung up the phone with a laugh. Look, the two most difficult things were almost done.

In Mumbai, getting things done requires both money and connections. More than any other city in the world, it relies on both.

From doing business to buying water for daily use, the importance of money and connections is reflected everywhere.

Ashish's house has been crowded with guests lately, including neighbors, relatives, and friends. Sometimes, the next person arrives before the previous one leaves.

Seeing a new guest coming, the people already in the room hurriedly stood up and gave up their seats, as if they were playing the game of "musical chairs" over and over again.

So many people came to his house just to find out one thing: where did Ashish find this great job? Is the place still hiring?
Most people in the Jogeshwari slum have heard that Ashish's new job pays him two thousand rupees a month, as an engineer in a factory.

"Two thousand rupees" and "engineer" seemed to have magic power, attracting the residents of the slums to talk about it.

Whenever someone asked him about this, Ashish would always add the word "chief" before the word "engineer". He emphasized this more than once and never tired of doing it.

People in the slums do not understand the value of the title of "chief" and subconsciously ignore it. They are more concerned about whether the monthly salary of 2,000 rupees is true.

This figure is simply too high for the people in the slums, who work 14 hours a day in nearby shoe factories and earn only around 500 rupees a month.

It was a miserable life. They worked hard in the dim and stuffy workshop, not even daring to stand up straight for fear that the simple electric fan hanging from the ceiling would chop off their heads.

If there is an urgent order, they have to work around the clock, and it is common for them to not leave the workshop for three consecutive days.

They had thought Ashish would be one of them, though he had a bachelor's degree, but he lived in a slum and had no connections.

But the reality is just the opposite. Ashish not only earns a high salary, but can even go home at six o'clock every evening.

After the shock, doubt and confirmation, what came flooding back was a strong sense of envy, and then everyone came to visit.

Young people in particular were eager for Ashish to help them. Even if they didn't earn a salary of 2,000 rupees, it would be good to escape from their misery.

They saw no hope in the shoe factory, but following Ashish, at least after he "reached a high position", the people around him could also reap some benefits.

There is nothing to be ashamed of. This is how it is in India. If one person succeeds, everyone else will benefit.

Surrounded by people, Ashish felt like a big piece of sugar falling into an anthill.

People he knows and doesn't know, people he has met and people he hasn't met, all come to him to make friends with him, and he can't ignore others because everyone who comes is a guest.

There was no other way, so Ashish could only promise them that he would ask the factory as soon as possible if they wanted to hire anyone. If possible, he would help.

Ashish did not feel embarrassed, he also felt that this was the right thing to do. No matter where you are, it is easier to get things done when you have people around you.

Just like when he applied for a job at a small company before, he couldn't get in because most of the positions in the company were occupied by relatives of existing employees.

Whenever Ron plans to recruit people, Ashish will definitely give priority to recommending his relatives and friends. This is India.

And the opportunity might be coming soon. Ashish got the exact news from Ron: a batch of motors shipped from Lijiapo will soon dock at the port of Mumbai.

Two injection molding machines are also being shipped from Europe. Parts and equipment are being put into use one after another, so we will have to recruit people to expand production later.

Ashish is full of expectations and he wants water air conditioning to be successful more than anyone else.

(End of this chapter)