1928: The rise of giant merchants

"Dad, what do you think of that battle in the north? Who do you think will win?" Ye Luo sat up straight. Now that important matters were discussed, he stopped joking.

Ye Yuqiao took a sip of tea, thought for a long time and then looked up at him: "South."

Although he really wanted to talk about the north, since the war started in 1926, the Beiyang warlords have been retreating steadily, and the battle line has almost reached Lu Province. It is only a matter of time before it ends.

"I think so too. And I think there will definitely be a result within this year." Ye Luo held up the teacup, looked into Ye Yuqiao's eyes, and said word by word,

"Next month, something big might happen."

"Are you so sure?" Ye Yuqiao looked at his youngest son. He had made similar guesses when he was a child, and his accuracy was as high as 100%.

But most of them have to do with business and the changes in the current situation in Shanghai.

Ye Luo rarely speaks on politics. As he said at the daytime wedding banquet, he studied business and economics and knew nothing about politics.

This is also the impression most people in the Ye family have on the second young master.

"Well, I'm 60 to 70 percent sure." Ye Luo said deliberately vaguely, and then the conversation changed, "I'm actually more worried about the RB people."

"How do you say it?" After hearing this, Ye Yuqiao also sat up straight.

"Dad, have you read the declarations of the past few years?" Ye Luo reached out to pick up the newspaper on the table, spread it out, and clicked, "When I was studying in the United States, I also asked Qingqing to send me declarations and news reports every month. , the first issue fell.”

Shenbao and Xinwen are currently the two major newspaper giants in Shanghai and the two largest newspapers in the country. Their content covers current affairs, politics, news from all walks of life, humanistic anecdotes, etc. They are what people use in this era when the media industry is underdeveloped. An important way to understand society and the world.

"Nonsense, of course I read it every day." Ye Yuqiao rolled his eyes at him. Although he was not an educated person, he was not so stupid that he couldn't read or read newspapers.

"Looking at today's newspaper, they are talking about the cooperation between Marshal Zhang and the RB people in the north. This matter has been mentioned more and more frequently in recent years." Ye Luo pointed to the political bureau section, "Why do you keep mentioning the declaration? Because? The noise about their cooperation is getting louder and louder. But Dashuai Zhang teases the RB man over and over again."

One of the most famous things during the cooperation was that Dashuai Zhang liked to circle the cooperation agreement between the two parties, write "read", "accurate" and other words without signing it, and then turn around and disown the person.

"You mean, they want to attack the north?" Ye Yuqiao founded the Knife Gang in his early years. He was involved in the assassination business and was very familiar with this kind of thing.

Ye Luo pointed it out. Both father and son knew how much turmoil it would cause if this happened.

Nowadays, various large and small warlords in the north and south are fighting against each other. Many of them were comrades in the same army and classmates in the same military academy. They fought to the death on the battlefield, but in private they were good to me.

Warlords who suffered a defeat or failed in a factional struggle would be electrified and removed from office, but this rarely affected their lives.

At the worst possible outcome, he would leave the area under his jurisdiction, collect his money, and live in an apartment in Tianjin, where he would live a retirement life of raising birds and listening to music.

General Bai ran away last year and became an apartment owner in Tianjin.

As long as there are no huge changes in the Beiyang government and Lu Yongxiang sits firmly on the Diaoyutai, nothing major will happen.

Unless something like what Ye Luo guessed happened!

"So, this is the reason why you don't want to be an officer in General Lu's army." Ye Yuqiao suddenly realized, "Are you afraid that you will be too involved and it will be difficult to escape?"

"Yes, it's not a good thing to be too tightly bound to General Lu, Dad." Ye Luo nodded. This was another important reason why he hurried back from overseas.

The Ye family was founded by General Lu, and was therefore deeply tied to the Feng clan. During the Beiyang government, this was naturally a great benefit and could take advantage of a lot.

But things changed soon.

He didn't want the Ye family to plummet like the original history. In the end, the tree fell and the hozens dispersed, with not many good endings.

Ye Yuqiao fell silent.

Ye Luo's analysis made sense, but he still didn't quite believe that such a magical thing would happen.

Marshal Zhang is the backbone of the Beiyang warlords. With him here, the Beiyang faction will not collapse.

To take a step back, the commander-in-chief has fallen, but there is still a young commander-in-chief!

Ye Luo didn't expect to convince Ye Yuqiao to completely sever ties with the Lu family at once, and that was unlikely.

But as long as he mentioned it once, his father would eventually be on guard and not go to a dead end.

"After the war changes, the pattern of Shanghai will be shattered and reshaped. If the south is completely victorious, the country will enter a new stage. By then, I believe that 'saving the country through industry' will no longer be just a slogan."

Ye Luo was thinking clearly, with a calm look in his eyes, without any confusion.

"Supporting policies will also be released. This is a good opportunity that we can seize. It is much more realistic than joining the army and taking the warlord route as you think."

Both father and son know the ins and outs of the Ye family.

Ye Yuqiao has been fawning over Lu Yongxiang in recent years, just because he also wants to ride on the warlords' melee in the Republic of China.

But how can the road be so easy?

Now, Ye Luo has pointed out a new path, a path that is more promising, more achievable, and more meaningful from the current situation.

"Okay, just think about it." Ye Yuqiao nodded slightly. His youngest son had a stubborn temper, and he didn't think he could convince Ye Luo to give up.

Moreover, after listening to the analysis, Ye Luo embarked on the road of doing business. If he could really follow the trend of the times, it would indeed be better than the current situation of the Ye family.

Although he doesn't quite believe that the RB people dare to touch Dashuai Zhang.

"Dad, do you know what I saw when I came from Shiliupu Pier today?" After talking about the current situation, Ye Luo started talking about something new.

"What?" Ye Yuqiao still wanted to hear his continued analysis, but his younger son obviously did not intend to discuss the political situation in depth.

"I disembarked from the pier, and my companions were picked up by a clerk from the Labor Federation, so I followed. The clerk openly asked for bribes, and he didn't take the orders of the people above him to heart at all."

Ye Luo briefly talked about what happened during the day with Chow Tai Fook and Zhang Hai.

This is a trivial matter at the lowest level. Let alone Ye Yuqiao, the president, Ye Hao, the director of the Hudong Office, would not know about it at all.

But the collapse of a building often starts from these small things.

A thousand-mile embankment collapsed in an ant nest.

"The Labor Federation six years ago had strict discipline. Because it was transferred from the Knife Gang, you and your uncles are very concerned about the image of the Federation. It has only been six years and it has become like this."

Ye Luo sighed and continued,

"I secretly went to the Hudong office in the afternoon. After revealing my identity, they found out that I was from the Ye family, and they showed me the account books directly. Dad, tell me, if it were another Ye family member, such as Qingqing, Mom, or Can the second mother, third mother, and little mother also check the account books of the association at will?"

"Real ledger?" Ye Yuqiao's beard began to tremble slightly.

"I don't think the fake account books will contain the income from the tobacco and casino business." Ye Luo sneered, "In March this year, the Hudong office has lost nearly 70,000 yuan, and the eldest brother doesn't care. Why are they so blatantly greedy?"

"Bastard!" Ye Yuqiao slammed the table angrily, "No wonder they are still hesitant and speechless after asking them to pay membership fees all these years. The business is always so big, but they are still losing money?"

"Yes, the business of the Association is very big, but there are also many people who rely on our Ye family for food. And we are not the only ones in this big family." Ye Luo hasn't checked the Ye family's own accounts in detail yet. He also knows how bad it is.

In addition to their big house, Ye Yuqiao also has three aunts and wives, and seven or eight lovers. By the second generation of Ye Luo, there are more than a dozen people, big and small.

In addition to the various relatives who came with Ye Yuqiao in the early years and later joined the Ye family when they became prosperous, the entire Ye family has at least two to three hundred people.

These are all wine sacks and rice sacks lying on the big tree of the Ye family sucking blood.

"In case General Lu is really electrified and the weather changes in Shanghai, we have to prepare for rainy days. At that time, whether it is to do bigger business or for the future of the Ye family, we will need a lot of money."

Ye Luo rolled the newspaper into a trumpet and put it to his mouth.

"The new official will take office with three things in mind. Once the policy changes, Shanghai Beach may undergo earth-shaking changes."

"I understand. I will personally handle the labor union and family matters. I will also take care of General Lu's side." Ye Yuqiao nodded slightly, opened the desk drawer, and took out the checkbook, "Then you have a plan. What kind of business will it cost?"

"Dad, you agreed, right?" Ye Luo smiled and spent a lot of time, but the effect was still there.

"Growing up, when have I not agreed to what you want and what you want to do?" Ye Yuqiao coughed a few times, took out a pen, and tapped the checkbook, "But support is support, it doesn't mean I agree with you."

"I know. I will handle the money myself." Ye Luo shook his head and rejected the initial funds provided by Ye Yuqiao, "If we take the money from you, when others see it, they will think that we are taking money from the Labor Federation. wash."

"It sounds like if you don't ask me for money, others won't think so." Ye Yuqiao laughed, "Your dad and I don't have a good reputation outside."

"Soon they will know that I mobilized funds from Fengming Tower." Ye Luo also laughed, "As soon as this business is announced, no one thinks you will support me."

"When you said that, I became more interested. What kind of business do you want to do? Is that, what kind of investment?" Ye Yuqiao remembered that he mentioned it during the day.

"Yes, I want to buy a car from a foreigner, and then keep part of it to run a taxi business, and sell part of it to make money." Ye Luoyan said concisely, "The goal has been set."

"Buy a car? Start a taxi business? Sell it out?" Ye Yuqiao asked three times in a row, holding the pen in his hand.

No wonder Ye Luo said no one thought he would support such a business.

That's for sure!

There are currently no domestic car brands in the country, and all cars on the country’s roads are imported from abroad.

This means that the automobile industry is completely monopolized by foreign companies.

When cars are imported from abroad, foreigners have the final say on the sales contract and transaction details.

Foreigners only help foreigners.

Chinese businessmen want to sell cars, but they also have to ask foreign car companies to buy cars. After buying the cars, they have to hand them over to the local automobile dealer association for unified sales!

The actual controllers of the Automobile Trade Association are all foreigners! Where Chinese businessmen sell their cars, they have to pay extra commission.

After all this time, you still make a lot of money?

As for the taxi business, since 1920, a number of taxi shops founded by Chinese themselves have indeed appeared in Shanghai, but compared with foreign taxi shops, they are pitifully small.

Moreover, cars are so expensive these days. People who take taxis or rent cars are either rich or expensive. If they need them, they often go to foreign companies.

As far as Ye Yuqiao knows, those Chinese car dealers are about to close down and go bankrupt!

If the younger son wants to do something bad, he must hit his head on the road to death! Isn't this funny?

"Luoluo, have you ever thought about it. What if, I mean what if your bet fails?" Ye Yuqiao changed his tone and looked at him seriously.

Ye Luo smiled: "If the business is messed up, we can only come back and inherit the family business."

"You did a good job in this business without capital. You took all the benefits, and all the bad guys were taken advantage of." Ye Yuqiao laughed and cursed.

If you lose this kind of huge gamble, you will undoubtedly be ruined, but if you win, you will become famous instantly!

Regardless of success or failure, no one in the entire Ye family has this kind of courage except him, the Second Young Master Ye!

For this reason, Ye Yuqiao is really looking forward to seeing the final results of Ye Luo's investment.

Of course, he himself is not optimistic at all.

"Okay, I really can't support this matter. Fengming Tower is your property, you can do whatever you like, I don't care. Anyway, I don't think this business can be done."

Ye Yuqiao put away his checkbook and added,

"Luoluo, if your investment fails, just come back and inherit the family business as you said, and listen to me in everything."

"No problem." Ye Luo smiled, as long as his family doesn't stop him from doing business, "then Dad, let's make a bet."

"What bet?"

"Bet on whether I can succeed."

"Okay! How much is the bet?"

"Well, let me think about it. Then a piece of ocean!"