Nanyang 1931: From piglets to giants

Chapter 61 European Trip

Although there was an element of calculation, Zheng Yi certainly had no objection to becoming the president.

The scattered and discriminated people of Fuqing need a prestigious and respected scientist like him to serve as a face and rally everyone like a banner.

Zheng Yi, a weak scholar, really needs those ruthless people of Fuqing to protect him.

After all, Nanyang is a lawless place, and the logic of doing things is different from that of modern society with rule of law. A good person with moral cleanliness should not even think of making a name for himself in Nanyang.

However, Zheng Yi is still too busy at the moment.

In fact, according to Zheng Yi, since most of the "honest people" in the Fuqing gang are rickshaw drivers, he can actually build a rickshaw factory.

Moreover, the Fuqing Gang mastered the rickshaw repair technology. It is said that the first person to do so was a Xinghua man who worked as an apprentice in a British repair shop. He secretly learned this technology and then passed it on to a large number of Fuqing people. This is how the Fuqing Gang came to be today, with everyone pulling rickshaws.

These people are indeed suitable workers. If possible, Zheng Yi can open another bicycle factory.

For him, the technology and even the production line for producing bicycles only requires some research and he can draw up the design in one or two months at most. And it will take no more than half a year for Taiyou Machinery to build those equipment and production lines.

Because of the steel plant, it is a world-leading steel furnace with an annual output of 80,000 tons of iron and 60,000 tons of steel. Such a large amount of steel production capacity just needs something to digest it.

In fact, bicycles could even be considered industrial products in this era. In history, Japan rode bicycles ten years later, and those bicycles lacked rubber shock absorbers, and they creaked all the way across the British army in Southeast Asia and swallowed up the entire British Malaya.

That thing is a war weapon in the special terrain of Malaya.

In this way, he felt that he might be worthy of the title of president of Fuqing Chamber of Commerce.

He is still not used to donating money to build schools and spending money to build bridges and roads in his hometown, which seems to be a very Nanyang-style way of gaining prestige.

This matter is also part of Zheng Yi's plan. After he is done with his busy schedule, he will start to implement it.

As for the present, the only thing he could do was to appoint Qian Qiwen as the vice president of human resources and administration, and to fill as many workers as possible into his factories within his capacity.

In fact, in Nanyang, the president of the Chamber of Commerce is not just a title, it even has many administrative functions. For example, if there are any disputes between people in Fuqing, even including conflicts between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, unfilial children, etc., the Chamber of Commerce has to step in to deal with such matters.

It is somewhat similar to the ancient county magistrate going to court to try cases. The president of the chamber of commerce also has to do this job to some extent.

Zheng Yi had even less time at this moment, but he really had no one available. In the end, he had no choice but to hand the matter over to Qian Qiwen and let her take charge of the arrangements.

Even Zheng Yi himself felt that he had given this woman too much power, and that she was managing too many things for him.

To outsiders, the relationship is somewhat similar to that between Li Jiqian and Gan.

No matter how you look at it, this is Zheng Yi's most important assistant now, and it seems that Zheng Yi has absolute trust in her.

Absolute trust between a single man and a single woman?
In particular, Qian Qiwen's background is no secret in the underworld. Everyone knows that this woman was a prostitute in the past.

Who would believe that there is no relationship beyond friendship between these two people?
Zheng Yi was also very helpless. After all, he didn't really trust Qian Qiwen absolutely.

But isn't it true that there is no one else available?

Train another one? But where would he have the time? If he had the time to think about personnel matters, why would he have to rely on Qian Qiwen for everything?

Because the explanation was unclear, Zheng Yi simply didn't bother to explain.

Because of this incident, he felt that his relationship with Li Jiazhi seemed to have become a little distant. He went to explain to Li Jiazhi, and Li Jiazhi just smiled and nodded. He didn't know whether she believed it or not.

Although men are still allowed to take concubines these days, not to mention the bad reputation of prostitutes themselves, for those who have been educated and influenced by the so-called new ideas, even most young men are against taking concubines.

Some people believe that it is the remnant of feudalism and even classify it as one of the reasons for China's poverty and weakness.

Even though Li Xiaoshi was so rich, he still remarried after his divorce. Even though he didn't love Guan Xiaofang, the arranged marriage arranged by his parents, for so many years, he never considered marrying another one. It would be a miracle if Li Jiazhi agreed to let him take a concubine.

At least he is a womanizer.

Everyone in Kuala Lumpur thought that he and Qian Qiwen must be having an affair, and Li Jiazhi was of course no exception.

Without a clear explanation, Zheng Yi felt that he was at a disadvantage the more he thought about it.

Things I haven't done before.

Everyone in Kuala Lumpur thinks they have done it.

So why don't I just do it?

Anyway, based on his understanding of Qian Qiwen, that slut will definitely not refuse.

Besides, she is my current vice president. Even if she was a prostitute before, at least she has turned over a new leaf now, right?
For a moment, Zheng Yi had some dirty thoughts in his mind, and when he looked at Qian Qiwen again, he couldn't help but have some impure thoughts.

Of course, Zheng Yi really didn't have much time and energy to deal with miscellaneous affairs. He had something far more important to do.

Kuala Lumpur Airport.

Li Jiazhi came in person to see Zheng Yi and Li Xiaoshi off. She seemed to want to say something, but when it came to her lips, all she could say was "Have a safe trip."

This is a passenger plane flying to the UK and will have to transfer in India.

Now that the permanent magnet motor has been developed, it is natural to look for partners. To put it bluntly, it is like driving the tiger to devour the wolf.

The ideal goal is to win over the American forces. Zheng Yi needs the American banner to cover himself up. In fact, the Americans also need a partner like Zheng Yi so that they can legitimately intervene in Malaya's tin mine and rare earth market.

Americans of this era, although they have the strength, still care about their dignity when doing things.

Zheng Yi is very clear about his own importance. He is the face that Americans want.

In the final analysis, no matter how the Chinese in Southeast Asia develop, they cannot change the fact that they are always under the bloody jaws of the British. Being able to drive away the tiger and devour the wolf is already the limit of what these Chinese can do. There is no possibility of developing secretly or surviving.

The British are not blind.

Originally, Westinghouse Electric should have been a very good choice.

But he was not familiar with Westinghouse Electric and had no prior contact with it.

Li Xiaoshi suggested that we go to Siemens, but Zheng Yi quickly dissuaded him and made him give up such a rebellious idea.

In the end, Zheng Yi decided to go to the European company with which he had the best relationship first as a pioneer: Atlas Copco, Sweden.

In fact, Sweden played a considerable role in Europe before World War II.

Anyway, he has other arrangements in the United States, and everything has just begun, so he is not in a hurry to drag them down.

Li Xiaoshi's task was certainly not an easy one. He was going to visit his British classmate, and by the way, to visit his good friend who was the Secretary of State for the Colonies, and use his connections to visit people up and down the British political arena.

Zheng Yi is responsible for driving the tiger to devour the wolf.

Naturally, he was responsible for flattering others, using connections and backdoors to show that the Nanyang Chinese were obedient.

In the hope of buying Zheng Yi some precious initial development time.

(End of this chapter)