1928: The rise of giant merchants

The next morning.

French Concession, No. 111 Petain Road, Kadoorie family villa complex.

After sending Bai Xiuzhu back to Bai Mansion last night, Ye Luo called the leader of the Kadoorie family, Lawrence Kadoorie, overnight. After learning that the other party was indeed interested in selling the Majestic Hotel, he proposed the purchase intention.

Lorenz Kadoorie had heard of Young Master Ye Luo for a long time. He smiled brightly and readily agreed to his request for an interview tomorrow.

"Jianqiao will come with me in a moment. Ali, you will stay by the car." Ye Luo walked out of the car door opened by Ding Li, casually tightened his collar, looked at Shi Jianqiao who was a little nervous behind him, and smiled slightly.

"Second, second young master, do we really have to dress like this to meet foreigners?" Shi Jianqiao felt uncomfortable all over, especially the tight and plastic cheongsam, which particularly highlighted her curves and figure. She had never worn anything like this before. clothes.

Ye Luo's attire is also different from usual.

Exquisite and luxurious suits, slicked-back hair, ties, belts, leather shoes and even socks are all from extremely expensive luxury brands. He, who never wears a watch, also got a luxury watch worth tens of thousands of dollars, and his previous low-key appearance has been swept away. image.

"Isn't it pretty?" Ye Luo turned around and asked Ding Li, "Ali, am I handsome?"

"Handsome!" Ding Li gave a thumbs up, "And he looks like a rich man! I think the fourth son of the Sheng family is dressed like this, but his style is not as good as the second young master."

"Watch the reward~" Ye Luo snapped his fingers, threw a few big coins to him, and asked, "Then do you think the sword cock looks good?"

"It looks good!" Ding couldn't help but nodded and gave a thumbs up again, "Miss Shi has always dressed in men's clothing and has a heroic appearance. Now she is wearing the cheongsam that my sisters-in-law love to wear. It has a unique flavor! That's it."

"What is it?" Ye Luo asked with a smile.

"It's just that the second young master doesn't look like the second young master, and Miss Shi doesn't look like a bodyguard anymore." Ding Li was embarrassed to speak too bluntly.

"Oh, it means like a rich young master taking his lover out, right?" Ye Luo briefly summarized, Ding couldn't help but nodded, while Shi Jianqiao blushed and lowered his head, not daring to look at them.

"That's right." Ye Luo took Shi Jianqiao's hand and walked inside.

The two of them didn't know what Ye Luo was going to do.

Shi Jianqiao was mainly worried that if a fight broke out, this outfit would be inconvenient for him to use his fists and kicks. He just wanted to be safe this time.

Entering the luxurious villa, several Chinese bodyguards stretched out their hands to block the way of the two of them.

After Ye Luo showed the invitation, they immediately nodded respectfully and bowed, welcoming them into the villa.

The hall of the villa was filled with smoke.

The huge living room was in a mess, with wine bottles and food scraps strewn all over the floor, as well as many used needles.

There was a long table in the center, and seven or eight foreign men and women sat around it, puffing away smoke and gambling.

"Hey, Mr. Ye, welcome!" A foreigner with curly hair and a decadent face stood up and came over to hug Ye Luo, and then gave Shi Jianqiao a kiss, "Your wife seems a little shy?"

"No, no, no, she is not my wife, she is my bodyguard. She doesn't understand English and has never been overseas." Ye Luo held Shi Jianqiao's slender waist and said in English. It should be because of practicing martial arts all year round. Although Jianqiao's waist is slender, it is very tactile and elastic, and people can't help but caress it back and forth. "Nice to meet you, Mr. Kadoorie."

"Just call me Luo Lanshi." Luo Lan Shi exhaled a puff of smoke. He was not smoking cigarettes, but smoking. The pungent smell made Shi Jian frown, "Bodyguard? You are such an interesting person, Ye gentlemen."

He glanced at Shi Jianqiao, glanced at Ye Luo meaningfully, and then invited him to take a seat.

"Mr. Dodwell, the deputy general manager of Tianxiang Company, Ms. Rie Koizumi, the wife of the finance minister of Nissin Company, and Mr. John Forbes, the director of Qichang Company."

Laurence introduced the people at the table to Ye Luo one by one. They were all the real power holders or their spouses of well-known foreign companies in the Public Concession and French Concession.

The characteristics of this group of people are: they are young, live a corrupt life, and have rich families.

A typical gathering of the rich second generation.

This is also the reason why Ye Luo usually doesn't encounter these people easily in shopping malls.

Most of them rely on family cover and hold important positions in well-known foreign companies, but their abilities are average. Like Sheng Enyi, the fourth son of the Sheng family, they are good at eating, drinking and playing, but have a bad eye for work and business.

To break into this group of people and give Rowlands the illusion that he is willing to spend a lot of money to buy the Majestic Hotel, he has to simply package himself.

These people smoked heavy cigarettes until they were delirious and did not understand the true situation of Ye Luo.

But Ye Luo had spent time investigating them in advance.

After sitting down, Ye Luo asked Shi Jianqiao to pour him a glass of boiled water, took the brand new chips from the maid, and smiled while playing cards: "Luo Lanshi, why are you suddenly planning to leave Shanghai?"

"Haha, to tell you the truth, Shanghai is no longer the main battlefield of our Kadoorie family." Rowlands was not talking about secrets, so he had no scruples, "My father's power company in Xiangjiang is doing better and better, and we will raise When our family relocates to Xiangjiang for development, all the industries here must be sold."

"All of them?" Ye Luo raised his eyebrows.

This is similar to historical development.

The reason why the Kadoorie family left Hong Kong was that they were excluded by the Sassoon family.

Rowland's father, Roy Kadoorie, was the cousin of the "Two-legged Sassoon". His grandfather, Michael Kadoorie, brought his family from India to Shanghai, hoping to receive protection and care from the Sassoon family.

However, "Tiaojie Sassoon" arranged a warehouse keeper job for Michael. His two sons, one is a dock worker and the other is a shipper.

Runs ceramics and tea business in Shanghai. Thanks to the right approach, their goods sold quickly and they earned a portion of their profits.

Frugality, savings, and investment are the secrets of Jewish wealth. They used all the money they earned to buy land, which quickly increased in value, and the wealth of the father and son multiplied.

However, while working for the Sassoon family, Roy Kadoorie, who was in charge of shipping cargo, had a conflict with the person in charge. The situation escalated and attracted the attention of the top management of Sassoon Company.

The end result was that Roy was fired.

Roy was dissatisfied and began to break away from the Sassoon family and start his own business, first in ceramics and tea, and then in real estate. After rising steadily, he opened a large hotel.

The Majestic Hotel is one of the iconic properties of the Kadoorie family.

But Roy was not satisfied with this little business, so he went to Xiangjiang alone to open up new industries.

He was the first to enter the electric power industry. He spent 100,000 yuan to acquire the poorly managed China Electric Power Company, which was on the verge of bankruptcy. Unexpectedly, electric power was getting better and better. In 1926, he was awarded the title of Royal Knight of the United Kingdom, and later received the French Medal. .

With the Sassoon family in Shanghai, the Kadoorie family will never succeed, so it is reasonable for them to give up.

"Yes, what my father means is to take action, including all foreign banks, factories and houses, leaving nothing behind." Rowland Kadoorie nodded, "I haven't let this news out yet."

Ye Luo chuckled.

It seems that Lu Yusheng is only interested in Dahua Hotel.

No wonder.

The Kadoorie family's properties in Shanghai are all derivatives of Xiangjiang, but the development conditions in the two places are different. Many industries are not developing well in Shanghai, except for hotels and real estate.

"If other industries also want to sell, then I am willing to buy them together." Ye Luo said with a smile.

What he really likes is the power plant that is separated from the CLP Power Company.

Electricity is one of the most urgently needed energy sources in the country in the future.

It's just that it's not as bright as other industries now.

In addition, industries such as textiles, machinery spare parts, and military equipment are all good future development industries.

The Kadoorie family does everything, but unfortunately with the Sassoon family there, they are destined to have difficulty becoming big and strong in Shanghai.

But just because they can't do it, it doesn't mean that Ye Luo can't do it.

"Really? Ye! I'm worried about a few properties that I can't get rid of." Luo Lanshi was overjoyed.

The family's business in Shanghai is his future foundation. After he went to Xiangjiang, his father would not give him the business in his hands, but let him bring the capital to start his own business.

If he does not rival his other brothers and sisters in starting a business, his position as the first heir of the family will be in jeopardy.

Therefore, how much money the properties in Shanghai can sell is very important to him!

This is why he gritted his teeth and refused to sell the Majestic Hotel at a low price.

"Let me guess, it should be textiles, electricity and pharmaceuticals." Ye Luo smiled at him.

Lawrence looked shocked and nodded repeatedly: "That's right, Ye, you are exactly what they said, you seem to be omnipotent! How did you guess that?"

These three giants are the main culprits that trouble Rolandz, and their size is not low.

"Actually, it's very simple." Ye Luo covered the playing cards in his hand and pushed the chips in his hand forward. In a short time, he lost a lot of money, "These three industries are the most important ones in Xiangjiang for your family." Good industries, but they are destined to be sold out after you evacuate, and they are precisely the least competitive industries in Shanghai today. The textile industry has the Rong family and the Japanese, the electric power company has the Electricity Bureau, and as for medicine, that is Another major family business of the Sassoon family, Western medicine in Shanghai is now basically monopolized by the Sassoon family."

"Yes, that's the truth." Rowland looked at him secretly, "I don't think anyone is willing to take over these three messes."

"Not necessarily." Ye Luo smiled faintly and deliberately brought the topic back to the Dahua Hotel, "How much do you plan to bid Dahua?"

"2.8 million oceans." Lawrence glanced at him and replied with a smile, "Oh, this is the price quoted by Yongxing Company."

"2.8 million oceans?" Ye Luo smiled.

"Yes, but I didn't agree." Lawrence nodded.

Ye Luo snorted in his heart and cursed angrily: You bastards, no wonder your family will be captured by the Japanese invaders and sent to a concentration camp, and your father will be tortured to death.

Lu Yusheng obviously couldn't afford 2.5 million yuan, so you actually lied to me and said they quoted 2.8 million yuan?

Doesn’t that mean I’m being taken advantage of by buying it for 3 million?

"Ye, I know you have a lot of cash deposits in Citibank." Lawrence smiled slightly, "But if Yongxing Company's bid is higher than yours, you know, there is no way I can't get along with the money."

"Ye is known as the richest man in China. I think he will definitely win." Rie Koizumi pursed her lips and chuckled, then turned over the cards, "Sorry, Ye, I am blackjack."

"Awesome, Ms. Koizumi is very lucky today." Ye Luo said in Japanese, pushing all the chips in his hand to her, "I don't dare to be the richest man. Adding Shanghai Beach to the front is enough."

"As long as you buy these properties, you are the one." Rie Koizumi was very happy that he could call her by her last name instead of calling her Mrs. Nakata like others.

It is their custom that Japanese women will take their husband's surname after they get married. However, Japanese women in China are deeply influenced by women's liberation ideas here and feel that they should also have personality and dignity. Therefore, Rie Koizumi calls herself "Rie Koizumi" to people she knows well. Koizumi, not Rie Nakata.

"What are you talking about?" Lorenz asked curiously, "Ye, you can actually speak Japanese. Let me see, English, French, Japanese, Chinese, what other languages ​​are there?"

Ye Luo laughed: "I know a little bit about it, a little bit."

"I'm helping you promote the company." Rie Koizumi looked at him charmingly, "If this business is done, you will get a benefit from me."

"Haha, of course." Rowlands laughed.

In his opinion, Ye Luo is the most suitable target for sale.

Because his image is more in line with Rowlands's guess about the young rich Chinese.

A typical Chinese young man, young and rich, with a beautiful girl by his side who he calls his bodyguard.

Anyone with a discerning eye would know that it couldn't be a bodyguard.

He became famous at a young age and has achieved many successes in business. Now he and Yongxing Company are eyeing the same hotel. After winning it, he will win regardless of his momentum or strength.

The most important thing is that he is ambitious enough.

From having a long phone conversation last night, to now coming in to play cards and chat together.

Ye Luodu showed a youthful and energetic atmosphere.

This gave Rowlands an opportunity to sell the Majestic Hotel at a premium.

"Ye, the profit of Dahua Hotel exceeds 500,000 yuan a year. Even if it is 3 million yuan, you will get your money back in six years." Rowlands felt that the opportunity had come, and struck while the iron was hot.

A thoughtful look appeared on Ye Luo's face. After a while, he deliberately approached Rolandz and asked in a low voice: "Three million oceans is not a small amount to pay at once. If I offer this price, can you guarantee that I will sell it to you?" me?"

"I'm afraid this won't work. Ye, you know, Yongxing Company also wants to buy Dahua. They have already quoted 2.8 million, but they are likely to continue to increase the price. I can't agree to you immediately. But I can assure you that if their The price is also about 3 million, and I will give it to you first." Lawrence said with a loyal expression, "After all, our relationship is better, isn't it?"

"3 million oceans." Ye Luo did not agree immediately. After all, the other party could not guarantee it. If he showed too much attentiveness, he would be easily seen through. After hesitating for a moment, he did not answer.

Seeing Ye Luo wavering, Luo Lanshi was a little anxious.

Because Yongxing Company is actually unwilling to pay 2.5 million!

"In this way, if you are willing to pay 3 million, if you buy Dahua, I can sell those ordinary properties to you at a low price!" Rowlands quickly added chips, "For example, the market price of a textile factory is 300,000 oceans. I can sell it to you for 230,000!"

"Sell them all to me at 30% off the market price." Ye Luo stretched out his finger.

Luo Lanshi did some mental math and figured out that 30% off 300,000 would be 210,000, which was acceptable.

Anyway, those marginal industries, the actual price does not exceed 200,000, you can make money if you can.

The main things he wants to sell off quickly are restaurants and real estate.

"Okay! Then it's settled!" Lawrence nodded.

"Okay, it's a deal!" Ye Luo glanced at the playing cards in his hand, blackjack, but he folded his cards and shook his head, "I won't follow this one."