In 1943, Chinatown only had Cantonese restaurants.
After all, most of the people in Chinatown were from Guangdong.
Although he really wanted to eat Sichuan food, Sichuan food’s popularity wouldn’t come until the new century.
Right now, there was only Cantonese food in Chinatown.
However, the dishes made in Cantonese restaurants at this time were very authentic and hadn’t been changed much for foreigners.
The Cantonese-style roast goose and roasted meats whetted the appetite.
While enjoying the delicacies, being able to successfully complete a transaction on the day of arriving in the United States was absolutely Zhu Yihai’s credit.
While eating, Li Yi’an naturally had to express his gratitude.
“Mr.
Li, that you can patronize my business makes me grateful enough.
If we are talking about thanks, I am the one who should thank you!”
For Zhu Yihai, who hadn’t made a sale for several days, the money he earned today was roughly equivalent to his income for the past two months.
At Courville’s, he received an agency fee of fifty dollars, plus the fifty dollars given by Anastasia in Little Italy, making a total of exactly one hundred dollars!
This was equivalent to the monthly wage of an ordinary worker right now.
Actually, Americans’ current income wasn’t high.
A US soldier’s monthly salary was only 50 dollars, and even that was enough to make many rednecks leave their hometowns and fight for their country.
Earning 100 dollars in one day!
This already satisfied Zhu Yihai completely.
Of course, it would be even better if he could keep doing this.
“Mr.
Zhu, I wonder how much your monthly income is right now?”
For Li Yi’an, who intended to make this business long-term, he needed someone dedicated to being responsible on the US side.
Not just holed up in Chinatown, but as an enterprise, operating in a corporate manner.
Originally, Li Yi’an had no staff to be responsible for business development here, but Zhu Yihai’s performance this time satisfied him very much.
Perhaps he wasn’t sharp, but he was reliable, so he decided to give him a chance.
“This…”
After thinking for a moment, Zhu Yihai said:
“To tell you the truth, you know, it’s not easy for us Chinese to find jobs outside.
During the Great Depression, whites definitely hired whites first.
After graduating from high school, I couldn’t find a suitable job in Chinatown either, so I just did odd jobs everywhere.
Originally, after the war broke out, I wanted to take advantage of various factories recruiting to go work in a factory.
But because sailors often come to Chinatown to sell goods, I stayed here.
This business has its ups and downs, it’s just maintaining a livelihood…”
Zhu Yihai didn’t hide the fact that he didn’t have a fixed income, but chose to tell the truth.
“I plan to set up an import and export trading company in New York.
How about you come work for me?”
“You plan to set up a company here, sir?”
Zhu Yihai asked in surprise. You are reading on g.com, the official source.
“What, are you very surprised?
The business I plan to do is not just cigarettes.
I will definitely do other businesses in the future.
Establishing a company will be more convenient.”
Join a company?
Wouldn’t that be a respectable job wearing a suit and tie?
Isn’t that exactly the kind of job he had been longing for?
“If I work for you, what will I be responsible for usually?
What is the salary?”
Although eager, the treatment was the most crucial.
No one would refuse a stable income, but whether this job is stable, only God knows.
“Your work is very simple.
It’s to be responsible for the company’s daily operations.
You just need to purchase goods according to my requests, and then transport them to a warehouse for storage and management.
Of course, this is the early stage work; later, as the business develops, new employees will definitely be hired.
As for the salary…”
Thinking of the advertisements for hiring clerks he saw in the newspapers when he came, Li Yi’an said:
“Eighty US dollars a month.
If performance is good, there will be additional bonuses.”
Lowering his head to consider for a moment, Zhu Yihai nodded in agreement:
“Mr.
Li, thank you for giving me this opportunity, I definitely won’t disappoint you.”
Although he knew the conditions he offered were hard for anyone to refuse, Zhu Yihai’s agreement still made Li Yi’an very happy.
He needed someone here responsible for purchasing and collecting market information.
Especially the latter was more important; information is wealth!
Sometimes, things are more complicated than imagined.
The simplest way to register a company is to find a lawyer to handle it.
That afternoon, Zhu Yihai ran through all the nearby law firms, and absolutely no lawyer was willing to take their order.
Because they were Chinese.
“Oh, it’s already much better than over a decade ago.
Over a decade ago when I was in high school, even black people didn’t want to share a desk with me.
If we really can’t, let’s go find a black lawyer, they should receive us.
Isn’t it just registering a company?
If it doesn’t work out, we’ll run errands ourselves…”
Just as he finished speaking, suddenly a young man from the next table came over and said:
“Gentlemen, taking the liberty to interrupt, my friend and I were dining next door and accidentally overheard your conversation.
Do you need a lawyer?”
The young man smiled at them and said:
“If you don’t mind, I can help you.
I am a lawyer myself, and I have the qualifications to practice in the entire United States and New York.
The fate between people is very wonderful.
Just when Li Yi’an was looking for a lawyer but couldn’t find one, someone proactively came to his door, and it was actually a compatriot.
Zhang Weilun’s eyes also carried a hint of anticipation.
As everyone knows, Chinese people don’t like, and even won’t, go to court, naturally not needing a lawyer.
Encountering an opportunity where a lawyer was needed, Zhang Weilun certainly wouldn’t miss it.
“It’s you then!”
Without any hesitation, Li Yi’an said:
“How much is the agency fee?
I’ll pay according to the New York market rate.
If there is money to be made, we should let our compatriots make it!”
With that said, seeing that there was another person on his side, Li Yi’an proactively invited:
“Lawyer Zhang, how about calling your friend to dine together.”
“This…”
Zhang Weilun looked towards his friend, and seeing that he didn’t refuse, nodded in agreement.
His friend wore black-framed glasses and looked gentle and refined.
He walked to the table, and Zhang Weilun introduced:
“This is my friend, Yuan Jialiu, currently working in the laboratory of the Radio Corporation of America.”
Yuan Jialiu!
Instantly, Li Yi’an was stunned.
This person…
is a big shot in the physics world!
Both he and his wife were big shots in the physics world, and his wife Wu Jianxiong almost won the Nobel Prize.
Just because her straightforward personality offended some big shots in the physics world, she missed out on the Nobel Prize.
…
With the lawyer’s help, things went very smoothly.
It only took one day to complete the corresponding procedures.
While they were busy renting an office and warehouse, Li Yi’an, accompanied by others, ran through the whole of New York in just five days, thereby understanding the current market conditions.
After running around for a few days, Li Yi’an got a headache.
“Things are not as simple as I thought…”
Simply comparing the controlled materials of the two countries, Li Yi’an had to face a reality—compared to the United States, Britain’s materials were much scarcer.
There were simply no suitable things to transport.
While deep in thought, an advertisement in the newspaper happened to catch Li Yi’an’s eyes.
At first, he didn’t pay attention, but then, scanning the whole page, he froze, and then hurriedly flipped through the advertisements on the table, and then picked up a few other newspapers, hastily flipping through them.
Suddenly, as if he had discovered a New Continent, he said somewhat excitedly:
“Got it…”
(END CHAPTER)
Thank you for the support, friends.