Liu Hongsheng was now really unclear about the relationship between Wang Zhenyu and Ye Zuwen, perhaps the two had no business relationship. Unable to help himself, he continued: "Now that the imperial court is gone, the Kaiyuan mine has become the Kaiping Mining Bureau, and the personnel changes are dizzying, in the blink of an eye, the person in charge has changed, and new rules have come out."

  Ye Zuwen also took a glance at Wang Zhenyu, who was pretending to be a foodie over there, and thought that this kid was clearly putting on an act. Alright, he'd play along with him. Ye Zuwen wiped his mouth and said, "What new rules? Hongsheng, tell me about it."

  Liu Hongsheng pondered for a moment: "Originally, Hongsheng was their agent in Shanghai. Every time goods arrived, they would sell them and settle the payment, then Hongsheng would get his share of the profit as usual. But over the past three years, just as the sales channel for Kaiping coal had opened up in Shanghai, the person in charge changed, and the new one said they wanted to change the rules. They said they would switch to a pay-on-delivery system and no longer provide goods to Hongsheng's store."

  "Hongsheng thought for a moment, and it was clear that the original model would no longer work. But if they really had to pay upon delivery, the financial pressure wouldn't be small."

  "Oh, so Hongsheng is trying to smooth things over or what?" Ye Zuwen also pretended to be clueless.

  "It's not necessarily a bad thing, if Hong Sheng can really gather funds to get the agency rights of Kai Ping Coal, then no matter who takes over in the future, this business in Shanghai will only be mine." Liu Hongsheng is good at calculating, and he has set a precedent for payment upon delivery. In the future, whoever wants to intervene in Shanghai will not have such a large capital.

  Liu Hongsheng sighed again: "But recently, the war has been continuous, and all industries have declined. Hongsheng is in a difficult situation, Ye Gong, help me!"

  It turns out that it all boils down to two words: borrowing money.

  Ye Zuwen thought for a moment and said: "Roughly how much more money is needed?"

  Liu Hongsheng became excited, and said: "To be honest, Mr. Ye, I have raised 600,000 yuan, but it's still less than half of what we need. I know the amount is quite large, and I'm afraid you'll also find it difficult. However, as you know, when a business reaches this stage, if we don't move forward, we'll fall behind! On my side, we're short of about 1 million yuan. Don't worry, Mr. Ye, once this deal is done, the profit in three years will be enough to cover our costs. That's because Zhou, the manager, has promised to triple the supply quantity. And as you've seen, due to the war, many wealthy people have fled to the concession areas, and all of Shanghai is developing rapidly! The future market potential is immeasurable!"

  Liu Hongsheng said afterwards, the more he spoke, the more anxious he became, fearing that Ye Zuwen would not agree with him.

  Wang Zhenyu finally put down his knife and fork, he was shocked. He thought that when Ye Zuowen was preparing to cheat him, his family's assets were only around 500,000 yuan, which was still earned through years of operation. But this Liu Hongsheng, who is so young, has accumulated a wealth of 600,000 yuan in just three years of selling coal in Shanghai. It seems that Shanghai is indeed making money faster than Wuhan, no wonder it's called the "Oriental Paris", a paradise for adventurers. Moreover, Liu Hongsheng's analysis earlier was also very reasonable. Wang Zhenyu remembered that the Shanghai concession entered a period of rapid development in the early years of the Republic of China, and the speed of change was absolutely not inferior to that of the special zones in later generations. As for the reason, it was not the credit of the underworld, but the warlords' infighting. The Jiangsu and Zhejiang regions were originally the richest areas in China, and the wealthy people here brought their families and wealth into the concession in droves to avoid the war, driving the abnormal prosperity of the entire Shanghai concession. This situation is similar to the later generations of officials and rich people rushing to immigrate to the United States, Canada, and Australia. The fundamental purpose was just to protect one's life and property, a group of guys without patriotic sentiment. A true patriot must first have the courage to sacrifice oneself like a Bodhisattva, otherwise, it's not worth mentioning, Wang Zhenyu thought with malice.

  Ye Zuowen can now take out a few million yuan from his hands, because the plan to open a bank has been postponed by Wang Zhenyu, and Wang Zhenyu does not think it is suitable to open a bank at this time.

  But Ye Zuwen no longer has the right to make decisions, and strictly speaking, he is now a high-level employee under Wang Zhenyu, and any movement of funds on a million-dollar scale must be approved by Wang Zhenyu.

  Seeing Ye Zuowen didn't respond, Liu Hongsheng felt a bit disappointed, but still wanted to try again.

  At this time, Wang Zhenyu spoke up: "Mr. Liu, as long as one million can let you complete this deal?"

  Liu Hongsheng was stunned for a moment, what do you mean, you have one million? For a while, he didn't know how to respond.

  Ye Zuwen smiled mysteriously and said: "Hongsheng, you are still young, this General Wang is the one who can really help you."

  Wang Zhenyu got up and walked to Liu Hongsheng's side, pressed his shoulder with his hand, and pressed Liu Hongsheng back into his seat: "Brother Liu, Mr. Ye didn't say anything wrong, you are indeed a talented person, and it's extremely rare. Just now I was just observing you, don't mind, after all, one million yuan is not a small number. However, compared to money, I, Wang Zhenyu, value ability and character more."

  Liu Hongsheng felt a bit dizzy in his head, but he still tried to stabilize his emotions and looked at Wang Zhenyu, because he had sensed a glimmer of hope from Wang Zhenyu's words.

  "People are sometimes strange, sometimes it's a matter of not being on the same wavelength, and sometimes it's like meeting an old friend. I don't know how Liu brother views me, but to me, he is indeed someone you feel like you've known for a long time." Wang Zhenyu was in no hurry to make a decision, business can't always be rushed.

  Liu Hongsheng nodded in agreement after hearing this, and he himself was also very fond of General Wang at the moment. He hastily said, "I also think that General Wang is like an old friend."

  "Haha, since we're old friends, there are some things I should tell you, Liu. The Ye's Trading Company is actually a joint venture between me and Mr. Ye, with me holding shares and him making the decisions. Our business in Wuhan is doing quite well at the moment. I agree with your point earlier that Shanghai is a treasure land with unlimited potential for future development. I'd love to get involved and make some profit too. Unfortunately, Wang is a military man and apart from Mr. Ye, he doesn't have many friends who are good at business. That's why when Mr. Ye heard about it, he recommended you to me. Now that we've met, I can see that his words were not in vain! Haha."

  Liu Hongsheng roughly understood, and the person in front of him seemed to want to cooperate with himself. He thought for a moment: "General Wang is being polite, but Liu Mou also relies on luck. In this Shanghai beach, he stumbled upon some small successes by chance. If General Wang is willing, it's possible to work together to establish a career in this Shanghai beach."

  "Alright, Liu brother is straightforward and to the point. Wang Mou is a rough person and likes this kind of directness." Wang Zhenyu secretly praised him, it's indeed easier to talk to smart people, and he didn't expect Liu Hongsheng to be so willing to cooperate. What Wang Zhenyu doesn't know is that historically, Liu Hongsheng did partner up with someone to take down this project, but back then his partner was Yixingtai. As a result of Wang Zhenyu's sudden appearance, Liu Hongsheng simply changed partners.

  Now that a preliminary intention has been reached, the next step is naturally the issue of shares. Liu Hongsheng thought for a moment and said: "Let's borrow 9 million yuan first. Hongsheng will take 40% according to the rules, and General Wang's side will take 60%. However, the operating rights will have to be taken by Hongsheng."

  Wang Zhenyu was about to speak when the butler knocked on the door and came in to report: "Master, Mr. Du from Huang Gongguan has arrived."

  Everyone had to stop for a while, and Liu Hongsheng hastily stood up and said: "Yuexing has arrived, please let him in quickly."

  Before long, a tall and thin young man with an unusual face and wearing a long gown walked in with a smile all over his face, muttering to himself: "Brother Hongsheng, Du has arrived late, forgive me, forgive me."

  Wang Zhenyu took a closer look and it was indeed Du Yuesheng. When he first saw Du Yuesheng's photo later in life, he was shocked and exclaimed that this person looked too honest and didn't match the traditional image of an underworld boss at all.

  That's right, Du Yuesheng is indeed a man of simple appearance, not only in looks but also in character.

  "Mr. Ye Zuwen, this is my benefactor Mr. Ye Zuwen." Upon hearing this, Du Yuesheng rushed to Ye Zuwen and bowed with his fists, not forgetting to add "Good day, Mr. Ye".

  "This is Mr. Wang Zhenyu, whom I mentioned earlier and wanted you to meet."

  Du Yuesheng still smiled and looked at Wang Zhenyu, then another fist bump: "It's really not as good to hear about someone as it is to meet them in person, I didn't expect Mr. Wang to be so young."

  Wang Zhenyu smiled and returned the courtesy with a bow.

  After exchanging pleasantries, they sat down one after another.

  Du Yuesheng was in no hurry to talk business: "Your younger brother is ignorant and doesn't know where Mr. Wang is making a fortune now?"

  Wang Zhenyu smiled: "Nanjing."

  After finishing, the two exchanged a brief glance. Du Yuesheng still couldn't see through Wang Zhenyu's true nature, but Wang Zhenyu was very clear about Du Yuesheng's true nature. No way, who let Du Yuesheng become so famous in later generations, the only "Big Brother" in Chinese black society history.

  Du Yuesheng was taken aback: "Hehe, I wonder if Mr. Wang has anything that Du can help with?"

  Wang Zhenyu looked at Du Dahren, who was known for being good with people, and said in a low voice: "I, Wang, would like to be friends with Mr. Du."

  Du Yuesheng immediately cupped his hands and smiled: "That's the best, I like making friends the most."

  The two of them started a verbal sparring match, and neither Liu Hongsheng nor Ye Zuwen interrupted, but instead watched quietly.

  Wang Zhenyu chuckled and leaned back on the sofa: "To be friends with Wang, doesn't Brother Du fear taking risks?"

  Du Yuesheng was taken aback for a moment, feeling that the person in front of him was quite different from the people he had dealt with in the past, and it was quite interesting: "What's there to be afraid of? The business I do is all about taking risks. If you're afraid, it's better to pack up and go home early."

  Wang Zhenyu saw that it was almost done and laughed: "Mr. Liu is indeed a friend who can be entrusted with important tasks."

  In Wang Zhenyu's view, Du Yuesheng and Liu Hongsheng were different kinds of businessmen. When speaking with Liu Hongsheng, one had to be reserved and polite. But for a Jianghu figure like Du Yuesheng, being overly polite would only make the other party feel disrespected, which would be counterproductive. However, being too blunt was also not an option, as it could lead to unintended consequences. So, as soon as he entered, Wang Zhenyu started exchanging witty remarks with Du Yuesheng, leaving him stunned. After a few rounds of banter, although only a few words were exchanged, their relationship became much closer, making the subsequent conversation much easier.

  Liu Hongsheng immediately replied: "That's natural, Brother Yuexia is the most reliable."

  "I heard that Brother Du was beaten up at Huang Gong's mansion" As for Du Yuesheng's rise to fame, Wang Zhenyu is very clear. At the beginning, this brother voluntarily let Huang Jinrong's men beat him for five minutes in order to dominate the gambling table. As a result, he almost lost his life, but fortunately, he was seen by Huang Jinrong's wife Lin Guisheng and rescued. Then, he became a doorman at Huang Gong's mansion.