bookbashuk Chapter 284 Even if you sell me, you won't make any money.
Chapter 284 Even if you sell me, you won't make any money.
Chapter 284 Even if you sell me, you won't make any money.
"No way! Are we going bankrupt again?!"
Upon hearing the word "bankruptcy," Lorne became visibly agitated, and his voice unconsciously rose in pitch.
Ted: "————"
"Ahem—" Realizing his lapse in composure, Lorne coughed twice, lowered his voice, and almost gritted his teeth as he asked, "What's going on? Why are you suddenly going bankrupt?"
"Weren't things fine just a couple of days ago?"
No wonder Lorne was so surprised. Although the factory wasn't doing well, barely breaking even, it was at least on the right track. After all, they had connections with the military, and he was hoping to make a fortune with his submachine gun designs. How could it suddenly be going bankrupt?
Ted's face was ashen, as if he hadn't slept well for days. He struggled to explain, "Boss, it's not a problem with the factory itself—it's...it's because of the stock market—"
"The stock market? Could it be that the stock market has crashed?" Lorne guessed.
"Yes." Ted nodded heavily. "Just in the last two days, the stock market suddenly collapsed, countless people lost everything, some jumped off buildings, some ran away—it's happening everywhere."
"Avalanche? Bankruptcy?" Lorne recalled that just a few days ago, the newspapers were full of news about a booming market, encouraging people to invest. How could things have changed so quickly—
"Ted," Lorne suddenly remembered something, looking at the factory manager in front of him with a dark expression, "I remember, you mortgaged your house to the bank and used the money to buy stocks, right? All that money of yours—"
"It's gone!"
Before Lorne could finish speaking, Ted's carefully constructed composure finally crumbled. "Everything's gone! I've lost everything! My house—the bank foreclosed on it!"
"Waaaaahh ...
Looking at the man in his thirties in front of her, she couldn't help but burst into tears. Although Lorne felt sympathy, she also felt a little embarrassed.
"It's okay. As long as you're still alive, everything can start over."
"Yes, Mr. Ted, as long as he's alright, that's all that matters." Old Kohler sighed as well, reaching out his rough hand to pat Ted's trembling back.
Seeing the other person wiping away tears and finally regaining their composure, Lorne quickly steered the conversation back on track: "There's another question. What does the stock market crash have to do with my factory?" He was puzzled. "I didn't buy any stocks, nor did I mortgage the factory, so why would it go bankrupt?"
"puff----"
Ted sniffed, wiped his face haphazardly with his sleeve, and tried to make his voice clearer, "Because—the entire supply chain, from top to bottom, has collapsed."
He paused for a moment, then continued, "The processing plants that sold us raw materials for firearms, the wholesalers who helped us sell our products, and even several of the most basic steel mills were all impacted by this stock market crash. Some went bankrupt, others were restructured—"
"It can be said that the entire arms industry chain has suffered structural damage."
"If they collapse, we, who are in the middle of the industry, will naturally collapse along with them."
"This is too much—" Lorne opened his mouth, still somewhat incredulous. So many factories and industries, just because of a storm that happened at the stock exchange, gone just like that?
This was the first time since he transmigrated that he had so directly experienced the enormous impact of the financial crisis.
"Boss, we're not the only ones hurt. A lot of factories in Backlund are going downhill now," Ted added in a hoarse voice. "Like the textile factory next door and the timber processing plant across the street, they've been severely impacted. They've laid off a lot of people these past few days; many workers are unemployed."
"Then tell me, what should we do now?" Lorne was getting anxious as the visitation time was running out.
"Boss, I've thought about it, and given our current situation, there are only two options."
"explain."
Ted held up one finger: "First, shut the factory down. As things stand, we'll lose money every day the factory stays open. It's better to shut it down sooner rather than later to minimize the losses."
"Then—won't all the workers lose their jobs?" Lorne glanced at old Kohler, who had turned pale and lowered his head.
Sure enough, he was also afraid that if the factory was gone, his future would be gone too.
"There's nothing we can do about it," Ted said, sounding somewhat helpless.
"Sigh—what about the second method?" Lorne asked.
Given the current market conditions, once workers lose their jobs, it will be virtually impossible for them to find new employment in the short term. They will not be able to return to a stable life until the chain reaction caused by the stock market crash has completely ended.
"The second method is—acquisition."
"Acquisition?" Lorne was taken aback, not understanding what he meant.
"Hmm." Ted nodded. "We can take this opportunity to buy up the entire upstream and downstream of this supply chain! We can integrate it into a supply chain that we completely control! That way, the raw material and sales problems our factory is facing will naturally be solved!"
"what?"
Lorne was stunned. "Ted, are you so heartbroken that your brain is a little—"
"No! Boss! I'm not crazy!" Ted shook his head repeatedly, his emotions running high.
"A stock market crash is a disaster for most people, but at the same time, it's also a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!"
"The number of industries that banks can directly accept and manage is limited! Now, countless factory owners and business owners are forced to sell their still valuable assets at extremely low prices in order to repay huge debts incurred from stock speculation!"
I've roughly estimated that if we were to take over a medium-sized but comprehensive supply chain covering all our upstream and downstream needs, the required capital would probably be less than 20% of the normal market price!
"Twenty percent?" Lorne suddenly became interested.
"So—approximately how much is this 20%?"
"Probably—more than two hundred thousand pounds."
"what?"
"Just kill me instead" — Upon hearing this number, Lorne's vision went black.
"My £300—gone! All gone!"
Fors slumped on the sofa, staring blankly at the shocking reports in the newspaper about the stock market crash.
To buy the formulas and materials needed for her promotion, she saw the rosy stock market news in the newspaper a few days ago and, unable to resist the urge, invested all the royalties from her previous book. Who would have thought...
It hadn't even been two days, and—
"A dream—this must be a dream, right?" Fors murmured, rubbing her forehead. "I must—"
Still dreaming.
"Sleep! Yes! As long as I take a nap, when I wake up, everything will be fine!"
As she spoke, she got up from the sofa and staggered toward her room.
"Fors, accept reality!" Hugh ruthlessly shattered his friend's delusion with his slightly sharp words.
She stood beside the sofa with her arms crossed, looking at Fors's distraught appearance, feeling both annoyed and helpless.
"I told you a long time ago not to buy those financial products you understand absolutely nothing! But you just wouldn't listen!"
"Waaaah—Hugh, how dare you yell at me!" Fors immediately burst into tears, pointing angrily at Hugh, trying to change the subject: "What I need right now is comfort, not your lecture!"
"Comfort? Let your pen pal comfort you!" Hugh said, hands on his hips, sounding annoyed.
"Didn't you two secretly go on a date before?"
Hugh felt speechless when he thought about how Fors had come back a while ago, reeking of alcohol and grinning foolishly.
"What date! It was just—just normal conversation between friends!" Fors retorted loudly, her face flushed.
"Well, haven't you been going out every day lately too?"
"I'm on a mission!" Hugh retorted.
"Furthermore, Scott had previously asked me to keep an eye on his factory."
"Scott—" Upon hearing this name, Fors's expression suddenly became somewhat complicated.
"Sigh—so many factories have gone bankrupt lately. I wonder if Scott's factory will follow in their footsteps." Hugh, oblivious to his friend's unease, became worried about the workers at the gun factory.
"Speaking of which—" Fors suddenly remembered something, "Have you seen Scott recently?"
"Oh right————" His friend's words made Xiu suddenly realize something.
"I don't think I've seen him at all these past few days."
Two hundred thousand pounds—where am I supposed to get two hundred thousand pounds?!
Unless he weighs himself and sells himself for the price of gold, he simply can't come up with two hundred thousand pounds!
"Am I really just supposed to watch the factory go bankrupt? I can't accept it—I really can't accept it!"
As a time traveler, he still wanted to leave some trace in this world.
Just as Lorne was grumbling and complaining, his spiritual intuition was suddenly triggered!
"I have two hundred thousand pounds. I can lend it to you."
A calm and gentle female voice, yet with a hint of familiarity, suddenly rang in his ears.
Immediately afterwards, countless illusory emerald green vines appeared out of thin air, as if they were alive, and completely enveloped the small detention cell.
Lorne turned around abruptly and saw a mature and elegant figure, with a pair of straight and slender legs wearing black knee-high leather boots, swaying gently in front of him.
"The Mysterious Queen!"
However, Lorne's gaze lingered on the Queen for only a moment before it was immediately drawn to something she was playing with in her hand.
It was a glass bottle containing a liquid that shimmered with a faint golden light, as dazzling as stars.
"Winner's Potion"!
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