Mr. Ye Hai's Scheme

Xu Yi cupped his hands and said earnestly, "Thank you, Master!"

Mr. Ye Hai felt a sudden sense of satisfaction upon seeing Xu Yi's obedient demeanor.

The previous matter regarding Wax Zhang was now cast aside and would no longer be pursued.

If he could obtain Lingtong Hall, what was a mere Wax Zhang?

Even ten opium dealers like Wax Zhang serving him would not compare to a single Lingtong Hall capable of laying clean, golden eggs!

Mr. Ye Hai had spent his youth mingling in the streets; having seen all manner of people from every walk of life, his experience far exceeded that of an ordinary man.

There were many reasons he had luckily achieved his current success.

Ruthlessness was one, benevolence toward others was two, opportunism was three, the opium trade was four, and scattering wealth to gather people was five...

Yet, whenever he looked back on the past, Mr. Ye Hai could only see one single, decisive factor—

Luck.

Yes, luck. Mr. Ye Hai believed that all the achievements he had gained in this life stemmed from luck.

Hard work, benevolence, opium... these were all merely minor factors influenced by the workings of luck.

This made Mr. Ye Hai very uneasy.

Such unease kept Mr. Ye Hai in a state of constant "humility" within his heart.

That was why he committed himself to benevolence, for benevolent men always wore a mask of humility.

That was why he sharpened his wits, desperate to drill into high society; because once he entered high society and established close connections with those who held real resources, his business would stabilize, and the influence of "luck" upon him would diminish.

That was why he wanted to wash his hands clean, because as a "black glove" for the foreigners, the money he earned from selling opium was dirty, and the longer he did it, the dirtier his own hands became.

He knew deep down that the opium business could not last forever.

He had long wanted to sever ties with the opium trade!

But if he didn't do the opium business, what other business could he possibly do?

The foreigners controlled most of the business resources (means of production) in Puxi City: electricity, water, fuel, natural gas, hardware, mineral resources... The foreigners had paved the road of industrialization with money, and the locals could not participate in their businesses at all.

Even if they did get in, they were merely laborers; they weren't just unable to sit at the table to eat, they were at best dogs gnawing on bones under the table.

High society was so close to him; he only needed to leave Golden Orchid Nunnery, walk along the banks of the Green Shore River to the bridge, and hail a rickshaw to reach the Bund, the gathering place of the elites of high society.

Yet high society was also so far away; a chasm separated the old industries of Puxi City from the new ones. Standing at the edge of that chasm looking at the new industries, he felt he could never reach them even if he exhausted his entire life.

If he wanted to ascend into high society—to achieve class mobility—other than relying on Ye Miao to marry into it, he had to find a way himself.

If he could bring Lingtong Hall under his control and earn honest, clean money, then in a few years, when the Puxi City Stock Exchange opened, he could find a way to take Lingtong Hall public, and he would become a proper entrepreneur.

—A superior person, just like those foreign entrepreneurs on the Bund!

By then, even if he completely severed his ties with gang business, he would not fall from his class or be reduced to a commoner.

Thinking of this, the way Mr. Ye Hai looked at Xu Yi changed.

The more he looked at this disciple, the more joy he felt in his heart.

Seeing his master was happy, Xu Yi seized the opportunity to ask, "Master, I would like to ask you about something."

Mr. Ye Hai was in high spirits and ready to answer almost anything, so he looked at him with a gentle gaze, inviting the question.

Xu Yi cupped his hands: "Master, are you aware of a foreign firm in the British Concession called the Griffin Firm?"

Outside the door, Lu Bolin's heart skipped a beat upon hearing this.

Damn it! This brat is coming for the meat on my plate!

Mr. Ye Hai leaned back in his rattan chair, the corners of his mouth curling into an imperceptible arc.

As long as one had requests, one had desires, which in turn created a need for advancement.

If a young man wanted to advance, he must be controlled by the veterans of the industry.

The moment Xu Yi spoke those words, he was already within his grasp.

Mr. Ye Hai was very satisfied with Xu Yi at this moment.

In the world of the rivers and lakes, one is often not the master of one's own fate; Mr. Ye Hai believed this statement required one additional premise: that those in the rivers and lakes must have ambition and must be swayed by worldly interests.

"The Griffin Firm is an old partner of ours."

Xu Yi listened to this and remained silent.

Outside the door, Lu Bolin felt a sudden murderous intent toward Xu Yi.

He stood outside the door, listening intently.

"A so-called foreign firm sounds intimidating, but in reality, it is just a company doing business. Their scope is very broad; they do a bit of everything."

"Ever since Puxi City opened its ports, foreigners have demarcated concessions and established industries. To this day, the number of active foreign firms, both large and small, has exceeded a thousand!"

Xu Yi listened intently.

Mr. Ye Hai had spent many years drifting through the underworld and possessed a broad perspective; over the past month, Xu Yi had listened to Mr. Ye Hai's lectures several times.

Every time he viewed matters from Mr. Ye Hai's perspective, it provided Xu Yi with great inspiration.

"Most foreign firms are located in the concessions, though a portion also exists in the Chinese Settlement.

Among the many foreign firms, those from England are the most numerous. They arrived the earliest and are the absolute leaders and pioneers of most businesses.

Most English firms are concentrated along the Bund. They control the entirety of Puxi City's finance, shipping, and import-export trade, and it looks as though they will soon control electricity and gas as well.

Running water pipes, most electrical wires and power equipment, gas pipelines, and almost all hardware industries... since they provide the most investment, they naturally take the lion's share of the profits."

"The Griffin Firm deals in a very mixed bag of business.

When they first came to Puxi City, they primarily invested in the human resources trade.

Our fellow countrymen are dexterous and capable of enduring hardship, so their factories prefer to employ our people.

Some people were even sent to England proper to work in their factories.

One of the cooperative projects between us and them is the transport of these workers."

Xu Yi only had a rough understanding of the history regarding this aspect and could not determine whether this was the notorious human trafficking.

He guessed in his heart that it most likely was.

Outside the room, Lu Bolin felt terrible upon hearing this.

The fact that Mr. Ye Hai told Xu Yi about this matter meant that Xu Yi would likely be involved in it in the future.

This was by no means a good thing.

"Apart from this, we have secured some of their tea orders and provide them with fresh tea leaves every year.

We also purchase some hardware components from them to wholesale to the small companies, workshops, and storefronts in the Chinese Settlement of Puxi City."

"Our cooperation is basically limited to these."

Outside the door, Lu Bolin let out a soft sigh of relief.

As long as they did not touch the opium trade, Xu Yi would not be crossing the line.