1928: The rise of giant merchants

March 22, the 17th year of the Republic of China (1928), 8 p.m.

Licha Hotel, grand banquet hall.

Ye Luo walked in slowly wearing a brand new tuxedo and a gold-gilded mask.

At this time, many men and women had gathered in the grand banquet hall. They gathered together, divided into small groups, and chatted in low voices.

Although everyone wears masks and attends in costumes, their identities and nationalities can still be seen from their speech, behavior, hair color, height, and clothing decoration.

Most Chinese women like to wear cheongsams that are slim-fitting and reveal their body curves, while foreign women wear tube top evening gowns or beautiful dresses.

Last year, the massive "Tian Breast Movement" and women's liberation spread across the country. As the largest city in the Far East, Shanghai was naturally the hottest place.

At this time, "prosthetic breasts" (women's underwear, bras) had not yet been introduced into the country, and the women who had removed their corsets were flamboyant and enthusiastic. Some even did not wear underwear, and their bulges were particularly obvious.

"Hello, Mr. Ye, welcome to the masquerade ball held by Citibank." Chen Ruide came over with a shy smile.

He recognized Ye Luo at a glance.

After all, such tall and slender Chinese men are extremely rare.

"Hello, President Chen." Ye Luo took a cocktail from the waitress's hand and nodded in return.

Cocktails are a variety of mixed alcoholic drinks that were born after the prohibition of alcohol in the United States in 1919. Nowadays, they often appear at balls and banquets held by foreigners, and are very popular among the upper class.

"Mr. Ye, this is tonight's 'menu'. You can pay attention to it. If you need it, just contact me." Chen Ruide put a gold-gilt roster into his hand, and then clinked the wine glasses with him.

Ye Luo opened the roster and saw that the attendees of the masquerade were written on it. Most of them were foreigners, and there were only seventeen Chinese.

Ye Luo glanced at it and saw "King of Shanghai Beach Pier" Tan Si written at the end of the list. A thought occurred to him. The advertisement for 2,000 Chevrolet 490s arriving in Shanghai at the end of April was found again!

"Can you introduce this gentleman to me?" Ye Luo clicked Tan Si's name.

"Of course." Chen Ruide glanced at the roster and nodded with a smile.

The two came to a corner of the grand banquet hall. Tan Sigu, who was wearing a Chinese tunic suit, was sitting on the sofa. He was out of tune with this Western-style masquerade.

Seeing the two people approaching, Tan Si raised his head and glanced, and was immediately surprised by Ye Luo's tall figure.

These days, it is rare for Chinese people to be even 1.7 meters tall. Ye Luo, who is over 80 meters tall, looks like he stands out from the crowd, attracting attention wherever he goes.

Chen Ruide introduced each other's identities to them in a low voice, and then quietly left, leaving them alone.

Tan Si was surprised to hear that it was the second young master of the Ye family who had recently been in Shanghai, and looked at Ye Luo a few more times.

"Hello, Fourth Master, my father always talks about Qi at home, saying that if you hadn't managed the various piers in Shanghai cleanly, the labor union in Ala's house wouldn't have been able to do its job well."

Ye Luo raised his glass and clinked it with Tan Si. At this time, Tan Si had not yet opened a pot of spring dance hall. The boss lady did not know where she was serving as a barmaid in the sunny day. The brothers Ma Yongzhen and Ma Daxiang had not arrived yet. Shanghai beach.

Tan Si held the cup in both hands and touched him gently: "President Ye has taken good care of me over the years. Miss Qingqing got married a few days ago, and I saw the second young master at the banquet. Unfortunately, I couldn't have a good chat."

The two of them didn't have many interactions before. Tan Si rose from the grassroots and was deeply involved in the dock business. Due to his own family background, after becoming the king of the dock, he rarely interacted with those tycoons who liked to live in luxury.

He is the exact opposite of Yu Likui.

After chatting for a while, Ye Luo naturally brought the topic to his car rental business.

Tan Si was also slightly startled when he heard that he actually spent a lot of money to buy 2,000 Chevrolet 490s.

"The second young master is so generous! What a courage! When the car arrives at the dock, I ask the second young master to reserve one for me." Tan Si likes to ride in a carriage, and he also has a few cars at home, but he drives them rarely.

He sees the business from a different angle than other tycoons.

Most of the car rental agencies are foreign companies. There are not many cars on the street. Generally, only foreigners like to take taxis and rent cars. They go in and out of big hotels, department stores, entertainment venues and other places.

But there is another huge market for the car rental business, and that is terminal transportation.

Shanghai is a port city. There are more than a dozen large docks alone. Countless ships arrive at the shore every day, some to transport people and some to deliver goods.

When foreigners and students return from overseas, they like to take cars to transport goods. For convenience, they also like to take taxis.

Nowadays, the price and consumption cost of trucks are so high that most companies cannot afford them, and only important industries such as military transportation will use trucks.

Therefore, this side of the pier has the most rickshaw shops and car rental shops.

On the contrary, Tan Si felt that this business was not completely hopeless.

The difficulty is that foreigners have a monopoly, and Yu Likui's rickshaw fleet is crowded at various large docks every day, grabbing business whenever there is business. Over time, the car rental business has been bleak.

Zhou Xiangsheng also made his fortune at Shiliupu Wharf when he started his job as a jobber, transporting foreigners to the east and west of Shanghai.

"Second Young Master, do you mean you want to cooperate with me?" Tan Si listened to his simple narration and unexpectedly found that this Shanghai young man was not as ignorant as the rumors. His thoughts were clear and his expressions were precise. At first glance, he had worked hard. .

"Let's not talk about the terminal transportation business. I know that Fourth Master, you are not able to deal with Yu Likui's fleet for the time being. I was thinking that at the end of April, when the 500 cars I booked enter Shanghai, there will be a lot of excitement at the terminal. Just attract a large number of people to watch."

Ye Luo smiled and said, this is a good opportunity to advertise!

Today is different from the past. In an era when information is relatively limited, any big news can cause a sensation. Traffic is money. The Chevrolet 490 has not been officially put on sale in Shanghai, but it has caused a sensation and onlookers at the dock. Once the reputation is spread, it will Turn into money.

Tan Si is a businessman, so he naturally saw through Ye Luo's intentions at a glance.

Cars are still a fashionable item, but suddenly 500 of them were sold in Shanghai! Just thinking about that scene, Tan Si found it very shocking.

If we cooperate with the heckles and discussions of dock workers and onlookers, then the first wave of advertising will be stable.

"What should I do, Second Young Master." Tan Si was already interested in him.

"When the car arrives in Shanghai, Fourth Master arranges for his people to start a campaign and promote it around the point that 'such a stylish and good-looking car only costs 490 US dollars.' With Fourth Master and your people at the pier, I believe that order will be good and it will not be easy to cause trouble." .”

Ye Luo was sure that some gangsters would come to cause trouble that day. Another reason why he asked Tan Si to cooperate was that he hoped to use his gang power to help maintain law and order in his business.

"That's easy to say. This is not the first time I have done this kind of thing. Don't worry, Second Young Master." Tan Si smiled and nodded, "If Second Young Master wants me to quickly start a car rental business at the dock, that will be difficult."

Just because it's difficult doesn't mean it's impossible.

How could Ye Luo not understand what he meant?

It's just that now they all have a wait-and-see attitude towards Ye Luo's car rental and sales business. If the business fails, they will not invest too much cost and lose money together; if it succeeds, it will not be too late to discuss more detailed cooperation.

"Also, Fourth Master, I want to issue a car coupon." Ye Luo added.

"Car coupon?"

"Yes. I plan to cooperate with Liangyou Pictorial. People who buy this issue of Liangyou Pictorial will get a free car coupon. Each car coupon corresponds to a unique number. Citizens can use the car coupon to come to the pier and wait. When cars enter Shanghai, Fourth Master, you will draw the lottery in person, and the first prize will be a Chevrolet 490."

Ye Luo informed Tan Si of his idea.

"Does this seem to be the meaning of the lottery?" After thinking for a while, Tan Si suddenly realized, "Second Young Master, what a great idea! Binding the car coupons with the Good Friends Pictorial will make the public's acceptance much higher."

"That's right. In the early years, the Qing government and the warlords screwed up the lottery. They secretly changed the winning numbers and made money crazily, ruining the credibility of this industry. Even if I asked the Ministry of Industry and Public Affairs Bureau to directly issue automobile lottery tickets , the citizens will not buy it."

Ye Luo nodded and sighed. These people are fishing for nothing and destroying a good industry. Such short-sighted businessmen are really short-sighted!

"But Liangyou Pictorial is different. It has been published since the 15th year of the Republic of China and has a good reputation. If the car coupon is included as a reward, the public will be more accepting. If they buy the pictorial, they may also win a prize and get a car. Who doesn't willing?"

"Amazing! The second young master is indeed a business wizard who can design a new world amusement park at the age of fourteen." Tan Si nodded repeatedly. He didn't have to do anything, just maintain security on site and reveal the car jackpot.

It would also be a boon to his dock business.

Who doesn’t want his pier to be crowded with people every day and prosperous?

Everything was settled, and with Tan Si, the king of the docks, as his backer, Ye Luo didn't have to worry about someone messing up the car on the day it entered Shanghai.

As for the day of Liangyou Pictorial, just go there and have a detailed discussion with their boss another day.

As soon as the name of the second young master Ye Luo is revealed, coupled with the lavish purchase of a Chinese car dealer with a large amount of money, everyone will give him a little favor.

Thinking of lottery tickets, Ye Luo was angry and laughing.

At the end of the Qing Dynasty, a large number of "Luzon Tickets" issued by Spain in the Philippines in 1896 were sold domestically, and advertisements for "Luzon Fortune Tickets for Sale" were posted in many places.

In April 1898, Spain lost the war with the United States, and the Philippines was taken away by the United States. The Luzon ticket became a piece of waste paper.

However, the Qing government, having tasted the benefits, continued to follow the same pattern and issue various types of lotteries. At first, the winning rate was not bad, but later it became completely shady, which directly ruined the reputation.

In the early days of the Republic of China, the warlords fought in a melee. In order to raise money for military expenses, the warlords also issued various "public welfare lotteries". Similar to the Qing government, they sold dogs' meat on sheep's heads to make money wantonly, and directly stopped this business.

Ye Luo's move can be regarded as a pioneering binding sales model. In an era when later generations strictly controlled such methods of making money, this approach was not feasible.

But it's different now.

The actual controllers of Shanghai Beach are the three parties: the Ministry of Industry Bureau, the Public Affairs Bureau and General Lu.

The order is relatively chaotic, and having money, power and fists is the way to go.

Ye Luo wants to issue his own car coupons, who dares to take care of it?

There are car coupons, leaflet advertisements for publicity and distribution at the pier, window advertisements of Grand Times Department Store, etc. The publicity is sufficient and covers all classes.

These days, the fragrance of wine is also afraid of deep alleys.

"Sir, can I invite you to dance with me?" A tall woman wearing a purple cheongsam suddenly walked towards me.

She is the kind of stunner with an extremely hot figure, big breasts and perky butt. When she steps on high heels and twists her buttocks and waist, her charm is natural and intoxicating.

It's as ripe as a peach, and when squeezed slightly, it's all water.

No "prosthetic breasts", bold sexy cheongsam with high slit to the waist, paired with slender white legs.

When the woman walks towards her, many men's eyes will move towards her.

She gently bent down, stretched out her fair and delicate left hand, and actually invited Ye Luo to dance.

"Haha, I won't disturb your dancing." Tan Si stood up with a smile and left in a gentlemanly manner.

In the masquerade, Ruide Chen has long separated the small groups that want to communicate with each other to ensure that each has a comfortable space to be alone.

The person who came up directly to ask for the dance was the person who had first inquired about Ye Luo from Chen Ruide.

"Why, the second young master won't even reward you with this thin noodles?" The woman bent down and got closer.

The scent of the perfume and the unique body scent come together, and it smells very good.

The voice sounded familiar, but I couldn't remember who it was.

But when the other party named her, Ye Luo couldn't resist the beauty's enthusiasm, so he smiled and stretched out his left hand to gently hold the four fingers outside of her right thumb. After standing up, he naturally hugged her shoulder blades. below.

"my pleasure."

The music on the dance floor just started playing and the lights gradually dimmed. Ye Luo hugged her and jumped toward the center. Only then did he realize that after wearing high heels, the other person's height was almost the same as his own.

"It seems that the second young master has danced a lot in the past six years with foreigners." She raised her head slightly, and her deep and beautiful eyes could be seen through the mask, with an indescribable charm revealed.

"After all, it is the most common social means for foreigners." Ye Luo and she bit each other's ears and talked, quite intimately. This kind of dance and atmosphere, men and women dancing, have that hazy and ambiguous feeling, "Your dance Your skills are also very good. After chatting for so long, you still haven’t told me who you are.”

"Second Young Master, why don't you take a guess? We haven't seen each other for six years, and we occasionally exchange letters. So you can't remember my voice?" She pretended to be displeased and snarled slightly, like blame, more like resentment.

Ye Luo distinguished the sound carefully and became more and more familiar with it, but he couldn't remember it.

"Brother Ye Luo, haven't you remembered yet?" She put her fingers around Ye Luo's shoulders with a little force, and her long and beautiful nails were gently embedded in it.

Ye Luo, who was in pain, suddenly had his memory revived when he heard the words "Brother Ye Luo"!

He remembered who the other party was!

Little Ah Qiao in the west of Shanghai, Lin Ruxian in the east of Shanghai!

She was the last concubine married by Jing Ruishan. After Jing Ruishan died, she bared her fangs and kicked the other concubines out of the house. She used a sum of money to buy the New World Amusement Park from the orphaned and widowed mother-in-law. field!

Lin Ruxian, who was once famous at the Hudong Fengyu Casino, is now the famous female boss of the New World Amusement Park!

"sister in law?!"