Nanyang 1931: From piglets to giants

Chapter 302 Changing the Rules
"Sixth brother, has Mr. Chen handed over all the affairs of the Fujian Chamber of Commerce to you?" Zheng Yi suddenly asked in the face of irrefutable data.

Chen Liushi's face also looked a little unhappy. He said, "Mr. Zheng, there is no Fujian Chamber of Commerce in Nanyang anymore."

"Haha, then let's go to the Xiamen Chamber of Commerce. Don't you still have the Xiamen Chamber of Commerce? You are in charge of the Xiamen Chamber of Commerce's affairs now."

Chen Liushi nodded. "Indeed, my uncle... has already decided that after the civil war ends, he will give up everything in Nanyang and return home. He will do his best to contribute to the country. All matters in Nanyang will be handed over to Guangqian and me."

The civil war in the country has not yet been completely concluded, but in fact, anyone with a discerning eye can see that the overall situation has basically been determined.

If we have to say that there is any change, it is nothing more than the attitude of Britain and the United States. However, in this time and space, because of Zheng Yi, the original McCarthyism in history was replaced by the racial resistance of the black movement. The United States is not as sensitive in ideology as it was in history. In addition, MacCarthy retired early, so forced intervention is almost impossible.

Since Mr. Tan Kah Kee has decided to leave, he naturally has to make arrangements in advance. After all, he is the second most important figure in Nanyang after Zheng Yi. The Penang government and the Fujian Chamber of Commerce have to make preparations for the handover in advance, and it has already begun.

His assets, which were worth more than 1 billion U.S. dollars in total, had been sold almost completely, with most of them going into the hands of Zheng Yi and the Li family. Zheng Yi did not lower his price just because he was in a hurry to sell.

Zheng Yi: "Your uncle is someone I admire very much. To be honest, among all the Chinese in Nanyang, the only one who makes me admire and even respect him is your uncle. But Sixth Brother, you have to understand that the Chinese in Nanyang have now upgraded their weapons and are no longer the makeshift team they used to be.

Although for some reasons I did not establish a regime of our own for the Chinese, in the final analysis, there is not much difference. At least in Singapore, we are now the real managers. The predecessor of the Chamber of Commerce was a gang.

I know that people from the same hometown help each other. This is a custom that has been formed in Nanyang for hundreds of years. But I still hope you can understand that your current identity is the mayor of Singapore, and I still hope you can consider the overall interests of Singapore."

Tan Lark Sye was unconvinced. "Mr. Zheng, I'm just thinking about Singapore. The recent influx of refugees from China is definitely causing more harm than good to Singapore. Also, Mr. Zheng, the Fujian Chamber of Commerce has really been disbanded. Are you planning to ask us to disband the Xiamen Chamber of Commerce as well?"

Zheng Yi: "Whether it is disbanded or not is just a formality. The external organization can be disbanded, but internally, the connection between you Fujianese people will always be there. This is not something I can control, and it is not even something I can influence by relying on power.

But have you ever considered that if I really tighten Singapore's residency restrictions as you say to block this new wave of refugees, then, frankly, the yardstick for who can and cannot enter will be in your hands. No, to be more precise, it will be mainly your Fujian Chamber of Commerce and the old Nanyang people. I am almost certain that by then, the only people who can enter Singapore and stay in Singapore will be Fujianese, right?

Chen Liushi remained silent after hearing this, because he knew very well that what Zheng Yi said was indeed right.

Zheng Yi: "To put it bluntly, if this thing is not stuck, everyone will have a chance. For those Chinese brothers who have just arrived in Southeast Asia and are willing to live a stable life, Hanoi, Bandar Seri Begawan, and Yangon are all places where they can live a stable life."

"Even if you really don't know how to do anything but farm, and you're only willing to farm, there are vast tracts of uncultivated wasteland in Sumatra and the Malay Peninsula. Chinese people willing to reclaim the land can get unsecured loans for all their agricultural machinery and equipment. You can make money by operating it. You can grow anything you want, such as rice, rubber, tobacco, or palm oil."

"To be honest, for those who are willing to come to Singapore, especially those from Guangxi, Yunnan, and other inland areas, the journey is much longer and more difficult than staying in Hanoi."

"After so many years, Hanoi now knows what's happening in Singapore and Penang. Except for those with real skills, these places may seem prosperous, but in fact, they don't retain people. It's hard to find jobs, get formal status, and buy houses. They're not as affluent as they used to be. Anyone who comes here can have one. The economy is developed, but the price is that everything is expensive. Ordinary people coming to Singapore may not necessarily live better than staying in Hanoi."

"To put it bluntly, these new Chinese brothers who are willing to come to Singapore are all willing to give up stability, even their lives. They have a fighting spirit. Those who can find ways to get to Singapore from Hanoi at least have the execution ability."

"I'm not asking you to cover for them in Singapore. Those who succeed will rise to prosper, while those who don't will die on the streets. This is their fate. Singapore truly offers far more opportunities than Hanoi or other places."

"As for you saying there are more public security cases...that's understandable, Sixth Brother. I heard that back in the day, you fought through fire and water with two axes to get to where you are today. Those who are willing to fight will naturally be more willing to fight. Ultimately, this is still a public security incident. You need to work with the police to find a solution. It's certainly not a good thing, but if you throw the baby out with the bathwater, it's not worth the effort."

"If I listen to you and strictly raise Singapore's entry restrictions, I can imagine that Singapore will always be dominated by you Fujianese in the future. If I leave this loophole open, I won't be able to suppress Penang either. They may be stronger than you. Besides Fujianese, there will be some Cantonese, but people from other provinces, forget about coming in. Haha, I don't understand you yet. Ganging up to bully outsiders is your specialty. Tell me honestly, am I talking nonsense?"

Hearing this, Chen Liushi also wilted and couldn't help but mutter: "Isn't this also human nature?"

Zheng Yi: "It's human nature, so what I'm managing is human nature. Our brothers in Yunnan and Guangxi provinces already have language and dialect differences with us, and many of them are ethnic minorities. Don't you even give them a chance to strive and succeed?"

"Hanoi and Yangon are both heavily industrialized, and the good jobs there are mostly occupied by people from Fujian and Guangdong, with a few Hainanese in the mix. If you want to turn things around, your best bet is to come to Singapore or Penang."

"I can accept that it's harder for people from Guangxi and Yunnan to succeed than it is for people from Fujian. It's much harder for them to gain a foothold in Singapore than it is for you Fujianese. I can even accept that some new immigrants to Singapore are looked down upon by the Japanese and their economic status is far lower than theirs. But I absolutely cannot accept that they are unable to enter Singapore in the first place, and their possibility is directly cut off."

"In the short term, you're right, but what about the long term? If, ten, twenty, or thirty years from now, the wealth of the Southern Association of Southeast Asian Nations is still largely controlled by people from Fujian and Guangdong, and the people of Yunnan, Guangxi, and even more inland areas don't have a single person who can reach the upper class and have money, and they're even worse off than the Malays, Siamese, and Indians, do you think I can explain this to them? By then, how can there be no regional conflicts?"

"After all, the SAARC is a loose alliance. I can't say there's any centralization among the Chinese in Southeast Asia. It's nothing like what's happening in China. Essentially, everyone just gets by together. Even in China, I've never heard of Guangdong people preventing Guangxi people from working, right?"

"Singapore is developing manufacturing, steel, food, and coal, but all of this comes from Hanoi. If we even stop the labor force from coming to Hanoi to work, do you think this is another form of exploitation, or even economic colonization?"

This is also what Zheng Yi has been thinking about and trying to do recently. After all, it is really difficult for him as the boss. The times are different and the problems are also different.

The Chinese people of this era are not the same as those of later generations. To put it bluntly, the Chinese people of later generations no longer care so much about where you are from. The differences between people have basically been eliminated. Everyone speaks the same language to each other. Everyone also generally recognizes the concept that the country is larger than the province and that the whole country is like a chessboard.

In this time and space, people from different provinces could not even communicate with each other. Although they said that they had the same writing system and the same tram system, the only people who were unified were actually the upper class. Most of the real common people could not write and might have never ridden a tram in their entire lives.

To be honest, the differences between people in different provinces are probably no smaller than those between different states in India. In fact, it was not until this time that Zheng Yi understood the difficulty of the situation faced by the founding fathers and how difficult and even great those things were to accomplish.

Hearing this, Chen Liushi couldn't help but mutter, "Then tell me, what should I do? The problem now is very serious. You always want to have the best of both worlds, but there are not so many things in this world that can be done in both ways."

"If we don't restrict these new Chinese arrivals, Singapore's future development will be greatly affected and will definitely slow down."

Zheng Yi sighed and said, "There's no other way. Nanyang is too complicated. How about this, Sixth Brother? I suggest that you take the lead in setting up a foundation in Singapore."

"Please beg for more alms. For any Chinese brothers who have been in Singapore for more than a year and have nowhere to live and no guarantee of livelihood, please pay to send them away. If they don't want to go back to Hanoi, then go to Bandar Seri Begawan. Also, there's a new oil well in Johor, right? Send them there. Otherwise, send them to Medan or Banda Aceh to farm. The foundation will provide the travel expenses. If that doesn't work out, you can let them become your tenant farmers."

Chen Liushi sighed and nodded in agreement.

After all, they are descendants of the Chen family, who originally founded Nanyang University in history. It is not that they really ignore the overall situation. Spending this money can be considered as charity.

After all, there are only a very few true elites in this world. Every new Chinese who comes to Singapore has firmly believed that they can make it, but only a very few can actually make it. What Zheng Yi did is to give those who have not made it a chance to choose again.

The oil in Johor was newly discovered. In this era, oil extraction is half manual and half mechanical, especially since the oil in Johor is seabed oil. It is not impossible to mine, but it is very difficult to mine, especially for oil workers. The work is very hard. Now is a period of undervalued oil prices, and the wages are not high. Therefore, it is not a good job.

Medan and Banda Aceh are not good places, at least not in this era. Although the Dutch colonists are about to be driven away, the entire island of Sumatra is too underdeveloped and the various races are too mixed. These places are far inferior to Hanoi, the Red River Valley, and the cultivated fields on the Malay Peninsula.

It is a safety net, but it can also be regarded as a punishment for these people after their failure in making their way in Singapore.

"And seriously, let's close the door and say a few words to each other. I know that the overall quality of Chinese people in our era is not as good as that of the Japanese. Even Americans, at least in terms of basic education, are not as good as the Japanese. But we can't really let the Japanese ride on our heads."

"I did say that we should treat Japanese people equally and never discriminate, but damn, I was just saying that. How could you really take it seriously?"

Chen Liushi: “…………”

"So, what should we do? New customers really aren't very useful in the home appliance manufacturing, automobile manufacturing, shipbuilding, and ship repair sectors. The only places they can go are construction sites. The Chinese in Fujian, Guangdong, and Qiongzhou are also eyeing this little bit of meat. Besides, the work on construction sites will eventually run out."

Zheng Yi thought for a moment and said, "What about water, electricity, gas, and other public facilities?"

“Those factories were also built by the Japanese.”

"Think of a way to get rid of them? Relatively speaking, aren't the professional qualities required for these positions much lower?"

"Uh... well... uh... I understand what you mean. You have to let me think about it, but what's the reason?"

Zheng Yi: "Oil. Nanyang was founded and developed on oil. Oil refining and mining have nothing to do with the Japanese. The entire city of Singapore relies on oil for its energy supply. Plastics and fibers are all oil derivatives."

"We can ask the oil union to put pressure on us, and then use some other means to cause unrest, and first replace all the power plants with Chinese ones."

"If there's still a shortage of jobs, we can just mine more oil. Most oil workers are Chinese, and as far as I know, fewer and fewer Fujianese and Cantonese are willing to be oil workers."

As he spoke, Zheng Yi took out a map and began to try to recall the locations of several oil wells from his previous life.

After all, Nanyang is a major oil producer.

"But, oil prices are currently at a low point, and the profits from oil well drilling are..."

Zheng Yi said nonchalantly, "The current low oil price is because the US and Europe are net oil importers. They need low oil prices to fuel their post-war economic recovery. Oil-producing countries like us will, of course, suffer. Believe it or not, when the US becomes an oil exporter, oil prices will go up."

"In the final analysis, it's because we oil-producing countries are not united, allowing the US and Europe to play us however they want. This broken rule should be changed."

"Change? How...how do I change it?"

As he was speaking, Li Jianqiao knocked gently on the door outside: "Sir, Mr. Mossadegh from Iran, whom you had an appointment with, is here."

"Invite him in."

After that, he turned to Chen Liushi and said, "The opportunity to change all this has come."

(End of this chapter)