Let Aragorn look for a few good stores and factories, plan to rent them, start a small business, and prepare some funds for future tuition and living expenses.
At present, Argentina is indeed lagging behind in heavy industry, which is mainly concentrated in the capital Buenos Aires and Rosario. It is difficult to find packaging production lines in the country.
This thing can only be produced in the United States now. After World War II, there was overcapacity. Unfortunately, it is not available for purchase.
The Europeans themselves may not have enough. Argentina currently has no direct trade relations with the United States. It will not be until the Bilon government is completely overthrown that U.S. capital will enter Argentina in large quantities, because the Americans hate the Bilon government's "third position."
Now the United States has adopted a strong economic blockade against Argentina, and the United States Economic Cooperation Agency discriminates against Argentina. Now it is impossible to obtain American industrial equipment. Of course, smuggling is possible. As long as it is Brazil or Uruguay, as long as you have money, you can still buy it on the underground black market. It is limited to General light industrial equipment.
Argentina's foreign exchange reserves are in pounds. After the UK weakened, foreign exchange controls were implemented. The pounds and U.S. dollars cannot be directly exchanged. St. Jose's pesos cannot be directly converted into U.S. dollars, so equipment cannot be purchased.
There must be a way to implement a comprehensive blockade. This window is Uruguay, and Brazil also has economic ties with the United States. The United States does not care much about small-scale smuggling. As long as you can contact underground smugglers, you can bring the equipment through smuggling channels. From Sao Paulo, Brazil, to Uruguay and then to the Paraguay border, the secret transportation channel runs to Cordoba.
Some time ago, I heard from my colleagues in the City Guard that a Uruguayan had dismantled several second-hand can production and packaging lines from the United States. He originally planned to produce cans, but ended up going bankrupt due to debt, and asked for 100,000 pesos per line. It cost about 2,000 US dollars a piece, which was ridiculously expensive. This was in the 1950s.
It's really dark, but St. Jose pinched his nose and admitted it. Who said that Argentina doesn't produce these things and can only be controlled by others? St. Jose asked an underground middleman to order two. It's a good thing that he doesn't have to go to the United States. Let's try them first. water.
As the younger brother of Argentina, Uruguay's status is somewhat similar to that of New China's Hong Kong. For the larger one, a deposit of 50,000 pesos was paid, and the balance was paid when the production line was handed over.
Argentina’s domestic market is quite closed, and its agriculture is quite developed. However, exports rely on primary agricultural products, and there is almost no deep processing of fruits. Cordoba is currently the third largest city, but there is not much competition.
I went to visit the largest market and some grocery stores in the city. There was not a wide variety of products, and even common drinks like Coke didn't seem to be available. The Yankee blockade was relatively complete.
There are some pre-processed traditional foods and low-quality beer produced by domestic breweries. These are not drunk by Saint Jose and his colleagues, and they taste very average.
It is also related to the current international trade environment. Just a few years after the Second World War, international trade is not developed. The Soviet Union’s economy is working hard to resume production. Western Europe, which Argentina has good relations with, is still recovering. Europe is also healing, and exports are There is great restraint, and even the natives don’t have enough to eat.
American capitalists have been coveting the Argentine market for a long time. In recent years, the country has been closed off and tariffs have been very high. The relationship between Argentina and Spain is okay, but now Spain has long lost the glory that it enjoyed in the first day. Spain is under the dictatorship of Franco, who has protected the country. The nationalization policy of the Kuomintang government has brought Arab-British relations to a historical low.
Generally speaking, the market opportunities are very good, and Saint-Jesse is very good at food processing.
I followed Aragorn to a promising large-scale dairy farm and prepared to talk to the head of the household.
From a distance, it seems that there are several breeding farms around this factory, but they are more desolate. They are full of weeds and have not been taken care of for a long time. The overall structure is still good, and it is also connected to electricity. It covers an area of more than 3,000 acres. square meters, and a warehouse, which can meet the needs of Saint Jose.
Local businessman Marici Niens chatted with Saint Jose with a smile on his face.
"Mr. Saint Jose, you will definitely make a profit if you buy this factory. If I hadn't gone to the capital to develop, I would never be willing to sell it. This factory is worth at least 1 million pesos.
If you want to buy it, you only need to pay 750,000 pesos, and the monthly rent is 20,000 pesos." Maric had a flattering look on his face. In fact, Saint Jose wanted to buy it. The price is not expensive, and the place is big enough. Unfortunately, all his assets now only amount to 50,000 pesos.
"Mr. Maric, are you sure you're not kidding? No one in Cordoba will rent your shabby factory now except me. If you buy a factory, you won't need it for the time being." Now that there is a shortage of funds, it's a fool's errand to buy these heavy assets and cash them out. Too difficult.
"Mr. San Jose, the construction of this factory alone cost me 1.1 million pesos... Look at this steel structure, these solid red bricks, they are absolutely real materials," Maric said as he touched the walls. , but as soon as it was done, a piece of the wall fell off, which was a bit embarrassing.
"Stop... I can give you up to 10,000 pesos a month. The rent in the suburbs of Cordoba is not high now, and the area around here is also very desolate. I'm not kidding. I can give you up to 9,000 pesos tomorrow to tell you valuable news for free. There will definitely be large-scale conflicts in Cordoba in the next six months, and businessmen like you will suffer heavy losses by then."
Maric took out a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped the non-existent cold sweat, breathed another sigh of relief, and rubbed his hands.
"Mr. San Jose, I really can't tell you. Why don't we both make concessions? I still have a few shops under my name that you can rent together. It's 15,000 pesos, which is absolutely worth it. I also have a vacant house." It can also be sent to you for rent."
Maric is also a little worried about the situation and wants to develop in the capital. As for here, it is a bit unsafe.
"I've taken a look at this. Forget about your house, the store is OK. 12,000 pesos a month is the highest price I can offer. You can pay one month's rent in advance. If it suits you, sign the contract today... If Forget it if you think it's inappropriate, and I wish you a pleasant trip to the capital..." Saint Jose said with some impatience on his face.
"A good deal and a pleasure to work with, Mr. Saint-Jesse",
The weather in Argentina is a bit unusual this year. I heard that people froze to death in Santa Cruz, Brittany, and it made national news. Damn it, there was a drought in the first half of the year. It was not so cold at this time in previous years. Mr. Saint Jose, would you like to go have some wine and some barbecue to warm yourself up?"
Maric hurriedly agreed. He was wearing a jacket, a little happy to have negotiated the deal, and invited St. Jose to have a barbecue.
Saint Jose also stamped his feet, as if it could dissipate some of the cold air. He looked at the drizzle falling in the sky and the ceiling on the factory building was also a little wet, and said
"Next time, I'm busy now. I'll treat you to dinner at the Aclara Hotel next time. The lobster there is pretty good."
It’s not that I’m really busy, it’s just that I feel that drinking and eating barbecue is a bit unhealthy recently. In addition, the factory really needs to investigate whether there are any other safety hazards, and the factory will be renovated tomorrow.
This time the business did not deceive Maric. It would be great if the breeding farm and shops in Kecheng can be rented out now. If this breeding farm was not big enough, strong enough and not abandoned for a long time, Saint Jose would never want it. It is an idle asset. No rent will be incurred.
The nearby breeding farms are basically abandoned, and there are even people in the city who are selling off their properties. Cordoba is becoming the center of a storm in the country. Ordinary people are beginning to hide in the countryside, and those with more money are going to Buenos Aires. Some simply immigrated to the United States and Europe.
Today I heard some gunshots in the city, and some rioters were taking the opportunity to rob pedestrians, rob shops, and the like.
Saint Jose always brings a few subordinates with him whenever he goes out. Maric is in the trading business. This factory was originally a large warehouse + breeding base, but business has not been easy in recent years. Plus, after making some money, So I plan to rent out my property and immigrate to other cities to expand my business in the capital. Argentina is not peaceful right now.
Policies are repetitive, the political situation is unstable, and you have to bring bodyguards when you go out occasionally.
The truck brought the production equipment purchased by St. Hesse. These were two second-hand semi-automatic packaging equipment. They were well maintained and could be used directly after assembly. They also hired people to clean up the weeds, paint the walls, repair leaks and holes, and reinforce the houses. Originally, Some of the messy factory buildings began to look neat and tidy, and they looked a little better.
Saint Jose even planned to ask Aragorn to purchase a batch of guns and ammunition on the black market in the city, but he did not implement it and recruited ten people from the city to protect the factory and equipment.
Recruited several employees and taught them how to operate the production equipment. Then they set up a large pot and started cooking fruits, high-temperature sterilization, disinfection, packaging, and packaging of products.
This trip spent almost all of his savings, leaving Saint Jose a little short of money.
I went to a fruit farm in the suburbs and bought 150 tons of apples from the "black market channel". Due to the drought, the fruit production was not large, but the Bilong government lowered the purchase price of agricultural products.
On the one hand, fruits are sold very expensively and in small quantities on the market. Yes, Argentinians cannot afford to eat fruits because of the drought. On the other hand, farmers are unwilling to sell a large amount of fruits in their warehouses. If they sell them, they will lose money, and they will be given away again. San Jose opportunity, agreed to settle every half month.
If you don’t believe it, my predecessor was not only fond of saving money, but also very talented in building relationships.
He used to like to herd cattle and horses, and he also met many farmers and ranchers outside the city. He inherited the relationship from his predecessor and relied on his remaining influence. The first batch of fruits he bought was obtained through his "connections". Yes, later on the cooperation was good and it became official.
There was a farmer and rancher whose daughter was in too deep, which gave him a headache. Her help was very timely.
In the end, Saint Jose reluctantly rejected her. Later, she married a very cute girl from a good family.
Then I went to the Sean State-owned Glass Factory for commercial procurement. In other words, I pulled 20,000 glass cans from the warehouse, found matching can lids at the hardware market, and found someone to print stickers with trademark information to produce canned apples.
It took me a week to finally get the cannery together. I randomly picked a name and started a black workshop. After all, the factory is not even registered yet. There are probably even a thousand factories in Cordoba. None, most of them are state-owned factories, and even most of them are losing money. Because of the turmoil, many productions have come to a standstill, and people are panicked.
The Prali Cannery, named after San Jose, is located in a relatively deserted area on the outskirts of the city. One advantage is that it is not very conspicuous, but the transportation is relatively convenient. It is only ten meters away from Cordoba Central Station. It has many kilometers and is very suitable for transporting goods to all parts of the country.
When Marici built a warehouse here, he put a lot of effort into erecting transmission lines. Most of the newly recruited workers were Gauchos and people from Satellite Town. There was also a small building with a brick and wood structure here, where several wooden beds were placed, divided into For staff dormitories.
Working a lot means working harder. After all, if you work hard, you can get a salary of 6,000 pesos a month, which is really impressive in this era, and most of these people have been unemployed for a long time. Although Argentina has implemented high welfare policies in recent years, there are still no jobs. There are still many people.
Sanjesé also found a leader among the workers and put him in charge of the processing work in the small cannery.
Thirty people worked together in a division of labor. Those who cooked the apples, made the fire, and operated the machines were all very busy.
Looking at the small factory, I feel quite satisfied. The next step is to find a market.
As for how to find sales, the military camp is a good place to start. The people in the city guard are quite rich. A can is not expensive, not even much more expensive than apples on the market. You can also try something new.
He directly took away a batch of cans and specially packaged them. After arriving at the military camp, he gave a box to every colleague and officer in the camp to recognize a familiar face.
He also said kindly that this is a high-end product bought from the Cincinnati store in the city. It tastes really good. I gave it to you because you are a friend... I'm bragging a lot.
"Old man, what is this Sam Landis can called? It comes from the United States. Yes, yes, that's the United States. It's awesome. It's delicious, nutritious, and beautiful. Take a sip while drinking. It's so refreshing... ,” Saint Jose randomly made up an American name.
All the people he had made good friends with were sent out, and some salesmen were asked to contact high-end shops in the city and place order advertisements to them.
A lot of momentum building...
However, these high-end shops still don't pay much attention to cans, and these cans cannot be paid on credit, so most of them throw the sales receipt into the trash can.
One hundred boxes were sent out at once from the military camp, and 1,200 boxes of cans that had been produced in advance were being stocked in the warehouse.
"Hey, man, did you hear that? Our leader received a box of cans from Captain San Jose. I heard they are from the United States. They are only sold in high-end stores in the city. A bottle only costs 100 pesos. So, It tastes really amazing.”
A soldier smashed his mouth, as if he was remembering the delicious food.
"What's so delicious about that thing? Doesn't it taste good when I drink it?"
The other soldier dismissed it, but swallowed vaguely.
"That thing is delicious when eaten with peanuts. It has a silky texture and a sweet taste. You don't know that our leader didn't even eat a good roast leg of lamb. He finished several cans in one go." Anyway, There is no tax on bragging.
"The canned food is only available in the United States. The boss gave me a bite. The taste was really amazing..." This was a bit exaggerated.
"I'm going to buy a bottle for my family to try when I get off work... I haven't eaten fruit for a long time. The price of apples in the market has risen to 160 pesos per pound." Some soldiers couldn't bear it anymore.
"How about we flee later?" This meant that some soldiers were planning to leave early.
"Isn't this not good?" Someone looked embarrassed on the surface, but was preparing to change his uniform secretly.
Saint Jose's strategy was quite effective. The captains in the military camp were all Saint Jose's "real trusts". These canned rumors soon became popular among the city guards.
After getting off work, the soldiers went to the store to ask, but no results were found. This was offending. The managers all thought of the salesmen two days ago, and some hurriedly found their contact information and asked them to deliver the goods.
"Yes, yes, yes, I want two hundred boxes, cash in cash, good, good, good..." Orders soon kept coming to cooperative shops in the city.
"Boss, that thing is very popular. Now all the high-end stores in the city are snapping up this canned apple!"
His subordinate Aragorn's face flushed with excitement, "Calm down, let Sean Glass Bottle Factory bring another 50,000 glass bottles, and by the way, pay off the last debt."
