Chapter 4 Private Water Purification Company's Proactive Door-to-Door Visit

Mu Xin rubbed his face, forcing himself to wake up as quickly as possible.

He was not surprised by the call from the person in charge of the Oxford Town Water Purification Company. Ever since he had thrown 13 million USD at the school yesterday, he had already attracted the attention of the upper crust in Oxford Town.

Getting his number through President Archie Rockwell was normal; after all, the connections of a private university president were beyond the imagination of ordinary people.

Not to mention that this school had even produced a president; it still had its foundations.

But the problem was that he knew absolutely nothing about water purification; talking to him wouldn't yield anything.

However, the water quality in Oxford Town was indeed average right now; after boiling, there was a lot of scale in the kettle.

"I don't quite understand what you mean. I am just a student, and my major has nothing to do with water purification." Mu Xin did not take Tobias's bait.

"You might not fully understand the current situation in Oxford Town. The situation at the Oxford Town Water Purification Company is not very optimistic."

"Various reasons have led to frequent water quality issues in Oxford Town, and you can feel this yourself."

"If you are interested, perhaps we can discuss the equipment upgrades and shareholding issues of the Oxford Town Water Purification Company."

Tobias's words were very tactful, but Mu Xin knew what he meant.

He subconsciously rubbed the stubble on his chin. Investing in the local Water Purification Company seemed like a good investment direction.

To develop local industry, infrastructure was a must.

These infrastructure pieces were like the foundation of a house; if they weren't done well in the early stages, it would be difficult to adjust them later.

"We can chat at noon. Let's meet at the McDonalds in town."

Mu Xin did not respond to Tobias, just said: "See you at 12. Help me order a Big Mac combo. I don't like sugar-free coke, and easy on the ice."

"Okay, see you later!" Tobias's tone became a bit excited upon hearing Mu Xin's reply.

...

Mu Xin appeared at the McDonalds exactly at 12 o'clock. A fat man in his forties waved enthusiastically. This person must be Tobias.

"Hello, Mr. Mu. I am Tobias Williams, the person in charge of the Oxford Town Water Purification Company."

Mu Xin reached out to shake hands with Tobias Williams, then picked up his coke and took a big gulp.

Looking at Tobias's somewhat balding hair, Mu Xin suspected that the water quality in Oxford Town really had problems. Why were all these middle-aged and elderly people bald?

"I don't know what you meant by the equipment upgrade and shareholding issues of the Oxford Town Water Purification Company. Could you elaborate?" Mu Xin asked while picking up his burger to eat.

Tobias put down his burger, wiped his mouth, and began to introduce it in detail.

Simply put, the equipment at the Oxford Town Water Purification Company was old and needed upgrading, but the company had no money, and the public wouldn't agree to price hikes.

This fell directly into a vicious cycle: the public was dissatisfied with the current water quality without equipment upgrades, and they were also dissatisfied with price hikes for the upgrades.

Ultimately, it boiled down to two words: no money.

"If I haven't misunderstood, your core income is currently from water fees. Logically, the revenue should be very stable, almost unaffected by economic cycles."

"How is it that you don't even have the money to upgrade the equipment now?" Mu Xin asked curiously.

"Private water purification companies in the United States are currently in a complex industry, including four major sectors: municipal water supply, industrial water treatment, civil terminal water purification, and special emergency water treatment. The entire industry operates under a strict regulatory framework from both federal and state levels."

"Water supply is profitable, but the terminal water purification sector has always been a money pit."

"The excessive extraction of groundwater in the United States has directly led to various water quality issues."

"Normally, current terminal water purification equipment shouldn't have problems, but due to excessive groundwater extraction, existing equipment cannot meet water purification requirements."

"If this continues, there will be big trouble."

"Now, there is no better way than upgrading the equipment." Tobias explained helplessly.

"Who is the owner of the company now?" Mu Xin asked.

"The Williams Family is the major shareholder, holding 69% of the shares. The other shareholders are scattered." Tobias replied.

"How much money is needed to upgrade the equipment now?" Mu Xin continued to ask.

"The whole process will take 15 million to 18 million USD, and the total will not exceed 18 million USD." Tobias gave a rough figure.

"How can it be that much?!" Mu Xin was a bit surprised.

Mu Xin had checked the data before coming. A water treatment plant capable of serving 30,000 people wouldn't cost 60 million USD in total investment. Now Tobias said upgrading the equipment alone would cost over 10 million USD; the discrepancy was too big.

Although he had money, he couldn't be a sucker, or he wouldn't be able to do business in the future.

"PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, man-made chemicals that are difficult to degrade) pollution in Ohio is the most serious in the United States, and the strictest PFAS standards have been implemented starting this year."

"This item alone requires an additional investment of several million USD for process upgrades, not to mention other various upgrades."

Tobias took out his phone to show Mu Xin the document from the State Government; it did indeed mention what he had just said.

Mu Xin took a big gulp of coke, remained silent for a moment, then spoke:

"Is your family considering selling the entire company?"

"You are interested? This can be discussed!" Excitement showed in Tobias's eyes.

Mu Xin raised his eyebrows. It seemed the situation with this Water Plant was even worse than imagined; otherwise, the Williams Family wouldn't consider selling it.

"You give a price first, and we can discuss." Mu Xin wiped his mouth and said.

"63 million USD, this is our family's quote."

"If you want to fully upgrade the Water Plant and meet the water needs of more people, you need to invest about 165 million USD." Tobias thought for a moment and said.

"According to 2025-2026 Ohio industry data, the total investment range for a complete water supply system serving 30,000 people is around 58 million USD, which is about 10% lower than the US average."

"And that's not even mentioning your old equipment and various other problems."

"The Williams Family is clearly not sincere." Mu Xin stared at Tobias seriously and said.

Tobias touched his nose awkwardly; he didn't expect Mu Xin to know this data.

"My major is mathematics, and I am very sensitive to numbers, so the Williams Family needs to give me a sincere quote."

"Let's stop here for today. When you have thought of a quote, we will talk again."

Mu Xin finished the coke in his cup, then got up and left directly, not giving Tobias any chance.

Walking out of the McDonalds, the noon sun was a bit dazzling; the temperature in May was already quite high.

"I have to buy a car first... this is too inconvenient." Mu Xin rode his bicycle toward the second-hand car dealership in town.