1928: The rise of giant merchants

Five days later, in the public concession, next to the Yuyuan Road barracks, the British Army Shanghai Headquarters.

In early 1927, the British concessions in Hankou and Jiujiang were taken back by the National Government.

In order to prevent the same situation from happening in the British Concession in Shanghai, the British government sent 16,000 soldiers (many of them Indians) to Shanghai, built this headquarters next to the Yuyuan Road Barracks, and stationed many soldiers.

It is adjacent to Jing'an Temple and Yuyuan Garden of Ningbo businessman Zhang Qian. Because Yuyuan Garden is densely populated, there is a huge amount of traffic before the four major public parks are free. This road is also named Yuyuan Road to make it easier for citizens to remember.

It is said to be a headquarters, but in fact there are very few soldiers stationed here now. Because there is still a firearms training range here, senior British military officers often come here to have fun.

"Ye, this is the FN M1900 pistol, the king of pistols that was once popular in Europe!" William, the commander-in-chief of the International Business Group of the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, personally acted as an instructor for Ye Luo, and then aimed the gun at the fixed target in front.

boom!

Hit the red heart!

The FN M1900 pistol is the first gun among the "Six Big Guns" and is the famous work of the famous firearms designer John Browning.

In the early 1920s, the FN M1900 pistol entered the country. The gun had a small pistol pattern above the grip patch and on the left side of the slide seat, so it was commonly known as the "Gun Brand Luzi".

In 1919, the Jiangnan Manufacturing Bureau produced as many as 60,000 counterfeit gun brand guns, and the price at that time was about 30-42 yuan per gun. No wonder the arms business was said to be hugely profitable.

Ye Luo picked up his FN M1900, took aim, and pulled the trigger - shoot!

boom!

The bullet is a little away from the red center, which is almost a score of nine and a half rings.

"Good marksmanship! No wonder Sir George said that your talent is enough to join the special operations force." William clapped his hands aside.

This is not an unintentional compliment, but a heartfelt admiration.

During this period, there were many Chinese people who carried guns, but very few of them were truly accurate.

And Ye Luo was able to shoot such good results when he got the FN M1900 pistol for the first time, which shows his amazing talent in firearms.

Ye Luo smiled and continued shooting. After the bang bang bang gunfire, a magazine was emptied instantly. He stretched out his hand, and the envious Ma Yongzhen on the side quickly handed over a new magazine.

After emptying five magazines, Ye Luo put down the pistol and looked at the fixed target.

The average level of 8 rings is not bad.

Nowadays, the undercurrent of Shanghai is surging, and firearms and bullets are extremely expensive. If you want to practice in the military camp, you must have a close relationship with the army. Therefore, taking advantage of the preparations for the charity party these days, Ye Luo asked George to introduce himself to the British Commander. department.

With the commander-in-chief of the Chamber of Commerce of All Nations beside him to lead the way, he would have no shortage of bullets to practice with.

after an hour.

"Second Young Master, it's getting late, we should go to the Dahua Hotel." Ma Yongzhen glanced at the new watch on her wrist and reminded in a low voice.

The surface of the watch was polished by him and looked very precious.

This was a gift given to him by the second young master when the two officially met for the first time four days ago.

"Women rely on clothes, men rely on cars and watches, Yongzhen, I hope you can make a lot of money soon and buy a new good watch!"

Ma Yongzhen could never forget the way the second young master said this with a smile.

He told himself that he must not live up to the second young master's expectations and make his mark in Shanghai!

"Commander-in-Chief William, I'm going to take a step first. I'll see you at the Dahua Hotel tonight." Ye Luo took the towel and wiped his hands, then said goodbye to William with a smile.

"No problem, see you tonight!" William wanted to practice for a while longer, but seeing Ye Luo was about to leave, he quickly grabbed the FN M1900 pistol on the table and threw it to him, "Hey, Ye, don't forget your gun!"

Ye Luo took the pistol and put it on his waist with a smile: "Thank you, William."

This gun belongs to the British Army Headquarters. William just gave it away as promised, so he wouldn't be polite.

After exiting the gate, Ma Yongzhen immediately ran to open the car door, and then drove Ye Luo towards the Dahua Hotel.

Ye Luo was smoking while thinking about the recent arrangements on the way.

In the past five days, the Chevrolet 490 was as he expected, and the sales trend was getting better day by day. Although the advertising effectiveness faded away like a tide, the billboards in the four major public parks were gradually removed and replaced with those of Ye's Automobile Shop and Liangyou Pictorial. New advertisement, but more and more people are buying cars, and the demand for Chevrolet 490 is also increasing.

Nowadays, on the road, you can occasionally see someone driving a Chevrolet 490 slowly passing by.

It shows that this extremely cost-effective car has indeed gradually entered people's lives.

In five days, nearly 100 more cars were sold!

The first batch of 500 Chevrolet 490s arrived in Shanghai. In less than ten days, nearly 400 units were sold, which is completely beyond everyone's imagination!

Of course, except for Ye Luo and others, other tycoons do not know the true sales volume of Chevrolet 490.

Ye Luo's arrangement for Zhou Xiangsheng is to keep 80 vehicles for his own use. The sales will be almost two days later, that is, May 10. Sales of the Chevrolet 490 will be suspended for a while. By then, no matter who comes to buy them, they will say they are out of stock.

This buffer period of more than half a month is the time he has reserved to develop the car rental industry.

The charity gala in a while was a patriotic fundraising event held in the name of the newly established Yip Charitable Foundation. While gathering a group of Shanghai celebrities, it also facilitated him to further discuss business and establish a network of contacts.

As he said to Zhou Xiangsheng before, car selling is not the core business of Ye's Automobile Company, car rental is!

Now, it's almost time to start this business.

Ye Luo blew out a smoke ring and looked at the Dahua Hotel not far away. Unknowingly, he could afford to book a party of his own in such a large hotel.

Ma Yongzhen parked the Ford V8 properly, and there was already a crowd of people outside the Dahua Hotel.

Obviously, this massacre made many people angry and worried, and voices talking about it could be heard everywhere.

At the entrance of the Majestic Hotel, a huge banner produced by Huashang Advertising Company is extremely eye-catching——

Yip's Charitable Foundation Establishment Celebration and Donation Party!

As usual, the little sisters from Fengming Tower act as welcome ladies inside and outside the door. All of them are pretty and charming, and some of them have unexplained relationships with celebrities from all walks of life. They are much better than the service staff of Dahua Hotel. .

A group of celebrities couldn't help but lament that only Ye Luo, the second young master who controlled Fengming Tower, had the ability to force these women to help.

Not long after he entered the door, Ye Luo saw his eldest brother Ye Hao waving to him: "A Luo, come on, come on, I'll introduce you to some friends!"

Ye Hao opened Ye's Security Company on Ye Luo's suggestion. Most of the employees came from the Labor Federation and were his trusted brothers.

Ye Hao was completely opposite to him in temperament. He didn't like reading when he was a child and liked to fight and sneak around. As he got older, he grew from a young and Dangerous boy who only knew how to fight to a powerful gang brother, but he never left that path. way.

Over the years, Ye Yuqiao tried his best but could not get rid of his eldest son's problem. In the end, he simply let him deal with it on his own so as not to cause any big trouble.

Ye Luo was curious about what his elder brother could introduce to his friends. He took a closer look and saw several men wearing long gowns and mandarin jackets standing next to Ye Hao. They all looked to be under 30 years old and their faces were quite friendly.

"Brother, who are these?" Ye Luo raised his hand and greeted them.

Seeing Ye Luo, several people's faces looked much better, and they all raised their hands in return.

"Come on, A Luo, let me introduce you. This is Mr. Huo Ting'en, the current president of the Jingwu Sports Association. His father is the Jinmen hero Huo Yuanjia!" Ye Hao took Ye Luo's hand and started from the left. Go to the right to start the introduction.

He is actually Huo Yuanjia’s son!

At first, Ye Luo thought these people were the descendants of some gang boss, but he didn't expect that his eldest brother could actually come into contact with Huo Ting'en, who was well-known in the martial arts world.

In 1910, Huo Yuanjia was secretly given a chronic lung disease drug by RB and died. After that, Huo Ting'en took over the Jingwu Sports Association and teamed up with his senior brother Chen Zhen to run it better and better.

"Hello, Second Young Master, I have long admired you." Huo Ting'en clasped his fists. He didn't have much respect for merchants, but he heard that Ye Luo was running around raising donations for this charity gala, so he personally went to see President Fu Xiao'an of the General Chamber of Commerce. and Vice President Yu Qiaqing, after many efforts, the party was finally decided.

All expenses during this period were paid by Ye Luo out of his own pocket.

A series of actions made Huo Tingen in awe.

"I heard that President Huo is also working on donating money. Thank you very much." Ye Luo responded with cupped fists.

"Well, compared with the second young master, it's not worth mentioning. It's not worth mentioning. Oh, by the way, this is my senior brother, Chen Zhen." Huo Ting'en nodded. He had a slender figure, a crew cut, and sharp eyes. Powerful youth.

Chen Zhen took the initiative to reach out and shake hands with Ye Luo: "Second Young Master, I was studying in Tokyo a year ago, and I heard many friends at Imperial University talking about your name. It's a pity that I didn't get to meet you. Today I finally got my wish!"

"Vice President Chen, I have heard a lot of your heroic deeds in Tokyo." Ye Luo was quite excited. The few in front of him were all martial arts masters whom he had only seen on TV. They were students at Imperial University. When he was a teaching assistant, he had heard the story of Chen Zhen beating up a samurai more than once, but unfortunately he never had the chance to meet him.

He admired these martial arts masters very much. Thinking that his eldest brother was socializing with these people, he finally felt relieved.

Several people chatted without saying a word, and the hotel waiters also began to bring drinks.

This charity gala was caused by a tragedy. Ye Luo rejected the luxurious proposal of the Majestic Hotel. Everything at the gala was kept simple, no expensive drinks and cigarettes were placed, and the food was as simple and ordinary as possible. Of course, the original budget of the gala was not reduced, so it was saved. All money is put into the foundation as donations.

Hearing that the smoking, drinking, singing and dancing had been canceled for this reason, Huo Ting'en and Chen Zhen once again admired them.

After waiting for a while, the most important ones, Fu Xiao'an and Yu Qiaqing, arrived late. The guests gathered in the hall suddenly poured in like a tide. For a while, there was a constant flow of flattery and crowds of people.

Many newspaper reporters were also invited to the scene. They stepped forward to take photos despite the crowds, and the shutters kept clicking, like a personal interview show between the two of them.

Ye Luo saw a familiar female reporter crowding outside, but she was not in a hurry to take photos and interview her. Instead, she was confused about what she was writing.

"Today, the Majestic Hotel held a celebration and donation gala for the establishment of Yip's Charitable Foundation. All arrangements at the meeting were simple. This shows that the second young master is thoughtful and meticulous. However, the president, vice president and others of the General Chamber of Commerce are just showing off and using donations. Righteousness, honoring one's own name, on this day of tragedy, it is indeed..."

Chen Ruiqiong wrote hard, and the last report about the car coupon lottery was a great success. This time he was sent by the editor-in-chief to interview at the charity gala, but looking at the scene in front of her, she really had no intention of taking pictures.

As time went by, many tycoons also flocked to the event. Naturally, they did not come just to give Ye Luo face. Not to mention that Ye Luo was not important enough in their eyes. They rarely attended such a purely charity party.

This time I came here just to meet Fu Xiaoan and Yu Qiaqing.

Seeing that everyone had almost arrived, Fu Xiaoan and Yu Qiaqing looked at each other, straightened their ties, and prepared to go on stage to deliver a speech.