Hearing the name Jamsetji Tata, a Parsi, naturally brought the Tata Group, India’s largest conglomerate, to mind.
Parsi is an Indian word meaning Persian, referring to the descendants of Persians who follow Zoroastrianism.
Freddie Mercury of Queen is famously of Parsi descent.
If it was Jamsetji Tata, he was the founder of the world-renowned Tata Group.
He was also a man famous for being the world’s greatest philanthropist, even surpassing Rockefeller.
So, Tata was a Parsi? I always used to get Parsi and Jains confused because both groups have many wealthy merchants.
However, no matter how famous the founder of the Tata Group was, I could not go to meet him while he was conducting business in the heart of India.
Of course, that is not to say I was not interested.
Even though the Sassoon Family had become the top conglomerate in Bombay and was establishing a textile industry, these people were fundamentally outsiders who collaborated with the United Kingdom.
That was why they felt no psychological resistance as they prepared to move their base of operations to London now.
In contrast, someone like Jamsetji Tata was a native of India despite being a Parsi, and his identity was Indian.
While in Bombay, I did not just meet members of the Sassoon Family.
Through letters of introduction from Jardine Matheson, I met various Indian traders and businessmen.
Among them, I could clearly feel a budding national consciousness, as they began to perceive themselves as Indians.
As someone who came from the future and knew exactly when they would achieve independence, the emotions I felt were quite novel.
I felt worried when I saw Yuli Briner, who had become pale after being hospitalized for over a week.
“It seems the climate here does not suit Yuli. Should we head back?”
“Yes, if I stay here any longer, I might actually die. The food and water are strange, and I truly cannot stand this heat. Let us go back quickly.”
If Yuli Briner were to die in a place like this, the future great actor Yul Brynner would never be born, and that would be a loss for humanity.
Reuben Sassoon suggested that I visit London, but I declined, using Yuli’s health as an excuse.
After promising to definitely look him up if I ever stopped by London, I left Bombay.
While feeling the ocean breeze on the deck of the sailing steamship, Yuli, who was feeling a bit better, spoke.
“I do not know why we even came to Bombay.”
“That is because you were stuck in a hospital room, Yuli. I learned quite a lot.”
“What did you learn?”
“I felt that we must also quickly enter the manufacturing industry.”
“You want to build a factory?”
“Yes.”
“No, what kind of factory could we run? What conditions are there in Sidimi to build a factory?”
“It does not necessarily have to be Sidimi. We could build it in Vladivostok, or since Sidimi is growing, we could just build it there. I felt it vaguely in Shanghai, but I realized it for certain this time in Bombay. The fact is, the era of merchants is ending, and the era of entrepreneurs is coming.”
“What does that mean?”
“In Shanghai, they have started operating textile factories with looms made of wood or bamboo, and in Bombay, textile factories have sprung up in massive numbers. This means they are now standing on their own feet, breaking away from the economic shackles of Europe, such as the United Kingdom and France. Up until now, much profit was gained through trade alone by exploiting the economic gap between Europe and Asia, but profits from such deals will gradually decrease. Those who build factories and companies will become increasingly massive.”
Yuli Briner was someone who fully trusted my insight. When I spoke like this, Yuli Briner thought seriously for a moment before replying.
“Starting a company in Russia is not that easy. No matter how semi-independent the Russian Far East is from the center and how many privileges are granted, Russia is fundamentally an autocratic monarchy where the influence of the aristocracy is powerful. It is not an easy place for foreigners like us to enter.”
“There is no need to start on such a grand scale from the beginning. We can just do it in the form of a small private business. Even now, you are conducting trade like this, Yuli, even though you have not registered with the First Guild.”
As Yuli Briner said, Russia was still an autocratic monarchy with powerful aristocratic influence.
Unless one was part of them or at least under their protection, doing business was difficult.
Of course, the Primorsky Krai region was a special territory without such aristocrats.
The Tsar’s hand did not reach it directly, and everything was handled by the local Governor-General, his representative.
Due to various mounting issues, these rules were not strictly applied.
However, it was true that such various restrictions existed.
If we were to fall out of favor with the local government or the military, our rights could be revoked immediately using those laws as an excuse, and in severe cases, we could even be deported.
“True. As long as we make the military and the city government realize that we are necessary, there will not be any particular obstacles. It is fair to say that the Primorsky Krai region is a place where different laws apply compared to mainland Russia.”
As he said, there were no acting aristocrats in the Russian Far East, and it was not a land where Russian laws were properly applied.
That was why this opportunity was available to us.
***
We had a fairly open discussion about whether or not to buy a ship in Hong Kong, but we ultimately decided not to buy one for now.
Instead, we leased a ship in India, loaded it with salt, stopped in Shanghai again to purchase large quantities of tea, sugar, textiles, oil, and oil lamps through Archie, and then loaded them onto the ship.
Then, instead of going straight to Vladivostok, we stopped at Shimonoseki in Japan.
A Japanese merchant I met in Shimonoseki tilted his head and asked.
“Rice? Why would someone living in Russia want to buy rice?”
“Even people living in Russia who used to eat rice will go looking for it.”
“But this is the first I have heard of people in Russia eating rice. Furthermore, while there are those who bring rice here from Joseon, I have never sold rice to foreigners here, so that is why I ask.”
The Japanese merchant did not seem to think I was from Joseon.
Looking at my attire, he seemed to perceive me as someone of Oriental descent living in Russia.
“It is not for me to eat. I want to buy about 200 seok of unpolished rice. Is it possible to buy it or not?”
“Well, if you came to buy rice, you have indeed come to the right place. There are merchants here who bring in rice from Joseon, so you can buy as much as you want. Unpolished rice is 5 yen per seok, so 200 seok will be 1,000 yen.”
“Is that not too expensive for unpolished rice, even if it were polished?”
“You will not be able to find it for a lower price. If this were a rice-producing area, that price would be high, but the rice traded here already has owners, so you cannot get it without paying a premium.”
Looking at the behavior of the rice traders in this region, what he said was not exactly wrong.
I eventually purchased 200 seok of unpolished rice and loaded it onto the ship.
Yuli watched with fascination and asked.
“When did you learn Japanese?”
“I learned it before I came to Russia.”
Yuli, who did not know the internal affairs of Joseon and Japan, simply nodded.
“Then, did you buy the rice to give to the Koryo-saram in Sidimi? It looks like a bit much for just that.”
“I did buy some to give to the Koryo-saram in Sidimi, but more than that, I intend to ration it to those who migrate to Sidimi. If I tell them I will feed them rice, quite a lot of people will want to move to Sidimi.”
Yuli Briner did not seem to understand well because he did not know the obsession Joseon people had with rice.
“Koryo-saram consider eating white rice with meat soup the best meal of their lives. So, solving that for them is a huge incentive for Joseon people.”
“In Western terms, I suppose it would be like eating good butter on white bread.”
“That is roughly what it means.”
The day after we arrived in Vladivostok happened to be market day.
Russia holds markets similar to the five-day markets in Joseon.
However, they are not every five days; they are held on specific days, primarily Sundays and Thursdays.
Thursday is the traditional market day, and Sunday markets are held to coincide with the soldiers’ weekly pay, which they receive on Saturday.
Furthermore, markets are also held whenever a large ship comes in.
Since we had arrived with many supplies, people flocked to us.
And since we had sent a signal while passing Sidimi beach before entering Vladivostok, Fridolf Gek also came to Vladivostok in his schooner.
Fridolf Gek looked over the ship we had arrived on and asked.
“What ship is this?”
“I earned a bit of money this time, so I leased it to bring us back. We have quite a lot of goods purchased in Shanghai.”
“How much did you earn?”
“I will tell you once we get to Sidimi. At any rate, I earned a decent amount.”
“Salt, tea, sugar… you bought all the essential supplies.”
“Because these things are absolutely necessary in Russia.”
Since it was market day, many merchants were gathered in Vladivostok, and they competed to buy the goods we had brought on the ship.
The remaining stock was loaded onto Fridolf’s schooner and taken to Sidimi.
There was so much that even excluding the rice, the schooner had to make two round trips.
When we arrived at Sidimi and distributed the money we had earned to everyone, their eyes grew wide.
“I was able to get a better price for the ginseng than expected. On top of that, I was able to procure other goods cheaply. We were lucky.”
We earned about 30,000 Chinese Silver Taels by selling ginseng.
By using that to buy tea, sugar, and salt in India and Shanghai and selling them back in Russia, we made a substantial profit.
Even excluding the rice I purchased personally, the share that went back to the investors was nearly 20,000 Rubles.
Seon-hui, Hong-i, Gwi-hwan, and Jeong-seon were already married and had their own households, and this investment made their lives much more comfortable.
I gave everyone plenty of gifts, including alcohol, tobacco, and sweets, but I gave a special gift to Mikhail Yankovsky.
“Mikhail, this is a British hunting rifle I got in India. Use this now instead of those military surplus guns.”
Mikhail Yankovsky was very pleased when he received the rifle I gave him.
The hunting rifle Mikhail had been using until now was a US military surplus item; while its price and power were decent, it was true that it fell short in terms of performance.
Moreover, being military-grade, it lacked style.
In contrast, the hunting rifle I bought was very handsome in appearance, and because it was an 8-Round Repeating Rifle, it was excellent for rapid fire.
“This is an 8-Round Repeating Rifle, so it is really good for urgent moments. Honestly, it has been quite dangerous catching tigers, bears, or large boars until now. But now, the days of being unable to fight because you ran out of bullets are gone.”
Mikhail nodded and continued to stroke the gun. He seemed to really like my gift.
Then, he immediately ran to the shooting range and fired the gun.
Mikhail and I both have much better eyesight than others.
I noticed that every bullet Mikhail fired hit its mark and said.
“Wow, you can hit a target at that distance easily now.”
“The gun is so good that it hits well. This is several levels above the gun I was using until now.”
“At what distance do you think you could hit a target without fail?”
“With this kind of accuracy, I do not think I would ever miss within a hundred meters.”
Although it was a shooting ability he had received from the Large Mammal Command, I knew very well how difficult it was to do what Mikhail Yankovsky was describing.
No matter how good a gun is, saying one will hit a target without fail within a hundred meters is something only a person of Mikhail’s caliber can say.
“Now you will be able to hunt tigers and bears easily.”
“No, that is a different story. To catch a tiger or a bear, other skills are more important than the gun.”
“Still, the 8-Round Repeating Rifle will be quite helpful in an emergency, right?”
“That is obvious. You just have to pull the lever once to reload, so you do not have to keep bullets between your fingers. It has many advantages.”
“I think it will be especially good when dealing with the Honghuzi.”
“Yes, it will be truly excellent when dealing with those Honghuzi bastards.”
Premium Chapter
Login to buy access to this Chapter.