1928: The rise of giant merchants

After Zhang Wanlin, Yu Likui and others fell at Ye Luo's feet one after another, Lu Yusheng had already changed his original prejudice against Ye Luo and began to face up to his strength and abilities.

You can call it a coincidence or good luck once or twice, but if you succeed every time, it is by no means a situation that can be summarized by the word luck.

Moreover, from the very first business, Ye Luo did not rely much on the power of the Ye family and relied entirely on his own connections and funds. Now, Lu Yusheng had to sigh with emotion.

This child is not something in the pond.

Only by facing up to such a powerful enemy and studying him carefully can we have a chance to kill him with a fatal blow and avoid capsizing in the gutter.

After Zhang Wanlin was forced to pay 1 million in compensation, Lu Yusheng sent people to carefully investigate the details of Ye's investment company and monitor every move of Ye Luo and the Ye family.

This time Ye Luo was determined to start a dance hall business. Before the Black Cat Dance Hall was named, Lu Yusheng received the information and was raising funds to get a share of the pie.

But Lu Yusheng couldn't find out how to do it, where to put it specifically, and what operations there would be. He could only watch it while walking.

Although Lu Yusheng has planned to follow Ye Luo and follow whatever industry he enters, he does not think that Ye Luo's business talent far exceeds his own. What he, Ye's Investment Company, can do, Yongxing Company spends manpower on. Material resources can still be achieved!

Just like Dahua Film Company, which has suddenly emerged in the film industry recently, it was Lu Yusheng who used the resources of Yongxing Company to build a new film company after observing the three giants, Yip, Tianyi, and Lianhua. Now it has begun to take shape. As long as filming starts, There will be money to be made.

Since Ye Luo has his sights set on the dance hall business, it means that this industry is very likely to explode in the future.

Lu Yusheng believed that Yongxing's capital was not inferior to that of Ye's, and its prestige and status in the French Concession was slightly higher. Coupled with the contacts and resources accumulated by the three brothers over the years, they would not necessarily lose to Ye's if they also entered the dance hall industry.

"Lu, what do you want to do?" Edward was very unconvinced with Ye Luo. If he could join forces with Lu Yusheng to steal his business or engage in pornography, he would feel extremely comfortable.

"Mr. Sassoon, look." Lu Yusheng pointed to the dimly lit side dance room next to the banquet hall with moving music playing.

The Licha Hotel Ballroom is not as famous as the Majestic Hotel Ballroom, but its specifications are higher. On weekdays, only foreigners come here to dance and have fun.

At this time, the birthday banquet was over, and many people went to the ballroom nearby to dance with the hotel's own dancers and chat about life.

Ballroom dancing has been popular with Shanghai's upper class as early as 1927. It's just that the ballroom business and the hotel business are matched. If you want to do it, you have to open a new hotel.

However, all the well-known hotels in Shanghai are now foreign-funded enterprises, completely controlled by a bunch of foreign companies, and Chinese businessmen cannot enter at all.

If you want to open a new hotel, it is difficult to compare with the well-known hotels such as Rich Hotel and Majestic Hotel. Therefore, over time, everyone has assumed that this is an industry that only foreigners can be involved in, just like the automobile business.

"Lu, what do you mean?" Edward didn't have much business acumen. He glanced at the ballroom a few times, but felt that it was all foggy and unclear.

Lu Yusheng guessed that this ghost guy was a fool, so he didn't give in. He said with a smile: "Ye Luo opened the big world and wanted to be the number one club in the Far East. Then when he opened a new dance hall, he wanted to be the number one dance hall in the Far East. And if he wants to be For the first place, it must surpass the two hotels, Licha and Dahua."

"That's too difficult." Edward glanced at the ballroom of the Rich Hotel and felt that it was impossible.

The total cost of the Richa Hotel is about 3.5 million yuan. It is the leading high-end hotel in Shanghai and even the country. Basically all foreigners and nobles come here for entertainment. The people behind the scenes are the Sassoon family.

As far as Edward knows, the ballroom’s consumption revenue only accounts for 25% of the hotel’s total revenue, but its annual profit exceeds one million!

Edward was quite rich, but it was impossible for him to spend millions to build a similar hotel just for the ballroom inside.

"Ye Luo can't do it, but we can." Lu Yusheng smiled mysteriously, approached him and said, "Mr. Sassoon, I remember that the owners behind the Majestic Hotel are the Kadoorie family, but they seem to be interested in developing in Xiangjiang and are ready to give up. It’s an industry here.”

The Kadoorie family is a Jewish family whose ancestors came from Iraq, later lived in Mumbai, India, and then came to Shanghai to make a successful fortune. The situation is similar to that of the Sassoon family, but they do not have many business contacts.

The Sassoon family is mainly engaged in tobacco, real estate and textiles, while the Kadoorie family is mainly engaged in electricity, finance, hotels, cable cars and other industries.

Upon hearing the news, Edward raised his eyebrows and asked with a smile: "I've never heard of this. Is the news reliable?"

"Absolutely reliable." Lu Yusheng nodded, "Actually, I am already negotiating with Mr. Roland Kadoorie to acquire the Majestic Hotel. However, the hotel is too big. He offered 2.5 million oceans, which I simply cannot afford."

2.5 million oceans is indeed not a small amount.

"Lu, do you have a clear plan?" Edward was a little tempted, but the amount of money was too large, and even he had to invest carefully.

Lu Yusheng nodded: "My people are already inquiring about the management methods of various hotel ballrooms. The Black Cat Ballroom that Ye Luo is going to open is just a small ballroom and cannot be considered an elegant place. It can be seen that he also wants to test the water first and then act. We can We need to quietly observe his ballroom for a period of time, and then wait for opportunities. But by buying the Majestic Hotel in advance, we can avoid conflicts of interest with us when he builds a larger ballroom later."

"Apart from Dahua, the best dance hall is Mr. Sassoon's Licha. He wants to build a big dance hall out of thin air. He can only buy it like us. Dahua was bought by us. He can What should I do? I have to buy a newer one."

Lu Yusheng's words were clear and logical, which showed that he had thought carefully about it for a long time.

"Small dance halls test the water, and big dance halls make money. This business idea is correct, but Ye Luo will help us step out of the way first, so we don't need to start from a young age. Yongxing's philosophy is to only be the first, not the second. Since we are planning to build a dance hall to compete with him, we will build a Shanghai beach, no, it should be the largest dance hall in the country!"

Fan Shiwei was thinking while translating at the side, and felt that Lu Yusheng was worthy of being Yongxing's think tank. With a thorough analysis, he would definitely be the second young master's rival!

He had to find a way to secretly tell the second young master the news.

"Well, you're right. If you want to do it, you have to build a grand ballroom that's even better than Li Cha!" Edward was so happy with his success. He felt that if he succeeded, he would surpass his father in disguise and be an important bargaining chip in the future. .

Compared to the grumbling Zhang Wanlin, he obviously felt that Lu Yusheng was much more capable.

"I have already thought of the name of the dance hall." Lu Yusheng was full of confidence.

Edward cast a curious look.

"Call it Paramount!"

"Paramount?"

After coming out of Licha Hotel, Ye Luo took Bai Xiuzhu, who was still full of interest, to a roadside stall in the county town for a late-night snack.

Fan Shiwei borrowed his daughter's light to get promoted, and now Lu Yusheng didn't dare to really treat him like a cow or horse. Seeing that it was getting late and Edward was running around again, he sent him back to sleep.

Lu Yusheng was obviously determined to win the Dahua Hotel, but the acquisition cost of 2.5 million oceans was too exaggerated and he couldn't afford it, so he wanted to get Edward to become a shareholder. He also hoped that Fan Shiwei would find his "son-in-law" Verdy and see if there was any at the French Consulate. Intention to do business together.

This old Yinbi is very good at taking advantage of situations and being a good person.

If he really activates his connections, he will definitely be able to win the Majestic Hotel.

Just hearing the name Paramount, Ye Luo couldn't help but feel happy.

The original tension was gone.

I thought Lu Yusheng was going to do something big.

It turned out to be Paramount, this super invincible scammer!

In fact, his idea is correct. Beyond Dahua and Licha, it is basically the ceiling of high-end dance halls. Not to mention Shanghai, it is famous all over the country.

Historically, Paramount was indeed known as the No. 1 dance hall in the Far East. It was so prosperous that even young marshals would come all the way to have fun.

It is a real social circle of top nobles.

But Paramount was destroyed right here.

Paramount is as prosperous as it can be, and its scale and decoration far exceed the current Licha and Dahua. No one except the top class can afford it.

In addition, due to the high cost of building Paramount, there are nearly a hundred shareholders, large and small. In order to pay as little as possible to these people, the boss has set a rule that the profit sharing of shareholders is calculated based on the number of guests.

In order to collect more money, those shareholders began to shake the management, and finally inexplicably introduced a rule that all dancers at Paramount must bring their own dance partners.

This became the last straw for Paramount.

The so-called No. 1 ballroom in the Far East declared bankruptcy after only half a year of existence since its opening.

"Second Young Master, how can you still laugh?" Fan Shiwei was so anxious in his heart.

Lu Yusheng was not joking, but Edward had also made his move. In his opinion, the day when Paramount was built, it would be the time when the Ye family would withdraw from the dance hall industry!

"Then what should I do?" Ye Luo looked at him with a smile.

"Second Young Master, you should stop them." Fan Shiwei glanced at Bai Xiuzhu, hoping that the eldest lady could give him some advice.

After hearing this, Bai Xiuzhu also felt that the opponent was coming fiercely, and the first countermeasure she thought of was to get there first!

"Brother Luo, why don't you just go to the Kadoorie family and buy the Majestic Hotel?"

Fan Shiwei couldn't help but nod.

Ding Li and Shi Jianqiao were shocked: "Second Young Master, this is 2.5 million oceans! You have to think twice."

Ye Luo didn't want to get involved in Paramount's affairs at all.

But when Bai Xiuzhu said this, he took it into consideration and said with a smile: "That's right. We should negotiate with the Kadoorie family first. We can't let them buy the Majestic Hotel so smoothly."

Bai Xiuzhu hugged his arm and was delighted, feeling that she had finally given him a good idea.

"Okay, Second Young Master, if there is any news in the future, I will inform you as soon as possible." Fan Shiwei did not dare to stay longer and stood up to leave.