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Chapter 1108: Chapter 968 Ready to Go
Ayman returned to the hotel.
Thinking about the feast tomorrow, the corners of his mouth couldn’t help but moisten.
Then thinking of the host of the cuisine, Tang Qing, and what he had said, Ayman felt he should discuss it with his father; if he himself wasn’t going to participate in the project, there was no need for his father to make an appearance there either.
He took out his phone.
After hesitating for a moment, Ayman dialed the number.
"Ayman, what is it?"
His father’s voice came through quickly on the phone.
"Father, I spoke with Tang Qing today, and he expressed no interest in the oilfield project and is not planning to invest. The reason isn’t clear for now, but his tone was very strange.
He said at the beginning, ’Not necessarily profitable,’ and also mentioned, ’The oil reserves might not be that high,’ advising me to be cautious. The more I thought about it on the way back, the more something felt off. He wasn’t refusing without reason."
On the way back.
Ayman thought it over all the way and ultimately felt something was amiss. Tang Qing’s initial remarks were too strange, not fitting the context at the time, and his response to Ayman seemed somewhat off-topic.
And Tang Qing wasn’t someone who couldn’t carry a conversation.
After a moment of contemplation.
Ayman’s father said, "Repeat exactly what he said to you at the time."
"Okay, I said... it’s like this; the more I think about it, the more something feels off. His tone was very negative towards the project, and it wasn’t a fear of unknown risks—rather, he seemed to know where the risks were and quickly moved on to a new business," Ayman analyzed.
"Hmm... His remarks were indeed strange. Right, he told you to buy ARM stocks, didn’t he? Does he know something?" Ayman’s father also sensed something was off but couldn’t figure out why.
"Are you saying..." Ayman hesitated.
"Yes, your cousin, he has a small share of ARM stock, and it seems Tang Qing deliberately mentioned it to you. It looks like Tang Qing has thoroughly investigated the shareholders of ARM," the prince asserted.
Ayman suddenly realized, "No wonder, and Tang Qing was willing to pay a premium of fifty percent, probably because he believed I could secure those shares and that the cost would not be much. This kid is too sharp... haha..."
"What did Tang Qing say was the reason for buying ARM shares?"
"He said it was for his mobile phone company," Ayman explained.
"Qingyuan Technology?"
"Yes, we had looked into it before, hadn’t we? Tang Qing’s company is developing mobile phones, and ARM’s technological architecture is mainly used in mobile devices. He wants to establish a presence in the entire production chain of mobile phones, nothing strange about that."
"Hmm."
"Father, what should we do?" Ayman asked.
"What are you thinking?"
"Of course, to lend a hand. I’ve heard that cousin is under financial pressure and plans to sell some assets in exchange for capital. I’m considering seeing if there’s a chance to help Tang Qing out. Since he knew and told me, I can’t pretend I didn’t hear it," Ayman decided to help.
"What about the oilfield?"
Ayman smiled bitterly, "About that project, I plan to be cautious. As Tang Qing said before, the oil price fluctuates too much, and we don’t have pricing power over how much it can sell for once extracted.
The pricing power for crude oil lies with the Americans, and now that he mentioned it, I feel I could invest in other industries as well. There’s no need to focus solely on the oilfield project; diversified investment is an option."
He made this decision.
Mainly because Tang Qing’s stimulus was quite significant; his attitude towards the oil field business was disdainful, which affected Ayman and made him suddenly feel like the oil business wasn’t so great after all.
"..."
After a while.
Knowing that his son had grown up.
Ayman’s father didn’t say much else. Moving away from the oil industry wasn’t a bad thing either, considering Russia had been heavily developing in recent years and had already started to rattle some American nerves. Higher oil prices were increasingly at odds with American interests.
If America were ever to act against Russia.
The first thing to be affected would be oil prices, aiming to cutoff Russia’s main revenue source and turn it into a loss-making operation. This he could foresee, though not the timing; this much he knew.
By that time, the profits wouldn’t be as substantial and might even result in losses.
Now, it was good for Ayman to leave this deep pool.
"Alright, decide for yourself, but remember, whatever you do, you need to think through the consequences, or rather, the exit strategy. I will still attend the ribbon-cutting ceremony, and by the way, I will meet your future bride."
"That’s good... What?"
Ayman was taken aback, then his face lit up with joy as he grasped the meaning behind his father’s words—his father had agreed to his marriage with Alison. Finally, his persistence had paid off.
"Father, thank you," Ayman said happily.
It turned out that his father’s trip to Algeria was not just to show support but also for this deeper reason. No wonder his father was so easy to talk to this time, agreeing to attend the opening ceremony.
Everything made sense now.
"Hmm."
A single "hmm."
Contained a father’s deepest concern for his child.
After hanging up the phone,
Ayman felt much more relaxed.
He had thought his father was going just to help him, but he did not expect such a big surprise. It seemed his father had decided to agree to his choice of marriage, yet he still put on a businesslike demeanor.
Feeling elated, Ayman immediately called his cousin. It was already late in Shanghai, but it should be around 2 p.m. for his cousin.
"Ayman, why are you calling me?"
"Of course, I need something from you. I know you have ARM stocks, and I’m very interested," Ayman said, familiar with his cousin; otherwise, he wouldn’t have thought of the ARM stocks his cousin held.
"What do you want them for?"
"An investment."
"You’re buying for someone else, right?"
"No, I’m considering holding onto them myself," Ayman wouldn’t admit it, and suddenly he felt the urge to own them, but everything would wait until they were in his hands; otherwise, it was all just wishful thinking.
"Hmm... It’s not out of the question, but the price I’m asking is a 50 percent premium."
"We’re brothers," Ayman obviously couldn’t agree.
"Because we’re brothers, that’s the price I offer you. If it were someone else, I wouldn’t even consider it without 100 percent," Ayman’s cousin clearly knew the value of the stocks in his hands. A 100 percent premium was more than normal for someone in need.
"As brothers, give me a brother’s discount, twenty percent," Ayman bargained.
"Forty-nine."
"Twenty-one."
"..."
"Thirty."
"Deal."
Ayman didn’t expect the negotiation to go so smoothly, but when he heard a few days ago that his cousin had lost a lot of money at a casino in Las Vegas, he no longer had any doubts.
Losing money,
Of course, meant debts to be paid.
"Great, get the contract ready, and we’ll make the deal the day after tomorrow when I return." There were no direct flights to Algeria from Huaxia; he had to transfer. He planned to go back to Saudi first to purchase the stocks before heading to Algeria.
"Okay, I’ll talk to some friends first. This company is special, and I can’t just sell the stocks to anyone. But if it’s you, there shouldn’t be a problem," Ayman’s cousin said.
Owing money, he considered selling the oilfield.
But with the oil prices rising and the company’s stocks lukewarm, it seemed reasonable to sell.
After hanging up the phone,
Ayman felt things were progressing smoothly. He took a bath, got comfortably into bed, and slept.
...
Inside the villa,
Tang Qing laughed after listening to the brothers’ conversation.
The first stage.
Ready.
To get that guy to sell the stocks, he had his fighters set up the trap. It took over half a month, but they managed to get Ayman’s cousin to lose $280 million in Cash and then owe the casino $140 million more.
Now, it was almost time to close the net. Once the transaction between the two was complete, he would begin to acquire the circulating ARM stocks.
The financing negotiations for ERV would also begin.
