Nanyang 1931: From piglets to giants

Chapter 282: Lover or Disciple? (Happy New Year to Everyone)
In the United States in 1947, even in the northern states and counties where blacks were relatively equal, blacks were excluded and discriminated against in most of the top and high-end places.

Because even in the northern region, there are still many people who think that black people are dirty, carry germs, and are poisonous. The presence of black people in occasions may affect the mood of noble white people, and they may be considered dirty, affecting their high-end positioning.

There is no such rule in many places at the bottom because there is no other way. Ordinary white people at the bottom actually have no choice but to choose to survive with black people.

The Waldorf Astoria Hotel is currently the most luxurious hotel in the United States. The top floor rooms are often used only to entertain global dignitaries. It can naturally be called high-end and can even be said to be the most upscale public place in the United States.

Originally, black people were not allowed to enter, but this was not because there was such a rule, but because black people at that time really did not have the money to spend in this place.

However, today was different. Two black women appeared at the front desk, claiming to be guests of Mr. Zheng Yi. After the front desk called Mr. Zheng's Japanese secretary, they found out that this was actually true. For a moment, even the manager felt embarrassed.

Mr. Zheng lives on the top floor.

If we agree to let them go up, wouldn't we have to let them take the elevator?

It was morning, and the appearance of two black women in the lobby surprised the hotel staff and some customers, who looked at each other sideways. Some people even showed disgust, which was not surprising.

If this is taking the elevator...

"How about we...can we...go up?" Wendy asked timidly.

The manager wanted to say no, but he had to dare to do so. The distinguished guest invited by Mr. Zheng couldn't come up, so he couldn't ask Mr. Zheng to come out and meet the guest somewhere else.

It would be fine if it was just an ordinary guest, but that was Zheng Yi after all, a real top-level guest.

"Okay, ma'am, but... well, could you please take the dedicated employee elevator at the back? I'm sorry, but it's morning now, and the hotel is at its peak, so..."

"Oh, oh, okay, okay."

Wendy didn't think there was anything wrong with what she heard. She was just here for an interview for a maid position and of course didn't want to cause any trouble. She was also completely accustomed to the discrimination against black people in white society and knew how to deal with it.

Just as she was about to follow the front desk staff obediently, she was suddenly grabbed by Collins, who had come with her. He shouted rudely in the hotel lobby:
"What's the point of a staff elevator? It's just a freight elevator. Why are you making us take the freight elevator? Is this how the Waldorf Astoria treats its guests? Where's the manager? No, where's your boss? How can you justify making a distinguished guest take the freight elevator?"

Wendy, standing aside, was a little frightened. She quickly pulled Collins with her little hand and whispered, "We are just here to apply for the maid position, not a distinguished guest."

Collins: "Why not? Why not? We are Mr. Zheng's guests, and Mr. Zheng is a guest of the hotel, so we are naturally honored guests. How come this is the Waldorf Astoria's way of treating guests? Come and see, the Waldorf Astoria is bullying its customers. They don't even take Mr. Zheng seriously."

Collins grew up in the city, struggling and struggling. Her brother is a wanted criminal, and she herself is naturally not a polite and kind person. She was relentless and acted like a shrew, which put all the hotel staff at the front desk in a stalemate.

Not far away, two white security guards saw a black woman causing trouble and were about to come forward to investigate. Collins, however, was not afraid at all. Instead, he took the initiative to confront her and shouted, "What are you doing? Are you going to hit me? Come and see, there's a fight going on at the Waldorf Astoria! They're beating up Mr. Zheng's guests!"

Wendy, who was standing behind him, was so frightened that she broke out in sweat. She quickly stepped forward to pull him away, whispering, "Let's not cause trouble for Mr. Zheng."

Collins whispered, "Trouble? Are they worthy of being Mr. Zheng's trouble? Silly girl, the bigger the fuss, the more Mr. Zheng wants to see it. I'm helping Mr. Zheng."

Wendy: “Huh?”

The two security guards didn't understand what was going on and instinctively wanted to step forward and hold down the little black girl, but they saw the manager waving at them repeatedly and signaling them with his eyes not to go forward.

After all, the identity of Mr. Zheng's guests alone is enough to crush them.

After all, they are in the hotel service industry, and the service industry is essentially about serving people. Moreover, the Waldorf's business has not been very good in recent years. Hilton has made no secret of its intention to acquire the Waldorf and replace it.

If this matter today is not handled properly, those bastards at Hilton will definitely add insult to injury and turn this into entertainment gossip that spreads all over the world.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I'm the manager of this hotel. I apologize on behalf of the hotel. Please follow me. I'll take you to the elevator."

At this point, there seems to be no other way. The hotel just wants to send the two plague gods up as soon as possible.

Collins, however, refused to give in. Even after the manager had clearly stated this, she pointed at the front desk attendant and cursed, "No! Your actions have caused me emotional distress and damaged my dignity. You, all of you, and the owner of this hotel, everyone, must publicly apologize to me."

"Ah this..."

Collins pulled Wendy to sit down on the sofa and said, "Apologize to me. Ask your boss to come out and apologize to me, otherwise I won't go up."

On the side, the service manager in the lobby had of course called Zheng Yi's room manager and told Yamamoto Fujiko what happened here. Yamamoto Fujiko then told Zheng Yi and asked him for advice.

Zheng Yi smiled upon hearing this and said, "Tell them I'm sleeping and it's inconvenient for you to call me. Let the hotel handle it themselves."

"Yes."

Zheng Yi was actually very interested in this, and couldn't help but think in his heart that this girl really deserves to be Malcolm's sister, she is really hot.

This is what is called a tiger brother cannot have a dog sister.

In fact, Collins was right. Zheng Yi wanted to see them making trouble.

The incident of a black woman causing a disturbance at the Waldorf Astoria is newsworthy in itself, and Zheng Yi is involved in the incident. Those tabloid reporters will definitely not miss this piece of gossip.

To put it in a small way, this incident can amplify the newsworthiness of Zheng Yi's previous recruitment of black maids. To put it in a big way, the Waldorf Astoria Hotel is discriminating against Mr. Zheng's guests. If this incident is deliberately hyped, the waves it can stir up are probably no less than that of the black combat hero who was beaten to death by a white policeman.

The superposition of two hot social events is probably not surprising to say that this matter can detonate the American political arena. It is undoubtedly a flash point for next year's election, and for Zheng Yi, it is also a good opportunity to further show goodwill to the black community.

When it comes to American politics, being in the news is very important.

At this time in the hotel lobby, all the Waldorf staff were annoyed by this little black girl. As more and more people gathered around, some even started taking pictures with their cameras.

After all, Zheng Yi lives here, and every day there are reporters from various media outlets, big and small, squatting in the toilet on the first floor to watch him.

A black woman sat on the luxurious sofa in the lobby on the first floor of the Waldorf Astoria. Afterwards, their hotel had to replace the sofa with a new one because of this, but now they had no way to do anything and did not dare to rudely ask her to leave.

It was time to make a decision. After receiving the news, especially after hearing Zheng Yi's reply that he was sleeping, the hotel manager finally decided to admit defeat.

"Hello, ma'am. I'm Wallace, the general manager of this hotel. I'm sorry for the inconvenience this has caused you. I apologize."

After that, he turned around and said to the girl at the front desk: "You are fired."

Little girl: “…………”

Although the little girl knew that there was a high probability that other arrangements would be made for her, she still couldn't help crying out of grievance. After taking two steps forward, she bowed to Collins and apologized, then ran away crying.

Wallace: "I'm truly sorry, ma'am. Can you forgive our mistake? As compensation, I'm willing to compensate you for your emotional distress on behalf of the hotel. What do you think?"

As he spoke, Wallace took out a wad of bills from his pocket and handed it to Collins without even counting them.

Seeing this, Collins took it, pulled out the smallest dollar from the stack of money, and accepted it. Then he returned all the remaining money, took out the dollar and shook it in public. Then, like a proud princess, she held her head high and, under the personal guidance of Wallace, went up the passenger elevator, pressed the button for the top floor, and took the elevator upstairs.

"Dear Madam, please wait here for a moment while Mr. Zheng's bodyguard informs you."

Ma Kui smiled and said, "No need to announce it. Miss Wendy and Miss Collins, right? You two can just go in directly. Mr. Zheng has been waiting for a long time."

Wallace: “…………”

【Weren’t you sleeping just now?】

The two walked into Zheng Yi's suite. It was obvious that it was their first time in such a high-end place, and they couldn't help but be stunned for a moment.

It is really unexpected that the hotel suite can be so large. In addition to the light-colored floor tiles and walls, the hotel's almost all furniture is generously gilded, making the entire hotel golden even without turning on the lights. Even foreigners will instantly understand the meaning of the Chinese word "splendid" when seeing this scene.

In addition to the gilded furniture, all the walls of the room were covered with various oil paintings. The two black women could not understand what they were, but for some reason they instinctively felt that these paintings were likely to be priceless works of art.

Instinctively, the two black girls didn't dare to take a step, for fear that their shoes would dirty the shiny floor tiles that were reflective and could be used as mirrors.

"Please follow me in, Mr. Zheng is waiting for you in the study."

An Asian woman in a kimono came from the inner room and bowed to greet us.

"Oh oh oh, okay, okay."

The two did not dare to delay and hurriedly followed, but they were still hesitating in their hearts whether they should change shoes.

"Mr. Zheng, they're here."

The Waldorf Astoria's study was designed to resemble the White House's desk, but it didn't feel particularly luxurious. As the two entered, they saw Zheng Yi wearing glasses and reading a book. He casually waved at them and said, "Come and sit down."

As he spoke, Zheng Yi reluctantly took off his glasses and folded the book to close it so that it would be easier to read next time.

Both of them thought that Zheng Yi was reading some scientific literature or important official business. For a moment, they all swallowed their saliva and became more nervous.

Of course, Zheng Yi was actually reading comics. With Zheng Yi's suggestion, Osamu Tezuka finally drew Astro Boy, but he changed the background to a Southeast Asian background. Once it was released, it received rave reviews and they are already in contact with the American market.

Zheng Yi took a look at it and found it quite interesting.

"Don't be nervous. What are you drinking? Coke or coffee?"

"Um...I can have tea, Mr. Zheng."

"Yes, Mr. Zheng, we can have tea."

Zheng Yi smiled and asked Yamamoto Fujiko to make tea. Wendy suddenly realized something and quickly stood up and said, "I'll go. I can make tea too. Miss, just tell me where the tea leaves are."

Seeing this, Yamamoto Fujiko smiled, glanced at Zheng Yi, and seeing that he did not refuse, she nodded and took Wendy away.

Before leaving, he looked Collins up and down intentionally or unintentionally, smiled but didn't say anything, and instead closed the door for Zheng Yi.

"Ms. Wendy, are you on good terms with Ms. Collins?"

"Yes, we grew up together."

"Oh~, then you are really lucky."

"Ah? This... What does Mr. Zheng want to talk to Collins about? It can't be... It can't be..."

"Impossible what?"

"It's impossible that he's attracted to her."

Yamamoto Fujiko smiled and said, "Why not? Because she is black?" "But Collins is a prostitute, she..."

Would a big shot like Zheng Yi spend money on prostitutes?

And although Collins is good-looking, he is not particularly good-looking.

Is it true that the aesthetic taste of Oriental people is so different from that of Americans?

Yamamoto Fujiko laughed when she heard this and said, "How should I put it... If she wasn't a prostitute, I think it's highly likely that Mr. Zheng wouldn't have anything to do with her, but if she was, then it's hard to say."

Wendy: “…………”

For a moment, I didn't know how to respond.

Are all wealthy Chinese people so perverted?
At this time in the study.

Zheng Yi was also leaning on his head, looking Collins up and down, and couldn't help asking: "I heard that you sometimes...sell your body for money?"

Collins, on the other hand, didn't shy away from the truth and admitted it very generously, "Indeed, my mother has become mentally ill due to some issues and needs treatment. My younger brother is also a worry and often gets into trouble. Sometimes I can't find a job, so I do bad things for money."

The truth was that Collins herself was confused. After returning home last night, she had been wondering why Zheng Yi asked her to come over. As for saying that he liked her, even she didn't believe it.

But if she didn't like him, then he really couldn't imagine what use she would be to Zheng Yi.

Seeing that Zheng Yi remained silent after asking this question, Collins waited for a while before bravely asking, "Mr. Zheng, if you really think I... or... should I take it off?"

Zheng Yi smiled when he heard this and said, "Not yet."

"Oh~"

Not for now?
What does this mean?

In fact, Zheng Yi himself has not figured out how to deal with this matter yet. He only found out during his investigation last night that Collins occasionally works as a part-time prostitute.

With Zheng Yi's status, even if he wanted to do something interesting, he would not spend money on prostitutes. In fact, if he wanted, in Penang and Singapore, he could just make a phone call and Japanese college students or movie stars would come to accompany him at any time.

But we have to admit that if Collins was really a prostitute, then he would have no psychological burden at all if something happened between him and her.

What Zheng Yi wanted was not her, but her younger brother Malcolm. But after thinking about it, Zheng Yi decided that he couldn't say it out loud.

Zheng Yi cannot let anyone know that he has any direct relationship with Malcolm, and what Malcolm will do in the future cannot be funded by him.

After all, if it were Martin Luther King, it would be fine, but Malcolm, as a radical in the black movement, would not be able to integrate into mainstream American society. Even eighty years later, no matter how high the status of blacks in the United States is, the United States is still a society dominated by white people.

This guy is essentially a piece of firewood that burns himself to light up other black compatriots.

Zheng Yi was afraid that if he had direct contact with him, the fire would burn him.

But Zheng Yi still has to use this person, and he is indeed very useful.

It would be best if this person could listen to you, but this person must not get yourself into trouble.

After thinking about it, Zheng Yi still felt that it might be better to start with his sister.

Zheng Yi originally wanted to establish a pro-black persona and to please black people. From a purely profit-oriented perspective, if Zheng Yi accepted Collins as his lover, then if he provided any help to Malcolm in the process and if they had any relationship, that would be understandable.

In this way, a large part of the rights that Malcolm fought for black people will become a good impression of him.

The most important thing is that Malcolm was a god-man who truly integrated and organized the American black gangs. He was the predecessor of the famous Black Panther Party. If it was the historical Malcolm, controlling him would be equivalent to controlling all the gangs in the United States.

The reason why the Democrats can fight against the Republicans is essentially because they control the gangs. The Donkey and Elephant Party struggle in the United States is essentially a struggle between the Gangster Party and the Boss Party.

Zheng Yi is now a Republican.

If he could gain the favor of all the black gangs in the United States and bring them to the Republican Party.

Wouldn't that be like Zheng Yi owning the black mafia and the Democrats owning the white mafia? Add to that the Republicans' existing support from the big corporations, and what else would the Democrats have to fight the Republicans?
He is the spokesperson for transnational capital, and after acquiring shares in Morgan Stanley, he has some influence on the Federal Reserve, especially if he has a certain ability to mobilize gangs.

Who can say that he is not a big shot in the Republican Party, a big shot in this big shot party?

Anyway, this woman is also a prostitute, so he doesn't need to feel guilty about her, let alone have any feelings for her. At most, he can give her some money. Besides, she is not bad looking. Although she is black, at least she is not ugly. Zheng Yi actually thought about having a black child and staying in the United States to play politics.

Of course, I still need to explain here that the gangs of this era are not all involved in prostitution, gambling, and drugs. The United States is a very special place. Grassroots governance is too poor, and gangs actually bear the responsibility for grassroots governance. Often, whether the people in a community will be bullied depends on whether the people in the community are united, whether they can fight, and whether they have the ability to take to the streets to march and cause trouble.

This is how American society is. Not to mention the 40s, it is still the same in the 21st century. If there are no gangs in the community and it is not united enough, the police will not bother to care if something theft or robbery happens.

After all, in the United States, police officers are largely selected from people with criminal records, and many of them have gang backgrounds themselves.

but……

Hey ~
After thinking for a long time, Zheng Yi still couldn't do it or speak in front of the person.

From a purely profit perspective, it would be most beneficial for him to sleep with Collins now, and then use the relationship of brother-in-law helping brother-in-law to contact and control Malcolm.

But people are not slaves to interests after all.

This matter has many advantages and benefits in terms of interests, but since it involves that woman and her emotions, he does feel a little uncomfortable doing this.

Love affairs should be a pleasure, but they have been made so utilitarian that Zheng Yi even feels it is a bit disgusting.

After all, although Zheng Yi thought Koster was a bit good-looking and it would be worth sleeping with him, he couldn't really say that he liked him.

And after knowing that she was a prostitute, he also felt that this woman was a bit dirty.

Zheng Yi had already thought of everything, but now that he had met the person, he was confused again.

Zheng Yi didn't know whether he was being pretentious or whether he had not been completely alienated by power and capital.
While he was struggling, Collins himself was completely confused and simply lowered his head without saying anything.

Zheng Yi suddenly asked, "I heard that when you came up here, you had a little conflict with the hotel staff?"

"Yes."

Collins recounted the entire story without exaggeration. Zheng Yi asked curiously, "You came to see me, but you caused trouble with the hotel staff before meeting me. Aren't you afraid that this will give me a bad impression?"

Collins: "I think you want me to make a fuss. You're trying to please black voters."

Zheng Yi laughed and said, "Black voters? But how many votes do black people have now? And how many of them are actually able to vote? Why do you think I want to win over black people?"

The voting rights of black people during this period were conditional. They had to have a certain level of education and were subject to a voting test. Only literate black people could vote. Polling station officials would often use some particularly uncommon words to embarrass black people when checking whether they were literate.

Moreover, polling stations were often deliberately chosen in places far away from black communities. During this period, even in the United States, cars were far from being popular enough for every family to own at least one. At least for black people, only a minority knew how to drive, were able to drive, or had cars.

Without a car, these black people in the United States have almost no way to get to the polling station to vote, and if they go, they will be humiliated by the officials at the polling station using unfamiliar words.

On the contrary, at least in the eyes of politicians of this period, pleasing black people was extremely risky. President Trump, as the president of the United States, sided with black people in the incident where a black war hero was beaten to death in the street and demanded the abolition of the segregation law.

The bill hasn't even been implemented yet, but a split has broken out within the Democratic Party. Southern Democrats openly announced their withdrawal from the Democratic Party to form a third party to run for election, causing the Democrats to lose three states that they should have won. This is equivalent to giving President Trump a major disadvantage before the election even started.

This is also the reason why the outside world is generally not optimistic about President Du in this election.

As a lesson from the past, for ordinary politicians of this era, it is too late to hide from these black people.

Collins said, "I don't think so. The killing of a war hero this year has already caused a huge backlash and considerable social controversy. After President Du made his statement, I understand that a large number of black gangs have expressed their determination to vote for President Du no matter what."

"Southern Democrats do have some power, but many black gangs are already organizing and are taking action to support President Du. This shows that we black people are powerful."

"If, and I mean if, our support allows President Trump to turn the tables and win re-election despite losing the Democratic Party's three southern states, then no one in the United States will underestimate the power of us black people."

Upon hearing this, Zheng Yi couldn't help but look at Collins with interest, marveling at him.

Not to mention black people, I'm afraid there are not many white women who have such insight.

"I heard that Mr. Zheng was a guest of Governor Dewey, so you must be pro-Republican."

Zheng Yi smiled and said, "I'm not a Republican. I'm a Republican myself."

Collins: "That's right. You want to please black voters in order to win votes for President Trump. And I believe that sooner or later, black people in the United States will be gradually liberated. This is also an objective law in American history."

After saying that, Collins looked at Zheng Yi anxiously, waiting for his final judgment.

Zheng Yi: "That's impressive, but do you know what the foundation is for the gradual liberation and empowerment of black people?"

Coster: "It's because... the rapid industrial development in the United States after the war led to a labor shortage. The traditional slave model was only suitable for plantations and could not enter factories at all."

Zheng Yi smiled and nodded. "Yes, that's the fundamental reason. The economic base determines the superstructure. Those Southern Democrats will eventually be lost to history. After all, with today's American economy, the traditional cotton textile industry isn't very profitable anymore, let alone plantation-grown cotton. That was all 17th-century history."

"But these alone are not enough for the liberation of black people. What do you think you are still lacking?"

Collins: "This... I still need your guidance, Mr. Zheng."

Zheng Yi: "America is a society where you get paid based on how much trouble you cause. If you don't cause trouble, no one will take you seriously. You black people have gangs now, but they tend to be smaller, basically only able to manage your own communities, with no organization at all. You have more people, but without organization, you're even worse than the KKK, and you're even bullied."

"Believe it or not, as long as you black people continue to be bullied by the KKK and cannot bully the KKK in return, as long as there are white people in this land of the United States who dare to openly declare themselves members of the KKK without paying any price, you black people will always be an inferior race? You deserve to be bullied."

Collins nodded repeatedly and couldn't help asking, "Then Mr. Zheng, how do you think we should organize it?"

Zheng Yi thought about it, and suddenly said, "Miss, are you interested in joining the Hongmen, becoming my disciple and becoming my disciple?"

Collins: “Eh????”

　I wish you all a happy new year. May everything go well for you. May you have good luck in the Year of the Snake.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)