I am a local in North America

Chapter 64 Money and Gifts

"Black cod, 3850 pounds in total, at $11.5 per pound, that's $44275."

"Pacific halibut, 1920 pounds, dock price $4.8, totaling $9216."

"The rockfish and cod together add up to quite a bit; calculated by type and unit price, the total is around $32980..."

At the cramped table in the cabin, Uncle Zheng's thick, calloused fingers flew across the calculator, the keys clicking crisply as he muttered to himself:
"Well, black cod, halibut, plus rockfish and cod... the total sales of these main catches amounted to $86471."

"There were also some scattered sand prawns and flounder, which added up to $3600. I made a little over $90000 on this trip."

"Then there are the expenses."

Flipping through the notebook filled with hastily scribbled numbers beside him, he continued, "Fuel costs, bait, ice, port fees, and everyone's advance wages—I've already calculated it—it's about $38500..."

“After deducting these costs from the total sales, the remaining net profit is calculated at 35%. Your share is $18030, plus $5000 for repairs and depreciation, totaling $23050, right?”

Uncle Zheng looked up and pushed the calculator and a stack of crumpled receipts in front of Su Jierui, indicating that he could check them.

"The numbers are all here, take a look. If there are no problems, I'll use mobile banking to transfer money to your parents later. Keep the compiled statements safe too..."

Su Jierui trusted Uncle Zheng, who was an honest and upright man, so he didn't touch the receipts and said sincerely:

"Okay, Uncle Zheng, thank you for your hard work and all the other uncles and elders. This trip must have been very difficult."

Uncle Zheng slammed the calculator shut with a "click," his face revealing undisguised exhaustion. He rubbed his reddened eyes, his voice slightly hoarse:
"After all the miscellaneous calculations, I've made about $33000 in these two months of hard work. In addition, there's the rental income from some lease quotas, netting me around $2, which is a bit more than I expected. This trip was totally worth it!"

"Everything is easier once you make money. Nowadays, many young people, even if they are willing to work hard, cannot find high-paying job opportunities."

"Let's go! It'll be a long time before we get back to Seattle. Be careful on the road, and if you get tired, find a hotel to rest for the night. Don't drive when you're tired. I need to get back too; your aunt is waiting for me at home..."

Uncle Zheng still needed to tidy up a bit, so Su Jierui took Arou and left first. They climbed the creaking gangway onto the dock and sat down next to the old wild horse.

On the way home from Anantara Cotes, Ah-rou, who always works late, helped drive.

The brother and sister spent a long time at the dock today, but apart from keeping accounts, they didn't do much else, so they weren't too tired, and they also gained a lot.

Su Jerry's parents went to Alaska to fish for king crabs and were away from home for the time being. They rented out their idle fishing boat and earned $23000, while also saving $3,000 to $4,000 in dock fees. No matter how you look at it, it was a very worthwhile deal.

While Arou was driving, Su Jierui was in charge of calling his mother, taking a picture of the compiled fishing bill and sending it to her. He learned that the Junlin crab fishing boat had resumed its voyage.

He must have been bored on the ship with no one to talk to. Seeing his mother asking all sorts of questions and unwilling to hang up, Su Jerry chatted with her for a while longer. During this time, he even opened the WhatsApp app to check messages from intern lawyer Quinn Hodgson.

Quinn Hodgson wrote—

"Brother, I've carefully reviewed both contracts, and they are indeed standard versions with no problems."

"As for the signing, I've already asked my supervisor, who is also one of the senior lawyers in our firm. After my persuasion, she's willing to review the formal transaction contract for you for $2000. Please remember to contact me if you have any other business in the future."

"If there are no problems, please tell me the time and place for signing the contract. I've already looked up some information about beaver ranches for you this afternoon..."

After reading it, Su Jierui's lips curled up. He only said that he had looked up the information, but did not tell him the specific details. This was obviously because Quinn Hodgson was worried that he would "skip out of the bill" and deliberately kept something in reserve.

There were no problems with either contract. We hired Quinn Hodgson to help review the contracts, which cost a total of $600. It was a small expense to buy peace of mind, so it was worth it.

With the beaver ranch and gold mine soon in hand, and the prize money from participating in "Wilderness Solitary Life" about to be deposited into his account, Su Jerry's consumption habits, ingrained from his life of ordinary middle-class living and his habit of saving every penny, remain unchanged.

After washing up at home that night, I went to bed and had a good night's sleep. The next morning at 9 o'clock, I received a call from real estate agent Ariel Connor. Su Jerry directly asked her to meet him at Quinn Hodgson's law firm.

Since the prize money had not yet been deposited into his account and he couldn't make the down payment yet, and the bank hadn't started processing the paperwork, Su Jierui only brought Arou, who was there to join in the fun, and didn't call Grandpa Su over as well.

When it came time to go to the bank for the face-to-face signing, his grandfather needed to bring various asset certificates and act as a guarantor as a direct relative. It was still a standard real estate transaction contract, only the payment date was delayed by two weeks, and an appendix regarding the scope of rights was attached. The key point was that it stipulated that all mineral, oil, and timber rights within the land area belonged to Su Jierui.

Because of the widespread story in the United States of "farmers striking oil and becoming rich," which is also a focus for many other land buyers, Soo Jerry's request to attach a statement of entitlements did not attract any particular attention.

Even Ah Rou thought that her brother was just being cautious and had done his research online to avoid falling into traps.

While both parties' lawyers were reviewing the contract, Su Jerry finally met the seller of the beaver ranch via video call, through the screen.

On the other end of the camera is a middle-aged woman wearing home clothes with her hair loosely tied up. The background is an ordinary living room. She has an average appearance, but her tone is relatively gentle.

She showed no interest in the buyer, Su Jerry, and instead asked Ariel Connor a series of questions, such as "When will the funds arrive?", "What constitutes a default?", "What do I need to do next?", and "Is there any way to avoid some taxes?", appearing both eager and pragmatic.

Agent Ariel Connor, with a professional smile, patiently explained everything, then leaned close to Su Jerry and suddenly said:
"Mr. Su, congratulations again on becoming the new owner of that large ranch."

"Owning a large piece of land that is permanently yours, being able to see snow-capped mountains and the sea every morning when you wake up, and breathing in the fresh air from the forest—I think there is nothing more comfortable than this."

"To thank you for helping me close this deal, I spent about $2000 to order a Shetland pony for you as a gift from a good old customer. I'll send you the contact information later, and once you move in, you can contact the rancher directly to choose your favorite pony."

"He lives near Manchester, it's very close by ferry. You can also ask him about his experience running a ranch; his family owns a small ranch that's over a hundred years old, and they just completed an expansion last year..."

After saying that, Ariel Connor blinked before getting to the point:

“Your grandfather lives in an upscale neighborhood, so there must be many potential homebuyers around him, or someone who wants to sell their house, right? If you hear any news in the future, you can call me, and I'll give you a separate thank-you fee…”

"No wonder he's known as the 'King of Deals,'" Su Jerry thought to himself, secretly praising him.

To be able to run a successful real estate brokerage business and even win the "2018 Seattle Best Real Estate Broker" award, one must truly be adept at navigating interpersonal relationships.

Su Jierui didn't want his grandparents to sell the old house completely just to get money to help him out, so he temporarily concealed his grandfather's intention to sell the house, only replying with a smile:

"You're too kind. Thank you so much. I really like this gift. I'll definitely contact you as soon as possible if I have any business in this area in the future."

He spoke in a relaxed tone, half-jokingly and half-seriously:

"Maybe before long, I'll expand like everyone else and buy my second farm or ranch?"

“I’ve watched many of the videos you’ve posted, Ms. Connor. Some of the luxury farms and ranches in California are particularly beautiful. It’s too cold here in winter; those places are more suitable for winter vacations and stays…”

Having worked in the industry for many years and seen countless people, agent Ariel Connor has a very sharp eye and can roughly estimate the financial situation of Su Jerry and his family.

It seemed unlikely that expansion would be possible in the short term, but she maintained her smile and continued to enthusiastically flatter and say nice things.

"Mr. Su, you're so young, there definitely won't be any problems. Just remember to contact me when the time comes, and I'll definitely give you the best price..."

After the lawyer nodded to indicate that the contract terms were correct, Ariel Connor, acting as the seller, and Su Jerry signed two formal transaction contracts together. Now all they had to do was wait for his prize money to arrive so he could apply for a loan from the bank.

If everything goes smoothly, the entire process will take about two weeks, depending on when the program's prize money arrives.

Afterwards, Su Jierui looked up "Shetland ponies" and found that the little guys originated from the islands in northeast Scotland. Adults generally do not exceed 90 centimeters in shoulder height, and they are miniature and delicate in appearance, which is quite interesting.

The thought of a group of adorable little ones living on his ranch in the future was so appealing to Su Jerry that he was sure the children would be captivated and thrilled if the ranch were developed into a tourist destination.

Besides Shetland ponies, you can also find miniature donkeys, miniature cows, and other small tourist pets. This gave Su Jerry some ideas. He felt that there were far too many ordinary farms and dairy farms in North America. Not only did they not make much money, but the breeding cycle was also very long.

If we take my sister Arou's advice and start by developing a tourist ranch model, we might be able to save a lot of start-up capital and see a return on investment in a short period of time...

……

(End of this chapter)