Chapter 198 Sur Park
Ron said he wanted to throw away his conscience to do business, but in the end he still failed.
He was used to the poverty in the slums and was accustomed to it.
However, he found it difficult to resist the genuine joy shown by those people in the face of jobs that could cost them their lives at any time.
He didn't dare stay there any longer, for he was afraid that his conscience could not bear the torture.
He escaped, but the price he paid was $250,000 in tears.
One hundred drug dealers, each paid $5,000, and Merck paid them $500,000.
He and Luca each split half, and the cost was 50,000 rupees, which they paid to the person who gave the medicine.
Ron was too lazy to calculate how many times the profit this was.
He only knew that even if the drug smuggling business came to a halt, it would not affect his ability to continue making US dollars.
Ron has over one million dollars in his piggy bank, and he plans to contact foreign TV manufacturers soon.
If possible, new products can be added to the product catalog of Sur Electric.
Relying solely on water-based air conditioners and electric fans, the company's risk resistance is too limited.
Ron's biggest fear is that a competitor of equal strength will suddenly emerge, which will make things difficult for Sur Electric.
Televisions are very high-end for Indians, almost as expensive as air conditioners.
However, in terms of necessity between the two, most people will choose TV.
It can bring extremely rich entertainment enjoyment to the whole family, and its spiritual value is immeasurable.
Air conditioning seems somewhat unnecessary, as people on this continent have been accustomed to the heat for thousands of years.
If you ask someone in the slums whether he would rather have a TV or an air conditioner, there will hardly be a second choice.
With such considerations in mind, Ron chose televisions without hesitation when deciding on the future product direction of Sur Electric.
Air conditioners are a tool for the rich to improve their quality of life, but televisions can enter thousands of households.
The funds were in place, but what Ron needed to solve most was not the production line problem, but the venue.
The factory area of Sur Electric covers a total area of more than 100 acres. With six production lines, two warehouses and an office building, there is no longer much room for him to work.
The problem comes back to the beginning: buying land!
In order to draw a picture big enough to impress the Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Ron made a special appointment with designer Rahul Mehrotra today.
He graduated from Harvard and came from a prominent family. His father-in-law, Charles Correa, was also an architect and had participated in the urban planning of Mumbai.
Ron visited his new office in Tardeo, which was decorated in his signature, strong modernist style, and the photos of his children on the wall added a touch of warmth to the cold office.
Rahul's architectural design, which integrates various technological elements, has been particularly praised in the industry.
This is also the reason why Ron found him. From the beginning to the end, Sur Electric has positioned itself as a technology company.
"What are you busy with?" Ron sat down on the sofa in a familiar manner.
This is not the first time they have dealt with each other, so there is no need to be so polite.
"The plan of Mumbai city." Rahul stood in front of the spread-out map, frowning in thought.
“This city is beyond saving.”
“I agree,” Rahul sighed.
"Wow, you're a city planner. Saying that is tantamount to surrender."
"I've tried, but it's no use." Rahul threw down his pen. "Sometimes I wish there would be a tsunami or an earthquake that would wipe out Mumbai. Only then could I heal this city's scarred and ailing body."
"Is it that exaggerated?"
"Come and see." He beckoned Ron over.
On his desk is a city map of Mumbai, which, viewed from the air, resembles the shape of a soup spoon.
If you spread your thumb and index finger and form a 30-degree angle, you will get the shape of Mumbai Island.
"It's too crowded. Mumbai Island was artificially reclaimed and was not suitable for planning into a metropolitan area from the beginning."
Rahul bluntly stated that five real estate developers and Naik, the chief minister of Maharashtra in the 1960s, had ruined the plan of "Navi Mumbai".
The government at that time had foreseen the limitations of Mumbai Island, so it commissioned Rahul's father-in-law and others to rebuild a new Mumbai.
Navi Mumbai will be located opposite Marine Drive and east of Bombay Island. It will be Mumbai's hope for take-off, a magical city with government-owned land and meticulous planning.
It has the potential for unlimited expansion because it faces the entire Indian continent.
“As a result, the Chief Minister colluded with the developers and moved the office complex that was to be built in Navi Mumbai to Nariman Square, the southernmost tip of Mumbai Island.
Private companies then followed suit, destroying the original residential planning for Nariman Quarter and giving a loud slap in the face to Navi Mumbai.
This is a money-for-money deal between politicians and builders, with no regard for urban planning.”
"What's the benefit of them doing this?" Ron was curious as it was the first time he heard about Mumbai's planning history.
"It's simple. The more supply exceeds demand, the higher the price. These five developers privately decided to reduce the scope of their plans. In comparison, Nariman Land is in short supply, so the buildings are more likely to sell well."
"Scarcity makes things valuable." Ron nodded.
"That's it, the congestion in Mumbai today is completely artificial."
Look, this is India.
Collusion between officials and businessmen can directly destroy the future of everyone in the largest city.
"So have you found a way to save the city?" Ron asked.
"If we want to build this city better, make it more livable, with wider roads, train cars, and residential areas, that will bring about another problem: population."
Ron understood what Rahul meant. A livable Mumbai would attract more people until it could no longer bear the burden.
India is so poor that other states seem like they are in the 19th century compared to Mumbai.
Every day, the trains arriving at Victoria Railway Station are packed with migrant workers from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, who are pouring into Mumbai.
If these people knew that the government would build houses for them as soon as they got off the train, they would come with even greater force and everything would be in vain.
"It's a desperate place. Mumbai alone can't hold the whole of India."
Rahul loves this country. He is a Kshatriya from a prominent family. He graduated from a world-renowned university and could have settled abroad.
But he returned and devoted a considerable amount of his energy to working for the Bombay Metropolitan Planning Agency, which he did unpaid.
"Forget it, let's go and see your Sur Park." Rahul spread out another blueprint.
Ron had invited him to visit Sur Electric a few months ago.
At that time, Ron had just returned from Uttar Pradesh. Sur Electric was doing very well, and he couldn't wait to imagine the future.
Office buildings, R&D centers, factory areas... He told Rahul all his demands.
Now, after three or four months of field investigation and surveying, the design of the Sur Park has taken shape.
"Apart from being a bit far south of Mumbai, the location of that piece of land is actually very good. There are no obstructing buildings around it, and there is a large piece of wasteland for you to develop."
Rahul loves the feeling of painting on a blank piece of paper, and he wishes the whole of Mumbai were a wasteland.
“The office building and R&D center are placed on the south side, where there is no obstruction and no need to worry about lighting issues.
The factory is located in the northeast, surrounded by two roads for convenient transportation.
The employee community is located on the west side, and I have equipped it with entertainment areas, sports areas, dining areas, and leisure areas."
Rahul pointed at the drawing and talked incessantly, and it was obvious that he was very satisfied with his design.
The Sur campus in the drawings is magnificent, with office buildings and R&D centers in the usual modern technological style, which is Rahul's forte.
The factory area is neat and tidy, with enough distance between each other, and there is even a fucking lawn!
Yes, lawns are not only found in factory areas, but also in employee communities.
There is actually a small pond in the middle of that large green area!
Ron was stunned. Should this thing appear in India?
What kind of level is this? This is the level of the National Assembly Building in New Delhi, right?
"I have a question."
"What?" Rahul looked up.
“Why is the employee community placed in the west?”
"The west side is closer to the sea and more open. The sunsets there are beautiful and the breeze is gentle."
Ron nodded, indeed.
In Mumbai, people learn to look west from a young age because only when they look there is their view unobstructed.
If a Mumbaikar steps onto a balcony and looks around, his or her eyes quickly and automatically drift westwards, towards the sea, a land of endless possibilities.
"Place the office building and R&D center on the west side, and the employee residential area on the north side. Remove the lawns, ponds, entertainment areas, and leisure areas!"
"What!" This time it was Rahul's turn to be dumbfounded.
"The park is only two hundred acres, and Soul Electric is a company, not a real estate developer." Ron shrugged.
"But doesn't a good living environment stimulate employees' enthusiasm for work?"
"Rahul, Mumbai is not Boston. People here are so poor they don't even have a place to sleep. They don't need lawns. They are completely useless."
Instead of considering greening, entertainment and leisure, it would be better to build more residential buildings, which can solve the housing problems of hundreds or thousands of employees.
"I should have thought of it earlier. My previous thinking was too hasty. Mumbai is so crowded." Rahul sighed.
"Keep this blueprint too. It will be very useful to me." Ron's eyes lit up.
"If you like it, take it. I need to reconsider the capacity of the park."
Rahul believes that Ron is right. The first and foremost problem facing Mumbai is housing, which is the fundamental issue.
He originally wanted to build the Sur Park into an ideal modern high-end industrial park.
He hopes that the Sur Park will become a landmark building there, and everyone can see and recognize it when they look up.
Just like a business card, it attracts attention.
However, the reality of Mumbai shattered this idea, as it was too avant-garde.
"Speaking of housing, do you know how to solve the slum problem?" Ron asked casually.
"Slums?"
"Yes, there's a slum on the vacant land north of Soul Electric, with a population of about 20,000 to 30,000 people."
"You want to move them away without causing a violent resistance?"
“Yes, this is quite a headache.”
"There is a way." Rahul thought of the city map of Mumbai again.
"Huh?" Ron looked up suddenly.
He just asked casually, is there any way to have the best of both worlds in the slums?
(End of this chapter)
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