Nanyang 1931: From piglets to giants

Chapter 41 A Little Spark of Ambition
A huge sum of four hundred thousand.

A loan amount of 10 million.

Zheng Yi's head was buzzing with anxiety.

In an era where buying a life only costs a few dozen dollars, what kind of numbers are four hundred thousand or ten million?

"I... Sixth Master, I, I'm not short of money right now. The machinery factory is running very well. We'll expand production in the next few years, and the donated funds will be at least ten million. I'm not short of money at all. I... can be considered to have established myself, right?"

Chen Liushi said, "Li Xiaoshi's money is Li Xiaoshi's money after all. With your talent, Mr. Zheng, how can you make a living with other people's money? My uncle's sincere heart is all for the public good. Please, Mr. Zheng, do not refuse."

"This... but Sixth Master, I am only a scholar after all, and Nanyang is truly treacherous. To be honest, although I have some technical skills, I have no business experience. With such a large sum of money, I am afraid I don't have the ability to manage it. I will disappoint you and your uncle's expectations."

Tan Lark Sye said, "It's okay. In Southeast Asia, my uncle still has some face. Since you are a member of our Fujian Association, my uncle naturally has an obligation to protect you from the wind and rain. Besides, no one is born to be a businessman. If you lose, you lose. Just consider it as paying tuition."

"Besides, today you faced Zhang Yucai's massive force all by yourself. I can see that you are not some nerd who only knows technology but not business, huh?

"Hahahaha, Mr. Zheng, please don't be so humble and refuse. This is a gift from my uncle. The money is in my pocket. Even if you don't use it now, you won't be worried when you need it in the future. Don't be so petty and nagging. You're making me unhappy."

Zheng Yi: “…………”

Of course, it is not difficult to guess the intentions of Chen Liushi and even Chen Jiageng behind him.

It was simply because they saw that he was too deeply bound to the Li family, and the Li family had indeed done them a favor, so it was absolutely impossible for them to poach him and get him to work for them.

So he simply threw money at himself, tricked himself into starting his own business, and kicked the Li family out to work on his own.

If I work for the Li family, I will always be a talent of the Li family.

But if I start my own business, I might be the most talented person in Nanyang.

Of course, the most important thing is that he is from Fujian and joined the Fujian Chamber of Commerce. As long as he leaves the Li family's wing, he will naturally be a member of their Chen family, or at least a member of the Fujian Guild Hall.

Besides, if he really wanted to work alone, he would naturally need the Chen family's support in a lawless place like Nanyang.

Four hundred thousand in cash!
Just a trivial amount of money, such as tea money, went into his pocket. Who wouldn't be confused?
Although the Li family gave him shares, the shares were only dividend rights after all. If he wanted to get such a large amount as 400,000, he would have to work for at least a few years, not to mention the low-interest loan of 10 million.

Although he also knew that the loan would not be easy to get, and that even if it sounded nice now, there would definitely be a bunch of additional conditions when borrowing it later, it was ten million after all.

If this amount is used to start a business, it will at least be enough for start-up capital.

If he wanted to start a business, his main concern was that Nanyang was a lawless place and he could not protect it. For example, people like Zhang Yucai would definitely bully him to death if Li Xiaoshi did not have his back.

But what if Tan Kah Kee was behind him?

Li Xiaoshi was so tough in Malaya because the British gave him face.

Tan Kah Kee was tough in Malaya because he did not give face to the British.

Tan Kah Kee was not on the same level as all the Chinese tycoons in Southeast Asia throughout history.

For a moment, Zheng Yi was really confused by Chen Liushi.

His mind is a little confused now.

As they were talking, Li Yuan had also arrived. He had the check for 400,000 yuan in his pocket. After thinking it over again and again, he finally gave up arguing with Chen Liushi and chose to accept it.

"The day after tomorrow our old chairman is having his birthday. Will Sixth Master come?"

“Of course, that’s why I came to Kuala Lumpur.”

"Then...see you the day after tomorrow, Sixth Master."

"See you the day after tomorrow, Mr. Zheng."

………………

Silent all night.

This was also a night when Zheng Yi couldn't sleep at all.

The meal tonight was so exciting. Although he was over fifty years old in his previous life, the experience today was really like a knife piercing his butt and opening his eyes.

He couldn't help but think of Gao Huan, who was shot dead in front of him, as soon as he closed his eyes.

That was the first time he felt that death was so close to him.

He had never been so scared even when he was assassinated and hit by a sickle a few days ago.

The brains and blood splattered onto his plate. 'How the hell am I supposed to eat after someone's dead?'

"Was there any trace of Gao Huan's brain mixed in with the food I ate at that time?"

Thinking of this, Zheng Yi felt extremely nauseous and vomited with a loud noise.

But after vomiting, Zheng Yi didn't feel scared at all.

On the contrary, he could clearly recall every detail of today's dinner.

He could remember clearly what others said, what he said, every punctuation mark, tone and pause, and every subtle expression on everyone's face.

What replaced fear was excitement.

He himself didn't know what was so exciting about a dinner party where a living person died in front of him and such a scene really scared him half to death.

But he was just excited.

In particular, he thought that he did not lose face at today's dinner after all, and he did get the job done after all. From now on, he no longer has to worry about the threats from Zhang Yucai and other local brotherhoods in Kuala Lumpur.

From a certain perspective, it can even be said that he has recruited these people, and they will be in a cooperative relationship in the future, and they can even be used by him.

Isn’t this also a kind of success?

He was indeed very scared at that time, but he managed to get through it.

And he thinks he has performed well, even very successfully.

The thought of this made every bone in his body scream with pleasure as their bodies rubbed against each other.

Every cell in his body was trembling.

He was really excited.

It is a sense of accomplishment that is completely different from simply researching technology, and it is equally fascinating.

It was only today that he discovered that there was a beast hidden in his bones.

This beast has even begun to enjoy this lawless place in Southeast Asia.

Unable to sleep, he even took out the pistol given to him by Li Xiaoshi.

He completely dismantled it, breaking it down into parts one by one, wiped it, maintained it, and then put it back together again, loaded it with bullets, and took aim in the air.

Zheng Yi actually imagined himself using this gun to kill someone and what it would feel like when he actually fired the gun.

I actually felt a little bit of anticipation for this deep down in my heart.

After putting down the gun, Zheng Yi became even more excited when he took out the check for $400,000 and Li Guangqian's business card from his pocket.

A gun and a check, with these two things, he really...what reason does he have to continue working?

To be honest, if a man doesn't have some ambition in his heart, then he's a miracle.

Li Xiaoshi treated him very well indeed, and as for Li Jiazhi, he admired her very much, and she had indeed saved his life.

The Li family had indeed done him a favor, and he was not the kind of person who didn't know how to be grateful.

But he is a modern man after all.

It is impossible for him to have such a so-called loyal thought in his mind.

No matter how well Li Xiaoshi treated him, he could never be a retainer of the Li family.

But he also knows that there are many Chinese people who have this idea these days, and it may even be the mainstream majority.

Li Xiaoshi treated him... indeed... impeccably.

It was so good that he thought that if he really felt that he had grown strong enough and wanted to go out on his own, he would be too embarrassed to ask Li Xiaoshi.

Do you want to go out and work on your own?

He couldn't deceive himself, he knew that Chen Liushi had succeeded.

A small flame called ambition has already ignited in his heart.

(End of this chapter)