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Chapter 436: Chapter 352: Trade Port (Subscribe please!)_1
After hearing Tang Qing’s answer, Qin Yugang nodded his head in satisfaction.
He couldn’t help but heave a sigh of relief.
He was afraid that Tang Qing, now that he had some money, would no longer want to go to school. Oh no, it wasn’t just some money, but a lot of it - 800 million RMB. Given the rapid development of Sheng Tang, it was quickly approaching a net worth of one billion RMB. And that didn’t even take into account any liquid assets that Tang Qing might have. Perhaps his total assets already exceeded one billion RMB.
All that money.
A regular person would be over the moon, enjoying life, travelling everywhere, or perhaps dropping out of school to dive into their careers... Very few would choose to stay calmly at school. After all, there are just too many temptations in the world – beauty, status, a life free of constraints. They could all become irresistible. But at least as far as he could see, Tang Qing hadn’t been corrupted by these vices yet.
"That’s good, go to school quickly. I’ll cover for you," Qin Yugang said. With such a big matter at hand and Tang Qing unable to explain the source of the funds, it was better not to trigger others. Thankfully, his acceptance capacity was strong, otherwise he would have worried himself to death.
"Okay, see you later, Uncle," Tang Qing smiled.
After saying that, he got off the car and walked into the school.
Watching Tang Qing enter the school, the once naive student had slowly metamorphosed into a big shot of the business world. Qin Yugang always felt this was surreal. Had he not been pinching himself secretly numerous times, he would have thought he was dreaming.
"I hope you can hold onto your true self," Qin Yugang murmured to himself.
After saying that, he organized his thoughts.
Qin Yugang then drove to work.
Just at this moment, someone else was also taken aback.
It was Tang Kai.
Just now, he received a call from Liu Qian and found out about the reorganization of Tang Qing’s company. He felt extremely proud.
He was proud of his junior’s growth.
He wasn’t as worried as Qin Yugang because he knew more than Qin Yugang. He knew about Chai Ren’s identity and about the influence of Tang Qing’s friends, which slowly allayed his unease.
On the phone, after Liu Qian finished talking about Tang Qing, he mentioned the favour he promised last time.
"Brother Tang, your money has been reclaimed," Liu Qian laughed. Yes, it was about debt collection. During their last call, as they were chatting about daily life, the conversation somehow steered towards the issue of business debts. Knowing that someone owed Tang Kai money, Liu Qian mentioned his own debt. Considering that Tang Kai was Tang Qing’s uncle, he offered to ask his friends for help.
Tang Kai, with a skeptic attitude, mentioned his friend who ran away owing him money. Liu Qian made some requests, like a large fee and a one-month payment term. Tang Kai readily agreed.
That person owed him 43 million RMB worth of Thai Baht. It was not a loan, but rather a partnership in real estate, in which his partner absconded with the money and disappeared overseas. Tang Kai did not have any information about him. Fortunately, his business had been doing well in previous years, so even this amount of money did not bankrupt him. Otherwise, any other businessman would have gone broke by now.
However, it hadn’t been long — less than a week, and Liu Qian said that he had located the person and was about to get the money back.
He was rather taken aback.
"Really?" Tang Kai asked in surprise, standing up.
"Yes, in a month, half of the money will be transferred to your account, and you can choose any form of currency," Liu Qian laughed. If it had been anyone else, he would not have agreed to this sort of task. But who were Tang Kai and Tang Qing to him? His account level was upgraded by Tang Qing, otherwise, he would not have been qualified to post tasks but could only access the currency exchange interface.
Having confirmed.
Tang Kai was overjoyed.
"Thank you," Tang Kai expressed his gratitude. He didn’t mention any sort of commission; Liu Qian as the intermediary might have a commission, who knew.
But he had really blamed Liu Qian unfairly. Liu Qian did not get any commission and even lost the deposit of 100,000 RMB for the task. This would not be refunded. However, Liu Qian didn’t mind this, much as with the currency exchange. Monetary gains were not the most important; there were also hidden benefits.
"Why so formal? When will you be back?" Liu Qian asked.
"Next month, maybe. Tangtang’s National College Entrance Examination will be over by then. I’ll go back to see them and bring them over here for a visit," Tang Kai laughed.
"Good, we should have a good drink then," Liu Qian laughed.
"No problem," Tang Kai agreed.
After ending the call, Tang Kai felt relieved.
Lately, his business had been going smoothly. There was plenty of stock in gems and jewellery, and his business was growing larger. Especially the previous shipment from ’Zero’, the gang, had brought in a fortune for him, Chai Ren, and the others. Though, this windfall was just wishful thinking, and he didn’t dare to hope for it a second time.
Also, yesterday, he received a call from the leader of the Zero gang, inviting him for a trading meet for a new batch of excavated goods. He was the exclusive purchaser.
Thinking of that.
Tang Kai was filled with excitement. In the past, he had only done local business, and not all of Wei Jun’s goods were delivered to him. He was just the only partner on the Thai side. There were others in other countries and for retail.
But now it was different.
Considering the intention expressed during their conversation last night, he could take all the goods if he wanted. That meant five times more trade volume compared to the previous transactions with Wei Jun’s house.
This was pretty much equivalent to monopolizing the production of gems, jewellery, and gold from two large mining areas. Unless something unexpected happened, he would soon become the largest wholesaler of gems and jewellery in Thailand.
By far the largest.
Tang Kai could not sleep a wink that night.
There were too many pieces of good news. He was almost overwhelmed.
The next day.
Early in the morning.
Tang Kai set off from Bangkok, leading his men on a car journey to Wangsa’s territory.
Having heard the news, Wangsa, on learning that Tang Kai had just entered Chiang Mai Province, Thailand, assigned men to guide the way with a military vehicle clearing the path. Throughout, it was a smooth ride, charging ahead and cutting in line.
That night.
At the entrance to Wangsa’s camp.
A man in casual clothes stood smoking a cigar — certainly, only Wangsa had the audacity for such behaviour. Behind him stood two neat rows of soldiers. Despite their lack of discipline, Wangsa was the highest-ranking officer there, and no one would interfere with him unless a major inspection was discovered.
He watched as the convoy approached in the distance.
Wangsa chuckled.
Tang Kai’s dealings with the other side of the river had introduced him to Leader Ling, making him the daily supplier for close to a hundred thousand people on the other side. Mysteriously, the demand for daily goods from the other side had increased tenfold since Wang took over. Consolidating the forces of the two territories should have at most doubled the progress, but the current situation puzzled Wangsa.
But it was a good thing.
He was making over ten times the money he made before.
No, over thirty times the money.
When the Wei Jun family was around, monthly trade was only about three hundred thousand US dollars, yielding profits of tens of thousands. But in this one month, the volume of trade was nearly ten million dollars.
Besides daily necessities, the other side wanted everything from rebar, cement, and other construction materials and machinery to fuel. This was only this month. Next month, the order would not decrease but increase, reaching fifteen million dollars.
Such profits made him wake up laughing multiple times from his dreams. The other side always paid on time. Not half a day after the goods reached the other side’s territory, the money would be transferred. Their credit was exceptional, and the money fed everyone from top to bottom. He gradually became bolder, but he knew his limit — never touch weapons. That was a red line.
Luckily, the other side never mentioned buying weapons.
One of the reasons Wangsa is here to receive Tang Kai this time is to persuade him to visit the other side. Although they had established a preliminary trust, she still dared not go to the other side’s territory alone for tea, and the other side had never invited her either.
"Commander Wangsa, long time no see. You look radiant; seems life has been treating you well," Tang Kai greeted, extending a handshake with a smile as he got out of the car.
Wangsa laughed heartily, "Hahaha, Boss Tang, the same could be said for you. Doing well in business, I see."
"Haha, the feeling is mutual," Tang Kai responded curtly with a slight smile.
The unspoken understanding between the two was apparent.
Wangsa didn’t worry about whether Tang Kai had quoted a low price for the merchandise last time. After this period of trading, he and the forces behind him came to realize that no matter how much money Tang Kai gave the other side, most of it would gradually return to them.
With that realization, they no longer concerned themselves with the price of the goods.
The more, the merrier.
If Tang Kai under-reported, then so be it.
It was a trifling matter.
They were interested in slow but steady profits.
Considering the time, Tang Kai suggested, "We have another two hours until we pick up the goods, so how about finding a place to sit?" The weather was not conducive to chatting as it had started drizzling suddenly.
Wangsa proposed, "Let’s go by the river."
"By the river?" Tang Kai queried. Of course, he knew what that meant — the transaction spot. But were they seriously going to the desolate outpost with a lone building, which didn’t even offer a warm cup of tea?
Noticing Wangsa’s serious demeanor.
Seeing Tang Kai’s facial expression.
Wangsa burst into laughter immediately. "Boss Tang, just follow me, and you’ll see," he assured.
With that, Wangsa took Tang Kai and his people to the riverside from before.
What used to be a solitary outpost back then now housed several buildings, although they were made of wood and bamboo, not permanent concrete structures. Built rather uniquely, the outpost was replaced with a watchtower, where five soldiers stood guard.
Several ’shops’ were open in this area at that time.
Surveying the ’shops,’ Tang Kai turned to Wangsa in confusion.
With a faint smile, Wangsa began to explain calmly.
"Boss Tang, as you know, I previously conducted business with the Wei Jun family, mainly supplying daily commodities. I did the same with Leader Ling this time, reestablishing the previous trade. However, the method changed. Before, I could drive my car to Wei Jun’s side to deliver goods, but now it wasn’t possible. They forbade my car and my people from entering freely. So, I had to negotiate with them to construct a transit station here for the transition of goods.
Initially, they were the sole purchasers, but they gradually lifted the restrictions, allowing people internally to do business. Consequently, a group of merchants approved by them also began to purchase goods from me. To facilitate transactions, I displayed my goods in categories with price tags. They often came over to buy and place orders, which was quite convenient.
You may notice this place does not have a lot of goods, but we built a large warehouse five kilometers away. As long as orders are placed here, we can prepare all goods and hand them over to the other side within an hour," Wangsa said, filled with pride.
In the warehouse over there, regular goods were not the only goods, but it also contained mountains of construction materials and equipment ready for delivery.
After listening to his explanation.
Tang Kai understood.
This was merely a simple border trade port.
Observing people entering and exiting the shops, Tang Kai wanted to laugh.
’Smuggling’ had reached this stage.
Quite amusing really. 𝑛𝑜𝑣𝑝𝑢𝘣.𝘤𝑜𝘮
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