Chapter 101 [Young Dream]

Author: Ren Zhufei

Chapter 101 [Young Dream]

Lin Zhichao and Li Gaofu came to a ship brokerage company in Hong Kong together, and a foreign manager named Davis received them.

Davis is a bearded, burly foreigner. When he saw that Lin Zhichao and Li Gaofu were relatively young, his expression suddenly changed. He said arrogantly: "You two want to buy a ship? Please note that the shipping industry

It’s a dangerous industry. If you don’t do it right, you will lose your last shirt.”

Lin Zhichao and Li Gaofu were both stunned, thinking that there are still people doing business like this?

These foreigners are so damn arrogant, how much they look down on the Chinese!

In fact, Davis was also mentally evaluating Lin Zhichao and Li Gaofu - young people, are they here to have fun?

Especially Lin Zhichao, who looked to be in his early 20s, and Davis had already made a preconception that they might not be able to afford a boat.

"The shipping industry is indeed very risky, but doing business is not gambling. We will not do anything we are not sure about. Mr. Davis, do you have a ship here?" Lin Zhichao said calmly.

Being furious and slamming the door out obviously didn't help, but instead, he was humiliated in vain.

Davis immediately looked up and down Lin Zhichao and Li Gaofu. After discovering that the two of them were well-dressed and had calm personalities, his impression improved slightly.

But the next words immediately left Lin Zhichao and Li Gaofu speechless.

"The investment in the shipping industry is quite large, how much capital do you have?"

Lin Zhichao could only say frankly: "Mr. Davis, are there any thousand-ton cargo ships here? We need such second-hand ship information?"

Let's make it clear directly, so as not to continue talking nonsense, Lin Zhichao will not promise his great ambitions in front of an unknown person, because Davis is not worthy of him!

Davis's performance also made Lin Zhichao feel deep in his heart that foreigners in this era are really arrogant, and a small ship brokerage company actually does business like this.

So, did those Chinese customers in the front succumb to Davis?

Davis was stunned. He didn't expect Lin Zhichao to be so ambitious. He seemed different from the previous Chinese customers. However, he didn't think Lin Zhichao was a talent. On the contrary, he now thought that Lin Zhichao was a fool. The Chinese didn't say 'harmony makes money'

Well?

Based on his impatient attitude just now, Davis was convinced that Lin Zhichao and Li Gaofu were rookies who had just entered the shipping industry.

After thinking for a moment, Davis said: "Looking at your appearance, you are indeed sincere in purchasing ships and are confident in shipping. I happen to have information on a second-hand cargo ship here. This ship is 1,200 tons. It was built during World War II. It is a very new second-hand ship.

It has many advantages and only costs HK$1.1 million, which is very cheap.”

As he spoke, he found a stack of information from the cabinet and handed it to Lin Zhichao and the others.

Lin Zhichao took the stack of printed materials and found that it listed three major advantages of this ship:

1. The hull is made of high-quality steel plates and manufactured using advanced welding technology. Compared with ships using rivets, it is stronger and lighter.

Second, the use of turbines is more energy-saving and the ship speed is faster.

Third, the cabin is spacious and the capacity is larger than other similar ships made in Britain.

Soon, Lin Zhichao discovered that Davis was hopeless and bullied Lin Zhichao and Li Gaofu, who were novices in shipping, and treated them as idiots.

"Manager Davis, if it was really a high-quality ship built in World War II, it would never cost only HK$1.1 million. At the same time, there are almost no high-quality ships built in World War II. Most of them were built to rush work and had poor welding skills; or, experience

The hull has been damaged in the baptism of war. It seems that you are not sincere in doing our business! Assuming that our brothers buy this ship, they are giving you money directly!"

Davis was stunned. He did not expect Lin Zhichao to be so sophisticated. This ship was indeed entrusted to him by the shipowner. He specifically told him that if it could be sold, he would be given 250,000 Hong Kong dollars in brokerage fees alone.

Why are the shipowners so generous? It turns out that the ships built in Britain during World War II were made of steel plate welding, but the welding technology was extremely poor and water often seeped out. After being baptized by the flames of war, the hulls were dilapidated and dilapidated. Not to mention carrying cargo, even if they sailed out empty ships

, and there’s no telling where it can be driven.

Seeing that Davis was speechless for a moment, Lin Zhichao knew that he had guessed correctly. Fortunately, he had done a lot of homework in the past six months.

"Since Manager Davis is not sincere in doing our business, then we are leaving!" Lin Zhichao stood up and prepared to leave.

At this time, Davis paid more attention to Lin Zhichao and Li Gaofu as customers, and immediately blurted out: "Singdao Neptune Shipping has a 1,300-ton ship to sell, and I will give you the information!"

Lin Zhichao felt happy and gave Li Gaofu a look.

Li Gaofu seemed to understand, and the two returned to their seats again.

When Davis took out the information, Lin Zhichao deliberately refused to answer it, while Li Gaofu took the initiative.

Davis didn't notice anything unusual. He handed over the information seriously this time and his expression was very sincere!

After Li Gaofu glanced at the information for a few times, he immediately said: "Mr. Davis, this ship is too old. It is 31 years old and is not suitable for us. After all, it can't even pass the inspection at the port. So I'm sorry, we won't do it again."

Go look elsewhere."

Immediately, Li Gaofu stood up, and Lin Zhichao pretended to be still angry, so naturally he also stood up and they left at the same time.

"Damn! Waste of my time!" Davis yelled angrily as soon as the two left the door.

Walking on the road, Lin Zhichao and Li Gaofu said at the same time: "Sing Tao Neptune Shipping"

Immediately, the two of them laughed!

Lin Zhichao asked: "What does the information say?"

Li Gaofu immediately said seriously: "A 1,300-ton cargo ship, an old ship that was docked in 1918, is a very good second-hand ship. The quotation is only 880,000, but this price is quoted by the brokerage company. I believe the shipping company only needs 800,000 Hong Kong dollars."

.”

Lin Zhichao nodded. Thirty years old is not too bad. Even a ship of forty years old can be used for running. Hong Kong shipping and Chinese shipping are still in their infancy. As long as they can run, it doesn't matter how old they are.

"In this way, let's leave Feixing Island, then meet up, and then come and talk." Lin Zhichao said decisively.

"Okay" Li Gaofu said immediately.

Why fly separately? The answer is self-evident!

Although it was a bit unethical to bypass the brokerage company this time, it was Davis who was at fault in the first place. What's more, shopping malls are like battlefields, so when you have to save money, you have to save money.

Three days later, Li Gaofu and Lin Zhichao met at Xingdao and came to Neptune Shipping Headquarters.

This shipping company was very successful in later generations. It was nationalized by Singapore in the late 1960s, became a large container shipping company in the 1970s, and was later sold to France's CMA CGM (the world's third container company).

The two of them were carrying a suitcase with $200,000 in it.

Because Lin Zhichao, Li Gaofu and others agreed that the purchase of ships should be paid in U.S. dollars, and they would also pay in U.S. dollars when buying back ships in the future. The reason is that U.S. dollars maintain their value. In itself, overseas ship purchases will use foreign currencies, so Lin Zhichao's request is not excessive.

As for their redemption next year, Lin Zhichao believes that in the era of "every ship has a money printing machine", Li Gaofu's partners will not have any objections.

With great difficulty, the two of them finally found the supervisor in charge of this matter. He was still a foreigner, which made them feel depressed.

Lin Zhichao still had to bite the bullet and explain his intention.

As expected, the foreign manager Ferro said directly: "I already understand the purpose of your visit, but our company only deals with ship brokers, and all ships are handled by ship brokers."

Although it was a rejection, the tone was very formal and not arrogant.

At this time, Lin Zhichao placed the suitcase on Ferro's desk and said: "Mr. Ferro, please allow me to tell you the reason for this matter. Will you feel relieved if you hand over the ship to such a ship broker?"

Then, he opened the suitcase directly and said: "Here is 200,000 US dollars. It is the dream of two young people to start a business. We are eager for the sea. I know that Britain relies on ships to become the world's hegemon. So, we are very eager to get this excellent ship."

Boat."

First he explains why he skipped the intermediary, then he talks about young people’s dreams, and finally he praises Britain as the world’s hegemon;

After some operations, Ferro's expression suddenly softened, then softened again, and finally relaxed.

"No wonder, I said that the ship has been handed over to the ship broker for a while, why hasn't it been sold? It turns out to be this reason." Ferro said.

Then he added: "200,000 US dollars is exactly our price. Since you young people have dreams, I will not trample on your dreams and seal the deal at this price."

In fact, Ferro also wanted to sell this old boat as soon as possible. Lin Zhichao's remarks just now were only part of the reason.

"Thank you so much Mr. Ferro!"

"Thank you Mr. Ferro!"

Next, Lin Zhichao took the opportunity to make a new request: "Mr. Ferro, we are still new to shipping, so we would like to ask your company to overhaul and refresh the hull before delivering it to us."

The Hong Kong government's port regulations require that ships must enter the dock for inspection once a year. If the maintenance staff has completed the inspection before entering the dock, the original 14-day stay in the dock can be shortened to 7 days.

At the same time, Lin Zhichao's request can be regarded as a "give a maintenance service" and give him a little peace of mind.

Ferro was already impressed by Lin Zhichao's dream, so he readily agreed: "No problem!"

Next, things went smoothly and the transaction was officially completed soon.

It takes about seven days for the ship to return to Hong Kong (Star Island), plus another seven days for maintenance and refresh, and it can sail towards Hong Kong in half a month.

As for the captain and crew, Hong Kong can organize them quickly because they are already prepared.

Therefore, when the ship arrives in Hong Kong, it can immediately collect goods.

at the same time.

Ship broker Davis received a call from Neptune Shipping and was told that all second-hand ships for sale had been sold out.

"SHIT, which ship broker is so powerful!"

Davis said to himself angrily.

On the phone, Ferro's tone was calm, so Davis didn't notice anything unusual.
To be continued...