Rise of the Argentine Empire

While Cross was conquering America and winning over the people of New York, Saint-Herse was enjoying a hot pot at Old Chen's house, living the good life.

This was a completely new way of eating that Old Chen had never experienced in the first half of his life. Saint-Herse, pretending it was a family tradition, claimed it was a hot pot style he created himself, originating from the hot pot chain stores in the Sichuan region of later generations.

It's perfect for people who like spicy food and those who don't to enjoy hot pot together. The chicken soup base is clear and white. Use chopsticks to pick up a slice of beef, swish it in the hot soup, and after a few seconds, put it in your mouth. This is a light way to eat, preserving the original flavor.

The spicy side is stir-fried with ingredients such as butter, chili peppers, and rattan peppercorns. The soup base excels in its rich spiciness, the spiciness stimulates the mouth, and hot sweat flows all over the body. It excels in one word—爽 (shuang - invigorating).

You can also use sauces to create your favorite flavors. Add basic seasonings such as sesame, soy sauce, chopped coriander, and minced garlic to the plate, because sauces like fermented bean curd and oyster sauce are not common locally, with only a few varieties available.

Saint-Herse mostly uses the light eating method, as the fresh ingredients are enough to stimulate their own flavor.

The weather in Cordoba is also very suitable for hot pot. Saint-Herse bought mutton, beef, chicken, various vegetables, mushrooms and other ingredients from the market. Old Chen's excellent knife skills cut the ingredients into thin slices for a feast.

By the way, Old Chen is no longer living alone. He has brought his eldest son's family of three to Cordoba.

Chen's eldest son is called Chen Fuqiang, a rather "rustic name", and is an honest and reliable person, who works very hard, already in his thirties.

This time, in addition to Old Chen's son, he also brought Old Chen's two grandsons with him.

They departed from the Peruvian port by passenger ship, went south around Chile, then passed through the Strait of Magellan, and finally went north to Buenos Aires before officially entering Argentina. Finally, they took a train to Cordoba, experiencing hardships and traveling through many cities and ports. They arrived in early February, when Saint-Herse had just arrived in Cordoba and was preparing for exams.

On the table was a mandarin duck hot pot, which Saint-Herse had customized from a hardware store in the city. On the left was Argentina's special red chili peppers, and on the right was clear chicken soup. The aroma was very captivating, allowing Saint-Herse to continue indulging in it.

A group of four old and young men were enjoying the hot pot, shirtless. After all, when eating hot pot,

you definitely need some white liquor. However, since the last blackout, Saint-Herse has given up white liquor and now only drinks soda and locally produced ginger beer. Ginger beer has no alcohol content and is a local flavored drink suitable for children and ladies.

Old Chen's alcohol tolerance is unquestionable. He starts with tequila. Old Chen still drinks with moderation and does not overindulge, so Saint-Herse is relatively relieved.

The group ate and chatted. This time, they weren't using Cantonese anymore. When in Rome, do as the Romans do. They were all speaking Spanish.

After chatting for a while, not long after,

"Old Chen's son, I heard that you also let the two little kids work in a restaurant?" Saint-Herse watched the two little guys gobbling up food, wondering how long it had been since they had eaten meat, afraid they would burn themselves.

Old Chen told him to quickly send his two grandsons to school, but Old Chen's son refused, and Old Chen had no way to change his mind. When children grow up, they are beyond their father's control.

Okay, he still likes to pursue his own life, so he should be supported.

"That's not right. Little kids should focus on studying. How about I help you find a school for them to enroll in? Although learning a skill is never wrong, they should still go to school at this age, so they can have a decent job in the future..."

Saint-Herse couldn't help but say. It's not that Saint-Herse is just a nice guy, but Old Chen's cooking is indeed delicious, and Old Chen is an old friend Saint-Herse met when he came to this world, so he definitely has to help with this small favor.

"Look at me, I'm so old and I still have to go to school, although being a chef is actually pretty good..." Saint-Herse added, then swished a slice of fatty beef. Hmm, it's really a delicious treat.

"Actually, I also want the kids to go to school... it's just..." Old Chen's son stammered for a long time without saying a word.

"What are you mumbling about? Speak up if you have something to say," Saint-Herse was getting anxious for him, and quickly took a sip of soda to calm his nerves.

"I'm afraid they'll be bullied... They can be taken care of by fellow villagers in the restaurant." The two little devils also stopped eating.

"Uncle, we also want to go to school... I don't want to work," the two little guys had tears in their eyes. They were both under ten years old. Damn, this is child labor. Saint-Herse is determined to help with this.

"We should send our grandsons to school. If they don't study, they won't be successful in the future," Old Chen, who hadn't spoken, said. No matter how poor we are, we can't be poor in education. A true saying.

"Okay, enough nonsense. I'll send them to school tomorrow. I've decided. I'll have Aragon contact them. Don't worry about being bullied," Saint-Herse directly made the decision, regardless of Old Chen's son's objections.

"That... thank you so much. We should send them to school." Old Chen's son finally relented. Sometimes he doesn't listen to his family, but when outsiders say a few words, he's willing to listen. It's often like that.

"Yay, we're going to school!" The two little kids jumped up excitedly.

"Also, didn't you want to be a construction worker? I'll find you a factory to be responsible for renovating and remodeling. I'll pay you a salary," Saint-Herse stopped eating and said seriously. The Plarrie factory does need a construction worker. Many places need to be renovated, but there's no time and energy to set up a construction team for now. We'll do it when we have time.

"Really?! Wouldn't that be inappropriate?" Old Chen's son's eyes lit up, like a hungry wolf showing its green eyes in the night, then he deflated and asked softly.

"It's true. You go report tomorrow. You know Qingyun, right? Just find him. Continue eating, come on, let's have a toast," Aragon raised his glass, the two little devils also picked up their drink cups, Old Chen had tequila, and Old Chen's son didn't drink alcohol, picking up soda.

"Hey, it's still great to have hot pot. Old Chen, how's your vegetable selling business lately? Have those little ruffians been bullying you?" Saint-Herse ate a peanut, crunchy and delicious.

"It's gone. I heard the police department arrested all the gangsters. The Durant Market is very peaceful now, and everyone is very happy. I heard it was done by someone named Cohen. He's a really great guy."

"Hehe, that's good," Saint-Hesse thought to himself, feeling secretly pleased.

The group happily ate and drank from afternoon until dark.

… …

When passing by the shop, the shop was dark, and the weaving machines in the workshop were silent. Aunt Lin Yun was nowhere to be seen.

Saint-Hesse knocked on the door and went in, seeing Aunt Lin Yun knitting a sweater listlessly.

After Saint-Hesse greeted her, they chatted for a while, and he learned the whole story.

It turned out that after Lin Yun's clothing factory finished Saint-Hesse's order, it was on the verge of bankruptcy. Without new orders, it faced the crisis of dissolution.

Because Argentina really lacks the tradition of clothing manufacturing, he also felt a little guilty for his previous overconfidence.

The ladies in the production workshop lost their opportunity for part-time work. Now that Saint-Hesse has cash on hand, he plans to acquire this garment workshop and modernize and standardize it, increasing competitiveness while also increasing employment opportunities.

Argentina is actually very suitable for developing the clothing industry. It has a very large cotton planting area and is one of the world's major cotton producers.

Domestically, it is mainly located in the Chaco Province and Santa Fe Province in the northeast, as well as Santiago del Estero Province. The cotton output of these three provinces accounts for more than 90% of the country's cotton production, and it is very close to Cordoba Province.

Argentina is also one of the three major wool production bases in the world, mainly from the Pampas grasslands near Cordoba and the Patagonia region in the south, which is very convenient.

Therefore, Cordoba is also very suitable to become a textile industrial base, located in the central region of the country, with convenient transportation, and can be transported by water and land to Buenos Aires downstream for export to Western Europe and the United States.

However, currently, most of Argentina's wool and cotton are exported as primary raw materials. In terms of export composition, Argentina is currently a country similar to Middle Eastern oil countries, mainly exporting primary processed products.

The craftsmanship of the ladies in the garment workshop is not a problem. The problem lies in the orders, and sales have gradually become Saint-Hesse's strength. In Argentina, he already has one of the strongest sales teams. The Plarrie factory's soda and Little Knicks' Buenos Aires sales company are very competitive.

Starting as an OEM factory is very suitable. Argentina is a country of immigrants and is naturally suitable for dealing with the Western European market. The first step can be to explore the Western European market. Jeans, shirts, jackets, dresses, and coats all have very large markets.

Therefore, Saint-Hesse acquired Lin Yun's entire garment workshop and formally established a textile factory and a clothing factory.

The textile factory produces cotton and wool fabrics, while the garment workshop, as the acquired entity, establishes a clothing factory. Aunt Lin Yun is still responsible for the clothing factory, and she is paid a salary. Currently, they do not have the management skills of a modern factory and can only be trained first.

Saint-Hesse is quite dissatisfied with the fact that Argentina currently only exports cotton and wool. The profit is too low. Developing his own clothing factory and textile factory will greatly attract population and promote the development of the city of Cordoba in the future.

Saint-Hesse already has some feelings for the city of Cordoba and hopes to do his part.

A powerful textile group in the future can at least drive tens of thousands of jobs, generate hundreds of millions of pesos in tax revenue each year, and accommodate a considerable number of people for employment. It will also have a larger pool of votes. If Aunt Lin Yun and the others intend to establish their own clothing factory in the future, Saint-Hesse will gladly accept and support them.

Of course, his main energy will not be placed on factories like textile factories. He will only put in more effort in the overall strategy and initial investment. First, he will train Aunt Lin Yun to be a qualified factory director to manage. If it is really not suitable, he will see if there is a suitable one from the soda factory. Being a hands-off shopkeeper is what Saint-Hesse wants to do.

As for the growing pains of the clothing industry, they are inevitable. Saint-Hesse can only try to improve employee benefits while taking into account profits. But if someone tries to threaten Saint-Hesse with the management methods of Argentina's pitiful President Peron, then he can only say that he is very sorry. He would rather disband than accept threats at home.

The road ahead is still very long. Saint-Hesse's third industry, the textile and clothing industry, has also begun its faltering first step.

After some thought, Saint-Hesse tentatively named the textile factory and the clothing factory Blue Cloud. The employees of the original garment workshop who were laid off were all recruited back.

"Auntie, recruit all those people back and retrain them. I want to establish a modern factory, and the wages will be higher than in the past."

"Of course, you can also work part-time, but the wages will be much lower."

"I will tell them," Aunt Lin Yun said with a happy face. At least the sisters can continue to work. After the original garment workshop had no orders, she had no choice. Her husband was very dissatisfied with her showing her face in public, and it was basically impossible to find a job in the city. Now this problem has been solved.

The Blue Cloud Clothing Factory is temporarily set up in a small factory building rented near Chinatown, starting with making uniforms. It is easy to get orders. Fortunately, the little commander is still in power. The uniforms and shirts for these six thousand soldiers, at least two or three sets per person, can be easily obtained.

The female workers in the clothing factory have experience in making work clothes and can quickly get started. Anyway, Saint-Hesse's quotation is low enough. If it really doesn't work, there are other orders, so there is no need to worry.

The Blue Cloud Textile Factory is still located in Maria Town, because the textile factory also has some pollution. Saint-Hesse imported a complete set of textile production lines from the United States, which is still sailing in the Atlantic Ocean. If it is in place, it can be put into production soon, and Brother Chen will also have something to do.

Saint-Hesse plans to build a brand new factory building near the Maria plastic factory. At that time, he can let Brother Chen organize a decoration engineering team to be responsible for the decoration and masonry work.

When he returned home, it was already seven or eight o'clock in the evening. Saint-Hesse called Mr. Erut, the principal of the original private school, and asked him to help arrange for Brother Chen's two children to enter the local elementary school. Money is easy to talk about. Principal Erut immediately agreed to this matter and asked Saint-Hesse to bring the children to school tomorrow. Saint-Hesse said he would send someone to meet them.

He has other things to do tomorrow, so he will let Aragon take two people to take Brother Chen's children to school and keep an eye on them for a few days. Just pick them up and drop them off at school. He believes that no one will bully the two new students. If there really is, he can only teach these naughty children a lesson for their parents.