1928: The rise of giant merchants

The youngest son of Ye Yuqiao, president of the Labor Federation.

The first of the "Four Young Masters of Shanghai" who is famous in Shanghai.

A genius who used a hundred dollars given by his father to earn a house at the age of ten.

Six years ago, he was the number one scholar in Tsinghua University and studied abroad in Britain and the United States for free.

When he saw the name Ye Luo, countless entries about him popped up in Chow Tai Fook's head. He didn't expect that the youngest and most legendary young man in Shanghai would actually come back on the same ship as him, and he would even come back along the way. Talking and laughing!

Ye Luo turned his head, smiled and said to Hua Mei, who was holding her arm tightly: "Mei'er, uncle Chow Tai Fook took good care of me on the ship. I will take the time to help him arrange a seat. Make sure that uncle eats and drinks well."

"Yes, Second Young Master~ Don't worry, Mei'er will help uncle arrange everything properly." Hua Mei hugged his arm, squeezing her plump chest gently, smiling like a flower.

"Uncle, I'm going in first, remember to eat and drink well." Ye Luo smiled at Chow Tai Fook who was still stunned, then put his arm around Hua Mei's waist and walked towards the hotel lobby.

"Second Young Master, you have lost a lot of weight. Are you not used to eating among foreigners?" Hua Mei Xiaoniao leaned against him like a human. When celebrities from all walks of life saw them, they all moved out of the way, and some of them clasped their fists and smiled. He shouted "Second Young Master".

Ye Luo returned the favor one by one, held Hua Mei's waist and squeezed it gently, saying in a low voice: "Mei'er is talking nonsense again. I have obviously gained a lot of weight in the past six years. When I meet my father later, he should recognize it." I can’t go out. By the way, how are things going at home these past few years, and is Shanghai still peaceful?”

"Young master, of course your Ye family is doing well. In recent years, President Ye has grown bigger and bigger with the support of General Lu. Ala is a big city in Shanghai. Who doesn't know that President Ye is like this among Chinese people." Hua Mei raised her little hand and said: He gently rubbed his thumb on Ye Luo's palm, then pursed his lips and snorted, "But it's hard for Fengminglou in Ala'a. The eldest sister has to deal with those stinky men every day. Miss Qingqing is very happy today." Some days, my eldest sister is sick and can’t come.”

"That's it. Then I'll go to Fengming Tower to see her later." Ye Luo slowed down and nodded slightly.

"Okay, okay, if I knew that the second young master would come to visit, the eldest sister would be extremely happy. Maybe this illness will be cured in a while." Hua Mei pursed her lips and snickered.

"By the way," Ye Luo also smiled, and then his expression gradually became serious, "Who dares to harass Fengming Tower?"

Hua Mei glanced around secretly, put her little head towards Ye Luo's shoulder, bit her ear and whispered,

"Who else could it be? Those three old bastards from Yongxing Company, especially the old bastard Lu Yusheng, are pestering Miss Hu Die and Ruan Lingyu, and at the same time they come to Fengming Building to find the boss every now and then. Sister is troublesome and annoying to death. When the second young master comes back this time, he must help the eldest sister to stand out!"

"Okay, leave it to me." Ye Luo regained his smile and seemed not to care about these trivial matters. The two of them walked towards the center of the hall. They were about to see Ye Yuqiao and others. He lowered his voice and finally asked, "Mei Son, are my father and General Lu still very close in the past few years?"

"Yes, very close." Hua Mei nodded vigorously, and then looked at him doubtfully, "Who doesn't know that General Lu is the number one in Shanghai now? Many people are trying to get involved with General Lu. Is it possible for the Second Young Master to have a relationship with General Lu? Do you think it’s bad for President Ye and General Lu to be too close?”

Ye Luo pulled out the arm tightly held by Hua Mei. The smile on his lips faded, his eyes were calm, and he turned to look at her.

Hua Mei was startled by his sudden sharp look, and immediately realized something, she immediately hugged him with a smile and shook his arm: "Second Young Master~ Meier knows that I was wrong~ I will definitely not talk too much next time, please forgive me. Mei'er, this time~Second Young Master~"

"What's wrong with you? A Luo, why did you bully the charming girl from Fengming Tower after you haven't seen her for six years?"

A powerful voice interrupted the conversation between Ye Luo and Hua Mei.

A tall and strong young man walked in the center of the hall. Although he was wearing a stylish suit and had a nameplate of the Director of the Hudong Office on his chest, he had several scars of varying depths on his face. He looked ferocious and looked even more fierce. Like the eldest brother of a certain gang.

Seeing him coming, Ye Luo reached out and rubbed Hua Mei's head, then walked over with a smile and hugged the young man hard.

"Brother! We haven't seen you for six years, but you still have the same style."

"Hey, it's been six years before I know it! You brat, you're taller than me!"

He is Ye Luo's brother, Ye Hao, the eldest son of Ye who is now the director of the Hudong Office of the Shanghai Federation of Labor.

He was also the first person Ye Luo saw when he traveled to this world.

Close relatives of flesh and blood, deep brotherhood.

There were slight tears in the corners of Ye Hao's eyes. In this era, the communication industry was not developed. After Ye Luo left Shanghai six years ago, they could only occasionally talk on the phone across the ocean and communicate through letters.

After six years of separation, his younger brother who was still a bit young and delicate in his memory was now much taller than him. It seemed that he had completely transformed from a weak scholar into a young talent. Ye Hao was filled with emotions for a while.

The brothers walked in with their arms around their shoulders.

Before Ye Luo could speak, Ye Hao asked a lot of questions in a barrage.

Feeling the strong affection conveyed in his brother's words, Ye Luo's nose became a little sour.

He was 6 years old when he traveled through time and became the second youngest son of the Ye family. He lived with this extended family for a full 10 years.

He already has extremely deep feelings for his parents, brothers, sisters and other relatives, and he cherishes everything he has now.

"You shouldn't go out when you come back this time, right?" Ye Hao asked worriedly, "You also know how much my father was against you going to England and the United States to study abroad."

"Well, I won't go out. In addition to attending my younger sister's wedding this time, I also have plans for long-term development in Shanghai." Ye Luo nodded heavily.

"That's good, that's good. If you sneak away to another place again, I don't know how long my father will keep nagging you in my ears. In the past six years, I have been nagging you a lot." Ye Hao patted him hard. Patting him on the back, he was very satisfied with the answer, "When I come back this time, I might as well go to the Hudong office to help my eldest brother. You have been smarter than me and Qingqing since you were a child. You know, those messy documents in the office, How can I understand it?"

"Brother, I."

"Oh, yes, there is one more thing." Ye Hao seemed to have remembered something, patted his head, put his arms around his shoulders, and said in a low voice, "In the future, try to kiss me less with the women in Fengming Tower, so that your fiancée It’s not good to see it after all.”

"Fiancée? Mine?" Ye Luo looked at him with wide eyes.

Why did he leave for six years and get a fiancée for no reason?

"Yes! I have already promised you! Minister Bai's biological sister, Miss Bai Xiuzhu. Xiuzhu will be 18 years old after her birthday this year. Minister Bai and I agree that you should get married on her birthday, just in time for a double happiness. Well!"

Bai Xiuzhu?

Ye Luo was stunned, and in his mind came a little girl with twin ponytails who followed him all day long and called "Brother Ye Luo, Brother Ye Luo" endlessly.

He smiled bitterly, guessing that his father would definitely arrange a marriage for him when he came back this time, but he didn't expect it to come so soon.

"Dad, Xiuzhu and I haven't seen each other for six years."

"What's wrong with not seeing each other for six years? We can't fall in love after not seeing each other for six years? Then after six years of not seeing each other, I am no longer your dad, but you are my dad?"

Ye Yuqiao hummed a few times and stood with his hands behind his back, his face pulled down at the speed of light.

"Dad!" Ye Luo didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

"Hey, don't take it seriously! If you just run to a foreigner without saying a word, how can I be your father, Second Young Master Ye? You can be my father. How about I call you a few times and listen?"

Ye Yuqiao became more and more enthusiastic as he talked, and a group of celebrities around him looked over with laughter and did not dare to talk to him.

"Oh, Lao Ye! Luo Luo has just come back. Why are you so weird? In the past six years, you have gone to Luo Luo's room the most in the family. Now you have a straight face when we meet. Who are you showing this to? ?”

A beautiful, well-kept woman wearing a beautiful cheongsam walked up on high heels and shouted while talking. A group of people around her shouted "Mrs. Ye".

She is Ye Yuqiao's first wife, Li Shuzhen, and the biological mother of the two Ye Luo brothers.

"Okay, okay, you talk the most nonsense." Ye Yuqiao's face turned red when his disguise was exposed. He quickly interrupted Li Shuzhen and walked towards the banquet hall inside, "You two, come here together."

"Yes, Dad." Ye and Luo looked at each other, understood the smiles in their eyes, and quickly followed.

"Old Ye, if you dare to scold your son again, I won't fight you!" Li Shuzhen muttered in a low voice. She really wanted to have a good chat with her youngest son whom she hadn't seen in six years, but she knew that they had a relationship between men. topic, I had no choice but to drop a harsh word and run to entertain other guests.

Li Shuzhen is from Sichuan and Chongqing. She has known and fallen in love with Ye Yuqiao since they were young. She is the wife of Cao Nang who has experienced life and death difficulties with him. Her spicy taste has never changed, so she is the only one who dares to undermine Ye Yuqiao in public.

"What a loser a loving mother is. If it weren't for your grandma's pampering, how could you dare to run to that Buddha without saying a word?" Ye Yuqiao walked in front with his hands behind his back.

"Dad, I studied political economics as an undergraduate at Cambridge and MBA as a graduate student at Harvard Business School." Ye Luo answered with a smile. Not long after he came to this world, he had already made plans to study abroad and develop contacts. .

Since the first batch of government-sponsored overseas students were recruited in 1872, every few years, Tsinghua Academy in Peiping will recruit overseas students from all over the country to study in Britain and the United States.

Since 1920, studying abroad has become a craze that has swept the country. Poor children rely on it to leapfrog their classes, and children of aristocratic families rely on it to develop connections.

During this period, many students who returned from studying abroad later became world celebrities recorded in history books.

However, in the eyes of most wealthy families, studying abroad is purely unhealthy and not worth promoting.

Ye Yuqiao, who came from a rough background, valued fists and power more. He felt that Ye Luo Liuyang was purely rebellious and wanted to go out for fun, so he always opposed it.

"I don't care what Buddha or sword you have. When you come back this time, just stay in Shanghai, get married to Xiuzhu first, and then go to the Hudong office to help your brother. After you gain some qualifications, you can Transferred to serve in General Lu's army. Do you hear that?"

Ye Yuqiao said hello to other big guys with a smile and told Ye Luo,

"And those women in Fengming Tower, I don't care how many concubines you plan to marry in the future. During this period, you should first fall in love with Xiuzhu. If you dare to fool around there, be careful of your legs."

"Pfft." Ye Hao on the side couldn't help laughing.

Half of the reputation of his younger brother, the Fourth Young Master of Shanghai, comes from his genius mind and ability, and half comes from the famous prostitutes, teahouses and dance halls in Shanghai.

Asking this romantic young man to stop listening to music and drinking is no different than breaking his leg.

"Smile, you are laughing your ass off! You are the same! Qingqing is getting married today, and Aluo and Xiuzhu are also getting married this year. You, the eldest brother, are still fooling around in a gang all day long, and you still have the nerve to laugh here? You have the nerve to laugh? Isn’t it ugly?”

Ye Yuqiao turned around and glared at his eldest son. Seeing that he lowered his head in understanding, he looked at his younger son again.

"Okay, okay, I understand, dad, I will do as you are told and fall in love with Xiuzhu as soon as I have time." Ye Luo nodded like pecking at rice.

"anything else?"

"I won't go fooling around in Fengming Tower either."

"anything else?"

"When you have time, go and help brother handle the affairs."

"Well, I haven't read in vain in the past few years." Ye Yuqiao nodded with satisfaction. After six years of absence, his youngest son has become taller, handsome, fair, and has a much more restrained temper. It seems that studying abroad is not all bad.

"But Dad, when I come back this time, I don't plan to transfer to General Lu's army." Ye Luo raised his head and glanced at the huge calendar hanging on the wall. On the front was a very large poster, printed with the most famous person in the past. The movie actress Hu Die, below, a row of small characters is faintly visible——

March 20, the seventeenth year of the Republic of China (1928).

At this moment, the Northern Expedition launched by the Jinling government was in full swing, but most supporters of the Beiyang government did not feel that the war would end quickly.

Moreover, Zhang Dashuai, the leader of the Beiyang government, is still alive, so the possibility of replacing the King's Banner at the top of the city is extremely slim.

General Lu Yongxiang, the warlord of Anhui Province who has been entrenched in Shanghai for these years, belongs to the Feng clique and is one of the main supporters of the Beiyang government. At this time, he has strong military strength and great influence. Countless people in Shanghai want to take refuge in his name.

Ye Luo knew his father's true intention, but he didn't want to get involved in these things at all.

Because in less than a month, the Northern Expedition will suddenly undergo huge changes, and the situation they are optimistic about will also take a turn for the worse!

Soon, the Jinling government will defeat the Beiyang government and achieve true unification.

At that time, if you have the label of being a monk, it will become very troublesome in the future.

"What are you talking about?! If you don't go to General Lu's place, what do you want to do? Do you know how many people in Shanghai want to enter General Lu's house now?" Ye Yuqiao's face turned dark. In the past few years, he has been Lu Yongxiang has many people around him, in order to allow his extremely smart young son to smoothly sneak into his Anhui army and establish a career.

It was good now. First, this kid went to study abroad for six years, and now he said he didn't want to join the Anhui Army as an officer. He wanted to hear what this kid wanted to do.

Ye Yuqiao looked at him sideways, waiting for the answer.

"Dad, I want to open my own company and do business." Ye Luo looked at him and said calmly.

For a moment, the entire banquet hall seemed to be quiet.