65: Returning favors

Qin Yang and his companion drove home to tidy up and change their clothes before heading to the gathering location.

Upon arriving at the Blue Seafood Charm Pavilion, Wei Liang's assistant saw Qin Yang's group and hurriedly greeted them, leading them to a private dining room.

As soon as they entered, Wei Liang immediately stood up and said enthusiastically, "Brother Qin is here! This must be your wife, she's truly beautiful! Come, let me introduce you. This is my wife, Jiang Lili. These are my long-time business partners: President Qi Feng, President Chu Xuan, and President You Dazhi. These ladies are their respective wives."

"Old Qi, Old Chu, Old You, this young man is the President Qin Yang I mentioned to you. President Qin is a rare young talent; you all should get to know him better."

As soon as Wei Liang finished speaking, Qi Feng and the others stood up to exchange pleasantries with Qin Yang. Most of it was praise and compliments, and after a few minutes of lively chatter, everyone took their seats.

Once everyone was present, the servers began bringing out the dishes. After several rounds of drinks and tasting various delicacies, the dinner party allowed Qin Yang to become much more familiar with his new acquaintances like Qi Feng.

After the meal, Wei Liang took everyone to a tea house and booked two private rooms. This time, the men and women sat separately. Qin Yang understood that Wei Liang was about to discuss serious business.

After entering the room, Wei Liang sat in the head seat and began brewing tea for everyone.

At this point, the somewhat impatient You Dazhi took a sip of tea and said, "Old Wei, we're all family here. You invited so many of us today—did you run into some trouble? If there's something wrong, just speak plainly. If we can help, we brothers definitely won't refuse."

"Sigh, you guys saw right through me, haha," Wei Liang replied with a bitter smile upon hearing this.

"With those two big dark circles under your eyes, who wouldn't see it? Just say it, what's the matter? I wanted to ask you at the dinner table, but since the families were there, I felt awkward bringing it up," Qi Feng interjected.

"Yes, I have run into some trouble. I asked you brothers here today because I truly hope you can give me some advice."

"It's like this: a few years ago, I invested in several mines in An Country in Africa. The output of those mines has been quite good, and they've been providing a lifeline for my domestic industries. But something went wrong this year. I don't know if you've seen the news, but riots broke out in An Country. The family of the local chief I collaborated with all died in the violence. Consequently, my mines have all been sealed."

"I sent people over to negotiate with the new authorities, but they want to renegotiate the contracts. Essentially, they just want to extort a sum of money from me."

"How much?" You Dazhi asked with a frown before Wei Liang could even finish.

"Three hundred million US dollars! Honestly, the money I've made from those mines over the years far exceeds that figure. But as you know, assets are assets and cash is cash. My company currently has several projects under development, which have required me to invest all my cash and some real estate. So, right now, I can't come up with three hundred million dollars in capital," Wei Liang replied.

"So, Old Wei, you mean you want to borrow money from us?" Qi Feng responded.

"That's more or less it. The total annual output of those mines is worth seventy to eighty million US dollars, and I really don't want to give them up. Furthermore, misfortunes never come singly; the higher-ups have assigned me another project. The rainy season is coming soon, and according to the meteorological department's warnings, the rainfall this year is likely to far exceed the threshold. Therefore, the Songjiang river channel works must be reinforced. I've been tasked with this project too. The budgeted cost is three billion, but the government can only advance one-third of the funds upfront," Wei Liang said somewhat helplessly.

Hearing this, everyone fell silent. No one asked Wei Liang why he didn't refuse. Once you refuse such a thing, well, don't even dream of getting good engineering projects in the future. To put it bluntly, they look after you normally, so when it's time for the real test, you have to step up; otherwise, why would they favor you?

"What is the total shortfall?" asked Qin Yang, who had remained silent until now.

"About three billion. The An Country mining side needs nearly two billion, and the river channel project is short about 1.2 or 1.3 billion. I know this figure is massive, so I plan to count the money you lend me toward the mining side as an investment. Profits will be calculated as annual dividends based on the proportion for a ten-year term. I will only take a ten percent share of the dividends during these ten years, and once I get through this crisis, the principal will be repaid in full!" Wei Liang replied.

Hearing this, everyone's minds began racing. According to Wei Liang, the annual output of the mining area was 70 to 80 million US dollars. Taking the lowest figure of 70 million, ten years would be 700 million US dollars, which is roughly 4.9 billion RMB. Subtracting Wei Liang's ten percent share of 490 million, about 4.4 or 4.5 billion would remain. Even if split four ways, there would be a profit of a billion each. It had to be said that Wei Liang was indeed generous, and the potential reward was very tempting.

But the prerequisite was: what if the mining area encountered this kind of trouble again? Would they have to sign new contracts all over again?

Consequently, for a long while, no one was the first to speak. This wasn't a matter of several million or tens of millions; this was capital lending on the scale of billions. Even for long-time friends, everyone was uncertain.

Seeing that no one was speaking, Wei Liang's expression gradually turned sour. He forced a smile and said, "Since everyone isn't interested, let's forget it. Come, come, drink tea!"

Since Wei Liang had put it that way, the others felt embarrassed not to speak up.

Qi Feng spoke first, "Old Wei, it's not that I won't help, but my company doesn't have that much cash. How about this: I'll raise one hundred million for you and have it transferred to your account within the next two days."

Next was Chu Xuan: "I can mobilize at most one hundred and fifty million on my end."

You Dazhi: "Two hundred million, then. I don't have any more than that."

Wei Liang's expression improved significantly upon hearing this. However, he understood that these old friends were only offering these amounts for the sake of his reputation. Since he had invited these specific people today, he naturally knew their net worth. These men played with cash flow and were basically in the finance industry; otherwise, he wouldn't have sought them out.

Adding it all up, it was only four hundred and fifty million. This was not just a little bit off from the capital Wei Liang needed to raise.

Qin Yang didn't speak, but Wei Liang didn't say anything about it. In Wei Liang's eyes, Qin Yang had only recently made his fortune, and most of the money in his hands had been earned from him anyway, so it was normal for him not to have much. Inviting Qin Yang today was actually just to introduce him to more wealthy people and have him along for company.

Just as Wei Liang was about to thank his old friends and end the topic, Qin Yang suddenly spoke up: "Brother Wei, aside from what the other brothers mentioned, I'll make up the rest for you. But as the saying goes, even brothers should keep clear accounts—you'll have to give me a promissory note."

As soon as Qin Yang finished speaking, Wei Liang stood up abruptly and said, "Brother, are you serious?"

"Haha, since I dare to accept, it's naturally true," Qin Yang laughed.

After careful consideration, Qin Yang decided to help Wei Liang. Although the amount was huge, he could still produce it. One should not forget the person who dug the well; sometimes in life, you have to act according to your conscience. Of course, Qin Yang also had the confidence that no one would dare default on a debt to him.

Qi Feng and the others were also greatly shocked by Qin Yang's words. Through Wei Liang, they had already learned about Qin Yang's background and knew he followed a somewhat unconventional path. Although they were very warm on the surface, they inevitably looked down on him a bit in their hearts. However, once Qin Yang said he could produce over three billion in cash all at once, the way they looked at him instantly changed. Regardless of how he got the money, being able to produce it represented his true strength, which was definitely not as simple as Wei Liang had described.

After processing what Qin Yang had said, Wei Liang grabbed one of Qin Yang's hands with both of his and shook it vigorously: "Brother, great kindness cannot be expressed with mere thanks!"

Qin Yang also smiled and patted Wei Liang's hand.

Having raised the money, Wei Liang's spirits were visibly much better. They chatted for a while longer before ending today's gathering.

After Qi Feng and the others left, only Qin Yang and Wei Liang remained in the private room. Wei Liang then said, "Brother, do you really have that much money? If not, I'll just treat it as if you were joking just now, but I still want to thank you for giving me a way out. Sigh, in today's society, you can mention anything except borrowing money."

"I've been old friends with them for so many years; don't I know what their net worth is? Haha, back then when they needed help, I went all out to help them. Take Old Qi for example: during the financial crisis a few years ago, he lost so much he was about to jump off a building. At that time, my business was just starting out, and I mortgaged most of my fixed assets to give him a hand and bring him to his current glory. Sigh, let's not talk about it anymore."

"Brother Wei, rest assured, I really do have the money. By tomorrow at the latest, I'll have someone transfer the funds to the account you provide."

"It's just that I really didn't expect you to have such connections in Africa, Brother Wei. People online joke about rich families having mines, but I didn't expect you to actually have them, haha," Qin Yang said with a smile after taking a sip of tea.

"That was just good luck; I stumbled into it. Speaking of which, the shock you gave me today wasn't small either. I really didn't expect you to be able to produce such a large sum of money." There was a hint of probing in Wei Liang's tone.

"My luck is also pretty good. I've made some money recently. Have you heard of the super carburetor, Brother Wei?"

"The super carburetor! You mean that invention that recently caused a stir in the entire automotive industry?"

"Yeah, that thing was invented by an engineer in my company. Now you know why I was asking if you knew any automotive company CEOs last time!"

"Holy crap!! That thing is your company's product?!"

"Yes, so in terms of money, I definitely won't let you down," Qin Yang nodded.

Wei Liang stared at Qin Yang in shock for a long while before sighing with emotion, "Truly, a golden scale is not a creature of the pond; it turns into a dragon upon meeting the wind and clouds. Brother, you're amazing!"

Qin Yang then mentioned a few things about the African mines. Wei Liang was a smart man and asked, "Are you interested in mineral resources, Brother?"

"Yes, I'm indeed quite interested in the minerals over there."

"Actually, the mining industry over there isn't as easy as one might imagine. In Africa, many of the top local administrators are chiefs. These chiefs have high prestige within their tribes and even possess their own independent tribal militias. If you want to mine there, the first step is to settle things with these chiefs. Secondly, everyone knows there's money to be made there, but the more profitable an industry is, the higher the risks. The political situation there is often unstable with frequent civil wars. Owners who go there to open mines become fat sheep and getting robbed is a common occurrence..." Wei Liang replied.

After listening to Wei Liang's account, Qin Yang gained a general understanding of the situation in Africa. In fact, it could be summarized in one phrase: the law of the jungle. That place believed in violence much more than other civilized regions, and its expression was even more naked.

But such a place was perfectly suited for the survival of the Death Warriors under Qin Yang's command.