I am a master in India

Chapter 153 The Real Master
The Su family were major landowners in the area, and a large tract of land around them was divided up by the family.

Ron's grandfather worked for the British in his early years and received many rewards; that's how he accumulated the land.

After his death, he divided his estate among his four sons, some of which were lost after India gained independence and Hunnu came to power.

Ron's father was the most educated of his brothers and became a teacher. He had no interest in farming, keeping only enough to make a living before selling the rest to his brothers.

He himself moved to Varanasi to teach, occasionally returning to the countryside.

He handed over all the land under his name to Ron's uncle to manage, and after going to Mumbai, he almost never inquired about it anymore.

The place Ratan is taking Ron to now is the land that Ron's father entrusted to him.

Although the Su family had fallen on hard times, they were still true landlords.

Yes, dilapidated.

They had manors, land, and people, but in the eyes of the other Brahmins, they were still impoverished.

True Brahmins rarely make a living from agriculture because traditional caste laws forbid them from using agricultural tools used by the lower castes.

Ratan led Ron across the flat plains, and on the horizon they could vaguely see a low-lying factory—a sugar mill.

The vast sugarcane fields of Uttar Pradesh provide it with raw materials, and now it is harvest season, with farmers from all directions driving tractors or donkey carts to transport sugarcane to this factory.

The queue stretched for kilometers, with everyone waiting to be weighed. Under the scorching sun, the farmers waited quietly, sometimes for as long as three days.

The sugar mill owners neither opened more queues nor increased the number of scales. The farmers, for their part, seemed to have no complaints; this scene had been playing out in Uttar Pradesh for over a century, and they were used to it.

Ron had assumed his land was also primarily planted with sugarcane, but he was stunned when he saw the lush green expanse before him.

The shape of these leaves is rather strange; they're completely different from those of sugarcane.

"Ron, this whole area is yours!" Ratan said proudly, making a circle in the air with his arm.

"How many acres?" he asked.

"About 100 acres, or 40 hectares."

What's planted in the field?

"Hemp grass".

"!!!"

Holy crap! The Poisonous Zodiac is actually myself?!
Ron was numb; his brain went completely blank.

“These are all yours,” Ratan said, putting his arm around his shoulder with obvious pride. “You can make a lot of money from them.”

"Just cut it off," Ron said, his heart filled with despair.

"What?" Ratan thought he had misheard.

"Doesn't Uttar Pradesh care about these things?" Ron found it strange; even the gangs in Mumbai wouldn't dare to be this rampant.

"You're worried about those officials, aren't you?" Ratan breathed a sigh of relief. "Don't worry, they've known all along."

This is a cash crop in Uttar Pradesh, and farmers rely on it to make a living.

You have no idea how many people envy us. To protect this patch of hemp, I specially acquired weapons and arranged for people to patrol day and night.

Otherwise, these treasures will be stolen very quickly, and you'll have to keep a close eye on them at all times.

Ratan's tone was completely that of someone deeply worried about his career.

"Why not plant sugarcane? Wasn't it good before?" Ron asked weakly.

"How much is sugarcane worth? We've been growing it for so many years and we still don't have air conditioning or a TV, but hemp can!"

“This thing will eventually cause trouble. You never know when the authorities will take action to crack down on it,” Ron advised.

"Don't worry, Uncle Adiya is a municipal councilor in Varanasi, no one will dare to cause trouble."

The Adiya mentioned by Ratan is Ron's second uncle, and also his biological uncle.

He obtained the position of municipal councilor through bribery in his early years, and was the only member of the Suer family involved in politics.

Ron sighed. The Northern State, a land of outstanding people and resources, truly lived up to its reputation.

“There are many hemp plants here, look over there,” Ratan pointed, pointing to an even larger area in the distance.

Ron looked around and realized that sugarcane was now being grown by a minority of people.

The farmers openly planted hemp, exhibiting a completely unchecked and unregulated growth pattern.

“This business is highly competitive right now, but if the two of us brothers join forces, we’re sure we can make it bigger and stronger,” Ratan said, still envisioning the future.

"This land will be transferred to you from now on."

"Huh?" Ratan was stunned.

"The condition is that I exchange it for another piece of land. I need to acquire a plot of land in Varanasi."

“Ron, I may not have explained it clearly enough, but these hemp plants in the field can bring you unimaginable wealth.” Ratan gestured with his hand.

“I know, but I’m better at running a factory than growing hemp.”

"Brother, are you sure?" Ratan sighed, unable to understand Ron's bizarre idea.

These hemp fibers are worth as much as gold, but he's thinking about messing around with the factory instead of doing his job!

“Of course, I’ve thought it through.” Ron smiled and put his arm around his shoulder. “I can’t just give up my business in Mumbai. I came back this time to open a factory. In a couple of days, we’ll go talk to Uncle Adiya and see how it goes.”

“Land in Uttar Pradesh is worthless; money makes everything easier,” Ratan said nonchalantly.

“That would be best.” Ron nodded happily.

He had no intention of inheriting this large patch of hemp.

Although doing business in North India doesn't require much consideration of legal issues.

But Ron will be eating at the table in the future, so he has to be careful about how he behaves.

Things that are explicitly prohibited by Indian law are not suitable to be discussed openly.

It's a bit of a shame that this large piece of land is wasted; it's even bigger than his factory in Mumbai.

With over 600 acres and 40 hectares, this impoverished Brahmin was actually a veritable landowner.

However, his goal is not to become a farmer. If he can move his land to the city, even if it's a smaller one, he won't lose out.

Ron didn't continue inspecting his territory; he and Ratan took a stroll around and then returned.

Only after seeing the mud houses in the village could Ron appreciate how grand the Sue family's manor was.

There are more than one marble-paved courtyard, and there is also a fountain in the garden that is decorated in a rather extravagant way.

The living room ceiling was decorated with floral patterns made of light blue and white alabaster, resembling a grand ballroom in Mumbai. While most families in the distant village were still using kerosene lamps, the Su family had already achieved complete electrification, with electric lights, telephones, electric fans, air conditioning... they had everything.

As Hindus, they have their own sun temple located within the estate.

The servants were also divided into hundreds of categories according to their professions: cooks, cleaners, gardeners, massage therapists...

These servants always had their backs bowed, and their faces always wore obsequious and ingratiating smiles.

They would never sit on a stool, and when they rested, they would simply squat in a deserted corner.

Ron only had to take two steps closer before they would stammer and be speechless.

Well, he finally understands what a real Indian lord is like.

Ron and his parents also have their own courtyard on the estate, and he stayed there again this time when he came back.

Back home, Ratan mysteriously called him into his room.

"Look what this is!" He pulled out a large bundle of rupees from somewhere.

"Where did you get so much money?" Ron roughly estimated that it was at least several hundred thousand.

He knew that Ratan also had a job at a telecommunications company, and with that salary, he definitely couldn't have saved that much.

“These are all yours.” Ratan stuffed the bundle of money into his hand.

"What?" Ron was a little confused.

"Damn it!" Ratan grinned smugly. "You can still regret it now."

"When did you start growing hemp?" Ron asked.

"Last year, this year is the second quarter, it's on a larger scale, and we'll reap even greater rewards."

"Thanks." Ron shrugged and accepted the money.

He doesn't lack those hundreds of thousands of rupees, but it's his land, and he deserves it.

"Oh, right, I need to go back to Varanasi. There's a movie that's going to be filmed here in Uttar Pradesh."

"A movie?" Ratan was a little confused.

"That's right, Bollywood movies, I invested in them."

“Bollywood?!” Ratan exclaimed.

“It’s just a low-budget movie…” Ron tried to explain.

But Ratan had already rushed out, shouting about Ron's plan to make a movie.

The entire family was once again alarmed, and everyone sat in the living room as if they were having a meeting that would decide the fate of the family.

Will you have a role in the movie?

"Will the movie be filmed at the manor?"

What do you need us to arrange?

They asked one question after another, with boundless enthusiasm.

Clearly, they were more interested in the film than in Ron’s factory.

That's Bollywood, the place all of India dreams of.

People in rural areas may not have watched television or used air conditioning, but they have definitely seen Bollywood movies.

Every city has at least a few cinemas, and every village has its own small theater.

Yes, no matter how poor the village is, there must be a small screen where movies can be shown.

The total number of movie screens in India was close to 12,000 in 1993. The enthusiasm of Indians for movies is unimaginable to outsiders.

Ron answered their questions one by one, and then said that he needed to find an inaccessible temple to the Mother Goddess and arrange for someone to protect the safety of the film crew.

“Leave all of this to me,” Ratan volunteered. “I’ll stay with you until filming is finished.”

Uncle Prash nodded in agreement, "Ratan knows people in the city."

“Won’t this affect your work? The movie will take a month and a half to shoot,” Ron reminded him.

“No need to go to the telecom company.” Ratan shook his head easily. “I’m only on duty for less than ten days a year.”

Ratan is a full-time employee of Indian Telecom, a legitimate state-owned enterprise, and his salary is the same as that of civil servants.

As Brahmins, they could easily gain access to government public sectors—a position coveted by countless people—by using just a few connections.

In addition to a salary of up to 6,000 rupees, there are many non-cash benefits.

For example, it provides free or low-cost housing in the city, free household electricity, and free phone calls.

By the standards of other villagers, this was a huge income, but it was not enough to maintain the family's luxurious lifestyle.

No need to ask, it's all thanks to the hemp grass; it's a side business that Ratan is involved in.

As for formal telecommunications jobs, how many Brahmins have you seen who eagerly go to work every day?

Taking a nominal position and receiving a salary while living like a lord at home is the correct way for a Brahman to live.

No, in Uttar Pradesh, where Brahmins are so law-abiding, it's even somewhat shameful.

Ratan's real job was to extort money from telecom users, while routine technical maintenance was outsourced to workers.

He would deliberately make things difficult for users when they installed the phone until they gave him a tip.

After receiving the money, he would still demand exorbitant prices, often significantly higher than advertised. He would also keep incomplete bills, secretly substituting items for other charges.

After all the fees were paid, he would instruct the workers to tamper with the telephone line installation, causing the user's phone to malfunction every few days.

At this point, the user has to call the telecommunications company, wait for the repairman to come, and then slip him a tip and say nice things... and so on.

For Ratan, a bad telecommunications network is the best telecommunications network; as long as there are repair requests, there will be a continuous stream of bribes.

Sometimes, in order to earn extra money, he would even cut off other people's phone lines without any reason.

Over time, as long as they could afford it, most households preferred to spend money to install two telephone lines, because they wanted to ensure that at least one could continue to function.

For Ratan, work is irrelevant; movies are the only truth.

With such a warm welcome from his family, what could Ron say? He simply enjoyed the convenience that came with this privilege.

He was going to Varanasi to see how Schiff and his team were doing with their preparations.

(End of this chapter)