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Chapter 341: Chapter 279: Cooperation (Please Subscribe!)_1
Having made his decision, Tang Kai immediately dialed Liu Qian’s number,
Liu Qian was still in the United States and scheduled to return on the next day’s flight.
If it were any later, he would definitely be asleep.
United States.
New York State.
Inside Mu Jian’s farm.
Liu Qian, Chai Ren and others had already finished dinner and were leisurely soaking in the sunset, sipping tea. The table had been wiped clean and was laden with various types of fruit.
Ever since they returned from their last hunting trip, they had been staying here at Mu Jian’s. Apart from going out to sign the contract for the iron mine, they hadn’t been anywhere else, just strolling around the farm, fishing, grilling meat, planting crops, riding horses, shooting targets, and occasionally sampling the red wine Mu Jian had brewed; its taste could only be described as "hehe". Despite this, they lived quite comfortably.
The bodyguard still stood stoically behind Liu Qian. After the last incident, everyone felt an unparalleled sense of safety whenever the bodyguard was nearby. The other bodyguards tried hard to get in his good graces, but to no avail. The bodyguard mostly ignored them, and they eventually gave up. They dared not say that he was arrogant because his combat skills, gun handling, and professional conduct were vastly superior to theirs. It was normal for him to have a temper.
Looking at the beautiful setting sun and evening clouds, Chai Ren said softly, "It’s really beautiful, I want to live your kind of life in the future."
"Then do it, nobody is stopping you," said Mu Jian, lying on a chair. He had seen this scenery countless times since he was a kid. The novelty was no more, but this tranquillity was unwavering.
"We have responsibilities in Jianghu and can’t live on our own. It’s not like you, not being forced to do anything," Chai Ren said with a bitter smile. Being the second son of the family, he was burdened with heavy duties. For the sake of his family, he couldn’t afford to be a useless second-generation rich kid. There would be no difference between that and being a piece of trash.
"That’s true. You can come and visit anytime you want. You’re always welcome," replied Mu Jian, understandingly nodding.
"Okay."
"Speaking of which, are you sure you don’t want the red wine I brewed?" Mu Jian changed the topic suddenly.
"Get lost," replied Chai Ren without a hint of friendliness. Mu Jian kept his word. Not only did he enjoy a drink, but he also liked to add odd ingredients to his brew, which made the taste unbearable and even dangerous. Some were normal, but because they were made in haste, didn’t taste any good.
"If you take it and keep it for a few years, it might appreciate in value." Mu Jian still wouldn’t let it go.
"Get lost," Chai Ren replied dismissively.
Mu Jian mumbled, "You really don’t appreciate good intentions. How about you take some grapes home then? I have stored a lot of them in the cold storage. I’ll send it to you next week. There’s nothing wrong with that, and even Liu would want some." He hurriedly dragged Liu Qian into this.
"That can be considered, just don’t let it get spoiled..."
"..."
The two of them were having a last squabble before parting ways, not knowing when they would meet again.
Liu Qian was silently watching them from the side, envious.
He truly wished he had a friend he could chat with so casually.
"Ding Ding Ding..."
Suddenly, Liu Qian’s phone rang.
Chai Ren and Mu Jian stopped talking.
Disrupting the duo’s harmonic silence, Liu Qian nervously reached for his phone.
Seeing it was Tang Kai, he pressed the answer button. He had just talked to Tang Kai yesterday, and Tang Kai was calling again at this time. Considering their status, this call couldn’t be just a social call. Something must be up.
Liu Qian got up and walked to one side to answer, "Boss Tang, hello, what can I do for you?"
"Liu, I won’t beat around the bush. I have a proposal that might interest you. It’s like this, remember that the territory of my jade supplier was taken over by someone? Now, it’s occupied by another group. They have all the good stuff left behind by the previous group and they want to sell it to me at a wholesale price of a wholesale price. But I can’t handle all the cargo by myself. I’m wondering if you’d be interested in taking some of it," Tang Kai said.
The territory of Wei Jun has changed hands again?
That was the first thing Liu Qian thought of. He didn’t know until later that Wei Jun was actually Tang Kai’s supplier. With Wei Jun’s downfall, he knew Tang Kai was also worried about his source of goods. They spoke about this during yesterday’s call. Logically, Liu Qian thought that Tang Kai would definitely cut off the wholesale business. But now, it seemed that Tang Kai had temporarily solved his supply crisis. If he could cooperate well with this new group, Tang Kai wouldn’t have a lack of supply in the future.
Wholesale price of a wholesale price?
That stirred Liu Qian’s interest.
This represented that a piece of jewelry worth one million, which used to profit two hundred thousand, could now be yielding three hundred and fifty thousand to nearly four hundred thousand. This was absolutely a crazy profit margin. A seventy, eighty percent, or even hundred percent increase, didn’t anyone like it? He too owns a jewelry company and everyone would want to get the goods from the source as it was the cheapest. This was an opportunity. The cargo pile that even Tang Kai couldn’t handle must be not small.
"Boss Tang, how much cargo do they have?" Liu Qian asked anxiously.
"The total package price is worth two hundred million dollars. I can take at most fifty million dollars’ worth. I don’t know how much you’d like to take, Liu," said Tang Kai. He didn’t expect Liu Qian to finish all the remaining goods, but if Liu Qian couldn’t finish it, it was not a problem. He could find some other domestic partners to share with.
"Sss..."
Liu Qian took a deep breath.
That’s two hundred million U.S. dollars, equivalent to more than 1.6 billion RMB, more than half of his net worth, seven to eight times the market value of the Dream Melody Group.
Damn, and that’s the wholesale price. If I take it all for myself, that’s more than making another Dream Melody Group.
Even after investing in the iron mines, Liu Qian was a little short on cash. Should he become a wholesaler himself?
Liu Qian hesitated.
Seeing Liu Qian silent, Tang Kai asked, "Boss Liu, what’s up?"
Startled by Tang Kai, Liu Qian quickly replied, "Ah, sorry Boss Tang, no problem. How about you wait a moment, and I’ll get back to you." He needed to weigh the pros and cons carefully. He couldn’t afford this massive amount of money, but he couldn’t bear to let this opportunity slip away. And the question of whether to become a wholesaler - he wasn’t sure how to decide.
"Alright, I’ll be waiting for your call," said Tang Kai.
After hanging up, Liu Qian returned to his seat and fell deep in thought. Even with a bank loan, he couldn’t raise enough money, only a bit more than Tang Kai. Borrowing wasn’t an option either, for the same reason as Tang Kai - the gap was too large, the return cycle was uncertain, and he daring not borrow so much from usurers.
Should he really become a wholesaler too?
What a hassle.
Seeing Liu Qian’s worried expression, Chai Ren curiously asked, "Boss Liu, what’s the matter?"
Liu Qian looked at Chai Ren and detailed the conversation from the phone call, expressing his dilemma. His plan was simple: get Chai Ren to join him in making this money and strengthen their relationship.
After hearing him out.
Both Chai Ren and Mu Jian were surprised.
"Wei Jun’s turf has been taken over by the new powers?" exclaimed Chai Ren. From Liu Qian, he already knew about the trade relationship between Tang Kai and Wei Jun’s family.
Liu Qian nodded, "Yes, but I’m not sure of the details. The news of the unification is reliable though and they are currently selling their goods. They are offering a package wholesale price to Boss Tang, but I can’t afford the rest of the goods. That’s one hundred and fifty million U.S. dollars and Dream Melody Jewelry doesn’t have the absorption capacity yet. I’m considering whether or not to do wholesale business in gems and jewelry."
After listening to Liu Qian’s narration, Chai Ren lightly chuckled and said, "Boss Liu, what’s the problem?"
"Does Young Master Chai have any better ideas?" asked Liu Qian.
"Money is not a problem. You invest as much as you can, and I can cover the rest. We can set up a new company, specializing in the wholesale of gems and jewelry. We’ll share the stake in the company according to investment ratio. Isn’t it perfect?" suggested Chai Ren. With a discount of this scale, they were bound to make a profit. With his connections, selling the goods would be easy.
Actually, there was no need to set up a company together. They could just divide the goods and sell them separately. But Chai Ren wanted to take a long-term approach, to take advantage of the relationship for potential profit.
As a bonus, Chai Ren suddenly thought of the gem resources in the country where the iron mine is located. Be it mining by himself or buying from others, a company like this would be useful.
"Excellent, I’ll follow your lead, Master Chai," said Liu Qian joyfully. Collaborating with Chai Ren on a business venture was a boast in itself, even more impressive than partnering with the richest man in the country.
"Mm." n𝚘𝚟pub.𝚌o𝚖
Subsequently, Liu Qian made the return call to Tang Kai who answered promptly, "Boss Liu, what’s the decision?"
"Boss Tang, no problem. My friend and I will take the rest. I’m just wondering when the transaction will be," inquired Liu Qian.
"They’ve given me three days. They will not contact others within those three days. The exact time for the transaction is to be decided," Tang Kai replied truthfully.
Liu Qian responded, "Alright then, let’s discuss this matter when we arrive in Bangkok. According to Bangkok local time, we should arrive by tomorrow night. We can negotiate in detail then."
"Okay, Boss Liu, we’ll talk when you get here. Rest up."
"Alright."
The two did not engage in further idle talk.
After hanging up.
Rather than calling them back directly, Tang Kai decided to wait until Liu Qian arrived. It was crucial to ensure that the money was available before the deal, and to gather it quickly. If problems were to arise on Liu Qian’s end, and promises couldn’t be met, angering such a power would certainly lead to significant trouble. This wasn’t like the previous familiarity with Wei Jun.
For future friendly cooperation, Tang Kai hoped there wouldn’t be any hitches in the first transaction.
At the farm.
"Okay, Master Chai, from now on, they won’t contact others within seventy-one hours. The transaction time is to be determined, but it should be soon. I need to contact the company to prepare the funds. I can mobilize funds worth up to sixty million U.S. dollars," Liu Qian told Chai Ren.
"Alright, I’ll figure out the remaining ninety million U.S. dollars. It would be great if we could use RMB," said Chai Ren.
"Exactly, I’ll ask Boss Tang when the time comes. It’s best if we can use RMB," Liu Qian noted.
"Mm."
PS: A new Chapter is ready, let’s continue...
