Chapter 143: Family Ties and Business Deals

Xu Zhiquan chewed his food slowly before speaking up.

“It’s still tough, but I can basically handle it.

For the Seedling Company’s project funds, I pulled some strings earlier to get the project side to advance half the payment. I can push for another batch before next month.

Plus, the land we’re leasing, the seedlings we’re growing, and even the ongoing projects can all be mortgaged to the bank for some quick cash.

I’ve got some savings left from my factory days, and I’ll pull those out too.

On top of that, Dad has a few business friends who can chip in some money.

Right now, we’re still short by about two or three million…”

He paused for a moment:

“If we have to, we’ll go to Huang Furen—Boss Huang. He’s got a couple hundred thousand to spare easily.

But he’s as sly as they come. He won’t ask for interest; he’ll want a share of the partnership…”

Xu Chen smiled:

“Let’s skip Boss Huang; he’s not reliable.

And as a last resort, don’t offer partnership shares—that’ll just plant seeds of trouble for the future.

If we’re only short two or three million…

East Morning Star Advertising should get over two million deposited at the beginning of next month. Dad, you take that and use it first.”

Xu Zhiquan froze for a second:

“How much? …”

He chewed on his bun, staring at his son in disbelief.

Clearly, he had no idea that East Morning Star Advertising had already earned over two million.

The one million from Jiaduobao was recent, and Xu Zhiquan knew nothing about it.

He knew about the pitch in Shanghai before, but never imagined it would be a deal worth over a million.

He figured Xu Chen had just landed a small project, something like the Shenbao Pills gig, maybe ten or twenty thousand at most.

Hearing Xu Chen mention over two million left him stunned.

Xu Chen chuckled awkwardly, just like his father.

But he carefully explained the two projects with Renhe Pharmaceuticals and Jiaduobao.

Xu Zhiquan listened quietly, a look of admiration on his face.

He took a big swig of alcohol and said deeply:

“My son’s skills far outshine mine as his dad.

Next to him, I feel like this President Xu is useless.”

Xu Chen:

“Dad, that’s saying too much. You’ve lined up seven or eight million, and I’ve only got this little…”

Xu Zhiquan laughed heartily and reached out to ruffle his son’s hair:

“Son, you’re my lifesaver.

With your two million, I can scrape together the remaining tens of thousands no matter what.

I’ll pay you back with interest on this money!

Once we secure the Mechanical Factory, we can get a bank loan going. Fang Jun has some financing tricks up his sleeve.

The money will come back fast!”

The father and son chatted over their meal for a while longer.

From Xu Zhiquan, Xu Chen learned that ‘Teacher Fang Jun’ had plenty of hidden talents.

She had ways to ‘find funding and finance,’ but only if they first secured the Mechanical Factory.

That way, once they took over the factory, they could expand the scale of funds for electric vehicle production.

…

…

A few days later, in the office at Jinfeng Business Tower.

At nine o’clock in the evening, the meeting room lights were still on.

The large desk was spread with piles of documents and materials.

Three people huddled around the desk, smoke filling the air.

Besides Xu Zhiquan and Fang Jun, there was also Director Yang from the Mechanical Factory.

Yang Congxin, the technical supervisor of a production line at the Mechanical Factory, a university graduate from the 90s.

He wasn’t great at networking, so over his dozen years at the factory, he stayed stuck in a dead-end role.

After meeting Xu Zhiquan, they went through some back-and-forth testing and finally opened up to each other.

After their recent inspection in Jiangsu Province, Yang Congxin had full confidence in Xu Zhiquan’s plan for electric two-wheelers.

Now, the restructuring and acquisition of the Mechanical Factory were urgent priorities.

On the funding side, Xu Zhiquan had pretty much gathered what he needed.

He’d squeezed every possible source and contact dry.

At the same time, he didn’t plan to raise more.

As Fang Jun put it, adding another one or two million wouldn’t make much difference—as long as they hit the baseline, they’d qualify for the acquisition.

If a competitor bid two or three times—or even several times—more than East Morning Star, throwing in another million or a few wouldn’t help.

Luckily, this restructuring and acquisition wasn’t just about the cash; the overall proposal mattered too.

Right now, the three were holed up in the office, frantically sorting through documents.

Securing the Mechanical Factory was crucial for all of them.

For Xu Zhiquan, that went without saying.

For Fang Jun and Yang Congxin, Xu Zhiquan’s vision of acquiring the factory and producing electric vehicles was why they joined East Morning Star.

From their current state, things weren’t going smoothly.

Yang Congxin, with his thick black-framed glasses and a cigarette in his mouth, frowned deeply:

“The biggest issue is, we don’t know if what we’re putting together is what the review committee cares about.

And we have no idea what the other competitors are up to or what schemes they’ll submit.”

Xu Zhiquan exhaled a puff of smoke:

“Don’t worry, we’ve got time.

I’ve asked around about the competitors. From what I’ve heard, there’s a Hong Kong-based real estate firm that’s in it, mostly eyeing the factory’s land.

Plus, there are probably two or three others who made it through, but I haven’t gotten details yet.

We’ll only get a real sense after the first round ‘Intention Communication Meeting’ on the 8th next month.”

Fang Jun hesitated before saying:

“Should we bring Xu Chen in? He could take a look and give us some ideas—it’d help a lot.”

Yang Congxin said:

“Xu Chen… who’s that?”

Xu Zhiquan smiled:

“Xu Chen is my son.”

Yang Congxin paused:

“Ah?! President Xu, isn’t your son still in his senior year of high school? How can he get involved in this?”

Fang Jun said flatly:

“If we had Xiao Xu here, maybe we wouldn’t be stressing like this.”

Yang Congxin glanced at Fang Jun, looking puzzled.

He knew Fang Jun well.

In fact, it was Yang Congxin who introduced Fang Jun to Xu Zhiquan.

In his mind, Fang Jun was someone who never spoke carelessly.

But he still found it odd—how could Xu Zhiquan’s high school son help with acquiring a factory?!

Xu Zhiquan took a drag from his cigarette and said:

“He’s got exams on the 7th and 8th, so let’s not bother him before that.

The college entrance exam is a big deal in life.”

He thought for a moment and added:

“Good thing the 8th is just the first round of ‘Intention Communication’.

The second round on the 13th is what really decides things.

By then, Xu Chen will have finished his exams, and we can pull him in for the second round’s plan. It’ll be in time.”

Yang Congxin furrowed his brows and took a deep drag on his cigarette.

“What if the first round goes badly? Can Xu Chen turn it around?”

Xu Zhiquan smoked without answering.

Fang Jun said flatly and coldly:

“He just might.”

Yang Congxin: “…”