The New Year's Day of the 30th year of the Republic of China is coming. According to the usual practice, various agencies of the Wang puppet and the Japanese army will hold New Year's receptions to celebrate the New Year's Day.
Chen Mingxiang looked at a lot of invitations in the office and felt a little headache and numb. It would be inappropriate not to show up for any occasion. To build a relationship, this kind of occasion is needed as a platform.
On the evening of New Year's Day, there was a cocktail party held by the Consulate General of Japan in Shanghai and Xingya Yuan, as well as a cocktail party hosted by the Pseudo-Shanghai Special Municipal Government. This was an official cocktail party held by the government.
The next night was a reception for the Japanese Army's Thirteenth Army Headquarters and a reception for the Japanese Navy's Third Fleet. This was an internal military reception.
The two families are so fiercely competitive that the Army will definitely not attend the Navy's cocktail party, and the Navy will naturally not attend the Army's cocktail party. They have to hold it on the same day out of competition.
In addition, there were also cocktail parties held by the Ume Agency, the Japanese Army Ministry's secret service stationed in Shanghai, the Military Police Headquarters, and the Marine Corps Headquarters stationed in Shanghai, etc.
These units are special, so there are very few guests who can participate, but those who are invited are relatively important characters.
After all, everyone knows that there are many social events on New Year's Day and everyone is busy, so these cocktail parties are staggered with a tacit understanding, but it is inevitable to have two in one night.
"I don't know how many people in Shanghai have racked their brains and used backdoor connections to get these invitations. You are still worrying here and don't bring such exciting things." Liu Nina said with a smile.
She thought that Chen Mingxiang's sad face was just an act, and maybe she was already happy in her heart. The fact that she had received so many invitations, all of which were from the heavyweight powers in the Shanghai stock market, was enough to prove Chen Mingxiang's strength and status.
"What do you know? Others attend cocktail parties to eat, drink and have fun, but when I attend a cocktail party, except for the city government and the Consulate General of Japan in Shanghai, I have to pay a price for the rest of the cocktail parties."
"You also know that whether it is the Mei Agency, the Japanese Army Ministry's secret service stationed in Shanghai, the Military Police Headquarters or the Special Higher Education Course, they are all very special in nature. Do you think it is appropriate for me to attend empty-handed without bringing any gifts?"
"As the boss of Huatong Trading Company and the Inspection Team, I am recognized as a big fat vacancy in the eyes of others. It is a position that makes a lot of money every day. There are too many people who are jealous of me, including the Japanese."
"The more this happens, the more cautious I have to be in doing things, and every decision must be carefully considered. It doesn't matter if I lose a little money, but I don't want to risk my own life." Chen Mingxiang said with a smile, and stretched out his hand to scratch.
Scratch her nose.
Liu Nina's pretty face turned red and she rolled her eyes at Chen Mingxiang. She thought this matter was indeed too simple and her vision was not broad enough. Although Chen Mingxiang was older than she thought, it was more far-reaching. No wonder he has today's achievements and his famous reputation.
There is no false person.
"Gifts are given in so many places, and that's a lot of money. If it's less than tens of thousands, I'm afraid it won't be very decent." Liu Nina said.
Chen Mingxiang smiled and said nothing. How many tens of thousands of dollars? Do you think this is to send a beggar away? You can't pass the test without hundreds of thousands of French currency!
But in order to keep the platform for collecting intelligence, even hundreds of thousands are worth it. At most, Huatong Trading Company's one month's dividends will be lost in the water. What's the return for not paying?
"Boss Zhang, you prepare a batch of cigarettes for me. We work overtime to produce them. Twenty boxes are 50,000 packs. The boxes are marked with the Army N label. Ten boxes are 25,000 packs. The boxes are marked with the Navy N label.
"How many days will it take to prepare ten boxes of internal cigarettes?" Chen Mingxiang said.
"The cigarette factory can complete it in two days, but the cigarette box is not that fast. It takes a total of four days. I can definitely complete this number. Are you giving gifts to the Japanese again?" Zhang Wenyan said.
Since cooperating with Chen Mingxiang to produce cigarettes, the raw materials, funds and sales of the cigarette factory have all been solved. A large number of Bund cigarettes have been smuggled into the Kuomintang-controlled area, and they can sell as many as they can.
As production increased, Zhang Wenyan's monthly income also increased sharply, but he still resisted making cigarettes for the Japanese.
"Don't mention it, I get so angry when I talk about it. It's New Year's Day, right? I want to reach into my bowl to eat some meat. I can't afford to offend anyone. I have to keep this bowl of rice, right?"
"
"Fortunately, I have a cigarette factory, otherwise I would have to pay compensation to Dafa. Just now I sent people to Hangzhou and Anhui Province to purchase tea, including packaging. This time I will lose more than 200,000 yuan. I feel heartbroken.
I didn't sleep well last night!" Chen Mingxiang said angrily.
Speaking of the cigarettes produced by our cigarette factory, a pack costs only 25 cents, and a pack of 100,000 only costs 25,000 yuan, but the selling price is only cents, which is equivalent to 10,000 yuan.
Chen Mingxiang purchased a ton of tea, which is equivalent to twenty tons, including ten tons of Lu'an and Qimen tea in Anhui Province, and ten tons of Longjing tea in Hangzhou. They were shipped to the Shanghai market and made into two thousand boxes of one pound gifts. Now the packaging is
Production has already started, and it still bears the n label.
Due to the war, tea production has plummeted, and the market is also low. For example, Longjing tea costs only 400 yuan per 100 kilograms, or 4 yuan per kilogram. This is a special grade tea!
Japan's silk weaving industry is very developed, but speaking of it, China is their ancestor!
Chen Mingxiang asked Zhou Haiwen to go to Hangzhou in person, and in addition to tea, he also wanted to purchase a batch of silk with exquisite patterns and high-quality materials as gifts to senior Japanese officers.
"Hangzhou is the traditional hometown of silk, but now the supply of goods on the market is very scarce. When the Japanese army captured Hangzhou, they blew up a large number of silk weaving and reeling factories, and cocoons and raw silk were plundered.
The leaf-producing areas were abandoned, and the output plummeted to 30% of the original level.”
"According to the local silk merchants, the situation in Suzhou is the same. I think it is an opportunity for you and our Huatong Trading Company. Others cannot withstand the control of the Jinling government and the Japanese. You have no problem.
of."
"Both raw silk and finished products are very popular for export. Businessmen from Britain, the United States, France and other countries in the Shanghai Concession can collect as much as they can, and the profits are also very considerable." Zhou Haiwen called and said.
In fact, Western countries like Chinese silk very much. However, due to the war, the silk production areas were fatally hit and there was no supply of goods.
Raw silk and silk fabrics are important commodities for Japan's foreign trade and one of the sources of fiscal revenue. Therefore, after the Japanese army occupied Jiangsu and Zhejiang, they frantically plundered raw silk.
Coupled with the ravages of war, the output of raw silk dropped sharply, and the newly established Wang N began to charge exorbitant taxes and miscellaneous taxes. Last year, the total silk output in East China was less than 3 million pieces. This year, it is probably difficult to even reach 1 million pieces of silk.
.
"What you said makes sense. Then don't go back to Shanghai yet. Stay in Suzhou and Hangzhou for a few days and acquire two silk weaving mills and two silk reeling mills, but not in my name. On the surface, it is a cooperation.
, recruit a group of experienced experts to help us operate."
"The key is to provide loans to local mulberry farmers, stabilize people's hearts, and restore production first. If there are no cocoons, everything will be in vain."
"When I bought silk this time, I originally wanted to collect the quantity and type of gifts, but as you said, I really want to treat it as a big deal, double the quantity I want, and send it back to Shanghai as soon as possible." Chen Mingxiang said.
