I'm a Master in India

Chapter 16: Exploding Gold Coins

Ron only learned that Henry and Anna were travel journalists after working for them for two days.

Most ordinary tourists coming to Mumbai would not frequently change their accommodations, and their diets would also be fixed to one or two flavors.

But Anna and Henry were different. In Mumbai, they experienced everything from hostels costing 100 rupees to suites costing 3,000 rupees a night.

Not to mention the food. For the past two days, they had often been seen flitting between restaurants of all sizes and different flavors.

If this were a few decades later, they would definitely be travel bloggers.

Ron only found out after inquiring that they had a mission besides traveling this time in Mumbai.

"So you mean you will record everything you see and hear in Mumbai?"

"That's right. 'Lonely Planet' magazine has commissioned us. You know, those backpackers who travel around the world almost regard this magazine as a 'bible'.

And our mission is to visit in person, and then select the most suitable restaurants, hotels, tourist attractions…"

Ron's eyes lit up, and he smelled an opportunity.

"Then… my lovely and respected friends from France, are you satisfied with the service these past two days?"

"Of course, it is no exaggeration to say that you have saved Mumbai's image in our hearts."

"So the Mumbai Travel Information Company deserves a mention, doesn't it?"

"Haha, Ron, I guarantee that your name will be on the submission to 'Lonely Planet'."

Look, didn't this free publicity come?

"Anand, our employers are so understanding, shouldn't we offer them a drink?"

"What are you trying to say, Ron?" Anand looked at him warily.

"What happened to the whiskey I gave you last time?"

"I don't have it anymore."

"You finished it?" Ron remembered there were two bottles.

"It was sold."

"Didn't you really want to drink it? Why did you sell it?"

"Oh, yes!" Anand sighed, "I wanted to drink it, and I had already drunk it in my mind.

But the money from selling it on the black market can buy two bottles of very inferior, but very cheap, Indian whiskey, and drink to my heart's content.

And then there will be a lot of money left to buy my wife a good new sari, a red one. And toys for the children, a few air-conditioned Indian movie tickets, and two days of food. It's a good deal, Ron."

Okay, he almost forgot that Anand still had eight or nine children to raise.

Fortunately, they were speaking Marathi, and Anna and Henry couldn't understand.

At this moment, they were grabbing their cameras and taking pictures on the street.

The white cows lying leisurely on the road, the luggage storage places watching luggage for customers, and the freshly brewed milk tea on the roadside, everything looked new to them.

"Henry, there is something I want to discuss with you."

"What is it?" Henry, who was holding the camera, looked up.

"Can you help me develop an extra copy of those photos taken in the hotels and restaurants? I'll pay for the film."

"As long as you don't publish them in other magazines, I don't think there's a problem."

"That's great!"

Ron successfully fleeced them again, and now he had the pictures for publicity.

Oh, if only more guests like this would come in the future.

The hotels were getting more expensive every night, and the food was varied.

Ron wasn't afraid of their requests, he was only afraid that they wouldn't spend money.

The more they spent, the more commission he would get.

Just like the two people in front of him, the 300 US dollars they had exchanged before were spent in less than half a day.

Ron, the middleman, had provided them with foreign exchange services for the third time.

There were already many people on the streets of Mumbai. But there were also animals living among them, not only in large numbers, but also in many varieties.

In the crowded crowd, goats wandered around, dogs tried to steal food from roadside stalls and were kicked for their failure, chickens drilled under the wheels of rickshaws, and a mischievous monkey would jump down from the roof unexpectedly.

When Ron was running around the streets these past few days, he tripped over a pig walking around.

Or he would be blocked by a slow-moving old cow in an alley, and there would be an elephant urging him from behind.

The whole city was a mess, and it could still be called the New York of Asia?

The faces of the Indians are too thick! Just like that unscrupulous hotel merchant he just met.

That fat man promised a 15% commission on consumption, but when Ron and Anand went to collect the money, he changed his mind and said it was a commission on accommodation fees.

Anna and Henry spent a total of 1,600 rupees in this hotel, of which the room rate was only about 500.

Because of his reneging, the commission changed from 240 to 75, which was several times smaller.

"Local profiteers are so impolite!" Ron never thought that this store would even cheat its own people.

"Sorry Ron, I didn't know it would be like this, it was fine last time."

"Forget it, this store will be blacklisted in the future, that fat man will come back and beg me one day."

Anna and Henry stayed in Mumbai for a week and left by train this morning.

Although India is backward, the railway network is still relatively dense, and ordinary people and tourists mostly rely on trains for travel.

Now that the employers were gone, Ron started collecting money everywhere after sorting out the bills.

As the first business of the Mumbai Travel Information Company, their harvest was actually quite good.

The guide service fee for a week was 3,000 rupees, and the commission from hotels, restaurants and various other sources was about 12,000 rupees.

According to the industry rules in Mumbai, their commission rate as intermediaries usually fluctuates between 10% and 25%.

This is the case with hotels and catering. Their costs are actually very low. The only weakness, or risk, is the lack of a stable customer base.

After all, hotels can be used for decades after they are built. The maintenance costs and labor costs are not worth mentioning in India.

The same is true for the ingredients in the catering industry. As long as the business is good, it is a huge profit.

In order not to leave their rooms empty, the hotels are usually very willing to cooperate with Ron and his partners.

Larger hotels have a reputation and do not lack customers, so the commission rate is not high, only about 10%.

On the contrary, small hotels face competitive pressure and can give Ron and his partners a 20% rebate.

These individual operators have limited risk resistance, and their willingness to cooperate is much stronger than those medium and large hotels.

If there are customers, there is money to be made, which is better than having empty rooms every day.

Fifteen thousand rupees, this is the profit brought by Ron and his team's first deal.

Ahem, the above is the legal operation part.

There is also the income from the foreign exchange black market that is not so bright.

Anna and Henry had the task of exploring stores, and they spent a week eating, drinking, and enjoying various services in Mumbai.

Ron exchanged two or three thousand US dollars for their expenses before and after, otherwise where would he get so much commission.

Anand, who was also benefitting, had his round face trembling excitedly with fat.

"Ron, we've made money, do you want to go find some excitement?"

"What excitement?"

"Wanji Street, and there are special programs."

"Wait, I don't understand what you're talking about?"

"You know, Ron, we are all Indian men, grown up eating curry, and we have a lot of needs in that area."

Ron rolled his eyes, indeed, the Indians are unmatched in this respect.

"I still have to exchange the last batch of US dollars today, I don't have time."

He didn't have the mood to do these things now, and Xiaoniya was always around him, Ron was very picky.

Instead, he had to carefully consider the company's operations next. Smith and Anna in front were unexpected customers.

They were super fat sheep, but such good things don't happen often. Ordinary tourists are the cornerstone of the Mumbai Travel Information Company's development.

Well, the next step of promotion should also be put on the agenda.

Thinking this way, he had unknowingly arrived at the old place.

It was still the three-story building near Colaba, and Ron was already a regular customer here.

He was about to walk to the counter when suddenly there was a burst of messy footsteps and shouts from downstairs.

After a series of clanging sounds, he saw a few people hurriedly walking over supporting an injured man.

"Johnny?" Ron was surprised to find that the injured man was an acquaintance of his.

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