Free Web NovelChapter 245: Chapter 201: My Unhelpful Brothers
Back when I was working for a living, getting a monthly paycheck, I was always running short of cash before payday and struggling to make ends meet. I definitely couldn’t have afforded to think like this.
I couldn’t even save a dime.
Let alone saving up favors? Or time?
What a joke.
But now, of course, I was in a position to do so. More than just in a position—I was exceedingly so.
...
A file on Famous Group sat on Lin Chu’s desk. It was thick—over two hundred pages, practically a book.
Fortunately, the table of contents was crystal clear.
Lin Chu was carefully leafing through it, taking stock of the company’s particulars.
Famous Group was founded in 2001. It started as a construction contractor before moving into real estate, riding the boom for a full twenty years. However, Zhou Ming had played it safe, establishing a firm foothold in the Pearl River Delta and rarely venturing outside the region.
As far as real estate companies went, it was considered third-tier at best.
Its assets were around 15 billion, with liabilities approaching 7 billion.
While that might sound alarming, for a real estate company, that was considered a fairly healthy ratio.
Of course, given the current state of the real estate industry, compared to the companies that were already dead and buried, Famous Group was merely paralyzed on one side.
Its core business was straightforward.
It was divided into three segments: commercial real estate, residential real estate, and property management.
The golf club could only be considered a sort of "passion project" for Old Zhou.
But that was also why the club’s financial structure was so simple and clear, allowing me to acquire it with almost no effort.
The main business, however, wasn’t nearly as clean.
There were over a dozen shareholders, and Zhou Ming’s own stake was only 29.3%.
While he undoubtedly still had controlling interest in the company, its internal affairs were surely a complete mess.
Lin Chu had originally considered acquiring some shares, but she instantly abandoned the idea after seeing the ownership structure.
’Buy the land.’
’Just buy the land.’
’And if I lend money, it’ll only be to Old Zhou personally. He’ll have to provide an unlimited personal liability guarantee; a corporate guarantee is out of the question.’
After sorting through the options, Lin Chu settled on a plot of land they had previously purchased in Zeng City. The location wasn’t prime, but its saving grace was its size: a usable area of 97 mu. At a price of 2.1 million yuan per mu, the total cost for the plot was just over 200 million yuan.
Old Zhou’s current funding gap was about 800 million yuan, and it was due next month.
Even if she bought this land from him, he’d still be short 600 million.
’Still, I should buy it first and worry about the rest later.’
’I have a month, anyway.’
In a few days, the MBA program would officially begin.
That would bring a new wave of opportunities to farm some cash.
With that in mind, Lin Chu gave Zhou Ming a call. "President Zhou, bring your finance and legal teams to my office. Let’s talk about buying that land."
Zhou Ming had been waiting for this call with bated breath. The moment he answered, he agreed without hesitation and promised to be there within half an hour.
Lin Chu took the opportunity to glance at her bank balance.
’Uh...’
’Just a little over two hundred million.’
’And that was what’s left from the cash I farmed with that Golden Golf Club.’
’Looks like I need to farm some more cash.’
’Damn it, what am I supposed to do now that my boys won’t call me "Dad" anymore?’
’I’ve fleeced Wang Zhefei nearly bald. He’s so cautious now, it’s like he’s caught on to the bug in the pattern—the moment he calls me ’Foster Father’, I end up giving him something valuable.’
’If he accepts it, he feels too embarrassed.’
’If he doesn’t, I’ve practically shoved it down his throat.’
’Without that... ’
’A two-times multiplier is so much worse than a ten-times one.’
"Do you have any more of that jadeite from before over in Ping City? I’m looking for pieces over fifty million, or even over a hundred million."
Lin Chu casually sent a message to Yang Huixian.
She still had a forty-million-yuan dagger she hadn’t given away yet, but it couldn’t hurt to stock up on more valuables.
Yang Huixian replied quickly. "We do! This year’s top three auction pieces are all valued at over a hundred million. But the market’s in a slump, so nobody’s buying right now."
Lin Chu: "Send me the details."
"Okay."
The information was readily available. In less than a minute, Lin Chu was looking at the details for the three prize pieces.
The first was a raw, glassy-variety violet jadeite stone. It weighed 6 kilograms, but its quality was exceptionally rare. The asking price was 190 million yuan.
The second was a massive jadeite boulder weighing 1,100 kilograms. It hadn’t been fully cut open yet, but it already had two "windows" cut into it, both revealing Imperial Green jade. It was impossible to know how much could be extracted. The asking price was 120 million yuan.
The third was another large boulder, 240 kilograms, in a similar state to the second one. The asking price was 100 million yuan.
"The auctions this year have been dead. No one bid on these three at auction; they’ve failed to sell twice. They didn’t even get any bids online, so now they’re just listed at a fixed price. I reckon if you wait a bit, the price might drop even more."
Yang Huixian sent a follow-up message with her analysis.
To be honest, she was tempted by them herself.
But she simply didn’t have that kind of money.
If Lin Chu could buy them, that would be... for the best, of course.
Even just getting to process them for Lin Chu would be a rare spectacle, a truly luxurious experience.
’If only you were a guy.’
The thought surfaced in Lin Chu’s mind. If Huixian were a man, telling her to call her "Dad" in exchange for the purchase would be no problem at all.
’Damn it, why are all my so-called "brothers" just a bunch of good-for-nothings who only know how to party?’
’Not a single one of them is passionate about their career, except for Wang Zhefei.’
’But a programmer’s job doesn’t exactly offer many opportunities to farm huge amounts of cash on the clock.’
Lin Chu shook her head, unsure whether to laugh or cry, and casually replied, "That small one... I don’t like the color. Go ahead and buy the ones priced at 120 million and 100 million. I’ll wire you the money."
She was going to buy them one way or another.
It was just a matter of wracking her brain to figure out how to set up one of her "brothers."
Yang Huixian: "!!!"
"Okay! I love you to death! AHHHHH! Daddy!"
Lin Chu: "Screenshot. I’ll be sending this to your actual father."
Yang Huixian: "Master, please don’t..."
