Dreaming back to 1949, the great powers were there to deceive us

After exchanging greetings, Hu Zhenhua led them into a small meeting room in the Friendship Store.

Hu Zhenhua glanced at his watch and it was already 11 o'clock at night.

Morris and Carter looked at each other and spoke first.

"Hu, were you just lending money to those small businessmen?"

Hu Zhenhua lit a cigarette to refresh himself and said with a smile,

"That's right, we call them peddlers here. They walk the streets, just like the cigarette vendors in Shanghai!"

"So that's it!"

Morris had just seen that the money Hu Zhenhua lent them was not much, the least was only twenty or so yuan, and the most was no more than fifty yuan.

Morris simply didn't care about this amount of money.

He also lit a cigar and said lightly,

"Hu, can you transfer this business to me?"

In Morris's opinion, Hu Zhenhua would not care about this small business at all. If they could use this as a breakthrough to enter the Chongming Industrial Zone, it would be natural for Huaqi Foreign Company to develop other businesses in the future.

This is a breakthrough from 0 to 1.

Hu Zhenhua just laughed.

Others may not understand the huge potential of exchanging chicken feathers for sugar, but how could he, who has experienced it, not understand it?

Yiwu's small commodities became popular all over the world in later generations, which was developed from exchanging chicken feathers for sugar.

After taking a puff of his cigarette, Lao Hu decisively refused.

"My friend, it is really inconvenient to let Huaqi Foreign Company in. Please forgive me."

Morris' eyes widened. He didn't expect that Hu Zhenhua would refuse such a small request.

He looked at Carter, who understood and immediately said,

"Hu, you're also American. What's the inconvenience in letting Huaqi Foreign Company in?"

"Because I have an Oriental face, and Mr. Morris doesn't!"

This reason made Carter unable to refute.

For a moment, the room fell silent.

After a long time, Carter said casually,

"This morning, the People's Liberation Army broke into Ambassador Stuart's residence, and an unpleasant incident occurred between the two sides! When the news reached China, public opinion was in uproar, believing this to be a hostile act by the Chinese Communist Party."

After Carter finished speaking, he stared at Hu Zhenhua closely, wanting to see his reaction.

At this time, Hu Zhenhua frowned and just smoked.

Of course Lao Hu knew about this, he couldn't stop it, nor did he want to stop it.

History is like dominoes. Once you move one, it will trigger a series of subsequent events.

The rise of China is certain, and Hu Zhenhua is very afraid that his appearance will cause some accidents.

The ideal outcome is to enhance national strength as much as possible without changing the main line of history.

The reason why Hu Zhenhua knew about this incident was entirely because it changed the PLA's original combat deployment.

According to the plan previously approved by the Central Military Commission, within a week after the liberation of Jinling, the Third Field Army will attack the Magic City.

A series of foreign-related incidents, such as mistakenly entering Ambassador Stuart's residence, made the top leaders of the Red Army believe that the preparations for the reception were seriously inadequate.

The Magic City is the economic center of the Far East, and its size and influence are even greater than those of Jinling.

Moreover, the West has a lot of interests in Shanghai, especially the warships of Western countries stationed in Shanghai. If the reception work is not adequately prepared and causes unnecessary misunderstandings and conflicts, it may cause the intervention of the great powers.

Therefore, after careful consideration, the General Front Committee of Crossing the River suggested to the Military Commission that the attack on the Magic City be postponed for half a month to a month in order to conduct training for the troops.

In a famous movie later on, PLA soldiers slept in their clothes on the streets of Shanghai. Their strict military discipline was precisely due to this training!

A political party that is good at summarizing and learning will surely lead China to take off!

Seeing Hu Zhenhua remained silent for a long time, Carter spoke again.

"The latest instructions from home require us to immediately assess the industrial zone's influence on the Red faction!"

Hu Zhenhua raised his head, stared at Carter, and asked,

"What do you mean?"

Without waiting for Carter to answer, Hu Zhenhua slammed the table and shouted,

"Carter, let me make this clear. If you abandon my responsibility, I will immediately declare TA Bankruptcy. I will not pay back a cent of the money owed!"

Morris looked at Hu Zhenhua's murderous expression and was very anxious. He quickly comforted him.

"Hu, don't get excited. The country is just asking for an evaluation, not giving up!"

The bulk of the loans the United States made to TA were handled by Huaqi Foreign Trade. If TA went bankrupt, Morris would have no place to cry!

Carter was also feeling bitter. His original intention was to give Hu Zhenhua a warning and make him give in so that other American companies could participate in the industrial zone. However, Hu Zhenhua's reaction was so strong that he almost turned against him.

Not only is there no intention to stop the industrial zone in the country, but the pace of economic and monetary invasion is also being accelerated!

The United States has invested huge amounts of money in this industrial zone. If it suddenly gives up, it will not be able to pass the Congress first.

Furthermore, changing policies every day will greatly undermine the credibility of the United States.

Morris saw that Hu Zhenhua still had a sour face, so he pushed Carter and kept winking at him.

"Mr. Consul, please tell Hu that there is absolutely no such intention in China!"

Carter suppressed his frustration, took a deep breath, and said,

"Hu, this is just a normal government procedure. I hope you won't over-interpret it!"

Hu Zhenhua lit another cigarette and smoked it for a long time. He raised his head and asked,

"Am I really over-interpreting this?"

Carter forced a smile and said firmly,

"Yes!"

At this moment, both sides were scared to death!

Hu Zhenhua is afraid that the United States will really withdraw its investment.

But Carter was afraid that Hu Zhenhua would quit!

The two frightened parties did not dare to speak out first, for fear of angering the other.

Morris saw that Hu Zhenhua's expression had eased a little, and the heavy stone in his heart finally fell a little. He laughed awkwardly twice and said,

"Hu, if you don't agree, then don't come in during the flower season! Everyone, please don't ruin the atmosphere!"

Hu Zhenhua looked at Morris, his mind racing. A flash of inspiration struck him, and he forced a smile and said,

"My friend, the risks of doing finance in an industrial zone are simply too great. If you're not afraid, I can think of a solution!"

Morris was overjoyed and he looked at Carter.

In their view, Hu Zhenhua had compromised.

Morris laughed, grabbed Lao Hu's hand and said,

“The last thing a cowboy fears is a spirit of adventure!”

Hu Zhenhua also shook his hand enthusiastically and said with a smile,

"Morris, listen to me explain the risks here before you make a decision!"

The white devil also felt that he had lost his composure. He picked up the cigar on the table and took another puff.

"Speaking!"

Hu Zhenhua cleared his throat and said,

"For example, those dozens of peddlers you just saw are actually farmers from Jiangbei. Today is their first time doing business. Morris, is it risky to lend money to them?"

Morris opened his mouth.

Farmers from Jiangbei?

First time doing business?

The probability of them going bankrupt cannot be said to be 100%, but 90% is not too much!

Even business elites cannot guarantee that a business will be 100% successful.

Therefore, banks attach great importance to risk control.

In the banking industry, there is a famous saying: Loans without collateral are all rogue!

If the farmers in Jiangbei run away, where will you find them?

Morris was silent for a moment, then said,

"The risk is a bit high, but fortunately the amount they loan is not large and I can afford it."

Hu Zhenhua waved his hand.

“What if the number of people I want to lend money to is 10 or 20?”

Morris's mouth dropped open again.

If one person borrows 50 million yuan, then 10 people would have a loan of 500 million yuan. What if the money can't be recovered?

"The risk is not low!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Carter kicked him calmly.

Morris coughed twice and quickly changed the subject.

“Fortune and honor are sought in risk, and high risk means high reward!”

He glanced at Carter and continued,

"Hu, you must have some ulterior motive for doing this, right?"

Hu Zhenhua laughed twice and said,

"These peddlers can go places we can't go to without any hindrance. Imagine if peddlers with 10 or 20 yuan were roaming the streets and alleys, and in and out of villages day and night, wouldn't my industrial catalog be able to spread all over the world? Wouldn't the industrial products I produce be able to quickly occupy the market?"

Hu Zhenhua took a deep drag on his cigarette, blew out the smoke rings, and said firmly,

"I lent them money and never thought of getting it back!"

Morris found it hard to accept and blurted out,

"Then the money that was lent out would be wasted, wouldn't it?"

The risk is so great, why would you come here?

Hu Zhenhua looked helpless.

"How much I can collect is up to fate. However, there's no need to be so pessimistic. According to my guess, the peddler's success rate is at least half!"

Morris ignored Carter's secret dissuasion and shouted,

“How can it be so high!”

"Because if they fail, they will go hungry, so peddlers will try every possible way to sell more goods. Their feet can travel thousands of miles!"

Morris and Carter had never seen such a scene before, and they were a little bit unconvinced.

Morris laughed.

"Hu, human power is limited. Some things cannot be changed by human will. If the peddlers' business doesn't grow big, they will give up soon!"

Hu Zhenhua did not argue with them.

Words cannot persuade others.

"If you've ever been hungry, you won't have such thoughts!"

Morris laughed and said,

"Hu, don't look down on me. Sometimes I get so busy that I don't even have time to eat all day. That's really not a good feeling!"

Hu Zhenhua complained in his heart: You didn’t eat, but you drank coffee, and there was a lot of sugar in it!

I’ll starve you for two days and see if you dare to be stubborn!

Lao Hu waved his hand.

"Morris, let me make a bet with you. If you win, I'll allow Huaqi Foreign Company to enter the industrial zone. If you lose, you'll have to pay for the loans to these peddlers!"

Morris was determined to win and shouted,

"What bet?"

"First I'll starve you for 48 hours, then I'll provide you with food. If you can go 12 hours without eating, you win!"

Morris was silent for a moment, then said,

"Okay, but you must provide me with enough drinking water!"

"no problem!"

Carter, who had been silent all this time, coughed twice and said,

"Gentlemen, we are all people of status. There's no need to fight like street thugs, right?"

Morris suddenly thought of something and shouted,

"Hu, let's agree on the total amount of the loan first. If you ask for 100 million or 200 million, I can't give it to you!"

Carter's mouth twitched as he said sternly,

"Maurice!"

Morris got angry and refused to listen.

"Mr. Consul, this is about the business expansion of Huaqi Foreign Company, please don't try to persuade me!"

Carter glared at him and ignored him. Instead, he looked at Hu Zhenhua and said with a smile,

"Hu, how long do you plan to complete this peddler project?"

"One to two years! Our company is very short on funds and it's a bit difficult to implement!"

This is true. According to the calculations of the US Consulate, the cash owned by TA company is definitely no more than 1 million US dollars. They also have to hold an order fair, so there is a huge funding gap.

This peddler plan is very interesting. It sells needles and thread, which have no technological content at all.

It is precisely because of this that it is so concealed.

Hu Zhenhua can promote industrial products today, and tomorrow he can use these peddlers to do something else, such as intelligence gathering.

What the United States is best at is finding useful intelligence from some seemingly insignificant social phenomena.

For example, the economic level of a region can be judged by the types of goods sold and the sales volume of the goods.

At present, the United States has no understanding of the Red side, and the Intelligence Agency urgently needs to collect relevant intelligence.

Carter thought for a moment and asked,

"If I want you to complete it within three months, how much money will it take?"

At this point, Hu Zhenhua came to his senses.

Carter still wants to pour money into it, which shows that they have high hopes for monetary and economic invasion.

If that's the case!

Hey!

Hu Zhenhua stared into Carter's eyes and said word by word,

"No less than 2 million Mi Yuan!"

Morris jumped up and shouted,

"How can there be so much? Even if we develop 20 peddlers, 1000 million Mi Yuan at most will be enough!"

This question also puzzled Carter.

Hu Zhenhua knocked on the table and asked,

"Excuse me, what is my purpose in developing the peddler business?"

Morris answered without hesitation,

"It's for publicity, of course!"

Old Hu spread his hands,

"That's it! I've attracted a large number of customers to buy pumps, tractors, and generators. If they run out of money, do I have to continue lending them money?"

Suddenly a flash of lightning flashed through Carter's mind, and he said excitedly,

"By then, you will become their creditor!"

Hu Zhenhua gave a thumbs up.

"Mr. Consul, you hit the nail on the head! I'm a little worried about whether 2 million yuan is enough!"

Carter really wanted to say: It’s not enough, we can continue to add more.

But his diplomatic qualities made him remain reserved.

"Mr. Hu, you said before that you could think of a solution for Morris. I wonder what it is?"

"A new bank will be established in the industrial zone. Huaqi Foreign Company can acquire shares, but the company will be responsible for the operation."

Morris became interested and asked eagerly,

“How is the equity divided?”

"The funds are provided by Huaqi Foreign Exchange, which holds a 49% stake, and our TA company holds 51%!"

This is simply taking advantage of Huaqi Foreign Company!

Just as Morris was about to object, Carter stepped on his foot and gave him a stern warning with his eyes!

The Peddler Plan can greatly accelerate the promotion of rice and economic invasion. Obviously, Carter is tempted.

Morris was helpless and said angrily,

"Mr. Consul, in this plan, TA Company sold industrial products, and the United States promoted its currency. I really don't see what Huaqi Foreign Company gained!"

Carter said coldly,

"You've earned the friendship of their company and the consulate. Isn't that enough?"

Morris shuddered suddenly.

The fact that Huaqi Foreign Company has survived to this day and has become the "Central Bank" of the Magic City is entirely due to the support of the consulate. If Carter is displeased, Huaqi may be crushed to death by him!

Morris was not someone to be trifled with. He said after a moment's silence,

"Mr. Consul, our bank's cash flow is a bit..."

Carter immediately interrupted him,

"You don't have to worry about the funding!"

Morris was very angry. He turned to Hu Zhenhua and asked,

"Hu, does our bet still count?"

Hu Zhenhua laughed.

"Mr. Consul, if I understand correctly, the consulate will inject 2 million mio into the new bank, correct?"

"No, no, no, Hu, you misunderstood. It was Huaqi Foreign Company that injected capital. The consulate is an overseas agency of the US government, and we cannot participate in its business activities!"

Hu Zhenhua nodded and said,

"Mr. Morris, if you win, Huaqi can open a branch in the industrial zone. If you lose, Huaqi Foreign Company must inject an additional 1000 million Mi Yuan into the new bank. Is that a problem?"

Morris extended his hand and shook hands with Hu Zhenhua.

"That's absolutely fine! From this moment on, our little bet begins!"

……