Chapter Nineteenth: Strange Encounter by the River

  Perhaps it was Hu Zhiyong's timely rescue, but before he had taken a few steps, Beili had already come to. Amidst loud wailing, Shi Yin Hua walked over and took her from him, laying her on the ground and holding her as she cried, tears streaming down his own face as he wept with her.

  "Baili, you must be strong! You know that only you are familiar with this place, and it's absolutely impossible to wait until nightfall without storing these things away!" Hu Zhiyong was extremely anxious, explaining the pros and cons as he tried to persuade her.

  Barley nodded understandingly, choked back a sob, got up and wiped away her tears to call for a taxi. After storing the things in the bank, Barley began to ask about Uncle Rong's family. The old banker of this bank heard that Barley was Rong's niece, personally came out to greet her into the reception room.

  "Miss Bailey, don't be sad about your uncle's family affairs. More than 70% of banks have gone bankrupt in the past three years. Alas, during the Great Depression, the upper class suffered economic losses, while ordinary people found it difficult to fill their stomachs! Mr. Hu, you deposited gold and silver here, what are your plans?" Facing this young god of wealth, the bank manager was moved and decided to probe his intentions, perhaps bringing great benefits to his banking industry.

  "I want to buy a piece of land, and I also want to get a passport for living here. Of course, if Mr. Manager can help me with that, I will sell that batch of jewelry and store it in your bank." Hu Zhiyong was very 'astute', he knew that gold deposits were one thing, but the jewelry had to be dealt with. Especially that batch of jewelry, its value far exceeded the amount of gold.

  "What a coincidence! As long as you make a copy of your visa, I can help you get the green card. Of course, I have to charge you a certain fee!" The manager was cunning, and by doing so, he could not only make Hu Zhiyong feel more at ease but also bring benefits to the bank.

  "Is that so? I need a green card for 150 people, if you can handle it well, I'll pay you!" Hu Zhiyong knew the opportunity was rare, and he didn't mind spending some money.

  "This - divide into three batches for you to handle how?" The manager felt that the quantity was too large, but he couldn't bear to give up this good deal.

  "Haha! Success!"

  The first batch was the visa that Hu Zhiyong had only arranged for himself and the Shi family sisters. He hadn't expected that by paying just $1,000, he could get a permanent green card in just three days.

  Regarding the land, the manager immediately put down his work and went to the Land Bureau with Hu Zhiyong. Five hundred mu of land near the city was obtained for 15 million yuan, and the water and electricity facilities were complete.

  "Mr. Manager, don't bother with two masters for one guest, let's get straight to the point. You help me find a construction company. I want to see the residential area design first before discussing the construction matters." With this enthusiastic manager, Hu Zhiyong decided to use money to pave the way and fight his way into the circle.

  "Alright, I'll give you a call back tomorrow afternoon!" The two shook hands and said their goodbyes as Bailey led the group towards her hometown. It's worth mentioning that the traffic in Los Angeles was indeed not bad, and for just one dollar per person, they returned to Bailey's hometown.

  Things have changed, the houses here have been auctioned off to pay debts. Barley burst into another loud cry, reluctant to leave her hometown. Seeing a group of blond-haired and black-glassed people arriving, the riverside villagers all ran over to watch. A young white man walked up to Barley and exclaimed in surprise: "Old classmate, is that really you?"

  "Are you Karl?" Bailey vaguely remembered that this young man was her deskmate in middle school.

  "Yes, my aunt has a daughter who just graduated from medical school at USC in Southern California. She can't find a place to live because she's broke, so I'm letting her stay in my house for now." Carl said with a smile, and invited Beryl to come over and meet his sister.

  "Daruya? Is it really Daruya?" Beli asked excitedly, grabbing Karl's arm and asking repeatedly.

  "Old classmate, can I cheat you?" Karl was very enthusiastic and greeted Hu Zhiyong and others one by one, leading the way to his home.

  About a li away, Bailey saw a young woman and burst into tears: "Dalya, my sister!"

  "Baili!" The two girls wailed loudly, hugging each other tightly without any intention of stopping for a long time. Hu Zhiyong coughed dryly, and only then did Baili introduce the people beside her to her sister.

  "Mr. Hu, thank you for saving my Bailey." Daria bowed deeply and politely expressed in English.

  "Miss Darya, since you and Bell are sisters, we're family. Let's go, I hope to rush to the city, find a hotel to stay and talk again?" Hu Zhiyong's English was very standard, Darya looked at the not-so-handsome little man in surprise, thinking that Bell had already married him.

  “YES。”

  They booked a room in one of the most beautiful hotels and finally had their first meal after entering Los Angeles. Fortunately, it was close to Chinatown, and the owner of the restaurant was a boss from Guangzhou.

  "Hello!" The hotel owner walked over and introduced himself to Hu Zhiyong, who was having a meal: "My name is Zhou Fushun, I'm from Yangjiang, Guangzhou. Are you all from Northeast China? Are you here for business or..."

  "Doing business and just got the green card. Boss Zhou, how's business here?" Hu Zhiyong came out with a few good cigarettes, and handed over a box of cigars.

  "Alas, the Great Depression is on, and for now I can only 'scrape by' to make a living. Are you staying at the tavern across the street?" Zhou Fusuo was shocked; that was one of the best inns in Los Angeles, and the cost of staying there for one night was almost his daily income here.

  "Yes." Hu Zhiyong lit a fire, and the two of them started discussing the island nation's invasion of Northeast China. When he heard that Hu Zhiyong wanted to purchase large quantities of grain, machinery, and electrical appliances, he excitedly said to the young rich man: "How about I run errands for you? As long as you have money, things are very cheap!"

  "Alright, you help me find the supplier, I'll go negotiate the business myself, and then give you a commission." Hu Zhiyong was just in need of someone to come out, he thought to himself that it was too good an opportunity, everywhere he went he met kind-hearted people.

  Back at the hotel, Hu Zhiyong took off his clothes to prepare for a hot bath, but unexpectedly, Baili walked in and begged him again to take her to Zhuanghe.

  "I've got the green card here and bought 500 mu of land, you know. Listen to me, manage well here, sooner or later I'll be back." Hu Zhiyong was very helpless, this little girl was very stubborn.

  "If you want me to stay, promise me one thing first!" Berries face turned red as she nodded and glanced at Hu Zhiyong with the corner of her eye.

  "You say." Hu Zhiyong saw that things had taken a turn for the better and hastily agreed.

  Marry me!

  Hu Zhiyong was startled and jumped up: "Little girl, you're only 17 years old, I'm also just 18 years old!"

  "I don't care." Bailey rushed over to hug Hu Zhiyong, her face tightly pressed against that warm 'chest': "You can have me, even if I'm your mistress, I'm willing!"

  Hu Zhiyong lovingly hugged Bailey, holding her face and said: "You're a great beauty, you'll definitely find a good husband in the future. Also, with your sister here, I plan to invest in opening a hospital."

  "Are you looking down on me?" Barley was almost in tears again: "Then fine, from now on we'll go our separate ways, I'm leaving you right now!" Barley pushed Hu Zhiyong away, with tears welling up in her eyes as she headed out the door.

  "Alright, I promise you!" Hu Zhiyong gritted his teeth and hastily spoke up.

  "You're fooling me!" Bailey turned around: "If you're sincere, tonight, tonight." She couldn't continue, her face red and speaking in a low voice: "Just leave the 'door' for me!"

  "Aren't you going to consider it?" Hu Zhiyong was astonished, how could this girl be so bold.

  "I'm going to eat you first!" Bailey snickered and ran out of the room, turning back to make a face.

  Hu Zhiyong considered Zhou Fushun's words, "Since we occupy the marine resources, we should choose the iron can production line. Tinplate, pressure cookers, grinding tools, electric welding, and printing equipment are almost nobody here, you can buy them in large quantities and hoard them for slow consumption."

  Hu Zhiyong thought: "The little devils and the M countrymen will start a war in ten years, this period of time is absolutely safe." Canned production is not only suitable for seafood, but also for meat such as pigs, cows, sheep, chickens, ducks, and geese.

  Having thought it through, Hu Zhiyong decided to go all out. However, this required technical expertise, and the four canning production lines would need to hire at least ten skilled technicians.

  With doubts, Hu Zhiyong visited the restaurant owner again.

  "Ten people? Chinatown can make canned goods, I can pick thirty people for you without a problem! Currently in the midst of the Great Depression, many families are struggling to make ends meet. The wages will definitely not be high, thirty people working for you will quickly bring you profit." Zhou Fushun enthusiastically gave Hu Zhiyong ideas and quietly told him: "I've already found a bankrupt canning factory, the equipment is very modern, it's a three hundred person factory. His asking price is twenty-five million two silver coins, I only offered him fifteen million."

  "Is it?" Hu Zhiyong said hastily: "Let's go, you and I will take a look now. Money is no problem."

  "Little old brother, you can't be so impatient when doing business, or else you'll 'waste' money unjustly. It's okay to wait a few more days, if you save 100,000 yuan, how much goods can you buy?" Zhou Fushun saw Hu Zhiyong's immaturity and was teaching him how to haggle when doing business.

  Hu Zhiyong smiled, but he didn't have time for this. Zhou Fushun had no choice but to follow him all the way to the entrance of the canning factory.

  The tall, white-haired Scolla Mountain was overjoyed at the arrival of Hu Zhiyong and Zhou Fushun, and led them on a tour of the entire factory area. Hu Zhiyong asked in surprise: "These equipment are all new, why didn't you continue to do it?"

  "The bank has gone bankrupt, who can I sell these canned goods to?"

  "If you can get me in touch with 500 tons of pig iron, I'll take over your factory and also want thirty skilled technicians." Hu Zhiyong knew that Roosevelt would be on stage in another year, and the economy would soon recover. Take this opportunity to buy more raw materials, which will make a lot of money in the future.

  "Five hundred tons?" Scolla Hill jumped in surprise: "There's plenty of tinplate, are you sure you want five hundred tons?"

  "Of course." Hu Zhiyong smiled slightly: "I won't bother you with the details, I can pay you the silver note for your factory and mine at a fixed price right now!"

  "1.8 million, any less and I really won't buy it!" Scolla Mountain said with a heartache: "I've already lost enough!"

  "I'll give you 200,000 yuan, and you work for me for a year. Of course, if you're willing to continue working afterwards, I'll pay you your salary." Hu Zhiyong's offer immediately delighted Skora Mountain, who hugged Hu Zhiyong loudly and said: "Great, I accept your terms!"

  "In addition, choose fifteen good masters to go with you, and the salary can be controlled by yourself. From today on, you are the boss of the can factory again!" Hu Zhiyong left before handing over the deposit and asked him to settle the tinplate as soon as possible, sending people to start dismantling the equipment here and transporting it to the dock for shipment.

  "Boss, do you want a car?" Scolla Shan hastily asked as he saw Hu Zhiyong about to leave.

  "How much? What's the color like? What model is it?" Hu Zhiyong almost laughed. He needed to buy a car, but hadn't had time to consider it yet.

  "Three hundred new cars, only need to pay half the original price." Scolla Hill was excited again, this young man really had a lot of money. Appetite is quite big!

  "Four tons, two and a half tons, okay, now take me there!" Hu Zhiyong was so excited that he forgot his appointment with Belinda. The three of them got into the private car and headed to California.