Chapter 471 Paradise
Who were Barum's friends? Those fat, pot-bellied men who walked the streets waving batons, harassing vendors and collecting protection money.
He was talking, of course, about the policemen.
The next day, Barum paid a local to translate for him. North India spoke Hindi, while Bangalore spoke Kannada.
He couldn't speak the local language or English, so he had to find someone to translate for him.
He went to the nearest police station, carrying the red travel bag in his hand, pretending to be a big shot, and kept shaking the bag in his hand so that all the policemen could see it.
He also distributed freshly printed business cards to them and insisted on meeting their leader, the police chief.
They finally got Barum into his office, and the red travel bag worked wonders.
Their head sat behind a huge desk, a shining police badge pinned to his khaki uniform and a red dot on his forehead representing his religious beliefs.
There were three images of gods behind him, but none of them was what Barum was looking for.
But thank God, there was a picture of Gandhi in the corner.
Barum smiled widely, put his hands together, and handed him the red travel bag.
What happened next was just like what happened in countless Indian police stations or official residences: the two sides had a pleasant conversation.
It's incredible that as soon as you show your money, everyone can immediately understand the language you use.
Yes, Balum spoke Hindi, and the police chief also spoke to him in Hindi, not the arrogant Kannada he had used when he first entered the door.
While Barum was bargaining with the chief, the wanted poster was there, with a small, dark photo of him on it.
Two days later, Barum called the kind lady who had rejected him at the Internet company and heard shocking news.
Her taxi service had been disrupted after police conducted a surprise inspection and discovered that most drivers were unlicensed.
"I'm so sorry, ma'am," Barum said. "I want to express my sympathy, and I'd also like to introduce you to my company, Truth Taxi Company."
"Do all your drivers have driver's licenses?"
"Of course, ma'am. You can call the police to verify."
She must have called the police and then called Barum back.
Barum thought the police must have put in a good word for him, and as a result, his company, as the English saying goes, "got off the ground."
Oh, and “Satya” means “truth, reality” in Hindi.
Barum felt that this name was very meaningful, representing that he had found the "truth" and "freedom" in life.
Satya sir, you are a great host.
At first, Barum was one of the drivers, but he later stopped driving. In fact, he didn't like driving and found chatting with people much more interesting.
In just six months, his taxi business had grown into a large company with sixteen drivers and twenty-six taxis divided into several shifts.
Yes, that's right: someone's four million rupees, coupled with hard work, is enough to work wonders in this country.
If his real estate and bank holdings were combined, Barum's net worth would have been five or six times the amount he had borrowed from Satya.
He even created a website for his company, with his motto: We Push Technology Forward! And it's in English.
The 26 brand new Toyota Camrys were all equipped with air conditioning for summer and were all contracted with famous technology companies.
Oh, and by the way, Balum has changed his name to Satya Nishatuo. He is an entrepreneur from northern India and now lives in Bangalore.
This information was registered on the company's official website, and he said goodbye to his past.
Sometimes Barum felt that he would never be caught, that someone would have to break through those chicken coops.
He paid no attention to the bounty on the Yadavs' heads; he had changed his ways: he was now one of those who could get away with it in India.
At these moments, he would look up at the chandelier above his head and just want to raise his hands and shout loudly enough to be heard all the way to the United States through the phone lines in the customer service center:
I did it! I broke out of the chicken coop!
But sometimes, when someone on the street shouted "Barum", he would turn his head and think that his identity had been exposed.
If you get arrested, which is always a possibility, you can give the police all the brown envelopes and red travel bags and they will still try to extort you.
Someday maybe a guy in a uniform would point at him and say, It's time, Barum.
However, even if he was thrown into prison and had to walk down the wooden stairs to the noose, Barum had no regrets.
If I could just experience what it was like not to be a servant, even for a day, an hour, or a minute, it would all be worth it.
Barum, dressed in a suit and tie, composed himself, holding a glass of red wine, and walked slowly towards the person who was the center of attention.
"Mr. Sur, the special economic zone is a brilliant idea. I think the Truth Taxi Company should cooperate more with you."
Sur Real Estate has more and more real estate businesses. In addition to several business districts, it has gradually begun to involve municipal construction.
For example, the greening of streets in Mumbai and the contracting work of platforms and stations.
The city's population has been growing explosively, and even though Mumbai has dozens of railways running through the city, it is still overcrowded.
During rush hours in the morning and evening, the transportation system runs at high speed and is extremely busy.
Anyone who has booked a seat on an Indian train will be familiar with the expression: squeeze in.
You and two other passengers are sitting peacefully in a three-seater, but there will always be a fourth or fifth person coming over and saying, "Help, squeeze in."
Reservations are useless, and five people sit to three seats. You have no choice but to squeeze in. Congested Mumbai is accustomed to crowds, whether in trains or apartments.
In the West, Indians often cram large families into one apartment, much to the bewilderment and surprise of others. The landlady will often deduct part of the deposit on the grounds that "two more adults means two more points of damage."
But in Mumbai, no one questions how many people can live in one apartment. It is natural for relatives, friends, and friends of friends to live under the same roof. As for how to arrange their daily life, it depends on their own ability.
A recent magazine advertisement for the Ambassador sedan exemplifies this style.
The picture shows an Ambassador sedan driving in the rain. Its simple shape resembles the Morris Oxford car of the 1950s, and the wide air intake grille makes its front face seem to always be smiling.
Like an elephant, the Ambassador, seemingly clumsy but actually nimble and adorable, doesn't boast about clean exterior design, leather seats, a digital instrument panel, or electronic fuel injection.
Instead, its ads depict pedestrians hurrying through the pouring rain with briefcases on their heads, and a conversation between two passengers squeezed onto a sedan's front bench and the driver.
“Look, isn’t that Josh?”
"Yeah, let's take him with us."
"There's no room in the car."
"Don't be like that, we can always squeeze in."
Car advertisements in most countries focus on the driving experience, luxurious interiors, spacious interiors, and the beautiful women who accompany the cars to satisfy the vanity of the owners.
But the Ambassador sedan is different. Unlike an SUV, it does not emphasize ample interior space, but rather admits that people who drive and ride in the Ambassador will try their best to make room.
In other words, the collective space it promotes is based on the repeated compression of personal space.
In Mumbai, where people believe in "squeezing in" in everything, this is also people's only choice.
This is a common occurrence, taking the Villard Express during rush hour, which can be the most breathtaking train on a crowded city train line.
You hold onto the door frame above your head with both hands, the front half of your foot resting on the threshold, and most of your body is exposed outside the speeding train.
The passengers are so crowded that there is no room for movement. You are really worried about being pushed out of the car by the crowd.
"Don't be afraid." Someone will comfort you, "If they accidentally push you out, they will be responsible for pulling you back."
Another said, "Just pretend you are in a cowshed."
This is Mumbai, the great city.
In October, Forbes released this year's complete list of the world's richest people.
There are three people from India on the list, namely the Ambani family, Premji and Ron Soul.
The Ambani family's Reliance Group focuses on petrochemicals and energy, with total assets of US$3.4 billion, ranking 124th on Forbes.
Premji, founder of software giant Wipro, is ranked 42nd on Forbes' list with an estimated wealth of $6.9 billion.
Ron Soule, Forbes officially only counted important assets such as the more well-known Soule Electric (valued at US$3.3 billion), Soule Real Estate (US$2.7 billion), and Soule Port (US$1.8 billion).
Others include a newly started steel plant, a cement plant with little presence, and scattered properties, with a total estimated value of US$400 million.
With total assets of US$8.2 billion, he ranks 33rd on Forbes and first in India.
This list can only be regarded as a reference. In fact, there are significant deviations. For example, the giant Tata is very low-key.
Ron's assets are far more than what is apparent on the surface. Not to mention other things, just Sur Real Estate and the Port are greatly underestimated.
Three large commercial districts and one special economic zone have only just been put into commercial use, and their huge potential has not yet been realized.
In five years at most, Ron is confident that he can increase the value of Sur Properties by six or seven times, easily exceeding $10 billion.
As for the port of Sur, as trade enters its peak period, profits will only grow. With shipping, doubling or tripling profits is not a problem either.
As for the steel plant and cement plant, one is just starting out and the other is mainly developing in North India, so they are not eye-catching.
But the people at Forbes may not know that the Suhr family is known as the "Cement King" in the North.
However, despite being underestimated, Ron still holds the title of India's richest man.
To him, India is more like a paradise than a country.
PS: The story almost ends here. When I started the book, I said I would write about the various classes and lives of people in India, and I can say that I have barely achieved my intended goal.
Because of work, serializing for more than half a year is very tiring. Now I am in Sunny Island, taking advantage of the tail end of summer vacation to relax.
I have to say, the seafood here is so fresh that it’s a bit unbearable to eat it for several days.
After the holiday is over, I will go back and consider whether I should write some extra chapters or conceive the next book.
The subject matter has not been decided yet, it may still be from abroad, or maybe something else.
Finally, thank you to all the book lovers for your continued support. Your recognition is the author’s greatest motivation.
The average score of this book is over 9,000, and there is still a few hundred points to go to 10,000, but I am already very satisfied. Thank you again for your support!
(End of this chapter)
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