1928: The rise of giant merchants

One year old is eliminated amidst the sound of firecrackers,

The spring breeze brings warmth into Tusu.

Thousands of households, every day,

Always replace old talismans with new ones.

When Ye's Textile was building factories everywhere and recruiting workers, and silver prices in the north and south dropped sharply, it was New Year's Day in 1931.

In response to the slogan of the Jinling National Government to "eliminate old habits and become Westernized", more families in Shanghai celebrated New Year's Day this year. On New Year's Day, many people also followed the custom of the Lunar New Year, visiting relatives and friends with gifts and chatting about their New Year's vision. .

With Ye Luo's efforts, Lu Xiaoman, Tang Ying and others finally eliminated the barriers and played together again.

To express his gratitude, Xu Zhimo took Lu Xiaoman, who rarely got up early, to run to Ye Mansion on New Year's Day, carrying large and small bags.

The two of them bumped into Lin Huiyin and his wife who came from the north to find Ye Luo outside Ye Mansion.

The four of them stood outside, sighing at the bustling Ye family, as if they had completely forgotten their original personal disputes, and chatting freely about anecdotes from last year.

If Xiaoli, who happened to be taking out the trash, hadn't seen them, the four of them might not have been able to see Ye Luo until midnight.

There was no way around it. Countless dignitaries came from all over the world to pay New Year's greetings to Ye Luo. Not to mention the four of them, even Zhang Qun, the current mayor of Shanghai Bund, had to wait until three or four in the afternoon to see Ye Luo.

This year's New Year's Day is particularly festive. The city hall has a day off, and various newspapers and magazines have followed the example of Liangyou Pictorial and launched "New Year's special issues".

The Nationalist Government of Jinling ignored the opposition from the society and officially designated the Western calendar as the "national calendar" as the only calendar officially recognized by China.

Although the lunar calendar continues to be used, it is no longer recognized by the government and is no longer allowed to appear in official documents.

It is worth celebrating that on January 1, New Year’s Day, the Jinling National Government announced that it would officially start implementing the “Customs Import Tax Code”.

This move marked the Republic of China's realization of tariff independence, which was a major step forward since the late Qing Dynasty from a historical perspective.

The new tariffs impose tariffs ranging from 5% to 50% on more than 600 types of imported goods in 12 levels.

Tariffs on most items have increased. Only for machinery, most of them have been reduced. This will facilitate domestic businessmen to import some advanced overseas machinery and equipment and boost domestic industrial efficiency.

According to the financial report of the Ministry of Finance, customs tax revenue and salt tax were 370 million yuan and 320 million yuan respectively last year.

With the issuance of new tariffs, tariff revenue in 1931 will increase by nearly 57 million yuan compared with 1930, accounting for 66.9% of the total tax revenue and 54.1% of the total annual revenue that year.

Whether it is the total amount of tax revenue or the proportion of total tax revenue and total annual revenue, it can be seen that 1931 reached the peak of the Jinling National Government's tariff revenue in the ten years before the war.

The new tariff code of 1931, as the first truly national tax code after the complete autonomy of tariffs, is not perfect due to the impact of the Sino-Japanese agreement on tax rates, but it is no longer like the 1929 tax code that simply increases taxes. It not only makes the tariff Income has increased significantly, and it has also had a certain protective effect on the country's fledgling industries.

As the Shenbao and Xinwen newspapers applauded, "The decision between severity and severity must be made after careful consideration."

It is worth noting that the new tariffs have significantly increased the tax rates on various common imported goods. Among them, the tax rate on tobacco and alcohol has been increased to 50%, the tax rate on silk has been increased to 45%, the tax rate on matches and ceramic products is 40%, and the tax rate on woolen fabrics and high-tech products has been increased. Value-added food is 35%.

In addition, tariffs on imported goods such as linen and glass have also been greatly increased, reaching 30%.

These are either daily necessities that are extremely profitable, or industrial products that are closely related to life. Previously, the market has been dominated by foreign companies.

Increasing the import tax rate on these commodities will undoubtedly be a booster and a talisman for the development of domestic industry and commerce.

The cotton textiles that everyone was most concerned about were restricted by the 1930 Sino-Japanese Tariff Agreement, and the tax rate was only increased by 15%. Japanese textile factories that were unwilling to leave the Republic of China market still had a way to survive.

But that is a market other than Ye's Textile.

After Ye Luo's vigorous reforms, the ecological niche of the textile industry in the north and south has changed significantly. "Resigning the old and welcoming the new" is also a new move in the textile industry.

Ye's Textile is backed by Ye's investment, and the most important thing is money.

If there are no workers, we will raise welfare benefits and poach people everywhere.

If there is no equipment, it is imported from American textile factories at low prices.

If you don’t have the skills, you can find textile technicians from Tokyo and come to China.

Therefore, in less than three months, Ye's Textile was able to produce various textile products whose quality was much higher than that of other domestic textile factories, and could even rival Japanese textile factories.

The principal also paved the way for Ye's Textile. All export orders will be contracted by Ye's Textile, and no one can take it away!

In addition, Ye Luo is involved in all the above industries that have raised tariffs.

Especially in Tianjin City, companies related to these industries are basically included in Ye Luo's bag, plus Ye's Shipping, which is already world-famous just after it started.

Tianjin City has become the second base of Ye's investment.

Ye Mansion, lobby.

"Aluo, this time it's over. I will go to Peking University and Beijing Women's University to be a professor. Xiaoman still has to rely on you to take care of me here."

Without Weng Ruiwu, an annoying guy, Xu Zhimo felt that he could do well again. After getting back together with Lu Xiaoman, he once again thought of going north to become a professor.

Lu Xiaoman agreed with this move with both hands and feet. Now she was annoyed by Xu Zhimo talking about it in her ears all day long.

Looking at the two of them and thinking about his own situation, Ye Luo sometimes felt that he, Lu Xiaoman and Xu Zhimo were like an old saying——

After your death, I will take care of your wife by myself, so don’t worry about it!

Lin Huiyin, who was sitting next to him, didn't like Lu Xiaoman and immediately said angrily: "I'm afraid that Xiaoman will be restless and break the news, and Aluo will have to help her clean up the mess."

"Isn't the guy in Shanghai just A Luo? How can I break through it? Sister Huiyin is joking." Lu Xiaoman glared at her and thought, no wonder Xie Wanying (Bing Xin) wants to write a short essay to criticize you, relying on her reputation as a talented woman. All kinds of eyes are higher than the top, which is why they are not welcomed by others.

I see that you say you don't want to, but you are thinking about it in your heart and body.

Lin Huiyin glared back at Lu Xiaoman. At this time, not only her husband Liang Sicheng, but also the other party's husband Xu Zhimo was present, and the person involved, Ye Luo, was also present. It was difficult for her to say this, so she did not answer.

But Lu Xiaoman had already smelled the provocation and disdain in her eyes, and naturally stared back not to be outdone.

Two girls, you glare at me and I look at you, which makes Ye Luo very interesting.

It is also very interesting to say that the recognized talented woman Lin Huiyin did not have a good relationship with talented women such as Lu Xiaoman, Xie Wanying, Yang Jiang, etc., but she was highly praised by later generations.

Ye Luo observed it for a long time and thought it was due to Sister Huiyin's work and personality.

Although she is a talented woman, her friends are all big names in academia and she has less interaction with literati. However, Lu Xiaoman and the others prefer to associate with poets and writers like Xu Zhimo.

The differences in their circles make their attitudes and behaviors towards others completely different.

"Sisters, please stop staring. I will treat you to a big dinner later, and this matter will be over."

Ye Luo spoke, and the two women rarely lost their fighting spirit and nodded with smiles.

"This kind of thing has to be done by A Luo. Once he takes action, he can persuade these two 'socialites'." Xu Zhimo couldn't help but tease the two of them.

Liang Sicheng, who was always silent, also smiled and nodded: "Yes."

Just as Bai Xiuzhu was carrying Ye Zhuohua and Li Siye downstairs, the two women ran over to tease the children and finally did not fall out directly in Ye Mansion.

Without the woman, the three grown men talked about current affairs and military matters.

The well-informed Xu Zhimo immediately said mysteriously: "Aluo, there is something you don't know."

Ye Luo smiled and said nothing, and Liang Sicheng did not accept the burden, which made Xu Zhimo embarrassed for a while, so he had to continue: "I heard that the principal is going to touch Hu Hanmin." (End of Chapter)