People in the Republic of China era began to rise from industry.

Chapter 160 The Unweaned Commander Ma, as long as there's cooperation...

"Commander Ma, I've long admired your name."

"Seeing you today, I know the rumors are true; you are indeed a young general."

He can easily come up with polite words.

Ma Jizu believes that a man should be around twenty years old based on his facial features.

But according to the information Lin Yi had learned in advance, this guy had just turned eighteen this year.

Moreover, he is Ma Yuanqing's only son.

At such a young age, to have already earned the rank of major general can only be attributed to good fortune.

"I have long admired Mr. Lin's name. I've heard that Mr. Lin's business has spread all over the country."

Ma Jizu casually remarked, then gestured for him to sit down before saying, "Mr. Lin, my father had something urgent to attend to and specifically instructed me to come and see you."

"Please don't mind, Mr. Lin."

"Commander, you're too kind. Director Ma is in charge of a region and has many important matters to attend to. He wouldn't dare to delay things because of me."

Lin Yi said politely, then smiled and said, "And to be honest, I prefer to communicate with people of similar age to Commander Ma."

"Haha, I like what you said, Mr. Lin."

Ma Jizu laughed heartily, looking quite cheerful: "People my father's age are indeed not as straightforward as us young people when they talk."

"To be honest, Mr. Lin, I often don't want to talk to them either; it's too much of a mental drain."

Upon their first meeting, Lin Yi couldn't tell whether this guy was genuinely sincere or just putting on an act.

Overall, it's a good start.

After a few casual words, the two sides got down to business.

The conversation lasted for more than two hours.

The conversation started with oil exploration and then moved on to oil refineries.

The conversation then shifted from mining to building a steel plant.

We also took the opportunity to discuss expanding cotton cultivation in the Northwest, thereby further promoting the development of the local textile industry.

The Yellow River basin has always been a high-yield cotton-producing area.

The Northwest has a dry climate, ample sunshine, and a large temperature difference between day and night.

It has unique advantages for cotton growth.

It has always been a major province for cotton exports.

Lin Yi was quite surprised that there wasn't a single reputable textile company in the entire Northwest region, nor were there any member units of the Textile Federation Association.

To kill two birds with one stone, we might as well discuss this matter together.

Even if it's just about expanding cotton cultivation, it would be a great thing that benefits many parties.

Ma Jizu showed great interest in what Lin Yi mentioned.

However, the final answers all required reporting to Ma Yuanqing before a decision could be made...

After warmly inviting Lin Yi to a meal of hand-pulled mutton and a few drinks, Ma Jizu saw Lin Yi off and went straight to the inner courtyard.

He entered the room and saw a voluptuous woman tidying her clothes, but he paid her no attention.

Everyone in this compound knows that their fathers are still breastfeeding at this age.

When people get hungry in the afternoon, they usually drink a bowl of steaming hot milk tea.

However, her father had always been cared for by a wet nurse.

Three meals a day, without fail.

Even when he went out on inspection tours, he had to bring two wet nurses with him.

At this moment, Ma Yuanqing picked up a handkerchief and wiped the corner of his mouth.

He waved for the nanny to leave before asking, "Did the talk go well?"

"He's someone who does big business."

"Tell me more specifically."

Ma Yuanqing straightened his posture.

Lin Yi guessed correctly; Ma Yuanqing was indeed short of money.

Although his territory was large enough, the most productive grain-producing areas were concentrated along the banks of the Yellow River.

Its territory is mostly Gobi Desert.

This severely restricts the largest source of tax revenue.

Although he acted arrogantly, the entire Northwest was governed by strict laws.

But I also understand the harm of killing the goose that lays the golden eggs.

Therefore, we have always been very cautious in terms of taxation.

Collect as much as possible, but not so much that the people under its jurisdiction have no way to survive.

Otherwise, how could the Ma family have ruled the Northwest for more than forty years?

As for industry and commerce... these require a market. Although the Ma family controls the vast majority of profitable industries, they can't compete with the large number of imperial relatives and nobles.

These people often wield real power.

After everyone divided the spoils, he didn't actually get much.

Unfortunately, he had to support his own army.

The total number is not large, with a total force of less than 70,000.

But nearly half of the cavalry was just too expensive.

Humans can eat coarse grains, but warhorses must be fed fine grains.

The cost of maintaining one cavalryman is higher than that of maintaining three infantrymen.

In other words, the food and supplies for 70,000 soldiers are equivalent to those for 150,000 men under the same command.

This is the foundation of his livelihood, especially now that Nanjing is becoming increasingly powerful and occupies Shaanxi Province, which is adjacent to him.

To protect itself, expanding its military is imperative.

But this is something he is currently unable to afford.

Now that someone has suddenly come to him wanting to develop industry on his turf, he is genuinely happy to welcome it.

However, one cannot appear too eager, otherwise, if one's true intentions are exposed, many things will become difficult to discuss.

"He said that there is oil in the Northwest, and that's the main reason he came here."

Hearing this, Ma Yuanqing narrowed his eyes: "The stone lacquer spring in Yanshou? That only has a little more oil."

Outsiders might not know, but Ma Yuanqing, a local resident, was aware that there was oil in his jurisdiction.

Near Yumen, in Yanshou, there is a place called Shiqi Spring, which has been known for a long time. That substance is petroleum.

Some locals have made their fortunes by selling this stuff as lamp oil.

He wasn't involved, but he did collect the taxes that were due.

Even ten years ago, when he first took over the power in the Northwest, he was ambitious and wanted to develop his career, so he even invited people from Beiping to conduct surveys.

Unfortunately, it was all for naught.

Oil was confirmed to be present, but despite digging more than 30 meters down, despite expending considerable manpower and resources, the flow was still only a trickle.

The conclusion is that there is oil, but the reserves are not large.

Another possibility is that it is buried too deep, making it simply not feasible to mine.

In the end, we had to let it go.

Unexpectedly, after all these years, we've been targeted again.

"Shiqi Spring?"

Ma Jizu looked bewildered.

This was the first time he had ever heard of this name.

Seeing his appearance, Ma Yuanqing said with some dissatisfaction, "I told you a long time ago, don't always be greedy for the prosperity of Jinzhou, you should go out and take a walk when you have time."

"Such a large family business, and you know absolutely nothing about it? How can I trust you to pass it on to me in the future?"

Ma Jizu grinned and asked, "Father, then it must be true. The man surnamed Lin said there's oil buried underground in the Yumen area."

"According to this guy, he consulted many geological experts."

"This time we brought an exploration team, and also experts from the United States."

"Really."

Ma Yuanqing nodded, then laughed: "There's nothing to say. As long as there's oil, we'll let them mine it."

"However, I must take the money that is due."

"This land in the Northwest, whether it's above ground or underground, belongs to our family."

"Find out how much this thing can sell for as soon as possible. Don't let people think you're a country bumpkin and try to fool you."

"Yes."

Ma Jizu responded, then added, "However, Father, the man surnamed Lin has already said that if it is confirmed that the underground oil is worth extracting, he wants to cooperate with us."

"We'll consider the oil underground as our investment, and he'll provide the extraction equipment."

"We'll build another oil refinery later."

"The profits generated at that time will be distributed between the two parties according to the agreed shareholding ratio."

Hearing this, Ma Yuanqing rubbed his chin and laughed, "You don't trust us?"