I am a master in India

Chapter 145 Spending a Lot of Money
When Ron and Luca saw Panter again, he was in a surprisingly good mood.

There was no gloom or frustration. He happily gave Ron a hug.

"What makes you so happy?" Ron asked.

"Have you read the newspaper?" he winked.

"What do you mean?"

"Aj Lal, the national hero touted as the savior of Mumbai. I heard he's going to be awarded a military medal for the bombings."

"Are you his fan? Does he know he has a smuggler fan?"

"Don't give me that," Pant said angrily. "I'm just happy that Dawood is going to be in trouble. People who are closely connected with him have also had a hard time recently."

From the look in his eyes, Ron guessed that the man was Khad Khan.

Over the past few months, Aij has arrested more than 170 suspects, seized more than 2,000 kilograms of black soap, a large number of guns and ammunition, and more than 500 grenades.

The news shocked the whole of Mumbai. This was not the scale of a gang conflict, but rather the accumulation of arms to start a civil war.

Ordinary gangs simply cannot get so many arms. After interrogation, all the clues behind the incident point to Daud.

All sectors of society in Mumbai and the Indian government are convinced of this, as there has long been evidence that Dawood has the support of Baba Sheep.

Only the Baba sheep in the north are capable of providing such a large supply of guns and ammunition.

It is said that the entire operation was planned by the gang godfather Daoud at a meeting in Dubai, and all participants swore an oath on the Koran to keep it absolutely confidential.

But he is not in Mumbai after all, and many details require the support of local gangs.

Khad Khan was the most suspicious because he and Dawood were both herders and he had every intention of doing so.

Although the police did not have sufficient evidence, even a biased investigation was enough to get him into trouble.

Pant was happy about this, and he felt a sense of satisfaction in his heart as if he had avenged his great hatred.

"Even Daoud only took 60% of the gang's profits, and the other 40% was divided equally among his fellow brothers. What about Khaderbhai? I didn't even get 10%."

"Aren't you afraid he'll hear these words?" Ron asked.

"He knew I was dissatisfied a long time ago and didn't consider me his own, but he needed me." Pant was a little complacent, with a secret about to come out at the corner of his mouth.

But Ron didn't ask. He was not interested in the inside story of the gang. He just wanted to make money.

"I heard that the pharmaceutical factory had an accident last time. What do you think about the medicine this time?"

"Yeah, man. Look at what you've done! Are you treating us Brazilians like rats?" Luca, who finally found an opportunity, immediately interrupted.

"I was just following orders." Pant pushed it cleanly.

"You got all those drugs. Only a fool would believe you had nothing to do with this."

Luca started to argue with Pant. They argued for a long time, but their only purpose was price.

In the end, Pant, who was "in the wrong", was "forgiven" by Luca after he slightly lowered the purchase price.

"My ship will arrive in a week. Will it be okay then?" Luca asked.

“Of course, this time they are all top-notch medicines, such as Ranbaxy, Sun, and Cipla, which are well-known Indian brands,” Pant assured.

His enthusiasm was much higher than last time because he had connections in these channels. With just a little bit of manipulation, he could get a profit higher than the 10% promised by Khadhan.

After the two parties agreed on the details of the transaction, Luca started to persuade Ron again on the way back.

"Man, this time it should be alright, right? You can send someone to go to Brazil with us."

"How much share are you going to give me?"

"15%! After a trip to Brazil, it will triple or quadruple. It will be super easy."

"I'd rather maintain the current model." Ron rolled his eyes.

"No, man! This is a win-win situation, you have to think about it." Luca was anxious.

"Twenty percent, top-quality medicine from the leprosy slums, we split it equally."

"Deal!" Luca raised his hand.

Ron smiled and clapped his hands with him, thinking it was a good deal.

In the past, Ron earned $30,000 for a $100,000 business, while Luca and his team could earn about $200,000 for each trip.

Now all $100,000 was invested in the business, of which Ron owned 20%. After the trip to Brazil, the total profit was $350,000, of which he took $70,000 and the rest went to Luca and the others.

The drugs in the lab are counted separately and split equally between the two parties. One controls the distribution channels, the other the market. It's fair.

This is indeed a win-win deal, beneficial to both parties.

"By the way, Rajiv is going to Brazil with the ship this time."

"Rajiv?" Luca was stunned. "The boy from the leprosy slum?!"

"He's good at English and has recently been learning Portuguese. He's very motivated."

"Shit! You're poisoning me!" Luca yelled.

"Don't talk nonsense. He's been to the hospital and has a medical report."

Luca couldn't hold it in any longer. What the hell did he want that thing for?
"Don't forget, all the top-notch drugs in the lab will come from him."

Ron's words made Luca stop talking again.

He secretly used a satellite phone to contact Brazil with the canvas bag he brought back last time, and the initial estimate was that it was worth tens of thousands of dollars.

It seems a certain laboratory is interested. India's pharmaceutical technology isn't comparable to that of Europe and the US, but it's still quite capable in South America. As June approaches, the weather is getting hotter and hotter, and a bit duller.

Experienced Mumbaikars know that the monsoon is coming, a little earlier than last year.

The fourth factory building of Suer Electric has been completed and the electric fan production line is under preparation.

“If we use iron blades, we will also need a stamping line, which is estimated to cost Rs 150 million second-hand.

There's also a motor assembly line, with a similar budget. These are all designed according to semi-automated production standards."

Ashish has now been promoted to technical director, and he has ten engineers and thirty technicians under him.

The technical solution for this electric fan is the result of their joint efforts.

"Switch to plastic fans," Ron decided with a stroke of his pen. "Cost is key. Our fans must be priced lower than the market price."

It’s still the cost-effective route, first open up the market with low prices and survive later.

They are both cost-effective, so what if the quality is a little lower?
He believes that Indian users will adapt, after all, it is cheap.

"We also need to recruit another batch of workers, at least one hundred people to implement the shift plan." Production manager Anis also made a request.

"I'll give you eighty places." Ron chopped again.

There's no way, he has no extra food.

It cost 300 million rupees to build the factory, and another 200 million to buy equipment. The 4 million profit in April was all invested.

The transformation of several other semi-automated production lines of water air conditioners has not yet started, with an initial budget of 1000 million rupees.

This has almost taken up most of the profits for May, and there is not enough money to spend.

This is what happens during a factory's rapid expansion period, where the speed at which funds are brought back lags far behind demand.

Ron had considered the bank, but corruption in India was so serious, coupled with the high interest rates, it was really better to go to a loan shark.

This is why he is keen on various smuggling activities. It makes money quickly and the profit is also good.

"Boss," Ashish said again, "don't forget that this year's City Hall election is coming, and those people want us to support the sponsorship fees."

Ron was a bit confused; he had forgotten about this. Among the political parties in Mumbai, only the Congress and the BJP could sit at the table.

The former is the ruling party in Maharashtra, and Ron cannot afford to offend him. The latter is closely tied to the Shiv Sena, and he cannot betray his own people.

"The Congress Party gave 40 rupees, and the BJP gave 60. Harus, you do the accounting."

"No problem, Mr. Soul." Harus was good at this kind of work.

No one in the conference room showed any surprise. Bribery is a legitimate practice in India and no company can avoid it.

Ron wanted to avoid offending either party, but he leaned more towards the BJP. His Brahmin identity determined everything, leaving him no choice.

He also has to pay this money, otherwise those officials will find all kinds of strange reasons to make things difficult for Sur Electric.

After instructing them that they must complete the electric fan production line before July, Ron returned to the office to take inventory of his own small treasury.

He had $25 in cash hidden in his home, which he had saved from smuggling drugs, forging passports, and working for travel agencies.

Ron didn't dare spend a penny because he thought the money would be of great use in the future.

India's industrial base is so poor that most equipment has to be imported, and even things like motors are not available.

If his Sur Electric Appliances wants to grow and develop, it will have to import equipment and technology from abroad. Now it is just accumulating assets.

In addition to the US dollars, Ron also had 300 million rupees in his personal account, most of which came from Sur Electric.

He can barely be considered a rich man, but he is still far from being a real tycoon.

"Baba" Lazhu brought him a cup of tea.

"Hmm," Ron took a sip of his drink comfortably, "I heard Ashish is buying a house?"

"That's just his boasting," Lazhu scolded, but his face still showed joy. "But maybe next year, he's been waiting for this day for a long time."

"He should have his own apartment," Ron nodded. "After all, it's a bit unreasonable for the technical director of Soul Electric to live in a slum."

"This is all thanks to Baba's help." Lazhu lowered his head and looked pleasing.

She had long since changed out of the sari she wore when we first met and was now wearing a nice blouse and trousers, with her hair permed and styled.

She was more of a city beauty, a secretary, than a plain Indian girl.

But one thing has not changed, and that is the skill of serving people.

He is good at making tea, coffee and massage.

Lazhu was more like a maid, even things like wiping Ron's face were done by her personally.

The most valuable thing is that she can read and write, so she helps with organizing a lot of information. Ah, a multi-functional secretary.

It's summer now and Ron feels it's a bit hot. Should he play office games with Lazhu?

He was a little tempted, but the phone on the table rang.

"Ron, do you have any time lately?"

"Mary?" Ron, whose anger had been extinguished, blurted out, "Want some sausage?"

"Nonsense!" she cursed with a laugh. "Come to Bandra, let's talk about the film."

"Wow, I smell the queen of Bollywood."

(End of this chapter)