America: Starting with Daily Intelligence

Chapter 267 Money Makes You Show Off

Parker's boss was completely dumbfounded.

He originally thought that no matter how bad his company was, at least someone would put it up for auction, and it would cost at least $1500 million to be bought. But to his surprise, no one was willing to bid, and no one was willing to take on the risks and debts.

Business people always seek profit, but buying Parker Company not only yields little profit but also requires an initial investment of 20 million, making it seem like a bad deal. If you have money in hand, you might as well invest in other recycling companies, at least those haven't gone bankrupt and are still operating normally.

With the auction about to fail, Parker was extremely anxious and looked at the Grand Master with pleading eyes.

Zhang Ailun knew that if he didn't intervene, probably no one else would.

After thinking for a moment, he immediately raised his paddle to bid.

"The customer in seat number 12 has bid $10. The current auction price is $1210 million. Are there any other customers willing to participate in the bidding?" the auctioneer quickly asked.

"..."

After a silence of more than ten seconds, almost no one was willing to raise their paddle to bid.

Another minute passed, and the atmosphere became somewhat silent, with no one still willing to make a bid.

The owner of Parker sighed helplessly and had no choice but to accept the outrageous price.

Although the offer was $1210 million, after purchasing the company, the CEO still had to repay $2060 million in bank debts and owe employees back wages, so the total cost of purchasing Parker Corporation was $3300 million.

This price is indeed in line with market prices.

Fortunately, no items went unsold, right?

One shouldn't be too greedy. If it weren't for the leader's offer, he wouldn't have gotten the $1210 million.

Although he still had to pay a consignment fee for the auction and distribute profits to other temporary shareholders, the final amount he received was only around eight or nine million. But at least he didn't go bankrupt. He still had some money from selling his assets and was a multi-millionaire. He had enough to live on for the rest of his life.

Seeing this, the auctioneer had no choice but to bring down the gavel. "1210 million once, 1210 million twice, 1210 million three times. Sold! Congratulations to buyer number 12 for successfully purchasing Parker Resource Recycling Company. Please sign the formalities with the company's former owner, Mr. Parker, after the auction and pay the remaining balance."

When Zhang Ailun saw the company's deal go through, he smiled and comforted the owner of Parker, "It's really unexpected. I thought it would cost more money. After all, your company is still very valuable as long as it can overcome the difficulties. Although I don't care too much about another ten or twenty million, it's always good to save some money."

Mr. Parker gave a wry smile: "I really have to thank you, Mr. Kim. If it weren't for your help, I wouldn't even have ten million US dollars."

"We're all friends, no need to be so polite. You sold me a villa at a low price, didn't you?" Zhang Ailun immediately waved his hand, indicating it was nothing.

The Grand Master is known for his generosity and righteousness.

The auction soon resumed, with various private collections and collateral being put up for auction, priced at around several hundred thousand to several million US dollars.

Until the horn coin that caught Zhang Ailun's attention was projected onto the screen.

The ordinary silver coin, with a faint horn-shaped stamp, looks weathered and has probably passed through several hands.

"This is a rare Spanish coin, once a popular currency among pirates in the 16th century. To better distribute their prey at sea and plunder merchant ships, they secretly formulated a blood oath. They only targeted merchant ships and naval vessels, and pirates did not engage in conflict with each other; otherwise, it would be considered treason. Those who possessed this coin were highly prestigious and influential at the time, and were hailed as pirate kings of the 16th century. It also symbolized the alliance and spirit of contract among pirates."

"Until the mid-to-late 16th century, various navies, in an effort to dismantle the rampant pirate forces, deliberately minted a large number of Spanish counterfeit coins. This caused internal divisions among the pirates, ultimately destroying the pirate alliance in a naval battle and melting down tens of thousands of coins. It is said that only 16 of these horn coins remain in the world. One of them was recently auctioned in New York and purchased by collector Madison for $426 million. It is extremely valuable and significant for collectors!"

"The market value is estimated at $360 million to $430 million, with a starting bid of $250 million and each bid must be at least $10000."

After the auctioneer finished speaking, he announced the start of the bidding process. Many people were very interested and began raising their paddles to bid.

Seeing Zhang Ailun's eagerness, Parker asked curiously, "Mr. Jin, are you also interested in this collectible?"

"I am indeed somewhat interested in it, but not for collection purposes. I just heard that collector Madison is also collecting these coins, so maybe I can buy it and resell it to him." Zhang Ailun smiled slightly and decisively made a bid when the price reached 375 million, raising his paddle to bid 20 US dollars.

"Guest number 12 has bid $20. The current bid for this horn coin is $395 million. Are there any other guests willing to participate in the bidding?" the auctioneer asked.

"410 million!" Soon someone raised their paddle to bid. Zhang Ailun turned around and looked at the middle-aged tycoon wearing a hat, who smiled and greeted him.

Seeing how polite the other party was, Zhang Ailun immediately reciprocated by raising his bidding paddle, "425 million!"

"$425 million! VIP number 12 has bid $425 million. Is there anyone else willing to participate in the bidding? If no one participates, the coin toss will be auctioned off to VIP number 12!" The beautiful auctioneer was very excited to see so many people bidding and began to fan the flames.

"$430!"

The middle-aged tycoons behind them raised their paddles without hesitation to bid, and the price had already exceeded the price of Spanish coins at the New York auction.

After thinking it over, Zhang Ailun raised his paddle again to bid, "$432 million."

"$435."

"$440."

"$445."

"$450."

"..."

The other party glanced helplessly at Zhang Ailun, considered it for a moment, and had no choice but to abandon the bidding.

So what if you're rich? You spent $450 million on a single Spanish coin?

Sorry, but having money means you can do whatever you want.

Zhang Ailun smiled slightly.

If I buy this coin for $450 million now and then resell it to collector Madison for $500 million, I'll still make a profit.

Even if you only give the other party a friendly price and don't make much money, you can still make friends with them.

Madison is certainly not short of money. His greatest hobbies in life are getting married, having children, buying collectibles, and playing with small animals. The collectibles and animals on the island are worth hundreds of millions of dollars!

His life has been worthwhile.

"Congratulations to guest number 12 for successfully bidding on this horn coin. After the auction, please have staff assist you with the transaction procedures." The auctioneer brought down the gavel to announce the end of this round of auctions and then proceeded to bring out the next item.

However, Zhang Ailun was not interested in the items to be auctioned, so he left with the owner of Parker halfway through the auction. He then called over a staff member and went backstage with him to sign a contract and complete the transfer procedures.

I also saw people selling horn coins backstage, and surprisingly, they were a few young people.

"Sir, congratulations on winning the Horn Coin! This price is absolutely worth it!" The young man congratulated the Grand Master with a beaming smile.

"Really? Then may I ask where you got this coin?" Zhang Ailun smiled, judging from their clothes and appearance, they didn't seem to be from wealthy families.

The young man leading the group said with a smile, "When we went fishing at sea during our port tour, we accidentally caught a fish and found this coin inside its belly."

"You guys are really lucky. You're millionaires at such a young age," Zhang Ailun remarked.

"That's right! We're really lucky! We're already ready to go on a round-the-world trip as a group." The young man was beaming with joy, chatting and laughing. Boss Parker looked at the Grand Master speechlessly. You're a billionaire, and you've even struck oil.

And me? I'm nearing middle age, and I almost went bankrupt. The gap between people is bigger than a dog's.

After the staff completed the formalities, they presented Zhang Ailun with a contract to sign. After checking it and finding no problems, he promptly signed his name and made two transfers to the Whale Auction's account.

The whale auction house deducted a handling fee and transferred the two accounts to the owner of Parker and the coin seller respectively.

With the money in his account, Mr. Parker finally felt relieved and handed over all the relevant documents and qualification certificates to the head of the organization, letting out a sigh of relief.

"Mr. Jin, I hope this company can be done better under your leadership. Although it does have many problems and difficulties right now, it is also the result of my hard work over the years."

"I will manage it well," Zhang Ailun said with a slight smile.

"Mr. Kim, would you like me to show you around the place? The department heads and employees are all looking forward to meeting the new boss. Of course, the main issue is still the unpaid wages," Parker said.

"Of course, let's go now," Zhang Ailun readily agreed.

After the two emerged from backstage at the auction, they saw several voluptuous socialites and internet celebrities waiting in the lobby. As soon as Zhang Ailun finished his business, they all gathered around him, greeting him warmly, "Mr. Jin, are you done? Do you have some time now?"

"My darlings, I'm sorry, I still need to take over my new company, so I might not have much time to spend with you." Zhang Ailun smiled slightly, his subtle smugness being the most lethal.

The women became even more enthusiastic upon hearing this.

The leader, surrounded by powerful figures, naturally accepted all the high-quality resources offered to him, but his bottom line of principles remained unbroken.

Mandy, the little butterfly with a heart, dribbled right up to the leader, as if she wanted to stick to him and become one with him. "Mr. Jin, you can call me whenever you have time. I'll be there whenever you need me."

Zhang Ailun was deeply impressed by her and immediately said, "There will be opportunities, my dear beauties. I'm leaving now, see you another day."

I pinched each of them.

Goodbye, Mr. Kim.

The sizzling beauties didn't seem to care at all; some even regretted not pressing closer enough to avoid being touched. They were afraid the rich wouldn't see enough, yet also afraid the poor would see too much.

The Grand Master had long seen through this. To be honest, I was just lusting after their bodies.

It's foolish not to take advantage of a good deal.

"Mr. Kim, you're quite popular. But you'd better take my advice, you're all after your money. If you're going to have a relationship with them, you'd better use protection. When I was young and rich, I was incredibly arrogant, a womanizer, and got several women pregnant. It almost broke my marriage, but luckily I stopped in time and paid them to handle the disaster." Parker sighed, "Otherwise, I'd be paying millions of dollars in child support every year now."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Ailun fell into deep thought, then replied, "Even if I don't have money, I have 9 inches, isn't that enough?"

"...Oh, that's enough. Some people might not be after your money." Parker's lips twitched, choked with embarrassment.

What kind of template is used for the main characters in erotic movies?

After picking up the car keys from the receptionist, Zhang Ailun drove Parker to the office building in the city center, on the 26th floor of the building in the business district.

There's not much to see, because the head of the foundation himself rented an empty shell house as the foundation's office, and basically no one goes there to work on weekdays.

Parker had already informed the company's senior management in advance. After arriving at the commercial building, he parked his car at the entrance, where several middle-aged men in suits greeted him. Among them was an acquaintance of Zhang Ailun, Manager Lei Ke.

"This is Juan King, the new boss of Parker Corporation. You can call him Mr. King," Parker introduced after getting out of the car.

"Hello, Mr. Jin!" The group of people hurriedly greeted him warmly and began to flatter him.

"Hello everyone." Zhang Ailun smiled, then turned to Lei Ke and said, "Congratulations, my old friend, you've been fired!"

"..."

The group froze instantly.

"Haha, I was just joking!" Zhang Ailun immediately patted Lei Ke on the shoulder. "I've already bought your shares. Go ask your boss for the money later. Although you're no longer a temporary shareholder, I still need your help as a long-time employee."

"You really scared me." Reco wiped away his cold sweat, genuinely believing that Zhang Ailun would settle scores for what happened before after taking over the company. After all, it wasn't like he hadn't abused his power for personal gain before.

Upon entering the building, we took the elevator to the office building and toured the 26th floor. There were only a dozen or so computers, offices, and cubicles.

Zhang Ailun mainly reviewed the revenue situation in the accounts and found that the revenue had been positive for the previous few months. If it weren't for the fire accident caused by malicious competition, there would have been no problem with bankruptcy.

Parker's contracts with various departments and companies are still in place, and there haven't been any major problems with the processes. The shutdown is only due to a severe shortage of funds, and the main reason is the $2060 million debt owed to banks.

Problems that can be solved with money are minor issues. The Grand Master lacks everything except money.

After touring the Parker Company's office building, Zhang Ailun sent a message to the Beggars' Sect disciples, asking them to come with him to the suburbs to visit the newly acquired site, so that they could recruit people from within the organization to start work.

We drove the Cullinan, Reco, and Parker to the suburban factory, where we saw that the warehouse gate was covered in graffiti.

There were also more than a dozen tents of various sizes pitched along the roadside, and people were eating with their utensils at the nearby intersection. At first glance, Zhang Ailun thought he had come to a homeless community in a poor street.

The graffiti on the wall read: "Geneva! Give me my money back!!" "Heartless boss! Give me back my wages!!" "Give me back my hard-earned money!!"

There was also barbed wire at the entrance, and several armed security personnel were keeping a close watch on the employees, preventing them from approaching the factory equipment.

Seeing this, Parker said helplessly, "Couldn't they wait a couple more days? I'm already trying my best to raise the money. Isn't the company good enough to them normally?"

Reco was also helpless. "It was the union that did it. They've been pressuring us to pay salaries. To be honest, employees earning $3000 a month don't really feel a sense of belonging to the company. They're mostly people with low levels of education, some didn't even graduate high school. They just want their wages back, and it's impossible to communicate with them. Besides, they've already been very restrained."

Thankfully, they didn't recruit Black people, otherwise the venue would have been smashed up long ago, and all the valuable equipment would have been looted overnight.

Even these security guards were hired by Manager Reco himself, paying them $200 a day to be hired randomly from the street. He truly treated the company like his own personal property.

Unfortunately, his shareholder trial period has expired, the owner of Parker has absconded with the buckets, and the new boss, the Grand Master, won't give him any shares.

The security guards weren't owed money, after all, if even the bodyguards weren't paid, who would want to work for them?

Zhang Ailun also sighed, "After the company became short of money and burdened with debt, the situation was much more serious than I had imagined."

"Fortunately, Mr. Jin is here. With a billionaire like you backing the company, they are truly blessed!" Reco quickly added.

Parker also strongly agrees with this.

(End of this chapter)