latelenovela Chapter 775 The Minister of Military Affairs's Brother
Chapter 775 The Minister of Military Affairs's Brother
Keiji Okita walked quickly and decisively.
Chen Yang had no time to refuse. It seemed that others had also received instructions not to give Minister Chen time to consider, otherwise, who knows what conditions Minister Chen would put forward.
Chen Yang was speechless as he played with the check in his hand.
Of course, the check in his hand was not written in US dollars, British pounds, or Japanese yen, but in gold.
That’s right, all oil transactions are settled in gold.
Neither the British pound nor the US dollar is as hard as gold.
In the entire Shanghai Stock Exchange, only the Imperial Bank, which cooperates with the Monetary Authority, can provide enough gold reserves to purchase oil.
The navy is still rich. Chen Yang sighed and put the check into the drawer.
Ding-ling-ling, ding-ling-ling, suddenly, the phone on the desk rang.
Chen Yang picked up the phone and said, "Joint Transportation Office, what can I do for you?"
Gao Tianjiu's anxious voice came from the other side.
"Boss, there's a big shot coming to Xiaotong Bridge. Do you have time to meet him?"
"Big shot?" Chen Yang said disdainfully, "Is there any big shot in Shanghai that I haven't met? You are making a fuss, Lao Jiu."
"Who is it?"
With a gulp, Gao Tianjiu swallowed hard and said, "The younger brother of the Minister of Military Affairs of the Republic of China, the mayor of your city, Mr. He Yingrui."
"Wow." Chen Yang was also shocked by Gao Tianjiu's words.
The brother of the Minister of Military Affairs actually came to Shanghai? This is Japanese territory. He is really not afraid of death.
Chen Yang's breathing became heavier: "Lao Jiu, why did he come to see us?"
Gao Tianjiu organized his words and slowly recounted the whole story.
He Yingrui came to Shanghai not for himself, but for the people of your province.
He came to buy machinery and equipment from the Shanghai Cigarette Factory.
What your province is most famous for at this time is not its poverty, but the cultivation of various types of opium.
Speaking of opium cultivation, since the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895, foreigners brought opium and poppy seeds to China, causing great suffering to China.
The land in your province cannot grow much food, but it is very suitable for growing poppies.
Especially the Panjiang areas in southwestern Guizhou have the largest output and the best quality, and are collectively called "ba goods", which means the goods from Huangcaoba.
The top priority of successive governments in your province has been to eliminate the opium problem.
However, your province is mountainous and barren, and the main source of commercial economy is the sale of opium. Warlords of all sizes are entrenched everywhere, and the profits brought by opium are undoubtedly much higher than those from growing crops.
Therefore, no matter how hard the government tries to ban smoking, there are still some local tyrants who disobey orders.
The people living in the mountains were forced by these local tyrants to grow opium. They knew that the more they grew, the poorer they would become, but they still grew more.
At this point, it has become a vicious cycle. It is not easy to completely eliminate this major worry.
Since the 15th year of the Republic of China, Minister He has controlled the Yunnan Provincial Army to eliminate bandits and bullies one by one, but the use of force to deter others is only a temporary solution and does not address the root cause.
Farmers also need to eat.
Therefore, in the 17th year of the Republic of China, after He Yingrui became the mayor of your city, he has been promoting the idea of replacing opium with tobacco leaves.
After the Anti-Japanese War broke out, Southwest Associated University opened a school in Kunming. He Yingrui invited experts from the university's agronomy department who were familiar with tobacco planting and drying techniques to go to Guiyang to provide guidance.
Afterwards, he spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to purchase machines. In order to expand his scale, he even spent a large sum of money to acquire the original Youth Cigarette Factory in Yunnan and renamed it Guiyang Cigarette Factory.
However, despite doing so much, their production still could not be increased.
The Guiyang Cigarette Factory produces only six to seven boxes of Yellow River brand cigarettes each year.
The loss figures are completely out of line with the finished products, which means that this cigarette factory is losing money every year.
The cigarette factories in Shanghai can produce up to 300,000 boxes a year, which is a huge difference between the two.
After listening for a long time, Chen Yang finally got some clues.
"So, the purpose of Mayor He's visit to Shanghai is to purchase machinery and equipment from the Shanghai Cigarette Factory?"
Gao Tianjiu nodded and said, "Mayor He wants to contact the Shanghai Cigarette Factory through you to inquire about the location of their equipment."
“They want to buy a set if they can.”
"But they have no money, so they want to pay with cigarettes."
"Yellow River brand cigarettes?" Chen Yang touched his chin and said, "This brand of cigarettes is not selling well in the market."
Not only is it bad, no one wants it.
Chen Yang had heard of this brand before. He was born as a middleman. What were the most profitable things for middlemen? If they were genuine goods, they would naturally be cigarettes and alcohol.
Nowadays, the best-selling cigarettes in the market are Lao Dao, Xiangshan, Honghe and other brands.
Needless to say, the camels imported from the United States are hard currency comparable to gold.
The Yellow River brand cigarettes produced by the Guiyang Cigarette Factory only produce a few boxes throughout the year. Without production, there is no market for them.
Gao Tianjiu on the other end of the phone was silent for a while, and Chen Yang asked curiously: "Old Nine, why did Mayor He come to Xiaotongqiao to buy these things?"
Gao Tianjiu said slowly: "I asked Mayor He's secretary, they learned about the situation in Shanghai through the Osaka Chamber of Commerce."
"I came here by train from your province, and came straight to your door as soon as I got off the train."
I see...
The Osaka Chamber of Commerce is now staying in the southwest to build its business network, and naturally it will have some interactions with senior officials in Yunnan Province.
However, Mayor He is really amazing. He risked being caught by the Japanese and traveled all the way to Shanghai to buy equipment.
I have to say that Chen Yang still admires the other party's courage.
Gao Tianjiu whispered, "Boss, if you think this deal is not worth doing, I will reject it right now."
Chen Yang tapped the table with his fingers, thought for a long time and said, "If we use tobacco as a deduction, of course we can't do this business."
"But, tell them, don't say I didn't give them a chance. I can help them find the equipment and also help them transport it to Guizhou."
"But I don't want tobacco, I want bristles."
"Let them purchase a certain amount of bristles in exchange for equipment."
Gao Tianjiu was stunned for a moment, and said in shock: "Boss, haven't you heard that the pig bristles in Qianxi, Yunnan Province are Mr. Song's exclusive business, and you dare to steal his business?"
Chen Yang said nonchalantly: "What do you mean by robbing? I am giving them a chance now. Otherwise, how can they afford to buy cigarette-making equipment? Without equipment, how can they increase production capacity?"
"This is their only chance. Moreover, if we can cooperate, their cigarettes will also be able to be sold in Shanghai in the future."
"Tell them that with just one word from me, all the tobacco shops on the ground of the Qing Gang can put their cigarettes in prominent places for sale."