Nanyang 1931: From piglets to giants

Chapter 281 Fast Food Chains and the Future American Villain
After three rounds of wine, five flavors of food.

Although Zheng Yi was not very familiar with everyone, they were all Chinese after all, and most of them were even his fellow Fujianese. In addition, almost all of them were trying to flatter him, so Zheng Yi felt that drinking this wine today was extremely enjoyable.

He can be said to have some friends in New York now, but it is still in Chinatown, being with his compatriots that makes him feel comfortable, so much so that he even gets a little tipsy without realizing it.

"Master Zheng, let me introduce you to this young talent from our Hongmen."

On the side, Huang Sande introduced a young man to Zheng Yi.

"Hello, Master Zheng."

The young man was a little reserved.

"Don't call me that. I don't like it either. Just call me Mr."

"Mr. Zheng, I, I, Mr. Zheng, my name is Ying Xingjiu, I, I... I hope you can give me a chance and let me work with you. I am very capable."

Quite frank.

Huang Sande, who was standing by, also said, "Xiao Ying is a very good child. He is smart, quick, and able to endure hardships. If Mr. Zheng has anything to ask him to do in the future, he will definitely be able to do it properly for you."

"How long should it take?"

Zheng Yi looked at the person who came, a little surprised.

Curiously asked: "How many generations are you Chinese?"

Ying Xingjiu: "I am a member of the Hongmen. I just came from China last year, but I joined the Hongmen very early. My father is a member of the Hongmen."

Zheng Yi: "Shanghai Hongmen, you only came here last year? Then I guess you must be quite capable."

After all, the new guy who just came last year was introduced to him on an occasion like today, so he must have something outstanding.

[Same name? Or... could it really be him?]

"What kind of business does Xiaoying do in the country?"

"In reply to Mr. Zheng, I'm a car and chemical distributor. I was also the general agent for Penang Petrochemical in Shanghai, and I know Mr. Wu Wenhao."

"Oh, I see. It's really you. Come sit down and have a drink together. I've heard about you. You're quite good."

Ying Xingjiu was overjoyed when he heard this. He never thought that Mr. Zheng had even heard of the name of a small figure like him. He felt so happy that his heart seemed to be blossoming. A single word of "yes" made him feel a little lighter.

Of course, Ying Xingjiu thought that Zheng Yi heard about him from Wu Wenhao, but in fact, that was certainly not the case. Zheng Yi had not personally taken care of business affairs for many years. How could Wu Wenhao possibly mention a domestic distributor to him?

To be precise, Zheng Yi had heard of this person when he was young in his previous life. This person was quite famous among people of their age, but perhaps people who were a little younger would not know him.

The founder of the American Dazhong Group was at its peak in the 7s and 80s, just after the reform and opening up. Zheng Yi was still young at that time, and he heard that there was such a rich Chinese man in the United States. Anyway, he was very rich and was a billionaire.

You have to know that children at that time had no concept of billionaires, so they would naturally admire him. Moreover, this man was also involved in travel agencies and Sino-US trade, and was often in the news. Compared with American businessmen of his generation, at least in that era, he was even more famous than Wang An. Many people mistakenly believed that he was the richest Chinese in the United States.

After all, Wang An was working on personal computers, and in the 80s, few Chinese people knew what a computer was.

Among Chinese people in the United States, most of those who have achieved success are from science and engineering backgrounds and are technical experts. I have the impression that he is the only wealthy businessman who has become famous purely through business means without any technical expertise.

This man is a pure businessman. He made his fortune by opening restaurants, doing foreign trade, selling small commodities, and running travel agencies. This is the typical path of a "Hongmen Tangren". In fact, the things he does do not require much technical content.

After the 90s, this person was rarely mentioned in the domestic public opinion field, so few younger people know him.

In fact, he was not really a very capable person. He was completely different from Wang An, Lao Yang, Lao Huang, Du Jichuan and other successful Chinese in the general sense of later generations, these science and engineering PhDs who were involved in high technology.

However, precisely because of this, Zheng Yi felt that this person was friendly. Compared with those high-tech talents, this kind of non-technical talent would sometimes appear more valuable.

After all, the things he did were essentially things that anyone could do. Not to mention a PhD, even a high school diploma was not needed. But these were things that anyone could do. He was able to break away from the traditional Chinese industry. He was an American businessman who had been personally received by our country's leaders in history. So he must have had extraordinary qualities in his management and personal conduct.

He must be bold, careful and capable of getting things done.

To put it bluntly, this is the kind of talent Zheng Yi wants. At least for Zheng Yi at this time, this kind of person is far more useful than Wang An, a Harvard doctoral student.

However, what Zheng Yi didn't know was that Ying Xingjiu was able to appear in New York at this time because of the flapping of his butterfly wings.

In history, Ying Xingjiu made his fortune in Shanghai by being an agent for American cars. However, because of the civil war, he thought that business was not doing well, so he brought his wife, children and wealth to the United States to develop his business. However, due to racial discrimination, Ying Xingjiu wanted to buy a house but no one would sell it to him.

Because he wanted to buy a house in an upscale community, and at that time in the United States, if a Chinese person moved into an upscale community, the housing prices in the entire community would drop significantly, and naturally no one would sell to him.

So after staying in the United States for a while, Ying Xingjiu, feeling that he was being racially discriminated against, returned to China. It was not until the 50s that he set foot on American soil again.

This time and space is somewhat different. Because of Zheng Yi, the status of Chinese in the United States has also increased a lot. After all, Zheng Yi is also a high-ranking Allied force and a friend of the Americans. There are also many people in the United States who admire Zheng Yi.

During World War II, Americans were promoting friendship between China and the United States and had many words of praise for Chinese Americans. Therefore, when Ying Xingjiu came to the United States to buy a house, the community thought he was a Chinese from Southeast Asia and sold the house to him. No racial discrimination occurred.

So, I stayed.

Huang Sande also introduced many other young talents and rising stars to Zheng Yi, including businessmen, teachers, lawyers and doctors. However, Zheng Yi had no impression of the others. He just nodded and made friends with them one by one, and said that he would soon open some companies in New York and welcomed them to come and work for Zheng Yi. That was all.

I do treat Ying Xingjiu differently.

"I'm really lacking an assistant who can help me with things. Since you said you want to follow me, it's perfect. I'll give you some things to do."

Ying Xingjiu: "Mr. Zheng, if you say so, I will definitely do my best to get it done."

Zheng Yi: "It's quite simple. It's a test for you. I promised Dewey I'd create some jobs for him, so I plan to start with the service industry and establish a fast food chain and coffee beverage brand."

"I envisioned a chain brand. Three months from now, I want to open 100 stores across New York City. All 100 stores will open simultaneously. These stores must be spread across the city and located in densely populated areas, but they cannot be too close to each other."

Ying Xingjiu: "One, one, one hundred?"

Zheng Yi: "Yes, one hundred, but the storefront doesn't need to be too big. In other words, a small storefront is enough, but the kitchen needs to be bigger."

Ying Xingjiu: "But if we open a hundred stores at the same time, how will we manage this?"

Zheng Yi: "Fast food restaurants only serve hamburgers, French fries, fried chicken nuggets, and pies, with some coffee and cola, and that's it.
Because we opened 100 stores at once, we were able to configure central kitchens for these 100 stores, pre-cook and season the chicken in advance, and purchase raw materials in a unified and large-scale manner.

We can start our own chicken farm, roast our own coffee beans, and customize packaging bags and beverage cups. We can also open our own factory to produce all kinds of sauces and grow our own tomatoes."

"As long as it's pre-made and transported using the central kitchen's cold chain, and as long as kitchen operations are strictly followed, we can ensure the speed and taste of the food. It won't be super delicious, but it won't be unpalatable either. Most importantly, the cost can be kept extremely low."

"There are no seats in the store, or very few seats. Customers can eat in their cars or on the go after buying something. The reason is that the food is served quickly, stably and cheaply."

"It's cheap, the food is served quickly, and the cost is low, so we can sell it in large quantities. Moreover, opening 100 stores at the same time will be very convenient for us to do marketing and promotion, and it will also easily create a sensational effect. If it is successful, we will open another 100 stores in New York within the next six months."

As long as this model is successful in New York, it can be quickly promoted and rolled out to every city in the United States within a few years. As long as there are about 2,000 stores nationwide, it can be listed."

"According to my plan, I'll personally provide you with an initial budget of 8 million for the entire restaurant chain. If you succeed, I'll have Morgan Stanley invest an additional 12 million. If that's all you have, we'll invest more."

"Until the company goes public, we will hold a 34% stake in the store, and Morgan Stanley will hold a 66% stake. Morgan Stanley will sell its shares in batches over the next five years based on the company's market value at that time: 17% within one year, 20% within three years, and all within five years, retaining a maximum of 10%."

"As the founders of the catering company, we have the priority to acquire these shares at a price no less than 9% of the market price."

After saying this, Zheng Yi turned around, looked at Ying Xingjiu, and said, "Both business models are considered my innovations. Do you understand?"

Ying Xingjiu thought for a moment before nodding and saying, "I understand. It sounds like this business model is quite complete."

Zheng Yi smiled and said, "I hope you truly understand. Your mission is to open a hundred stores and wait for the twelve million investment."

"If you can do this, I'll consider you completing the test. You can hand over the company to someone else and come work for me. If you can perform exceptionally well, I can consider taking you on as my apprentice. In the future, I can let you manage the American business."

Of course, if he couldn't even do such a simple thing, Zheng Yi would naturally not give him any more chances.

Zheng Yi's chain model is, of course, a copy of McDonald's and Starbucks.

Central kitchen, pre-prepared dishes, process management, fast food delivery and not too large stores, mainly serving takeout, are all learned from McDonald's.

There is no real fast food in the United States these days, or even in the world. Even in the United States, if you want to eat a hot and proper meal, you usually have to wait about twenty minutes. Otherwise, you can only eat something very boring.

This is the background for McDonald's rise.

When McDonald's was rising in the United States, it mainly focused on takeout and did not offer dine-in services. Dine-in services were introduced only later.

As for opening a hundred stores at once and carrying out explosive publicity, they actually learned from Starbucks. Starbucks used this method at the beginning of its rise, often opening dozens or even dozens of stores at the same time.

Of course, it is indeed crazy to open a hundred stores at once like Zheng Yi did, but Zheng Yi feels that the stores he opened are just stalls after all, and this is New York after all, so this number should be enough.

Business models have all been proven to be feasible in later generations. Zheng Yi believes that as long as Ying Xingjiu himself is reliable, this business model will inevitably succeed. This kind of fast food chain currently has no rivals and is completely a land grab.

Moreover, with Morgan Stanley investing as a major shareholder, the troubles encountered by the catering industry itself will be much smaller.

The United States is certainly not without big capital, but so far, these big capitals have not focused their attention and energy on the service industry. The world in the 40s was essentially an era where resources and productivity were king. Zheng Yi's move was equivalent to being ahead of the times.

Of course, in fact, from a purely business logic perspective, Zheng Yi himself also looked down on this catering business. It has been a long time since he personally managed the specific business. Even if it was just a simple plan, it was no longer Zheng Yi's job.

In the 40s, the United States and the world were full of gold, and Zheng Yi had plenty of better and less worrying heavy asset targets to invest in.

But isn't this also because we promised Dewey to create jobs for New York?

In this era, there is no such chain model of large capital entering the catering industry. This is also a dimensionality reduction attack for people of this era. Zheng Yi himself can certainly afford this money.

Even without considering the public money of the Southern Association for Regional Cooperation, even if it was his own private treasury, 18 million US dollars was not a lot of money for him now. However, the reason why he wanted to do this project was actually to get Morgan Stanley involved and to let Morgan Stanley make money.

To some extent, Morgan Stanley can now be said to be his.

He needs results so that Morgan Stanley's shareholders and clients can see his methods.

These days, investment banks invest in mature industries and listed companies. Venture capital is still a very new concept, and no one has ever seen such a way of using capital to grab land. This is what Zheng Yi wants to bring to Morgan Stanley after taking over.

If this succeeds, a complete set of investment logic can be established, which will be of great help to Zheng Yi in improving his own prestige within Morgan.

After all, he also knew that the investors' high expectations for him were that he could lead everyone to invest in new technologies and new oil fields, but Zheng Yi chose to do the opposite and create a path that did not involve any technology at all and was purely innovative in business models.

If he succeeds, Morgan's people will naturally trust him more. And objectively speaking, venture capital, if we only look at the rate of return on investment, is indeed much more profitable than investing in existing listed companies.

Of course, Zheng Yi had also considered the possibility that this thing wouldn't work out, and Ying Xingjiu wouldn't be reliable. It didn't matter to him in the first place, but the unexpected encounter with Ying Xingjiu was really a test for him.

The initial investment totaled only 8 million US dollars, which was a small amount of money for him. Once Morgan Stanley's funds intervened, if it really didn't work out, then it wouldn't work out. After all, any chain business is essentially a real estate business.

In the 4s and 50s in the United States, if you invested in real estate business, how much could you lose even if you lost money?

Lost faith in him? Why not just take them to the Middle East and dig for more oil?

Moreover, although this chain business does not make much money for him, or at least it is rather troublesome to make money, its ability to influence politics is enormous. To put it bluntly, for Zheng Yi, it doesn't matter if this thing does not make money.

"By the way, when you're hiring for your 100 stores, remember to recruit more Black people, especially for kitchen staff. You have to remember that Chinese people are still a minority in the United States and are still relatively vulnerable. Black people and Latinos are our natural allies. The more allies we have, the less we'll be bullied."

Ying Xingjiu was stunned, with a look of confusion clearly on his face.

"Ask, just ask whatever you want to ask."

Ying Xingjiu: "But white people generally think that black people are dirty. New York may be a little better than other places, but...hiring black people in the kitchen? If someone reports it, will it affect the store's business? That's just asking for trouble. If you want to win over black people, there's no need to start with the restaurant industry."

Zheng Yi, however, was unconcerned. He said, "Our restaurant brand focuses on affordability and high cost-effectiveness. Furthermore, it's fast food, not a luxurious meal. Anyone who dislikes it can choose not to buy it. Who are poor people to be picky? This is racism."

"Not only should we invite them, but we should do it in a big way. We should let everyone in New York know that our restaurant kitchen employs black people. We should even consider this as our specialty. There's nothing wrong with that. Our advantages are cost-effectiveness and speed. Our target customers are the working class. Even racists will curse at us while buying from us."

"Besides, this move will definitely win the favor of the black community. The things we sell are cheap, so black people are naturally our main customers. And you have to know that with the favor of the black community, we will have less trouble with the gangs."

"After all, the KKK's rampant rise was a thing of the last century. And this is New York, not some southern state that kept black slaves. We shouldn't think of black people as monsters. Further liberating black people is actually the real trend here."

Upon hearing this, Ying Xingjiu nodded, not quite understanding what was said.

After all, he was just a car dealer who had just come from Shanghai, so it was naturally difficult for him to understand Zheng Yi's position.

To put it bluntly, making money is the least important thing for Zheng Yi. Zheng Yi doesn't care how much money he has or whether he makes money or not. It is true that he is a businessman now, but he is already playing politics.

Again, winning over black voters in 1947 really paid off in American politics. President Trump is almost one of the worst presidents in American history in terms of ability and political achievements. However, because he won over black people, making black people a solid voting base for the Democratic Party, the party is about to praise him as the best president since World War II.

If his fast food business can help him attract black people and gain the favor of American blacks, then even if it doesn't make money, or even if it loses less money, it will be worth it.

This is New York, a region where discrimination against blacks is relatively small and the number of blacks is relatively large.

Sometimes Zheng Yi couldn't help but think that if there was a suitable black woman, a good-looking one, he wouldn't mind developing her into his lover, or even having an illegitimate child with her.

When the child grows up, it happens to be the golden age of black politicians. As the spokesperson for their own interests in the United States, it may not be impossible for him to snatch the job of a certain Comrade Guanhai.

We have to admit that, from the perspective of the United States alone, black Americans in the future will be much stronger than Chinese Americans. The Chinese Americans a hundred years from now will be too useless.

Back then, the Hongmen brothers were able to create a Chinatown with an axe in one hand and a pistol in the other, without the support of a strong motherland. This forced the New York Police Department to seek help from the Qing government and have the Qing government send officials to manage public security in the United States.

A hundred years later, these guys will just hold up a sign saying something like "I'm fragile, don't hurt me"?

Basketball courts, drug rehabilitation centers, welfare centers, and juvenile detention centers have all moved to Chinatown. Anyone who understands American society knows that wherever these things are moved, public security will collapse. A hundred years later, both the black and white worlds will tacitly acknowledge that Chinese people are the most easily bullied group in American society.

There's just... nothing much to say.

As we all know, the political capacity of the United States depends to a large extent on the ability of society to make trouble. The United States has a typical social structure where distribution is based on trouble. This is also the reason why Zheng Yi said that gangs can compete with chaebols in politics in the United States to some extent.

Zheng Yi is very clear that he must trust these Chinese in the United States, but in the future, at least he really dare not count on these Chinese in American domestic politics.

Huang Sande, who was standing by, could understand a little of Zheng Yi's thoughts and said, "Mr. Zheng, you can rest assured about this. We Chinese have always had a good relationship with those black people. We are all poor people, so there is no discrimination between us."

"Ah."

Zheng Yi nodded. He had almost finished eating and drinking, so he asked Ying Xingjiu to follow him with the jar of wine. He himself took the cup and planned to go to the street outside the teahouse to have a few drinks with everyone.

It is impossible for him to know all the Hongmen in the United States, but he can try his best to make all the Hongmen people know him and leave a good impression on everyone.

A few polite words like "we are all brothers" can often be very useful.

After three or five more drinks, Zheng Yi felt a little dazed and vague. He took an unexpected glance and was surprised to find that there were two black women in the crowd at the buffet, and one of them was quite beautiful.

Black people? Running to Chinatown?
I walked over curiously and asked in English: "Hello, dear ladies."

Unexpectedly, one of the women said in Chinese: "Hello, Mr. Zheng, I, I can speak Chinese, my name is Wendy."

"Oh~, Wendy, what a nice name, how did you..."

On the side, the relatively beautiful black woman said in English: "Mr. Zheng, I am Wendy's best friend. My name is Collins. Wendy is also a member of the Hongmen."

"A member of the Hongmen? What's going on?"

On the side, the woman named Wendy said, "I... I am, I once helped... I..."

Collins: "Wendy was a woman with a strong sense of justice. One time, he saw some Chinese children being bullied, and she stepped forward to save them. The children's parents were veterans of the Hongmen. Wendy was unemployed at the time, so to express his gratitude, he hired her for a period of time to take care of the elderly and children at home. That's when Wendy joined the Hongmen."

Zheng Yi: "Oh~ a professional maid?"

Wendy nodded repeatedly and introduced herself: "Mr. Zheng, I am a professional and a very qualified maid."

"Ah."

Zheng Yi nodded and looked Wendy up and down. Objectively speaking, she was not very good-looking and could be considered an average person.

This is normal. Appearance itself is closely related to living conditions. There are indeed not many good-looking black Americans in this era.

She couldn't help but glance at her best friend Collins. This girl was quite pretty, at least among black people, she was definitely a beauty.

Collins: "Mr. Zheng, Wendy is really an excellent maid. I heard that you are also looking for a maid? Wendy has also signed up. Do you think she has a chance?"

Zheng Yi smiled upon hearing this and said, "Of course, the most important thing for a maid is trustworthiness. Since she's a member of the Hongmen, she's certainly more trustworthy than anyone else. Tomorrow, come find me at my hotel. We can chat more and treat it like an interview."

Then he looked at Collins and said, "Beautiful lady, what do you do for a living? Are you interested..."

This little black girl is considered good-looking among black people. The most important thing is that when Zheng Yi just communicated with her, he felt that she spoke very organized and clearly, and her speech was polite. She seemed to have been to school, at least with an elementary school education, which is rare among black people in this era.

The little black girl stuck out her tongue and playfully said, "Of course I'm interested, but I don't come from a good family. My brother Malcolm hangs out with hooligans all the time. Mr. Zheng would definitely look down on someone like me."

"Who?"

Zheng Yi was stunned and asked, "Who did you say your brother is?"

"Um... my brother's name is Malcolm. He... hasn't offended... Mr. Zheng, right? I'm sorry! I'm sorry! If my brother has done anything wrong, I apologize to you on his behalf."

"What's your last name?"

"Um...my last name is Collins, Ellalito Collins, and my brother's last name is Axe, Maxim Axe. We have the same mother but different fathers."

"Your brother is Maxime Ecks?"

Hearing this, Zheng Yi's eyes lit up.

"Has your brother ever been a soldier?"

Collins: "Ah... Yes, he was, but after he got discharged from the army, he's been hanging out with gang members. He often robs and attacks white communities. Uh... Hey, he's been giving me a lot of worry. I'm sorry."

His younger brother was a scumbag in the police station, and because of his brother's influence, Collins could hardly find any job.

But after hearing this, Zheng Yi became even happier and more confident.

[That’s right, it shouldn’t be the same name, it must be this Malcolm]

He was lucky enough to meet Malcolm's sister at a party in Chinatown. She was a wanted criminal now, hiding from the authorities all day long. Zheng Yi couldn't find her even if he tried to find her.

"Miss, I am very interested in you. Please be sure to show up at my hotel tomorrow. If you have any problems in your life, maybe I can help you."

Collins: “…………”

Completely confused.

"Could it be that Mr. Zheng has taken a fancy to me? That's impossible. He's Mr. Zheng. What kind of beauty hasn't he seen?"

Of course, Zheng Yi actually fell in love with her younger brother.

If it's not a coincidence, Malcolm X was a leader of the black movement in the same era as Martin Luther King.

The reason why they are not famous is because Martin Luther King advocated peace, while Malcolm advocated war!
The mainstream media gave it less publicity.

In fact, behind every successful peaceful protester around the world there must be a warmongering faction who cooperates with him and plays a double game with him.

Just as India had a Mahatma who advocated non-resistance, there must have been a Chandra Bose who was willing to join forces with the Japanese Nazis and actually take up arms against the British. Without Chandra Bose, do you think the British would have paid any attention to the Mahatma? They have no morals.

It is the same in the United States. Martin Luther King followed the path of the Mahatma. If there is a Mahatma, there must be Chandra Bose.

Malcolm!

This guy is Martin Luther King's Chandra Bose.

Of course, they had different political views and a very bad relationship. Malcolm advocated that blacks must use violence to resist whites. To a certain extent, this was a black gang that could influence the existence of gangs across the United States.

He advocated smashing and looting white communities, fighting back against the KKK, and shooting at Southern Democrats in the streets.

Of course this kind of political proposition will fail in the United States, and of course it will be a villain in American society.

But without Malcolm, Zheng Yi really doesn't think that Martin Luther King could have succeeded.

This person must be excluded in mainstream society, and Zheng Yi openly doesn't want to have anything to do with him.

But...what about behind the scenes?
Villains, of course, have their uses as villains.

(End of this chapter)