I am a master in India

Chapter 172 Overseas Expansion
How's Dubai doing lately?

"Fantastic! This is exactly the Mumbai I've always dreamed of."

"Hmm?" Ron looked up.

"There are brand-new urban areas, spacious American cars are scattered among the skyscrapers, the streets are deserted, and you can drive at 70 miles per hour!"

Vinod was talking non-stop, and he was dressed very smartly. He wore a clean shirt, well-fitting jeans, and even a watch on his wrist.

Having traveled to the Persian Gulf countries many times and witnessed their prosperity, he had mixed feelings of love and hate towards Mumbai.

Mumbai is the city where he lives, where his family and friends are. But there are so many terrible things here: scarce water resources, overcrowded slums, and garbage heaps that can never be cleaned up.
It wasn't until he went to Dubai that he discovered that it was the future Mumbai had always dreamed of.

Not only are there a large number of Indian immigrants, but they also speak very similar languages.

It's not just Vinod; even Mumbai's elite have a strong preference for Dubai.

When they throw parties, they unconsciously imitate the trends in Dubai.

For example, they might hire professional performers, have well-trained dogs perform basketball shooting, and prepare a luxurious gift for the guests.
The entire city of Mumbai, from top to bottom, yearns for the Dubai-style urban lifestyle.

Vinod was no exception; he kept rambling on and on, and Ron couldn't help but laugh and kick him.

"That's not what I'm talking about."

"Ah, Ron Baba, which one are you referring to?"

"The Mumbai gang leaders prefer to operate remotely from Dubai, directing their gang activities here. I've heard they haven't been having the best of times lately?"

"It's not what it used to be! Daoud didn't even have a big celebration for his birthday this year, not even a party."

Daoud fled to Dubai in the 80s, where he amassed a huge fortune through gold smuggling.

Dubai is a city for pleasure, which suits him perfectly.

He recreated Mumbai's former glory at lavish parties, invited waves of Mumbai's most famous movie stars and cricketers to Dubai, and kept Bollywood actress Mandakini as his mistress.

Even after Daoud fled India, his influence within the Indian underworld remained strong. He could have continued to live a life of ease in Dubai.

But then an explosion happened, and then they happened to run into a stubborn cop like Aijie.

As the truth of the case gradually comes to light, the charge of the Daoud terrorist attack is almost certainly established.

The Indian government is reportedly considering sending an extradition request to Dubai to bring Daoud to justice.

Whether the rumors are true or not is unknown, but this gang leader has probably heard something and is now much more low-key than before.

"It seems we can expand our business to include a brokerage firm," Ron thought to himself.

“It should have been done a long time ago, Ronbaba, the people there are very rich.” Vinod strongly agreed with the decision.

"You've been to Dubai so many times, what's your opinion on the labor market there?"

“It’s very profitable!” Vinod shook his head. “Millions of Indians go to the Persian Gulf to work every year.”

India is separated from them by only a bay, but their geographical resources are worlds apart.

The Persian Gulf countries, thanks to their booming oil economies, can offer wages far exceeding those of India.

Similarly, taxi drivers in Mumbai generally earn around 1,000 rupees per month.

But in Dubai, the figure becomes more than six thousand rupees.

A difference of six times, it's completely incomparable.

In some dangerous jobs, such as construction work, the average salary in the Persian Gulf countries is around $500.

Converted to rupees, it's about 15,000 rupees, more than ten times higher than in India.

This huge disparity has led many male laborers from India's coastal states to illegally cross borders to work in the Persian Gulf countries.

India is so poor, yet every household has a large population, including both girls and boys.

According to Indian tradition, men in the family have an obligation to prepare dowries for their sisters.

Yes, although in India the bride's family provides the dowry, the man ultimately bears this part of the expense.

Indian dowries are typically made of gold, which is expensive and a true luxury item.

This has indirectly led to an increasing number of people choosing to work in the Persian Gulf countries.

With a market of millions of people, opening a brokerage company is a sure way to make money.

"This matter is entrusted to you. Not only in Dubai, but also in other cities, our travel agency should have branches."

“Ron Baba, that’s no problem, but I need help.” Vinod hadn’t read many books, and some things were difficult for him.

“Okay, I’ll send you a few more people.” Ron was preparing to shift the staff from the Mumbai Tourism Information Company to the travel agency.

Mumbai's tourism industry is doomed this year, with travel agencies easily overtaking them in revenue.

Vinod has sent a total of 3,000 people to Dubai in the past few months, and about the same number of people have returned to renew their visas.

In one round trip, with 6,000 people, Ron Guang collected 12 million rupees in service fees.

There are also considerable rebates for arranging accommodations, air tickets, and boat tickets, which are just enough to cover the salaries of the travel agency's employees.

"Oh, by the way, I'll give you his contact information later. He's the male lead in my movie. His family has been in the fabric business in Dubai for many years and has a lot of local connections."

If there's an emergency, you can go there for help; I've already informed them beforehand.

The Sri Lankan family is seeking to return to India, and they need to use the connections they have before they return, as they will expire if they do.

Speaking of Lanka, I wonder how things are going with the film crew.

Upon hearing director Schiff say that the crew was about to depart for Mumbai, Lanka was so excited she almost cried. The past month or so of rural life had been incredibly difficult, especially after arriving in Uttarakhand, where things had become increasingly complicated without Ron's protection.

First, he had some unpleasantness with the local people. Because of the shortage of manpower, Lanka helped out on set by playing the clapperboard.

That day was a Saturday, and Saturdays were governed by the planet Saturn, Soni. Soni had a terrible temper, which made Lanka easily angered as well.

A certain onlooker repeatedly interrupted the filming process, so Lanka asked him to be quiet, which escalated from a verbal argument to a physical altercation.

Because of this incident, the film crew even made the front page of the local newspaper, which read the following.

"People beat up the male lead of the new movie."

Lanka scoffed at the report, insisting that the truth was exactly the opposite.

"I beat that bastard up without saying a word."

He was glad the newspapers didn't write it that way; if he had been portrayed as an actor who assaulted the crowd, the local thugs might have harassed him.

Another worrying thing is that there aren't any guesthouses nearby like those in Uttar Pradesh to take care of them.

The film crew was shooting in the mountains of North Arkand, where eating was very inconvenient.

To prevent the veteran, shameless staff from taking away most of the food, the producer came up with an idea.

He packed food for everyone in plastic bags in advance and served it in fixed portions.

The food was prepared and delivered from a local Sikh restaurant. It was plentiful and generously portioned, with cheese being added as if it were free.

But the producer, having mastered Ron's frugality, refused to spend a single penny more on plates.

Therefore, the crew members had to eat directly from plastic bags, four bags per person, containing rice, pancakes, bean paste, and vegetables.

However, the plastic bags were so sturdy that people had to tear them open with their teeth, often ending up with a mouthful of plastic film.

Lanka joked with the crew that if anyone were to perform an autopsy on them in the future, they would definitely find all sorts of plastic bag fragments inside each person's body.

Sure enough, Lanka had diarrhea every day for the next few days, and he almost didn't even have the strength to play the clapperboard.

On another occasion, the bus carrying the entire film crew broke down halfway through the journey. It was already lunchtime, and the bus wouldn't arrive at their hotel until at least 2 a.m.

So the producer took out four hundred rupees and let all thirty people on the bus get off for dinner.

That little bit of money isn't enough to buy anything.

Lanka and the crew members cursed him more than once, calling him a shrewd businessman, a Vaishya among Vaishyas.

As a wealthy second-generation from Dubai, Sri Lanka felt obligated to buy dinner for everyone, spending 1,200 rupees.

He did not offer to share the costs because he couldn't bring himself to do so.

They're all colleagues I see every day; I can't exactly tell them, "Remember to pay me back forty rupees each."

Lanka's foolish behavior led the actress who played his mother in the film to call him a sucker.

Of course, it wasn't all bad news. Thanks to the fight, he became a locally well-known actor.

Sri Lanka was jogging on a mountain path when he was recognized and people rushed over to ask for his autograph.

That was the most glorious moment of Lanka's life; he had imagined such a scene countless times before.

Some people would even jog alongside him in the morning, asking the hotel receptionist: "Is there a movie actor staying here? We want to see him."

Then groups of three or five people would go to Lanka's room and shake hands with him.

How much Sri Lanka wished at that moment that his family in Dubai were there to witness it.

He also often went to a certain aunt's house for meals. That family had two daughters, both of whom took a liking to him.

This was what made Lanka most proud; he believed he was still very popular with women.

In particular, the fact that all the girls in the crew had a crush on Ron made him doubt his own charm.

Although the filming process was fraught with difficulties, it at least made Ai Yishan realize one fact.

Unless he has the perfect timing, location, and support, he will never become a big star.

It's a low-budget film, not to mention the complicated filming process and huge expenses.

Even minor roles in the production crew were offered after fierce competition.

Imagine, which Bollywood director would spend hundreds of millions of rupees on such an unknown newcomer?

Clearly, he was too naive in his previous thinking. He also trusted the producer who promised to make him famous far too easily.

These are just polite words from Bollywood; don't take them seriously.

Fortunately, he has taken the first step, and filming for "Ode to the Mother" is about to conclude.

There are also a few urban scenes that need to be filmed in Bollywood studios.

The film will probably wrap up in less than a week.

During filming, Lanka, as the male lead, also recorded a song and sang another duet with the female lead.

The other music work has already begun.

The subsequent post-production work had nothing to do with Lanka.

He was really looking forward to the day the movie was released.

Yeah, Ron is looking forward to it too. The first movie has to make some money, right?

(End of this chapter)