That night, the phone of Li Junhao's house rang non-stop, and all kinds of people who pleaded for mercy came forward one after another, many of whom he didn't know, and he didn't know who could invite so many people with such a big face, and even there were several people from the U.S. Consulate General! He was even thinking that it would be interesting if Commercial Counsellor Sain also called, but he was eager to hear what the other party would say. Sadly, Sain did not call.

In fact, with his current status and strength, except for Consul General Ayers, there is no one in the concession who can order him. As long as the Japanese army did not dare to directly attack the concession, there was no hope for the Japanese-funded enterprises that controlled the Coal Industry Association to resist his "tyranny".

Li Junhao was surprised to know that the price of briquettes in Shanghai has reached 15 yuan/quintal, because according to his understanding, the current price of raw coal in various parts of China is generally between 1.5 yuan/quintal and 5 yuan/quintal, and the closer to the production area, the cheaper; When making briquettes, one-third of the loess should be mixed, which means that two loads of raw coal and one load of loess can be made into three loads of briquettes.

At the normal price of Kailuan media transported to Huhai, it is less than 3 yuan per quintal, and after being made into briquettes, the cost per quintal is about 2.5 yuan, but the black-hearted coal industry association actually sells it for 15 yuan, and wants to continue to increase the price!

The reason why he set the price of each quinquette at eight yuan is because the price of the finished briquettes he bought from the system mall is 1 gold coin and five quintals, or 0.84 US dollars per quintal, according to the current market price of 1:8 in Shanghai, the cost reaches 6.72 yuan, plus the cost of personnel, transportation and sales process, 8 yuan / quintal, barely flat.

The price given by the system made him suspect that in its pricing principle, labor costs were high.

There is a reason why he thinks so, in the system, the best lump coal can buy a ton for 1.5 gold coins/, and the bulk coal is not even available, maybe the grade is too low.

According to the population of 4 million in the concession, it is counted as 800,000 households, and based on 1 load of briquettes per household per month, 800,000 quintals are needed, that is, 40,000 tons, and 672,000 US dollars are needed.

As for the 100,000 tons of coal and 50,000 tons of briquettes that have been seized, he doesn't want to move them for the time being, on the one hand, because he doesn't want to tell the truth, and on the other hand, he doesn't want those Japanese and black-hearted businessmen to underestimate his strength.

——

On Sunday, February 4, before 9 a.m., there was an early queue at the entrance of the 214 coal shops in the concession.

At nine o'clock, all coal shops opened their doors at the same time and began to sell briquettes.

Because there were too many people in line, the person in charge of the coal pipe station introduced a very experienced purchase restriction measure - each person can only buy one load.

This measure made some people dissatisfied, but before they could complain, the police officer on duty, who had undergone simple training, explained that coal is now available, but transportation and distribution require manpower and time, so the purchase is restricted; However, the Ethnic Affairs Committee assured the citizens that it would never continue to supply and not increase prices!

The salesperson also promised that from now on, it will be open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. every day.

Hearing this, the citizens calmed down, eight yuan a load of briquettes, the Ethnic Affairs Committee did such a good thing, how much loss they have to bear, what more could they ask for?

This happened in various coal shops, and there were more than a dozen disturbances, and the police officers on duty were not accustomed to making trouble, so they immediately stepped forward to take them down......

Later investigation found out that these people were all hired ruffians! Those who did not say it, voluntarily confessed and assisted the police in apprehending the instigators behind the scenes, and were detained for one week; and where they refuse to confess, they shall be subject to hard labor for three months. In this process, if it is found that they still have criminal records or conduct that endangers the people, they will be given a heavier punishment.

——

At this time, in an izakaya in Zhabei in the Japanese Concession, the six directors of the Shanghai Coal Association sat together to discuss the current situation, and the atmosphere was very solemn.

The guild has a total of 48 members, including 18 Japanese businessmen and 30 Chinese businessmen, but the board of directors is composed of three Japanese businessmen and three Chinese businessmen, so it is obvious who is in charge. In fact, these Chinese businessmen obeyed the instructions of the Japanese for their own interests and harmed the citizens of Shanghai and Haihai, and they were no different from traitors!

What happened this time was beyond their expectations, and no one expected that the attitude of the concession authorities would be so tough! In the past, they used to do it several times a year, using means such as stockpiling and restricting sales to reduce supply, and when the market price rose to the level of need, they would release the goods to grab the maximum profit, which the concession authorities had not taken care of before!

But I didn't expect that this time the Ministry of Industry Bureau came forward strongly and took over the matter, not only asking them to re-examine the registration, but also sealing the store and the yard! Today, they have started selling briquettes directly from their stores...... Now, it makes them extremely passive.

At first, they thought that the newly established Nationalities Committee was doing a good job with the seized goods, but the people who sent them to inspect reported that the coal in the twelve freight yards had not been touched! This surprised them, is it just because of the small stock in those stores? That won't last a few days.

Because of this understanding, the six directors finally agreed to wait and see......

What they don't know is that in order to prepare for this sale, Li Junhao prepared 40,000 tons of briquettes and 20,000 tons of lump coal (which are prepared for factory production) in the warehouse area of Jinliyuan Wharf, which can fully guarantee the demand of the concession for a month, and if it is not enough, it will be replenished at any time. He still doesn't believe it, he can't cure the little devils and traitors! ——

The next day, the citizens who were concerned about the price of coal went to see those retail stores and found that the coal stores were open again at nine o'clock, and the price was still eight yuan per quintal, although it was still limited to one quintal per person, but this was enough!

In fact, ordinary people can have a month's worth of inventory, and they can't afford to store more!

By word of mouth, the citizens knew that the coal shop was still open as normal, and their hearts were relieved, and the market quickly returned to calm......

——

On Monday, Li Junhao did not attend the consulate's morning meeting, but went to the Jiaozhou Park Barracks early in the morning to preside over the graduation ceremony of the third batch of newly trained police officers at the police training center.

The trainees were generally good, with only 50 eliminated and 1,450 successfully completed during the five-week training period.

After the ceremony, the best 500 of them were picked up by the Wolf Warrior Brigade, and the remaining 950 were led away by Yang Shixiong - the formation of the People's Army Self-Defense Corps was officially put on the agenda.

Today is the twenty-eighth day of the lunar month, and Li Junhao has a lot to do, so we must make good arrangements for the festival affairs of various troops, arrange the holiday benefits of the police station, and arrange the duty work of the Nationalities Committee to ensure the supply of coal during the festival...... There are really a lot of things in all aspects.

(End of chapter)