After the plane from New York landed at Havana Airport, there was a special car provided by the hotel waiting by the runway. As soon as the passengers got off the plane, a driver came forward to greet them and help them carry their luggage. It is certain that the hotel that can drive a special car into the airport will definitely not be cheap.
However, George did not care about the price of the hotel, but one thing is certain that when you are unfamiliar with the place, staying in a high-end hotel is definitely not wrong.
At least there is no need to worry about safety issues.
When the car arrived at the National Hotel, George found that he had nothing to worry about - the hotel was built next to the downtown area in the city center, and from the luxurious style, it was also a typical luxury hotel.
In fact, this is also true. The Havana National Hotel is not only luxurious, but its shareholders are mostly Cuban dignitaries and American tycoons. It is for this reason that its special car can drive to the airport runway. But this has little to do with George. After all, he came to Havana this time to open up trade routes. After staying at the National Hotel, George took a car to the embassy.
The so-called legation is actually a small building. In fact, the building and the house were donated by local overseas Chinese. Before the Anti-Japanese War, the Cuban Minister was always a part-time minister to the United States. After the Anti-Japanese War, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs sent a full-time minister to raise donations from overseas Chinese. Since Li Dijun, the plenipotentiary minister, took office in Cuba, his daily task is to raise donations. After all, for the country with financial collapse, after the occupation of Southeast Asia by the Japanese army, Cuba, with tens of thousands of overseas Chinese, has become the most important source of remittances and donations.
As usual, when he was racking his brains to think about how to raise donations, a guest came to visit. It was none other than George.
"Junior meets Minister Li."
Because of Li Guoren, he naturally had to pay respect to Li Dijun when he saw him.
"Zhiyuan, don't be polite. Guoren sent a telegram before you came. I didn't expect you to come so quickly. Did you come by plane?"
Now people who can afford a plane ticket for hundreds of dollars are definitely rich people.
Should I beg for alms from him?
After all, he is my nephew's friend, and I can't ask for donations right away.
"Yes, after all, there is war at sea right now, and it is more convenient to take a plane."
"You are Guoren's friend. When you come here, I will definitely help you in any way I can, but my dear nephew..."
After a pause, he said.
"Although Cuba's trade is promising, it is not like normal times during wartime. If you want to trade in Cuba now, you must have ships. Although the Cuban route is not cut off, the merchant ships are very tight. Those ships are either controlled by American companies or..."
Before Li Dijun finished speaking, George said.
"To be honest, Uncle Li, there are people I know who can help me solve some transportation problems. Well, although not many, it is still possible to transport 10,000 tons per month."
"What! 10,000 tons!"
Li Dijun stood up suddenly and looked at George excitedly.
"Are you serious?"
"Well, at least four or five thousand tons is still possible."
"That's good, that's good..."
Rubbing his hands excitedly, Li Dijun asked directly.
"I wonder if my nephew is interested in trafficking in sugar?"
"Sugar... this, this..."
Seeing that George seemed a little embarrassed, Li Dijun said.
"My nephew may not know that the most profitable thing in Cuba right now is sugar."
After that, he continued to explain.
"My nephew should know that sugar is the mainstay of Cuba's economy. Most of Cuba's agriculture is based on sugar planting. Since the outbreak of the war, sugar has been cut off in Hawaii and the Philippines, and the price of sugar has soared to 20 cents per kilogram. Therefore, the production of sugar has continued to increase, and the current annual output is no less than 7.3 million tons!"
"Wait, what is the current price of sugar?"
George asked in surprise.
"20 cents per kilogram, maybe a little lower."
Li Dijun continued.
"In the past, the Cuban sugar industry was almost entirely controlled by Americans, and it was difficult for outsiders to enter. Since the outbreak of the war, because of the skyrocketing sugar prices, in order to stimulate the Cuban government to encourage the development of the sugar industry, some Chinese businessmen began to get involved in the sugar industry. However, American companies took advantage of their monopoly on the shipping industry and asked Chinese businessmen to sell sugar to them at a low price. At present, Chinese businessmen who invest in the sugar industry are all suffering from it. If my nephew has a ship, it can just solve the urgent needs of my compatriots!"
Of course, if he, as an envoy, can help his compatriots solve this problem, he can naturally solicit donations openly. After all, the domestic war is in full swing and donations from all walks of life are urgently needed.
20 cents per kilogram!
One kilogram is equal to 2.2 pounds, which is about 10 cents per pound.
How much is a pound in the United States?
55 cents!
It can reach 1 US dollar on the black market!
Isn't this a 10-fold profit!
How did you say this? With 100% profit, capitalists will risk being hanged.
And this is 1000%!
Because George was only thinking about the profit of sugar, seeing that he didn't say anything, Li Dijun hurriedly said.
"Is there anything difficult for my nephew?"
"Difficult..."
After thinking for a while, George said.
"For the sake of compatriots, what is there to be difficult about!"
With one sentence, Li Dijun was excited and said repeatedly.
"My nephew is so kind, my nephew is so kind, I don't know where my nephew lives now, I will bring a few overseas Chinese businessmen to visit my nephew tomorrow."
After that, Li Dijun asked about his residence again. After learning that he lived in the National Hotel, his eyes changed again when he looked at him. It's no wonder that the biggest feature of the National Hotel is... expensive!
Expensive!
It's really expensive. A steak costs 5 US dollars. The US dollar in this era is not paper, but US dollars!
However, compared with the fried rice of 698 in some places, it can only be said that Cubans are not black enough.
Although the price is not cheap, the service is really good.
Unlike the various regulations in the United States, there are no regulations in Havana. As long as you have money, you can enjoy everything. Even when Americans are thrifty for the cause of their allies, American beef is still shipped to Cuba by ship. There is no way Cubans have to eat meat and of course drink wine.
American beef, French red wine, and unfortunately there are no British waiters, otherwise the three major countries would serve at the same time.
After spending more than ten dollars on a meal, George, who had nothing to do, took a look at the beautiful Cuban girls sitting at the bar, and then left the restaurant, not like many people walking towards the casino.
Instead, he returned to the room. After all, people will always be tired after traveling all the way. Even those enthusiastic Cuban girls were ignored. There is still a long way to go...