"Boom!"

The sound of glass shattering echoed through the most luxuriously decorated room, where broken glass on the floor was scattered among the puddles of red wine.

Perhaps because of his extreme anger, when Charlie was scolding, the fat on his face was not twitching, but trembling there with his heavy breathing, looking up at Max standing in front of him, and the anger in his heart became even stronger.

"You useless waste, I'll let you inquire about that cripple, what news did you inquire about!"

Catherine had fallen into the arms of the damned Chinese lame man that night, and how could he not have been angry, and the news that made him even angrier was that the news had spread throughout the Public Concession and the French Concession overnight, and had not reached his ears until today, and he could imagine the sympathy and shame in the eyes of others when they saw him from this day onwards.

Mai Li, who was scolded as a waste, just stood there with his head bowed, and as the assistant manager of the Taipan, he was just a dog-like existence many times. He never dared to express his opinion in front of Sassoon, and always obeyed orders.

"That damn cripple, I'm going to kill him!"

Thinking of the laughter of the crowd, Charlie's anger seemed to set the whole of Shanghai on fire.

Taipan's anger surprised Max, originally he was just the same as in the past, let Taipan scold, anyway, there would be no less piece, but when he heard this, he felt a little bad in his heart, he knew that if he didn't say anything, Charlie would lose everything if something happened.

So he was in a hurry to say all the words that he had been thinking about over and over again yesterday after hearing the news yesterday. However, he is not good at words, and he is also a little timid in front of the Taipan. He spoke very softly and slowly, and did not know what to say, so in his panic he asked first.

"Mr. Taipan, please tell me, why did you kill him?"

"You idiot!"

Charlie almost hated why he had raised this idiot, and felt that he was ignorant and stupid, and couldn't help but be a little annoyed.

"Don't you know that now I, Charlie, have become a joke in the whole concession? Don't you know that the whole concession knows that the woman I Charlie likes actually threw herself on the bed of a damn Chinese cripple with pigtails and ignored me? The whole concession is now watching my jokes! ”

Charlie's rhetorical question, which was almost reprimanding, made Max cringe even more. He was afraid that he would suffer unexpected misfortune if he said the wrong thing, but now that he had reached such a point that he could not fail to answer, and even his voice could not remain steady.

"Mr. Taipan."

Max bowed as humbly as he always did, and then mustered up the courage to offer his opinion.

"I ...... I think you have to take into account that he ...... He's no ordinary man! ”

In the last two sentences, Max spoke even more laboriously, and he was afraid that he would not be able to speak clearly, and the other party would not understand, so he was so anxious that he sweated on his forehead. He also said as he watched Charlie's reaction.

"In ...... In Shanghai, it's easy to kill a Chinese, it only costs a few hundred dollars, but ...... But that cripple, though Chinese, ...... He's a rich man, and I'm ...... If he kills him, it is likely to arouse the suspicion of others, and if he is used by others, Taipan ......"

This idiot! Although he is a fool, and Charlie has always thought that the biggest advantage of his assistant is that he is diligent, submissive, and just a puppet without a brain. I didn't expect the little person who usually rarely speaks to stammer out a truth that he ignored.

Shanghai Beach has never been a holy place, come to Shanghai, the foreigners who make a fortune here, there are a few characters who are not ruthless, perhaps, it doesn't matter if someone kills a Chinese, but if it is used by other competitors, Charlie seems to see those people like hungry wolves, seizing this thing and pounced on him.

And ...... And, Mr. Taipan, this ...... It's a bit weird, for ...... Why didn't I know about it for so long, but yesterday it spread throughout the entire concession! I suspect that someone is trying to provoke a conflict between us and that cripple! ”

Although he is still submissive, this will speak with a bit of a coherent surname, which is completely different from the past.

However, as a second-class Mischlang, he has always despised "Charlie's dog", and it is he who brought the news today. However, seeing that Charlie didn't say anything, he couldn't understand Taipan's mind for a while, and it was inconvenient for him to talk more, so he just raised the glasses on his nose and sneered.

"Could it be that, in your opinion, let Mr. Taipan endure it like this! Let Taipan just become a joke in the entire civilized society of Shanghai! ”

When Mi Shilang spoke, he deliberately accentuated the words civilized society and jokes, and the meaning of his words could not be clearer, he was reminding Taipan, reminding Taipan that he had now become a joke of civilized society.

Mislang thought that the question would stump Max and make him unable to answer. It will also remind Charlie of what he should pay attention to, yesterday, he had stayed with Mr. Victor, and got some promises from Victor that he had to make something happen.

Despite Mischlang's objections, Max's words were much smoother than before.

"Mr. Erban may think that Mr. Charlie's face is very important, but we are Jews, not Chinese, and Chinese can do anything to fight for face. The Jews never do that, and the wisdom of the Jews is not in the battle of hearts, but in his head! Mr. Taipan! ”

The more I listened, the more Charlie felt that Max was right. But a proud master must not obey his subordinates in front of the people. Now that he realized that there might be a conspiracy in this, he thought about it calmly.

"Max, is that cripple building in his garden?"

"Yes! Mr. Taipan. And he also bought a piece of land in Pudong! ”

Because he has enough materials, Max, who has always been submissive, will appear to be full of confidence.

"In the past month, the industrial company has been buying land in Pudong, and they only bought less than 300 acres of land for the first time, but now they have purchased more than 6,800 acres of land!"

As soon as this figure came out, Charlie and Mischlang were taken aback, although the land price in Pudong was far less than that in the Puxi Concession, but a hundred acres also required more than 100 taels, 6,800 acres of land, and the lame man's hand was a little too big.

"While buying a large amount of land, they also signed agreements with more than ten foreign companies such as Lihe, Hebu Lou, Jardine Matheson, Yan Kee, Swire, Taihe, Wheelock and Qichang to purchase steel and machinery, from printing machinery, construction machinery to metal machine tools, totaling as much as one million pounds!"

Max's words made Charlie and Mischlang gasp at the same time, they obviously didn't expect that the industrial company would buy so many machines at the same time as buying land.

"Taipan, if they hadn't bought these machines, maybe I wouldn't have gotten any news, but you may not know that they only pay a 10% deposit, which is far lower than the general practice of foreign banks, if it weren't for the huge order, maybe those foreign companies wouldn't accept it at all!"

It's as if Max knows the inside story. Seeing the appreciative smile that Taipan threw at him, he mustered up the courage to continue, and he knew that maybe this time he could make a good comeback.

"And in the past few days, they have quietly enveloped the land in the concession Linjiang, and have purchased the No. 3 warehouse in Qichang Linjiang from Qichang Foreign Bank, with a total area of 28.6 acres."

"Are you talking about Warehouse Three?"

Charlie asked abruptly, and then, as if remembering something, took out a simple map from the drawer.

"Where's the land that the lame man bought?"

Max stepped forward, although he looked a little humble, but his demeanor was completely different from the past, and he pointed at the picture.

"Lujiazui!"

Looking at the map carefully, in just ten seconds, Charlie relied on his many years of experience in the Shanghai foreign industry, and after careful thinking, came to a reliable conclusion, he carefully checked the location of the map on both sides of the Huangpu River, and couldn't help but show a smug smile, almost in an instant, after figuring out the reason why the lame man was in Pudong, he also found a way to give the lame man a fatal blow.

"That cripple wants to turn Pudong into the Bund!"

After thinking this out, Charlie looked at Max and Mischlang proudly. Then he thought that he had done a great thing that was extremely clever and in line with God's will, so he walked around the office with his hands behind his back with great ambition, "That lame man seems to want to develop real estate in Pudong, if my expectations are good, he should be ready to build a bridge between Lujiazui and the Bund, if the bridge is built, the land price in Pudong will increase from the current one or two hundred taels to at least one thousand taels, and the lame man also has a construction company, when the boundary is just the real estate in Pudong, it may bring him tens of millions of taels, Even hundreds of millions of taels of silver returns! ”

Charlie made no secret of his greed when he spoke, but more often than not, he sneered.

As early as more than ten years ago, there was more than one foreign firm in the concession that wanted to develop Pudong, but there was no foreign firm, willing to invest in the huge cost of the bridge, no matter who built the bridge, it was for others to make a wedding dress, there were people who proposed to build a joint venture by the foreign bank, but they had a dispute over the distribution of land, and finally it was over.

However, Charlie, who had participated in the plan to open up a new concession in Pudong, knew the fundamental reason why the foreign banks did not reach a consensus, from the opening of the port in Shanghai, BND Road is where foreign banks and old foreign banks are located, and BND Road is the most prosperous and expensive place in the entire Shanghai Concession, if a bridge is built between Pudong and BND Road, then the impact on BND Road may even shake the foundation of those old foreign banks, which is why the concession would rather develop in the north and south directions in Puxi. The reason why he is reluctant to develop on the other side of the river, and now that cripple is arrogant enough to develop real estate in Pudong.

"Is their industrial company still buying land now?"

"Yes, Mr. Taipan, they are still buying land, but there are warehouses of foreign companies gathered along the river in Pudong, so their land purchase has been hindered, two days ago, they bought the warehouse along the river of Yuchang foreign company for 323,000 taels, the price is about 300 taels per mu, even if the wharf, crane and other equipment owned by Yuchang warehouse, the price is still higher than the market price."

In response to Taipan's question, Max pondered for a moment and hesitated for a moment before continuing.

"Boss, I don't think our warehouse in Pudong can be sold, if the industrial company really wants to develop Pudong real estate, once the bridge is built, the land price will increase at least ten times, or even higher!"

"Stupid!"

Charlie coldly spat out two words, and then turned his head to look at Mischlang.

"Second shift, if the industrial company contacts you to negotiate the purchase of land, sell the warehouse to them, three hundred and fifty taels per mu, and one tael less will not be sold! Do you understand? ”

"Yes...... Mr. Taipan, this ......"

Mischlang squeaked and wanted to say something, Max may be a fool, but what he said is the truth, once the bridge is built, the land price in Pudong will fly straight to the sky like wings, why sell.

"They can't build the bridge, and they never will!"

Charlie squeezed the fat on his face and smiled, but his eyes were cold.

"The king of Shanghai is the concession, but the kingdom in the concession is the foreign firms, they decide the rise and fall and the fate of the city, if they don't let the bridge be built, no one can build it, the warehouse land in Pudong is as much as 10,000 acres, almost occupying the entire Pudong along the river, if he wants to develop Pudong, he must buy these warehouses, not only can we not stop him, but also help them get these warehouses, let that damn lame put all his money into the purchase of land, and wait until he buys all the landAt that time, the Ministry of Industry may issue any regulations, and all the rules in the concession will be made by us. ”

Charlie walked towards the window, although it was still some distance from Bund's Road, but still faintly could see the Huangpu River, and even some white sails in the river, this is a river flowing with gold and silver, but the gold and silver here do not belong to their real owners.

This river is China's Huangpu River, but it is foreigners who control this river, and the Ministry of Industry can make any rules on both sides of this river according to their own needs, and the Chinese can only obediently listen to these rules.

"When that cripple finishes buying the land, that's when he goes bankrupt!"

Laughing so much that his face was trembling, he seemed to see the day when the damn cripple went bankrupt, and the day when the investment of millions of taels came to naught.

"Boss, I'...... I don't think that after buying land, the industrial company will go bankrupt! ”

Max, who was regarded as a fool by the senior class and the second class, said something without opening his eyes on the side, only to make Charlie, who had just become excited, angry, and he looked back at Max coldly, as if waiting for his explanation.

"Mr. Taipan, if he can help Catherine through this difficult time, then how can he go bankrupt because of the failure of his investment of millions of taels?"

Max's words were tantamount to pouring cold water on Charlie's head, but what he said was the truth, even if he lost millions of taels, it was at most a broken nerve.

That lame man took out a huge loan from Catherine, and after losing millions of taels in Pudong, he was only injured at most, and was far from bankruptcy. He looked at Max, he hadn't really noticed that this idiot had a bright spot.

Taipan's eyes made Max have unprecedented courage, and he even dared to look directly at Taipan at this time, he was silent for a while, and with this kung fu he straightened out his thoughts in his mind.

"Mr. Taipan, whether it is the capital or scale of the industrial company, they are difficult to read the development of Pudong, the real estate development of Pudong needs a lot of money, but this is not the most important thing, the most important thing is the bridge, without the bridge Pudong development will be in vain, a bridge across the Huangpu River, less than millions of taels, more than tens of millions of taels, even if Chen Moran has a gold mine, it is difficult to bear the cost of repairing the bridge!"

The glances cast by the senior and second classes made Max realize that his opportunity was now, and he knew that maybe after today, he would no longer be the assistant like a dog, but a real assistant of the foreign bank.

"Pudong's real estate and cross-river bridges will force industrial companies to raise funds from the outside world, and the way to raise funds is nothing more than to issue corporate bonds, but industrial companies are not well-known, even if they issue bonds, subscriptions are also limited, so there is only one way, that is, to open a bank, borrow funds from banks to gather funds, and then the bank comes forward to buy corporate bonds."

Max took a deep breath and continued.

"In the short term, it is difficult for the bank to raise enough funds, but whether it is real estate or the construction of the bridge, it will take time, during this period, the industrial company has enough time to expand the influence of the bank to attract more deposits, if you just want Chen Moran to go bankrupt, I think the best way is not only to let them buy the land as they wish, but even we should give him some help, until the cross-river bridge of the real estate in Pudong is entrapped in his personal and bank funds, only need the Ministry of Industry to pass some new plans, Then, the whole of Pudong will be in ruins, and then, Mr. Taipan! If you can do it properly. ”

Max suddenly bowed, then looked up at Taipan in front of him.

"Maybe after that, Shanghai will have the honor of witnessing a new real estate tycoon!"

Although Max didn't finish speaking, Charlie knew his intentions, and his thoughts were far more vicious than his own, which could be said to be enough to make Chen Moran jump into the Huangpu River!

"That's right, Max!"

Nodding his head in the affirmative, Charlie silently recited in his mind a passage from the Talmud: "Soldiers go to war, and emperors are called heroes." The thought that he was now a hero and an emperor couldn't help but feel proud, but when he looked back at Mischlang and Max on the side, especially when he saw that Max had lost all of his previous attitude, this made him feel extremely uncomfortable. Although Charlie was very pleased with his idea, looking at Max's eyes, there was a slight change.

"Mr. Max, you can go out, I have something to discuss with the second class!"

(To be continued)