1928: The rise of giant merchants

September 6, the seventeenth year of the Republic of China (1928).

Shanghai train station.

"Second Young Master, I have sent you off for a thousand miles, and you have to say goodbye eventually, so please don't send me off again." Seeing that the train to Tianjin was about to arrive at the station in fifteen minutes, Meng Xiaodong, who was wearing men's clothes and a felt hat, looked brave to Ye. Luo bowed slightly. If it weren't for the inconvenience of dressing up as a man, she would have wanted to say goodbye to Ye Luo with the traditional courtesy of a blessing.

After just a few days of getting along, Meng Xiaodong has been deeply affected by Ye Luo, and finally understands why Mei Lanfang admires this big businessman so much.

It's a pity that Meng Xiaodong will officially make her comeback after Big World takes the stage. Her main stage is already in the north, and she is destined not to stay in the south for long.

"Winter Emperor, thank you for your support these days. Without your Meng family troupe, it would be difficult for us to win the New World so easily." Ye Luo clasped his fists and expressed his sincere thanks.

"Second Young Master, please stop teasing me. The Great World Amusement Park deserves to be known as the number one club in the Far East. Even without us, New World wouldn't be able to compete with you. I'm just the little pearl on the cake. "

Meng Xiaodong shook his head and chuckled, then looked at him and bowed solemnly to thank him.

"I heard about the foundation. The second young master is very righteous. On behalf of the people in the north, I would like to thank the second young master!"

"Hey, it's just a trivial matter. It's not worth mentioning." Ye Luo stretched out his hand to support Meng Xiaodong. It was the first time the two had physical contact. Through the clothes, he could still feel the softness and touch of her arms. "If the Emperor of Winter intends to come to the south to develop in the future, The main stage of the big world will always reserve your position as the leader."

"Thank you, Second Young Master~" Meng Xiaodong smiled like a girl this time. Her lips pursed and she chuckled as if flowers were blooming, attracting attention.

After the two said goodbye, Zhang Yunhe secretly pulled his daughter over, but as soon as he mentioned the words "Second Young Master", Meng Xiaodong glared back.

She cannot be Mei Lanfang's concubine. With Ye Luo's status and background, it is extremely difficult for her to get the position of concubine even if she is willing to agree with her. Meng Xiaodong has longing and hope for love and does not like to have nothing in vain.

This was also the reason why she later decided to divorce Mei Lanfang and would rather bear the infamy than marry Lu Yusheng as the first wife.

The train made a loud "woo" sound and rumbled forward.

Meng Xiaodong leaned out of the car window and waved goodbye to Ye Luo, but saw that his mouth seemed to be shouting "handbag". He was confused, so he returned to his seat and asked Zhang Yunhe for a handbag.

"You mean that famous brand bag that the second young master specially bought for you? Oh, Xiaodong, you listen to your mother. It's rare to see such a refined, wealthy man who understands women's hearts." Zhang Yunhe started talking again.

Staying at the Dahua Hotel these days, Ye Luo not only covered all the expenses of the Meng family troupe, but also bought generous gifts for each of them before leaving. The gift for Meng Xiaodong was a brand-name handbag.

Taking the handbag, Meng Xiaodong opened it curiously and found that it was filled with all kinds of gold and silver jewelry, which made Zhang Yunhe's eyes widen.

"Oh my God, I saw this jade at a foreign store in the French Concession. The price on it was 1,000 oceans!" Zhang Yunhe picked up a small piece of jade pendant and admired it, "The second young master really understands women's hearts."

Meng Xiaodong took out a string of crystal clear necklaces and remembered that she had not received any gifts for more than a year since she got married. She suddenly felt a little melancholy. When she looked outside the train, she had already left Shanghai.

I don’t know how long it will take to see each other again.

After coming out of the train station, Ye Luo asked Ding Li to take him to Fuxi Road, Siming New Village, French Concession.

This is the place where Xu Zhimo and Lu Xiaoman lived after they got married.

When they got married in Peking, they were scolded by Liang Qichao's "wedding speech". Both of them were cheaters and had a bad reputation, so they came south to settle in Shanghai.

Lu Xiaoman likes to enjoy life and pursues extremely high quality.

After marrying her, Xu Zhimo cut ties with his family. He was originally an eldest young man, but he suddenly lost his financial resources and had to raise such a beautiful girl. He had to work part-time in various bookstores and was also a visiting professor at the university. A monthly income of nearly 800 yuan is enough to meet Lu Xiaoman's needs.

For the sake of comfort and affordability, the two rented a three-story Western-style building in Siming New Village. By coincidence, this house was one of the fifty properties given to Ye Luo by the Bei family.

The car was parked properly, and there was a brand new Chevrolet 490 parked in front of the small mansion. It seemed that the two of them were at home.

Ye Luo rang the doorbell, and soon a maid came to open the door: "Who are you? Who are you looking for?"

"My name is Ye Luo, and I'm here to visit Mr. Xu and Mrs. Xu who live here." Ye Luo walked in front. Ding Li behind him had his hands full of gifts, but Shi Jianqiao was in the car and had no intention of entering.

She is not interested in these young men and women who live a petty bourgeois life. Recently, she has been engaged in filming, amusement parks and dance halls. Shi Jianqiao occasionally asks Zhou Xingxing to take over, and goes to the Jingwu Sports Association to compete with Huo Ting'en and Chen Zhen.

Two minutes later, Lu Xiaoman, who was wearing light pajamas and was lazy and sexy, came downstairs to greet him personally. When he saw Ye Luo, he pursed his lips and smiled: "Hey, what kind of wind brought the second young master here, why didn't you call me in advance when you came to my place?" ?”

"Come in, please, don't take off your shoes. What are you doing with so many things?" Lu Xiaoman twisted her slender waist and her voice was as clear and sweet as a wind chime. Seeing that the two of them still took off their leather shoes, she quickly bent down to get new slippers. give them.

"Xiao Man, isn't Zhimo at home?" Ye Luo asked in surprise when he saw that there were no men's leather shoes at the door. "I saw a car parked at the door, so I thought he was there too."

"He went to school to give lectures today, and he probably won't be back for dinner." Lu Xiaoman asked the maid to make tea, while he sat on the sofa, and then lay down lazily, "I drive that car occasionally, and he gets in I like taking the tram after get off work.”

If Ye Luo remembered correctly, Xu Zhimo is now a professor at Guanghua University and Daxia University. He often attends various lectures, writes poems and books to earn extra money, so he can't afford a second car.

But when he saw that there were many servants in the small foreign-style building, including three chefs, and the ostentation was bigger than that of Ye Mansion, Ye Luo immediately understood why the two of them lived a tight life.

The maid brought tea. Lu Xiaoman remembered that Ye Luo used to like to drink American coffee, so he took out the Western porcelain from the storage room and personally helped him grind the coffee beans and brew the hot coffee.

"Aluo, do you have anything to do with Zhimo today?" Lu Xiaoman pushed the hot coffee to him and asked with a smile, "It wasn't that Great World just opened recently. I thought you would be too busy."

"The big world is run by my sister-in-law, and I don't have anything to do. I just sent the Winter Emperor to the train station, and then suddenly remembered that you two were the king and queen of dance in college. You were planning to open a dance hall recently, so I thought about it. Please help me." Ye Luo took a sip of coffee and tasted that these were no ordinary coffee beans, secretly sighing at Lu Xiaoman's life as a socialite and noble lady.

No wonder Xu Zhimo couldn't fully satisfy her even with his financial resources.

"Opening a dance hall? Why haven't I heard you talk about it?" Lu Xiaoman is a famous socialite in Shanghai. The title of "Southern Tang and Beilu" refers to her and Tang Ying. On weekdays, she likes to go to the theater, dance, watch movies, bet on horses, etc. Entertainment, she is a frequent visitor to many high-end hotel ballrooms. When she heard that Ye Luo was going to open a ballroom, she suddenly became energetic.

"It's an idea that just came up recently." Ye Luo smiled slightly and briefly told her about the Black Cat Dance Hall.

On the opening day, the first song was the so-called "opening song". Not only did he, as the boss, have to dance on stage, but he also had to invite some celebrities to support him.

Ye Luo plans to promote his civilian dance hall on the opening day, so he needs to quickly gain fame and popularity, so he needs some celebrities who often hang out in various dance halls to promote it.

He immediately thought of Lu Xiaoman.

"Black Cat Dance Hall? Independent Dance Hall? Civilian Dance Hall? This is really novel. Do you want to build a separate dance hall for all people to dance?" Lu Xiaoman was attracted by his creativity, thought for a while, and smiled again and again, "What a good idea. Now, Arlo. Everyone is frightened by the difficulty and ostentation of the dance. They think that to dance, you have to go to the best hotel and pay expensive tea. It’s not that the upper class can’t get involved. But in fact, as you said, individual The dance is not difficult and suitable for all ages, and the dance itself has a very low threshold, but it lacks popularity and professional venues.”

"I have found a soulmate." Ye Luo clapped his legs and laughed, "I explained to them for a long time, but no one listened. There are various dance halls I want to open, and tea like the Black Cat Dance Hall is cheap and everyone can Now, those who don’t know how to dance can choose professional dancers to accompany them, and the tips are normal. There are also mid-range dance halls, which are specially used for social entertainment and entertainment by people with a certain social status and financial resources, and the consumption level is medium to upper. The final high-end dance halls are the same as today. The hotel ballroom is similar, but the decoration will be more luxurious, the service will be more exquisite, and the consumption will be more expensive!"

"Low-end, mid-range, high-end. I see, there is no threshold for dancing, but different dance halls have their own thresholds. Just choose the one that suits you." Lu Xiaoman's eyes lit up, "I think this business can be done. I just don't know. Why is it called the Black Cat Dance Hall?”

"Haha, after the opening of Shanghai, foreigners or comprador families like to hire housekeepers from Guangdong Province, because they are clean, well-behaved, and can understand some English. And such housekeepers always wear black pants, white mid-sleeve tops, and skirts. There is a bunch of keys hanging by the buttons on her lapel, and a white towel in her hand. The daughter she has trained is always very polite, like a well-behaved black cat."

Ye Luo glanced at the maids, housekeepers, and the daughters they brought at Lu Xiaoman's house. Those girls who were no more than sixteen years old and wearing miniature maid uniforms looked like smart and cute black cats when they knelt down to wipe. ?

Lu Xiaoman suddenly realized.

Indeed, this type of maids are very popular with wealthy families, especially the daughters they bring with them. When they grow up, they will inherit their mother's business and continue to serve their masters.

In fact, this was the case for Ruan Lingyu and her adoptive mother. They worked as servants in Zhang Damin's house.

Ruan Lingyu was the "black cat" of the Zhang family, and she was spotted by the young master Zhang Damin.

The dancers at the Black Cat Ballroom will also be dressed in similar costumes. This is a real historical event. They wear various black and white costumes and dance with the dancers, which is very cute.

Thinking about it this way, this is probably the earliest cosplay?

"That's it, A Luo, no wonder Zhimo said you are a born businessman, you are the only one with the most clever ideas." Lu Xiaoman couldn't help but purse his lips and chuckle, admiring his intelligence, "Oh, if only Zhimo could do things like you Business, that’s fine.”

"Haha, I have always hoped to be as talented and elegant as him. You can't have your cake and eat it too." Ye Luo was humble and waved his hand.

"Okay, how can I help you?" Lu Xiaoman knew that his business was huge. Opening such a dance hall with such an idea would probably cost tens of thousands of dollars. Maybe he could get a share of the pie.

She sat down next to Ye Luo, smiling cutely, waiting for his reply.