Chapter 925 924 [The Richest Man in Sichuan]

In fact, Wang Deqian is not only the richest man in Zigong, but also the richest man in Sichuan. The "Tangbancheng" in Chongqing is just a child's play.

Of course, we can't say that he is the richest man in Sichuan now, because the four major families have moved inward.

At the end of last year, the Japanese secret service counted the deposits of government officials in Shanghai International Bank. Chang Kaishen and Song Meiling's total deposits were US$11.86 million, Song Ziwen's was US$6.37 million, and Kong Xiangxi's was US$6.35 million. At that time, the total deposits of China's domestic banks (excluding occupied areas) were only over 700 million U.S. dollars when converted into U.S. dollars. Calculated at the black market exchange rate, it was even less - less than 300 million U.S. dollars. The four major families were absolutely as wealthy as the country.

This deposit statistics report is internal information of the Japanese government and has not been publicized. It was later stored in the archives of Stanford University in the United States. There should be no possibility of fraud.

We won’t discuss how the money from the four major families came from. Wang Deqian’s money is really not easy to earn.

As Sichuan's top source of tax revenue, Zigong (including Fushun) has been targeted by all parties since the late Qing Dynasty and the early Republic of China. Even the warlords of Yunnan and Guizhou came to get a piece of the pie. For local warlords, only by controlling Zigong can they truly control Sichuan.

Although Wang Deqian came from a wealthy family, he was almost bankrupt when he took over the family business.

The family fights endlessly, warlords take turns ravaging, the government imposes heavy taxes and exploits, and competitors are besieging and framed... Wang Deqian struggled to defeat his two younger brothers to inherit the family business. At that time, the price of salt plummeted, and the entire factory stopped production. He had to sell hundreds of salt pots to pay back the family business. Installment debt. The tribesmen again made a fuss and forcibly separated the family. After all the troubles, Wang Deqian even lost his salt wells and only had some natural gas wells. The profits were not enough to repay his debts.

Wang Deqian carried out drastic corporate reforms and gradually recovered several salt wells. But as soon as he started to improve, he encountered a fire in the salt well, which led to a life-and-death lawsuit. Then he encountered a dispute between the owners while repairing the stove, which led to the suspension of work on the new well and the payment of a huge deposit to the government. At this time, his two younger brothers were still suing him for demands. Divide family property.

It was under this terrible situation that Wang Deqian, who was once bankrupt, became the richest man in Sichuan in just over ten years.

He believed in Buddhism and Taoism, he helped the poor, he donated money to fight against Japan, he was diligent and frugal... these are all true. But he is also cunning and rogue, domineering and tough, insidious and cunning, with cold hands and a dark heart. Because he owed a huge sum of money, he hid in the mountains for several years and did not dare to go out. He was always accompanied by dozens of confidants and thugs. All business was conducted remotely from the Buddhist temple in the mountains.

Since the outbreak of the all-out Anti-Japanese War, Wang Deqian has been practicing Buddhism all day long without socializing or going out. Just because the National Government is too powerful, all salt is collected and sold uniformly, buying low and buying high, the entire salt market is controlled by the government, and salt merchants only need to be responsible for production. Coupled with the continuous depreciation of the legal currency and the slim profits of the hot salt business, the richest man in Sichuan was essentially bankrupt before the founding of New China.

Just like the bankruptcy of steel companies during wartime, salt companies can also be bankrupted. It must be said that the Nationalist government is very capable.

For this reason, Wang Deqian was extremely hostile to the Kuomintang, and no Kuomintang branch was allowed to appear in his company. At the same time, he acquiesced in the development of the underground party around him, and was happy to see his family members recommended to study in Yan'an.

When he heard that the famous Zhou Shenxian had come to Zigong, Wang Deqian immediately brought people to the gate to greet him. He laughed and said: "I have admired Zhou's name for a long time. I can see him today. I have no regrets in this life!"

"Brother Wang, you're welcome. I have heard of your good reputation in eastern Sichuan." Zhou Hexuan casually sent a flattering word.

This sentence was very useful to Wang Deqian. He now has no intention of running an industry, but pays more attention to reputation. He said happily: "I am very satisfied to be able to do what I can for the people of the country. Good and bad reputations are all false."

Zhou Hexuan introduced: "This is Qian Ji, a monk who has returned to secular life, and this is Nan Huaijin, a Buddhist and Taoist practitioner."

Wang Deqian took the two of them by the hand and said: "Brother Zhou's friends are naturally young and talented people. I have been obsessed with Buddhism for many years, and I just want to ask you for advice."

"Don't take it seriously when asking for advice. Let's confirm each other." Nan Huaijin and Qian Ji said quickly.

The Wang family's banquet was not extravagant, just ordinary dishes such as bean curd and twice-cooked pork. As soon as everyone sat down and before they even moved their chopsticks, a servant suddenly reported: "Master, Mayor Cao is here!"

"Invite him in quickly." Wang Deqian said enthusiastically.

Cao Renyuan was the first mayor of Zigong and a member of the League. He had participated in the Guangzhou Uprising, Wuchang Uprising and the Sichuan Road Protection Movement. He studied agriculture at Tokyo University of Agriculture, chemical engineering at the University of Michigan, then master's degrees at the University of Chicago and the University of Wisconsin, and then went to Germany to study for a doctoral degree.

The most popular indanshilinbu during the Republic of China was invented by Cao Renyuan when he was a Ph.D. This fabric was hailed as national pride by intellectuals and could be called the "national fabric". At that time, this fabric was the first choice for cheongsams and gowns.

We mentioned earlier the anecdote of Master Hongyi. He once boycotted foreign goods and only wore national cloth. A student gave him a good dress, but he refused to wear it because the fabric was high-end. Later he accepted it happily when he learned that it was a domestic product - the dress was made of indanthrine cloth.

An alliance member like Cao Renyuan who returned from studying abroad was famous, qualified, and capable enough to serve as a deputy minister in the central government, but he was sent to be the mayor of Zigong, which shows how bleak his official career was. The reason is very simple. He is with the wrong person. He is Hu Hanmin's confidant, who specifically opposes Chiang Kai-shek. If he hadn't been a famous doctor of chemical engineering, and Zigong produced salt, the mayor of Zigong wouldn't even have had his turn.

"Yigong," Cao Renyuan greeted Wang Deqian, then shook Zhou Hexuan's hand warmly and said, "Mr. Zhou, you didn't even say a word that you came to pay tribute, so I can fulfill my friendship as a landlord!"

Zhou Hexuan smiled and said: "Dr. Cao, you're welcome. I came to pay tribute mainly to visit friends, and I didn't want to alarm you."

Cao Renyuan smiled and said: "General Feng mentioned your righteous deeds many times in his letter, which makes me admire you very much!"

Cao Renyuan and Feng Yuxiang are also old friends. After the Great Wall War of Resistance, he assisted Feng Yuxiang in forming the Anti-Japanese Allied Army in Zhangjiakou, the same army where Ji Hongchang and Fang Zhenwu belonged to.

In such a large circle, they all turned out to be friends. No wonder Wang Deqian donated so much money in one fell swoop when Feng Yuxiang called for donations to fight against Japan.

When Cao Renyuan was the mayor of Zigong, he was relatively clean and did not exploit salt merchants seriously, so he had a very good relationship with Wang Deqian. But not long after, the mayor of Zigong was about to change. The salt merchants were so deceived that they hated the Kuomintang as much as they hated the Japanese.

A pair of bowls and chopsticks were quickly added to the table. Cao Renyuan was originally from Sichuan, and he took the initiative to talk about Zhou Hexuan's deeds in Sichuan. When it came to the battle between Zhou Hexuan and Liu Congyun, the whole room was made to laugh, and even the maid serving next to him was covering his mouth.

Wang Deqian said disdainfully: "I am quite familiar with Liu Congyun. He is from Weiyuan, across the river from Da'an Village. He often came to Da'an to defraud before he joined Liu Xiang. I had just taken over the salt account at that time. There were a lot of bad things going on. Liu Congyun took a compass and wanted to show me Feng Shui. He was looking at Feng Shui. He was talking nonsense. I just asked the thugs to drive him away."

Nan Huaijin was very concerned about Buddhism and Taoism, and asked: "Mr. Zhou, how real is Liu Congyun? If it is purely a lie, how come so many people have been fooled?"

Zhou Hexuan smiled and said: "Then I will give you a live demonstration."

"How to demonstrate?" Nan Huaijin asked.

Zhou Hexuan said: "I tell Dr. Cao's fortune."

Cao Renyuan said happily: "Mr. Zhou personally told me my fortune. I'm really flattered."

Zhou Hexuan said: "Dr. Cao, please tell me your birth date."

Cao Renyuan immediately cooperated: "I was born on the twelfth lunar month of the 19th year of Guangxu's reign."

Zhou Hexuan pretended to count with his fingers, and suddenly said: "You are the only son in the family!"

Cao Renyuan shook his head and said: "No."

Nan Huaijin laughed loudly: "Mr. Zhou made a wrong calculation!"

Zhou Hexuan emphasized seriously: "You must be an only child!"

Cao Renyuan said: "I have two brothers."

Zhou Hexuan said: "Think about it again, when were you born?"

Cao Renyuan was a little confused and recalled: "It must have been Chou Shi. My mother heard a rooster crow when she gave birth to me."

Zhou Hexuan said: "The rooster crows usually after 3 o'clock in the morning, and it is already Yin Shi at that time. There are many brothers in Ziwu, Maoyou, Yin, Shen and Sihai, three or two, and Chen, Xu Chou is not the only one. If he was born at Yin Shi, then the three brothers are just right. It’s not that I miscalculated, it’s that you remembered your birth time incorrectly.”

"Am I really remembering it wrong?" Cao Renyuan really couldn't figure it out, because there were very few families with clocks in the late Qing Dynasty.

Zhou Hexuan said: "It's also possible that your father-in-law didn't figure it out. They were all in the middle of the night, so it's easy to get confused between Chou Shi and Yin Shi."

Cao Renyuan touched his head and suddenly realized: "Did you lie to me?"

"Hahahahaha," Zhou Hexuan laughed and said to Nan Huaijin, "See, this is the usual trick of charlatans. Although it doesn't work against Dr. Cao, it is enough to deceive those foolish men and women. There are tricks for fortune telling and Feng Shui. , plus observing words and emotions and adapting to circumstances, if you read some Taoist classics, you will be able to go anywhere in the world. "

Wang Deqian looked on with great joy and said, "Brother Zhou is a master!"

Qian Ji smiled and said: "No wonder the Americans call you the Wizard of the Far East. You really have a way."

Wang Deqian said: "Destiny is not destiny, it all depends on man. Doing good will lead to good results, and naturally there will be many children and grandchildren. People like Liu Congyun will die if they do too much unrighteousness."

Nan Huaijin asked: "Which sect of Buddhism does Yi Gong practice?"

Wang Deqian said: "Pure Land Sect."

Nan Huaijin said: "I once met a Pure Land Master in Hangzhou."

Wang Deqian became interested: "Oh, who is it?"

Okay, these two people started discussing Buddhism.