1928: The rise of giant merchants

Kong Lingjun seemed to understand what Ye Luo said, but he could only memorize the knowledge points that Ye Luo taught him.

Ye Luo called Wang Zhulin and others to come, first courtesy and then force, so that they would not think that he was too arrogant.

As for how to deal with these people and how to play "burning money" in the future, this is the homework that Ye Luo left for Kong Lingjun.

He would also teach Kong Lingjun on the spot while implementing it.

The next day.

The car slowly moved forward on the streets of the French Concession in Tianjin City. Compared with last year, there were obviously fewer pedestrians on the road, and the flow of customers in various stores was at least halved. The whole city was depressed.

All this was caused by the Japanese.

The two plainclothes riots in November last year made the people of Tianjin panic. Many people who were able to move chose to leave the city, including some compradors and foreigners in the concession, who also evacuated this market.

Everyone is afraid of war.

After the fall of the North, the Japanese invaders were showing off their power in the northern provinces. Even if you were a foreigner, you had to be submissive in front of them and no longer had the prestige of the past. If you were a Chinese, it would be even worse, worse than pigs and dogs.

The Belgian Concession in Tianjin City was officially returned to the Republic of China last year, and only the Belgian Consulate General continued to operate.

The car stopped at a restaurant near the consulate. Ye Luo got off the car, took Kong Lingjun, and followed the attendants to a private room.

Today was Ye Luo's private banquet. The Belgian Consul General in Tianjin and the General Manager of Tianjin Tramway Company heard that it was the famous second young master who invited them. They gave face and directly put down their work and agreed to come to the banquet.

Zhou Longguang also came with them.

He was the first to come to the private room excitedly and sat there early. When he saw Ye Luo and Kong Lingjun coming, he immediately stood up and greeted them.

Looking at his appearance, Ye Luo knew that the tram price increase incident really made him uneasy.

Zhou Longguang wanted to resolve the dispute more quickly than anyone else, and even came here to serve tea and water to Ye Luo.

Ye Luo sat down leisurely, but Zhou Longguang was very anxious. He waited and waited, and found that the two foreigners had not arrived yet, so he couldn't help asking: "Second Young Master, they won't come, right?"

"Don't worry, no one has rejected my invitation. Isn't it time yet?" Ye Luo glanced at the wall clock. There were still ten minutes before the dinner started.

The three of them waited for another five minutes, and the Belgian Consul General Lu Beya and the general manager of the tram company, Van Benk, finally arrived late.

Lu Beya saw Zhou Longguang in the corner at a glance, and immediately understood that today's dinner was to discuss the issue of tram price increases, and the smile on her face disappeared immediately.

He was willing to attend the banquet to give face to Ye Luo, a well-known business tycoon in the Republic of China, and also because of Ye Luo's relationship with senior officials such as the American ambassador, but it did not mean that he was willing to give in on this matter.

Van Benk, however, smiled and took the initiative to come over and shake hands with Ye Luo: "Hello, Boss Ye, hello, I have been to the United States several times, and your company and bank are very famous there."

"Really? Your tram company's business has even reached the United States?" Ye Luo shook hands with him lightly, his tone unfriendly.

Hearing the teasing in his words, Lu Beya became even more unhappy, sat down and said coldly: "Boss Ye, if today is to discuss the tram price increase, then I have nothing to say."

"How can there be nothing to say?" Ye Luo lit a cigarette leisurely and asked the attendant to start serving the dishes, "Isn't this a problem that everyone wants to solve?"

"As a diplomatic official, my first obligation is to guarantee the legitimate rights and interests of my country's enterprises here. The tram price increase is to turn losses into profits. We can't let our enterprises keep losing money on your land, right?"

Lu Beya looked at him, not giving in at all.

Although the Belgian concession is gone, they are deeply rooted here. They have their own foreign companies, a large number of Chinese compradors, relationships with all walks of life, and transactions with the Japanese behind them.

He is not afraid of a mere Chinese businessman.

If he does not give in, even Zhou Longguang can't do anything to him.

"The tram company starts with a profit of 4 million yuan a year, where does the loss come from? Is the loss all in the dance hall and casino?"

Ye Luo shook his wine glass and looked at him jokingly,

"It's meaningless to say this in front of me, Mr. Consul General. You know very well that this price increase is just to make up for the deficit of your previous expenses, and it does not affect the company's profits. But such an outrageous price increase has really damaged the rights and interests of the people of Tianjin City."

"If Boss Ye continues to say these things without evidence, I will go to the Concession Court to sue you for defamation." Lu Beya's thoughts were exposed, but he was not panicked at all.

He was right, so what?

Can Ye Luo still stop the tram company from raising prices?

There are only so many trams in Tianjin City, but so many people are eagerly waiting to use this public transportation.

As long as they don't agree to the tram price increase, he dares not to resume the tram operation.

Let's see who can outlast the other.

"I see. This is what the Belgian Consulate General in Tianjin meant. What about you? Do you think so too, the tram company?"

Ye Luo nodded to himself.

Fan Benke didn't want to fall out with Ye Luo, a big businessman, but he had no choice.

The interests involved here involved too many people, Consul General Lu Beya was one of them, and as a small general manager, he had no choice.

Fan Benke was silent.

Zhou Longguang couldn't sit still anymore, and quickly stood up to smooth things over, saying: "Oh, this matter is not without room for negotiation, Second Young Master."

"Very good, in that case, let's see for ourselves." Ye Luo patted Kong Lingjun's head.

The little girl looked at the table full of dishes, and she was about to leave before she even started eating, looking reluctant.

Ye Luo took the little girl's hand and left directly, leaving Zhou Longguang in a mess and the two foreigners in shock.

After getting on the car, Ye Luo did not rush to leave, but asked Shi Jianqiao: "How is it, are the black materials of the tram company and the scandal of the Belgian ready?"

"Well, the Ta Kung Pao is ready, as long as you say a word, everyone in Tianjin will know it tomorrow."

"Not enough, the radio, and those miscellaneous tabloids, are all used. In addition, when will the convoy we arranged arrive?"

Ye Luo threw the cigarette in his hand away.

Kong Lingjun sat up straight, knowing that the teacher was going to take action.

She really wanted to know what the teacher meant by "burning money".

Today's unhappy banquet was obviously the teacher's last attempt to test the intentions of the foreigners and compradors.

She knew that the teacher did this because the money would be burned up in the future, and he didn't want to waste more money, so it would be best to reconcile.

But it seems that the money has to be burned!

"It will arrive tomorrow afternoon." Shi Jianqiao replied.

"Well, let the newspapers and magazines expose these things tomorrow morning."

Ye Luo shook his hands, slowly closed the window, and smiled leisurely,

"Do you really think that Tianjin City will not be able to move without the tram?" (End of this chapter)