Shadow Empire

Chapter 183 Cash Crisis and Finalizing the Grape Contract

After Chief Bruce left, he returned to the bank with a gloomy look on his face.

The assistant was standing in the corner chatting with a young man. When he saw Mr. Jobaf come back, he quickly separated from the young man and walked over alone.

"I know his father and have some connections with his family, but he refused to tell me what happened, only saying that they were going to make an investment."

"Investment?" Mr. Jobaf's expression changed, and he and his assistant returned to his office.

He would not leave until this storm was over. After asking his secretary to bring him coffee, he tasted the fine coffee and asked in a mocking tone, "What do they know about investment?"

During this period, he witnessed the true face of some of the federal upper class, which shocked him, but also made him feel lucky that he finally entered this circle.

Therefore, although he is no different now than in the past, he has a new understanding of himself and his position in the social class.

This also made him somewhat mocking of what his assistant called "ordinary people's investment". Ordinary people are nothing more than God's lambs. What else do they understand about investment?
The assistant was now a little relieved. "I don't know. It was said to be 100 yuan. After three months, I can get 130 yuan including the principal and interest."

Mr. Jobaf's first thought of a 10% return rate every month was that it was impossible, but then he felt that it might not be impossible.

Loan sharking and the financial industry are two of the fastest growing industries today. Ten percent interest a month is nothing. In the financial sector, there have been cases where assets have doubled overnight.

But considering that so many people were participating, he became somewhat interested. "What kind of investment is this? Is it reliable?"

This question was obviously contrary to what he had just said, but the assistant did not notice this. "Not sure."

No one knows how much money Mr. Jobaf has, not even his assistants.

No one can guess a banker's wealth based on some data. Even if Mr. Jobaf is out of money now, he can apply for a loan from his own bank and get his own loan approved. As long as the process is followed, the bank's money is his...borrowed money.

He drummed his fingers on the handrail. Since he joined the mayor in September last year, he has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars.

This amount of money has already made him feel seriously injured. The only reason he can still hold on now is purely because the money from the depositors in the bank gives him some confidence.

If he can't find a way to make money as soon as possible, and the mayor's demands are endless, then even if he can barely hold on, it will be difficult for him to do so for long.

He even planned to run a loan sharking business during this period. With the protection of the mayor, even if loan sharking is not legal in this city, it is not against the law!

But if possible, he will avoid breaking the law and try his best not to break the law.

What he actually cares more about is the way these people talk about making money.

Time passed by little by little during the wait, and until around two o'clock in the afternoon, there were not so many people coming to withdraw money, and order in the bank returned to normal.

The assistant came over with the statistical table and placed it on the table.

This document records how much money has been withdrawn today and who owns the accounts.

At first he didn't care much about it. He thought... even if a 10% return per month was indeed not low, these investments definitely had risks, and these people shouldn't be so blind.

But when he saw that there were almost neat "0.00" behind those accounts, his expression became serious.

When he saw the bottom, he became serious.

"Take away two hundred and seventy thousand?" His hands were tightly grasping the edge of the form, and they were already turning pale.

The assistant didn't notice this, but he was also shocked by the number. Just when he wanted to say something, someone knocked on the door and stood outside and said, "Mr. Qiaobafu, someone wants a loan."

Jinda Bank has its own loan department and office, as well as a "manager" who is specifically responsible for reviewing loans. There is no need to disturb him about such things.

He frowned and put the document down, gently smoothing the wrinkled edges with his hands, "Tell him to go to the loan office. Isn't the manager here?"

"I'm here." The person outside the door seemed a little hesitant. After three or five seconds, he continued, "But there are too many people coming to borrow money. We can't take care of them all."

"A lot, how many?" He glanced at his assistant, who opened the door. The staff outside showed an incredible expression, "About forty or fifty. They seem to have come together."

Mr. Jobaf couldn't sit still again. "Forty or fifty of them came together. Do they have any collateral?"

"Yes, their house..."

Houses in the Empire District are not expensive, but they are not cheap either, especially those apartments in good locations, which cost at least $1,800 to $2,000.

An apartment that is a little more remote or in a less sanitary neighborhood will cost you fifteen hundred dollars.

It seems unreasonable that the apartments here cost around 1,700 or 1,800 yuan, but Johnny's (the bakery owner) single-family house is only priced at around 2,200 yuan.

This actually has something to do with the geographical location. Although Johnny's house is a single-family house, it is more remote and not so close to the prosperous area.

On the other hand, in the Imperial District, although the people living here are all from the lower classes of society.

But to the south is the developing new port area, to the north is the city center, and to the east is the Prisca district where the city's middle class gathers.

It has convenient transportation, whether it is to go to the city center or to the port area to work, or to Pricia to provide services to the middle class, or to continue west to work in the industrial area.

It is very convenient here. It is the "labor force heart" of the city. Forty percent of the more than 100,000 residents here are workers.

In addition, in the early years, real estate developers tried to sell worthless land and villa areas at high prices and promoted the "New Bay Area", which caused the house prices in the Empire District to rise slightly.

Seventy-eight thousand, a very reasonable price.

The assistant didn't notice Mr. Jobaf's dilemma; he was thinking about making money.

"Have you heard how long they will take to get the loan?"

The staff member answered truthfully, "About three to four months."

This answer has made the assistant and Mr. Jobaf realize that the purpose of their loan was for the "investment" that those people were unwilling to disclose.

"I think we can give them the money," the assistant said. "Three months is not a long time. We can add some handling fees."

"Within the framework of federal law, they can bring us about 10 percent profit after three months, which is 120 dollars."

Ten would be twelve thousand, forty or fifty would be about five or six thousand.

In case someone cannot pay back the money, the houses in the Empire District are not difficult to sell, and it is easy to sell them for seventeen or eighteen thousand, so they will make more profit.

But what Mr. Jobaf was thinking about was how much money was left in the safe!

After spending hundreds, hundreds, and tens of thousands of dollars, his own money has almost run out.

Otherwise, he would not have considered doing usury. Now that so many people have come to take out loans for investment, he has become more and more curious about that investment project!
He gave his assistant a look, "Go and find out, but don't let it go. I'm still a little worried. Maybe this is just part of the conspiracy."

"Many federal banks really dislike us. We can't give them any chance!"

The assistant nodded, "I understand."

Seeing the 270,000 being withdrawn, Mr. Jobaf was now sweating a little.

It’s not that he has no money or the bank has no money, it’s just that there is not that much cash!
He must set aside 300,000 yuan to deal with emergencies and cannot lend out any more money.

The unexpected changes forced him to consider whether to start the loan sharking business as soon as possible. He knew that this business was not easy to do, and he was short of manpower.

But he could talk to Lance. If Lance was willing to form a partnership, he would provide the money and Lance would provide the manpower, and they would split the profits in half. He believed Lance would agree.

After all, the mayor only gave him 30 percent, and he agreed, didn't he?

Lance didn't know that his idea of ​​making money with everyone would almost cause Mr. Jobaf and his Jinda Bank to be run and closed.

Even now, it is very unsafe, but even if he knew, he could only say sorry. Everyone wants to be the owner of a luxury car on the road of life, rather than a passenger sitting in the trunk. Lance's car has already started to refuel and is about to start running all the way on the road of life.

At this time, it would be unlikely for anyone to stop him.

In the evening, a representative from Ligi, one of the three largest agricultural product distributors in the Federation, appeared in a luxury room at a hotel in the port. Lance was also there, as well as several people from the Chamber of Commerce.

Liji has an office at the dock, and Lance found out that the manager of this office is a senior partner of the company and owns 0.3% of the company's shares, so his words carry some weight.

So his first choice was the Liji Group, a business group that directly connects farmers and customers and completes all the intermediate processes.

They were once accused of monopoly because they rated federal agricultural products internally and then purchased them according to their own rules.

In the past, they almost monopolized agricultural products in most parts of the federation, and farmers in some remote areas had no choice but to accept their unreasonable prices.

The situation did not improve until a new and powerful competitor emerged, but only slightly.

There are also rumors that the core shareholders behind the three major agricultural product distributors are still the same group of people.

The three companies jointly set agricultural product standards and still purchase agricultural products according to their standards. Although farmers are still dissatisfied, it is much better than before. After all, they feel that the current prices are fairer.

The federal capitalists and consortiums love to do this the most. Anyway, anti-monopoly is just for ordinary people to see, so just fool these people.

You say that my rules are a monopoly and you sue me?

That’s okay. Now I have two clones. I will discuss with my two selves how much money to give you. This is democracy, right?
Liggy's manager was called Lenny. His black hair, typical mixed blood, blue chin and straight suit made him look very "elite".

After a simple handshake, everyone sat down.

"Mr. Lance, I have heard of your fame for a long time, but this is the first time we meet. You are younger and more imposing than I thought."

"Vice President Vaughn always speaks highly of you."

This "big shot" was introduced by Vice President Vaughn. Although Vice President Vaughn was only the vice president of a dock workers' union, he had a very high status in the eyes of those business people who relied on the docks.

At least Vaughn only needs one phone call to make them lose a lot of money, and they don't want to offend Vaughn.

So even though Manager Lenny was reluctant to meet with the head of a family, he still came.

Lance raised his hand and shook it slightly. "I have to thank Vaughn for his compliment. I asked him to help me make an appointment with you this time because I have a business deal I want to discuss with you."

Manager Lenny still looked the same, "Now can I know what it is?"

"I don't want anyone else to know about our conversation today, whether or not we can reach a cooperation."

Lenny smiled a little, "No problem, please trust my professional ethics."

In fact, Lance didn't believe it, but he had to say it.

It's like when you meet someone who is testing you, he pushes you, you just move away, and then walk past him and say "Don't fucking touch me", the effect is completely different!

He agreed, and Lance stopped hiding it, "I want to buy the first season grapes."

Manager Lenny was still the same, "No problem, how much?"

"Will ten tons be enough?"

He felt that these people might be the only ones who would be there, even with the added fame of Lance and the Lance family.

If it weren't for these, he might even ask something like "Is ten kilograms enough? You won't be able to finish any more."

Lance shook his head, "At least 10,000 tons."

Manager Lenny still looked as if he hadn't heard anything, but he didn't say anything to continue Lance's expression. He just sat there for a while, "Just now, you said, 10,000 tons?"

Ten thousand tons is actually not a big business. They handle hundreds of millions of tons of various agricultural products every year.

But this is different, because he is not facing a chain supermarket with distribution outlets across the country, nor is he facing a capital giant that monopolizes the fruit import and export business of a small country.

Is this just a gang in Jingang City?
When did they start the fruit business?
Is gang competition so fierce now?
"The price of grapes is rising rapidly. The company expects the price of the first batch of grapes this year to exceed 110 yuan." He spoke slowly and carefully.

Lance gave a different opinion, "We all know that the price of grapes will plummet every season when they are put on the market. Even if you can sell them at this price in the first week before that, after they are put on the market, they will only be around 80 yuan at most."

Manager Lenny was silent for a moment. "May I know how you plan to pay?"

Lance nodded. "Cash, cashier's check, wire transfer, all are fine."

This confirmed to him that Lance was not joking. He hesitated for a moment and said, "The minimum price the company gave me is ninety-seven dollars, but I can't give you that price because you are not our 'senior partner'."

"But I have a very good relationship with Vice President Vaughn, so if you can accept the price of one hundred and three dollars, I can give it to you."

Lance thought about it. In fact, he had discussed this price with Erwin before, but he also had his own conditions. "No problem, but I want to pay half in cash."

Cash is not a sensitive thing for the lower class people because in their perception, cash is probably three or five dollars.

But for large companies, it may be a little more sensitive.

But Manager Lenny only hesitated for about a second, which couldn't even be considered hesitation. "No problem."

For a group company like Liji Group that covers the entire federation and also has multinational operations, it is very easy for them to deal with hundreds of thousands of black money!

Lans then made a new request, "This batch of grapes is very important to us. We want to sign a formal contract, including compensation for breach of contract, etc."

"If we suffer losses due to your inability to pay for our goods, you will need to compensate us at least five times the total amount of the goods."

Manager Lenny simply shook his head, "This is unreasonable. The most we can pay is double the compensation."

“What if we could pay a deposit of at least 40 percent or even 50 percent?”

The deposit for agricultural products is usually small, just a few percent, and what Lance said is indeed very correct. When any products are put on the market in large quantities, the price will plummet.

From Manager Lenny's perspective, they are sure to make money from this deal!
At that time, they will find any excuse to delay, and buy a batch of grapes when the market price is low and sell them to Lans, making a profit of two or three hundred thousand in one go.

Manager Lenny gave Lance a long look and said, "I need to make a call."

Lance indicated that there was a phone in the room, "Go ahead."

Spring is coming soon. The farmers make trouble in the fall and in the spring. They make trouble every day.

For companies that are prone to various crisis events, cash flow is very important.

After Lenny communicated with the director on duty on the phone for a while, he came out.

"If you can pay a 75 percent deposit, then we can sign the contract."

"In addition, I must say that if you cannot pay the subsequent bills, we will not return the deposit to you, and there will be no grapes."

He was afraid that Lance and the others might not understand, so he had to make his words clear.

Lance didn't care about this, because even if he really had no money, the bank would help him take the order, not only pay the money for him, but also give him a large sum of money!

But before the deal could be finalized, there was one last small problem.

"Would you mind a little more cash?"

(End of this chapter)