I'm a Master in India

Chapter 273: Secret

“Why did he go to Persian Gulf countries to fight?” Ron asked, puzzled.

“Because that’s his hometown,” Johnny sighed.

“So, he’s not a true Indian?” Ron’s furrowed brow slowly relaxed.

“He came to India when he was a teenager and has stayed here ever since. He has lived in Mumbai for fifty years; he is already an Indian.”

“Then why did he go back?”

“To fight. It’s chaotic there.”

“Yes, I know, but I haven’t heard of any recent conflicts there.”

“It’s tribal warfare. You know, for thousands of years, that land has been a cycle of ‘I kill you, or you kill me.’”

The root of the Persian Gulf conflict is not just about oil; there are also thousands of tribes within it, each with their own deep-seated vendettas.

Peace is impossible there. Some hatreds have even been passed down as tribal traditions.

“He’s going back now because his tribe is in trouble?” Ron had a rough guess.

“Yes, we tried to persuade him, but it was useless.”

“Actually, I’m more curious: how did he, as an outsider, get to his current position?”

Perhaps seeking Ron’s help, or perhaps wanting someone to confide in, Johnny simply explained Hader Khan’s entire background.

According to his explanation, Hader Khan came from a good family when he was young, being the son of a tribal chief, and had dedicated tutors teaching him English and Urdu.

Due to his youthful impetuousness, an accident led to a feud with another tribe.

Both sides engaged in mutual killings, and as the hatred seemed insurmountable, more and more people died.

Hader Khan had no choice but to have his relatives spread rumors that he had been killed, and then he left his hometown, coming to India alone.

After that, the blood feud dissipated, and the two tribes stopped retaliating against each other, but Hader Khan could never return.

Like millions of others, he eventually settled in Mumbai, hoping to get rich and make a fortune in this city that produces Hindi film idols.

He initially lived in a Slum, the same Slum where Taj Ali lived, and the Slum where Anand used to live.

He quickly learned Hindi, and after some time, he noticed a way to make money.

That was to buy tickets for popular movies at the theater, then hang a “Sold Out” sign at the theater entrance, and then sell them at a higher price.

A very bold scalping tactic: if there was no market, he created one, full of the wild and untamed spirit of the Persian Gulf.

Ron’s money-making methods were as gentle as a sheep compared to Hader Khan’s.

His soul came from a civilized society, while Hader Khan grew up in blood and fire.

So one became a businessman, and the other became a gang boss.

Within the first week, Hader Khan made a lot of money. He even began to dream of moving into a comfortable apartment, wearing high-end clothes, and even buying a car.

Then one night, as he stood at the theater entrance with tickets, two burly men approached. They showed their weapons and told him to go with them.

The two men took him to meet the local boss, who was furious and wanted to have him beaten to death.

“What are you doing? Selling tickets on my turf?” the boss asked in Hindi mixed with broken English, as if he were a judge in a courtroom. “Do you know how many people died to control the black market tickets for all the theaters in this area? And how many good men have I lost?”

Hader Khan was only a teenager then and thought his life was short, so he went all out.

“Then you might have to kill one more, because I have no other way to make money, no family, nothing to lose. Unless, of course, you give me a decent job, one where a loyal and resourceful young man can serve you.”

The boss burst out laughing and asked him where he learned English. Hader Khan told him truthfully, and so the boss gave him a job.

Hader Khan joined the gang as an enforcer, using his fists, knives, and hammers to help the boss consolidate his territory.

At that time, the Mumbai gangs were fragmented; Dawood hadn't even been born yet. The local bosses fought each other, and the underground world was a bloodbath.

Hader Khan fought day and night; he became the boss’s right-hand man, and some people envied him.

The two dueled, and Hader Khan won. The man’s friends then came looking for trouble and were also killed by Hader Khan.

Suddenly, one day, the boss was assassinated at the theater entrance, and the entire gang was left leaderless.

Hader Khan naturally took that seat because those who opposed him had already been killed.

He was cultured, intelligent, and thought things through; his methods for solving problems were not just about fighting and killing.

In just a few years, he swallowed up a large territory. His business grew larger and was no longer limited to the movie ticket black market.

When his power was sufficient, he gathered all the gang bosses in Mumbai and divided the territories among themselves.

Initially, things went smoothly, and Mumbai’s underground world was peaceful for a while. Hader Khan liked to control the gangs through economic means.

However, the Dawood Gang later rose to prominence; he was reckless and preferred violence, and the entire Malpudan Slum in the north was filled with his people.

Ultimately, the Dawood Gang controlled North Mumbai, and Hader Khan controlled South Mumbai. There were occasional skirmishes between them, but they were mostly kept within certain limits.

The last time Ron was targeted by the Dawood Gang, when they planned to send assassins to kidnap him, it happened in the central-northern area.

The further north, the poorer it gets, and the more likely violence is to breed.

“Actually, I’m more surprised why you know so much about Hader Khan? This is already considered a gang secret,” Ron still had time for gossip.

“Because I see him as my father; he adopted me.” A flicker of filial affection flashed in Johnny’s eyes.

Ron nodded; many things could now be explained.

First, regarding the generic drugs, Hader Khan was so impatient to find people to test the drugs, likely because he wanted to send these medicines across the Arabian Sea.

He wasn't sure if the drugs from the small pharmaceutical factory were safe, so he could only let Brazilians use them first.

He needed a large quantity, possibly for long-term supply, so he didn't approach large factories but instead chose relatively cheaper small ones.

Ajay didn't find out where those drugs were sent, but now it seems they could only have gone to Persian Gulf countries.

Furthermore, Ron knew that he also maintained close ties with customs, and it would be strange if there was no connection there.

“Last time, with Anand’s matter, you said Hader Khan met a very important person at Mrs. Elizabeth’s palace. Was that also for his tribe?”

“They need weapons there, not homemade pistols used by gangs, but actual military-grade firearms for warfare, which ordinary people cannot acquire.”

“I understand,” Ron nodded.

If he wasn't mistaken, Hader Khan had been planning this for a long time.

“So… Ron,” Johnny began.

“What do you want me to help you with?”

“Persuade him. He doesn’t listen to anyone’s advice. He’s over sixty years old; there’s no need for him to do this. Only you, Ron, he feels guilty towards you, and he admires you.”

“He won’t listen to me,” Ron shook his head, “because he is Hader Khan.”

“Then… what should we do?” Johnny sighed.

“That is his obsession. He has so many subordinates willing to die for him, and he still insists; he cannot be persuaded.”

“Thank you, Ron.” Johnny turned away, disappointed.

“So you’re going too?” Ron asked.

“I see him as my father,” Johnny smiled, his eyes calm.

“Good luck,” Ron sighed.

Is the graveyard of empires really that easy to break into? That’s real warfare, not gang fights, the kind with cannons.

If Hader Khan leaves, the underground power in South Mumbai will fall into a vacuum, which will inevitably lead to another bloodbath.

This city is already chaotic enough, and it seems it’s far from over.

Ron no longer cared much about these things; he was more concerned with tariffs, factories, and business.

He and Hader Khan were ultimately from two different worlds, and their paths would only intersect less and less in the future.

He was deliberately distancing himself, and Ron was trying his best to avoid all gray-area businesses related to gangs.

Perhaps one day, he would give up the drug business. He already had a stable and completely safe channel for exchanging US dollars.

People are always like this: once they step into the spotlight and become role models in the eyes of the media and the public, they unconsciously try to clean up their image.

It's best to clear any traces left from the rough-and-tumble past as early as possible.

Doing nothing is also fine, because this is Mumbai, the city of hierarchy.

The public will only admire your various cunning and diverse methods; they praise your brilliance and glorify your success.

This is India; the weak are only fit to be at the bottom.

Johnny’s matter didn’t make Ron dwell on it. He returned to Sur Electrical Appliances and immediately decided to start preparing production lines for juicers and rice cookers.

These two small appliances do not require high technical content. Juicers rely on blades, and the main difficulty is material processing.

The core technology of rice cookers is the heating coil, which requires high-purity copper wire and high winding precision to ensure uniform heating and power consumption.

To be honest, even for such small items, India couldn't handle it.

It’s not that they couldn’t be made, but the cost would be extremely high, or even if produced, the quality would be very unreliable.

After much thought, Ron finally decided to source the juicer blades and rice cooker heating coils from East Asia.

He was a comprador, after all; it was better to buy than to make, and he would use whichever was cheaper.

Sur Electrical Appliances still had to follow a low-price strategy, first capturing the market, and then investing in R&D after accumulating enough capital.

The cost of these two small appliances was not high, so they proceeded simultaneously, with Ashish once again acting as a big spender in East Asia.

Sur Electrical Appliances had already invested tens of millions of US dollars there; wouldn't it be easy to get some juicers and rice cookers?

Anyway, East Asia had not joined the WTO, and its foreign export trade was limited, so Sur Electrical Appliances would temporarily take on that role.

Alas, Ron was also crossing the river by feeling the stones, just like East Asia.

Who would have thought that Indian electrical appliances could also be exported overseas? This was all due to East Asia’s silent support behind the scenes.

So, to further expand, he planned a trip to Tamil Nadu.

Chennai, oh no, it was still called Madras at that time.

It was the other manufacturing center chosen by Sur Electrical Appliances, the third branch factory.

Besides Gujarat and Tamil Nadu, a second branch factory would be built in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh.

Ron didn’t need to go to that place personally; his hometown had already arranged everything, and new factory buildings were already under construction.

The idle warehouse in Gujarat had also been rented, and the engineering team was renovating it. Orders for new production lines had also been placed with East Asia.

Everything was just waiting for the Gujarat election to conclude in February.

Once the Indian People's Party came to power, the Sur Electrical Appliances branch factory would also begin production.

For now, he would go to Tamil Nadu first.

Oh, right, Ron wasn’t alone; Kavya accompanied him.

She was from Tamil Nadu and was very influential.