Nanyang 1931: From piglets to giants

Chapter 119 Distinguished Guest
Ipoh, the capital of Perak, of course has Chinese people in this city, and the proportion is not small, about 20%, and they are all relatively wealthy.

However, you cannot have your cake and eat it too. Zheng Yi clearly wants the Indians to take the blame for him and the entire Perak state to serve as a buffer zone for him. Naturally, he also has to give the Indians enough benefits.

He prepared more than one million US dollars to acquire local Chinese businesses in Yibao. Most of these Yibao Chinese were Hakkas.
If they are willing to be free, Zheng Yi can arrange for them to go to Perlis and carry out armed settlement with the Perlis militia.

Life won't be much different from Yibao's, and may even be more enjoyable.

If they want to live a stable life, Zheng Yi welcomes them to come and live in Penang. Whether it is to reclaim land on Penang Island or to work in Penang, Zheng Yi will make clear arrangements for them.

Nowadays, as long as the demolition and resettlement fees are high enough, there is no population that cannot be relocated.

Among the three states bordering Penang, Perlis is the smallest in area and has the least population, but it borders Siam and controls the most important rice import and smuggling channels. It is actually controlled by the Chinese armed settlement group.

Kedah, the state with the largest area, the most rice-growing area and the longest history, is still ruled by Malays.
But the upper class had been cleansed by Ho Sai-lai, and this place was closest to their Penang. To be honest, Zheng Yi had not yet figured out how to reform and govern Kedah.

But in short, either a pro-China regime will be established in this place, or they will just become like Gaza.

It shouldn't be the case. The Sunnis are not that tough. Zheng Yi is not really going to kill them all. He even gives money to these poor people.

There are even some brave Hakkas who have gone to Kedah to start harvesting rice. As long as these Malays are not too crazy, Zheng Yi would be happy to harvest all the rice they grow and pay a high price for it.

Finally, there is Perak. He wants to support Indians to occupy Perak. Their population is almost half and half with the local Malays. With their own support, the Indians should be able to gain a certain advantage.

He doesn't care even if there is a bloodbath between the two races, as long as it doesn't hinder the development of Penang. By the way, these Indians can also attract the hatred of the Malays.

In this way, Penang should be able to develop well...right?

After sending Val away, Zheng Yi summoned several indigenous landowners from Penang Island and had a chat with them. These indigenous landowners were so scared that they almost wet their pants.

The so-called Penang Island is the island where Penang is located.

Zheng Yi naturally did not want any ethnic conflicts on Penang Island. There were only two indigenous people in total, so he would just recruit them. He said very kindly that the indigenous people of Penang Island were not Malays, and he was willing to buy the land from them at a high price.

They are welcome to settle in Penang. If they don’t like it, that’s fine too. They can take the money and go wherever they want.

The landless tenant farmers on Penang Island are welcome to continue working for the Chinese. If they are willing to move to the city, they can move to the city. If they are not willing to move to the city, then forget it. They can enjoy the same treatment as the Chinese in Penang.

He even came up with a development plan for Penang Island, planning to build a bus around the island, build parks, airports, zoos, farmhouses, armed farms, and a world-class wildlife park on the island.

If it is not suitable to grow rice, just grow more fruits. You can open a jam factory in Penang. After all, you can harvest whatever you plant.

It doesn't matter whether you make money or lose money, this place is positioned as the suburbs of Penang. Any problem that can be solved with money is not a problem. It will leave the people of Penang with a good place for an outing and to have fun.

After everyone had been received, Zheng Yi put out his cigar and drank the rest of the tea. He was no longer as calm and composed as when he was talking about business. He sat in a chair, sighed deeply, closed his eyes, and looked indescribably tired.

He was indeed too busy, and dealing with people was not his forte. He had just started learning how to be a politician and was not very good at it.

Fortunately, he has money. If he had not brought back more than 20 million US dollars from this trip to the Middle East, he would not have imagined how much trouble he would have encountered.

Li Lili quietly came behind him, stretched out her hand, and began to massage near his temple.

Zheng Yi opened his eyes in surprise and took a look, then closed them again immediately.

"Sir, it's really hard work."

"It's not so bad. In today's world, unless you are willing to be mediocre, who can avoid hardship?" "Why... I see that you are very nice to these Indians and Malays."

“Am I good to the Malays?”

"Okay, you killed their sultan, but you gave them money, over 20 million Malaysian ringgit, and they just spent it."

Zheng Yi said indifferently: "It's just a way to save trouble. 20 million Malaysian ringgit is not expensive for Penang now. It's cheaper than fighting a war.
Those Malays are poor, what good is it for me to beat them? I don't want to rule them, and as for robbing them, what do they have for me to rob?

Anyway, Zheng Yi himself doesn't think this is cowardice, he doesn't want to be like Israel.

It feels good to attack anyone you dislike, but is there something wrong with porcelain colliding with tiles?
I heard that they spent more than 30 billion US dollars on military expenses alone in the one-year war against Gaza. With more than 30 billion US dollars, couldn't they just buy Gaza directly?

What's the point? Is it just pictures?

"Sir, you are quite kind to those at the bottom of society. And I see that you seem to sympathize with the Indians and Malays."

"Ah~, it's not easy for anyone. Most of the lower-class people around the world are pretty good people. If there's any fault, it's always the higher-ups. Most people just want to live a peaceful life."

"From what I've seen, it seems like you're cooperating more and more with the Guangxi clique. That Mr. Tao is now running the Chamber of Commerce. I heard he wants to buy everything."

Zheng Yi: "Do you have something to say? If so, just say it."

Upon hearing this, Li Lili bit her lip lightly and asked, "What do you...what do you think of the people in Jiangxi? Do you think they are bandits too?"

"If I thought they were gangsters, would you be my secretary?"

"Then...then...then...I..."

"What's going on? What happened?"

"My...my father, he came and said he wanted to see you."

"Who?"

Zheng Yi was stunned and didn't react for a moment. He asked, "Who's your father?"

"Me, my biological father."

"Mr. Qian? Mr. Qian is in Nanyang? He's in Penang?"

Li Lili nodded.

"You even help Malays and Indians, so can you... can you help..."

"Where is he?"

"at my house."

"Come on, lead the way. Why didn't you tell me such important news right away? This is a distinguished guest from Penang! If I had known your father was coming, why would I have entertained this Indian?"

(End of this chapter)