1928: The rise of giant merchants

"It turned out to be the second young master who bought Xiangsheng Automobile Co., Ltd. and made the city a storm. I have admired him for a long time." Chen Guangfu was slightly stunned, then smiled and shook hands with Ye Luo.

He just overheard that Ye Luo was about to transfer 288,000 yuan. When he looked up, he saw that this young man was very unfamiliar, so he wanted to step forward and make friends with this unknown powerful man.

Unexpectedly, the other party was the second young master of the Ye family who had returned from studying abroad, and there had been a lot of rumors in Shanghai recently.

This second young master first became famous more than ten years ago. Six years ago, he was admitted to Tsinghua University as the number one scholar and went to study abroad in Britain and the United States at public expense.

I just came back recently, and a group of tycoons who have lived in Shanghai for a long time were very interested in strange stories such as "Miss Ye's family threatened not to join the army at her wedding and switch to business" and "50,000 yuan to buy Xiangsheng Automobile Co., Ltd.".

Chen Guangfu, like everyone else, felt that Ye Luo was a gambler and didn't understand business at all.

Not to mention that the current environment is not suitable for starting a business from scratch. If you plunge into the taxi business, you will not look like a businessman who understands business.

But ability belongs to ability, and background belongs to background. Once the name of the second young master of the Ye family was revealed, there were not many people in Shanghai who didn't want to know him.

"Who is this?" Chen Guangfu looked at Alfred Sloan next to Ye Luo.

"President of General Motors, Mr. Alfred Sloan." Ye Luo first said it in Chinese, and then introduced Chen Guangfu to Sloan in English.

Hearing that the other party was the bank president, he immediately greeted him with a smile.

The three of them chatted casually for a few words. At this time, Chen Ruide, the branch manager of Citibank Shanghai Branch, rushed down and came straight to them.

Ruide Chen is an American, but he has lived in Shanghai for a long time, so he chose a Chinese name based on his own name.

He was not happy to hear that his big savings account was going to be transferred to someone else.

Just like the banking industry in later generations, current bank owners are engaged in the business of attracting deposits and lending money. Customers with large deposits are the gods of wealth. The loss of every deposit is a huge loss.

"Hello, Mr. Ye, I am President Chen Ruide." Chen Ruide smiled and came up to shake hands. When he saw the combination of these three people, a strange expression immediately appeared on his face.

The second young master of the Ye family who is currently causing a lot of trouble;

Chen Guangfu, President of Shanghai Comprehensive Savings Bank;

Alfred Sloan, President of General Motors Corporation.

How could these three people get together?

"The amount of your transfer is too large. Please go upstairs to discuss in detail." Chen Ruide glanced at Sloan and Chen Guangfu with a wary look on his face.

"Second Young Master, you are busy. I still have something to do. Let's meet up another day." Chen Guangfu saw that he had good eyesight and left with a smile.

Alfred Sloan really wanted to talk about the transfer issue together, but Chen Ruide guarded him like a thief. He had also approached Chen Ruide for a loan before, but the latter did not see him at all.

Who dares to lend money to General Motors now?

When foreigners in the concession see Sloan now, they feel as if they have seen a ghost and avoid him.

Ye Luo followed Chen Ruide to the president's office on the second floor. Before closing the door, Chen Ruide said: "Mr. Ye, that Sloan is a liar! His General Company is about to go bankrupt. We can't transfer these more than 200,000 yuan to Him."

"President Chen, I have signed a contract with President Sloan to purchase 2,000 Chevrolet 490s from General Motors. This 288,000 is a deposit. Please transfer it to his account later."

Ye Luo didn't hide anything and directly told everything about the car purchase.

Chen Ruide didn't say a word, and after listening to it, he felt like his world was shattered.

Good guy, I originally thought it was 288,000, but who knew it was just a deposit!

A total of 1.44 million yuan to buy 2,000 Chevrolet 490s that have been eliminated in the United States?

No wonder they say Shanghainese people are stupid and want money quickly!

Seeing that Ye Luoyi had made up his mind, Chen Ruide had no choice but to agree to go through the transfer procedures as soon as possible.

But he was keenly aware of another element.

The 288,000 yuan is just a deposit, and there is a large balance to be settled later. The account provided by Ye Luo actually belongs to Fengming House, and the total on the account is only 268,000 yuan. How will he pay for the remaining balance?

I think of Chen Guangfu, the president of Shanghai Comprehensive Savings Bank who I just met with.

Ruide Chen understands.

"Mr. Ye, I would like to ask, what is the interest rate on the loan given to you by Shanghai Comprehensive Savings Bank?" he asked in a low voice.

Ye Luo raised his eyes and instantly understood the matter.

Chen Ruide misunderstood his relationship with Chen Guangfu.

He believes that he will get a loan from Shanghai Comprehensive Savings Bank for the final balance, or even if it has not yet been determined, he is still in contact.

After all, there is still a million yuan left in the balance, which is not a small sum.

It is obvious to all that Ye Luo does not get support from the Ye family in doing business.

Ye Yuqiao did not object, but he did not publicly express his support, let alone provide financial assistance, which illustrates the attitude of the Ye family.

Who believes that a rich kid from Ye Luo has millions of dollars in savings?

That money can only come from loans.

A loan of more than one million yuan is equivalent to 100 loans from an average company.

Who is not jealous?

Ye Luo asked Audrey to make an appointment with Consul General Barton for him, just for a bank loan.

With his introduction, HSBC, Citigroup or other foreign banks can gather the money with just a few transactions.

Barton would definitely not refuse this kind of favor that can be done without any money or effort, just by showing off his name.

As for worrying about Ye Luo's loan being outstanding, that won't happen.

With the Ye family backing him up, unless the Ye family packs up everything and runs away, they can always get it back.

Chinese business banks can also tell you if you don’t pay back the money you owe to a foreign bank, the Concession Court will teach you how to be a good person in a minute.

"Well, we are still negotiating. What, is Citibank also willing to lend me a loan?" Ye Luo smiled mysteriously.

In the middle, there is a shocking information gap that only he knows.

Why did Ye Luo choose the taxi industry?

Why does he want to buy an American car and pay in US dollars?

Because as he said to Barton, in the next six months, the U.S. stock market will usher in its final glorious period, with the economy rising steadily, and then plummeting next year, ushering in an economic crisis.

This wave of stock market surges was later called the "Last Supper", and most people who ate this meal ended up falling into a real quagmire.

They had just made a lot of money, but they refused to get out early in 1929, and they were completely doomed by the economic crisis next year!

Over the past six years, Ye Luo has saved a small amount of money overseas. This money is his last reserve and will not be used easily.

He also wanted to take advantage of this wave of stock market to make a fortune. Unfortunately, in the 1920s, the status of the Chinese in the world was low. It was not surprising that rich Chinese in foreign countries disappeared one day.

It is a crime for an ordinary man to carry a jade without any guilt!

It’s not the time to make money from shorting foreign exchange.

Therefore, Ye Luo could only do the next best thing, taking advantage of the stock market outbreak and the optimistic view of the U.S. economy, and start with Meihui.

The U.S. exchange rate will rise crazily in the next few months, which means that the U.S. dollar will appreciate significantly, and correspondingly, the ocean will depreciate.

Now, 1 U.S. dollar can be exchanged for 2.4 oceans. Three months later, 1 U.S. dollar can be exchanged for 4.8 oceans. The value of a Chevrolet 490, which also costs 490 U.S. dollars, will suddenly double!

Once he got the 2,000 cars, his assets doubled.

This wave also saved General Motors. In the future, when it re-emerges, it will become an important link in Yeluo's relationship network in the United States.

During the Great Depression in the United States in 1929, countless factories closed down, but Shanghai's light industry was still in its infancy. By then, buying any of the bankrupt machinery factories, equipment, talents, technology, etc. would be incomparable wealth.

This depends on the relationship between General Motors.

Alfred Sloan is currently at a low point. Even the Americans do not think highly of him. The kindness of providing help in times of need will be remembered for a lifetime. No matter how bad it is, a few big favors are enough.

Ye Luo's calculations have already been rattled in his mind, and he will never let himself suffer.

"Of course! You are a VIP customer of our Citibank, and we can provide you with various conveniences with the highest standards of treatment. If you are willing to borrow this money from our bank"

Chen Ruide smiled and nodded.

"I have always trusted your company's ability. But..." Ye Luo sighed.

"But what?" Chen Ruide asked quickly.

Ye Luo glanced at the empty table, and Chen Ruide slapped his head. He originally wanted to call his assistant to make tea, but then he thought about it and made two cups of coffee himself.

"President Chen of Shanghai Comprehensive Savings Bank has a close relationship with my father, and the terms he offered are very attractive." Ye Luo said with a sullen expression.

Chen Ruide hurriedly asked: "What conditions? We at Citibank will definitely be able to meet the conditions it can offer, Mr. Ye, and it will be several times more favorable than it!"

"First, it can be withdrawn to me quickly in the near future. Although the balance must be settled later, we may pay it in batches depending on the situation. This capital chain cannot be broken, so the entire loan must be loaned to me at once."

Ye Luo stretched out his finger.

"That's no problem. We can take out this money at any time." Chen Ruide assured with a pat on his chest.

It's only over one million yuan, but Citibank's savings in Shanghai exceed tens of millions. Who wouldn't be happy if they loaned it out earlier and paid more interest?

“Second, constant monthly interest rate.”

"Of course, for VIP customers, we will not covet such small profits." Chen Ruide smiled, "How about a monthly interest rate of 8%?"

The so-called monthly interest rate of 8% means that the interest of 1 million oceans per month is 8,000 oceans.

"If it's high, they give me 5 centimeters." Ye Luo shook his finger.

These damn Chinese businessmen!

Chen Ruide cursed in his heart.

In order to compete with foreign companies for business, Chinese businessmen like to make small profits but quick turnover, or simply reduce their own profits.

5% interest can hardly cover the cost!

They worked really hard for this business!

"5% is too low, Mr. Ye. Citigroup is different from small banks. Although the interest rate is high, the service is high-quality. 6.5% is the limit I can accept." Chen Ruide looked at him.

Ye Luo still shook his head.

"6%! This is the lowest interest rate that I can decide! No matter how low it is, I can't get this loan." Seeing that he was unmoved, Chen Ruide gritted his teeth.

Ye Luo continued: "Third, settle with the ocean."

"That's no problem." Chen Ruide nodded.

Nowadays, Chinese businessmen prefer to settle their loans in ocean.

To put it bluntly, what they hold in their hands, what they save in the bank, what they use for daily expenses, and what they use for company operations are all in the ocean.

If you want them to repay the loan in US dollars, you have to go through an extra step of conversion, which is troublesome for everyone.

Yeloti made this request because he did not want to be taken advantage of. If the settlement was in US dollars and the US dollar rose when the loan was repaid, he would have to pay a lot of money in vain.

"Last point, our company's savings for this business will also be transferred from Shanghai Comprehensive Savings Bank to your bank. By then, all the funds obtained from selling the car will be deposited in your bank." Ye Luo looked at him with a smile.

Chen Ruide laughed loudly: "That is a great thing."

"So I request the highest VIP treatment." Ye Luo said word by word.

Last year, Citibank in Peking was unique in accepting deposits and marked the words "Dayang Silver Dollar" on the deposit receipts to indicate that when withdrawing money, it would be paid in cash and would not be affected by political turmoil and financial fluctuations.

As a result, not long after this measure was implemented, countless dignitaries in power, bureaucrats in power, old men from the former Qing Dynasty, and wealthy gentry from the capital came one after another.

Well-known among them include Qing Dynasty regents Wang Zaifeng, Beile Zaitao, surviving veterans Jiang Guiti, Wang Huaiqing, warlords Li Chun and Cai Chengxun, prominent politicians He Fenglin and Zhang Zuoxiang, and Director-General of the Ministry of Agriculture and Commerce Wang Huaiqing, etc.

They just enjoy the highest-level VIP treatment, deposit and withdraw at any time, and pay in cash.

"Of course, no problem." This is nothing more than reporting to the headquarters and writing an extra VIP name.

Chen Ruide agreed wholeheartedly.

"That's great. Is this settled?" Ye Luo smiled and stretched out his hand.

"Then it's settled! Congratulations to Mr. Ye for becoming Citibank's 1,687th VIP customer in China!" Chen Ruide stretched out his hand and shook his hand. "I wonder if Mr. Ye is free tonight? I would like to invite you to attend tonight's ceremony. Check out the masquerade held in the hotel.”

"Then I won't be disrespectful." Ye Luo agreed with a smile.

He was considering which one, or all foreign banks, to take advantage of, but he didn't expect that Citibank would be caught in the crossfire, so he wouldn't be polite.