I'm a Master in India

Strictly speaking, Varanasi is a tourist city, and most of its economy is closely related to tourism.

For example, the service industry, handicrafts, and catering industry provide jobs for millions of people.

Of course, every city has its own industrial zone. Varanasi's textile, leather, and machinery factories are located on both sides of the city.

Nirav drove Ron around the urban area, mainly inspecting the industrial zone.

“See? Those factories are right on the Ganges River, making water usage very convenient,” he introduced proudly.

“So the wastewater from these factories is just discharged directly into the Ganges?”

As far as Ron could see, a large amount of wastewater with suspicious foam was being poured into the Ganges so openly.

“There is only this one river nearby,” Aditya said as if it were a matter of course.

“But this is a sacred river, where devotees bathe and pray...”

“Lord Shiva will bless us. The water of the Ganges can purify all dirt!” Nirav and Aditya said in unison.

Okay, then, in this Ganges River.

Indians have no environmental awareness at all. They would rather pray to gods than take any action.

Look at the foamy and turbid river water. Ron felt that old Abhi's death was not in vain.

“I want the land south of Varanasi,” Ron made his choice without hesitation.

That is the upstream of the Ganges River. The sanitary conditions are still worrying, but at least it's acceptable.

“No problem, I'll handle the negotiations,” Aditya seemed confident about everything.

He directed Nirav to drive to the residence of a certain official. It was a grand house with a front porch, a courtyard, and an elaborately decorated main house.

The bodyguards at the door were in uniform. Ron looked closely and realized that these were proper police officers on duty.

This was not the first time he had encountered such a scene, and he was already used to it.

Indian officials can really use public resources for private purposes. It's perfectly normal for dignified police officers to serve as their private bodyguards.

Aditya seemed very familiar with the place. The police officers at the door not only didn't stop him but also greeted him obsequiously.

Walking through the front porch, Ron was stunned by the peculiar layout here.

They walked along the outer wall. The walls were redecorated with white marble, and the bas-relief patterns on them were playful cherubs and winged Cupids, a bizarre combination of Greek classical art and modern erotic culture.

He couldn't even describe what style this was, especially since they appeared in conservative North India.

Ron guessed that the owner of this house was either an abstract artist or a pretentious nouveau riche.

Facts proved it was the latter. When they entered the main hall, they saw a huge family photo hanging on the front wall, next to a statue of Lord Krishna inlaid with gold and jewels.

Every corner of the entire room was filled with various decorations, dazzling the eyes. Here was a French Arvesa tray, and there was a priceless ancient vase.

The art styles were extremely inconsistent, it was completely an art show-off.

The owner of this mansion, the key figure Aditya mentioned, Shah Dube, greeted them warmly.

Especially after hearing that Ron was from Mumbai, Dube couldn't wait to show him around his residence.

They didn't even have time to discuss business before being inexplicably led outside.

The garden was self-explanatory, they had already seen it. They were then taken to a tall building, which was a gymnasium Dube had added, containing exercise equipment such as ski-walkers and treadmills.

In the adjacent room, there was a Jacuzzi with gold-plated faucets.

Dube then led them through the main building. Outside the main building was a huge staircase leading directly to the terrace, as if the staircase from the movie "Gone with the Wind" had been transplanted here.

The terrace was covered with green grass and roses, a veritable rooftop garden.

“Do you like it here?” Dube asked.

“Of course!” Ron and the others nodded repeatedly.

“How does it compare to Mumbai?” Dube's eyes were fixed on Ron.

“This is the most magnificent residence I have ever seen. Mumbai is not even one ten-thousandth of this place.”

Dube breathed a sigh of relief, he was very satisfied with Ron's answer.

However, the tour did not end here, the grand finale was yet to come. Dube became more and more excited and led Ron and the others to the main dining hall.

One wall of the dining hall had been removed and replaced by an alcove extending into the garden. A glass screen separated the alcove from the dining hall. Behind the screen was a small, shimmering marble pool, with a clear stream of water flowing out into the garden.

Dube took out a large remote control and pointed it at the ceiling above the dining table. Ron was imagining what might pop out when he pressed the button.

Something magical happened. The heavy Lutyens stone roof slowly and silently opened.

You couldn't imagine what was inside. Ron and the others felt like they had walked into a 007 movie and were completely stunned by the scene before them.

After the roof was completely opened, a dazzling sight appeared before them: the roof had been transformed into a glass pyramid completely modeled after the roof of the Louvre in Paris, with the glass reflecting the green terrace in the distance.

This time it was Ron and the others who let out a sigh of relief, their faces half shocked, half envious.

This is the right way for a Brahmin lord to live!

Compared to Dube's house, Sur's estate indeed looked like a dilapidated house.

Aditya was not visiting here for the first time, but he was always mesmerized and speechless.

Dube turned to them, with uncontrollable joy on his face, “Now what?”

“Amazing!” Ron praised sincerely.

Is this the power of the nouveau riche in Uttar Pradesh? As expected, the few hectares of land at home limited his imagination.

The few people returned to the original main house. While waiting for the servants to serve tea, Dube also showed them another luxury item.

The world's first commercial 42-inch plasma TV, from Fujitsu, Japan, priced at $60,000.

Looking at the colorful and clear picture on the TV, Ron even had a sense of absurdity.

Just ten kilometers away in the countryside, many families didn't even have electricity and still used kerosene lamps.

But Dube's luxurious decoration seemed to be at the forefront of technology.

Ron once again experienced the division of Indian society. Between the lower and upper classes, it was completely two different worlds.

“Aditya said a few days ago that you are preparing to return to Varanasi to open a factory?” Dube spoke after taking a sip of tea.

“I grew up here since I was a child, so of course I want to do something for my hometown,” Ron said without batting an eye.

“That's right, Varanasi is no worse than Mumbai, and you're returning at the right time.”

Dube said that Uttar Pradesh was preparing to set up a development committee, and as long as Ron seized the opportunity, he could become a favored guest of the state government.

Aditya interjected at the right time, hinting at the dam issue.

“Those foreigners will definitely cause trouble, but now we have Ron. His Sur Group is famous throughout India. As long as this investment is made, we will have completed a successful investment attraction!”

“Great!” Dube agreed repeatedly after hearing this. “This way the upper house won't say anything, and it can also silence those media outlets.”

“That's right.” Aditya gave a timely wink.

Without a word, Ron took out several bundles of rupees from his bag and placed them nakedly on the table.

They were all 100-denomination high-value rupees, totaling 1 million, neatly stacked there.

“Brother Aditya, thank you for bringing the opportunity for prosperity to Varanasi!” Dube's enthusiasm visibly increased by another level.

“We are all Varanasi people, and Varanasi is ours,” Aditya happily shook his head.

“That's right, Ron, Varanasi is ours.”

Dube's residence was undoubtedly luxurious. And the source of the luxury came from bribery.

He was very influential in the state assembly, and his methods of accumulating wealth were bizarre.

For example, selling votes to the highest bidder, accepting bribes from civil servants to transfer them to comfortable positions, allocating industrial licenses for his own selfish gain, and secretly allocating the best plots in the city to relatives and friends, and so on.

Now that he had received Ron's generous benefits, he was not ambiguous. He directly found a map of Varanasi and spread it on the ground.

“Which piece of land do you want?” he asked.

“Here.” Ron pointed to the south.

“Is this much enough?” Dube casually drew a circle.

“Oh! Thirty hectares, that's enough,” Ron's mouth dropped slightly in surprise. “The price...”

“One dollar per hectare. Varanasi welcomes Sur Group,” Dube said very casually.

It seemed like they were not talking about a land transaction but selling vegetables, which was so hasty that it was shocking.

Thirty hectares is 450 mu, which is about more than 4 times the size of the Mumbai factory, much larger than imagined.

Ron spent more than 7 million rupees to buy the land in Mumbai, and now, it's thirty dollars.

Of course, bribery is also part of the land acquisition cost, but no matter how you compare it, the difference is too great.

Such a large piece of land, a branch factory could not use it all, but Ron was not foolish enough to point it out.

Land is a relatively value-preserving asset in any era. If the factory can't use it all, it can be saved for other uses.

After settling the most urgent land use issue, Dube also thoughtfully offered to apply for an industrial license for Ron's Sur Appliances.

Although India's economic policies have gradually opened up, there is still a licensing system in some industries, and it is not completely barrier-free.

These were minor matters. Even without Dube's help, Aditya could handle them.

They didn't stay here long. Once the deal was reached, they had to leave quickly because there were still visitors waiting in line to visit Dube outside.

In Uttar Pradesh, most decisions are not made in the assembly but are finalized privately at an official's residence.

“Ron, when do you plan to build the factory?” Aditya asked.

“The sooner the better. I will call Mumbai today and have them transfer a batch of people over.”

“What about the investment scale?”

“Eight million rupees. I plan to build two production lines first to meet the demand here in North India.”

“Eight million!”

Aditya and Nirav were surprised by Ron's generous hand. This was almost enough money to build four dams.

“It seems your business is really successful,” Aditya praised. “Leave all the engineering problems to us.”

“Okay!” Ron agreed.

Although his second uncle had just pulled off the magical 1 = 4 dam project, Ron believed he could distinguish between public and private matters.

Ron was even less at ease leaving it to others. After all, his own family was more reliable.

Aditya was also a municipal commissioner here, and his involvement could avoid many official troubles.

“Ron, it's right to open a factory in Varanasi. For the farmers here, a salary of 200 rupees is enough to make them overjoyed,” Nirav also highly favored this decision.

200 rupees a month? Ron sighed inwardly. This salary level was probably only one-tenth of that in Mumbai.

Uttar Pradesh is underdeveloped, located inland, and water transportation is inconvenient. But the low cost is enough to offset all these disadvantages.

The air coolers produced here in the future can be directly transported to the surrounding states, which can save a lot of transportation costs.

Well, Ron began to look forward to what the factory here would look like after it was built.