As soon as I met Ruben Sassoon, I began by thanking him.
“Thank you very much for meeting an Oriental child with whom you have no significant connection.”
+ Interest
“Isn’t it true that small connections often turn into great ones? Moreover, even though you are young, you possess a talent that leaves people in awe, so anyone who meets you once would want to meet you again. I, too, felt the same desire to see you once more. But you didn’t come all the way to London just to see me, did you? For what purpose have you come?”
“I heard that rubber tree saplings are being grown at the Royal Botanic Gardens in London, so I came to obtain some of them.”
“Rubber, you say?”
“Yes, is something the matter?”
“It’s not that anything is wrong, but I’m curious how you knew that rubber trees were being grown at the Royal Botanic Gardens. It isn’t exactly major news, so how did you find out?”
“I thought Brazilian rubber looked promising for the future, so I bought some land to start a Rubber Plantation in Malaya. Someone happened to tell me that trees were also growing at the Royal Botanic Gardens. Hearing your words, Mr. Sassoon, it seems the information was correct. If it had been wrong, I was prepared to go all the way to Brazil.”
“It wasn’t wrong. I heard that an explorer named Henry Wickham brought rubber tree seeds the year before last, and they were raised as saplings at the Royal Botanic Gardens.”
“You know quite a lot about it. Is the Sassoon Merchant House planning to invest in the rubber industry as well?”
“No, our Sassoon Merchant House has no intention of investing in that area. I only happened to learn of the situation because I have a friend who works at the Royal Botanic Gardens.”
“That is welcome news. Then, may I ask for a letter of introduction?”
“I will write the letter, but before that, why don’t we settle the matter of the items you brought?”
I had intentionally not brought Yuli Briner with me when I came to meet Ruben Sassoon.
Yuli Briner had gone out, saying he had business in the City.
When I came to meet Ruben Sassoon, just as I had when I met Elias Sassoon in Shanghai previously, I brought 880kg of gold divided into 22 bags.
I could have brought more, but there was a risk the carriage might break.
Ruben Sassoon shook his head in disbelief as he looked at the gold.
“Elias told me about it in his letter, but seeing it in person like this is truly astonishing.”
Then, along with the gold, I gave him the deposit certificate for 100,000 pounds from the Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation that I possessed.
“I would like to deposit this in a British bank.”
“If you are looking for a recommendation for a bank in the United Kingdom, there are the Rothschild Bank and the Baring Bank. Where would you like to make the deposit?”
“Doesn’t the Sassoon Family have a connection with the Rothschild Family?”
“We have become closer recently, but it isn’t to the point of being a deep connection. So do not worry about us and choose the bank you prefer.”
Although people often called the Sassoon Family the Rothschilds of the East, the Sassoon Family and the Rothschild Family were of slightly different standing.
While the Rothschilds were a family that had risen to prominence a few generations ago from a poor household running a junk shop in a German ghetto, the Sassoon Family was a prestigious, long-standing clan that had wielded power in the Middle East for nearly a thousand years.
Even though both were the wealthiest Jewish families residing in London, their relationship was somewhat distant, and they were not close enough to specifically push for the Rothschild Bank.
“Then please place 80,000 pounds each into fixed-term deposits at the Baring Bank and the Rothschild Bank, and the remainder into a deposit that I can withdraw immediately.”
Interest rates for fixed-term and regular deposits were different even in this era.
The Baring Bank was, by all accounts, the greatest bank of the era—the very bank that appeared in Jules Verne’s ‘Around the World in 80 Days’.
And the Rothschilds were the financial empire of this era, needing no further explanation.
Ruben Sassoon did not ask about the source of the gold at all.
He processed everything as I requested and said:
“If you ever need to liquidate gold again, come to me. I will handle it immediately. I also gain from the commission, so isn’t it mutually beneficial?”
“I will do that. But could you perhaps spread some rumors about my name?”
“Rumors?”
“I am too young, so I cannot gain the trust of others. I think it would be good if rumors spread about me being something like a Wealthy Boy from the East.”
“That is a good idea. I will spread the word appropriately. A mysterious Wealthy Boy from the East of unknown nationality—would that suffice?”
“Yes, that sounds perfect. Also, would I be able to find some bodyguards? Since I’m so young, I’m worried people might look down on me and try to approach me with ill intent.”
Ruben Sassoon made an “Ah!” expression and spoke.
“In that case, I know just the people. They are fellows you could hire for the long term if you pay them a salary.”
Ruben Sassoon called someone and gave instructions.
A long while later, two massive men wearing turbans arrived.
“This is Bittu Singh, and this is Chitt Singh. Don’t they look reliable just based on their size?”
“Since they use the surname Singh, are these two gentlemen Sikhs?”
At my words, not only Ruben Sassoon but also the two men who had been introduced were startled.
They were surprised that a young child from Far East Asia, who they assumed would know nothing about the situation in India, immediately recognized they were Sikhs just from their surname.
“Oho, you even know such things? As you said, they are Sikhs.”
“I only know that the men wear turbans and all use the surname Singh, while the women use the surname Kaur.”
The two giants understood English, and they were clearly astonished that I knew a fair amount about Sikhs.
The United Kingdom had ruled India for so long that there were occasional people who knew about Sikhs, but it was unheard of for a little boy from Far East Asia to know.
I had learned about Sikhs because I had traded with them in my previous life.
Even in India, where swindlers were plenty, Sikhs and Jains were quite trustworthy partners.
Naturally, to trade with people of a specific religion, I had to study if there were any taboos or such, and through that, I had come to know a bit about their circumstances.
Bittu Singh and Chitt Singh were truly enormous, nearly two meters tall.
With their broad shoulders and burly forearms, it seemed like no one would ever pick a fight as long as I was with them.
“Mr. Bittu Singh, Mr. Chitt Singh, if I pay you each an annual salary of 300 pounds, can you accompany me to Malaya and Russia?”
The two men and Ruben Sassoon were all shocked by my offer.
An annual salary of 300 pounds was an incredibly high amount by the standards of this era; a person with such an income would belong to the upper-middle class even among the British.
Surprised by the offer, the two could not answer immediately and looked back at Ruben Sassoon.
Ruben Sassoon also wore a surprised expression for a moment before nodding his head.
Bittu Singh spoke in English with a foreign accent.
“If you hire us like that, we will follow you anywhere in the world.”
Chitt Singh also spoke.
“We are people who came all the way to London to earn money. Since you evaluate us so highly and hire us, what is there that we cannot do?”
His name is Chitt, and for some reason, that makes me trust him more.
I immediately wrote two checks for 300 pounds each and gave them to the two men, and they became my employees.
***
Ruben Sassoon was the first among the Sassoon Family to establish a position in London and already had many connections in the United Kingdom.
He wrote a letter of introduction to Joseph Dalton Hooker, the director of the Royal Botanic Gardens.
I traveled to the gardens on the outskirts of London accompanied by Bittu and Chitt and met Director Hooker.
Director Joseph Hooker was an elderly man over 60 years old.
After hearing my business, he spoke.
“Henry Wickham brought 70,000 seeds, but only 2,400 of them sprouted. Therefore, I cannot just give them away recklessly.”
“Rubber trees are trees that grow in the tropical regions of Brazil, so they must be raised in similar tropical regions. And I own land on the outskirts of Singapore. I am not asking for all of them; if you give me just a portion, I will prove that a Rubber Plantation can be successful there.”
Along with those words, I pulled out the land deed I had brought.
The land deed specified ownership of 60,000 acres of land near Singapore.
The director looked at the deed I handed over with a thoughtful expression.
“This land is close to Singapore, making it easy to obtain native labor. Therefore, you can consider that there is no one more suited for rubber cultivation in Malaya than I am. The lands best suited for growing rubber are either India or Malaya, but in India, it is already difficult to find land suitable for a plantation to raise such trees. In contrast, land in Malaya is readily available, and labor is easy to find, so if cultivation succeeds, it is the optimal land for creating a Rubber Plantation.”
“There is also Africa.”
“Everyone knows that Africa is difficult to enter because of yellow fever, don’t they?”
“By that logic, the Malayan jungle is the same because it is difficult to enter due to malaria.”
“Africa has both malaria and yellow fever, while Malaya only has malaria. And in terms of labor, if native labor cannot be obtained, Malaya is a good place to bring in Chinese coolies.”
In fact, it was clear to anyone that Malaya was a better location for a rubber plantation than Africa, and Joseph Hooker did not insist on that point.
“Even so, you are too young to be trusted with such a task. Furthermore, this kind of work takes more money than you might think.”
“Was there no mention of my wealth in Mr. Ruben Sassoon’s letter?”
“It only stated that you were a wealthy boy from the East. Do you possess a great deal of wealth?”
I showed him the deposit certificates from the Baring Bank and the Rothschild Bank that Ruben Sassoon had prepared before I came here.
Joseph Hooker’s expression turned to one of shock at the deposit amount, which exceeded 200,000 pounds.
“I will tell you in advance that this deposit is only a portion of my assets. I do not feel particularly lacking in wealth, but I intend to invest because I see a bright future for the rubber industry. Could there possibly be anyone who can raise rubber trees better than I can?”
In the end, Director Joseph Hooker promised to give me 700 rubber tree saplings.
Once the deal for the rubber trees was finished, I showed Joseph Hooker dozens of biological specimens prepared by Fridolf Gek and Mikhail Yankovsky.
“These specimens are biological samples collected from Far East Russia. I live with two naturalists in Far East Russia, and these are specimens they created. I brought them because I thought they might be new species not yet reported to academia. As you can see, the name of the discoverer, the location of discovery, and the time of discovery are all recorded beneath the specimens.”
Joseph Hooker was not just the director of the botanic gardens but also an outstanding biologist.
He recognized the value of the specimens I showed him.
Fridolf Gek and Mikhail Yankovsky were not merely sailors or hunters; both were excellent naturalists with deep knowledge of biology and great skill in creating specimens.
The two would often travel as far as the northern coast of Russia on the Schooner piloted by Fridolf Gek to collect biological specimens.
Director Joseph Hooker spoke while looking at the bird specimens and the butterfly and moth specimens.
“No matter how I look at them, these specimens seem to be new species. I will investigate further and report them to the academic world. If they are confirmed as new species, I will make sure to include the discoverers’ names when naming them.”
It would happen a bit later, but several of these specimens were indeed new species that had never been reported before, and they were named after Yankovsky and Gek.
When I confirmed the distribution of the rubber trees with Joseph Hooker and returned, Yuli Briner, whom I met again at the hotel, said:
“The City is abuzz with stories of an Oriental boy who deposited a massive sum of money. This is you, right?”
I smiled and replied.
“Well, I did deposit some money, but I’m not sure if it’s me. I somewhat doubt that the amount I deposited is enough to start rumors.”
“If you combine the proceeds from selling the Ginseng in Hong Kong and the money you had before, it’s quite a lot. Besides, you’re still young, so the rumors might spread even wider.”
“That’s how rumors are. You deposit 10,000 pounds, but it might be rumored as 100,000 or a million pounds.”
“I guessed that you had quite a bit of hidden wealth, and though I don’t know how you liquidated it here, there’s no reason for me to point it out. But perhaps because of those rumors, I received a proposal saying they want to invite you to a party.”
I was bewildered.
“A party for a child like me?”