Film and Television: Starting from the Journey to Guandong

Chapter 85 Magic City (6k, please subscribe!)
"Xian'er, why don't you go home with me and admit your mistake to your parents? Speaking of which, I am also responsible."

Wei Chunfang felt uncomfortable when she saw Xian'er's expression was gloomy.

"No need, Mom, that's it. As long as they are all well, I will comfort them."

"Hey, this kid, his father, please say something!" Wei Chunfang didn't know how to show her kindness, so she could only let Zhu Kaishan make the decision.

"What did I say? We all listen to Xian'er on this matter. After all, it's her parents. But Xian'er, I will send someone to visit your home later and give you some money as a gift. Back then, you followed the Chuanwen and traveled to Guandong. I didn’t even pay a decent betrothal gift, dad, I feel really bad.”

Xian'er said hurriedly:
"Dad, please don't say that. This is of my own free will."

"Son, listen to me on this matter. You write a letter and tell your family about your current life. I will send someone to send it with a few gold bars to let your parents know that you are with our Lao Zhu. The family has not suffered a loss and is living a good life.”

Xian'er's tears welled up, and she didn't know whether they were sad or moved.

Zhu Chuanren said:

"Okay, pack your mind and go back to tidy up. You don't need to bring too many clothes. You can just buy them when you get there. Try to pack as light as possible."

Zhu Kaishan echoed:
"San'er is right. The journey this time is too far and it's inconvenient to carry heavy luggage. Don't be reluctant, just bring your valuables."

Zhu Chuanwen was unhappy again:

"No, it sounds like I really want to leave!"

"What are you saying? If you don't want to leave, just stay. No one is forcing you!" Zhu Kaishan retorted angrily.

"Dad, I can't give my opinion anymore?"

"Your opinion is reserved. Now that the whole family has unanimously approved it, your vote is invalid!"

Everyone laughed out loud. Not to mention, Chuanwen still had a great talent for comedy.

Now that the decision was made, everyone had nothing to hesitate and started packing their bags.

We are about to embark on a new journey, and we cannot hide our expectations and curiosity about the unknown.

After discussing with his family, Zhu Chuanren called He Taisheng and Xia Yuanzhang together to talk about what happened after going to Shanghai.

"Gang Leader He and Shopkeeper Xia, this action is related to the future rise and fall of our three families, so we must be fully prepared."

Xia Yuanzhang nodded:
"I have already sent people to Shanghai to set up front stations. We are just waiting for us to get there before we can recruit people and start work."

Taisheng He was stunned for a moment:

"What factory?"

Xia Yuanzhang suddenly realized:
"I forgot to mention that going to Shanghai was Chuanren's plan two years ago, so we sent people there early and set up a factory. The machinery and equipment have been put in place one after another, and we are just waiting for the raw materials and workers to arrive. , production can start.”

Mrs. He became interested:
"What factory? I wonder if I have a chance to join?"

Zhu Chuanren smiled:

"Since I asked you to come here, I must want to get you to partner up."

"Haha, I know you are interesting, brother. I can't get anyone here, so I'll just pay for it."

Zhu Chuanren nodded and said:

"Then let's re-determine the shares. Our Zhu family will hold 7%, Gang Leader He will hold 2%, and Shopkeeper Xia will hold 1%. In addition, Shopkeeper Xia will be responsible for the specific operations and will receive a generous salary at the factory."

He Taisheng nodded:
"I'm fine with that, sugar factory? I don't really understand."

"It mainly uses imported cane sugar for deep processing to make candies, sugar cubes and the like."

He Taisheng waved his hand:

"I don't understand, but I believe in Brother Chuanren's vision. What he sees must be right."

"He Gang Leader, I just want to discuss it with you. It would be a pity not to use your resources in Caobang. Shanghai is an international city. After it opened to the world, its commerce is very developed, so shipping accounts for a very large proportion. Heavy."

Taisheng He quickly answered:
“You want me to get into shipping?”

"Yes! But we mainly focus on passenger transport. Freight transport is easy to be targeted by various countries, so passenger transport is much more relaxed."

"It makes sense, but if you want to do shipping, the cost you need to invest is not a small amount. With our net worth, I'm afraid we won't be able to afford it."

"There's no rush. Let's check it out first. I'll figure out how much money is needed. However, I hope Gang Leader He can support this business and be responsible for external operations. After all, you are from the Caobang and you have this reputation."

He Taisheng waved his hand:
"That's not a problem. As long as the money is in place, leave the rest to me."

"Okay! Let's make it this way. The shares will still be distributed according to 7:2:1."

"Row!"

The deep processing of sugar, coupled with ship passenger transportation, and walking on two legs at the same time should ensure that they can gain a firm foothold in Shanghai.

As for how far it will go in the end, we have to see as it develops. After all, plans cannot keep up with changes.

A month later, Chuanwu took the escort brothers and embarked on a long journey in the name of escort.

Three months later, Zhu Kaishan took the Manchurian Railway train with three families, old and young, and headed straight to Palmshun Port, where He Taisheng had already packed up and followed Caobang's cargo ship south.

Five months later, Zhu Chuanren, He Taisheng, and Xia Yuanzhang emptied all their properties and left Yuanbao Town quietly.

1916, French Concession, Masnan Road.

This road full of French plane trees will become a famous internet celebrity road in the future.

The public administration built this road and named it Masnan Road in memory of the popular musician Le Masnan, the author of "Meditations".

This is actually where the French Concession expanded. Originally, it was not owned by the concession.

However, building cross-border roads is a common tactic used by Western countries to illegally expand concessions. The Gauls are not the first country to build cross-border roads in the magical capital.

In the 60s, large-scale cross-border road construction was carried out in the public settlement. For example, Jing'an Temple Road was built across the boundary of the public settlement.

There is no doubt that building roads across the boundary was legally illegal at the time, and the concession had no management rights.

Legally, concession expansion can only be carried out after consultation with the authorities. In theory, there is still the possibility that the authorities will refuse to expand the concession.

However, the French Concession was the first to use cross-border road construction as an excuse to expand the boundary of the concession. This officially gave the concession the management rights over the cross-border roads, which greatly stimulated the two concessions to build cross-border roads.

The expansion of the French Concession can be said to be slower than that of the Public Concession.

Sixteen years ago, the public concession had completed two expansions, with a total area of ​​16 square kilometers.

Although the French Concession at this time had been expanded twice, its total area was only more than [-] acres, less than one-tenth of the public concession.

One of the reasons for the slow expansion of the French Concession is that its expansion direction is similar to that of the Public Concession. Many British expatriates live there, which makes Britain always protest against France from time to time.

Against this background, the French Concession had no choice but to postpone official boundary expansion and instead turn its attention to cross-border road construction.

In the past 12 years, a total of 24 roads have been built across the French Concession.

Two years ago, the authorities were forced to admit that the French Concession was expanded to more than [-] acres, more than six times the previous area.

Starting from this, cross-border road construction officially became a means of expanding concessions in a practical sense, and cross-border road construction areas became "quasi-concessions."

The public settlement was greatly encouraged by this and carried out large-scale cross-border road construction operations in the next 20 years. The cross-border road construction area in the public settlement reached [-] acres, even exceeding the area of ​​the public settlement itself.

The large-scale expansion of the French Concession coincided with the first global war, and the following October, a large number of Mao Xiong nobles and wealthy businessmen came to the Magic City and chose to build luxurious mansions in the French Concession.

At the same time, because commerce was more developed in the public concessions, civilian residential areas such as factory areas and worker residential areas appeared.

There are also more Shikumen houses in the public concession than in the French Concession.

Different from the busy banks, foreign companies and low-cost housing in the public concession, the French Concession is represented by the cafes and bakeries on Joffre Road and the towering plane trees on both sides of the road.

The beautiful French Concession has also attracted British and American people who work and do business in the public concession as well as local wealthy people to build residences and mansions. The French Concession has gradually become a recognized high-end residential area in Shanghai.

Among them, the newly listed Zhu Mansion is located on Masnan Road.

It is an exquisite Mediterranean-style Western-style building, covering an area of ​​more than 6900 square meters, with a construction area of ​​1350 square meters. It is a three-story building. The residential facade adopts a gentle green tile roof, which is very elegant and delicate.

The land was bought by Zhu Chuanren, and the house was designed by a professional architect based on his suggestions.

The walls are made of brushed cement, the gentle double-slope roof is decorated with continuous small arches, and the stairwell has continuous round arch windows.

This garden house also lies quietly on the green lawn. Due to Zhu Chuanren's suggestion, the shape of the house has a more or less modern graphic design, highlighting the living function, and the layout tends to be free.

When designing, the architect emphasizes three-dimensional composition, pays attention to the geometric balance of body shape and the contrast between reality and void on the facade, emphasizes the flow of indoor space and the combination of internal and external space, and strives to make the house close to nature.

This house faces south and has a spacious open-air balcony on the south side. The lower eaves are covered with beautiful patterns of Spanish coupons.

The entire building has bright and soft colors and is filled with a strong Spanish architectural style.

The architect is a master of geometric lines, and this garden house can see all kinds of smooth lines: straight, curved, and zigzag.

And these lines form various shapes: long, round, polygonal;
Colonnades, balconies, windows, and roofs have vertical heights, horizontal widths, straight lines, and ups and downs on the facade.

The thick cornices and solid balcony lines show the solidity of the building, while the thin decorative lines show the liveliness of the building.

Especially the large and small arc lines, whether it is the outdoor facade shape, details, or the arc-shaped stairs and arc-shaped long windows in the indoor stairwell, create a soft and changing space.

These undulating, wide and varying lines set off and restrict each other, just like the flowing notes in a serenade, gathering into "solidified music".

The building plan is three bays, and the semicircular plane at the west end echoes the semicircular plane in the middle stairwell on the north.

Stairs and a foyer are arranged on the east side of the ground floor, with a small bathroom and study room on the left and right.In the middle, there is a stairwell hall and a large platform leading to the garden.

The dining room, kitchen and garage are located on the west side.

There are three bedrooms on the south side of the second floor, and the middle bedroom has a large balcony.

On the northwest side are storage rooms and servants' rooms.

There are two bedrooms on the south side of the third floor, one of which is connected to the dressing room, and the other is connected to the semicircular balcony.

On the northwest side are a storage room, a servant's room and a large terrace.

The most important thing is that in the front and rear gardens of more than 3000 square meters, the French plane trees are like natural guards, wrapping the entire courtyard to ensure the privacy of the inner house to the greatest extent possible.

Previously, this old bungalow belonged to a German comprador, but due to the war, the newly built bungalow that had not been lived in for a day was given to Zhu Chuanren at a low price, and he cashed out and returned to China.

Or it can be said that life is a matter of life, and Zhu Chuanren has a good life. Whatever he wants, God will always give it to him in various ways.

Originally, he wanted to use a large amount of money for investment. When could he not buy a bungalow?

But I was so lucky. I was able to acquire such a brand-new and gorgeous bungalow for less than half the price. It was like a pie falling from the sky.

Moreover, for their large family, the courtyard they rented when they first came to Shanghai was a bit insufficient. Moreover, in the Northeast, everyone was accustomed to spacious residences, and it was hard to adapt to the sudden change to a small house.

Now it's better. Each person has a European-style pastoral style bedroom, with electric lights, no need to use a dry toilet, and a large front and rear garden. The children who teach Wen and Wu like to play in the garden. From morning to night, the children's screams are endless. .

Zhu Chuanren also raised two dogs, a black-backed dog named Zhaocai and a Samoyed named Jinbao. The main characters are people who live for money.

Since moving into the Zhu Mansion, the Zhu family has held their heads high and their chests high when going out, and they are all full of foreign style.

Zhu Chuanwen, who was fussing before and didn't want to leave, now wears a small suit. He has to tie it with a bow when eating breakfast at home. When eating tofu, he has to cut it with a knife and fork twice before picking up the bowl to drink.

Xian'er and Xiu'er also put on dresses, and occasionally wore cheongsam and high heels that showed off their figures. Anyway, they had their own tailors at home with first-class craftsmanship.

Red Turban doesn't like cheongsam. Even though she has done some inhumane things in the past, she is quite conservative at heart and feels that cheongsam is too revealing. Xian'er has a pure white cheongsam with the sides open to the top of her thighs.

Xin'er loved cheongsam the most. She couldn't stop wearing it for the first time. She even begged Zhu Chuanren to make dozens of them for her, but it wasn't enough.

She is indeed a girl who has been an oiran. After putting on the cheongsam, she is full of femininity and is a beautiful sight wherever she goes.

But this girl is also sensible and never goes out by herself. She knows the dangers outside and her own charm. She doesn't want to go out and cause trouble for Zhu Chuanren. Anyway, the place at home is big enough that you won't get tired of staying there for a long time.

Compared with the young people, the old couple Zhu Kaishan and Wei Chunfang have not changed much. Although they have been given trendy clothes, they never wear them. At home, they are always ready to work in the fields. Who knows? Don't listen to advice.

The two of them don't go out to socialize, and they don't have many friends. If Zhu Chuanren hadn't stopped him, they would have turned over the soil in the front and back gardens to grow vegetables!

On this day, Zhu Chuanren welcomed a guest in the study. He was blond and blue-eyed. His curly blond hair looked very elegant. He was wearing a gray suit, holding a civilized stick in his hand, and had two slender beards on his lips. He looked a little bit... Like Detective Sherlock Holmes.

His name is Matisse Conde, one of the directors of the Public Board of the French Concession. Of course, he is not the highest executive director. If ranked according to power, he can only rank third among all the directors of the Public Board and is in charge of the police department. and the Department of Health.

Although his powers may not seem wide, he controls the two most important departments of the public board of directors.

The most important thing is that he himself has a good status, carrying aristocratic status. His ancestors had a count. However, due to the collapse of the Gallic monarchy, the population was not prosperous enough and the family strength declined seriously.

According to the rules of the nobility, by his generation, the title should be reduced to baron, which is still a title after all. Unfortunately, nobility has become a rare item in France.

This is also the reason why he, a descendant of a noble family, traveled thousands of miles to China to make money, not to work hard in China.

The executive director of the public board of directors, that is, the general director, can give him two departments with real power, which is the greatest respect for his noble status.

But Kant was very ambitious. On the one hand, he wanted to restore the family's glory, and on the other hand, he wanted to make more money and gain more resources for his family.

This is why he is obviously only 40 years old, but he looks like he is 50 years old. He is using his brain too much!
Although the two really got acquainted in 1913, it was only three years ago.

But going back further, the two have been close friends as early as when Kant was the deputy commissioner of the police force. The reason why he was able to rise from deputy commissioner to director of the public board of directors in just five or six years was inseparable. Thanks to Zhu Chuanren’s strong financial support.

The two sat opposite each other in the study room of Zhu's mansion. Lao Tan, dressed in a black suit, stood behind Zhu Chuanren with a very respectful attitude.

"Zhu, your mansion is very beautiful, I'm so envious!"

Kant took a puff of his cigar and said unabashedly.

His Chinese, which has the flavor of the Bordeaux Valley, sounds like a mouthful.

But it doesn’t matter, as long as you can understand it.

Getting the Gauls to speak English is more difficult than getting the Chinese to stop eating kimchi.

Zhu Chuanren raised his right hand and gestured "yeah". Lao Tan immediately put the toasted cigar between his two fingers. The cooperation was so tacit that he could finish it with all the B's in the room.

"Baron Kant, as long as you think about it, this wish will come true soon."

Zhu Chuanren, 28 years old, looks very mature, and his words and deeds reflect everyone's style.

When he thought of the young man in front of him who had started to plan everything for him in the Magic City as early as five or six years ago, Kant felt that this young man would definitely have no limits in the future.

"No! It's too expensive. It would take me many years to afford it without eating or drinking. The foundation, square shape, and architectural style are all far inferior to what you have."

Zhu Chuanren has a cigar in one hand and a purple clay teapot in the other. His main focus is a combination of Chinese and Western styles.

He took a sip of tea and said softly:

"Baron Kant, when can you get the engineering agency?"

"Damn it, Zhu, you know, Victor in charge of the Engineering Agency is a greedy crocodile!

There was no way he would let go of such a lucrative place like the Engineering Agency.

And you have to understand that this is the only department he has left. He was very dissatisfied when I poached the Health Department from him before. In order to balance the board meeting, the CEO couldn't hand over the Engineering Department to me! "

Kant is very depressed. Is he complaining?No!He was telling Zhu Chuanren that until Victor dies, neither you nor I can make money.

Zhu Chuanren smiled and said:
"My dear Lord Baron, you are a nobleman, how can you let a poor man who has climbed up from the bottom be cured? When it is time to use means, please do not be stingy."

Kant looked grim:
"Damn it, Zhu, you have to think of a way. I know you must have a way to deal with him."

Zhu Chuanren said helplessly:

"I'm just like a villain. My dear Baron, I do have a way. It's up to you whether you dare to use it."

"Haha! I knew you had a way, Zhu, you will never let me down!"

Kant's face immediately changed from gloomy to clear, and his expression changed faster than a girl's period.

"I heard that Victor has recently fallen in love with a Chinese girl?"

Kant was stunned for a moment:
"It seems that something like this is happening. What's wrong? Does this have anything to do with our business?"

"Of course! Do you know who that girl is?"

"Who?"

"Li Ermazi, who is in charge of the Xiafei Road project, has an illegitimate daughter named Li Qing who works at the French Concession Public Affairs Bureau."

Kant narrowed his eyes:

"Wait a minute, let me think about it, isn't it Li Qing, the secretary in the supervising office?"

Zhu Chuanren snapped his fingers:

"That's her, and Li Ermazi got the Xiafei Road project when Li Qing was having an affair with Victor. Tsk, tsk, I heard he could earn at least 10 oceans from that project!"

After swiping, Kant's eyes turned red:

"10 oceans? Are you sure?"

"Of course, can I lie to you about this kind of thing? You said that if I did this project, would you also be able to earn 5 yuan? What a pity, what a pity!"

Kant's breathing became rapid. It was obvious that if he was just thinking about it before, now he might really have the intention to kill Victor.

Wealth touches people's hearts.

Soon, Kant thought of something and couldn't help asking:
"Zhu, what's the solution you're talking about?"

"Victor's power-dealing is contrary to the concept of clean management of the concession proposed by the President. Do you think that if this news breaks out in the public concession, will the President be angry?"

Seeing Zhu Chuanren's deep smile, Kant couldn't help but give a thumbs up:
"Zhu, you are the most cunning Chinese I know!"

The corner of Zhu Chuanren's mouth twitched:
"I'll take it as you are praising me."

"Of course I am praising you, Zhu. Just wait for the news of my victory. The engineering agency must be mine. It will be useless even if Jesus comes."

The corners of Zhu Chuanren's mouth twitched even more fiercely. This Kant looked like he was imitating his own speech!
"But Your Excellency Baron, you have to find someone more reliable so that you don't get exposed."

"Don't worry, I know what to do!" Kant cocked his neck and rediscovered the glory of the nobility, as if he had come up with the idea himself.

"The first phase of the Xiafei Road project should have been completed, and the second phase."

Before Zhu Chuanren could finish speaking, Kant immediately said:
"Zhu, as long as I can win the engineering office, the second phase of the project will definitely belong to you!"

"This is my esteemed Baron, would you like a drink?"

"cheers!"

(End of this chapter)