At that time, in order to accelerate the development of Malaya's resources, the Britain colonial government needed a large number of cheap laborers. So, through Hong Kong trading companies, shipping companies and compradors, they offered generous remuneration to send pig traders to Guangzhou, Shantou, Xiamen and their surrounding towns. Relying on the pig traders' cunning and sweet talk, they used deception and even kidnapping to plunder Chinese laborers to work in Malaya.
For sixty silver dollars, Lu You sold himself to a pig trader. He paid twenty silver dollars to the landlord Lu Xian to redeem his indenture, kept twenty silver dollars for his adopted wife as a settlement fee, and after paying for the boat ticket to Malaya, he had very little left. Lu You crossed the ocean and arrived in Malaya with almost only a few copper coins in his pocket.
Most of the "coolies" who entered the mines found it difficult to escape. Lu You was lucky; he was clever and quick-witted, and having worked as a farmhand since childhood, he was able to endure hardship. After working diligently in the mines for three years and completing his contract, he was noticed by the foreman. Instead of secretly extending his contract and keeping him in the mines indefinitely, the foreman waited until the contract ended and then introduced Lu You to a tobacco and liquor store owned by the foreman's family. Working in the tobacco and liquor store for three years was naturally different from working as a miner for three years. The store dealt with the Britain every day, and Lu You took the opportunity to learn some English. He also saved all his meager wages and, through his acquaintances with the Britain, borrowed money from himself and a few fellow villagers to jointly open a small tobacco and liquor store with the Britain.
After running his tobacco and liquor business for three years and accumulating two or three thousand Straits dollars in savings, Lu You began to have other ideas. The most profitable business in Malaya was mining. He had heard that the Larut area was rich in mineral resources, so he handed over his shares in the tobacco and liquor business to his fellow countrymen, took some cash, and went to Larut alone to look for opportunities to invest in the mining business.
When Lu You arrived in Larut, he discovered that things weren't as simple as he had imagined. Larut was indeed rich in mineral resources, but it also had a large Chinese population. The local Chinese were divided into two major gangs vying for mining business: the Yixing Triad Society and the Hai San Jiande Hall. Chinese people coming to Larut had to choose a side; there was no third option. In this area, gang feuds were out of control, and the two gangs would engage in bloody incidents every day, often involving hundreds of people. If you didn't join one side, both gangs would harass outsiders. Left with no other choice, Lu You joined the Yixing Triad Society. He didn't dare say that he had come to Larut with cash to invest in the mining business; he only said that he had studied cooking and wanted to find work there.
At the time, the gang was relatively loyal to its members. When Lu You wanted to find a job, the gang helped him find a job as a cook and purchasing agent at a tin mine. After a few months in the gang Lu You realized that only the big shots in the two major Chinese gangs were qualified to partner with the Britain in the mining business in this area. Otherwise, even if outsiders had money, they would be treated like lambs to the slaughter.
Having faced reality, Lu You was practically risking his life. He stood up for the gang whenever there was trouble, and he tried his best to accumulate wealth through procurement. After five years of fighting in the gang, Lu You, with his ruthlessness and ferocity, and his ability to communicate with the local Britain in English, successfully rose to power. At the young age of 25, he became Big Brother in the Yixing Triad Society in the Larut area, and his wealth was finally enough to invest in the mining business. In 1872, Lu You's mine officially opened. Unfortunately, his good fortune was short-lived. In 1873, the Yixing Triad Society and the Hai San Jiande Hall clashed in the largest bloody conflict in years. Thousands of people from both sides clashed in various villages and towns in Larut. Lu You's mine was stormed and destroyed by nearly a thousand members of the Hai San Jiande Hall. All the mining equipment and buildings were set on fire, and his miners were either killed or wounded, or they escaped in the chaos.
The conflict lasted for several months, paralyzing several mines in the Larut area. It was only after the Britain colonial government's local resident official personally mediated between the two major Chinese gangs that the conflict came to an end.
Although the dispute subsided, Lu You's business also came to an end. Just as Lu You was disheartened and preparing to leave the Larut area, the Britain garrison officer of Perak State, where Larut is located, was assassinated by Malaya aborigines. The Britain colonial government was furious and sent a large number of the British Army to Perak State to suppress the aborigines. The British Army needed supplies and pay in the area, Lu You seized the opportunity. With his English skills and his gang affiliation, he obtained a contract to supply supplies and pay the British Army. With this contract, Lu You, who seized the opportunity, earned his first big sum of money, a full 50,000 Straits dollars.
With this money, Lu You immediately partnered with others to reopen a mine in Perak State, where things had stabilized after the British Army's arrival. The business was booming, and within six months, his wealth tripled from 50,000 to 150,000. However, the price of tin subsequently plummeted, and Lu You lost almost all of his 150,000.
Fortunately, he had connections with the British Army and used his remaining few thousand Straits dollars to bribe the Perak State garrison officer, securing a contract to contract the tax revenue of the Gantingwen area in Perak State. Subsequently, with the recovery of tin prices and the contracted tax revenue, Lu You's wealth increased again. By 1981, Lu You's net worth had reached nearly 500,000 Straits dollars. At the age of 36, he had been sold into slavery in Malaya at the age of 14 and had fought hard for 22 years, becoming one of the leading figures among the Chinese in the Gantingwen area.
In 1982, after 23 years away from home, Lu You withdrew his mining shares and converted them into cash, returning to his hometown. His wife, whom he had been raised as a child bride, was still waiting for his return. Lu You stayed in his hometown for four years before deciding to return to Malaya to continue doing business. At that time, few men who went abroad brought their families with them. During those four years, his wife did not become pregnant. Worried that his wife would be lonely, Lu You bought a baby for her. He then spent money to set up a business in Guangzhou, the provincial capital, recruited a group of reliable workers and servants, and left some money for his wife to rely on. Only then did he go to Malaya for the second time.
This time, Lu You didn't go to Singapore or Gantingwen, but instead went to Kuala Lumpur to develop his business. Now he was quite wealthy, and through money, he got to know the most powerful Britain resident in Kuala Lumpur. At that time, a fire broke out in Kuala Lumpur, burning most of the city to the ground. Everything was in ruins and urgently needed to be rebuilt. The Britain entrusted Lu You with recruiting Chinese laborers to build Kuala Lumpur. The former piglet Lu You became the piglet trader Lu You, and from then on, he truly began to make his fortune.