I am a master in India

Chapter 198 Sur Park
Ron said he would abandon his conscience to do business, but in the end he still failed.

He was used to the poverty in the slums and had become accustomed to it.

But the genuine joy those people showed in the face of a job that could cost them their lives at any moment was something he found hard to resist.

He dared not stay there any longer, fearing that his conscience would not be able to withstand the torment.

He escaped, but at the cost of earning $25 with tears in his eyes.

One hundred people were given drugs, each paid $5,000, and Merck paid them $500,000.

He and Luca split the cost in half; the cost was 50,000 rupees, which was used to pay the drug users.

Ron was too lazy to calculate how many times the profit that was.

He only knew that even if the drug smuggling business stopped, it wouldn't stop him from continuing to earn US dollars.

Ron has over a million dollars in his slush fund, and he plans to contact a foreign television manufacturer soon.

If possible, Suer Electric could add new products to its product catalog.

Relying solely on water-cooled air conditioners and electric fans makes the company's ability to withstand risks too limited.

Ron's biggest fear is the sudden emergence of a formidable competitor, which would make Suer Electric very uncomfortable.

Televisions are considered high-end in India, almost as high-end as air conditioners.

However, in terms of necessity between the two, the vast majority of people would choose a television.

It can bring the whole family an extremely rich entertainment experience, and its spiritual value is immeasurable.

Air conditioning seems somewhat unnecessary, as the people on this continent have long been accustomed to the heat for thousands of years.

If you ask someone in a slum whether they would rather have a television or an air conditioner, the answer will almost always be the same.

With this in mind, when deciding on the future product direction of Suer Electric Appliances, Ron did not hesitate to choose television sets.

Air conditioning is a tool for the wealthy to improve their quality of life, while television sets can enter thousands of households.

The funding was in place, but what Ron needed to solve most was not the production line problem, but the location.

Suer Electric's factory area covers more than 100 acres. After setting up six production lines, two warehouses, and an office building, there is not much room left for him to do anything else.

The problem still comes back to the beginning: buying land!

In order to paint a picture that would be enough to impress the Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Ron made a special appointment today with designer Rahul Mehrotra.

He graduated from Harvard and comes from a distinguished family. His father-in-law, Charles Coria, was also an architect and had participated in the urban planning of Mumbai.

Ron visited his new office in Tardio, decorated in his signature, strong modernist style, with photos of children on the walls adding a touch of warmth to the otherwise austere office.

Rahulna's architectural design, which incorporates various technological elements, has been particularly well-received within the industry.

This is also why Ron approached him; Suer Electric has always positioned itself as a technology company.

"What are you busy with?" Ron asked, sitting down on the sofa as if they were old friends.

They've dealt with each other before, so there's no need for such formalities.

“The city plan for Mumbai.” Rahul stood in front of the unfolded map, frowning in thought.

"This city is beyond saving."

“I agree,” Rahul sighed.

"Wow, you're an urban planner, saying that is tantamount to surrendering."

“I’ve tried, but it didn’t work.” Rahul threw down his pen. “Sometimes I wish there was a tsunami or an earthquake that would sweep Mumbai away, so that I could heal the city’s wounded and ailing body.”

"Is it that exaggerated?"

“Come and see,” he beckoned Ron over.

On his desk sat a map of Mumbai, which, when viewed from above, resembled a ladle.

If you spread your thumb and forefinger apart to form a 30-degree angle, that's the shape of Mumbai Island.

"It's too crowded. Mumbai Island was created by artificial land reclamation, so it was never suitable for planning as a metropolitan area in the first place."

Rahul bluntly stated that five real estate developers and Naik, the chief minister of Maharashtra in the 1960s, ruined the "new Mumbai" plan.

The government had foreseen the limitations of Mumbai Island, so it commissioned Rahul's father-in-law and others to rebuild a new Mumbai.

The new Mumbai will be located across the waterfront promenade, east of Mumbai Island. It will be Mumbai's hope for takeoff, a magical city with government-owned land rights and meticulous planning.

It has the potential for unlimited expansion because it faces away from the entire Indian subcontinent.

"As a result, the Chief Minister and the developers colluded to move the office area that was originally planned to be built in the new Mumbai to Nariman, the southernmost part of Mumbai Island."

As a result, private companies followed suit, disrupting the original residential plans for the Nariman district and effectively slapping New Mumbai in the face.

This is a money-driven deal between politicians and builders who completely disregard urban planning.

"What benefits do they get from doing this?" Ron was curious, as it was the first time he had heard about Mumbai's planning history.

"It's very simple. The more demand exceeds supply, the more marketable but priceless the market becomes. These five developers privately discussed it and decided to narrow down the scope of the plan. In contrast, land in Nariman is scarce, and the buildings there will sell much better."

“Things are valued for their rarity,” Ron nodded.

"That's it, the congestion in Mumbai today is entirely man-made."

Look, this is India.

Collusion between officials and businessmen could directly ruin the future of everyone in the largest city.

"So you've found a way to save this city?" Ron asked.

“If we want to make this city better, more livable, with wider roads, train carriages, and residential areas, that will bring another problem: population.” Ron understood what Rahul meant: a more livable Mumbai would attract more people until it was overwhelmed again.

India is so poor that other states are like the 19th century compared to Mumbai.

Every day, the trains arriving at Victoria Station are packed with migrant workers from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, who are continuously pouring into Mumbai.

If these people knew that as soon as they got off the train, the government would provide them with housing, their momentum would be even stronger, and everything would be in vain.

"This is a place of despair; Mumbai alone cannot contain the whole of India."

Rahul loves this country. He is a member of the Kshatriya caste and comes from a prominent family. He graduated from a world-renowned university and could easily have settled abroad.

But he returned and devoted a significant portion of his energy to the work of the Mumbai Urban Planning Agency, a work that was unpaid.

“Never mind, let’s go look at your Suer Industrial Park instead.” Rahul spread out another blueprint.

Ron had invited him to Suer Appliances a few months earlier.

At that time, Ron had just returned from Uttar Pradesh, and Suer Electric was doing very well. He couldn't wait to imagine the future.

He told Rahul all his needs, including the office building, the research and development center, and the factory area.

After three or four months of on-site investigation and surveying, the design of the Suer Industrial Park has taken initial shape.

“Aside from being a bit far south of Mumbai, the location of that piece of land is actually very good. There are no obstructive buildings around it, and there is a large expanse of wasteland for you to develop.”

Rahul loved the feeling of painting on a blank canvas; he wished the whole of Mumbai were a wasteland.

"The office building and R&D center are located on the south side, where there are no obstructions, so there is no need to worry about lighting issues."

The factory is located in the northeast, surrounded by two roads, which facilitates transportation.

The employee community is located on the west side, and I've equipped it with an entertainment area, a sports area, a dining area, and a leisure area.

Rahul pointed at the blueprints and talked at length, clearly very satisfied with his design.

The Suer campus on the blueprints is magnificent, with office buildings and R&D centers in the consistent modern and technological style, which is Rahul's forte.

The factory area is very orderly, with sufficient distance between everything, and there's even a damn lawn!

Yes, lawns aren't just found in the factory area; they can also be found in the employee community.

In the middle of that large green area, there was even a small pond!

Ron was stunned. Should this thing exist in India?
What level is this? The National Parliament Building in New Delhi is nothing special.

"I have a question."

"What?" Rahul looked up.

Why is the employee community located on the west side?

"It's more open to the west because it's near the sea. The sunsets there are beautiful, and there's a gentle breeze."

Ron nodded, agreeing.

In Mumbai, people are taught from a young age to look west, because only when looking there will their view be unobstructed.

If a Mumbai resident steps onto their balcony and looks around, their eyes will soon automatically turn westward. To the west lies the sea, a place of endless possibilities.

"Place the office building and R&D center to the west, and the employee housing area to the north. Get rid of all the lawns, ponds, entertainment areas, and leisure areas!"

"What!" This time it was Rahul's turn to be dumbfounded.

“The park is only two hundred acres. Suer Electric is a company, not a real estate developer,” Ron shrugged.

"But wouldn't a good living environment inspire employees' enthusiasm for work?"

“Rahul, Mumbai is not Boston. People here are so poor they don’t even have a place to sleep. They don’t need lawns; they’re completely useless.”

Instead of focusing on green spaces, entertainment, and leisure, we should build more residential buildings, which would solve the housing problems of hundreds or even thousands of employees.

“I should have realized this sooner; my previous thinking was too hasty. Mumbai is so crowded,” Rahul sighed.

“Keep this design too, I have a great use for it.” Ron’s eyes lit up.

"Take it if you like it. I need to reconsider the park's capacity."

Rahul agreed with Ron, stating that the primary issue facing Mumbai is housing, which is the fundamental problem.

His initial idea was to transform the Suer Industrial Park into an ideal modern high-end industrial park.

He hopes that Suer Park will become a landmark building there, so that everyone can see it and recognize it when they look up.

Like a business card, it is eye-catching.

However, the realities of Mumbai shattered that idea; it was too avant-garde.

“Speaking of housing, do you know how to solve the slum problem?” Ron asked casually.

"Slums?"

"Yes, there is a slum on the open ground north of Suer Electric Appliances, with about 20,000 to 30,000 people."

"You want to relocate them without provoking fierce resistance?"

"Yes, this is a very troublesome problem."

“There is a way.” Rahul thought of the map of Mumbai again.

"Huh?" Ron looked up abruptly.

He asked casually, "Is there a way to have the best of both worlds in a slum?"
(End of this chapter)