1928: The rise of giant merchants

September 6, Licha Hotel.

The lights are bright and the guards are tight.

In order to escort Edward Sassoon's birthday party, all police officers from the public concession were dispatched and surrounded the huge Rich Hotel.

There were also many plainclothes police officers coming and going in the banquet hall, dance hall, guest rooms and other places, for fear of another "Galt case".

The birthday party officially started at 6 p.m., and now it's only 5:10, and many tycoons from all walks of life have already arrived one after another.

Edward Sassoon was the eldest son of Victor Sassoon and the legal successor of Sassoon \u0026 Company. He followed his father from England to Shanghai when he was a child. When he became an adult, he went to England and the United States to study. After returning from school, he joined Sassoon \u0026 Company as a manager. The position of deputy general manager can be described as a true pride of heaven. He has never experienced any big storms in his life.

This second-generation dandy has all the shortcomings of foreigners, extremely looks down on Chinese people, and has a strong sense of racial discrimination.

He usually lives alternately between the UK and India, and only returns to Shanghai every few months. A bunch of Chinese tycoons want to flatter him, but they can't see anyone.

For some unknown reason, Edward Sassoon has been living in the public concession since August, and often goes to the French Concession to socialize.

Many Chinese tycoons were invited to this birthday party, but they obviously could not fit into the small circle of foreigners. A group of people sat in a corner, holding wine glasses and chatting in low voices. Occasionally, they would look at the tall and flamboyant foreign young man in the center of the banquet hall. .

A few minutes later.

Bai Xiuzhu arrived late with Ye Luoshan on her arm.

The arrival of this golden couple instantly attracted thousands of eyes.

The reason is still because of the battle between the Big World and the New World in early September for the No. 1 club in the Far East.

Zhang Wanlin of Yongxing Company lost 1 million yuan due to the "Galt Case" and became a laughing stock in the business world. Later, in order to wipe away the shame, he renovated the New World Amusement Park, intending to compete with Ye Luo's Yip's World.

It is said that New World also has a lot of investment from Edward Sassoon.

The results came out a few days ago.

Not only was New World a huge failure, but it was also unable to make ends meet and decided to close its doors at the end of September.

At this time, Ye Luo arrived, and everyone's eyes also glanced at Zhang Wanlin, who was smiling beside Edward.

"Hello, Boss Ye."

"Second Young Master, long time no see. How are you doing?"

"Hey, sister Xiuzhu is so beautiful today."

Ye Luo was wearing a black suit and tie, with his hands in his pockets, and his right arm was gently held by Bai Xiuzhu.

As soon as he entered the banquet hall, several Chinese tycoons came over to approach him with a smile.

"Boss Feng, it's been a long time no see." Ye Luo smiled and nodded in response, "Fourth Master is still as charming as ever, and Miss Yan is also charming and charming."

The Chinese tycoons here basically occupy a seat on the General Chamber of Commerce committee. Everyone is an acquaintance, and it is natural to mention recent interesting anecdotes in the business world during casual chats.

"Second Young Master, I am a die-hard fan of "The Burning of the Red Lotus Temple". I just don't know if I can watch the movie in Shanghai."

Feng Shaoshan, chairman of the General Chamber of Commerce, came over with a wine glass in hand. There was a hint of gloom in his brows, which showed that he had been troubled by many troubles recently.

"The business world has not been peaceful recently. I hope it will settle down as soon as possible like the Northern Expedition."

"Chairman Feng, don't think too much. Since you like this film, I'll just ask the film company to keep a copy of the film for you." Ye Luo toasted with a smile, but he was filled with emotion in his heart.

After Feng Shaoshan was wanted by the Jinling Nationalist Government next year, the General Chamber of Commerce also collapsed. He who single-handedly created the prosperous business community in Shanghai will not see the subsequent development of the golden age.

"Then I'd like to thank the Second Young Master first." Feng Shaoshan's sad face turned slightly, and he looked at Edward in the crowd, "This ghost guy has hooked up with Yongxing Company, you have to be careful."

"Well, thank you Uncle Feng for the suggestion." Ye Luo nodded solemnly.

After they finished chatting about business, they saw Fan Erdi and Fan Juli walking hand in hand.

"Ye, thank you for sending me such a beautiful translator girl. I have decided to marry her." Fan Erdi said with a smile on his face.

"Bless you." Ye Luo said this, but he was very shocked in his heart.

These two are too fast!

However, in the original history, after Fan Juli came to find Fan Erdi, the two quickly developed a relationship, which was also a flash marriage.

"Second Young Master, thank you for your life-saving grace." Fan Juli rolled up her skirt and smiled slightly, her face full of gratitude.

Fan Shiwei was so frightened by Edward that he made Fan Juli stay at home every day and was not allowed to go out.

Fan Juli didn't care at first. It wasn't until she was almost kidnapped by the Youth Gang gangsters when she went out that she realized the seriousness of the problem.

Later, Xiao Aqiao came to introduce her to the French Consulate as a translator. With Merieux's protection, Edward couldn't do much. In fact, he didn't take Fan Juli at all.

If you can't succeed with this, just change it to a Chinese woman.

After Mérieux left, she continued to work as a translator for Verdy. The two of them were talented and beautiful, but their passion caused a conflict, and they got engaged.

It can be said that in Fan Juli's eyes, it was only because of Ye Luo's help that she could one day be able to fly a sparrow onto a branch and turn into a phoenix, so she was naturally extremely grateful to him.

Fan Erdi and Bai Xiuzhu were curious about this and kept asking.

Ye Luo hesitated for a moment, and then briefly explained the matter after Fan Juli agreed.

Of course, he had concealed the story about Fan Shiwei's informing, and only mentioned the disgusting story of Edward killing the Chinese prostitute and seizing Fan Juli.

"This foreigner is too wretched and disgusting!" Bai Xiuzhu stuck out her tongue and said to Ye Luo, "Brother Luo, he actually dares to steal your money!"

"My God, I didn't even know this happened." Verdi was at odds with the Sassoon family due to the conflict between Mérieux and Yongxing Company. Now that he learned that his fiancée had almost been killed, he suddenly broke out in a cold sweat.

"Haha, this is a blessing in disguise. Without this, Miss Fan wouldn't be able to go to the consulate, right?" Ye Luo smiled lightly, pretending to be generous, "The Sassoon family is so powerful that we can't afford to offend them."

"I'm not afraid." Bai Xiuzhu pouted, turned her head and snorted coldly.

Ye Luo smiled and stretched out his hand to scratch the tip of her nose: "But I'm scared."

"Believe it or not." Bai Xiuzhu spat out her tongue slightly. Based on her understanding of Ye Luo, I am afraid that Ye Luo has already begun to hatch bad ideas against the Sassoon family.

"Anyway, thank you very much for your help, Ye." Verdi was still scared for a while. If he really had a head-on conflict with the Sassoon family, he would not be afraid of Edward, but if Victor Sassoon, the "crooked Sassoon", ended up, he wouldn't be able to bear it. .

"It's a small matter, but I'm a little busy here and want to ask you to help." Ye Luo said in a low voice.

"Please tell me." Fan Erdi has always been worried about always accepting Ye Luo's benefits without having the opportunity to give back. Now that he has a place where he can use it, he immediately becomes energetic.

Ye Luo glanced at the dance hall not far away: "I plan to open a dance hall in the French Concession called Black Cat. It will be officially opened at the end of the month. I hope you can help me get the approval procedures at the public affairs office and choose the location. It’s decided, it’s on Gulangyu Road.”

"Gulangyu Road? There are many hometown associations and schools of private business groups there." Fan Erdi felt that the place was quite remote and could not be compared with the locations of Big World and Ye's Guangming Cinema. "The land there is really easy to rent."

"Yes, there is a Paris Hotel next to the Ningbo Commercial Association. It is the property of your French businessmen. I want to take it over and renovate it." There is a reason why Ye Luo chose that location.

That was also the original location of the Black Cat Dance Hall.

After it first opened, many people disliked this small dance hall and felt that it could not compete with the several major hotel dance halls occupying prime road sections.

However, in fact, the Black Cat Ballroom was full day and night, and the people who came to dance were all businessmen from nearby hometown associations, male and female students from surrounding schools, etc. Their spending power was close to the middle class, and they were extremely receptive to foreign culture, setting off the first dance in 1928. A dance trend.

"It's a trivial matter. The Paris Hotel is in poor operating condition. The boss has a loan of more than 100,000 yuan from HSBC. Not to mention renting it out, as long as the price is reasonable, he will definitely be willing to sell it to you." Verdi patted his chest, full of confidence, " I can help you get it with 100,000 yuan without any other commission."

"That's great." Ye Luo chuckled, raised his glass and clinked it with him, "If he is willing to sell it, I will definitely buy it."

With just 100,000 yuan, you can buy a hotel with a large area and a suitable location. It's a real bargain.

The two got excited about talking, and on the other side, amidst the cheers of everyone, Edward blew out the candles on the birthday cake and began to make a wish.

Ye Luo looked into the distance.

Just in time to look at Edward who opened his eyes.

He raised his eyebrows and lightly touched his neck with his hand, full of provocation.