Chapter 40: Protection Money
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The Yangtze Cart Company’s headquarters was bustling with activity.
The makeshift wholesale department was constantly visited by rickshaw pullers coming to replenish their supplies. Business was thriving, and Qingyang Yang and Xiuying Yang were kept busy from morning to night.
Although neither of them was highly educated, they could handle simple calculations. Besides, none of the rickshaw pullers dared cheat Mr. Liang Chen, the “conscientious boss.” Thus, Liang Chen entrusted the wholesale business to Qingyang Yang and his daughter, Xiuying.
By now, Liang Chen had openly explained the arrangement to all the rickshaw pullers: from every sale, he would take only ten percent, while the pullers themselves would also earn ten percent. In other words, their share had risen from the original six percent to ten percent. This was Liang Chen’s benevolent policy.
Meanwhile, Donghe He and Xinggao Zhou were each responsible for different portions of the business, and every aspect of the operation was flourishing.
In the office, Liang Chen was reading the newspapers, searching for information that might benefit him, particularly news concerning land sales.
He knew that, beginning toward the end of this year, Shanghai would see a wave of land speculation. By next year, even Shanghai’s major banks would establish real-estate trusts and enter the land market.
Naturally, Liang Chen intended to claim his share of the profits.
At present, he still had 6,800 silver dollars in hand. In addition, the business would generate another six or seven thousand silver dollars in dividends this year at its current scale.
According to Liang Chen’s recent inquiries, the average land price throughout the Chinese-administered districts was three hundred silver dollars per mu. Southern Shanghai had the highest prices, at 1,800 silver dollars per mu, while Zhabei stood at 1,400. The cheapest was Gaoqiao, where land went for only eighty silver dollars per mu.
In the International Settlement, the overall average was 7,500 silver dollars per mu. In the Central District, the average reached 30,000, while land along the Bund and near South Ningbo Road could command as much as 90,000 silver dollars per mu. The Northern District, connected to the railway station, had higher prices than the western and eastern districts, reaching 10,000 silver dollars per mu. The Western District was quieter and well suited for residence. Since commercial activity from the Central District was spreading westward, and the area was close to the Shanghai-Hangzhou and Shanghai-Hangzhou-Ningbo railways, land there cost more than 6,000 silver dollars per mu. The Eastern District bordered the Huangpu River and contained many factories, but workers had limited purchasing power, and industrial land was less valuable than commercial land. Prices there stood at roughly 3,500 silver dollars per mu.
The French Concession was divided into old and new districts. The old district had been established in 1849 and bordered the International Settlement in the rear, around the Huangpu Bund. Land there also cost more than 30,000 silver dollars per mu. Areas such as Avenue Joffre, Lafayette Road, and Avenue Haig were even more expensive because they offered every kind of commercial convenience; land there was difficult to obtain at any price. Land in the newer district of the French Concession was considerably cheaper.
After gathering all this information, Liang Chen felt that he was not without the means to speculate in land.
Not only would he have at least 14,000 silver dollars at his disposal this year, but with his quick and flexible mind, he could also make use of loans, attract deposits from the public, and find other ways to strengthen his capital.
“Let’s do it.”
A horse did not grow fat without night fodder, and a man did not grow rich without unexpected fortune.
The greater one’s courage, the more property one could acquire.
“Boss, this gentleman is here to see you!”
Xinggao Zhou entered with a man in his forties or fifties. The man wore a long gown with whitened cuffs and a bowler hat.
At a glance, it was obvious that he was one of those old-fashioned managers or household stewards who handled business affairs for wealthy men.
“May I ask if you are Mr. Liang Chen of the Yangtze Cart Company?”
“I am. And you are?”
“I was sent by Mr. Zhuxuan Gu. I am Yingjie Sun, general manager of the Gu Cart Company.”
“Mr. Gu…” Liang Chen pondered for a moment. “Please, have a seat over here.”
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What was bound to come had arrived sooner or later. Liang Chen’s expression did not change as he courteously invited the man to sit down.
After Yingjie Sun took his seat, Liang Chen sat opposite him. Xinggao Zhou and Donghe He stood to one side.
“Mr. Sun, may I ask what brings you here?”
Sun Yingjie interlaced his fingers and leaned back in his chair. In a matter-of-fact tone, he explained the reason for his visit.
“It is like this. Every rickshaw company in this area gives ten percent of its total income to Mr. Gu. I have come to inform you that, from now on, the Yangtze Cart Company’s 125 rickshaws must also pay Mr. Gu the same percentage.”
Liang Chen crossed his legs and thought for a moment before replying, “I am sorry, but please tell Mr. Gu that forty percent of the Yangtze Cart Company belongs to the Transportation Department of the Municipal Council, while a little more than ten percent belongs to the impoverished rickshaw pullers. My own share is less than forty percent. Ten percent is therefore too high. I can offer only five percent, though I hope Mr. Gu will grant me a little more time.”
Sun Yingjie gave a cold laugh and nodded once.
“Does Boss Chen know what sort of man Mr. Gu is?”
Liang Chen rose to his feet and paced twice across the office before answering.
“Of course I do. Mr. Gu is the uncrowned king of Zhabei, and his influence extends into the International Settlement. Along with Mr. Huang, Mr. Du, and Mr. Zhang, he is known as one of the four great tycoons of Shanghai. And because Mr. Gu is from northern Jiangsu and many of his followers come from that region, he is also called the Northern Jiangsu Tycoon.”
Praise was one thing, but money still had to be negotiated.
Sun Yingjie stood as well and came to Liang Chen’s side.
“And you still dare bargain with him?”
Liang Chen smiled.
“I have already decided. Please inform Mr. Gu.”
Sun Yingjie glanced at the three men in the room. Without saying another word, he turned and left.
“Boss, Zhuxuan Gu’s influence is nothing like that of a minor figure such as Chengyun Wang. I hear he has nearly ten thousand disciples under him,” Xinggao Zhou said anxiously.
When facing Chengyun Wang, Zhou had never felt afraid. He had even gone to the man’s home and seized five thousand silver dollars.
But now, standing before a figure like Zhuxuan Gu, he felt his own insignificance with painful clarity.
Liang Chen remained calm.
“Enough. I believe they will not act rashly.”
Since he had dared to refuse, he had naturally considered the matter from every angle.
First, he had only been building his influence for three months—four months since his arrival in this era—and he had not seized anyone else’s territory. There was no reason for him to begin paying protection money immediately.
Second, forty percent of the Yangtze Cart Company belonged to the Transportation Department, and the matter even involved foreigners. Zhuxuan Gu would certainly have reservations.
Ultimately, Zhuxuan Gu was merely the uncrowned king of Zhabei. His influence within the concessions was far weaker than that of the “Three Great Hooligans.”
Liang Chen had not rejected the demand outright. He had merely asked to lower the protection fee to five percent and, preferably, to begin paying it next year.
Those conditions were also a way of showing Gu some respect.
“Feng, come with me. I’m going to have a decent suit made. You two stay here and watch the place.”
“Yes, Boss.”
Before long, Liang Chen put the matter out of his mind and set off to have a suit tailored.
Now that he possessed a modest amount of influence, it was time to improve his appearance and begin making contact with the wider world.
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…
In Shanghai, life was easier for those who dressed fashionably than for those who looked provincial.
If you wore old clothes, the conductor on a public streetcar might refuse to stop when you called out. A park attendant would inspect your entrance ticket with unusual thoroughness. The doorman at a grand residence or first-class hotel might refuse to let you enter through the main door.
For that reason, some people were willing to live in cramped rooms and feed the bedbugs, yet still insisted on placing a pair of foreign-style trousers beneath their pillow every night so that the creases in both trouser legs would remain sharp each morning.
To dress like a stylish young gentleman, one needed an entire outfit:
Dark gray suit: 30 silver dollars
Wool overcoat: 38 silver dollars
Leather shoes: 8 silver dollars
Bowler hat: 3 silver dollars
Attached-collar shirt: 2.5 silver dollars
Silk scarf: 2 silver dollars
Hair tonic: 2 silver dollars
White gloves: 1.2 silver dollars
Shorts: 0.4 silver dollars
Undershirt: 0.4 silver dollars…
Altogether, the cost came to eighty-eight silver dollars.
At a well-regarded tailor’s shop, the owner explained all this to Liang Chen.
Good heavens. He had originally intended to buy a single suit merely to bolster his appearance, but he had never realized that dressing properly involved so many details.
“Then let’s follow your recommendation and make the whole outfit. If the result is satisfactory, I’ll come back for another one.”
He would need an overcoat and other such items sooner or later, so he might as well buy the complete ensemble at once.
“Rest assured, Mr. Chen. You’ll be satisfied.”
The owner then arranged for a tailor to take Liang Chen’s measurements. A suit had to be made to order if it was to fit properly.
In the end, they agreed that Liang Chen would return to collect it three days later.
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