People in the Republic of China era began to rise from industry.

When talking to Lin Yi, Lin Fang appeared meek and submissive.

However, after leaving number 216, as the large iron gate behind him closed, his previous cautious demeanor vanished instantly.

His eyes also became gloomy and sharp.

A white Cadillac sedan parked not far away quickly drove over when it saw him come out.

After the car came to a complete stop, the person sitting in the passenger seat quickly got out and opened the car door for Lin Fang.

Once in the car, Lin Fang immediately closed his eyes to rest.

His face was terrifyingly gloomy.

After the car smoothly drove off Ferguson Road, he suddenly opened his eyes, raised his hand and slapped the back of the head of the passenger in the front seat.

"Damn it, who did you hire? Didn't you say you'd already taken care of Lin Yi?"

"They said they were completely undetected? Were those ghosts in the villa just now?!"

"If I hadn't reacted quickly, that old fox Dong Jingnan might have seen through my disguise!"

Faced with Lin Fang's questioning, his subordinate looked conflicted and said, "Mr. Lin, I don't know either."

"They did say before that they would throw Lin Yi into the sea."

"Given their reputation, they wouldn't try to fool us."

No sooner had he finished speaking than another slap landed on his face.

Lin Fang, looking furious, gritted his teeth and said, "Contact them immediately. I can let bygones be bygones."

"But they need to get rid of Lin Yi as soon as possible."

"The same requirement applies: the death must be an accident."

"Otherwise, they won't get a single penny of the remaining money!"

"Yes!"

The subordinate hurriedly agreed, feeling a real sense of relief.

Lin Fang was a capricious fellow. When he was in a good mood, you would receive one benefit after another while working under him.

Especially when addressing him as Mr. Lin.

But when he gets angry, he can really strangle someone to death...

Meanwhile, inside the villa, Lin Yi was pulling Uncle Nan aside to learn about the family business.

There's no need to worry about arousing Uncle Nan's suspicion on this point.

His persona was originally that of a prodigal son who had studied in the United States and had not returned home for many years.

It's perfectly reasonable that they don't know much about the family business.

However, Uncle Nan was a bit unhelpful; upon hearing Lin Yi's question, his brows furrowed immediately.

After considering for a moment, he said, "Young Master, the family business is usually handled personally by the Master."

"Moreover, each of the factories has its own assistant manager, and Lin Fang helps manage them."

"I'm only responsible for looking after a few warehouses at the dock, as well as shipping and gang matters. As for the factory, I really don't know much about it."

Hearing what Uncle Nan said, Lin Yi was not disappointed.

On the contrary, I am quite happy to see this situation.

If Uncle Nan doesn't interfere, it means that I can take charge directly from now on.

When faced with a problem, they can make a decision directly.

There's absolutely no need to worry about Uncle Nan hindering you.

As for gangs, and the warehouses and shipping businesses heavily influenced by gangs, he wasn't particularly interested... In his eyes, gangs were just tools, and there was no reason to make them his main business.

I had a good night's sleep.

I woke up the next day and had breakfast.

He also met with several gang members that Uncle Nan had arranged to protect him... Lin Yi hadn't had a chance to mention this yet; it was an arrangement made by Uncle Nan himself.

This shows that he is mature and prudent.

Afterwards, the group went out to inspect their own properties.

The Lin family's largest business is a textile factory.

The factory covers an area of ​​nearly 100 acres and has more than 700 workers.

When Lin Yi arrived, the factory was bustling with activity.

However, Lin Fang, who accompanied Lin Yi, told him some bad news.

"Cousin, the textile market is not doing well lately."

"With raw material prices soaring, and after the signing of the Shanghai Armistice Agreement, the Nationalist government further reduced import tariffs on foreign finished fabrics."

“The market is now flooded with imported finished fabrics, and the most crucial point is that their prices are almost the same as our costs.”

"In the past few months, the factory has been losing money as soon as it starts operating. The more it produces, the more it loses."

"Moreover, there is a serious backlog of inventory; our textile factory's warehouse is almost overflowing."

Hearing Lin Fang's words, Lin Yi also frowned.

He could guess the inside story about the reduction in import tariffs without even asking.

The Battle of Shanghai had just ended, and Chiang Kai-shek in Nanjing had begged and pleaded with Western countries for mediation, which certainly came at a price.

Lowering tariffs on imported goods is probably one of them.

Weak nations lack equal diplomacy; to achieve their goals, they must either bleed or sacrifice their own flesh.

This is something that a businessman like him cannot control.

All he can do is reduce costs and increase profit margins.

Cost reduction can only be addressed from two aspects.

One is the cost of raw materials, and the other is improving production efficiency.

As for cutting labor costs... looking at the busy female workers in the workshop, the thought had just popped into his head when Lin Yi suppressed it.

He aspires to be an entrepreneur, and he wouldn't do something like exploiting his employees.

Thinking it over, Lin Yi asked, "What's going on with the rising raw material prices? Is there a cotton shortage?"

"No."

Fang Chang shook his head and said with a sneer, "A large portion of the cotton used in China's textile industry is imported."

"Now the import tariffs on finished fabrics have been reduced, but the import tariffs on cotton have increased."

"Domestic cotton prices also rose accordingly."

"There's absolutely no way out!"

Lin Yi was utterly speechless.

He understands that weak countries have no diplomacy, but the government's actions are not just cutting off its own flesh, they are practically hanging itself!

Squeezed from both ends, it's no wonder the domestic textile industry is dying.

He had studied business history.

I also have some knowledge of the commercial situation during the Republic of China era.

Heavy industry was practically nonexistent.

As for light industry, it was quite prosperous, especially during the so-called golden decade.

In the light industry sector, the textile industry is the leader, accounting for the largest proportion.

But now, it's clear that foreigners want to strangle this dragon head.

Whether the government understands this, Lin Yi doesn't know.

The only certainty is that the raw material supply route has been blocked.

We can't expect ordinary people in China, who rely on the weather for their livelihood, to voluntarily lower cotton prices, can we?

As for improving production efficiency, he looked at the rumbling equipment in the workshop and felt a bit like a skilled cook without rice.

He is a business genius.

He is adept at interpersonal relationships, keen to spot business opportunities, and skilled at business operations.

But he knows absolutely nothing about technology.

To him, all machines and equipment were just lumps of iron.

Improving the production line to increase production efficiency is simply impossible.

"Ding! Congratulations, host! The technology upgrade system has been successfully loaded!"

A clear, crisp sound suddenly popped into my mind.

Lin Yi was completely dumbfounded: ? ? ?

No one knew that Lin Yi was undergoing a baptism by the system.

Standing to the side, Lin Fang looked at Lin Yi's furrowed brows and felt an indescribable sense of satisfaction.

Haha, this guy's been in the US for a few years, looks like he's nothing special.

He couldn't possibly manage such a large business empire as the Lin family.

He was secretly complaining.

Lin Fang's face remained expressionless.

Like Lin Yi, he frowned and said with a hint of complaint, "Two months ago, I noticed that the market trend was not right, so I suggested to my uncle that the textile factory should just stop production."

"Unfortunately, my uncle didn't agree."

"Now that it's been two months, based on the current fabric selling price, we've lost at least 100,000 yuan."

"That would only happen if we sold all the inventory in the warehouse."

"If it gets stuck in your hands, that would be a real loss!"