1928: The Rise of Giants

Kong Lingjun seemed to understand what Ye Luo said, and could only memorize the knowledge points taught by Ye Luo in a hurry.

Ye Luo called Wang Zhulin and the others to come with the intention of using courtesy before force, in order to prevent them from thinking that he, the dragon that crossed the river, was too arrogant.

As for how to deal with these people in the future and how to play the "burning money" game, this is the homework that Ye Luo left for Kong Lingjun.

He would also teach Kong Lingjun on the spot while implementing.

The next day.

The car was moving slowly along the streets of the French Concession in Tianjin. Compared with last year, there were obviously fewer pedestrians on the road, and the customer flow in various stores had at least been halved. The whole city seemed quite depressed.

All this was caused by the Japanese.

Two plainclothes riots in November last year caused panic among the people of Tianjin. Many people who could afford to move chose to leave the city, including some compradors and foreigners in the concession, who also evacuated this market.

Everyone is afraid of war.

After the fall of the North, the Japanese invaders showed off their power in the northern provinces. Even if you were a foreigner, you had to be submissive in front of them and no longer had the majesty of the past. If you were Chinese, it would be even more miserable, worse than pigs and dogs.

The Belgian Concession in Tianjin was officially returned to the Republic of China last year, with only the Belgian Consulate General still in operation.

The car stopped at a restaurant near the consulate. Ye Luo got out, took Kong Lingjun with him, and followed the attendants to a private room.

Today is Ye Luo's private banquet. When the Belgian Consul General in Tianjin and the general manager of Tianjin Tramway Company heard that it was the famous second young master who invited them, they both gave him face and directly put aside their work and agreed to attend the banquet.

Zhou Longguang also came with them.

He was the first one to arrive at the private room excitedly and sat there early. When he saw Ye Luo and Kong Lingjun coming, he immediately stood up and greeted them.

Looking at his expression, Ye Luo knew that the tram fare increase was really making him unable to sleep or eat.

Zhou Longguang wanted to resolve this dispute more than anyone else, and even came here to serve tea and water to Ye Luo.

Ye Luo sat down leisurely, but Zhou Longguang was very anxious. He waited and waited, and found that the two foreigners had not arrived yet. He couldn't help but ask: "Second Young Master, they won't come, right?"

"Don't worry, no one has ever turned down my invitation. Isn't the time yet?" Ye Luo glanced at the wall clock. There were still ten minutes before the dinner was about to start.

The three of them waited for another five minutes, and the Belgian Consul General Lubya and the tram company's general manager Van Benk finally arrived.

Lu Beiya saw Zhou Longguang in the corner at a glance, and immediately understood that the purpose of today's dinner was to discuss the issue of tram price increase, and the smile on her face disappeared immediately.

He was willing to attend the banquet to give face to Ye Luo, a well-known business tycoon in the Republic of China, and also because of Ye Luo's relationship with high-level officials such as the American ambassador, but it did not mean that he was willing to make concessions on this matter.

Fan Benk smiled and took the initiative to come over and shake hands with Ye Luo: "Boss Ye, hello, hello, I have been to the United States several times, and your company and bank are very famous there."

"Really? Your tram company's business has even expanded to the United States?" Ye Luo shook hands with him lightly, his tone unfriendly.

Hearing the teasing in his words, Lu Beya became even more unhappy. She sat down and said coldly, "Boss Ye, if today we are discussing the tram price increase, then I have nothing to say."

"How can there be nothing to say?" Ye Luo leisurely lit a cigarette and asked the waiter to start serving the dishes. "Isn't this a problem that everyone wants to solve?"

"As a diplomat, my first obligation is to protect the legitimate rights and interests of my country's enterprises here. The tram price increase is to turn losses into profits. You can't let our enterprises keep losing money on your land, right?"

Lu Beya looked at him without giving in.

Although the Belgian concession is gone, the Belgians are deeply rooted here. They have their own foreign companies, a large number of Chinese compradors, connections with all walks of life, and transactions with the Japanese behind the scenes.

He was not afraid of a mere Chinese businessman. If he did not give in, even Zhou Longguang could not do anything to him.

"The tram company makes a profit of 400 million dollars a year. Where does the loss come from? Is it all lost in the dance hall and the casino?"

Ye Luo shook his wine glass and looked at him jokingly.
"It's pointless to say this in front of me, Mr. Consul General. You know very well that this price increase is just to make up for the shortfall of your previous expenses, and it does not affect the company's profits. But such an outrageous price increase has completely damaged the rights and interests of the people of Tianjin City."

"If Boss Ye continues to say these things without any evidence, I will go to the Concession Court to sue you for defamation." Lu Beiya's thoughts were exposed, but she was not panicked at all.

He's right, so what?
Can Ye Luo really stop the tram company from raising prices?
There are only a few trams in Tianjin, but so many people are eagerly waiting to use this public transportation.

As long as they disagree with the tram fare increase, he will not resume tram operation.

See who can outlast whom.

"I see. This is what the Belgian Consulate General in Tianjin meant. What about you, the tram company? Do you think so too?"

Ye Luo nodded to himself.

Fan Benke didn't want to fall out with Ye Luo, the big businessman, but he had no choice.

The interests of too many people are involved here, Consul General Lu Beya is one of them. As a small general manager, he has no choice.

Van Benk was silent.

Zhou Longguang couldn't sit still anymore, and quickly stood up to smooth things over, saying, "Well, this matter is not without room for negotiation, Second Young Master."

"Very good. In that case, let's see who's the winner." Ye Luo patted Kong Lingjun's little head.

The little girl looked at the table full of food and was about to leave before she even started eating, with a look of reluctance on her face.

Ye Luo took the little guy's hand and left, leaving Zhou Longguang in a dishevel and the two stunned foreigners.

After getting on the bus, Ye Luo didn't leave in a hurry, but asked Shi Jianqiao: "How is it, are you ready for the dirty laundry of the tram company and the scandal of the Belgian?"

"Well, the Ta Kung Pao is ready. As long as you say the word, everyone in Tianjin will know it tomorrow."

"Not enough. We need the radio and all those small newspapers. Also, when will the convoy we arranged arrive?"

Ye Luo threw away the cigarette in his hand.

Kong Lingjun sat up straight, knowing that the teacher was about to take action.

She really wanted to know what the teacher meant by "burning money".

Today's banquet, which ended in an unpleasant atmosphere, was obviously the teacher's final attempt to test the intentions of the foreigners and compradors.

She knew that the teacher did this because he would have to spend a lot of money later and he didn't want to waste extra money, so a settlement would be best.

But it seems that this money has to be spent!
"We'll be there tomorrow afternoon," Shi Jianqiao replied.

"Well, let the newspapers and magazines expose these things tomorrow morning."

Ye Luo shook his hands, slowly closed the window, and said with a leisurely smile,
"Do you really think that Tianjin will not be able to function without trams?" (End of this chapter)