Chapter 557

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Protagonist:

Chen Yi

Sima Jian had spent enough time on the West Continent; after returning to Jiangning, he remained immersed in various shocks, unable to extricate himself for a long time.

His attendant had long since gone frantic, coming upon hearing the news to touch and ask, more like a favored concubine than a follower. His son Sima Yun also hurried forward to inquire after his well-being, saying: "The old man asked, saying to let you go see him as soon as you return."

"Something at home?" Upon hearing this, Sima Jian immediately got into the car and headed for the airport.

"Everything at home is fine. The company is a bit troublesome; ship rentals are still rising, and with that oil prices are soaring, recent business costs are a bit high."

"Mm." Sima Jian immediately thought of the wharves on the West Continent. A port ten kilometers long, if filled with ships, would have over a hundred giant vessels of large tonnage—not to mention oil prices and rent rising, but after ship prices rose, steel and electric motor prices would also rise all the way until they swallowed up the West Continent's lowest profits.

This was a chain of price increases.

Sima Jian involuntarily thought of gold bonds. Compared to issuing unrestricted national credit currency, precious metals like gold were obviously more value-preserving. And under the pattern of currency inflation, the depreciation of national credit currency would not cause bad money to drive out good; on the contrary, when good money supply was sufficient, people would choose to obtain good money, thus producing a positive effect.

Thinking of this, he suddenly said: "How is the gold price?"

Sima Yun hurriedly flipped open a notebook computer, hesitated for a moment, then said: "It rose 3% this week."

"Not bad."

"Want to buy in?" For trading companies like theirs, doing futures and currency transactions was very common; although the risk was great, there were plenty of ways to offset losses outside the embankment with gains inside, dispersing risk and concentrating profit.

Sima Jian shook his head, pondered for a moment, then said: "You prepare a plan; we'll stockpile a batch of ship-transported steel plates."

Sima Yun glanced at the computer screen, hesitantly saying: "Steel stocks are rising sharply; steel prices and iron ore have risen more than 10%. Now stockpiling ship-transported steel plates—won't it be a bit late?"

"Don't worry, buy with confidence." Sima Jian answered calmly. He had only been to the West Continent for a few days and could already draw the conclusion of rising prices; other Chen Clan families must have planned long ago.

A 10% increase must also be due to their deliberate control; once volume is released, steel plate prices soaring to 100% would not be strange.

Just one West Continent—how many ships could it hold? When all the major shipyards received countless orders and began emergency construction, that would be when raw material prices would rise sharply.

The private plane arrived at West Capital Airport after evening, but cars were already waiting below; the whole way was like wind and lightning.

Returning to Lao Zhai, the reception room, usually crowded, was unusually quiet, probably emptied long ago. Sima Jian was directly led to his father's study.

Only to see Sima Zhong, the Sima Committee member, at the desk, craning his neck, gazing out the window with unfocused eyes. Two marble balls rolled in his hands, just like his rapidly thinking brain.

Sima Jian dared not disturb him, quietly sitting on the sofa opposite the desk.

"Went to the West Continent?" Sima Zhong abruptly turned his chair; the wrinkles on his cheeks twitched once, as if he had smiled.

"Yes, that day I went to Jiangbei Wharf in Jiangning, and happened to meet Chen Yi; he invited me to the West Continent, but didn't say the reason." Sima Jian was careful, speaking somewhat lightly.

"How do you feel?" Sima Zhong drank clear tea, the steam covering the expression on his face.

"It really feels like it's fake." Before coming, Sima Jian had already prepared his words. Their family rules were strict; a son fearing his father was natural and proper, but when grandfather and grandson met, there could be more smiles.

Sima Zhong made an "mm" sound, closed his eyes in thought, not knowing what he was thinking again.

Sima Jian sat upright, staring straight ahead, his brow slightly furrowed—not seen for ten days, his father seemed older; the brown age spots under his eyes were like shadows, always portending something.

Thinking of Chen Yi he had met this time and Chen Zhongguo on television, Sima Jian couldn't help but feel deeply moved. Unconsciously, the Chen Family had already prepared for the transition between old and new; what about the Sima Family? His father and the leaders of many upper-class families were probably hesitating due to similar judgments.

"Did Chen Yi make a request?" Sima Zhong's voice floated in the air. There were always two long wrinkles at the corner of his mouth, like a pair of brackets; with age and workload increasing, the once-small brackets, medium brackets, finally expanded into today's large brackets; seeing them suddenly often made people unable to hold back laughter.

However, since the medium brackets, Sima Zhong rarely went to see those people who made one unable to hold back laughter.

Sima Jian withdrew his wandering thoughts and replied: "He didn't make a request; he said nothing at all."

"Oh?"

"We only met when going there; when returning, he didn't speak." Sima Jian added a sentence, feeling quite embarrassed.

"This is him asking us to make a request." Sima's old man suddenly sighed: "What do you think—is there profit to be had in the West Continent?"

"Absolutely profitable." Sima Jian said decisively, then added: "It's just that the channel is controlled by them, giving a feeling of being restricted by others."

This sentence was full of meaning; Sima Zhong glanced at him with a smile-not-smile and asked: "Do you agree to join?"

This was the core question; Sima Jian answered without hesitation: "The West Continent must be one of the future development trends. I read the report on the West River Association; their order volume this year is comparable to half of Southeast Province, and light industrial products exceed the consumption of a European country—so many problems are solved just like that. Moreover, the agriculture on the other continent is developed, with a large population and strong bodies; just farming the fields could make our grain surplus..."

He expounded his views in an orderly manner, taking about twenty minutes.

Sima Zhong listened quietly, without movement or sound during that time.

After he finished speaking, Sima Zhong then nodded slightly: "Since you support joining, then let it be done in the company's name first to negotiate; we'll decide based on the conditions."

"Good." Sima Jian breathed a sigh of relief, knowing it wasn't easy for his old man to make this decision. If the Sima Family entered the West Continent, they would be the first non-Chen-Clan heavyweight family; how outsiders would view their relationship, what decisions other forces would make—it was hard to determine by mere speculation.

That night, Sima Jian tossed and turned, unable to sleep; near dawn, he sprang up from bed, leaned over the desk, and began drafting an outline.

He listed the demands the other side might propose and the conditions his side could agree to, using different colored pens to mark the importance and extent of loss of each condition... Easy to say, hard to do; this matter could not be entrusted to others.

After all this was done, the next day was almost over. Sima Jian ate a good meal, slept soundly, then showed the outline to several of his father's aides; after asking for their opinions and making revisions, he finally boarded a plane to Jiangning to pay a call on Chen Yi.

The invitation was personally delivered by Sima Yun; matters having reached this point, logically only the final step remained, and Sima Jian's mood improved considerably. In the afternoon, humming a song, he sat in the small courtyard of the Zhaodaisuo reading a newspaper, and ordered: "Except for matters concerning the Chen Family, if anyone else comes, say I'm not in."

He was deliberately avoiding idleness.

However, before he had finished reading a newspaper, just as Sima Jian was beginning to feel sleepy, he was awakened by "bang bang" knocking at the door.

Seeing that it was his son Sima Yun who came in, he suppressed his anger and asked: "Was the invitation delivered?"

"Yes." Sima Yun's expression was strange; he hesitated and said: "I didn't see Chen Yi; near Jiangbei Port there were quite a few people..."

Sima Jian didn't notice his expression; propping himself up with his arm, he said: "Was a time set?""

Chen Yi was the chairman of major companies like the Chen Group, controlling the West River Association and Jiangning Martial Arts Hall, as well as the currently "most popular" West Continent; his affairs were as numerous as cow hairs. Even he had to send out invitations before arranging a meeting. Whether they would meet ultimately depended on Chen Yi and the Chen Clan's wishes.

Sima Yun lowered his head slightly and said: "No time was set."

"None? He doesn't want to meet?"

"No, actually, Chen Yi sent word that if it's about the West Continent, there's no need to meet."

"What does that mean?"

"He said that from now on, as long as one applies and pays a certain fee, one can go to the West Continent at will; cargo tonnage is the same."

Sima Jian gave a cold laugh and said, "Do you know how much their channel tonnage sells for? Over a million yuan per ton."

"Now it's not that much anymore. I heard it's 300,000 yuan, and if it's whole-ship transport, the price is even lower. They require cargo ships of 3,000 to 10,000 tons."

"Because of the Canal?" Sima Jian only now connected the matter together. His only doubt was, who exactly were the people towing those large ships, and how could they tow ships of thousands of tons?

Sima Jian said nothing, first washed his face, and at the same time calculated: if a family was allocated 3,000 tons of tonnage, 300,000 yuan per ton would mean 900 million yuan per month. This was not only an economic gap, but also a gap in political power. If the Sima Family invested in the West Continent without a certain amount of power, they would easily be controlled by others. This was not a way of development, but rather a means of obtaining intelligence.

"He invited everyone to pan for gold." Sima Yun carefully took out a portion of an instruction manual, inside which was precisely Chen Yi's explanation about the West Continent: families outside the Chen Clan could also apply to enter the West Continent to "pan for gold"—he used precisely the term pan for gold, and the cost was merely round-trip tickets, transaction taxes, and channel tonnage.

All of these could be traded using gold bonds.

"Why didn't you take it out earlier." Sima Jian glared at his son, then looked at the instruction manual more carefully; it was actually just two lines of text, like an ordinary printed document, and if not for it being distributed by Martial Arts Hall people, outsiders could not tell true from false.

"This is to make the Chen Clan the tip of the pyramid, and make all of us the base." Sima Jian finally understood a little something, but as for what to do, he still had no idea. He raised his head and asked, "What do you think?"

Finally getting a chance to perform, Sima Yun puffed out his chest and replied, "The West Continent should belong to the state."

Sima Jian suddenly laughed out loud, stopped halfway through laughing, and thought to himself: Could this be Chen Yi's idea?

……(Unfinished. If you like this work, welcome to come to Qidian (qidian. com) to cast recommendation tickets and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation.)