I'm a Master in India

Bania's factory is located in the Chembur district, on the eastern outskirts of Mumbai, directly opposite Sur Electric.

The factory covers an area of about 80 acres, with two long, operational workshops and one currently under construction.

By scale, it's considered a medium-sized factory, which is quite respectable in a place like Mumbai.

The area around the factory is a chaotic mix of residential buildings, slums, markets, and bars, with no sense of planning.

Every morning and evening, people living nearby or further away come here in twos and threes to work, then disperse in groups.

But due to the sudden upheaval, the factory area was a mess.

The roar of machines in the workshops was silenced, and the figures of busy people in the offices were gone.

It was still raining outside, the drizzling raindrops making a rustling sound against umbrellas and raincoats.

Ron glanced at the crowd gathered at the entrance and said nothing.

They were all former factory workers.

On the day of the riot, people were terrified and scattered in all directions.

After all, it had been less than a year since the major unrest last year, and both Hindus and Muslims still had lingering fears.

Now that things had settled down, they had all gathered again.

Messages of all kinds were circulating in the streets and alleys; they knew the factory had changed hands.

In Mumbai, this usually meant the existing system would be dismantled, workers laid off, assets sold off, and the factory would cease to exist.

But they still came, bringing with them pleas, helplessness, and despair, just standing there quietly, no one speaking.

Some were laborers, some were technicians, and some were office staff dressed a bit more formally.

What could they do?

Seven or eight people at home were waiting for their wages to make ends meet.

And there are over ten million people like this in Mumbai; you simply can't stop, or you'll be ruthlessly pushed out by this city.

Nobody wants to go back to their hometown; it's a nightmare for all the poor, a place they've worked so hard to escape.

In this city, they don't have to kneel or kowtow.

Mumbai is the Golden Roc in everyone's heart.

The crowd was separated by burly men who formed a human wall, leaving a passage directly to the factory area.

Anil had a pistol tucked into his waist, scanning around, vigilantly watching everyone who tried to push forward.

These were all servants from their hometown in Uttar Pradesh, who had arrived in Mumbai a week ago and were officially on duty after some brief training.

Protected by the human wall, Ron walked directly into the factory area, accompanied by several key personnel from Sur Electric.

"Ashish, have you checked the workshops?" he asked.

"Boss," Ashish squeezed forward with a hint of excitement, "The three die-casting machines can be used after repairs; we'll be able to produce iron ceiling fans from now on."

Bania's factory seemed severely damaged, but large machinery and equipment are quite durable.

At most, it was just some superficial damage to wires, pipes, and buttons; they could run again after replacing parts.

"Take your people and investigate thoroughly as soon as possible to get the factory back to work early."

"Yes, Boss!"

"Anis, did you get the personnel roster from the original factory?"

"Someone voluntarily brought it, with annotations for key technical staff and troublemakers."

"Get rid of all the lazy and sneaky ones; keep the others as appropriate, but in short, I don't like troublesome people."

"Yes."

After a brief tour with his people, Ron already had a general understanding of the situation at Bania's factory.

Buying it for three million was definitely a huge profit.

The value of the two production lines alone was more than that.

When Sur Electric was setting up its factory, the cost of one production line plus equipment was as high as 4 million rupees.

Although Bania's factory equipment had depreciated and was even somewhat damaged, it was much more cost-effective after a significant discount.

Not to mention the factory's original channels and resources, which are intangible valuable assets.

Sur Electric only needs to spend some time integrating it into its system, and its strength will quickly rise to another level.

Ron planned to have this branch factory continue to focus on the production of electric fans; it had the foundation for faster resumption of production.

As long as the timing was right, the electric fan production line at Sur Electric could also be moved over.

This way, from plastic desk fans, wall fans, and table fans to iron ceiling fans and pedestal fans, they could cover the full range of electric fan products.

Hmm, specialization is good.

The branch factory in Chembur will be responsible for the electric fan market in the future, while Sur Electric in the west will temporarily continue to focus on air coolers.

Tsk, speaking of this, Ron's ambition was once again ignited.

Electric fans and air coolers were no longer enough to satisfy his appetite; he also wanted to enter the television market.

It was '93, only two years after India's economic policies were liberalized, and various industries were showing a trend of vigorous development.

With the maturation of the liberalized market, the economy was bound to enter a period of prosperity later, which meant there would be more and more middle class.

Indians are different from Chinese; their consumption concept is closer to the West, that is, hedonism.

Especially in Mumbai, people here completely reverse the concepts of basic needs and luxury goods.

Almost every household in the slums of Jogeshwari has electricity, with a web of wires covering the simple shacks like spider webs.

Middle-class families, on the other hand, have motorcycles or even cars.

Mumbai residents eat well; even people in the slums won't skimp on food.

This has nothing to do with wealth; true luxury goods are running water, clean toilets, smooth transportation, and houses suitable for human habitation.

Ron could almost imagine that once people had money, they would inevitably seek spiritual entertainment.

At that time, television would be the only choice.

Who wouldn't want to come home and comfortably watch a cricket match for a while after being a workhorse all day?

Unfortunately, India is comprehensively backward in technology; even now, there isn't a single local television brand manufacturer.

Televisions in households in big cities like Mumbai and New Delhi are all imported, expensive, and even middle-class families are deterred.

Of course, Ron didn't fantasize about developing a television brand himself.

He knew his own capabilities too well, and he didn't intend to promote India's technological innovation by himself.

Is he that bored?

India's technological level is backward, what does that have to do with him?

What Ron wanted to do was simply the OEM assembly process; the fastest shortcut was to buy technology!

Buy a complete television production line directly, still import core raw materials, and use domestically produced alternatives as much as possible for others.

Take it slow; it doesn't matter if the product is a bit rough; anyway, Indians aren't particular.

This blue ocean market cannot be simply handed over to foreign brands, right?

Instead of letting outsiders make money, it's better to do it himself.

He was already inquiring about information in this regard, but the price of television production lines was frighteningly high.

The manufacturers willing to export complete production lines were either from Korea or Japan.

And they were asking for exorbitant prices, starting at 2 million US dollars, and that was for black and white televisions.

Ron didn't need to guess to know that this was just the price on the surface, and there might be other traps waiting in the background.

Perhaps they didn't have the sincerity to sell at all and were indirectly refusing by quoting prices several times higher than the market rate.

India's policies had just opened up, and foreign brands were already coveting this market.

They were unwilling to see a local brand rise and become their competitor.

This matter is a bit difficult; Ron planned to proceed gradually.

To buy a television production line, he didn't have enough foreign exchange either.

Adding up his previous savings and the income Anand and others earned from their trip to Brazil, it was about 750,000 US dollars.

It was an awkward amount, neither enough nor too little.

Sur Electric was also not strong enough to influence the market, let alone government policies.

Acquiring Bania's factory now was Ron's first step in strengthening himself.

It not only eliminated a competitor but also raised Sur Electric's production capacity to a new level, killing two birds with one stone.

This eighty acres of land is also an asset, although he signed a lease contract with the government.

Thanks to the Rent Control Act, it also covers commercial buildings and industrial land.

Therefore, Ron only needed to pay a meager rent to use this piece of land in the center of Mumbai indefinitely.

As long as he didn't move out, this land would completely belong to him and could even be inherited by his descendants.

Is it absurd?

Not at all!

Look at South Mumbai; the wealthiest class in this city lives in villas on Malabar Hill protected by the Rent Control Act.

And these mansions were inherited from their grandparents, or even great-grandparents, who were tenants back then.

Decades ago, the rent for mansions in Mumbai was a few hundred rupees; it still is now.

It is said that under this distorted market, there is also a so-called "bribe system."

Landlords would bribe tenants to move out of houses protected by the Rent Control Act.

To protect their legitimate rights to their property, they have to pay a large sum of money to unrelated tenants.

That's what's absurd.

The rich live in villas and pay almost nothing, while the poor have to prepare two thousand rupees for materials to build a small shack in the slums.

Mumbai is a city of hierarchy.

It strikes at new immigrants, young people, and the impoverished class.

Couples cannot build a love nest in Mumbai, and outsiders cannot find rental housing in Mumbai because all the best properties are firmly occupied by the middle class and the rich.

This is the ultimate tuition fee that every outsider has to pay.

The sad thing is that this cannot shake their determination to come to Mumbai; it will only make them live miserably in Mumbai.

After all, it is the Golden Roc.

The rain was still falling from the sky.

Ron waved his hand and led his people away; someone else would take over the subsequent cleanup work here.

The people at the entrance had not dispersed yet; they looked eagerly at the black umbrella being surrounded.

Ron paused his steps slightly and scanned the crowd.

"The factory will resume work soon; as long as the review is approved, everyone can come back to work."

The crowd suddenly burst into cheers.

They threw away their umbrellas and raincoats and rushed forward, wanting to bend down and touch Ron's feet.

But they were blocked by the bodyguards, so they shouted hoarsely, "Sul Bhai, Sul Bhai!"

Ron waved to them, then got into the high-end imported car and disappeared at the street corner.

The matter of Sur Electric Factory came to an end; he had to get busy with other businesses.

Bollywood, Uttar Pradesh, drug smuggling... even his close associates, he hadn't seen them for a long time.

But before that, he had to see Vinod; the travel agency's business has been very good recently.