1928: The rise of giant merchants

On the evening of July 7th, the Paramount Ballroom was full of singing and dancing, and people were in a state of revelry.

Nowadays, Ye's Dance Company, controlled by Xiao Aqiao, controls nearly 80% of the dance halls in Shanghai. Since Tan Si left Macao with Sunny Day, his Yihuchun Dance Hall, which targets the middle and lower class people, has been doing extremely well. It was also acquired by Yip's Dance Industry and became one of its signatures.

At the beginning, Ye Luo single-handedly created a new set of rules for the dance industry, and completely shuffled the original groups of actors, actors, prostitutes, and dancers regardless of occupation, and formulated a series of professional standards for dancers, and then passed the National Government Endorsements, publicity in newspapers and magazines, over the past year or so, the status of dancers and actors has increased, and the stains on their bodies have been washed away, and they are no longer looked at with third-rate eyes.

At this point, even if they are not part of the Ye's Dance Industry, dance halls of other companies must follow the gold standards set by Ye Luo, otherwise they will be treasonous and cannot be recognized.

In the few months since Ye Luo left, the dancers spontaneously dubbed him the "Godfather of the Chinese Dance Industry" and jokingly called the Black Cat Dance Hall he opened as the "Whampoa Military Academy" of the dancer world. A generation of people came out of it. The modern black cat dancers are now well-known dance queens from all walks of life, and they regard themselves as Ye Luo disciples.

Ballroom dancing, which was not favored by others at first and was even attacked by northern literati, has swept across the country. It has become the third largest form of public entertainment after opera and movies. Dancing is so popular everywhere that even the principal's wife is a loyal friend. He is a fan of dancing and often holds private dances at his official residence and villa.

It was precisely because of the principal's wife's obsession with such extravagant activities that the principal hated the dance industry. Later, a major overhaul of Shanghai's dance industry caused the industry to slump, and it was not until the 1980s that it gradually recovered.

At this time, Shanghai's dance industry was still at its most prosperous.

Tonight, the second young master entertained everyone at the Paramount Ballroom. Even the owners of the Xian Lesi Ballroom across the street, Qiao Jiao Sassoon and his son, were present. Regardless of foreigners or Chinese, it was a big event to gather together.

In the past, only the consuls general of the concession consulates had such influence, but now only the second young master, the number one tycoon in Shanghai, can echo everything.

"The second young master is really good at his craftsmanship!" Lin Kanghou ran over with a wine glass in his hand.

Thanks to Ye Luo's "resistance", he was able to become the vice president of the business group's organization committee. He was more prestigious than the chairman of the General Chamber of Commerce at the time. I don't know how many bosses were looking forward to finding him, and they almost knocked down the door of his house.

There is no need to say how much money Lin Kanghou made by relying on this name.

"Vice President Lin is too complimentary." Ye Luo clinked glasses with him and glanced at the venue.

Today is even more popular than that charity gala, for no other reason.

At that time, only the military and political dignitaries he "selected" could get a share of the pie, and they had to donate money and sign a petition.

Today, Ye Luo wants to share the achievements brought by the United States. At the same time, he will not abstain from eating meat and vegetables, and will not refuse anyone who comes. As long as he wants to become a shareholder, he will accept it.

When he said he wanted to go to the United States to trade stocks, many people were not optimistic about it, and even openly ridiculed and opposed it. More people still felt that Ye Luo was using this name to help the principal collect military expenditures. All the so-called money from stock trading has turned into Artillery shells and equipment of the Rector National Army.

Unexpectedly, more than three months later, he really came back, and he really made money and wanted to share the dividends!

So much so that Forsythia Foot Sassoon and others couldn't help but come over to join in the fun, wanting to see how much money Ye Luo could part with.

Some important figures in the military and political circles actually receive dividends from the United States every month. For example, the principal’s wife gets hundreds of thousands of dollars every month. She feels very happy and naturally supports all of Ye Luo’s business actions. But most people don’t know yet. The real situation of Lowe in America.

If stock trading is really profitable, those who are wavering will also join the big army and contribute to Ye Luo.

Familiar faces in the crowd appeared one after another. They came to toast one after another, greeted Ye Luo and wanted to pry out some information, but Ye Luo casually changed the topic.

After three rounds of drinking, Wang Ji appeared on the stage wearing a high-slit cheongsam, a new-style Victorian underwear and a thong with a bow tied at the top of her thigh. She stepped on high heels and immediately attracted the attention of countless people.

Her beautiful long hair is tied up with a rose-red braid. No matter how the dance industry changes and the Black Cat Dance Queen changes from generation to generation, Wang Ji is still the most popular dancer in Shanghai.

She swayed and sang the famous song "Tuberose", like a charming black cat, performing with all her strength, but her eyes kept glancing at Ye Luo intentionally or unintentionally.

"Miss Wang Ji is even more popular than Miss Ruan Lingyu now. Countless people are willing to spend a lot of money to marry Fangze, but unfortunately they are all rejected by her. I heard that Qin Tongli, the former director of the Nitrate Mine Administration Bureau, invested 3 million oceans in the hope of marrying her as his concubine. Rejected." Ma Yongzhen, who is already the deputy director of the Songhu Police Department, stood next to Ye Luo in formal clothes and said with a smile, "That's 3 million. Miss Wang Ji only earns 300,000 yuan a year, and her expenses are She is still old. I think she must have a sweetheart who made her refuse the temptation so firmly. Unexpectedly, this sweetheart turned out to be you."

"What a good boy, we haven't seen each other for a while, and you're actually teasing me." Ye Luo glared at him, and Ma Yongzhen laughed innocently and continued to report the recent situation to him.

"With Minister Zheng Yuxiu's intervention, it will be difficult for those maggots to stay in our Ye family. I heard that they have been cleaned up now, and they have all been handed over to Dai Li. When I passed by the Intelligence Office these days, I saw the dark circles under his eyes. I want to laugh."

"Also, Jin Bihui, the woman you ordered to monitor closely, is really sociable. During the three months you were away, she managed to establish a relationship with the upper echelons of Shanghai. Zhang Wanlin got along well under her, and seemed to have been with the Japanese invaders. It seems that the Japanese invaders do have evil intentions."

"By the way, the Jinling National Government has officially issued a document blaming Li Guojie's Steamship Investment Agency for the escape of Feng Shaoshan and Tan Si. On July 15, we will cooperate with the patrol rooms and security headquarters of the two major concessions to directly seize the steamship. The China Merchants Building and Li Guojie’s villa.”

"Well, let me know when the auction is held." This is a big show directed by Ye Luo and his father Ye Yuqiao. Li Guojie originally pretended to be an old man from the Qing Dynasty and a wealthy third generation to do whatever he wanted. The key is that he still had the "braid theory" and completely failed to understand it. The Nationalist Government of Jinling looked down upon it and was really stupid.

Such people cannot hold on to the Steamship Merchants Bureau.

Since he couldn't hold it, Ye Luo certainly wouldn't miss this big piece of fat.

There are also some trivial matters about the situation in Shanghai and the Songhu Police Department.

Even though he has become prosperous, Ma Yongzhen has never forgotten Ye Luo's kindness in promoting him. He has always believed that he is a member of the Ye family, so he does everything in the interests of the Ye family.

With his protection, the safety factor of Ye Mansion is much higher.

Just when the two were about to talk about something off-topic, the real protagonist tonight finally appeared.

Ding Li helped Huixin, who was pregnant with Liujia and had some difficulty in moving, arrive late.

Mrs. Rose DeWittbucket's appearance instantly attracted the attention of countless people.

At first they all thought this was the woman Ye Luo raised overseas, but soon, no matter what aspect they investigated, they found that the relationship between Ye Luo and Hui Xin was not what they thought.

This is a native-born Chinese-American, the heir to the Dewitt Bookett family, and the most popular lady in the United States at the moment. Even the governor of New York is a guest of honor!

He is also the real boss of this group of people! (End of chapter)