I'm a Master in India

Ron was unaware of the conversation taking place in Brazil. These days, Mumbai couldn't even offer overseas telephone services; it was too far, separated by the Indian and Atlantic Oceans.

After a trip to the slums, Ron refocused his energy on his travel information company.

As the peak tourist season arrived in September, the company's team grew larger. Including the errand runners and touts, there were over a hundred people relying on his business to make a living.

Compared to being a one-man operation at the beginning of the year, this progress could be described as a leap forward. Around the tourism business, Ron had also discovered various ways to make money.

Service commissions, the black market for foreign exchange, Bollywood extras, special transactions, and travel agencies.

Each one had its own secrets and complexities, far beyond what outsiders could imagine.

Tsk, who would have thought that a simple travel company could have so many ways to rake in money?

Only after getting into this business did I realize that the tourism industry has great potential.

Of the five avenues for making money, Ron had only opened up the first four for the time being. Commissions brought in 500,000 rupees each month, black market income 700,000, Bollywood extras 300,000, and special transactions 150,000.

1.65 million rupees each month, that was roughly Ron's monthly profit during the peak tourist season. Of course, that was gross profit; he still had to deduct various costs such as rent, labor, and bribes.

The pure profit that actually ended up in his pocket was around 1.2 million rupees. Among all the expenses, bribes and labor were the biggest, and there was no way to save on either of those.

Looking at the planning content that filled an entire page, Ron couldn't help but imagine the future of the travel agency business.

I wonder how the talks with Had Khan are going; it's been five days since the last meeting.

"Ron, business is here!" Anand's excited footsteps came from outside.

"Did a tour group come to our door?"

"Oh, no, no tour group. But someone wants to do a deal with gems and books."

Ron's eyes lit up, and he jumped up from his chair. Among the five ways to make money, there weren't many that could excite him anymore.

Tour groups were one, as they often meant hundreds of thousands of rupees in profit. Since Smith's students last time, he had hardly taken on such big business.

This was more difficult to handle, as he couldn't put up advertisements abroad.

Another thing that interested him was special deals, such as gems and books. The so-called 'books' were actually passports, a special term in the black market.

"How many does he want? Did you tell him that the more he buys, the better the price?" Ron had such resources at his disposal.

"Of course, I told him a price that couldn't be any cheaper. That guy prepared a big backpack!"

"What about the 'books'? Which country's 'books' does he want?" Ron's eyes were brighter than the gems.

"That guy was very unlucky; the passport he got last time belonged to a wanted criminal, and he almost got exposed in front of the police. This time, he wants two, one Sri Lankan, one French."

"Very good! We'll take this business; I'll be personally responsible."

Ron's company already had a small reputation in Mumbai. Not only could he provide quality service, but he also had many connections.

From women, gold, and jewelry to shady passports, he could help you with anything. Thanks to this excellent reputation, many people would take the initiative to come to him.

That afternoon, Ron took the Puerto Rican to Hella. They had already started cooperating on the passport business two months ago.

Hella knew officials from several countries' embassies and also knew the gangs in charge of this business. As long as she took action, she could get a passport from any country.

By the way, Hella was also a jewelry expert. She specialized in gems and jewelry, and many foreign buyers found jewelry through her.

Hella had told him this herself during a drinking session at Leopold Cafe. Ron had even seen her collection, which was dazzling.

This Puerto Rican, Jimmy, was a gem smuggler. He bought gems at low prices from India and Sri Lanka and then transported them back to North America and Europe to sell to luxury goods processors at high prices.

This route was not easy to run, and he had to pass through many different countries. To deal with their customs, passports were a necessity, and at least two were needed.

God knows where the passport he got last time came from; he almost got caught. Fortunately, this was India; bribe some money, and the police would let you go.

Jimmy was also going to Sri Lanka, and before entering the country, he had to sort out the passport issue. After asking around, someone introduced him to Ron.

"Everything will be taken care of; remember to watch my signals later," Ron instructed before meeting Hella and the others.

"No problem, I know the rules," Jimmy assured him confidently.

The meeting place was a private room in the tea house downstairs from Hella's apartment building; she was responsible for connecting the two parties.

When Ron and his team arrived, the gem merchant Hella had invited hadn't arrived yet, so they first discussed the passport business.

Hella was directly responsible for this transaction; she was an expert, and in just a few words, she got Jimmy to accept her offer.

The prices between passports were different. For example, going to Sri Lanka, which was next to India, could be done for $3,000.

This was a clean passport; the original owner was neither dead nor a wanted criminal, and there were no blemishes on the record.

With it, you could not only pass through international airports unimpeded, but you could even settle in Sri Lanka.

This type of passport was the most expensive, and $3,000 was already considered a low price. Of course, there were cheaper ones, such as the one Jimmy had with a criminal record, which cost between $100 and $1,000 on the black market.

And even if it was a clean passport, Sri Lanka needed $3,000, while France needed $10,000.

After all, it was a developed country, and European and American passports had always been in high demand. This was not the first time Jimmy had done such a deal, and he accepted Hella's offer.

As the two shook hands to finalize the deal, Ron happily gave Hella an admiring look.

Thirteen thousand dollars, he could probably get a ten percent commission, which was not a small amount. Especially with US dollar transactions, he could earn a little more by using the black market exchange rate.

After the two parties agreed on a delivery time, the gem merchant in the white hat hurried over with a cane.

Judging from his attire, it was easy to tell that he was a Muslim. This was not surprising; Hyderabad was rich in gems, and that city was a well-known Muslim gathering area.

In India, if you want to distinguish whether a city has more Hindus or Muslims, it's simple: just look at the name.

Names with "-bad" indicate that Muslims are the majority, such as Hyderabad and Ahmedabad.

Names with "-pur" indicate that Hindus are the majority, such as Jaipur and Kanpur.

Ron and Hella were not surprised by this, and Jimmy glanced over. Seeing that he didn't say anything, he started negotiating with the gem merchant with confidence.

The two of them did not directly participate in this transaction; they were just intermediaries, and their final reward was a commission from the transaction amount.

In his own professional field, Jimmy revealed his shrewd side. He shouted loudly, fiercely bargaining with the gem merchant, but never revealing his target price.

It wasn't until the other party was about to lose patience that he grabbed a corner of the gem merchant's pocket and raised the corresponding number of fingers under the cover of the cloth, indicating the price he wanted.

"Are you crazy? Do you even want to do business?" The gem merchant didn't give in, slamming the door in extreme dissatisfaction and shouting and cursing all the way.

"Eh?" Jimmy subconsciously wanted to chase after him, but Ron stopped him.

"Don't worry, he'll be back."

"What?" Jimmy stared at him blankly.

Actually, he was just randomly quoting prices just now. Doing business, who doesn't bargain?

But the gem merchant suddenly left without saying goodbye before they even had two rounds, which caught him a little off guard.

"In India, you can't even talk business without a few rounds of confrontation," Ron winked at him and pointed to the corner.

Jimmy saw a beautiful cane there, which was something the gem merchant had left behind.

He seemed to understand something, while Hella watched all this with a smile. Neither explaining nor rushing.

After about five minutes, the gem merchant who had left in a huff suddenly came back.

"I forgot my cane here," he looked at Ron and then at Hella.

"Come, come, I think we can talk again," Ron quickly stepped forward and grabbed his arm, then winked at Jimmy.

Jimmy suddenly understood that this was the time to watch the signals.

So he took a step back and reopened the price based on the previous offer.

Sure enough, this time, the jeweler gestured slightly twice and showed an expression of interest.

"Come, come, shake hands and make a deal!" Ron stepped forward again.

The smoke of gunpowder in the private room was swept away, and everyone was beaming. Everyone's performance was exaggerated, but the deal was done.

Next, Hella would be in charge of inspecting the goods. The two had a clear division of labor and secured this $200,000 jewelry transaction.

They each had a commission. Overall, Ron had about three points of commission, and this money would only be received after the transaction was completed.

Look, this kind of special business was very profitable. In just half an afternoon, he would have an income of $7,300, totaling 300,000 rupees.

Of course, good things don't happen every day. Occasionally getting one deal was worth a month's income from Bollywood.

After saying goodbye to Hella, Ron saw Johnny when he returned to the Fort area.

He was very happy; he knew that good things were about to come in pairs.