I am a master in India

Chapter 18: Ruby Leads the Way

"Baba, your breakfast is ready."

"Well, I'll be right there."

Ron sat cross-legged on the bed, counting the bills in front of him one by one.

The rupee currently issued by India is the third set of denominations. The design style is more modern and has completely gotten rid of the British style of the colonial era.

The lowest denomination banknote is 2 rupees and the largest is 500 rupees. The patterns are mostly satellites, tractors, and famous buildings.

Of course, old man Gandhi is indispensable, and he is on the front of the 500 rupee note.

The stack of notes he held in his hand was all large-denomination notes. Counting them, it totaled just over 4 rupees, which was all Ron had saved.

Oh, no wonder Anand likes to kill fat sheep so much, even he is a little addicted.

It is indeed much easier to get gold coins from these foreigners.

Unlike those vendors in the market, who would haggle over the price of things worth dozens of paise.

After collecting the money, Ron, who was wearing shorts, stretched comfortably.

On the table outside, Nia had already prepared food: milk tea, toasted pretzels, and scrambled eggs—simple, heartwarming, and appetizing.

The electric fan above my head was whirring, but the hot summer was still approaching.

Little Nia was cleaning up the incense that had burned out at night in the corner of the house. There were so many mosquitoes in Mumbai at night that it was impossible to stay there without lighting this thing.

As she moved, a tinkling sound could be heard from her wrists from time to time.

Nia

"Baba?"

"Come here," Ron said, holding a shortbread in one hand and waving at her with the other.

Little Nia, not knowing what was going on, came up to him obediently.

Ron curiously grabbed her wrist and examined the bracelets and other accessories.

"Brass?"

Nia shook her head in embarrassment. She wanted to pull her hand back, but Ron didn't let go.

"I'll turn it into gold before the end of this year."

"Baba, it's good like this. We have a place to live and we don't have to worry about food. We are already happier than most people out there."

"But it's not enough for my Nia. I want to see you at your most beautiful."

Ron knew that Indians' love for gold had reached a pathological level, especially Indian women.

If a family has a little money, they will definitely wear a gold bracelet or something on their wrist.

The comparisons between women are all based on this, and over time it has become a part of social culture.

It is said that a village in India may not have running water, toilets, schools, or hospitals, but it will definitely have a goldsmith.

Nia was a young girl in her prime, and she loved beauty, but because she couldn't afford gold bracelets, she had to use brass ones to decorate her appearance.

Although she was nominally his servant, Ron knew how to be gentle and considerate to women.

When Nia's eyes were full of charm, he had already picked her up and placed her on his lap.

"Ah~" Little Niya's body tensed up as if she had been electrocuted, and her fair face quickly turned red.

Ouch, Ron secretly said guilty. He just woke up early in the morning and stood up.

"Well, let's not talk about the gold bangles for now, but a few beautiful saris are a must."

Ron took out a few rupees and put them on the table. He didn't need money to buy a few clothes for the girls.

"Baba, I still have the money you gave me last time."

"That's for buying food, this is for buying clothes, they're different."

"But you just started a company, and I have clothes too."

Ron was amused by her cute and sensible appearance. "Master, I'm not short of money now. Just dress up beautifully every day and make me happy."

Reluctantly letting go of her soft body, Ron cleaned himself up and went out. If he wanted to start the company's business, he had to make some preparations first.

First of all, let’s talk about the company’s office location and contact information. Well, due to conditions, we will keep everything simple for now.

When he registered the company, the address he filled in was his current apartment, and the contact information was also the apartment's phone number.

Anyway, their business does not require a special place to receive customers. Train stations and airports are the best places to conclude transactions.

After all that, we still need staff. Here are Ron and Anand.

It’s not the quantity of people that matters, but the quality of people (actually, we don’t have the money to hire people).

In the month that he followed Ron, Anand earned more than he had in the previous two years combined.

Even if he is asked to go back to ride his bike now, he will still stay.

Okay, the prototype of a company has been established, now all that’s left is promotion.

Under Ron's command, he and Anand split into two groups: one went to produce the company's promotional materials, and the other went to Victoria Railway Station to take up the outpost.

Of course, Ron was personally responsible for this kind of external publicity.

When Anna and the others left, they gave him a complete set of photographs and the negatives that had been screened out and were not used.

This is a treasure. As a travel journalist, his photography skills are impeccable.

Not only did Ron save the money of hiring someone to take photos, but the skills of the local photographers might not be as good as theirs.

With these things, he found an announcement production company.

"All of them must be printed in color, and there are two types of manuals. One is a high-end flip-through type, and the other is a regular folding type."

“The price of color printing is double, high-end hard paper booklets are 40 rupees each, and soft paper folding booklets are 15 rupees each.”

"Print!" Ron waved his hand. "20 hard paper volumes and 100 soft paper volumes."

You can't catch a wolf without sacrificing a child, so don't save on advertising expenses.

Ron had already planned the layout of these manuals in his mind.

At his request, the advertising company soon produced a sample album.

After checking that there was no problem, it was printed directly and Ron paid readily.

By the time he arrived at Victoria Station with the brochure still smelling of ink, Anand was also doing a great job.

Unexpectedly, there was another acquaintance beside him.

"Officer Rajesh, are you on duty in this area today?"

"I specifically switched duty areas with my colleagues. I heard you had an event here today."

When Ron arrived, Rajesh was helping Anand set up the venue.

Yes, Ron took a place in the train station.

The area is not big, about eight or nine square meters, and is close to the ticket dispatch room.

For this tiny bit of space, he simply bribed the railway station officials with 2000 rupees.

Otherwise, why would others allow him to mess around here? The rupee is the real deal!

Rajesh, the local boss, is the middleman in this deal.

Although he was a low-level patrolman, he knew many people and could have a say in almost all the officials from nearby departments.

This was enough for Ron; what he lacked was connections.

Of course, as a middleman, Rajesh also received a lot of benefits, which is why he is so enthusiastic about helping now.

When dealing with these lower-level officials in Mumbai, there is one eternal theme: bribery.

The place has been chosen, and as the company's facade, it naturally needs to be well planned.

Ron's idea is similar to the simple counters in shopping malls in later generations. The area does not have to be large, but it must look formal.

The materials and signs are all ready. The next step is to set it up and attract customers!
(End of this chapter)