NOVPUB
Chapter 793: Chapter 333: Fully Valued at Opening
After New Year’s Day, time seemed to be strapped to the head of a high-speed train, whooshing along just above the ground.
On January 10, just before the school went on holiday, Chu Changkuo’s family was at the end of their rope.
As a construction businessman, lacking funds and delayed payments are universal problems. Chu Dahao truly didn’t want to take money from someone like Su Huai, who had powerful "connections," but the projects wouldn’t wait.
"Huai, my dad would like to invite you to dinner, are you available?"
Chu Changkuo tentatively brought up the subject, effectively putting himself in the position of a respectful nephew.
"To others, definitely not, but what kind of relationship do we brothers have? You decide!"
Su Huai’s response was grand; he gave more than enough face, and then Kuokuo inexplicably became happy...
Little comrade, this won’t do, how can you be so easily pleased?
Uh, probably because the difference in our ranking is too great. Now, Kuokuo has been psychologically manipulated by Gou Huai to the point where a simple smile could make his day.
The dinner was arranged for the evening at the Xiangshan Club, with only five people attending, a standard affair costing around 100,000.
Aside from Su Huai, Kuokuo, and Kuokuo’s father, the last two guests were a vice dean from the School of Management of Capital Normal University and the head of the public management department, along with Zhang Yaowen.
The setting was meticulously arranged; Chu Dahao was evidently not stupid.
But Zhang Yaowen’s influence was not something that could just be borrowed by anyone. Drinks were flowing, there was no hope of assistance with the conversation; laughter was the only thing exchanged throughout the evening.
However, since the matter at hand was consensual, it didn’t matter whether anyone was there to egg it on.
After a lot of drinking, Chu Dahao made plans with Su Huai to visit his company the following day, and the gathering ended pleasantly.
Sometimes serious matters could be discussed at a drinking party and sometimes it was merely a prelude, with the nature of Huaxia favoring flexibility and versatility~~~
The next day, Su Huai arrived with a lawyer and a financial officer to discuss business.
"I can fill any financial gap you have, just name the interest rate."
"Generous!"
Chu Dahao, all smiles, gave a thumbs-up and offered flattery, and then Su Huai hit him with a figurative club.
"14%? Uncle Chu, I’m afraid I can’t explain anything less than 22% to Mr. Gu..."
Sputter!
Chu Dahao almost spat blood in anger, nearly cursing: You heartless maggot!
But Su Huai didn’t give him a chance to play any cards, instead immediately bringing in heavy artillery—
"Uncle Chu, this is Mr. Lan, the chief financial officer of the investor’s financial firm. You should talk to him. Honestly, I’m just an intermediary who benefits from this deal, and there’s not much I can do."
Dumbfounded, Chu Dahao thought: Good grief, you drum up business like an intermediary, and without agreeing on anything, you already brought in the investor? Are you sick?
He didn’t dare to delay and cautiously inquired, "Hello, may I ask which company you represent?"
"Tianyi Investment Group’s subsidiary, Lanyue Financial Management Company, Chief Financial Officer Lan Xiaoyu."
The serious and efficient middle-aged woman didn’t seem easy to negotiate with, and as a matter of fact... she truly wasn’t.
What followed was endless back and forth, with Su Huai remaining aloof from the negotiations.
Chu Dahao wanted to be cunning, but against a financial expert who knew every trick in the book, his street-level tactics were utterly useless.
Lan Xiaoyu’s briefcase contained several documents, from Chu’s Architecture’s financial status to the current liquidity in society to the total loan balances of various banks... She had everything at her fingertips.
"Currently, the average interest rate for private financing loans in the construction industry is at a high of 22 points. However, our loan processing is more straightforward, faster, requires no collateral from you, and accepts various repayment methods. You won’t find a company as generous as ours in the private financing sector, and frankly, we’re only doing this deal out of goodwill..."
Rubbing his temples, Chu Dahao found his resistance weakening.
Skipping the details of the verbal sparring in between, the back-and-forth bargaining lasted a day and a half, with the final result exceeding Su Huai’s expectations.
1 billion, an overall annual rate of 18%, transferred in two installments, with a one-year deadline, and a daily penalty interest of 0.015% for late payments.
The dual transfers were key to pushing the interest down to 18%; if paid in one go, Lan Xiaoyu wouldn’t budge below 20%.
Overall, Chu Dahao was in pain, but he could still bear it.
His project’s gross profit margin was over 20%, with a total contract value of over 3 billion, and there were some under-the-table deals he arranged for the client.
We’ll leave out the specifics; it’s all the usual stuff, nothing new.
"Nephew Su, young talent is to be feared..."
Clearly begrudging the large chunk of profit he’d lost, Chu Dahao didn’t dare to complain and could only utter his admiration.
Su Huai responded with a smile, pretending not to understand the full weight of the comment.
"Not at all, I didn’t really do much, just played the role of a connector. Glad I could help."
"You have helped, indeed, a very big help!"
Chu Dahao was able to take it in stride, conceding to superior skill and quickly regaining his composure.
The lawyers took the stage, and the contract was signed and notarized. The funds were transferred on January 15, making the contract official.
They drank merrily at lunch, and with that, the matter came to a close.
However, once everyone returned to their homes, the reactions differed.
The shareholders of Chu’s Architecture were skeptical: "Dahao, isn’t the penalty clause too harsh? What if they delay paying us off..."
"No problem."
Chu Dahao didn’t have a solid plan, but he put on a brave face.
"The payment from Xuanxing is due before our repayment date; if they don’t pay, they are the ones breaching the contract. Moreover, if Xuanxing uses property to settle part of the final payments, we can transfer the equivalent property to Lanyue at market value."
