I am a master in India

Chapter 160 Limits Imagination
Varanasi is technically a tourist city, and its economy is largely tied to tourism.

For example, the service industry, handicrafts, and catering industry provide jobs for millions of people.

Of course, every city has its own industrial zones. In Varanasi, textile mills, leather factories, and machine factories are located on both sides of the city.

Nirav drove Ron around the city, mainly checking out the industrial area.

"See those factories? They're right on the banks of the Ganges, so they have very convenient access to water," he said with a touch of pride.

"Are these factories just dumping their wastewater directly into the Ganges?"

As far as Ron could see, large amounts of wastewater covered in suspicious foam were being poured into the Ganges River in a blatant manner.

“There’s only this one river nearby,” Adiya said matter-of-factly.

"But this is a sacred river, where believers bathe and pray."

“Shiva will protect us, and the Ganges water can purify all impurities!” Nirav and Adiya said in unison.

Alright, here in the Ganges.

Indians have absolutely no environmental awareness; they would rather pray to the gods than take any action whatsoever.

Looking at the foamy, murky river, Ron felt that old Abby's death was not unjust.

“I want the land southwest of Varana,” Ron said without hesitation.

It's the upper reaches of the Ganges, and the sanitation situation there is still worrying, but at least it's passable.

“No problem, I’ll handle it.” Adiya seemed confident about everything.

He directed Nilav to drive the car to the residence of an official, a grand house with a front porch, a courtyard, and a lavishly decorated main house.

The bodyguards at the door were in uniform, and Ron realized upon closer inspection that they were genuine police officers on duty.

This wasn't the first time he'd encountered such a situation, so he was used to it.

Indian officials really do abuse their power for personal gain; it's all too common for them to have high-ranking police officers act as their private bodyguards.

Adiya seemed very familiar with the place; the police at the entrance not only didn't stop him, but also gave him a fawning greeting.

As Ron walked through the front porch, he was taken aback by the strange arrangement of the place.

They walked along the outer wall, which had been renovated with white marble and decorated with bas-reliefs of cherubs and winged Cupids—a bizarre combination of classical Greek art and modern erotic culture.

He couldn't even quite define what style it was, especially since it appeared in the conservative lands of North India.

Ron guessed that the owner of this house was either an abstract artist or a pretentious nouveau riche.

It turned out to be the latter. When they entered the main hall, they saw a huge family portrait hanging on the front wall, next to a statue of Krishna inlaid with gold and jewels.

Every corner of the room was filled with a dazzling array of decorations. Here was a French Yavisa tray, there was a priceless antique vase.

The artworks are extremely inconsistent in style, making it nothing more than an art ostentation.

The owner of the mansion, who was also the key figure Adiya had mentioned, Shah Dube, warmly received them.

Especially after hearing that Ron was from Mumbai, Dube couldn't wait to show him around his mansion.

Before they could even discuss the important matters, they were taken outside in a daze.

The garden, of course, had already been seen. They were then led to a tall building, which was a gymnasium that Dube had added, equipped with sports equipment such as ski-walking machines and treadmills.

The house next door has a very nice bathtub with a gold faucet.

Then Dube led them through the main building, outside which was a huge staircase leading directly to the terrace, as if the staircase from the movie "Gone with the Wind" had been transplanted here.

The terrace is covered with green grass and roses, resembling a rooftop garden.

"Do you like it here?" Dube asked.

“Of course!” Ron and the others nodded repeatedly.

"How does it compare to Mumbai?" Dube asked, his eyes fixed on Ron.

"This is the most luxurious residence I have ever seen; Mumbai is not even one ten-thousandth as magnificent as this."

Dube breathed a sigh of relief; he was satisfied with Ron's answer.

However, the tour wasn't over yet; the grand finale was yet to come. Dube became increasingly excited and led Ron and the others to the main dining room.

One wall of the restaurant was removed and replaced with an alcove extending into the garden. A glass screen separates the alcove from the restaurant, behind which is a small, shimmering marble pool with a stream of clear water flowing outwards into the garden.

Dubey took out a huge remote control and pointed it at the ceiling above the dining table. As Ron imagined what might pop out, he pressed the button.

A magical thing happened: the heavy Luchins stone roof slowly and silently opened.

You simply can't imagine what's inside. Ron and his crew felt like they'd stepped into a James Bond movie, completely stunned by what they saw.

Once the roof was fully opened, a dazzling sight unfolded before them: the roof had transformed into a glass pyramid modeled after the roof of the Louvre in Paris, with the glass reflecting the distant green terraces.

This time, Ron and his friends breathed a sigh of relief, their faces showing a mixture of shock and envy.

This is the right way for a Brahmin to live!

Compared to Dube's house, Sue's estate certainly looked like a run-down place.

This wasn't Adiya's first visit here, but each time he was so captivated that he couldn't speak.

Dube turned to them, his face beaming with barely suppressed joy. "And now?"

"Amazing!" Ron exclaimed sincerely.

Is this the power of a nouveau riche in Uttar Pradesh? Sure enough, the few hectares of land he owns limit his imagination.

The group returned to the original main house, and while waiting for the servants to serve tea, Dube showed them another luxury item.

The world's first commercially available 42-inch plasma TV is produced by Japan's Fujitsu and is priced at $6.

Looking at the bright and clear picture on the television, Ron even felt a sense of absurdity. Just ten kilometers away in the countryside, many families didn't even have electricity and were still using kerosene lamps.

But the luxurious interior design of the Dube family home seems to be at the forefront of technology.

Ron once again experienced the divisions within Indian society, a complete world between the lower and upper classes.

"Adiya said a few days ago that you're planning to go back to Varanasi to open a factory?" Dube asked after taking a sip of tea.

“I grew up here, so of course I want to do something for my hometown,” Ron said without batting an eye.

“You’re right, Varanasi is no worse than Mumbai, and you’ve come back at just the right time.”

Dube said that Uttar Pradesh is setting up a development committee, and if Ron seizes the opportunity, he can become a guest of honor of the state government.

Adiya seized the opportunity to interject, hinting at the dam issue.

“Those foreigners will definitely cause trouble, but now we have Ron. His Suer Group is famous throughout India. As long as this investment is finalized, we will have successfully attracted investment!”

“Great!” Dube agreed immediately. “This way, the Senate won’t say anything, and it can also shut up the media.”

“That’s it.” Adiya gave a timely wink.

Without saying a word, Ron pulled out several bundles of rupees from his bag and laid them out naked on the table.

It was all 100 rupee notes, totaling 100 million, neatly stacked there.

“Brother Adiya, thank you for bringing prosperity to Varanasi!” Dube’s enthusiasm visibly rose to another level.

“We are all Varanasi people, and Varanasi is ours too,” Adiya said, nodding happily.

“That’s right, Ron, Varanasi is ours.”

Dubey's mansion was undeniably luxurious. And the source of that luxury was bribery.

He wielded considerable power in the state legislature and employed a variety of ingenious methods to amass wealth.

For example, selling ballots to the highest bidder, accepting bribes from civil servants to transfer them to comfortable positions, allocating industrial licenses for personal gain, and requisitioning the best locations in the city for relatives and friends through backroom deals, etc.

Now that he had received a generous reward from Ron, he didn't hesitate and immediately found a map of Varanasi and spread it on the ground.

"Which piece of land do you want?" he asked.

“Here,” Ron pointed south.

"Is this enough?" Dube casually drew a circle.

“Oh! Thirty hectares, that's enough!” Ron’s mouth dropped open in surprise. “The price?”

“One dollar per hectare, Varanasi welcomes the Sur Group,” Dube said with unusual nonchalance.

This is like selling vegetables, not land; it's so hasty and shocking.

Thirty hectares is 450 mu, which is more than four times the size of the Mumbai factory, larger than imagined.

Ron spent over seven million rupees to buy that piece of land in Mumbai, and now it's worth thirty dollars.

Of course, bribery is also part of the land purchase cost, but no matter how you compare them, the difference is too great.

Such a large plot of land is far more than a single branch factory could use, but Ron wasn't foolish enough to offer a word of advice.

Land is a relatively valuable asset in any era. If a factory doesn't use all of its land, it can be kept for other uses.

After securing the most pressing land, Dube thoughtfully offered to apply for an industrial permit for Ron's Suer Electric Appliances.

Although India has gradually opened up its economic policies, some industries still have licensing systems and are not without barriers to entry.

These are minor matters; Adiya could handle them even without Dube's intervention.

They didn't linger there; once the deal was done, they had to leave quickly because there were visitors waiting in line outside to visit Dube.

In Uttar Pradesh, most decisions are not passed in parliament, but are finalized privately at the residence of an official.

"Ron, when do you plan to start building the factory?" Adiya asked.

"The sooner the better. I'll call Mumbai today and ask them to send a group of people over."

"What about the scale of the investment?"

“I plan to build two production lines with eight million rupees to meet the demand in North India.”

"Eight million!"

Adiya and Nirav were astonished by Ron's extravagant spending, which amounted to almost the cost of building four dams.

“It seems your business is very successful,” Adiya exclaimed. “Leave all the engineering problems to us.”

“Okay!” Ron agreed.

Although his second uncle had just completed the miraculous dam project where 1=4, Ron believed he could distinguish between public and private matters.

Ron was even less comfortable entrusting the task to others; ultimately, his own family was the most reliable.

Adiya is also a municipal councilor here, and having him handle things can help avoid a lot of bureaucratic troubles.

“Ron, opening a factory in Varanasi is the right decision. The farmers here are overjoyed with a salary of 200 rupees.” Nirav also approved of the decision.

200 rupees a month? Ron sighed inwardly; this salary level was probably only one-tenth of that in Mumbai.

Uttar Pradesh is underdeveloped and landlocked, making water transport inconvenient. However, the low cost is enough to offset all these disadvantages.

In the future, water-cooled air conditioners produced here can be directly transported to several surrounding states, which will save a lot of transportation costs.

Hmm, Ron is starting to look forward to what this factory will look like once it's completed.

(End of this chapter)